Support NeoGAF

[drugstore_cowboy]

Didn't mind the offroad at all, wasn't always clear where I was supposed to be going but it made a nice change.

 

[Shortt Sirket]

Some specific comments on the offroad racing (meaning cross country, not the dirt trails), which might be the worst in genre.

It would basically require you to be absolutely 100% on the racing line to keep things together, and even then there were no guarantees. Deviate at all and you can easily end up massively off course for your next big turn, and due to the astoundingly shitty traction it was super easy to be unable to properly correct your course without massively slowing down, which wasn't really an option since even on the lowest skill settings the other cars were super competitive for some reason (opposite of street races in the rain, where you could do pro skill/no assists/with damage and win by 15 seconds) so you had to keep speed up to max.

Thing is, going off course is super easy because the racing line is buried under all kinds of shit most of the time. And even if you can keep together to the next checkpoint, often being a bit off put you on some odd slope that made your car go waaaay slower than directly over the racing line, which was apparently along the most even path. Ridiculously, I found the best method for keeping your car from losing grip and oversteering (which happens even while just going straight on flat ground sometimes) is rapidly switching between steering left and right, which doesn't make any sense and should fuck you up.

But then even perfect adherence to the racing line was no guarantee. There are plenty of times that you'll just be flatly going straight and a random bump would send your car flipping or blasting wildly off-course, or a certain jump would make particular models of car do a slow half front flip to land on their roof, or bump to barrel roll or rotate. And this overall shitty play means it is only worse when other cars decide to bump into and push you, fucking you both up for no reason. I actually saw tons of CPU cars miss the checkpoints (and not get penalized) and fly off-course and crash into trees and do flips. That shouldn't happen.

One could say that is because it's not really the programmed AI's fault but the humans who modeled their drivatars, but what does that tell you about your offroad gameplay when they never do these things on road unless you intentionally push them around and always do it in offroad? Sure enough, if you play online you can immediately see the difference very clearly. Offroad races are a complete madhouse, and not in a good way. They are just an absurd mess, and sometimes seemingly intentionally sadistic in their design.

For example, one time we were flying downhill through a wheat field with hay bales. A turn was coming up, but because you had to maintain control while avoiding the bales you couldn't really keep track of the minimap, necessary as the wheat hid the driving line. The turn and checkpoint were actually hidden behind a farmhouse and EVERYONE missed it. I was fortunate because I went on the outside and so I saw it well enough to start braking (way too late, naturally). So after basically stopping I was just getting to turn towards it, which would get me to 2nd or 3rd because others passed ahead of the checkpoint, but a guy t-boned me at 180mph. I went flying and was utterly fucked, and guess who the only person below me at the end was? Yeah, him.

Aside from the shitty physics, often barely visible driving line, the need to stay within like a 2 inch deviation from said driving line, tons of random shit to dodge even though you have the least capacity for quick movements, obscured vision of anything from the extreme hill angles and plants, bumps that fuck you over even when you're going perfectly just because of your particular car model (and it's not the spec, I have built all sorts of suspensions/drivetrains/transmissions/tires to test shit) and insane CPU competitors, there is just the general fact there is no track. That is supposed to be an exciting thing, being wild and free, but in the end it actually shits all over the whole concept of racing.

Everything that racing is, that makes it exciting and a sport, basically boils down to momentum, traction, defined turn boundaries, and your reads and choices. When you remove boundaries, yet remove leeway for deviance from a line, sabotage all concept of traction or constants, introduce chaotic random obstacles, and add many visual hindrances to the ability to discern what is required to make informed choices, you have killed racing. If I were doing a review, the shittiness of this side of things and the fact you are forced to do it so often would easily knock off 30% of my score, and I don't plan to get the next Horizon game due to this and various other issues with the open world design.

It's a shame, because there is a ton of good in the game. If it just gave more options and genuinely allowed me to choose what kind of experiences I wanted to partake in, I probably would have ended up a huge fan of it. As it is, I eagerly await Forza 6 so I can experience in perpetuity the kind of fun that this game only made me dream of having while never fully delivering. Aside from needing to offer these options, they just need to overhaul the massive mess that is the offroad. Play other games with offroad and take notes, because they are all better, even some open world action games not committed to racing.

#church

Fuck Cross Country races.

 

[Dice]

#church

Fuck Cross Country races.

Exhibit A
Exhibit B

For some reason the first one has a shitty framerate after I edited it down. Anyway, you can't replicate this shit if you try. You drive over the same spot in the same way and nothing happens. This is why playing cross country without rewind (a.k.a. online) is insanity.

Bonus for fun, I was being a dick around town and this happened, lmao.

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

I like the cross country races in FH2 as well. Maybe it requires a particular mindset because you can definitely be handed a raw deal.

But I don't know about the not being able to replicate crashes. I've never been unable to recreate a crash when I've tried using rewind.

 

[Shortt Sirket]

Exhibit A
Exhibit B

For some reason the first one has a shitty framerate after I edited it down. Anyway, you can't replicate this shit if you try. You drive over the same spot in the same way and nothing happens. This is why playing cross country without rewind (a.k.a. online) is insanity.

Bonus for fun, I was being a dick around town and this happened, lmao.

My favorite thing is when the AI cars just completely ignore the required checkpoints and yet somehow don't get penalized for it at all.

The only thing that has made the Cross Country races bearable for me is to create a car in every class JUST for the CC races. It is maxed out completely, all rally upgrades and rally tires. I just pull that out when the stupid CC race comes on and I just scream my way to the end as quickly and crazily as possible.

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

Yeah. AI going around checkpoint markers is frustrating.

What's even more infuriating is that I've come across ghosts in Rivals (mostly cross country but one street track I know of as well) where the driver has used a similar exploit, and I can't duplicate it.

 

[BIGT468]

The only thing that has made the Cross Country races bearable for me is to create a car in every class JUST for the CC races. It is maxed out completely, all rally upgrades and rally tires. I just pull that out when the stupid CC race comes on and I just scream my way to the end as quickly and crazily as possible.

Totally agree on this point, I am no fan of cross country races but once I started doing this they became tolerable.

 

[Shortt Sirket]

Totally agree on this point, I am no fan of cross country races but once I started doing this they became tolerable.

What's up big Perm, I mean Worm! Where ya been?

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

August DLC is up: Playground Select Car Pack

2015 Volvo S60 Polestar
1969 Dodge Charger Daytona HEMI
1997 McLaren F1 GT
1978 Ford Mustang II King Cobra
1952 Fiat 8V Supersonic
1986 Honda Civic Si

That’s right, in celebration of Gamescom 2015, the Playground Select Car pack is free until August 11. To collect your free car pack, just go to the Forza Hub app for Xbox One, click on the “Playground Select Car Pack” story, then click the “Get it Free” button on the first page of the story. From there, you’ll be taken to the Xbox Live Marketplace where you can download the pack for free. Note that if you go to the Xbox Live Marketplace and find the offer by any other method, you will see the pack, but you won’t be able to redeem the pack. The only way to get the pack between August 4 and August 11 is via the Forza Hub app on Xbox One. After August 11, the pack will be available for sale for $5 on the Xbox Marketplace.

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

Awesome!

 

[Shortt Sirket]

August DLC is up: Playground Select Car Pack

Damn, thats legit.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I think the F1 GT might be geared for interplanetary travel: 180 mph in 4th is fairly nuts, but the almighty S70/2 just shrugs it off and gets on with it. What a car-- and fully remodeled, too. Yet another of Forza's 'standard cars,' (as someone aptly dubbed them), finally gets put out to pasture.

Also, kudos to T10/PG's car curating team; it's nice when a game can introduce you to a wonderful oldie like the Fiat Supersonic. Good stuff all around in this pack, and all the others!

 

[witness]

Fuck yes on the King Cobra addition. It was such a hated car in its time, that I love to make it a little badass. Street tires, wide ass rear tires with torque thrust rims, dropped to the street suspension and engine upgraded to 200hp. It handles so good and looks great. Only thing is I wish you could swap in an actual Mustang engine into it and not a 6.2 GM engine. My ideal swap options would be the 69 Boss 302, modern 5.0, and to be unique the Ecoboost 2.3L. I expect Forza 6 to rectify the situation. Still love that little car regardless.

 

[Shortt Sirket]

New Car Pack?

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

New Car Pack?

I think it's free. I updated and all the cars are available in-game for free.

 

[dLMN8R]

I'm coming to this game just now but there are many things about it which are confusing me. I'm playing through all the championships with a few diversions to Bucket List races and such, but feel like I'm missing something.

Just some random possibly unrelated questions.

1) When picking a car for a new championship, it's absurdly annoying that DLC cars for real money are mixed in with everything else. There's no way to turn this off, right? I don't want to buy any cars with real money. I just want to easily sort through cars I can buy for credits and compare them.

2) I keep filtering out online races on my map but next time I start the game they're back. I'm not interested in playing online now. How can I filter this stuff out for good?

3) Seems like cars are pretty much throw-away right now since you're changing classes for each championship and the car you bought for the previous one can't be used anymore. What am I missing? What else can I do with those cars that I bought for credits?

4) The GPS navigation seems totally fucked at times. For example, I just did the road trip to San Giovinni and the GPS route they gave me was 4-5 miles longer than it needed to be since it made some gigantic unnecessary loop around. I just went as a bird flies and it worked perfectly. Is that intentional or is something really screwed up?

 

[JackAubrey]

3) Seems like cars are pretty much throw-away right now since you're changing classes for each championship and the car you bought for the previous one can't be used anymore. What am I missing? What else can I do with those cars that I bought for credits?

One of the points of all the tuning in Forza games is it enables you to run a car you like in lots of different classes. There are so many different events on the event list - and you can run the same car in lots of them with different tuning parts.

What else can you do with those cars? Drive them, tune them, paint them, explore, have fun with them, race AI cars that are cruising around, take photos.

Forza games aren't a linear experience. They are a sandbox. If you are viewing the game as a "I bought this car, used it, now I need a different car for the next race" experience, you're not taking advantage of the kind of game this is - would be the same for Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport etc.

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

I'm coming to this game just now but there are many things about it which are confusing me. I'm playing through all the championships with a few diversions to Bucket List races and such, but feel like I'm missing something.

Just some random possibly unrelated questions.

1) When picking a car for a new championship, it's absurdly annoying that DLC cars for real money are mixed in with everything else. There's no way to turn this off, right? I don't want to buy any cars with real money. I just want to easily sort through cars I can buy for credits and compare them.

2) I keep filtering out online races on my map but next time I start the game they're back. I'm not interested in playing online now. How can I filter this stuff out for good?

3) Seems like cars are pretty much throw-away right now since you're changing classes for each championship and the car you bought for the previous one can't be used anymore. What am I missing? What else can I do with those cars that I bought for credits?

4) The GPS navigation seems totally fucked at times. For example, I just did the road trip to San Giovinni and the GPS route they gave me was 4-5 miles longer than it needed to be since it made some gigantic unnecessary loop around. I just went as a bird flies and it worked perfectly. Is that intentional or is something really screwed up?

1. Can't hide DLC cars unfortunately. I've bought all FH2 DLC, but this would bug me otherwise. PG does give you one freebie per pack, so that may be part of the reasoning beyond the obvious.

2. Map filters don't persist. This is definitely another QOL feature that should be there.

3. There are at least 6 championships (one per area) in which you can race a car you've purchased.

4. At this point, I feel like you're missing the point or just don't appreciate it.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find the fastest path. You're really going to be behind the 8-ball playing online if you just follow the GPS.

 

[dLMN8R]

Thanks guys.

Yeah I always go off-GPS during races, I was just wondering about the road trips which have no consequences or competition.

 

[Jube3]

I made a timelapse video to a Sunset Overdrive paint that I have up for share. It's also on the Ford Ranger T6 with a different layout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok05emilmNM

 

[TheKeyPit]

^
Impressive work :O

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

Car pass is on sale for $15.

 

[W.S.]

I made a timelapse video to a Sunset Overdrive paint that I have up for share. It's also on the Ford Ranger T6 with a different layout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok05emilmNM

That's awesome man, I'll definitely give that a download.

 

[shadewolf]

I've been itching for an arcadey racing game recently (had a blast with FH2: Fast & Furious) and am looking to pick this up, but it doesn't seem that it goes on sale very often.

It can be had for $40 after GCU @ Best Buy, but the digital Ultimate 10th Anniversary edition is on sale this week for 35% off: https://store.xbox.com/en-US/Xbox-O...-Edition/80f2ffb5-f56a-4a2e-a045-ccccfd6ada81

You guys think all of that DLC is worth the $20?

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

I bought all of the DLC for this game at full price, so I do think it's worth it. But I also think it comes down to how much you'll get out of the extra cars.

If you're just going to play through this game once and move on, then no, it's probably not worth it.

If you'll get into playing online, testing the various cars, trying to beat your laps and so forth, then yeah, definitely.

Keep in mind this edition doesn't include Storm Island, which is the best DLC for FH2 and actually has new singleplayer content. It's $20 normally but has been on sale for $10.

 

[shadewolf]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not sure how much I'll get into playing online, I doubt much, but the added cars do interest me.

I think I'm going to spend a little more time with FH2:FF and see if that satisfies me enough to save my money.

 

[jesu]

Just posting to say it's still lively as fuck online, been getting 10 player online games no bother tonight.
Just remember to mute everyone, that fella and his wife pretending to have sex put me right off my Ferrari, then they opened a packet of crisps???

 

[Leonsito]

Is there an achievement for the blue wristband?

I just got it and I didn't get it, also it doesn't show in the list of achievements I got, and neither in the achievements I don't have yet.

I searched online and people say there is an achievement for it

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

Check TrueAchievements, but I'm pretty sure there isn't a cheevo for the blue wristband.

...then they opened a packet of crisps???

Healthier than smoking.

 

[Leonsito]

Check TrueAchievements, but I'm pretty sure there isn't a cheevo for the blue wristband.



Healthier than smoking.

Thank you, I found my error while looking for info, Xbox One and Xbox 360 wristbands achievements have some differences:

Wristbands (Yellow/Green/Pink/Purple/Gold vs Yellow/Blue/Purple/Bronze/Gold)

 

[BADNED]

The Fast & Furious Car Pack is now also available for FH2 and costs $10.

Includes:
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport C2 “Fast & Furious” Edition
1968 Dodge Charger “Fast & Furious” Edition
1969 Dodge Charger Daytona HEMI “Fast & Furious” Edition
1970 Ford Escort RS1600 “Fast & Furious” Edition
2001 Honda S2000 “Fast & Furious” Edition
1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS “Fast & Furious” Edition
2002 Nissan Fairlady Z “Fast & Furious” Edition
1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) “Fast & Furious” Edition
2014 Terradyne Gurkha LAPV “Fast & Furious” Edition
1995 Toyota Supra RZ “Fast & Furious” Edition

 

[Shortt Sirket]

The Fast & Furious Car Pack is now also available for FH2 and costs $10.

Includes:
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport C2 “Fast & Furious” Edition
1968 Dodge Charger “Fast & Furious” Edition
1969 Dodge Charger Daytona HEMI “Fast & Furious” Edition
1970 Ford Escort RS1600 “Fast & Furious” Edition
2001 Honda S2000 “Fast & Furious” Edition
1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS “Fast & Furious” Edition
2002 Nissan Fairlady Z “Fast & Furious” Edition
1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) “Fast & Furious” Edition
2014 Terradyne Gurkha LAPV “Fast & Furious” Edition
1995 Toyota Supra RZ “Fast & Furious” Edition

Oh wow, that was unexpected. Might have to check it out.

 

[witness]

The Fast & Furious Car Pack is now also available for FH2 and costs $10.

Includes:
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport C2 “Fast & Furious” Edition
1968 Dodge Charger “Fast & Furious” Edition
1969 Dodge Charger Daytona HEMI “Fast & Furious” Edition
1970 Ford Escort RS1600 “Fast & Furious” Edition
2001 Honda S2000 “Fast & Furious” Edition
1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS “Fast & Furious” Edition
2002 Nissan Fairlady Z “Fast & Furious” Edition
1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) “Fast & Furious” Edition
2014 Terradyne Gurkha LAPV “Fast & Furious” Edition
1995 Toyota Supra RZ “Fast & Furious” Edition

OK that's terrific.

 

[witness]

OK bought the car pack, probably my favorite one released for FH2. The cars just fit in so well with the game. The fact that these cars are (of course) integrated into championships unlike FM6 and do not need to be upgraded further to be competitive, makes it so superior than what was offered in FM6. The Escort RS is fucking incredible and might be my favorite car in the game. It's so fast, light, and just wants to constantly drift. So much fun.

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

It does seem that pack fits FH2 better than FM6.

I do want to try the Gurkhas in FH2 at some point, but it's just bad timing game-wise.

First Forza pack I've passed on since the release of the XB1, but I'll snag it eventually, hopefully on sale.

 

[Stackboy]

Is it safe to assume we will get another Forza Horizon title next year? Every 2 years seems about right.

Forza Horizon 2 is still my fave arcade racer to play this year.

 

[JackAubrey]

I hope we get one in 2016 - and I'm hoping we finally get some snow and mountains.

 

[Lima]

I hope we get one in 2016 - and I'm hoping we finally get some snow and mountains.

Japan would be so perfect for this.

Amazing city stuff and mountain roads with snow. God damn that would be amazing.

 

[Stackboy]

Japan would be so perfect for this.

Amazing city stuff and mountain roads with snow. God damn that would be amazing.

I would be up for Japan!

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

Seeing all these nice deals on the game made me fired it up again and made me want to buy Storm Island...finally !!

However it still shows up in the Xbox Store at 19,99$, even though I have the VIP Pass and suppose to have 50% off ! Anybody else had that?

Yeah. That issue affected a lot of people when Storm Island released. I though T10 fixed it.

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

Maybe try PMing Helios? The other thing is that S.I. has been on sale for $10 recently, so maybe wait for it to go on sale again if you don't get help.

 

[nikos]

Finally got another Xbox One, so this has to be my first purchase.

Should I go for the standard edition for $25, or ultimate for $45? I have $10 in Microsoft store credit that I may use towards it and $15 sounds a lot more appealing than $35, even though it's the same difference

If the extra content is worth it, I'll definitely go for it.

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

The extra content is nice, but it's all cars. If you're someone who's going to play through the sp campaign once and then move on, it's probably not worth it.

Also, the F&F and Porsche expansions aren't included, and one car from each car pack is free for download for all.

One reason to get the Ultimate or the Deluxe (which is only $35) is the VIP pass, which gives you a 50% discount on Storm Island, FH2's only must-have DLC imho.

But it's worth mentioning that some people are having trouble with that discount kicking in.

 

[nikos]

Thanks! I ended up going with the Ultimate Edition. Really enjoying the game so far, no regrets yet!

 

[Stop It]

I bought the standard edition but I'm happy.

The game is amazing. It has hooked me more than any other Xbox One game so far (I was given my Xbox as an early Xmas present by my partner). Currently using the Rivals Challenges after each race to help my credits and XP.

If anyone wants to add me as a rival I'm StopItOmega and if I work out if my LG phone headset works as a Mic (i think it does) I'll head online too soon.

 

[Dash Kappei]

I bought the standard edition but I'm happy.

The game is amazing. It has hooked me more than any other Xbox One game so far (I was given my Xbox as an early Xmas present by my partner). Currently using the Rivals Challenges after each race to help my credits and XP.

If anyone wants to add me as a rival I'm StopItOmega and if I work out if my LG phone headset works as a Mic (i think it does) I'll head online too soon.

Just grabbed the game, I'll add you later (GT is dashkap)

 

[Ryhian]

Picked up an Xbox during Black Friday pretty much for this game. I'm enjoying it so far. What's the best way to join the GAF group?

GT: The Natu

 

[Demise]

Wow, the grinding is kind of slow in this game.

Anyway, I don't know if it's the best place to ask but is there any way to play your own playlist while playing the game ? Thanks in advance.

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

Anyway, I don't know if it's the best place to ask but is there any way to play your own playlist while playing the game ? Thanks in advance.

Music playlist? No in-game solution. Snap a music player or use a MixAmp or similar device is about it.

 

[Dash Kappei]

OMG Storm Island on sale for $5!

Also car-packs!

C'mon guys get back into the game and hook me up my GT is dashkap just say you're a gaffer or I won't add you