Cars scanned into videogames

turb00le · Apr 25, 2022

Hi

As a few probably know gameproducers scans some of the cars and base their modelling on this.
Some models are available online but i wonder if anyone knows what car has been scanned.

I have from Forza Horizon 4 (mk1) and CSR Racing (mk2)

Both models have many details that makes me think they cant have modelled this from pictures and basic dimensions.

davidmgbv8 · Apr 25, 2022

I have a friend who vintage races and Forza came and scanned two of his cars.

turb00le · Apr 26, 2022

davidmgbv8 said:
I have a friend who vintage races and Forza came and scanned two of his cars.

OK, good information.
Any idea what "make" his cars are or anywhere i can find photos of them?

glloyd · Apr 26, 2022

Mine was scanned by a company who write games, and they also covered it in microphones and recorded me doing all sorts of different manoeuvres up and down a runway, accelerating, changing down etc.. It took all day. I have been told it's on Forza, although this means nothing to me as I'm not into gaming at all.

Ryan Love · Apr 26, 2022

I have some connections in the video game industry. I will ask.

Ryan Love · Apr 26, 2022

Ok, some feed back from the couple of people the I know are in the games industry.

Early titles mostly games 3d modelled them, however as the technology has come on some of the latter titles are 3d scanning them. The platform that the game is running on will most likely determine what data is used. If it is a simple platform e.g. a mobile phone based game (real racing as an example) then the car will more than likely be modelled as it will allow the geometry to be optimized and allow the game to run faster. If it’s a game for a PC and is more simulator based, then you may find that it’s been scanned.

I have been told that some significant/prominent cars have been 3d scanned by some game developers.

I suspect if you really want to know, you best bet would be to hunt down people via “linked In” or the like.

Kamilah2515 · 2025-06-18T07:45:15-0400

Ryan Love said:
Ok, some feed back from the couple of people the I know are in the games industry.

Early titles mostly games 3d modelled them, however as the technology has come on some of the latter titles are 3d scanning them. The platform that the game is running on will most likely determine what data is used. If it is a simple platform e.g. a mobile phone based game (real racing as an example) then the car will more than likely be modelled as it will allow the geometry to be optimized and allow the game to run faster. If it’s a game for a PC and is more simulator based, then you may find that it’s been scanned.

I have been told that some significant/prominent cars have been 3d scanned by some game developers.
I’ve always loved how accurately some games scan classic cars like the GT40—it adds a whole new level of immersion. It reminds me of how live casino platforms aim for that same realism by streaming actual dealers and tables in real time. It’s not just CGI or code—it’s the real deal, and the experience is surprisingly authentic. If you haven’t seen it in action, take a look at it here. Just like scanned cars bring history into racing games, these live dealers bring a human element to online gaming.
I suspect if you really want to know, you best bet would be to hunt down people via “linked In” or the like.

I hadn’t considered how much the platform affects whether developers go for scanned models or optimized 3D builds. I guess mobile games really do need to prioritize performance over accuracy.

turb00le · 2025-06-18T08:15:49-0400

Well, the models from videogames have been compared to real scandata over the past years, dimensions, curvature etc seem to match quite good. They have an insane amount of detail in some areas.

Cars scanned into videogames

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