Forza Motorsport [PEGI 3] includes a wide range of options for players to customise how they play the game and potentially improve the motor accessibility of the game. In this post, we are going to go through the Braking, Throttle and Steering Assists found in the Driving Assists menu. The game is available on Xbox Series S/X consoles and Windows PC. We will be mainly focussing on using a controller to play, though the game can also be played using a keyboard or compatible steering wheel.
Whilst there are many actions in the game that take up most of the available buttons or stick directions on a controller, the required core inputs to race are Steering (left and right directions on the Left Stick by default), Brake (LT by default) and Gas (RT by default) to control the throttle. The keyboard inputs for these actions are W,A,S and D, by default.
The assists you choose to use can reduce these core controls further still. These assists can allow you to reduce the amount of inputs you use and/or the frequency you need to use them to play. Some assist settings may just allow you to use a certain input less frequently, or they can be customised to remove the need to use one or more of the inputs entirely. For instance, you could choose to use the Assisted Throttle setting so you can focus on steering and braking, or you could use Fully Assisted steering and braking, so you just control the throttle. The driving assists can be used in single-player races such as in Free Play or Career Mode and also Featured Multiplayer events online.
We will go through each of these options and share the developer’s descriptions of these, which will explain each of the settings you can choose from. We will finish by showing examples of gameplay, using different combinations of these particular assists to give an idea of the control inputs required whilst using them.
Global Assists Presets
The Global Assists Presets option allows you to adjust multiple assists by changing just one setting. The available settings are Maximum Assists, Heavy Assists, Moderate Assists, Balanced Assists, Light Assists and Minimum Assists. You can then customise each of these presets, to tailor the settings to you. The default setting is Heavy Assists, which is suggested when starting the game.
Braking Assist Settings
This option sets the amount of support you will get with braking and will alter how much you will need to use the Brake input (LT by default) yourself. You can still apply the brake manually at any point if using one of the assists. The following settings are available to choose from:
- Fully Assisted: When a driver approaches a corner, this system automatically applies the necessary level of brakes to get the driver through the turn. In addition, this system applies brakes in certain circumstances to help avoid rear-ending other cars. NOTE: This can make it more challenging to pass other cars.
- Partially Assisted: When a driver approaches a corner, this system automatically applies the necessary level of brakes to get the driver through the turn.
- ABS On: When a driver applies the brakes, this system pulses the brakes to ensure that they don’t lock up.
- ABS Off: The driver is in full control of the braking force. If the brakes are applied with too much force, they will lock up. As drivers master braking, they will find this option can lead to faster races.
Throttle Assist Settings
This option allows you to choose whether you will use the Gas input yourself (RT by default) or allow this to be applied automatically. You can still use the Gas input to control the throttle manually, to supplement this action. The following settings are available to choose from:
- Assisted: When not needing to slow down for a corner, this system automatically applies throttle, so the driver doesn’t need to hold the input constantly, reducing muscle tension and fatigue.
- Unassisted: The driver has full control of the throttle.
Steering Assist Settings
This assist allows you to choose how much support you will receive with Steering from full control (using L Stick by default), to not needing to use the input at all.
- Fully Assisted: provides strong guidance to help the car stay near the Suggested Line. Note that this has no effect when using a Force Feedback input device.
- Partially Assisted: provides some guidance to the driver’s steering, but only when necessary. Note that this has no effect when using a Force Feedback input device.
- Normal: gives the driver full control over steering but dampens certain physical effects to make driving easier.
- Simulation: eliminates any damping and steering speed assistance for a more realistic effect, making counter-steering much quicker. NOTE: This mode is difficult with a controller and is recommended for advanced drivers.
Gameplay Examples
The below video shows some examples of the Steering, Throttle and Braking assists in use during gameplay and examples of how a player may use the core Steering, Gas (Throttle) and Brake controls alongside these. Please note, different tracks, difficulty levels, offline or online opponents and personal driving styles will affect how many and how frequently certain inputs are used.
0:00 | Heavy Assists Preset – Player is shown controlling the throttle, steering (Partially Assisted) and occasionally braking (Partially Assisted) to avoid collisions.
0:52 | Fully Assisted Braking – Player is shown controlling the throttle and steering (Partially Assisted).
1:55 | Assisted Throttle + Fully Assisted Braking – Player is shown steering (Partially Assisted) and briefly using the throttle on an open part of track to gain additional speed.
3:56 | Maximum Assists Preset – Player is shown just controlling the throttle, whilst not using inputs for steering and braking (both Fully Assisted).
5:33 | Assisted Throttle + Fully Assisted Steering – Player is shown controlling braking (ABS On) and steering (Fully Assisted) just to overtake.
Additional Related Settings
- Remapping Controller/Keyboard Layouts – There are 15 controller layouts to choose from. These can be customised by remapping the individual inputs used for different actions. All actions can be remapped to all inputs on a controller, including swapping actions between analog and digital inputs and being able to remap individual stick directions to different actions. There are also five keyboard layouts, which can also be remapped to swap individual actions to keys of your choice.
- Deadzones – ‘Inside’ and ‘outside’ deadzone options are available for actions that are analog, like steering and acceleration. For instance, for steering using an analog stick, if you decrease the inside deadzone, less movement of the stick is required for the car to start turning. Increasing it, more movement is required before it will start turning. Decreasing the outside deadzone for steering will mean that less input is needed to reach the full activation (full turn), whilst increasing it will mean more movement is required.
- Car-to-Car Collisions – This can be set to ‘Off’ to drive through cars instead of colliding. This setting can be found in the Accessibility menu within the Blind Driving Assists options and is only applied during single-player events.
- Drivatar Difficulty – You can choose the difficulty of the AI opponents in single player races from the Difficulty menu, which affects their precision when braking, cornering and using the throttle.
- Rewind – When playing single player with Club rules or Sport Rules, you are able to use the Rewind option (Y button or R key by default) to go back in time before a mistake has been made, such as colliding with another car or coming off the track.
We hope that this post has been useful in sharing how gameplay can be customised using the Steering, Braking and Throttle driving assists in Forza Motorsport. For information on additional driving assists, customisable options and accessibility features, please visit the Turn 10 article about Forza Motorsport Accessibility Support: https://support.forzamotorsport.net/hc/en-us/articles/20964254277267-Forza-Motorsport-Accessibility-Support
