Forza Motorsport 2 Native — v0.3.1

v0.3.1 — Online multiplayer and Vulkan

What's new

Online multiplayer

Multiplayer → System Link now lists every race hosted on the online server. Create one or join one as on a local network; nobody needs to open ports on their router, because all traffic goes through the server.

• Online card in the launcher (Profiles tab): Play online is on by default, and a dot shows whether the server answers. Your gamertag is your name online. If the server cannot be reached when the game starts, it simply runs offline.
• Joining works. Joining used to fail with "session full or unavailable" before anything reached the host; that is fixed.
• Smooth remote cars. Over the internet the game's network layer (DirectPlay) took the extra latency for congestion and slowed itself to about 6 updates per second per opponent, with half-second freezes. The port now uses the game's own unthrottled mode: about 60 updates per second.
• Lost packets are recovered. Home connections drop a few percent of game packets on the way up (about 3 % in our tests), and each lost one froze the opponent's car for about 0.2 s. Every packet now also carries the previous two, so losses are rebuilt: 0 of 3,600 test packets went missing.
• The server software is in the repository (tools/fm2-relay) for anyone who wants to host one.

All players need this same version (and the same Project Forza Plus 2 version, if used).

Vulkan

• The game and the launcher now run on Vulkan, with the same runtime as the Forza Motorsport 4 port. Existing settings are moved over automatically; saves are untouched.
• Correct car bodywork: the port uses Vulkan's generic render-target path, which fixes visible bodywork artifacts.
• Fewer stutters at 120 fps: new pipelines are compiled in the background instead of stopping the frame.
• Graphics tab reworked to match the other Forza ports: presets (Low, Medium, High, Custom), render scale 1x–4x, anisotropic filtering up to 16x, bilinear / AMD CAS / AMD FSR output, vertical sync and a 60 / 120 fps choice. Native 2x MSAA is always on; the FXAA options were removed. Shader preparation is fully automatic.

Also

• The frame rate FPS counters show now matches the game. The window was being presented far more often than the game drew frames (224 times a second at 60 fps on a 164 Hz monitor), so NVIDIA's, Steam's or RivaTuner's counters looked unlocked. It is now presented once per game frame. Achievement pop-ups are no longer shown; achievements still unlock.

Download

Forza2-Native-0.3.1-windows-x64.zip
SHA-256: 9bf7689a6f3c4c8af3fcdd14ca57410503f0b395ecf7a0c0dca1ac5c8358609a

File	SHA-256
forza2.exe	898de021d60cf364052d6c3a16b10c3b18abb7b939c8ea4a297f7c29ef9cbbe0
Forza2Launcher.exe	9684d53182ef4e20b0714422d14f5c347579d79be4bf05dd558b919162219d31
rexruntime.dll	5c5afa3fd247551923e4d92d712c858403eecdbd06917e9b7bfe457766fe0e66
rexgpu-fh1.dll	59ca9e5b389d6670710baa087361c9d42339671d468c672cb0bfbcf7c674b849

Requirements change: a GPU with Vulkan support and current drivers (Direct3D 12 is no longer used).

Updating from 0.3.0: extract the zip to a new folder and copy your forza2.user.toml from the old one, or open the launcher and point Install → Change folder at the game\ folder you already have. Saves in Documents\forza2\profiles\ are not touched. The first launch prepares the shaders again for Vulkan.

Known issues

• Online, with three or more players, a player who joins may occasionally not see one of the others (three cars instead of four), and the game can close when that race starts. Leaving and joining again fixes it.
• The first time you visit a track or see a new car there can be a short pause while new content is compiled.
• Some antivirus engines flag the download with generic or heuristic detections; the executables are not code-signed yet. You can check the hashes above or build from source.
• Xbox Live features are not available.

If the game closes with an error, please open an issue and attach the file from the logs\ folder.

Forza Motorsport 2 Native — v0.3.0

v0.3.0 — Frame rate options and smoother races

What's new

Refresh rate: 60 or 120 Hz

Graphics → Refresh rate replaces the old Vertical sync switch. Pick 60 Hz or 120 Hz; the game paces itself on that rate.

Turning Vertical sync off in 0.2.0 did not just remove a frame cap: it let the game run unpaced, at several hundred frames per second, which caused constant stutter. That option is gone, and a settings file that still has it off opens at 60 Hz.

• 60 Hz: races hold a steady 60 fps.
• 120 Hz: races run at up to 120 fps (111–115 fps in our tests). Needs a 120 Hz monitor and a fast CPU: the game's own code is the bottleneck, not the graphics card.
• Menus run at half the rate (30 or 60 fps), as they did on the Xbox 360.
• 144 Hz is not offered: at that rate the game waits two refreshes per frame in races and ran slower than at 60 Hz.

Smoother races

The game reports about 1,400 harmless graphics errors per second, and every one was being written to the log file. The filter meant to drop them never actually switched on. It works now: in races at 120 Hz the frame rate went from 64–105 fps to 111–115 fps, and log files stay small.

Project Forza Plus 2: physics follows the frame rate

The mod's author asks to set CarPhysicsUpdateHz to match the frame rate, so that the AI judges corners properly. With the mod installed, the launcher now does it each time you press PLAY: 347 at 60 Hz, 695 at 120 Hz.

Download

Forza2-Native-0.3.0-windows-x64.zip
SHA-256: 4ae04f4b1202417341bf72ce49d30aef7f84d3eb250292d2a89a8539226ae668

File	SHA-256
forza2.exe	edb713c0a323d3c88e560281f6220ebafef9faa2e2a56d2c50984512657c1e2c
Forza2Launcher.exe	7a39c59a90c2dd311b6738d51dc2f5437b838b06a25cbbc2958d4d7c164d25fd
rexruntime.dll	e359209fb2b0570e693c966d4c1d99a82465d36ef70d033833fae56adb2f1b7a
rexgpu-xenos.dll	0c23cfa23fc4fa5638dc8a3dc0de87b1041d97705d4677774083f1f350cd8d89

Updating from 0.2.0: extract the zip to a new folder and copy your forza2.user.toml from the old one (it keeps your graphics, controls and game folder). Or open the launcher and point Install → Change folder at the game\ folder you already have. Saves in Documents\forza2\profiles\ are not touched.

Known issues

• Some antivirus engines flag the download with generic or heuristic detections (14/68 on VirusTotal for 0.2.0). The file they point at is rexruntime.dll, the ReXGlue SDK runtime, shipped unchanged from the official release; Microsoft, Kaspersky, ESET and Bitdefender report the package clean. The executables are not code-signed yet. You can check the hashes above or build from source.
• 120 Hz may not hold a steady 120 fps in races on slower CPUs; use 60 Hz if it stutters.
• Xbox Live features are not available.

If the game closes with an error, please open an issue and attach the file from the logs\ folder.

Forza Motorsport 2 Native — v0.2.0

What's new

American release supported

The port now runs both the European and the American disc of Forza Motorsport 2 (title ID 4D5307EA). Both hold the same program and the same game files; only the header of default.xex differs, and the launcher accepts either one.

Limited Edition bonus disc (premium DLC)

Once the game is installed, go to Install → Downloadable content → Import bonus disc ISO. The launcher copies the 8 premium packs (car packs, Road America, Motegi), and each profile installs them the next time it plays.

The disc's Title Update #4 is not used: it patches the game executable, and the port runs the unpatched program.

New tab: Forza Plus 2

Install the community mod Project Forza Plus 2 straight from its .zip (American release only):

1. Choose Project Forza Plus 2 v1.3.zip, pick a career mode and press Install.
2. Once it is installed, choose Project Forza Plus 2 Update v1.3.zip and press Apply.

From the same tab you can switch the career mode (Normal, Hard, Sandbox, Vanilla), turn on the harder AI, set the field of view of each camera (chase near, chase far, hood, bumper) and uninstall the mod. The original files are kept, so uninstalling puts the game back exactly as it was.

The mod already carries the DLC cars and tracks, so the bonus disc packs are not installed alongside it.

Install tab reorganised

• Before the game is installed, it only shows Import from ISO and the game folder (by default game\ next to the launcher).
• After that, it shows the downloadable content status, file verification and the shader cache.

Download

Forza2-Native-0.2.0-windows-x64.zip
SHA-256: fd7a040ec5e81cfd8e5d44bce9a76e9bdc64d8a00d195063e88c1108c6eba0e0

Updating from 0.1.0: extract the zip to a new folder. Then in Install → Change folder pick the game\ folder you already have, or import your ISO again. Your saves in Documents\forza2\profiles\ are kept.

Known issues

• The DLC cars and tracks have only been tested briefly; please report anything missing.
• DLC packs are installed under Documents\forza2\profiles\<profile>\. If that path is very long (a long user name or Documents synced to OneDrive), some packs may fail to install; the error is written to the log.
• Xbox Live features are not available.

If the game closes with an error, please open an issue and attach the file from the logs\ folder.

---

🇪🇸 En español

• Versión americana: el port ya funciona con la ISO europea y con la americana.
• Disco extra de la edición limitada: con el juego instalado, en Instalación → Contenido descargable → Importar ISO del disco extra. Añade los 8 packs premium y cada perfil los instala la próxima vez que juega. La Title Update #4 no se usa.
• Pestaña Forza Plus 2 (solo versión americana): instala el mod desde su .zip y después aplica el .zip de la actualización. Desde ahí se elige el modo de trayectoria, la IA más difícil y el campo de visión de cada cámara, y se desinstala sin perder los archivos originales. El mod ya incluye los coches y circuitos DLC.
• Para actualizar desde la 0.1.0: descomprime el zip en una carpeta nueva y, en Instalación → Cambiar carpeta, elige tu carpeta game\ o vuelve a importar la ISO. Tus partidas se conservan.

Forza Motorsport 2 Native — v0.1.0

First public release of Forza Motorsport 2 running natively on Windows.

No game files are included. You need your own original copy of Forza Motorsport 2 for Xbox 360 (multi-language edition, title ID 4D5307EA) as a disc image (.iso).

Install

1. Download Forza2-Native-0.1.0-windows-x64.zip below and extract it to any folder.
2. Run Forza2Launcher.exe (press ES, top right, for Spanish).
3. Install → Choose ISO and import, and pick your disc image.
4. Create your profile in Profiles and press PLAY.

Requirements: Windows 10/11 64-bit, a GPU with Direct3D 12, about 5 GB of free space.

What's included

• Launcher in English and Spanish, with the game cover
• ISO import with file verification
• Profiles with separate saves
• Graphics options: fullscreen/window, up to 4K internal resolution, presets, anisotropic filtering, MSAA, FXAA, AMD FSR/CAS
• Controller support, plus keyboard and mouse with remappable keys
• Shader pre-compilation with a progress bar before playing

Known issues

• Some stutter the first time you visit a track or see a new car; after that the shaders are prepared before you play.
• 60 fps, but motion may not feel perfectly smooth yet.
• Career mode and split-screen not fully tested. No Xbox Live.

If the game closes with an error, please open an issue and attach the file from the logs\ folder.

☕ Support the project on Ko-fi.

---

🇪🇸 Primera versión pública de Forza Motorsport 2 nativo en Windows. No incluye archivos del juego: necesitas tu propia copia (.iso). Descarga el .zip, abre Forza2Launcher.exe, importa tu ISO en Instalación, crea tu perfil y pulsa JUGAR.

SHA-256 (Forza2-Native-0.1.0-windows-x64.zip):
ab978d7c3ac3c33faafbaf080bf39d18aac88a848a8209b0ca3368583cebc9aa