Twitter account for Forza Motorsport officially brought up their most visually appealing track and the track that overwhelmed the post was the Maple Valley track, which is described as ‘deceptively difficult’ and contains a lot of features for racers, photographers, and drifters to explore. The Twitter account had already published the post focusing on the lovely autumn colors that were perfectly at the background of the circuit. Yet again the real drama was thrashing out in the comments section where the split love-hate from the community over the track was indeed made desperately clear.
But what is the ultimate truth regarding Maple Valley? The creators have informed us that it is an elegantly built track giving all the runners a feeling of the fall in a serene place, but on the contrary if one is not careful with the corners, that would be the end of the racer. They are trying to show off the beauty of the place in every way possible but the gamers… oh, the gamers have thoughts. It is one of those occasions when the general community goes to the official social media post to voice their complaints and this post becomes a magnet for all the complaints friends have stored up.
From the very beginning, the replies kept coming in all different directions. Some users were all for the post. User iSamu’s reply was short and sweet; “Everything, is one of my favorite tracks”, which is nice, you know? A bit of light in the dark chaos. Another user Death Avenue offered a slightly more professional viewpoint stating that “In FM (2023) it’s probably the easiest the track has ever been but also the most exciting because of the new physics and better wheel support”. So, for some players, the new version of the game made Maple Valley not just more approachable but also fun. Nice huh?
Then there you have the other group purging their pure irritation. User Rob Farmer, under the name VirtuaMcPolygon, had no reservations and was very candid, saying “I have never liked this track. It’s tragic that we are not getting new tracks now. So many classic tracks from Forza are still missing, Monza đ˘”. Oh the pain! That statement is painful. It’s not only by Maple Valley; the whole tracklist is becoming stale vibes. This was shared by many with the request of some real-world tracks to be included, like Dack who was pleading, “Can we get Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for our Canadian friends?” and TrigaFTW who was very bold saying, “Forget Maple Valley. Give us Prague back plzzzz đđ”. There is a longing for both the past favorites and new places.
Moreover, there is also the difficulty in racing on Maple Valley. A very specific and quite common source of pain was pointed out by Haydan James, he said, “The tyre barrier at turn 12, apparently. đđđ”. You know that every racer on that track has had their car at least once up close and personal with the tires there. Itâs a rite of passage. Stefan simply said, ‘Last corner is challenging’ which is probably the understatement of the year for anyone who has spun on the last lap there.
Nonetheless, not all discussions were about the track. Some replies were rather meta and even cynical. CMDROPT characterized the post as the “Socials guy screaming into the void again,” which may be an extremely harsh but nonetheless hilarious way of describing sometimes how corporate social media feels, i.e. the ordinary person in the desert. Even more straightforward was Geheimpolizist Bretschneider who asked, “Why is a dead game doing ads for a dead game?” Ouch! That is a level of disillusionment among players that is hard to overlook. Vivian, who goes by the name of Rotary_Dude, when he tweeted, “I loved when you guys didn’t shutter T10,” referring to the developer Turn 10 Studios, added some nostalgia and sadness.
Wait, what was I saying? Oh right, the track. Itâs amazing how a simple question about what people love could very easily turn into a full community therapy session. Youâve got people engaged in heated debates in the repliesâAce Dalmatian was telling another user to “stfu” then blocking them, which is just the epitome of internet interactionâwhile others are just appreciating the beauty, like F2Mitsubishi who said “This track looks so good at night đ”. Itâs an entire ecosystem that lives in the comment section of just one tweet.
So whatâs the final verdict on Maple Valley? This is a place that very strongly stirs up emotions. Every player who finds it to be a stunning and entertaining challenge has another opposite who views it as a reflection of what’s missing in the franchise. It has the potential to confound the conversations it incites not only in terms of difficulty but also in the interface of the Forza community.
