Forza Horizon 5: General Discussion

[-Fred-]

There's a livestream tomorrow at 10:00 PT from PG studios, going more in detail I suppose.

I didn't want to get hyped up, but then it happened anyway.

 

[YoungRhombus]

I'm frankly pretty happy with what has been shown so far. The new game modes seem pretty promising, the game looks gorgeous as usual, the cars revealed in the trailer are awesome, and the map looks stunning as well. I'm excited to see more variation in the map and biomes this time around that I felt FH4 really lacked.

I also think the new game modes are going to help tremendously in increasing the longevity of the game since that's what I think Horizon 4 lacks most. To me it also seems like the engine sounds are improved based on the cars we've seen (The Jesko still sounds off but at least it's different). I'm excited for what we hear next about the game. I just worry that PG has shown their entire hand already in terms of new features and content coming to the game.

Horizon 4 is already a pretty good game, and I think it makes sense to make this next game more evolutionary than revolutionary. If it's FH4 with a bigger and better map, better content delivery, more gameplay options, a fresh car list, more game stability, and better engine sounds, then it could easily be the best in the series yet. My main hope is that they worry less about the gimmicky superfluous features and actually provide substantial gameplay options for all types of players. EventLab sounds like what Super 7 and Horizon Blueprint were meant to be, and a story campaign mode sounds interesting as well.

TL;DR, I'm pretty excited for this one, and the trailer exceeded my expectations by quite a bit. I hope this game can piece together the existing good pieces from FH4, clean out the bugs and unnecessary gimmicks, and piece the old and new together in a consistent and definitive Horizon experience.

 

[willbsn13]

 

[A_Spud]

It took me some time to recognise that thing besides the 720S in the trailer. But then it sank in. It's that dang XJR-15.

I... I just couldn't believe that we are finally getting it featured in a modern racing game!

 

[drouid2]

any1 noticed the new Porsche in the trailer? its a Taycan. hopefully we get a 400z proto and the gr cars too

 

[TealYellowOwl]

I genuinely hope that FH5 solves many of the shortcomings FH4 had, which i'm going to cite some of them.

First of all, Playground Games (PG) should look for a solution to encourage players to use a wider variety of vehicles in Online Adventure (OA) mode. Restricting OA championships to just PI classes encourage players to look for the best performing cars in their respective classes and stick to them.

For this one, PG should ramdomize championship's restrictions, such as:

1) Manufacturer brand
2) Country of origin
3) Drivetrain type
4) Car category (including Horizon Specials)
5) Decade
6) Price

Secondly, PG should rework Drivatar difficulty from scratch. Right now, difficulty levels only affect how much Drivatars will get an extra power boost (read: cheat). Make Drivatars drive harder the higher the difficulty is selected. They should also get rid of rubberbanding, because nothing says closer and fair racing like punishing genuinely good Horizon players by granting Drivatar massive ammounts of power boost.

Thirdly, PG should stop favouring engine/drivetrain swapped builds in detriment of purist builds. Stop punishing purist tuners with less power/acceleration just because they refused to V8-swap a Skyline GT-R, just to give you an example.

And last of all, bring back D/C-Class racing in Online Adventure. Granted, they're slow classes, but that doesn't mean we should be deprived of slower races in Online Adventure.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

It took me some time to recognise that thing besides the 720S in the trailer. But then it sank in. It's that dang XJR-15.

I... I just couldn't believe that we are finally getting it featured in a modern racing game!

Oh yeah, I saw that too.

Man, that's going to be one of my primary drives to buy this game.

In which, I think it's about time I buy a Xbox Series X. I know this game is going to be cross-gen, but I think my original Xbox One is showing it's age and I really need to upgrade from it. It has a hard time reading discs now.

 

[Populuxe]

UE pre-ordered. Now to hunt down a Series X and a 4K tv. At least I have almost five months.

 

[A_Spud]

Oh yeah, I saw that too.

Man, that's going to be one of my primary drives to buy this game.

In which, I think it's about time I buy a Xbox Series X. I know this game is going to be cross-gen, but I think my original Xbox One is showing it's age and I really need to upgrade from it. It has a hard time reading discs now.

That baby's going to be my primary on-road car... which is only natural after spending hours swooning at its NFS3 showcase as a wee lad.

And yes, reckon this is finally a good time to get new-gen consoles. Seems we are just starting to get good games for 'em this year.

 

[Minty]

Lots to unpack in this

Forget everything else, at 2:53 we see a McLaren putting the top down with animations to go with.

But actually though, I'm pretty excited to play the game and explore a whole new world. The environments show look like they're visually interesting enough to hold my attention longer than H4 did(and that kept my attention for a long time, so that's saying something).

 

[willbsn13]

Q: How many cars can players collect in the game?
A: Forza Horizon 5 will feature hundreds of the world’s greatest cars. We will have more information on Garage capacity coming later this year.

Usually with Forza games they give a specific number of cars.

FH2 was 200, FH3 was 350, FH4 450. Here it's just "hundreds of cars"

Obviously we'll hear more in the coming months but curious to see what the final count ends up being. FH4 currently has 750+ cars in it

Anyone have any predictions?

 

[Scaff]

I've already said this in another thread, but it's worth repeating.

Steam launch from day 1, no messing about with the Xbox store for PC players, already listed and I've added it to my wishlist.

"Q: With Forza Horizon 5 launching Day One on Steam and Windows 10, how can PC players get the most out of the game?
A: We’re excited to be bringing Forza Horizon 5 to players on both Windows 10 and Steam at launch. We will have more to share on PC requirements and features later this year."

https://support.forzamotorsport.net/hc/en-us/articles/4402249796243-Forza-Horizon-5-Announce-FAQ

 

[Northstar]

I'm happy it will be on Steam day 1, I don't have any issue with other storefronts, but it's nice to have all my games in 1 spot.

 

[Populuxe]

Radio stations: I expect we’ll get the usual Horizon curated stations like Pulse, Block Party, XS, and Bass Arena. I’m hoping we get a return of Don Sullivan’s wonderfully grumpy djing at Timeless FM. I would really like to have Hospital Records return as well. Chris Goss and London Elektricity have been around since Nice was the big city. They’re like old friends now. In fact I would love for all the DJs to return if possible. I would like to see more record label curated stations like in FH2 and 3. And there needs to be a couple of Mexican radio stations. We need one that focuses on more traditional Mexican folk music, and another channel that’s like Mexican border radio from the 1960s. Lots of surf, garage, rock-a-billy, and early rock. So, like, ten stations:
Pulse
Block Party
XS
Bass Arena
Timeless FM
Hospital Records
Record Label station 2
Record Label station 3
Mexican folk station
XFH Border Radio

 

[YoungRhombus]

Radio stations: I expect we’ll get the usual Horizon curated stations like Pulse, Block Party, XS, and Bass Arena. I’m hoping we get a return of Don Sullivan’s wonderfully grumpy djing at Timeless FM. I would really like to have Hospital Records return as well. Chris Goss and London Elektricity have been around since Nice was the big city. They’re like old friends now. In fact I would love for all the DJs to return if possible. I would like to see more record label curated stations like in FH2 and 3. And there needs to be a couple of Mexican radio stations. We need one that focuses on more traditional Mexican folk music, and another channel that’s like Mexican border radio from the 1960s. Lots of surf, garage, rock-a-billy, and early rock. So, like, ten stations:
Pulse
Block Party
XS
Bass Arena
Timeless FM
Hospital Records
Record Label station 2
Record Label station 3
Mexican folk station
XFH Border Radio

This is another thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post. Maybe Monstercat Radio as one of the record labels? What other iconic record labels would fit Horizon? Maybe Island Records or something like that?

Forza Horizon 4's soundtrack was good, but I wouldn't call it great. The heavy censorship didn't help things either. I think the soundtrack should really return to its roots with the 3 core stations (as in the music present on them should be more similar to Horizon 1), and I definitely agree that some kind of Mexican folk station and Border Radio would be a great idea to include in the game.

Also to prevent a pseudo-double-post, in response to Northstar's post below, I was thinking around 600 cars at launch as well. I do expect them to scale back at least some of the British cars on the list as they did with the Australian ones in FH4, but I hope to see the majority of FH4's car list come over.

 

[Northstar]

I certainly hope there is at least 1 Mexican station, I can't speak a word of Spanish but I would be lying if I said a part of me doesn't enjoy listening to it when someone is playing it at work.

Usually with Forza games they give a specific number of cars.

FH2 was 200, FH3 was 350, FH4 450. Here it's just "hundreds of cars"

Obviously we'll hear more in the coming months but curious to see what the final count ends up being. FH4 currently has 750+ cars in it

Anyone have any predictions?

I'm fully expecting some cars to get cut solely so they have something to add via seasonal events from day 1, so I'm predicting 600 cars at launch.

 

[willbsn13]

Some better clear versions of the car sounds from FH5 gameplay demo.

I certainly hope there is at least 1 Mexican station, I can't speak a word of Spanish but I would be lying if I said a part of me doesn't enjoy listening to it when someone is playing it at work.

I'm fully expecting some cars to get cut solely so they have something to add via seasonal events from day 1, so I'm predicting 600 cars at launch.

I agree. I think 550-600 is where its going to be. Obviously the more the better but 550-600 will be plenty, + who knows how many we'll end up after a couple of years of content. Maybe 900+?

 

[LumpiestFish]

Really surprised at how many new cars they revealed in the trailer, I feel like the last few games only revealed one or two new cars, whereas this trailer just showcased hit after hit.

Have hardly played FH4 in the last year or so, but couldn’t help but get hyped after watching the trailer.

 

[TheAdmiester]

I'm seeing self reflections on cars that clearly aren't in Forzavista scenarios:

FH4 never had this despite it having screen space reflections - this must mean that either photo mode also receives ray tracing, or they've finally applied SSR to the cars this time around. Both of those are a bit gain for visual fidelity.

 

[Populuxe]

This is another thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post. Maybe Monstercat Radio as one of the record labels? What other iconic record labels would fit Horizon? Maybe Island Records or something like that?

Forza Horizon 4's soundtrack was good, but I wouldn't call it great. The heavy censorship didn't help things either. I think the soundtrack should really return to its roots with the 3 core stations, and I definitely agree that some kind of Mexican folk station and Border Radio would be a great idea to include in the game.

Also to prevent a pseudo-double-post, in response to Northstar's post below, I was thinking around 600 cars at launch as well. I do expect them to scale back at least some of the British cars on the list as they did with the Australian ones in FH4, but I hope to see the majority of FH4's car list come over.

I’m not aware of Monstercat (I’ll check them out), but I’m thinking there must be some very good record labels in Mexico that would fit the Horizon Festival theme quite well. And a few of those stations should be Spanish language, too. I prefer the four core stations we have now. They cover pop/indie, hip hop/r&b, rock and dance/drum and bass quite well.

The garage limit better start at 1000 cars as a minimum. I don’t know what they were thinking by making it only 500 at FH4’s launch.

 

[ShawnPhillips]

I'm seeing self reflections on cars that clearly aren't in Forzavista scenarios:

FH4 never had this despite it having screen space reflections - this must mean that either photo mode also receives ray tracing, or they've finally applied SSR to the cars this time around. Both of those are a bit gain for visual fidelity.

Those definitely are not ScreenSpace Reflections. They might have just enabled RT reflections for the sake of the Trailer. Or the PC version will have the option to enable it during gameplay. The face of the Wing mirror is not visible to the camera yet you can see it in the reflection, That is not possible with SSR.

EDIT: Just rewatched the Gameplay Demo video and those self reflections are not present during the active gameplay.

 

[YoungRhombus]

I’m not aware of Monstercat (I’ll check them out), but I’m thinking there must be some very good record labels in Mexico that would fit the Horizon Festival theme quite well. And a few of those stations should be Spanish language, too. I prefer the four core stations we have now. They cover pop/indie, hip hop/r&b, rock and dance/drum and bass quite well.

The garage limit better start at 1000 cars as a minimum. I don’t know what they were thinking by making it only 500 at FH4’s launch.

I apologize, let me clarify the 3 core stations thing. I was implying that the 3 original stations from FH1 should have music more similar to what they did then. I'm all for more music stations and the more music we have, the better. That's my mistake for not being more clear about what I was saying, haha.

 

[Terronium-12]

Why is there no b-roll? I need direct capture footage so I can see all of the detail.

 

[Populuxe]

Why is there no b-roll? I need direct capture footage so I can see all of the detail.

I suspect there is going to be plenty of that coming out of tomorrow’s live stream.

I apologize, let me clarify the 3 core stations thing. I was implying that the 3 original stations from FH1 should have music more similar to what they did then. I'm all for more music stations and the more music we have, the better. That's my mistake for not being more clear about what I was saying, haha.

It’s all good. I mean, I don’t know if I 100% agree, but I appreciate where you’re coming from.

 

[TheAdmiester]

The face of the Wing mirror is not visible to the camera yet you can see it in the reflection, That is not possible with SSR.

It is, a lot of implementations of SSR repeat frequently used colours to fill in the gaps of faces that aren't visible to the camera. Most of the mirror is dark so it makes sense that an SSR filter might fill in the gaps convincingly.

 

[Terronium-12]

I certainly hope there is at least 1 Mexican station, I can't speak a word of Spanish but I would be lying if I said a part of me doesn't enjoy listening to it when someone is playing it at work.

I was about to say something extremely similar. I'm definitely tuning to the Mexican station for the sake of authenticity. Might even start dancing, who knows.

 

[McLaren]

I'm seeing self reflections on cars that clearly aren't in Forzavista scenarios:

FH4 never had this despite it having screen space reflections - this must mean that either photo mode also receives ray tracing, or they've finally applied SSR to the cars this time around. Both of those are a bit gain for visual fidelity.

Is this effect being cast by the sun on the AMG's left intake part of that? Maybe I've been oblivious, but I've never seen it that pronounced/bright in previous titles.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I'm seeing self reflections on cars that clearly aren't in Forzavista scenarios:

FH4 never had this despite it having screen space reflections - this must mean that either photo mode also receives ray tracing, or they've finally applied SSR to the cars this time around. Both of those are a bit gain for visual fidelity.

I think this could be something baked in, similar to the windshield reflections in the cockpit view. I don't see how this could be SSR (the wing mirror) as it is reflecting something not visible to the screen. I looked for RTR in the 3rd person footage and didn't see it...looks like cube maps again. I'm certain DF will do an analysis in the next few days.

Is this effect being cast by the sun on the AMG's left intake part of that? Maybe I've been oblivious, but I've never seen it that pronounced/bright in previous titles.

The presentation definitely has more "balls" than the previous game. It looks sharper and punchier.

 

[RazorSharkz]

If we don't get "Mexican Radio" by Wall Of Voodoo on the Alt Rock station then that's a huge missed opportunity. Amazing song, great for driving and would fit the location.

Actually with how modern alt radio completely ignores the 80s ever happening I doubt it but I think it would be cool.

 

[ScottPuss20]

I've already said this in another thread, but it's worth repeating.

Steam launch from day 1, no messing about with the Xbox store for PC players, already listed and I've added it to my wishlist.

"Q: With Forza Horizon 5 launching Day One on Steam and Windows 10, how can PC players get the most out of the game?
A: We’re excited to be bringing Forza Horizon 5 to players on both Windows 10 and Steam at launch. We will have more to share on PC requirements and features later this year."

https://support.forzamotorsport.net/hc/en-us/articles/4402249796243-Forza-Horizon-5-Announce-FAQ

Hooray! I won't need to stuff around in the Windows Store!