Create a new cannonball style race mode whereby instead of ‘drawing’ the route in blueprint builder, you simply place checkpoints on the map and it is up to the players to figure out the best route. Think Trailblazer but with multiple checkpoints.
There would be no driveline, just a distance marker if the checkpoint is in front of you (like in normal races) and a clue in the corner of the screen (e.g. “Head to La Gran Caldera” or “Head to Ek’ Balam”) . If you are reset you will be spawned back at the previously passed checkpoint. The race ends when all (or at least the majority of) players have crossed the finish, no DNF timer after just the first player crosses it. Player position during the race would be based on the number of checkpoints passed and the distance to the next checkpoint.
Inspired by ‘Gfred’ as made popular by Broughy1322 in GTA Online (What Is Gfred? - GTA Discussion №82 - YouTube), as I have tried to recreate similar races to this in FH4 and FH5 with the checkpoints widely spread out but it is quite difficult because if the game thinks you have missed a checkpoint you will automatically be reset (and possibly get stuck in a reset loop) depending on the checkpoint placement, which drastically reduces the routes available around the map.
There could also be different variations of the mode:
- Standard, where players must hit predetermined checkpoints in sequence and are able to see all checkpoints on the map during and prior to the race.
- Explorer, where players hit predetermined checkpoints in any order and are able to see all checkpoints on the map during and prior to the race. The start and finish points would remain the same only the checkpoints between can be hit in a different order, this would enable blueprints to be used on both standard and explorer modes.
- Wild, where players must hit randomly generated checkpoints and are only able to see the starting point prior to the race and only see the next checkpoint during the race. The host would simply select the number of checkpoints when setting the race up.
There should also be a car selection option (owned, stock or random): either allowing players to select one of their owned vehicles from a set theme (as with normal races), or select a stock vehicle from a set theme, or be randomly assigned a stock vehicle from a set theme.
Traffic should be able to be toggled on/off (props would not necessarily be needed as the map would just appear as it does in freeroam).
I think this would be a really fun race mode, allowing players to create lots of interesting routes quickly and easily by just placing the checkpoints on the map rather than drawing them in blueprint builder, or just jump straight in with the random/wild mode. I can’t see it being too difficult to implement either as it is essentially just a standard race but without the driving line and the mechanics which allow the game to detect if you have missed a checkpoint.
