Any way to get unicorn cars for Forza Motorsport 3?

[Gyron_Oldvic]

Speaking of devices. I use a 64GB SanDisk flash drive for my game saves and and a 256GB SanDisk flash drive for games. I love how they eventually made it where you no longer have to format USB drives and that way there is no reserved space. I also set the Content folder on the drives to be un-hidden so it makes for much faster extraction to my PC.

And when it comes to spending time in FM, my brother has much more time on FM4 than I do even if I combined my time for both FM3 and FM4.

Things that are really sad though is the 'Ultimate Collection' of FM3 still is missing nine cars if you count the VIP, Top Gear Stig and unicorns.

Even worse to me is that FM4 never got a similar release considering the amazing car list it has and the polygon count. The game's graphics look absolutely stunning. Not to mention the menu BGM by Lance Hayes, especially the tracks that sound more Classically European like Paris-Rouen, Cold ATF, and EV.

FM3 and FM4 are the best in my opinion, with FM4 being the absolute peak of the series. Unfortunately it was during Forza 3 's time Turn 10 started using money grabbing tactics against their own user base. Forza 2, they got it right with the 'Complete Collection' which contained absolutely everything on the bonus disc, even the pre-order Nissan 350Z. Not sure why they denied Europe this collection though, but fortunately all the DLC on the bonus disc is DRM-free so Euro users can just download it off the internet and use it with their PAL FM2 disc (no RGH/JTAG needed). With Forza 3 Ultimate Collection, there was absolutely no excuse not to include the VIP Car Pack. The Ultimate Collection cover states 'Original game plus all content previously released on Xbox Live'. But the VIP Pack was on Xbox live. Maybe they didn't include it in the Ultimate Collection because they were charging 800 msp, whereas the other packs were 400 msp and they thought 'well we're not giving that away', yet still went ahead and printed that statement on the cover. Another sneaky thing they did was to just remove the DLC from Marketplace without any prior warning, plus disabling certain codes (like Stig's Garage (some codes still work like the Pre-Order cars)) again without warning. I have 2 of those codes from my UC completely unused, but now useless:

Another underhanded stunt they pulled was having 10 cars (including Stig's Garage) exclusive to the Ultimate Collection and not giving previous owners of of game any chance to buy them. And then adding to the insult by offering up that free sample Porsche 550 Spyder from the UC to Regular and Limited Edition owners trying to tempt them to upgrade the Ultimate Collection (basically buy the entire game again for the sake of 10 cars (well 9 because the Porsche was given away free)). Horrible tactics from Turn 10. I remember at the time quite a few people were refusing to buy Forza 4 because of the stunts Turn 10 pulled with FM3. And FM4 actually didn't sell as well despite being the superior game. If this had something to do with it, who knows.
I actually believe Turn 10 may have considered offering a DLC pack on Marketplace with the 10 Ultimate Collection exclusive cars to regular FM3 owners, but decided against it. The reason I think this is, if you poke around inside that Porsche free sample DLC, you can actually see all 10 UC cars (including Stig's Garage cars). And if you throw that same free sample DLC onto a JTAG/RGH machine and run the regular version of FM3, it unlocks all 10 UC cars. The free sample DLC (1 car (but really contains all 10 UC cars)) is 110mb, whereas Stig's Garage (3 cars) which came with the UC is 34mb, so that shows you they must have considered selling this as some kind of Ultimate Collection Car upgrade pack for regular FM3 owners. But alas, it never saw the light of day.
There is also the Community Choice Car Pack which wasn't on the UC, but this DLC was only released after the Ultimate Collection, so at least they have an excuse there. The 6 pre-order cars also came in a single DLC pack, but you only tended to get one out of the six depending on which store you pre-ordered the game from. The Audi Community Edition R8 5.2 FSI Quattro being the most common for pre-orders (most Limited Collector's Edition's in the US came with this). The Pre-Order pack out in the wild doesn't work properly on a JTAG/RGH machine (it would tend to only unlock either the AUDI or Walmart BMW), so I've recently fixed this pack so it unlocks all the various 6 pre-order cars:

So all in all, what is missing from the Ultimate Collection if you bought it now and played on a retail Xbox 360:
Stig's Garage Car Pack (3 cars) - unobtainable as codes no longer work
Community Choice Classics Car Pack (10 cars) - unobtainable as removed from Marketplace
VIP Membership Car Pack (5 cars) - obtainable as codes still work
Pre-Order Cars (6 cars) - obtainable as individual codes still work (although some may be very difficult to find eg. MicroMania is a French retailer). The Audi Community Edition R8 5.2 FSI Quattro is the most common for pre-orders (most Limited Collector's Edition's in the US came with this), so this would probably be the best chance finding an unused code.
Unicorn Cars (3 cars) - obtainable if you give your save and profile to someone with a JTAG/RGH machine, then transfer your save back to your retail machine

 

[_47iscool]

Very interesting. I knew about the VIP (though I thought it was only three cars, thanks for the update) cars and Stig's but not the one(s) released afterwards.
The VIP and Stig's car packs could have been held back due to Microsoft.

And yes, I agree that FM4 was the peak. It looks and runs outstanding on the Xbox 360. Not to mention the best menu BGM tracks.

 

[Gyron_Oldvic]

Very interesting. I knew about the VIP (though I thought it was only three cars, thanks for the update) cars and Stig's but not the one(s) released afterwards.
The VIP and Stig's car packs could have been held back due to Microsoft.

And yes, I agree that FM4 was the peak. It looks and runs outstanding on the Xbox 360. Not to mention the best menu BGM tracks.

You're welcome. Yes definitely, FM4 my favourite BGM across the series. FM4 also has an immense amount of cars even without the DLC. Shame about having to purchase the Porsches as DLC (although we did get RUF (who use Porsche shells) with the standard game). Only slight thing that bothered me with FM4 was the 'over the top' sky exposure and bloom on daytime events. FM3 was definitely more subtle in this regard. Also a pity they never gave it the 'Ultimate Collection' treatment, (as you mentioned earlier in the thread) as it's without a doubt the best 360 Forza game (you could argue the best Forza ever created). Given the apparent time limited licenses, all these Forza games should have had an absolute 'Complete Collection' (FM2 style (but also include Unicorns too, as they're contained in the original game's DB file (not DLC as containers) and there would no longer be any reason to keep them hidden once Turn 10 events had ceased due to end of life)) release before end of life. What Turn 10 did with with FM3 and FM4 just pulling the DLC without warning, then announcing 'End of Life' on the official forums after the fact was unforgivable. I suppose at least since then they have given adequate warning (probably due to the backlash they got from FM3 and FM4) and we get the chance to buy the complete DLC packs (normally at a discount) just before EOL. I did this with FM6, FH2 and FH3 (although I already owned quite a bit of DLC already in FH2 and 3, it worked out cheaper just to buy the complete DLC pack at EOL (I'm sure I paid 4.99 for one of them)).
Looking at the Forza fandom wiki FM3 DLC page, there seems to be a few errors. It has the Audi Community Edition R8 5.2 FSI Quattro listed in the Exclusive Collector's Edition Car Pack, but it's actually a pre-order car. The car they have missing from the Exclusive Collector's Edition Car Pack is the 2008 Dodge Xbox 360 Charger Stock Car. They have only listed 6 of the 10 (9 if you claimed the free Porsche 550 Spyder) Ultimate Collection cars. They also have some cars missing from their FM3 Car List.

 

[_47iscool]

I like RUF cars. But I still wish Porsche was there as the default instead.

 

[Gyron_Oldvic]

I like RUF cars. But I still wish Porsche was there be default instead.

Yeah it was a shame we didn't get the Porsches as part of the main game. I remember at the time it was all to do with EA and their exclusive Porsche digital license. They wouldn't play ball with Turn 10 (at least initially) before the release of FM4 unlike with FM3. Possibly something do do with the release of NFS Shift 2 and it being a direct competitor. Turn 10 wanted to use Porsches as part of the AutoVista too, so it's a shame as that would have been brilliant.

 

[_47iscool]

Yeah it was a shame we didn't get the Porsches as part of the main game. I remember at the time it was all to do with EA and their exclusive Porsche digital license. They wouldn't play ball with Turn 10 (at least initially) before the release of FM4 unlike with FM3. Possibly something do do with the release of NFS Shift 2 and it being a direct competitor. Turn 10 wanted to use Porsches as part of the AutoVista too, so it's a shame as that would have been brilliant.

Before I looked around on the internet (years ago), I guessed it was something to do with EA. I noticed how certain racing games went without Porsche while every NFS game featured them. Though I never knew Shift 2 was the reason FM4 had no Porsche at first.

T10 and MS could have added them on the Limited Collector's Edition.

 

[Gyron_Oldvic]

Before I looked around on the internet (yeas ago), I guessed it was something to do with EA. I noticed how certain racing games went without Porsche while every NFS game featured them. Though I never knew Shift 2 was the reason FM4 had no Porsche at first.

T10 and MS could have added them on the Limited Collector's Edition.

I'm presuming Microsoft paid through the nose for them judging the price they eventually hit Marketplace at (1600 MS points), so adding them to the LCE was out of the question. Plus the LCE was released at the the same time as the regular release and MS just couldn't get EA to play ball at release time, even as paid DLC. So we couldn't even get say, a 'Day 1' DLC pack. Adding them to the LCE later would have been a no go too as the XEX on the disc matches the regular release. It took MS/T10 7 months of wrangling before we got them, and at a handsome price too. I'm surmising it's because EA had no intention of adding Ferraris to Shift 2, so didn't need to bother with any back scratching with MS. MS had the exclusive digital Ferrari licence for the Xbox platform and licensed EA to use them as DLC for Shift 1. I'm presuming they gave them the rights pretty cheap too as it was only 800 MS points and there was quite a few cars and a bunch of new career events. And around the same time we had Porsches in FM3. But that NFS Shift Ferrari DLC only appeared on the 360 and not PS3 and PC, that's why I think EA got it on the cheap from MS. But Ferrari are really funny about damage and modification to their cars within games and there are always conditions with such licenses. For instance, in Shift the Ferrari's have a minimal damage model compared to the other cars and they're not customizable like the other cars are (liveries, rims etc). So I reckon EA thought it was more trouble than it was worth for Shift 2 (plus they got a load of stick from PS3 users over the Ferrari DLC being a no show on the PS3 version of Shift), so didn't need anything from MS this time and kept the Porsches for themselves, well until MS/T10 likely made them a ridiculous offer they couldn't refuse.

 

[Resosaur]

I modded the store a long time ago so these Unicorn cars could be purchased at their preset prices. You are both welcome to send me your profile and FM3 save if you want me to purchase them for you and then send them back to you. The reason I need your profile as well as your save is because there is some kind of improved tamper detection on FM3, so I can't use your save file on my profile and and change it back. it doesn't matter if a password is on your profile as the purchase it's being done offline, but make sure there is no passcode on it as I won't even be able to use it at all. You can still use this profile online after the purchase of these Unicorns as I'm not modifying it or your save in any way. I'm just buying the cars from within the game. I did this years ago and still use the same profile online for FM6 and FM7. Did the same with FM2 and FM4 with no issue too.

So glad you tagged me on YouTube and I revisited this thread, DM sent

 

[Gyron_Oldvic]

So glad you tagged me on YouTube and I revisited this thread, DM sent

No problem. I figured you was quite eager to get a hold of them as I saw your post on se7ensins too. I'll check my messages now.

 

[_47iscool]

I'm presuming Microsoft paid through the nose for them judging the price they eventually hit Marketplace at (1600 MS points), so adding them to the LCE was out of the question. Plus the LCE was released at the the same time as the regular release and MS just couldn't get EA to play ball at release time, even as paid DLC. So we couldn't even get say, a 'Day 1' DLC pack. Adding them to the LCE later would have been a no go too as the XEX on the disc matches the regular release. It took MS/T10 7 months of wrangling before we got them, and at a handsome price too. I'm surmising it's because EA had no intention of adding Ferraris to Shift 2, so didn't need to bother with any back scratching with MS. MS had the exclusive digital Ferrari licence for the Xbox platform and licensed EA to use them as DLC for Shift 1. I'm presuming they gave them the rights pretty cheap too as it was only 800 MS points and there was quite a few cars and a bunch of new career events. And around the same time we had Porsches in FM3. But that NFS Shift Ferrari DLC only appeared on the 360 and not PS3 and PC, that's why I think EA got it on the cheap from MS. But Ferrari are really funny about damage and modification to their cars within games and there are always conditions with such licenses. For instance, in Shift the Ferrari's have a minimal damage model compared to the other cars and they're not customizable like the other cars are (liveries, rims etc). So I reckon EA thought it was more trouble than it was worth for Shift 2 (plus they got a load of stick from PS3 users over the Ferrari DLC being a no show on the PS3 version of Shift), so didn't need anything from MS this time and kept the Porsches for themselves, well until MS/T10 likely made them a ridiculous offer they couldn't refuse.

Very interesting, and I know how stuck-up Ferrari is. so that is not surprising in the least.

But, Ferrari is in GT5 on PS3.

 

[Gyron_Oldvic]

Very interesting, and I know how stuck-up Ferrari is. so that is not surprising in the least.

But, Ferrari is in GT5 on PS3.

I know EA, Sega and System 3 all had a digital Ferrari license around that time, so I'm not sure what the deal was as to why Sony/PD didn't stump up for the earlier GT games. MS seemed to always have had decent ties with Ferrari. Some of their technical staff assisting with the Ferrari cars in the original Forza. But yeah, it seems over the years all these Ferrari licenses have come with quite a few caveats and comprises (limited damage models, minimal customisation, tuning etc.). I remember one PS2 Ferrari game getting cancelled due to Ferrari licensing issues.

 

[Resosaur]

Pre-Order Cars (6 cars) - obtainable as individual codes still work (although some may be very difficult to find eg. MicroMania is a French retailer). The Audi Community Edition R8 5.2 FSI Quattro is the most common for pre-orders (most Limited Collector's Edition's in the US came with this), so this would probably be the best chance finding an unused code.

As it turns out, I managed to score an unused insert for the Community Edition R8 inside a used LCE on eBay last last year, in November 2023. I even posted about it on reddit. I'd been on the hunt for this car for over two years at that point, and it only cost me $12! It's surprising how many people never redeemed their codes back in the day.

And thanks for all this helpful info you've shared. I had also noticed a while back that the Forza wiki had the contents wrong for the Exclusive Collector's Edition Car Pack, but didn't know which car they were missing. So thanks for clearing that up!

EDIT: Also, isn't it true that DLC codes, unlike many Xbox 360 games, aren't region-locked, so if you were to find a code for the Micromania pre-order car, you should be able to redeem it on a NTSC console? Of course, we only have until July 29th of this year before the 360 Marketplace shutters for good, rendering all codes unredeemable...and I've never seen a Micromania pre-order code for sale online anyway.

 

[Gyron_Oldvic]

As it turns out, I managed to score an unused insert for the Community Edition R8 inside a used LCE on eBay last last year, in November 2023. I even posted about it on reddit. I'd been on the hunt for this car for over two years at that point, and it only cost me $12! It's surprising how many people never redeemed their codes back in the day.

And thanks for all this helpful info you've shared. I had also noticed a while back that the Forza wiki had the contents wrong for the Exclusive Collector's Edition Car Pack, but didn't know which car they were missing. So thanks for clearing that up!

EDIT: Also, isn't it true that DLC codes, unlike many Xbox 360 games, aren't region-locked, so if you were to find a code for the Micromania pre-order car, you should be able to redeem it on a NTSC console? Of course, we only have until July 29th of this year before the 360 Marketplace shutters for good, rendering all codes unredeemable...and I've never seen a Micromania pre-order code for sale online anyway.

Just taken a look at those pics, I always liked the look of the FM3 Limited Collector's Edition. Really smart. You've snagged yourself an absolute bargain there and with an unused Community Audi code too. Yeah. I've had a few used 360 games with unredeemed codes in the box. I had a same thing happen with my FM4 Racing Game of the Year edition. The original owner only had redeemed one of car pack codes, not sure what they were thinking. Yes you can redeem those codes as FM3 DLC is region free. So if you got a MicroMania code, it would work. Some folk swapped those MicroMania codes at the time because they wanted the Audi. Not all 360 DLC is region free eg. Ninety-Nine Nights II.

 

[Resosaur]

Yes you can redeem those codes as FM3 DLC is region free. So if you got a MicroMania code, it would work. Some folk swapped those MicroMania codes at the time because they wanted the Audi. Not all 360 DLC is region free eg. Ninety-Nine Nights II.

Thanks for that clarification. So the answer when it comes to 360 DLC codes is the same as for 360 games: some are region-locked and some aren't. It just depends.

I have alerts set up for the four FM3 pre-order cars I'm missing, but haven't gotten hits on any of them in years. I doubt some will pop up for sale in this final stretch before the marketplace goes black, but fingers crossed

 

[Gyron_Oldvic]

Thanks for that clarification. So the answer when it comes to 360 DLC codes is the same as for 360 games: some are region-locked and some aren't. It just depends.

I have alerts set up for the four FM3 pre-order cars I'm missing, but haven't gotten hits on any of them in years. I doubt some will pop up for sale in this final stretch before the marketplace goes black, but fingers crossed

I'm surprised the GameStop car has never popped up anywhere.
Yeah, some of it is region locked (although it's few and far between). Most often is the case, even on a region locked game, the DLC works fine across regions. Forza Motorsport 2 - The Complete Collection (US exclusive) springs to mind. Both discs are US/NTSC region locked. But if you extract the contents of disc 2 (the DLC disc) either using a modified PC drive or a RGH/JTAG machine, or just plain copying it via USB from a US retail machine to a PAL retail machine, it will work fine on the PAL machine using PAL version of FM2.