Forza Horizon 5: General Discussion

[UKMikey]

It's not confirmed yet, but Milestone was the only developer who made the right decision in this crazy live service era where every game is trying to restriction players.

According to a statement they made on discord, they have announced that HotWheels Unleashed 2 will eliminate the battle pass and the limited time exclusive content that comes with it.

In this era of live services, this would be a risky bet. But as a player who's been forced to play games over the past few years with limited-time content like Playlists, and who's tired of seeing friends leave because of this content, I would like to give Milestone the utmost praise for this decision.

I hope that their decision isn't just an old-fashioned decision, but that it signals to many other publishers and developers, including Microsoft, that players are tired of this FOMO content.

I'm sure a lot of potential purchasers gave a side-eye look to EA Sports WRC's low, low purchase price and the five VIP season passes that come as part of the pre-order package. But Codemasters appear to have made a decision to launch the game with all cars and stages freely available to the player and have stated that the pass is only for cosmetic additions like liveries.

It remains to be seen whether future releases will be as FOMO-free, but for now this seems like a pretty generous decision to me.

 

[Morbid65]

As someone who finds the weekly playlist boring (and has bitched about it in this thread many times), I do think a little more challenge/competitiveness in the playlist would make it more interesting sometimes. I don't think any exclusive content should be locked behind hard skill gates though, even if it is just cosmetic crap, but especially not something as important as cars in a car game. Obviously every game has to have some kind of minimum skill level (PG seem to have decided "Highly Skilled" drivatars are that for FH5) for challenges, but "hard mode" should always be an option that is more of a personal satisfaction thing or perhaps an efficiency thing than any kind of barrier to stuff.

I think a good compromise could be to basically keep the list as it is now, but raise the point rewards for completing tasks at a more difficult level. For example for the Rivals events, just putting a time on the board gets you 1 point each week just like it does now, but each week you have a top 50% (or whatever would be a good spot to set the goal at) time gets you a bonus point for that week, and if you can get in the top 10% (or whatever) you get another bonus point. This would encourage/reward people who actually try instead of doing 1 clean lap and then ignoring it for the rest of the month, and make Rivals more meaningful because the times on the board would be more representative of the playerbase, and it means some people would revisit their time and perhaps improve it... but it would also mean that people who don't have time or don't care to play Rivals could continue doing it just like they are now without losing out on anything.

Also, for the AI championship things, you get the 5 points or whatever they are worth now for beating them at "Highly Skilled" but if you can beat them at "Unbeatable" you get 2 bonus points or something. For the PR stunts, keep the difficulty as it is now, but add a "bonus" distance/time/speed that gets you an extra point. Maybe for those weekly things with 4 objectives for a specific car, they add a "bonus round" at the end that is a skill challenge for a bonus point or two.

It would reward people for trying a bit harder and challenging themselves and trying to improve their driving and/or building skills, but wouldn't change anything for the people who don't care about that stuff and just want to relax and check things off the list.

All that being said I still think the best way would be just to reward people points based on time played or have basically everything in the game pay out weekly points, so that everyone can get on the game and play whatever they think is fun to earn the weekly cars instead of being shoehorned into whatever RNG stuff is selected for the week. People who hate multiplayer/Trial wouldn't be forced into it, people who don't like PR stunts wouldn't have to do them, people who like painting could spend their limited time painting instead of running over test tube things, etc.

The suggestion he made to add exclusive playlist reward cars to the Autoshow after a set amount of time is one I agree with and has been mentioned several times on this thread.

Unfortunately, I kinda doubt Xbox is interested in killing FOMO and hurting Game Pass engagement KPIs and metrics, however.

It would be interesting to see what the statistics change would be after a change to the formula. Even if they gave the car out for free just for logging in, wouldn't most people still sign in every week to get the car? Though I imagine there is a certain amount of time spent they want besides just logins, probably 20-30 mins based on current playlist difficulty.

I wouldn't think that adding the old playlist cars to the Autoshow would make a big difference though. The "hardcore" players would still want to get the new cars as soon as possible and keep doing the playlist stuff each week, and a lot of the burned out players might actually come back to log in and get a cool car they missed when it is released in the Autoshow, instead of just uninstalling the game because they gave up on ever getting them.

 

[The_Greaser]

The smashables this week is quite the fitting name for EventLab 2.0. Chemical vials that you can smash are quite fun. Especially the little bits and pieces after you smash 'em are satisfactory.

 

[Justuxful]

GT7 got the FL5 CTR this week, I wonder when we will get the FL5 CTR that was scanned by Forza. It has been around 6 months since the scanning took place according to the email, so shouldn't be too long. Though it might be an FM car pass car...

And where is that damn MC20 that has been in the files for a few months now! Especially since it will have that bodykit as well, I really want it in the game. I guess it might be the Christmas car of the year like the SVJ and Sian so fingers crossed.

 

[Edax 76]

GT7 got the FL5 CTR this week, I wonder when we will get the FL5 CTR that was scanned by Forza. It has been around 6 months since the scanning took place according to the email, so shouldn't be too long. Though it might be an FM car pass car...

And where is that damn MC20 that has been in the files for a few months now! Especially since it will have that bodykit as well, I really want it in the game. I guess it might be the Christmas car of the year like the SVJ and Sian so fingers crossed.

Oh yes a new Civic Type R would be most welcome indeed.

 

[United6694]

Oh yes a new Civic Type R would be most welcome indeed.

Just to add to the tease, maybe that is the car I saw them recording... or is it?

 

[Edax 76]

Just to add to the tease, maybe that is the car I saw them recording... or is it?

Oh hell I hope so bud

 

[RolexGTP]

Just to add to the tease, maybe that is the car I saw them recording... or is it?

Could be an older CIVIC then with a high revving v-tech engine.

 

[willbsn13]

Just to add to the tease, maybe that is the car I saw them recording... or is it?

Please be an EG Civic!

I'd love to see a Honda themed update, it's been well overdue. So many excellent options from past games you could put in

• 2023 Honda Civic Type-R as the headliner
• 1994 Honda Civic 1.5 VTi from FM4
• 2018 Honda Odyssey Elite (as a Wuling competitor)
• 2000 Honda Prelude Type SH (already in the new FM)
• 1995 Honda CR-X del Sol SiR (leaked Thumbnail, still yet to come to the game)
• 1970 Honda S800 (in the new FM as well)

Could even add these kits back from FM7! (just like they did with 850CSI)

 

[The_Greaser]

God that 97 Civic widebody is awful. It's just some imitation Rocket Bunny kit and is really hideous. Don't want to see it come back.

The other Civic with the widebody kit is acceptable though.

 

[PJTierney]

I'm sure a lot of potential purchasers gave a side-eye look to EA Sports WRC's low, low purchase price and the five VIP season passes that come as part of the pre-order package. But Codemasters appear to have made a decision to launch the game with all cars and stages freely available to the player and have stated that the pass is only for cosmetic additions like liveries.

It remains to be seen whether future releases will be as FOMO-free, but for now this seems like a pretty generous decision to me.

It’s also part of the bigger goal for the game, to grow rally fandom.

Put out a big game with tons of content at a low price with (optional) beginner-friendly game modes and very minimal monetisation, and hopefully loads of people hop in.

This is also why there is only 1 edition of the game, and the pre-order gives the traditional “deluxe upgrades” at no extra cost.

 

[Edax 76]

This week's treasure hunt was the best yet. Just be prepared to drive a bit further than usual

Totally agree bud. The hunts have been a real treat this series.

 

[WanganDream]

Totally agree bud. The hunts have been a real treat this series.

I'm a fool who used an F-450 on this treasure hunt and got into a lot of trouble.🤪
I barely made it to the treasure chest, but the struggle along the way felt like I was playing Snowrunner instead of Forza.

 

[UKMikey]

I'm a fool who used an F-450 on this treasure hunt and got into a lot of trouble.🤪
I barely made it to the treasure chest, but the struggle along the way felt like I was playing Snowrunner instead of Forza.

Those tight and seemingly endless ninety degree corners must have been a lot of fun.

Mini X-Raid for me. About halfway up I was wishing I could press a button and turn it into a plane Crew-style.

 

[Edax 76]

Those tight and seemingly endless ninety degree corners must have been a lot of fun.

Mini X-Raid for me. About halfway up I was wishing I could press a button and turn it into a plane Crew-style.

I lucked in totally and approached it in my 1990 Escort Hoonigan. I really hope they stick with this format moving forward. Perhaps not every series as I understand building these can take up time and resources, but hopefully every other series is possible.

 

[PJTierney]

That UltraViolet video was good. Ultimately it was 2 hours of dunking on the game but good points were made.

I appreciated the detail that went into the competitive/multiplayer section, as it detailed many bugs and issues I and my race club have come across too.

 

[breeminator]

I hope that their decision isn't just an old-fashioned decision, but that it signals to many other publishers and developers, including Microsoft, that players are tired of this FOMO content.

Some of the most popular games are not only free to play but also don't lock functional items behind a paywall, or a grindwall, or a timewall, so all game developers and publishers should be aware of their appeal to players. Even Microsoft has at least one title where everything functional is available to all players right from installing the game, Age of Empires IV, though that will change soon when the first paid DLC civs arrive in November, 2 years after release. It still won't be a hugely expensive game including the DLC, though.

 

[Apple Slipper]

There is also a certain amount of players on other websites such as forums and reddit who want more difficult playlists.
But they miss two points. One is that, as @UKMikey has already pointed out, difficult content can throw many players out of the game.
Another point is that the current system overlooks the fact that while it is easy for players to increase the difficulty level, it is nearly impossible to lower it.

If you're looking for a higher level of difficulty, there are many ways to do it.
There are also ways to use RWD, cut assists, and try the lowest possible PI for PR stunts.
As with other games, the game can be made as difficult as you want by intentionally setting limits.

However, it is difficult for players to intentionally lower the difficulty level. FH5 is a game of the 2020s. There are no official cheat codes like in classic GTA from the 2000s.
The playlist's AI difficulty level is fixed, so you can't race against the tourist AI.

In other words, people who want high-difficulty content are selfish people who don't make the effort to increase the difficulty themselves and are willing to sacrifice other players.

That is a big problem about the Forza fanbase (though I can say the same for other fanbases out there). Some are really gatekeepy and want even the casual players to suffer. Disappointing, really.

 

[breeminator]

All that being said I still think the best way would be just to reward people points based on time played or have basically everything in the game pay out weekly points, so that everyone can get on the game and play whatever they think is fun to earn the weekly cars instead of being shoehorned into whatever RNG stuff is selected for the week.

Yes, that's exactly what I was saying years ago when they first introduced the playlist in FH4 and made it into a weekly set of chores to unlock new cars. When I complained about it, people said "Do you not enjoy playing the game?", to which my reply was "Yes, but I want to do different things to what the playlist makes me do.". For example, in the last few days I've spent around 5 hours building/tuning the '97 Civic to get as fast a time as I can for B class rivals on Copper Canyon Sprint. The playlist is just an annoying chore that stops me from spending that time playing the game the way I want to. The weekly chores are the main thing that has periodically caused me to stop playing FH, but GT7 has copied FH elements and is really considerably more annoying than FH now in terms of making it a chore to obtain cars, so I play FH as the least bad option in that sense.

 

[skazz]

I agree completely about enjoying other things than the playlist, but spending 20 minutes once a week on a few eventlabs and the Trial to get 20 points is pretty much effortless.

I enjoy the Trial since it gets me to tune up a car and have a silly race. And the eventlabs are always a laugh. So with the current system the playlist barely feels like a chore atall.

Getting 40 points every week would be a lot more annoying, but that is almost never needed. PG have accepted that they need to make the playlist relatively easy to complete and I think the current setup is fine.


Edit: oh, and the recent treasure hunts were a breath of fresh air and great fun to do too.

 

[CarlosRGDias]

TIKTOK FORZA HORIZON: Fit check

 

[Famine]

 

[GTvsForza]

Opening doors in photo mode?

 

[Edax 76]

A radio station dedicated to The Doors? Riders On The Storm in wet season anyone?

 

[UKMikey]

A radio station dedicated to The Doors? Riders On The Storm in wet season anyone?

They could have "break on through to the other side" for those turn 1 pileups along with the official theme tune of the Forza subreddit... People Are Strange.

 

[breyzipp]

Looks like I'm the weirdo for liking the BMW iX.

I like it as well, so we are 2 weirdos then! 😅

I drive a 2022 BMW iX3 M Sport in real life since early Feb 2023 (pic below, from my road trip from Belgium to Croatia last summer) and I have to say the IX in FH5 sounds very similar to my iX3 when I put it in Sport mode, so Playground games replicated that Hans Zimmer acceleration sound pretty accurate! 😎

 

[The_Greaser]

I like it as well, so we are 2 weirdos then!

Actually 3 to be exact. I'm not a fan of the iX itself, but I do like the EV transformation of the iX3. This is what BMW should've used for the X5's base. Not something that looked like an X5, but the CAD program crashed and gave us this.

My other post talked about the Murano CrossCabriolet, and this is what it looks like (photo courtesy of Nissan, source: MotorTrend).

It's elegantly gorgeous-looking, yet every publication here in the U.S. slandered it as an ugly car, visual abomination, and whatever negativity it had associated with. Maybe it needs to be stepped out of the shadows.

 

[WanganDream]

Fun fact: The most popular convertible in Europe this year was the VW T-Roc Conv, not the MX-5.

In other words, the Murano Conv was way ahead of its time.
If this car had been sold during today's crazy crossover boom, it would have been celebrated as a great pioneer, not an ugly oddity.
Personally, I don't think the Murano Conv is cool, but at least it was a unique model born from a unique idea.
It's much better than the bland mass-produced crossovers that exist in today's SUV/crossover boom, which seem to use the same parts except for the front and rear ends.

 

[Populuxe]

I just realized I will never have much more that 143,000,000 credits in this game. Every time I get that much, I buy another 300 SLR and gift it.

 

[Nacho Libre]

I've had a gaming PC for a month now and this week will be the first I've played all the events outside a console. 4K and HDR are nice but playing well above 60 fps (100-110 on average) and the responsiveness that comes with it have been a revelation. As an added bonus, I even installed FH3 there and also plays incredible at high framerates, something that is not possible even in my Series X.