Camera Views in Forza 2

Posted by: Corin

Article by Steve “Stune” Embling of the London mint racing team

As racing games have evolved across the years most now feature a variety of camera views which the players can choose from. As we settle into racing most of us find one view we are comfortable with, and tend to stick to across the entire genre with little thought. For a number of reasons it’s not easy to jump from one view to another, the most important thing is to be comfortable with the view you are using. This doesn’t necessarily mean there would be no benefit to changing views however.

This article will look at the advantages and disadvantages in each of Forza 2’s views, and look at how something as simple as using an appropriate view can be a slight advantage in a CGS racing environment.

1st person Bonnet Cam

This is one of the least commonly used views by top players. It was designed to immerse the player deep into the game with its 1st person appearance. It feels quite realistic and you get a reasonably good feel for where the car is on the road. Sadly this view will prove impractical to many players for a number of reasons. Firstly it’s very difficult to have good spatial awareness. In the picture notice how the slip road on the right of the car is not at all visible from this view. Neither is any of the rear due to no rear view mirror. The final thing which kills this view off as a viable camera to use is when the car is heavily damaged on the front the bonnet buckles, causing an extremely impaired view angle, often making it difficult to look at the finer details on the track just in front.

1st person bumper Cam

This first person view is far more commonly used than the above bonnet cam. Its doesn’t have any part of the car visible meaning that no matter what damage is inflicted the track will always remain fully visible. The Rear view mirror is also an important part of the view. Although spatial awareness is still zero on the car’s sides (unless players purposely use the right analogue stick to look) there is now limited coverage of what’s going on behind. It could be argued that due to small size of the rear view mirror that it could be more effective, yet this could give the player the small heads up needed to avoid a long range collision attempt. Sadly due to the low ride height of this view it’s extremely difficult to see over bumps and hills on tracks, meaning a better knowledge of the track is needed to drive in this view. It also means if a another car is unexpectedly on moving slowly on the racing line just after a hill it will be almost impassable to see it until the very last second, when in some cars it may be too late to react.

3rd Person Close Chase Cam

Instantly looking at this photo its clear spatial awareness is far improved over both the 1st person views. It’s clear exactly where all parts of the car are at all times and any opposing drivers on the side will be highly visible. The fact that the slip road on the right hand side of the car is now visible proves this. The camera is a lot higher up meaning visibility over hills is greatly improved. Sadly this view has no rear view mirror so things behind are still not visible unless the player chooses to look behind manually.

3rd Person far Chase Cam

There is not a lot to choose between the two third person views. This one is a little higher and a tiny bit further away meaning an even greater spatial awareness and better sight over hills. It’s a very popular view but the fact it has no rear view mirror means there will always be debate about which view is better between this and the 1st person bumper cam.

Spatial Awareness

With the green rectangle representing the player’s car it’s easy to tell how the spatial awareness changes significantly depending on the different views used. The V shape shows the field of view with the Red rectangles representing possible locations of opponent cars. It clearly shows that when using either first person view it’s imposable to see cars which are level and even to some extent a little in front. In contrast when using either of the 3rd person chase views it’s quite possible to see opponent cars level or even slightly behind.

Viewing Height

The following two pictures show how height is significant. In the top 3rd person view the track’s path is far more visible over the hill, and the cones on the other side are just about visible (at least they are on a better photo). Those cones are out of view in the bottom picture due to the low height of the camera view. The slip road in the distance is also much more visible in the top 3rd person view.

I asked a variety of players with different styles and from different regions to see if their answers agreed with my analysis. Here are the following two questions:

1. 1.) Which view do you prefer to use in Forza 2?
2. 2.) Are there times in which you feel your view is inadequate/ inferior to others and wish to change?

Nick "NT 101" Townsend of the London Mint

Philippe "YggdrasiL" Vaillant of the Berlin Allianz

James "Cam" Davey of the Sydney Underground

Joe "Phantom" Tackett of the Carolina Core