Getting Started Part 1

Getting Started Part 1

When you get the game your going to want to just slot it and play -- yeah, it is that sort of game -- but before you do that, there are a few things you can and should do, one of which will be a very very kind gesture to your Xbox...  So I thought we would start with these minor chores before we get to the meat of the WTG.

First: Install the Game to your hard drive.

Seriously -- Forza 4 disc one is going to make a lot of calls to the disc for information, and installing Disc 1 on your hdd will not only speed up that process nicely, it will save your disc drive lots of wear and tear.  It will only take five minutes or so, so why not?  Be kind to your Xbox!

Once you have completed installing Disc 1 to the hard drive, go ahead and start the game.  Before you can get to the main menu and the rest of the things we need to do, you will need to complete your first race!

First Race and First Achievement

-- Your First Race --

To get to do the rest you are going to need to start the game, select the darkness level, and then find yourself sitting in a car, on the line, about to race!  That's right, the very first race in the game comes before you even fully enter the game!  Go ahead, try to do your best with this Italian stallion of a race car, and you will find once you cross the finish line that, in addition to getting your first introduction to Forza 4, you will also have unlocked your first Achievement -- "Welcome to Forza Motorsport" (15GS) -- and finally find yourself reaching the real start.

Following the end of your first race the game will check to see if you have a Forza 3 save and, if it finds one, it will then ask you to select it and if you do, it will then import certain cars into your game depending upon your rank and progress, and transfer a certain amount of money depending upon your Level -- for instance at Level 25 you get 35,000 credits plus the first five cars in the list below. 

This will only happen one time, when you first start your game, so if you did not have Forza 3 and you now have a saved game from it, you will need to delete or remove your Forza 4 save in order to initiate the process.

These include:

Level 01 -- 2010 Abarth 500
Level 05 -- 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

Now in addition to the above cars that are based on your level, you will also receive any of the Community Reward Cars that you previously unlocked, which include:

1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS Coupe
2002 Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type-A
2006 Subaru Impreza S204
2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera
2007 Ferrari 430 Scudena
2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
2010 Ferrari 458 Italia
2010 Lexus LF-A

. . . and . . .

1982 DeLorean DMC-12 (Secret Car)

An Homage: DeLorean DMC-12

Now that you have your cars from Forza 3 imported, on to the next step.

-- Your First Car --

After the race you will be prompted to select your first car -- so begin your career by selecting your first car -- I chose the Volkswagen Fox myself -- and then bask in the incredible graphics of the game as you are shown your car!  Wow!  Freaking awesome!  Now confirm that this is really the car you want, and then you are prompted to choose a race...  But we do not want to do that just now, thank you!

Instead hit the 'B' button to back out the the top-level of the main menu, then move the selector all the way to the right, to select Install Disc 2.  Go ahead and click that now. and you will be asked to change discs.  When you do that, you get a screen that shows you how much space you have free and how much that the game will use (2.8 GB).  Go ahead and install it.  Once you confirm that you have the free space I mean.

Now you get an installation status screen that shows you how nice and fast the disc drive is as it moves a fair chunk of data on to your Xbox.  Among that data are some tracks and cars you will want to have in the game, and some other bits of bits.  <-- That last was a bit of game humor.

After Disc 2 installs, you will need to swap Disc 1 back in to your slot -- in fact the game tells you when to do that, which is very thoughtful and nice of it, but it is a thoughtful and nice game after all!  So, with that done, we are ready to move on to the next chore.

-- Gimme's that Came With the Game --

If you open the case that your came came in, in addition to the sort-of-almost-like-a-manual insert, there is also a card, and on the back of that card are two codes -- one for the Bonus Track Pack, and one for the Launch Bonus Car Pack!  So, now it is time to enter those codes.

Hit the Xbox Guide button and then go twice to the left and select Redeem Code, and enter the first code into the box to download the 170.18 MB Track Pack.  Now put in the second code to download the 370.93 MB of cars -- woot!

I know, you want to play a game and instead we are doing a lot of waiting around while things get installed and other things get downloaded but believe me it is all worth it in the end, really!  nd while you are waiting, take a look at the list of cars that are included in that bonus pack:

1965 Ford Mustang GT Coupe
1997 Lexus SC300
2011 Koenigsegg Agera
2011 RUF RGT-8    
2011 Tesla Roadster Sport

No, no!  It's OK mate.  Crying about those cars is not unmanly, and they are tears of joy after all!  Really, we won't look.  Go ahead.

Now, in addition to the cars listed above that come in the box, depending upon who you pre-order from  you may also have received the following:

Alfa Romeo Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde (GameStop)
BMW 1 Series M Coupe (Best Buy)
Honda CR-Z EX (Target)
MINI John Cooper Works Clubman (Wal-Mart)
Subaru Impreza WRX STI (Amazon.com)

Between the release pack, the cars you transferred from Forza 3, and the pre-oder bonus, you already have a really great start on your garage mates!  Well done!

Making Your Car Your Own

-- Livery --

Note: If you have Vinyl Sets that you created in Forza 3, you have the option to import them into Forza 4 in the Livery Menu...  You do not get to pick and choose however, as it will import ALL of the sets from your Forza 3 game.

I don't know if you noticed, but one of the things that was not offered to be moved from Forza 3 to Forza 4 was the custom Livery designs that you created.  That is a shame, since a lot of you spent considerable time on those, but it is necessary due to the fact that the car builds in Forza 4 are completely new from-the-ground-up and so the files from Forza 3 simply will not work with them!

While that is a bit annoying, it is understandable, so while we are taking care of the odd bits of chore and whatnot, and while you are waiting for the downloads to finish and get applied, why not take a few minutes to sketch out the design you want to create for your Livery in the new Forza?

Now that you have your design down and you know what you want, start the game, back out to the main menu, and select Play Career > Paint > Create Vinyl Group.  Once you are in the menu here, simply create your Livery design layer-by-layer and, once you have what you want, save it to unlock your second Achievement -- "Painter" (10 GS) -- which you get for simply making the design and saving it!

Note:  If you want to livery your car with the official Supercheats.com Logos and designs, you can find them shared on the Forza Store for FREE. Just search for the keyword "Supercheats" to find them!