PsEG's Forza Motorsport 4 Preparation Guide

Forza Motorsport 4 is going to be a monumental racing game. At the very least, it's going to be a sequel to Forza Motorsport 3. While there's no harm in jumping straight into Forza's newest edition when it releases in October, there's a few actions you can take beforehand so that you're fully prepared and ready to unlock the full potential of Forza Motorsport 4 right out of the gate/store/whatever.

Do note that if you're paying close attention to every piece of news on Forza 4, then you're probably already aware of most of these suggestions. Consider this a refresher, in that case. Also note that many of these suggestions require you have an Xbox LIVE Gold Membership, since the game uses online functionality to send out gift cars and all that fancy jazz.

Again, remember: These are suggestions. Nothing here is required to enjoy Forza Motorsport 4, so feel free to skip around this list for advice.

1. Send your pre-order receipt to Turn 10.

If you're over 18, and you've pre-ordered Forza 4, you should find your receipt (print it out if it's an online order), and follow the directions on this page to join the Pre-Order Incentives Program.

In short, the Pre-Order Incentives Program requires you do the following:

1. Write your gamertag on your receipt.
2. Take a photograph of your receipt, making sure that the date and gamertag are legible (along with the actual pre-order of Forza 4!).
3. Save said scan/photo in a .jpg format.
4. Send the receipt .jpg as an attachment to forza_preorder@microsoft.com with your gamertag (and ONLY your gamertag) in the subject line.

If you did all of that correctly, you'll receive a message from Turn 10 in Forza 3 with the following text:

"Thank you for submitting your receipt and Gamertag for the Forza Motorsport 4 Pre-Order Incentive Program! This message is to confirm that we've received your email. Stay tuned for more information on the incentive program gifts and thank you for pre-ordering Forza 4!"

You'll also receive the only gift confirmed at this time: A Forza 4-branded 2002 Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type-A. This is one of Forza 3's three unicorn cars, and as we'll discuss later, it will transfer to Forza 4.

Even if you don't pre-order, consider buying a new copy of Forza 4. The first wave of copies will come with five extra cars (including the lovely Tesla Roadster), and all new copies will come with two extra tracks: The Top Gear Soccer Field and Benchmark Ring. If you like tag or other silly non-racing modes, Benchmark Ring's the best track for such shenanigans.

2. Get to Level 50 in Forza Motorsport 3.

If you haven't gotten to driver level 50 yet in Forza 3, now would be a great time to work towards the level cap. After the first introductory race in Forza Motorsport 4, you'll be given the option to import your Forza 3 profile, which will unlock the Forza Faithful achievement. Based on the driver level you ended up with, you'll also be gifted the following cars:

• Level 1: 2010 FIAT Abarth 500 esseesse
• Level 5: 2009 Ford Focus RS
• Level 10: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
• Level 15: 2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro
• Level 20: 2009 Bugatti Veyron 16.4
• Level 30: 2009 BMW #92 Rahal Letterman Racing M3 GT2
• Level 40: 2006 Aston Martin #007 Aston Martin Racing DBR9
• Level 50: 2009 Peugeot #9 Peugeot Sport Total 908

A bundle of eight cars for being level 50 is a great way to start your Forza 4 career. Even if you don't or can't make it to the level cap, surpassing a few of these milestones could still give you a bit of a head-start as you begin the Forza World Tour. For example, the Bugatti Veyron's a whopping 1.4 million credits in Forza 3, and it comes in handy for plenty of hijinx like car soccer. Trust me, it'll be just as worthwhile (and expensive) in Forza 4, so reaching at least level 20 is in your best interest.

3. Buy a few more cars in Forza 3, if they're available.

There's a few other cars that will be gifted through profile import if they're in your Forza 3 garage. However, all of these cars are in DLC packs, so there's a chance they might not be available in your game. I'll leave it for you to decide whether using Microsoft Points to purchase DLC for a soon-to-be-outdated game is worthwhile (personally, I'd save my money).

If you have VIP status in Forza 3 and a spare 565,000 credits, the following cars will import into Forza 4:

• 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (100,000cr)
• 2007 Ferrari 430 Scuderia (270,000cr)
• 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera (195,000cr)

If you purchased the Hot Holidays car pack, the 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia (250,000cr) will also transfer.

Finally, if you bought the Ultimate edition of Forza 3 or otherwise found a copy of the Stig's Garage DLC, the 2010 Lexus LF-A (360,000cr) transfers to Forza 4.

That's 1,175,000 credits worth of cars that you could potentially start off with in Forza 4. Worth it? Absolutely, if you already have the necessary DLC.

4. Look into some unicorn cars, if possible.

Forza 3 has three "unicorn cars," which are incredibly rare and difficult cars to earn under normal circumstances. They are as follows:

• 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS Coupe
• 2002 Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type-A
• 2006 Subaru Impreza S204

That RX-7 looks familiar, doesn't it? Yep, it's the gift car you'll receive by following the instructions in step 1. You might also have the Impreza S204 as a gift for Turn 10 getting 10,000 followers on Twitter. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then chances are you missed out on that little bonus.

If you don't already have these cars, there's a remote chance they might randomly appear in the Auction House. However, it's very likely that they'd go for several million credits at a minimum. I'll let you decide if that's worth your time or not.

5. Get your fancy decals in order.

If you mucked with car design in Forza 3, chances are you might have a few custom vinyl groups in your library. Thankfully, these import in Forza 4!

Unfortunately, vinyl group import is an all-or-nothing deal, so when you choose to import, your entire Forza 3 library will be thrown into Forza 4. I'd recommend going through your library and removing all the useless tidbits you don't need anymore, to lower the amount of junk you'll have to deal with once you start designing in Forza 4.

6. Decide on your new starter car.

At this point, you've done pretty much everything you'll need to in Forza Motorsport 3 to be ready for Forza Motorsport 4. It's time to get prepared for the new content Forza World Tour will throw at you.

Much like Forza 3, you'll go through an introductory race with a high-powered car (the Ferrari 458 Italia, in this case), and then after dealing with the profile import and settings (or maybe before!), the game will offer you a free starter car. It will include six of these:

• 2011 Ford Ka
• 2011 Chevrolet Spark
• 2011 Citroen C1
• 2011 Nissan Micra
• 2011 Peugeot 107
• 2011 Toyota Aygo
• 2011 Vauxhall Agila
• 2011 Volkswagen Fox

Which six? I'm not sure. However, I'd look over all of those cars and see what trips your fancy. Not only will the first segment of World Tour lean towards the use of these starting vehicles, but there will be a special Rivals event in Forza 4's first month that challenges you to upgrade one of these cars to F200 and take on your friends.

I know they're your friends and all, but I recommend crushing them in that Rivals stuff as soundly as possible. Break their spirit early on before they get any ideas.

7. Maybe get a Kinect?

There's one achievement in Forza 4, Look Ma, No Controller!, that requires the use of a Kinect device. If you're a completionist when it comes to achievements, you might consider purchasing or borrowing a Kinect if you don't already have one. Otherwise, it's a judgement call, and whether you feel a Kinect has enough value to warrant a purchase.

8. Enjoy a few cars and tracks that won't make it to Forza 4.

At this point, if you've followed all of this advice, you're almost over-prepared for Forza Motorsport 4. Congratulations! I think.

While waiting for October to arrive, you might consider enjoying some of the cars and tracks that won't be making the trip to 4. These include:

• All of the Porsches. You probably already know about EA getting stingy with its exclusive Porsche license. No matter your opinion on this whole ordeal, Porsche's a pretty relevant and memorable brand, and it's a shame they're going away. My favorites are the Cayman S, the 550 Spyder, and the 911 GT2 (997). I'd give all of those a try if you have the time.
• Le Mans Bugatti Circuit. The full Le Mans de la Sarthe will still be in the game, but the smaller permanent circuit is taking a vacation. It's not exactly a great track, but enjoy those hairpins while they're still around, I guess.
• New York. The track best known for destroying cars in Forza Race Night is also departing. I'd suggest giving either version of this circuit a few laps with damage on simulation and racing line off, just so you can learn to hate this track.
• Rally di Positano. This is the biggest shame. Amalfi Coast's bigger brother won't be joining the Forza 4 fold. I recommend taking one of your favorite cars (one that handles well and has some power to it) and try the reverse version of this circuit. It has plenty of great jumps at the beginning. You'll miss it afterwards. Trust me.
• Sidewinder. If you played through most or all of Forza 2, you probably won't miss this track. It's not quite Complex String levels of annoying, but it's a bit bland overall.

Questions You Might Ask

Will the cars that import/transfer into Forza 4 have my upgrades or designs?

Almost certainly not. The cars you'll receive for Forza 4 will most likely be stock vehicles.

Are there going to be any other cars that will transfer?

Turn 10 says there's one more car that will transfer from Forza 3 to Forza 4, but they haven't revealed its identity. This could be because it hasn't been officially announced for 4, or simply that they want the userbase to be surprised.

Can I import locked vinyl groups that I purchased on storefronts?

Again, probably not. Denying users the chance to re-sell their creations seems somewhat counter-intuitive.

So what's Giant Bomb/Whiskey Media doing for a car club?

No clue at this time. It depends on the maximum size of a club. If at least 50 people can join a car club, expect me to create a club for the site on launch day (provided Jeff or someone else on the staff doesn't make one earlier). We'll work on posting the details when that day arrives and we have more info.

Finally...

If you have any further questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to ask. I'll update this thread whenever it's merited, or when new opportunities to gain advantages in Forza 4 arise.