You may have noticed how the news about Forza 2 has suddenly started to appear more frequently of late. This might have something to do with the impending release, as more and more details are let out of the bag. This time, there is a whole new website to look at, which shows some of the many features to be included in the game.

If you head over to the official site, you will notice it is very different from previous weeks (assuming you’ve been there before of course). Once the game launches in May (for Americans and Europeans), the website will be fully integrated with the game, meaning that even if you switch off your 360, you can still affect the game from the website.

First and foremost, think of Forzamotorsport.net as an extension of FM2. When you’re not actually playing the game on your Xbox 360, Forzamotorsport.net lets you…

• Log into the website with your Xbox Live Gamertag and check out a personalized homepage summarizing your online racing statistics, auctions, and tournaments.
• View and download pictures you’ve taken within FM2’s Photo Mode and share them with friends in our forums or create your own wallpapers.
• Browse the Forza Motorsport 2 Online Auction House for an amazing array of customized cars put up for and by the community. Plus, keep tabs on the cars you’re currently auctioning and bidding on.
• Browse the Forza Motorsport 2 Tournament section to see the latest status on upcoming online tournaments Turn 10 sets up within the game.
• Browse the Forza Motorsport 2 Scoreboard to see how you stack up against the global Forza community, or just those on your Xbox Live friends list.
• Read the latest news updates on the game, catch-up on the activities here at Turn 10 Studios, and commune with thousands of other Forza fans with our News and Articles, Turn 10 Blogs, and Forums sections, respectively.

Auctions? Yes, you read that first point right. Forza 2 will have auctions where players can buy and sell cars from one another. So while you might be sitting on your 360 browsing, your friend might be sitting at his PC doing exactly the same thing. A great idea, and a brilliant way to get everyone fully involved.

• Create online auctions and sell your customized rides for big bucks. Dictate the terms of your sale by setting price, length of auction, instant buyout amount… even spend a little cash to mark your auction as a “featured” sale!
• Bid and outbid others for the hottest cars on the market. Since no two cars are alike, even the most common vehicles have unique value and worth.
• Auction House gives both car tuning experts and adept livery painters purpose as they can now build up in-game wealth through selling their masterpieces online.
• The ability to hide car setups online turns tuning into a hot commodity.
• The ability to lock paintjobs to their respective cars makes these customized cars truly one-of-a-kind.
• Every vehicle comes with exhaustive car history data, including total distance and time driven, total winnings, total cost of repairs, number of races, number of owners, number of times sold, and more.
• Every vehicle sold will also come with all its extra (and stock) parts in the trunk.

With the excellent idea of keeping a car’s history going throughout the whole game, Forza 2 is getting more realistic the more we learn about it!

Perhaps the most visited page on the site will be the “My Stats” page once the game is released. The page will allow you to view any photos you take during the game as well as giving you the ability to download them; you can also browse through stats such as Overall Rank, Time Trials Rank, Hot Lap Rank, Total Racing Time, Number of Total Races, and more. If you decide to participate in any online tournaments, a schedule will appear as to when your next race is. You will also receive content/editorial updates via a convenient articles module right on the page.

Next, a full list of cars that are manufactured in Europe have been announced for the game:

• 2001 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
• 2005 Aston Martin DB9 Coupe
• 2004 Audi TT Coupe 3.2 quattro
• 2000 Audi S4
• 2004 Audi S4
• 2003 Audi RS 6
• 2006 Audi RS 4
• 2004 Bentley Continental GT
• 1997 BMW Motorsport M3 E36
• 2005 BMW Motorsport M3 E46 Coupe
• 2002 BMW Motorsport M3-GTR
• 2007 Jaguar XK Coupe
• 1993 Jaguar XJ220
• 1961 Jaguar E-type S1
• 2002 Koenigsegg CC8S
• 1992 Lancia Delta Integrale EVO
• 1974 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale
• 2003 Lotus Elise 135R
• 2005 Lotus Elise 111S
• 2005 Lotus Exige
• 2005 Lotus Exige Espionage
• 1989 Lotus Carlton
• 2005 Lotus Exige Cup 240
• 2002 Lotus Esprit V8
• 1972 Lotus Elan Sprint
• 1997 McLaren F1 GT
• 2003 Mercedes CLK55 AMG Coupe
• 2004 Mercedes C32 AMG
• 2005 Mercedes SLR
• 1998 Mercedes AMG Mercedes CLK GTR
• 1954 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing Coupe
• 2003 MINI Cooper-S
• 2004 Opel Speedster Turbo
• 1999 Pagani Zonda C12
• 2007 Peugeot 207 RC
• 2004 Peugeot 206 RC
• 2007 Peugeot 207 Super 2000
• 2003 Renault Sport Clio V6 RS
• 2002 Saab 9-3 Aero
• 2003 SEAT Leon Cupra R
• 2005 SEAT Cupra GT Prototype
• 2001 TVR Tuscan S
• 2001 TVR Tuscan R
• 2005 TVR Sagaris
• 1998 TVR Cerbera Speed 12
• 2006 Vauxhall Astra VXR
• 2004 Vauxhall VX220 Turbo
• 2005 Vauxhall Monaro VXR
• 2004 Volkswagen Beetle
• 1995 Volkswagen Corrado VR6
• 1992 Volkswagen Golf GTi 16v Mk2
• 2003 Volkswagen Bora VR6
• 2006 Volkswagen Golf GTi
• 2003 Volkswagen Golf R32
• 2004 Volvo S60 R

Phew, that’s alot of cars. Don’t forget that is just the European produced cars, we haven’t even touched on the other continents yet! So there will likely be more news to follow.

Finally, the next bit of information is for those of you who are very excited about the tuning possibilities within Forza 2. There is an interview in last weeks’ Pit Pass Report that details what exactly is involved.

Q: One of the most obvious questions on the minds of those anticipating Forza Motorsport 2 is how car upgrades is going to work this time around. So from a top level design perspective, what’s changed about the upgrades system – if anything?

Dan Greenawalt: One of the changes in the upgrade system isn’t an upgrade at all. As we’ve discussed in previous reports, we’ve added more granularity to the car classification system. Each car and upgrade now gets a Performance Index number – based on a non-linear math model created by neural-network AI search. This Performance Index (PI) makes upgrading more of a game in-and-of itself. For example, let’s say you’ve got a Corvette Z06 that you want to optimize for Class A. Your Corvette starts at a PI 687 and Class A cuts off at 750. There are several upgrades that will get you up to 750. You could emphasize grip with ride height, tire compound, aero, weight; or you could go for power. Truthfully, you should go for a balance. Achieving that balance is where the PI system really helps. PI allows you to mirco-manage how many PI points each different upgrade gives you. By the way, these numbers are not finalJ. We’re still fine-tuning and balancing the final numbers.

Q: Sounds like the granularity gives players a finer game of resource management and allocation. What else have you guys added to the car upgrades system?

DG: We’ve also added several new upgrade types, especially in the engine area. For example, we’ve split out engine block upgrades and top half upgrades. Engine block upgrades increase the engine durability, decrease its inertia and provide mild power increases, while cam and valve upgrades raise the redline, radically change the audio and skew the engine curve toward high RPM horsepower.

Q: Tire physics plays an important role in the overall Forza Motorsport 2 simulation – what kind of upgrade improvements have been done to car tires?

DG: Like the engine upgrades, the tire upgrades have been completely over-hauled to give you more choices. For example, now you have the opportunity to choose from different tire manufacturers, not just different compounds. Each of the different manufacturers have different characteristics such as grip (coefficient of friction), responsiveness (peak slip angle) as well as heat and wear characteristics. In playing the game so far, I’ve found that all of these new choices in combination with the new PI system have really changed my upgrade strategy. For example, I rarely chose the tire with the most friction. I usually look for a combination of price and responsiveness while choosing a manufacturer compound that doesn’t bump my car class. Of course, I also take my favorite brand into account as well.

Q: Were there any upgrade improvements you guys could only do on Xbox 360 as opposed to Forza Motorsport on Xbox?

DG: With the added power of the Xbox 360, we’ve improved weight and inertia representation in the cars sub-systems. We track weight and inertia for clutch, tranny, crank, driveline, flywheel as well as wheel widths, rim model and rim size. Again, this weight and inertia factor plays heavily into my upgrade strategy. My upgrade strategy is to lose unsprung weight first, powertrain weight/inertia second and body weight reduction last. Just like in the real world, where you lose the weight has a big effect on your lap times. Sure, there is more weight to lose in the body, but if you’re optimizing the car for a class, this is the stealth way to do it.

Q: And of course we can still do engine swaps…

DG: Yes. In the original Forza Motorsport, players could engine swap within a given manufacturer. For example, you could drop a Skyline engine into the Silvia. For “Like” damage and customization, this was no small licensing feat. So what’s new here for Forza 2? Well, we’ve added roughly 100 more engine swaps for even more cars. That’s cool, but by far the coolest new upgrade is the powertrain swap. Yup, that’s right. Now, you can not only swap out the powerplant, you can even put in a new drivetrain. For example, ever want to put an AWD Lancer EVO drivetrain into a FWD Eclipse? Now you can – only in Forza Motorsport 2 of course!

Q: So wait, back to your AWD Eclipse for a moment – what would a powertrain swap like that do to the car’s PI number?

DG: It depends on the characteristics of the swap. For example, if you’ve already upgraded your Eclipse engine, the Lancer engine may actually have less power – plus, the AWD Lancer drive-type is heavier. As a result, the PI would drop. However, the AWD drive-type has different driving characteristics. Also, the Lancer engine has tons of upgrade potential.

Q: What about the upgrade parts manufacturers this time around? Can you talk about some of the new brands and how all of this fits into the single-player career?

DG: In Forza Motorsport 2, not only can you level your driver profile, you can also level your car. As your car levels, you unlock discounts on different aftermarket manufacturer brands. For example, leveling up a Porsche will unlock discounts on Pirelli tires in the upgrade area for all cars. Similarly, leveling Mazda cars unlocks discounts on Greddy Fuel Systems. Greddy fuels System upgrades can be used on various Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Toyota models. Different car brands unlock different parts brands. It’s a giant, massive, patchwork and we’ve got a ton of new licensed brands in there this time. There quite a bit of strategy to leveling different cars in order to get the best discounts. It’s a pretty addictive system.

Q: Sounds like the upgrades system overall is getting a big shot in the arm. At the end of the day, what did you hope to accomplish as a game designer by revamping the car upgrades and Car Class/PI system?

DG: Car Classification missed the mark in the first version. It was better than anything I’ve seen in any other game with upgrade, but there were still a small group of cars that could dominate. Testing thus far indicates that we’ve significantly affected that issue with the non-linear PI system. We also have a backup plan built in – just in case something goes awry after ship. Regarding the upgrades area itself, I see upgrades area as a game within the game. It’s a place where some players can learn more about cars, technology and brands. It’s a great sandbox for experimentation. It will definitely stoke good community debate and fuel passion. More than anything, I’m excited about the new level of risk/reward and strategy that is now built into the upgrades game. These new features in the upgrades and the career take us one step closer to the game I see in my head, but there is always more to do.

Turn 10’s game director Dan Greenawalt is the person answering the questions, and reveals yet more interesting details for all Forza 2 fans to get excited about.

The game is shaping up to be excellent if all the recent news is anything to go by. Keep your eye on the news section for a round up of massive information, and keep checking back to the new and improved official website, since it says at the bottom of every page that new information will continue to be added.

Thanks to Nekro Neko, x El Scorpio x and nofear360 for submitting.