Volume 74 -- Jan. 11, 2008
A Turn 10 Introduction...
By: Che Chou, Community Manager
Welcome to the first Turn 10 Pitpass Report of 2008! Say it with me. Two-thousand-eight. Hard to believe that Forza 2 has already been out for 7 months, and we're thrilled that we've got more "meaningful" activity now around the Forza community than ever before. Sure, when Forza 2 debuted last May, there was a sheer wall of simultaneous users across the world, but now, nearly 7 months later, we've got a fantastic number of daily uniques. To put it into perspective, for as busy as FM.net's forums (including tournaments, painting scene, and auction house obssessives) normally are, the folks here comprise less than 10% of the active user base we see playing the game on Xbox Live everyday. Now that's pretty remarkable if you think about it.
2007 Renault Clio Renaultsport 197 by: Hadoq
Our goal, of course, is not only to maintain (as best we can) our daily uniques on Live, but also to spread the world about Forza to those who don't currently play the game, or even own Xbox 360s. To that end, I am working with the folks over in our sister site (okay, maybe more like second-cousins) MSN Autos to create more cross-pollination in terms of content and hopefully audience as a result. For now, as a way to dip our toes into each other's proverbial pools, we're featuring MSN Autos' upcoming coverage of the Detroit Auto Show (Jan. 19-27). You'll see that beginning tonight on the vertical banner area of our front page. Then in the following days, I'll be calling out cool stuff from their auto show "hub" and commenting on them in the Turn 10 blog. Baby steps into giant leaps later on this year, hopefully.
1983 Audi Sport Quattro - December Car Pack
Remember that hot pic of the Audi Quattro Turbo up there on Road America? Just a reminder to all of you just joining the Forza 2 community that we recently (just before the holiday break) released a couple of content packs you should check out if you haven't already. The December Car Pack features a bunch of must-own rides you need to add to your Forza 2 garage, as well as a return of one of racing's most venerable tracks -- Road America. Both can be had for only 500 points on Live Marketplace.
2005 Aston Martin DB9 Coupe by: Darkpagey - Replica Livery Competition
Also just a reminder for everyone new or veteran, that selling cars with inappropriate paintjobs (featuring nudity, hate speech, swastikas, drugs, etc.) in our online auction house is a violation of Xbox Live Terms of Service. We have very proactive community VIPs who are vigilant about reporting these offenses (presumably, because like most of us, they are truly offended) and keep us constantly up-to-date on who's being naught or nice. You may not be banned instantly, but once you're reported, you're on our list and the banhammer will fall. Several times a day. A first-time ban lasts a week. Second time offenses last a month. And the third time gets you a permanent vacation from auction house and gifting. I'm not trying to make light of the situation, nor do I we enjoy banning our players. But we would very much like for everyone to play Forza 2 without feeling harassed, uncomfortable, or just plain disgusted by some of the content that's out there. For more information on general Forza 2 online etiquette, go check out our FAQ here.
2007 Porsche 911 GT3 (997) by: BULLETSnZOMBIES
Related to the business of being blocked from playing Forza 2 is the current instability we're experiencing with Xbox Live as a whole. There have been intermittent network outages throughout the holiday break, as well as this week. The result of these outages is that it affects a critical part of our auction server communication with your Xbox 360, meaning that when Live is having trouble, you may occasionally get the message that the auction house is unavailable or that you've been banned. If you know for a fact that you have not violated Xbox Live Terms of Service, then sit back, take a deep breath, and try again later. Chances are, if you have not put any offensive cars in the auction house, you are most likely not banned and Xbox Live is just having issues. Another side effect of network outages is that you may inadvertently get a message saying that you've tampered your profile and need to start a new one. Before you delete your save game, read our FAQ and email us your Gamertag and PUID. Please read our FAQ for all the details.
2000 Nissan Silvia Spec-R by: Sternum1999 - Fantasy Livery Competition
Before I zip outta here for the weekend, two things: I just want to announce a hefty race replica paintjob competition we've started today. The idea is to re-create the Microsoft-sponsored Team Seattle Porsche 996 GT3 Cup car with the painting tools in Forza 2. We know there are some super talented folks out there (take a look at Sternum1999's car above -- whoa!) and we'd like to harness (and reward) that talent. We're accepting entries for the replica contest until the end of January so you've got plenty of time to perfect your car. We also know that there will be a ton of cars that look pretty much spot-on -- so for those semi-finalists, we're taking the contest one step further by judging the 5 finalists on how the car handles and drives via how they (or their partner) has tuned the car. Anyway, for all the details, check out today's blog entry.
Lastly, I just want to mention that I haven't forgotten our promise to deliver a scoreboard filter for FM.net so those of you who live and die by the scoreboards can essentially create new ones based on new requisites. Wouldn't it be nice to basically filter out all multiplayer times from the scoreboards? Or those times with drafting or assists? You get the idea. I saw a rough version of it running the other day and am working with designers now on making it look all pretty and making sure the UI makes sense.
Aight then, onto Landin's driftology 101 and have a great weekend...
2007 Porsche 911 Turbo (997) by:TeamPRO
The Forza Motorsport 2 Community Update
By: Landin Williams, Community Moderator
Hello and welcome to the first Community Update of 2008! For all the new readers out there this article is intended to give you all the details regarding our very active Forza Motorsport 2 online community. Everything from community run competitions to cool forum topics will be covered in this section of the Pitpass Report, so make sure to check back every Friday to stay up to date with the happenings in the community!
There has been a lot of activity since the last report and as Che has already mentioned a large number of new users who are experiencing Forza 2 for the first time, therefore I wanted to take a quick second to point out some of the major forum documents and posts that will help you get acquainted with the community. The first thing you should check out is the Terms of Service for the forums. This will help you understand what is allowed and what is not allowed, so check it out HERE. If you have any DLC car requests then check out the threads in the Forza 2 "General Discussion" forum. Instead of having multiple posts on the same topic we have created these threads to house any new requests, so check them out HERE.
Got bunch of pictures uploaded and you want to share them on the forums but don't know how? Check out THIS thread (posted by ltlynX) that contains a step by step tutorial that will help you learn how to correctly post your uploaded photos to the forums. Another great thread is the painting FAQ posted by wedge park. This thread will answer some basic questions regarding the Livery editor in Forza 2, so check it out HERE. This is just the tip of the iceberg as there are many other threads that can help you out along well many knowledgeable forum members and Moderators, so have fun exploring and welcome to the community! Also if you have any comments or questions feel free to e-mail us directly at forzafb@microsoft.com, and we will do our best to get back to you as quickly as possible.
1991 BMW Motorsport M3 E30 by: Antiyou - Turn 10 Drift Guide
Hotlap Challenge Week 15: Top 10
1 R2P KimiMatt
2 R2P Greeksniper
3 IPR BackONE AbS
4 IPR Revolution
5 IPR Ermy
6 R2P PenguiN
7 R2P ChemicaL
8 blademeisterTRC
9 TRC Smokinu
10 TDR Eries
Click HERE to see if you have been selected as a one of the “Random 30” from Week 15.
Hotlap Challenge Week 16: Top 10
1 TDR XcamX
2 TDR DaMo
3 TDR NAT
4 TDR Eries
5 R2P JED
6 R2P x42x
7 R2P Greeksniper
8 R2P ChemicaL
9 R2P sNooB
10 DBP Lemon
Click HERE to see if you have been selected as one of the “Random 30” from week 16.
Hotlap Challenge Week 17: Top 10
1 IPR BackONE AbS
2 IPR DriveR E76
3 IPR Revolution
4 IPR StevenX
5 IPR TurbONE AbS
6 R2P Greeksniper
7 R2P ChemicaL
8 Julio Geordio 9
9 R2P JED
10 IPR the DOCTOR
Click HERE to see if you have been selected as one of the “Random 30” from week 17.
Congratulations to everyone who finished in the top 10 in our Holiday Hotlap Challenges. If you have been selected as one of the “Random 30” then you are eligible for a free gift car of choice! In order to claim your prize please send an e-mail to forzafb@microsoft.com and include the following: Your gamertag, the competition that you have won and your car request. Just as a reminder the only cars that cannot be gifted are the ones included in our various DLC car packs. Cars will be gifted out on Monday so make sure to submit your request before then!
1998 TVR Cebera Speed 12 by: treewick - Fantasy Livery Competition
Official Hotlap Series - Season 2 Begins!
Alright now I want to move on to talk about an event that has quickly grown into one of the most popular (and extremely competitive) competitions ever hosted here at FM.net. For the past 17 weeks we have been running a scoreboard challenge where players set their fastest lap on a specific track with specific restrictions. Here is a brief description of the series taken from Volume 69.
“The Hotlap Series will be run for a total of 5 weeks, as players accumulate points based on their finishing position. Each week points will be added to an overall standing that will determine the players final position in the series. There will be an individual point total as well as a team point total. After 5 weeks the overall winners will be announced and rewarded.”
For a full list of the rules and regulations of the series make sure to check out THIS thread.
1990 Mazda Savanna RX-7 by: SD Kami sama
In order to make the series more efficient we have made some very important changes to the official rules that I will quickly describe for those of you who haven’t already noticed them in our forum post. The first major change is the link that will be made between your scores and your gamertag as soon as you post a top time. Essentially your points will be tied to your gamertag, so if you change your gamertag in the middle of a series your points will not be carried over and you will start accumulating points from zero. We strongly suggest that all participants keep the same gamertag for the entire duration of the series to prevent any loss of points.
The second major change is the implementation of a “Roster Lock”. This rule will prevent teams from adding players to their roster after week 1 has been completed. When the qualification round for week 1 is finished we will no longer accept any changes, so make sure to register all of your team members before next Thursday.
The final major change to the official rules deals with errors in the weekly scoring. Due to the large number of people participating in the series it is very possible that you will find errors in our scoring. The results from each week of competition will be posted the Monday following the completion of the challenge (Friday), in order to ensure adequate time for changes and adjustments. You will be responsible for checking the official results each week, and alerting one of the Hotlap Marshals if changes to your individual or team results are needed.
2001 Mazda Roadster by: PyroDonkey - Mazda Photomode Competiton
Once the scores have been posted on Monday you will have until Thursday to report any errors in the scoring. If you fail to report these errors by Thursday then no changes will be made. The results posted in the Weekly Pitpass Report will be considered final, and will only be changed if they do not match the results posted in the official scoring thread. We have made a few other minor changes to the rules that I have not mentioned here, therefore I suggest that everyone interested should visit the official rules and regulations thread HERE.
So what do you get if you manage to secure a top 10 spot in the individual standings or top 3 team standings? Pride, Respect, and of course some in-game credits! Here are the prizes that will be awarded upon the completion of series 2.
Individual Standings
First Place: 10,000,000 CR and 3 Auction House Cars of Choice
Second Place: 8,000,000 CR and 2 Auction House Cars of Choice
Third Place: 6,000,000 CR and 1 Auction House Car of Choice
Fourth Place: 5,000,000 CR
Fifth Place: 4,500,000 CR
Sixth Place: 4,000,000 CR
Seventh Place: 3,000,000 CR
Eighth Place: 3,500,000 CR
Ninth Place: 2,000,000 CR
Tenth Place: 1,000,000 CR
Team Standings (Credits will be given to the Team Leader)
First Place: 50,000,000 CR
Second Place: 25,000,000 CR
Third Place: 10,000,000 CR
So what are you waiting for? This week’s challenge has already been uploaded, so get out there and set your fastest time. All you have to do is enter the “Tournament” feature and look for “FM.net Hotlap”. Qualify within the top 50 and your scores will automatically be added to our overall leaderboard. If you have any questions regarding the series feel free to send a private message to “ncasolo” who is in charge of running series 2. For this week’s challenge we have decided to put players in a stock 1993 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec and send them off to conquer Sebring Club. Good luck and have fun!
2003 Fairlady Z Custom by: Darin
So with all of that said I wanted to point out that thanks to our very diligent community we now have not only an officially sponsored photomode and replica livery competition but now a fantasy livery competition as well. These competitions are set up and run by the community with Turn 10 providing free gift cars to the winners. I have included a few pictures this week that are submissions for the contests this week, so make sure to check out the links next to the pictures if you would like to find out how to participate in future events.
Along with forum based events there are also a large number of racing tournaments that you can easily discover by visiting the “Tournaments” section of the Forza 2 forum. One series that you should definitely look out for is the 2008 IFCA Racing Season. For those of you who haven’t heard of the IFCA, it is a community forum dedicated to running custom racing leagues for Forza 2. They host a large variety of racing events that should suit anyone looking for good clean competitive racing. If you would like more information about the series, or want to know how you can get involved check out their site at www.ifcaracing.com.
Well that’s it for this week’s community update! We have a lot of cool things on the way in the near future so check back often to get the low down on the Forza Motorsport 2 community. I hope you all had a great Holiday’s and New Years and I will see you on the forums!
Peace,
Landin
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