Bumping the Forza thread for the great God known as Dan Greenawalt:
Forza 6 drivatars are way more realistic than the previous versions as stug said and the difficulty adjustments make them behave more stupid (new racer, inexperienced, average) or more realistic (above-average, highly skilled, expert). If you played Forza before you should be around above-average or expert to get the most authentic racing experience you can without getting beat in every race. Now those are the difficulty levels which I believe drivatars act like the real driver. Want to race The Stig multiplied by 20 other cars, you'll want to pick difficulty level pro or unbeatable. I've tried a race in pro and there's no chance of beating them unless your car tune is set for that particular track. Gears need to be adjusted for its straights, tires will need to be set for its corners, etc. Racing on a higher difficulty level gets you more credits, though, so it's worth pushing yourself. For me I went with expert as I can still beat everyone else but I can't make any mistake. If I do I need to restart the race. The real game changer, though, is modifiers. You can pick three modifiers for each race:
Crew: Your crew will give you advantages such as extra grip, less weight, more horsepower, etc. These are unlimited use meaning you can use them as much as you want.
Boost: One time only, these will give you % bonus' such as more XP or money. Very useful and can be stacked up to three slots, if you want.
Dare: Little challenges that offers you more money if you complete them. For example, you can start in the 24th position (dead last in most races) to earn +30% more credits or have 12% more weight.
Not only is it addicting to receive mod packs but buying new ones is where it's at. You can buy mod packs starting from 12,000 CR and up to 300,000 CR. The higher the price, the more likely your stuff will be worth keeping. You typically want to use less valuable modifiers in short, small races and keep those big money/XP makers for the long races due to them being percentage based. The modifiers are a game changer but so are the other drivers, now called drivatars.
What's the most amazing thing about drivatars is that they can appear in races with your name and race as you would. Of course, they're toned down/up depending on the difficulty your friends play on but they're as aggressive as you would be, pick the same racing line, etc. Drivatars are a compilation of your racing techniques so it's not 100% precise but they're unique enough to pass off as yourself. I've noticed that player Y will be consistently at the front while player X will always nudge me when too close. Player Y and player x will never swap and that's pretty amazing. Now the cool part is that when you're away your drivatar still races and depending how many times they appear in races they'll make money. The more your friends race alongside your fake driver, the more you get credits. Want more money? Start adding friends that play forza.
Forza Hub, a place to view your level and other stats, give weekly/daily credit rewards and is an easy way to keep you afloat in credit terms. I'm not quite sure how they work as I get credits for Forza 4 and Forza Horizon, games I've played, but I also get credits for Forza 5 and Forza Horizon 2, games I haven't played. I get 640,000 credits almost every 3-4 days so I can just collect credits and mod cars if I want to. The thing that's great about the Forza series is that mods aren't locked to a level - everything can be bought from the start. Just got Forza 6 and want a Ford GT with the top engine mods? It's right there. No need to race to unlock them...but maybe you should race as "spins" are a new and amazingly addicting gambling tool. Every time you level up (different from a manufacturer level which I'll explain later) you get a spin; a series of blocks that flash one at a time in a random order. Press A to stop the spin and it slowly comes to a stop and whatever it lands on (credits/car) is what your prize will be. No matter what it lands on you'll always get something nice. Sure, that middle slot is the one you want (higher credits/rarer car) but landing on anything else is also cool.
Forza Hub also has News & Events which summarizes everything you need to know; latest DLC, real-world events and anything else to get you caught up. There's also Galleries where Turn 10 picks returns (pictures that are featured by Turn10), community pics, friends pics and your own pics. Lastly, there's a Games tab where you can view the previous Forza games as well as add-ons. Now here's where I stop liking Turn10 - their add-ons. Sure, it's nice to get new cars and have a wide selection but I must've spent $100 on Forza 4 DLC or more. I went for the Season Pass and bought other little things not included in it (not the Porsche pack, if I remember correctly - a whole thing with EA having the Porsche copyright for their Need For Speed game) and every time I look back on it I regret buying so many virtual cars with real money. I have a love-hate relationship with Turn10 because of this. I bought all current DLC for Forza 6 except the new eBay one.
Oh, and cockpit racing is a must. Once I got comfortable with it I can't race in any other camera view. You really feel like you're out there on the track with a week-end car/a car you fixed up/your every day car/etc. I plan to finish the career (currently at the first street level, trying to finish all 3 "championship" with all 6 car types) and then tackle the showcases (special little events and such).
I'd recommend Forza 6 to anyone who loves racing games or played Forza before. Anyone else are too late; you should've jumped on the Forza wagon back when Forza 4 was at its height of popularity. The storefront and the soccer/futball/football games where the pinnacle of Forza.
I haven't tried Multiplayer yet and many cool stopping spots for car meets have been boarded up. Jumps and fun bumps have also been gated (though some still stand like LeMans beach section) so making jumping car tunes is a bit dull. Forza is becoming a real racing simulator and removing all the fun aspects of its map - despite recently adding a Cadillac limousine to its DLC. Way to go, Turn10...