• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Forza Horizon |OT| A Whole New Playground

hwy_61

Banned
There were like, 6 people at my GameStop. Asked one of the reps what they expected for ass creed, they said at least 50.

I'm expecting 100 at best buy. Shit.
 

MisterNoisy

Member
Just picked up my LCE at Gamestop and installing now. If the midnight 'crowd' (5 people total) at my store was any indication, EA is going to be really disappointed with Medal of Honor sales.
 
Gamestop is doing midnight release for this? I am pretty surprised by that. Now I'm tempted to see if one of the two Gamestops near me will be open.
 
A few new toys added to the storefront, make sure it (storefront) will get the proper GAF support :)

8115335862_0bdc7054ce_z.jpg


8115335830_2445ea7519_z.jpg


8115335716_85c64e52a2_z.jpg


That was one hell of a long and tough week for me but after all I was able to make 14 designs :D I hope you guys enjoy them and please enjoy the game.

Cheers, HD
 
Haha, was laying bed at 11:45 and just said fuck it, I'm going down the street to Gamestop to see if they are open. Calling ahead is for suckers! :p

They were open and there were 4 other people. They all bought Medal of Honor. Any chance of getting into the GAF Car Club?
 
So when they do the Halo 4 car, which car will it be?


I hope its the Raptor, closest thing to the Warthog.

This is my first Forza so I'm not sure how the liveries work. Are the official ones free and made available within the game by using in-game currency? Or will I have to use my MSP on them? A Halo 4 car sounds like something I'd enjoy.
 

amar212

Member
Cockpit view is the best with these kinds of open world games. I loved Test Drive Unlimited, which had cockpit views before Forza actually.

Cockpit views in TDU were the best ever on consoles, period. Default position for every car was almost perfect and there was a option to adjust both height and depth of sitting position. Not to even speak about fully animated showrooms for buying cars and those sweet option to choose from colors for interior/exterior and cars startup and way to mess with windows and such. TDU, never to be forgotten.

Forza 4 IBL was fine, the HDR was overdone again, skies and roads blow out and the darks are too fucking dark, all detail is lost. This appears to be corrected on Horizon, I think the game's saturation needs turning down for a more realistic look but the lighting and contrast is very nice and quite natural for once.

I agree, saturation is bit over the top.

Also, regarding "piss-filter" someone mentioned previously - I agree there is none, but game graphics engine have very high default values for yellow colour in white light (6500 Kelvins) and casts the white light (daylight) as horizon light (no pun inteneded :) with 5200K and below. You can see it very easy on the asphalt (on the photos) where there is substantial level of yellow present in what it should be black/grey/white only. I tested it in photoshop for fun and just the basic desaturation of yellow colour cast for 15-20% makes a miracle for overall balance of saturation.

There's really just one feature I wish the game had, a button or toggle to roll down the front windows for better stock engine sounds and for accelerating in tunnels :p . Can't wait for Friday.

Again, TDU. You could roll down the windows and hear the engine perfectly. I managed to find one race so far where default low sounds of engines are killing the complete experience. There is Mini Mania race (or something like that) where you are racing the given car (no mods) and you just can't hear your engine from all other cars around you. Like there is none. It gets worse with Hard/Insane AI level, because then the AI cars are around you for the whole 3 laps and you have no idea about revs/gear from the sounds. 5.1 Surround here BTW. I think they should definitely do something about i.

I have wanted a well designed open world/road racer with sim physics for YEARS! All they need to do is add some more canyon runs, mountain climbs, industrial areas, freeways and a TXR battle system and I might never play another racer again.

The complete area should be bigger. It is decent and I guess nobody will actually brag about it, but it is nowhere close the TDU's one. There is nice variety of terrain and smaller "areas" (like industrial dirt playground or complete Dam-section), but I would really welcome a some "all-around" highway and overall greater map.

Do we HAVE to hear from the radio, or are there other options to find them?

No. Your lovely announcer that provides you with the constant updates depending on your Levelling will always announce the new "Barn Find". I somehow managed to have radio on at one point so BarnFind was also announced on the radio, but it was after she already prompted me with one over voice-comm and corresponding OSD-notice.

"Oh, I know we give games high ratings all the time, but this time we really mean it. Honest." Great way to do reviews, guys.

ISR are joke, their review of Ferrari Racing Legends is the tombstone of their reviewing IMO

A few new toys added to the storefront, make sure it (storefront) will get the proper GAF support :)
8115335862_0bdc7054ce_z.jpg

You are amazing Haterz, can't wait to grab some from you!

And also this..

I find the whole "Horizon" project as something really, really important for the Forza franchise. I think it adds few things to the saturation of the franchise which will be highlighted in days to come.

Many of you probably does not remember how T10 guys (Dan most probably) were extremely keen to find a way to incorporate "COD" mentality into the racing game. COD was the main inspiration for way FM3 handled matchmaking for instance, but I find the Levelling system of Horizon to be a great step ahead in that direction, absolutely inspired by Kudos. I found myself again totally hooked in stringing everything and already managed to Level to 130 despite very short time of play. Great design-choice for the COD generation and I really find it fitting into the overall mentality of the game perfectly.

Another thing it the actual Forza Festival. The future will show, but at this point I am almost confident how at some point there will actually be a real-life Forza Horizon festivals going to appear, probably at US first. I see it as a great way to connect Forza franchise with the real-world of automotive culture, while in the same time it will do a tremendous marketing-push towards people that love cars - in the same way GT Academy is doing for the GT franchise. This could be a different way of doing the same thing, but aimed at the street-racing population that is vast and very focused on their affection. I guess 2013 could be the first year we will hear about it, during the preparations for next-gen.

Overall, I am really enjoying the game. I managed to get used to full 900-steering and it really feels great. It is not a simulation by any instance, but is a damn great simcade racer that takes the best from many worlds and creates a very coherent and vivid own world. Good job Playground guys and gals, I guess you can't wait for the next-gen to start to showcase everything you've imagined for the Horizon universe.
 

dejay

Banned
Copy acquired (first game I've bought in a while)

Oh, and this is MS Australia supporting Horizon on the front of the xbox dash...

yS9wi.jpg
 
Just got back with the game. I'll try and put a a little time in before calling it a night.

Who's the acting gatekeeper for the GAF club? I need in! Some of you punks are due for some Rivals schooling. GT: Sp4ceman Sp1ff

How do you know if you did this correctly? I don't see an actual STM option.

That's the thing, there isn't a visible STM option you can toggle, (oddly I thought there was in videos of earlier builds). Just make sure you select "Expert" difficulty before adjusting the other settings. The difference in the demo wasn't night and day, but certainly noticeable.
 

acm2000

Member
people still bother with midnight launches? that means paying more money to buy from retail rip off store, jesus, wait the extra few hours and save a bundle of dorra
 
And last but not least, something that people were getting crazy over in FM4, almost 2K hits in one day, now after some changes and updates it's ready to strike again.... Available in two version, normal and matte. someone should put that on the PG picks, Jube? ;)

8115479311_e6f4567877_z.jpg
 

The_Monk

Member
Good morning fellow GAFfers, it seems today is going to be a busy day here right?

Getting your copies, installing the game... finding some car on a barn to restore... yeah...

I'll see you all on the roads Friday :(


Also, how does VIP Status work, will you get a random free car every now and then? And thanks for the video derFeef !
 

harrytang

Member
this thread will sustain me while i wait for MS copy to ship. hope to see many photos uploaded throughout the day.

see people posting about forza gaf club but no one responding? hoping to get in as no one else on my friends list will be playing this.

gt: myopicmossberg

thanks!
 
Just played my first 1.5hours or so. Mostly story, spent a bit of time in rivals. It's really fun to set your rival to the number one player for that particular event and try keep up, good way to improve IMO. I'm still a good 15s behind the guy that is first but I started at 25s behind lol.

Really great game. Love the party atmosphere and the music tops it off for me. Just bought myself a Scirocco as they didn't have a late model Golf GTI which is a bit disappointing, I will stick with that for a while as I am a big VW fan. I still plan to buy the earlier model Golf though :D

Does anyone know if you try to join an event that is populated with faster cars whether it will ask you if you would like to auto upgrade for the event?
 

G Rom

Member
Damn, those photos. I really want to have the full version to take some, I'm sure day/night cycle will bring lots of new possibilities.

Also, I know I'm a bit LTTP but congrats for this great OT, Shortt. :)
And H3rTz, you keep on delivering. Great work, as always !
 

Dave_6

Member
A few new toys added to the storefront, make sure it (storefront) will get the proper GAF support :)

8115335862_0bdc7054ce_z.jpg


8115335830_2445ea7519_z.jpg


8115335716_85c64e52a2_z.jpg


That was one hell of a long and tough week for me but after all I was able to make 14 designs :D I hope you guys enjoy them and please enjoy the game.

Cheers, HD

I'm invading your storefront before I even begin playing it tonight! Thanks for all your hard work!
 
Damn, those photos. I really want to have the full version to take some, I'm sure day/night cycle will bring lots of new possibilities.

Also, I know I'm a bit LTTP but congrats for this great OT, Shortt. :)
And H3rTz, you keep on delivering. Great work, as always !

I know you've been busy GRom, but when/if will you be back with some of your photo skills?
 
Top Bottom