I happily received my copy of Forza 3 on the day of release and was quickly pissed off at the state of the game, specifically the horribly broken and half-finished multiplayer system. Considering Forza 2 didn’t have significant multiplayer issues, this came as quite a shock. What’s broke? A little of everything. Players, myself included, are having a hell of a time finding populated lobbies. More troubling is the lack of options in finding a game that fits your desire, like a circuit race using C-Class cars, of which you will find no mention. Currently, Forza 3 is only hooking up players who want to race A-Class and above.

Turn 10, the developers of Forza 3, have been issuing comments on the official forum and claim these matters are being addressed.

Most recently, this comment was offered:

Update – 5:30PM PST: Alright folks we’ve made some optimizations to the Multiplayer Hoppers and as of now you should be able to succesfully join populated races. Give it a shot and let us know your experience here.

We’re hoping this will solve the majority of issues, however were still looking for the best balance of ping vs. number of connections etc…

We will update if anything else changes. Now go run some races!

From our official FAQ (that everyone should read)

10.28.09 – Optimization of Multiplayer Matchmaking Lobbies Begins.

Today work has begun on optimizing the multiplayer matchmaking lobby experience. Over the next few days you should expect to see changes to the behavior of our multiplayer hoppers. We will post any new updates here with any additional news or information as it becomes available.

So yes we are aware of the problems and are actively working towards improving connectivity between players.

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

While it’s commendable that Turn 10 is speedily trying to solve these problems, allow me to proclaim this situation unacceptable. No product should ship in this state. Period. Turn 10 should have made a beta-test of Forza 3 available long before the product shipped so as to avoid this embarrassment instead of wasting time on a single-player demo.  As it stands now, everyone with a copy of Forza 3 paid a minimum of $60 for the glorious job of Quality Assurance.

For shame.