Hi All
I’ve been a while away from posting on the forums here, pretty much skipped FM6 and FH3 on the forum side. I have dipped back to get information and having seen the posts I wanted to add my two cents for what its worth and see whether there are other people like me.
Firstly, I plumped for the On Disc Ultimate Edition, I’ve bought all of the equivalent top end editions since Forza 3. Its left me with some likes, some dislikes, but its bought me to the conclusion that this Forza is starting to feel like more of a let down.
What I Like
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Controversially, (probably) I like homologation. I get the point behind it, and as someone who doesn’t tune, it gives me competitive cars at no additional drain on my credits. I do wish that the body modifications, and wheel choice where mitigated in the choice though. Primarily I like to paint cars, and this generally includes for me giving the cars a more ‘racing’ feel to them, be it traditional track racing, drifting, time attack etc. With Homologation I’m limited to the look I’m given or sacrificing the competitive nature of the car for the sake of the bodykit and wheels. Overall though, it hasn’t held me back, the class system comes with its own limitations and foibles, maybe it is time to give it a rework, or maybe we should simply be given the choice, homologate or tune to PI and still go racing. Up to you.
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The look. I know some people have had issues. I know myself I’ve experienced some minor graphical issues, but overall, there is no better looking console based racer for any machine out there. Its not even running at 4k yet, and once it is I can only see it improving. Again there are let downs. Please can we have a brighter homespace, and a better spot for painting in?! I have to say as well, menus wise, I’m most impressed with this game compared to all of its predecessors.
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(OK, brace yourselves). The ‘lootbox’ concept. I am by my own fault and admission, a bit of a chancer. I like the opportunity to open up a crate and see what I might win. As long as it adds to the value for the player I’m all for it. Where I draw the line starts at real currency. I’m glad that so far there are no ‘tokens’ and I hope given time, feedback and common sense the feature might not see the light of day. I know race suits, mods, and the like are a bit of a rip off if they start to eat at your currency for no reward, but personally as long as they are just an addition and not set up to be detrimental to the players ability to play the game in the long term then realistically I’ve no issue. We all asked for some depth and personality in some format, the race suits are one step towards this, and maybe as long as they are kept light and fun it can be a bonus, not a drawback in the long term.
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The racing. I admit the aggression seems to be set back to front, but overall I’ve had some fun, tight races, and its taken me about 12 hours to push the difficulty back up to Unbeatable from Pro. The structure of the career is also my favourite since Forza 4, I like a bit of progression and even having some work to do to actually unlock things. Its a game after all, a challenge is not in and of itself a problem. The difficulty added by the dynamic weather is beautifully implemented, its a genuine challenge to switch up your approach and driving style on the fly and I really enjoy it.
What I don’t like
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The limitations to VIP usage. Its frustrating. It was poorly worded, and the response to change the wording after the fact was a bit underhand and overall not indicative of a company or brand that claims loyalty to its fans. And we are fans. I have played Forza since the very first game, involved myself in its community all be it in a small way. The success of the game lies in its ability to engage us, and to actively acknowledge but not rectify a mistake like this is not the response that a community as dedicated and diehard as this deserves. I hope that this can be rectified.
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The Hoonigan DLC. I bought it for Forza Horizon 3 knowing that I wouldn’t be buying a digital copy, having already preordered my physical copy to get the Porsche model and steelbook. I appreciate I have those items over the people who play digitally, but surely the purchase of the pack in FH3 should extend to both games, as it would have had I preordered digitally. The content is some of the more modern and divisive bits of car culture which I for one enjoy and would like to be able to play with having been teased with it in the build up via FH3.
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The cars in the lootboxes. Slightly contradictory I know. But putting ‘rare’ cars into lootboxes really sucks the fun out of the ‘collecting’ aspect for me. And I like the collection feature, I collect things like Hot Wheels and Trading Cards in real life for just this reason. But in essence I might be in a situation where after a couple of hundred possibilities I don’t get something I really want, say a 32 Ford, and I get 5 of something I don’t particularly want either. There may be Player X who inversely has 5x 32 Fords and desperately wants the exact car I have but thanks to the chance element theres nothing either of us can do about it. I’m perfectly happy in the case of those ‘rare’ cars to have the option to win it randomly or work for it. Maybe the Forzathons and Speciality dealerships will work to eliminate this randomly assigned cars issue, but as it stands it leaves me frustrated to be missing out on some content I genuinely bought the game solely for. If you haven’t guessed I really really REALLY want a 32 Ford. But in all seriousness, I’m happy for the game to say OK, you can win it by chance, or you can do 15 races in a Ford for instance to unlock the chance to buy that car. The current system is just too much of a let down when you are offered things you don’t want.
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The damn paint booth. Simply, allow us to skip through decals, I have a couple of hundred, its taking ages. Also, its too dark, and too wishy washy. Plain White, or Plain Black with a floor was just fine thank you! Also, what is with the .00 OR .05 thing, why can’t I just place things precisely instead of having to hop back and forth with the analogue stick and the D-Pad, its taking twice as long to place anything! Slightly rantier, I can’t back up these arguments, its just frustrating.
Where I am now
Well I’m not really sure. I am enjoying the game overall. It’s nice in a way to be back at square one in a way, I have a new game to play through, and I’m gradually rebuilding my collection of cars, paints, and levels/tiers. Its just the niggles leave me worried for my future in the game and whether this Forza will give me the same 200 to 300 hours that the previous Forza games have given me. If we can get the economy balanced and the ‘loot’ separated from the credits then maybe it has a bit of fight left in it. Otherwise, I think I’ll see out career mode and call it a day.
I’d love to have a discussion about this guys without a scrap as I’ve seen in other topics. Maybe its best to suggest improvements that benefit everyone, not just to drag the whole game and Turn 10 through hot coals. Forza 5 proved that with enough conviction and rational discussion, we can be heard and the game will improve.
Look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Peace, skyline0123