Forza Horizon 4

[DChaps]

One of the main features I was looking forward to will arrive in a patch sometime after release. Will be interesting to see how well this is actually implemented.

Forza Horizon 4’s Route Creator Will Arrive With First Major Game Update
September 12, 2018
by Kyle Patrick
https://www.gtplanet.net/forza-horizon- ... me-update/

Quote:
One of the most exciting Forza Horizon 4 features Playground Games announced at E3 2018 was the Route Creator. So when we sat down with Ralph Fulton to talk all about the game, we had to prod him for an update on the hotly anticipated feature.

Bad news first. As you can probably guess from the title, the feature won’t be in at launch. This revelation comes straight from Fulton himself, during our chat. “It’s not going to make it for launch, but it will be there in a matter of weeks after launch,” Fulton told us in San Francisco. “It won’t be a significant amount of time to wait.”

I was originally excited about FH3's BluePrints and FM7 Leagues, but neither really gave me what I was looking for. Codemasters F1 2013 still had one of the coolest features where you could create a custom hotlapping event, pick the car, track, difficulty combinations, length of time the event went on, and if it was public or private. Then it was available in game to race your friends ghosts, etc. and lo and behold, you can view the results online as well. This was in 2013 5 years ago. Forza Motorsport 4 and 5 also had online leaderboards, this was back in 2011.

Turn 10, I would pay expansion/DLC/Season Pass money to be able to custom create a Leauge/Championship series and/or Rivals/Hotlapping event in FH4/FM7 and have it be available to view/export online.

In fact, I just discovered that F1 2013 Racenet Events are still actually working and I created a classic event at Jerez in the Williams FW12 if anyone still has this and wants to play.

https://racenet.codemasters.com/f12013/event/12057

[Naples39]

I think they put this in just for PK.

As part of the LaRacer @ Horizon missions, players enter a series of ten races all of which tip the hat to classic games including Sony’s Ridge Racer series, Sega Rally, Atari’s Test Drive, Dreamcast legend Crazy Taxi, arcade favourite Out Run and original Xbox launch game Project Gotham Racing, amongst others.

There are nice touches within each mission too – the Project Gotham Racing level sends you to Edinburgh, one of the most memorable cities from Bizarre Creations’ epic racer, and lets you drive the boxart star Ferrari.

https://www.vg247.com/2018/09/26/forza- ... razy-taxi/

[Aristo]

I think they put this in just for PK.

As part of the LaRacer @ Horizon missions, players enter a series of ten races all of which tip the hat to classic games including Sony’s Ridge Racer series, Sega Rally, Atari’s Test Drive, Dreamcast legend Crazy Taxi, arcade favourite Out Run and original Xbox launch game Project Gotham Racing, amongst others.

There are nice touches within each mission too – the Project Gotham Racing level sends you to Edinburgh, one of the most memorable cities from Bizarre Creations’ epic racer, and lets you drive the boxart star Ferrari.

https://www.vg247.com/2018/09/26/forza- ... razy-taxi/

Jesus Christ that is awesome!

[pk500]

OK, now you're talking!

[Aristo]

OK, now you're talking!

I respect you calling Forza to arcadey and not your thing, because, that's just true. but if you like arcade racers, I think Forza Horizon is one of the best ever produced, with help from Forza proper physics, not to make it realistic, but to provide some weight to cars, and to differentiate different cars.

It may not be a realistic differentiation, but it does make for a fun game to play. I've totally gone looking for cars with different characteristics to do accomplish different goals.

And for playing games with a little mind altering substance flowing in the bloodstream, I would never play Forza proper that way, but can chill out to FH for hours. Spotify and FH4 is going to be bliss.

[pk500]

Horizon is too arcadey for me, but it is the best arcade racing franchise since the glory days of Ridge Racer and Metropolis Street Racer/Project Gotham.

My only wish was that Microsoft kept more of the original Forza physics evident in the original Horizon in subsequent games. But the larger community clearly didn't want that, and Microsoft probably wanted to make Horizon even more accessible by making it easier to drive.

I'm definitely playing Horizon 4 as part of my GamePass subscription. I doubt I'll do much of the offline stuff because the driving model makes that tedious for me, but I definitely look forward to some multiplayer mayhem with DSP brothers, probably with a bit of intoxication present!

[TCrouch]

Get ready to play it for 5 hours or so solo just to get to the online portion, then

[Aristo]

Get ready to play it for 5 hours or so solo just to get to the online portion, then

Yeah, that is a terrible design decision. I hope the eliminate that. It was one thing when the driving more more realistic and you wanted weed out the casual guys that don't really play, and force online to be guys that actually took the time to learn the game. But I don't think that holds anymore.

[Aristo]

This is a pretty fun review of the game.

Do you video game?

[pk500]

Any game design that forces players into certain modes before accessing another mode is poor and arrogant game design. I paid my $48 (thanks, Gamers Club Unlocked!) or a GamePass subscription for the game -- let me do whatever the f*ck I want with it.

[Wilk5280]

Played for about 30 minutes this morning. I didn't play the demo so not sure what customization was available in regard to difficulty, driving aids/assists, etc, but it seems like you can make it more difficult fairly easily.

For an arcade driving/racing game I just don't see how the FH series can be beat. Very initial impressions point toward this being a huge time sink. I like it!

[sportdan30]

Will be playing this evening. Picked up the Ultimate edition after applying some certificates and my 20 percent discount from Best Buy. I'll be playing this game for months! Can't wait to put some time in this weekend.

Aristo, how do you enable Spotify?

[Aristo]

You just run Spotify in the background. It is not in game like Groove music was.

I have Spotify as a pin, so I can hit the xbox button while playing, get to he pins, start spotify, and select a playlist, and then hit the xbox button and select the FH4, and be right back to playing.

Then, if you want to skip a song, or pause, you just hit the xbox button and choose Spotify from the quick menu, and opens up a menu to let you control volume, skip tracks , and pause. You can also open the app up, change playlists and jump right back into your game.

On the plus side, no more annoying DJs!

I mostly use Spotify to play music while plying Prominence Poker. I don't use it for sports games or shooters. But driving and poker really benefits from custom soundtracks.

[Aristo]

Also, for some reason in the review video I posted, he mentions groove music and his playlists. And I do notice that I can still access them in FH3. But Microsoft killed off Groove Music, so I would be surprised if it is in FH4.

[Teal]

This game sure is purdy.

[dbdynsty25]

Game looks awesome, tho it doesn't seem to run particularly well on the X. Maybe 30fps. Yes, I know there is a performance visual mode, but I want the bells and whistles!

Now, on my PC @ 3440 x 1440, ultra settings, goodness. Probably the best looking game I've ever seen. And runs perfectly smooth. The ultrawide view makes it even more immersive.

Either way, ridiculously awesome addition to the series.

[Rodster]

I could be wrong but I thought I read the game is locked @ 30FPS.

[dbdynsty25]

I could be wrong but I thought I read the game is locked @ 30FPS.

60 fps on performance mode. 30 fps on quality mode. And PC has to be at least 60 fps.

[sportdan30]

There was an update a couple days ago to help eliminate the hitches and/or half second freezes. I'm quite happy with how it runs in 4K at 30 fps.

Really love the environment of England compared to Australia in FH3. Much more varied in terms of the terrain. And of course the changing seasons is a nice addition.

Drove a 2014 Koenigsegg and that car is just ridiculously fast. Speeds up to 280 mph! Fun to drive but hard to keep it on the road.

Have driven multiple cars, but really enjoy the Bentley (don't recall the year). Unbelievable launch from this car. Of course not as fast as the Koenigsegg, but more fun to drive and handle because it's not as quick.

It seems quicker to acquire perks and wheel spins. Maybe that's because there's some incentive to purchase houses so your credit money is used for several things.

[Aristo]

Been playing on Visual mode, and the 30 FPS has been fine. I have not noticed any hitches or issues. Will probably switch over to Performance at some point and just enjoy the 60 FPS and action.

Was bummed that Groove Music was not replaced with Spotify or another way to add your own music to the game. You can run Spotify in the background, but the game actually does a nice job of mixing the music with the game, dropping the volume for when they speak or "dramatic" moments. With Spotify, it's just a steady stream of tunes, which is fine, but I like the way they integrate the music into the game, even if it is nothing I would necessarily pick myself. But I've liked the music on the various stations, so I will probably just roll with this for the time being.

Been bouncing between Pulse, Block Party, XS, and Hospital. The tracks flow damn well, regardless of the station. Used to like the Classical stuff sometimes in previous games, too.

But it should have been a no-brainer to work with Spotify to create a station like they did with Groove Music. But Groove, predictably, was finally shuttered. FH3 was the only thing I used Groove for.

[Dave]

Tried out a Forzathon live event tonight for the first time and had a blast. Thought it was a lot of fun to set off like a bunch of idiots to hit speed zones, jumps, etc. to try to beat the score within the time limit.

So far I like the setting more than Forza 3, some of the races take place on pretty tight circuits.

The game is drop-dead gorgeous as well.

[DChaps]

Cool update to Forza Horizon 4 today:

Forza Horizon 4 -- Route Creator & More!

Brian Ekberg - Tuesday, October 23, 2018
https://www.forzamotorsport.net/en-us/news/fh4_update2

The next update for Forza Horizon 4 has arrived! Going live today, the newest update is jam-packed with good stuff, including the arrival of the hotly anticipated Route Creator feature, as well as a brand-new Horizon Story to play through and of course, loads of improvements to your Horizon 4 experience. Here’s a quick look at the cool stuff that Playground Games are including with the latest update for Forza Horizon 4:

Route Creator
Announced at the Xbox Launch event for Forza Horizon 4 at Goodwood, the Route Creator feature has arrived in Forza Horizon 4 with the latest update. For the first time in Horizon history, you can now create new race routes simply by driving them, setting checkpoints as you go with just the press of a button. These routes can be up to 40 miles long and can originate from any Asphalt, Dirt, or Cross-Country Event start location.

New Horizon Story: British Racing Green
British car culture is legendary and now’s your chance to be a part of it. The new Horizon Story, “British Racing Green” casts you in the role of helping to produce a documentary on British automotive history by driving some of the country’s most famous cars. Along the way you’ll be challenged to maintain your speed across various routes in a variety of Britain’s best vehicles. Complete this adventure and you’ll unlock new goodies, including a new Quick Chat phrase, a new clothing item, and the classic Bentley 8 Litre.

Fixes and Improvements
In addition to the new features, today’s update also includes new fixes and improvements to the game, including engine audio improvements across multiple cars based on feedback from the Forza community. The team has added the option to quit Quickplay Team Adventure after finishing an Adventure, and has improved stability and performance across both Xbox and Windows 10 PC platforms. For a deeper look at the fixes and improvements arriving with the latest update, check out the latest Release Notes on the Forza Support site.

Full Release Notes:
https://support.forzamotorsport.net/hc/ ... -23rd-2018

Deep Dive into Forza Horizon 4's Race Route Creator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8iO9iv ... e=youtu.be

[Dave]

.

New Horizon Story: British Racing Green
British car culture is legendary and now’s your chance to be a part of it. The new Horizon Story, “British Racing Green” casts you in the role of helping to produce a documentary on British automotive history by driving some of the country’s most famous cars. Along the way you’ll be challenged to maintain your speed across various routes in a variety of Britain’s best vehicles. Complete this adventure and you’ll unlock new goodies, including a new Quick Chat phrase, a new clothing item, and the classic Bentley 8 Litre..

Hopefully none of the routes have you going uphill in the Austin Healy Sprite, otherwise that minimum speed is going to be a challenge!

[Zlax45]

This game is just pure fun with so much to do

[dbdynsty25]

After playing the hell out of the Hot Wheels add-on two years ago in Horizon 3...I was definitely looking forward to the LEGO add on this year after it was announced last week. It did not disappoint. Such an awesome addition with tons more racing and different types of events, building houses, etc. If only the game didn’t take so damn long to load all the time...it’s so painful. But the quality is top notch, so just gotta enjoy it (and get a scotch during the loading screens).