In the Eliminator’s case the natural obstacles in FH4 were the needed equalizer for the mode to make sense. Mexico on the other hand has basically the volcano, the area near Las Ranas and that’s it.
If the flatness of FH5’s map is by design, then it shows their original vision for the Eliminator was even worse than expected. Their idea was to make it depend almost entirely on luck, without any skill involved. Because, in a flat map, like you guys pointed out, whoever has the better car wins 99% of the time. Which is bizarre, because Fortnite, despite being the most played BR, still has a skill-based style of play and players don’t rely entirely on the RNG of the drops.
At this point, why does Playground stick wih Forza? Racing game genre is competitive by nature and involves skill. Give the franchise to a studio that actually enjoys cars and racing, and go make the “everyone let’s be friends” GenZ-catering co-op game you really want to make.
I find the comments they make really strange and I wonder are they just saying that to make the game mode sound better because surely anyone who played the game mode at all could easily see the new map is absolutely awful for it? You’re absolutely right about Fortnite with even grey weaponry capable of quickly killing players in the right hands even against gold weapons and I’ve had plenty of outright wins with blue weapons. In FH5 when there’s little skill in it that takes the fun out of it because you either end up getting hammered by someone you had no chance against because they had a better car or you steamroll another player because you had a better car.
The problem is from the outside PG Games are doing an absolutely incredible job as I’ve seen lots of hugely positive reviews of FH5 and it’s made most of the top ten games of the year and the very best game of the year for some sites as well so if you hadn’t played FH5 you’d think it’s one of the best racing games ever made to be receiving such constant, high praise. Which I find frustrating because it shows how reliable these sites are to judge games but if the game is seen as so good then there’s no need to change and improve it.
What’s irritating is I think the base gameplay of FH5 is extremely good and I love the feel of driving which I think hits a nice balance being not too arcadey but still feels satisfying to play but so much in the game is poorly designed, implemented or just flat out buggy.
A question about the Eliminator while I’m here, how early can you leave the final circle? I noticed people outwith the circle when the countdown expired so tried doing the same but when the counter hit 0 I was immediately eliminated but again today I saw a number of people leave the circle before the countdown expired and kept on going when it hit 0.
Finally finished all the Eliminator accolades so I’m done with this mode thankfully.
I won my second Eliminator yesterday in a Level 5 car the Deberti F-150, pretty slow car compared to the higher levels. I was coming about last out of 6 or 7 but I realised the finish was in the city of Guanajuato. I just followed Anna’s route once I got to the town and sneaked in for first place. The others had raced off ahead and must have run into the outer walls of buildings and then struggled to find their way to the finish.
Ironically both wins yesterday were done without challenging anyone.
Yup, I agree with the previous post about the map. Horizon 4 suited Eliminator better and there was more strategy and map knowledge required.
They could make the eliminator take place on the moon and I still wouldn’t play it other than weekly unless they allow me to play it with friends. I don’t understand why this isn’t a thing. I play with 5 other friends pretty regularly, we all don’t play the eliminator for the same reason. Let us play with friends. I don’t even care if we’re on same team, not on the same team in races so why should that matter
I was thinking a second Eliminator format with teams would be great. Either come in as part of a convoy or have the game assign teams. Once eliminated, you can use the drone view to follow the action.
I’m literally hanging on by a thread. This mode is the only thing even keeping me turning the game on. Already at my wits end having to deal with any type of 2WD car in this mode, then I just get kicked out of the room as the final starts when I’m sitting in a level 10 car. Why even keep playing when I have a heightened chance of winning? But the game decides, nope we’ll just dump you out right here as the final begins. Classy product.
I do like The Elimator and wouldn’t want any massive changes to the actual gameplay as such. It is what it is.
I would like to see some streamlining within the game mode though.
Do away with the first car choice screen as there is only one car to choose from.
This would presumably allow the session to start faster as there wouldn’t up to 70 players dithering about which one of one car to choose and then their preferred start location.
2 Do away with the ability to select a start location.
When starting The Eliminator, the initial start location could be where the player is on the map when the Eliminator session is started.
So the player would have to drive to or fast travel to their preferred location before starting the initial session.
If the players chosen location is out of bounds, a random location would be chosen by the game.
After the first Eliminator game is complete and if the player want’s to continue playing, they would have until the next round starts to get to their preferred start location.
This would make it fairer in that seasoned players wouldn’t be able to spawn on a potential known car locations unless they have driven there in the time before the next game starts.
When a player is eliminated, they can continue to stay in the session and wreak havoc on other players if they want or start another session.
Do away with 2WD cars as most of the terrain requires 4WD to be effective.
The FH4 versions of some of the cars in FH5 Eliminator are absolute garbage (I’m talking to you Camaro and ProTruck).
As other have said sort out the balancing of the vehicles.
Higher 3rd person view/angle as obstacle cannot be seen behind bushes and the like, until you’ve hit them.
Coloured dots on the minimap relating to the level of the car it represents.
That way you could chase down a player in a higher level car if you want a challenge or a lower level car if you want to be a bully. Would also allow low level cars to retreat if an opponent too high a level for them.
Those are off the top of my head, but more to come when I remember.
Get rid of the large words at the start of H2H races and the final showdowns or move them to the top of the screen. They take up so much screen space and for so long that it is hard to see. I am smart enough to know that I need to go and do not need it on my screen for 5 seconds.
Turn off barn finds in the Eliminator. I have wanted to pickup a car near a barn on several locations but the X button wouldn’t work right because it wanted to load the Car Gift option. Who wants to take a break from Eliminator to gift a car?
Make sure to have a few more car drops on the coasts if the first shrinkage is miles away. You shouldn’t be eliminated by the boundary when driving as fast a route to the new area and not seeing any car drops.
Glad to hear it is not just me who is disappointed; sadly, it is dull in comparison to FH4. Main reason as well is that the map is far too open and samey in the middle 80% where most action happens. Almost everything is a tedious straight-line drag race across scrub and when it is near a forest or trees, it is way too random. I enjoyed some final races, but getting there feels like a grind and too much based on luck due to the hidden shacks and trees which are very hard to distinguish from the bushes which surround them. I really hoped it would be great, gave it a good chance and it had its moments, but will be playing FH4 instead.
After 2,500 eliminators on FH4 I still love it because of the varied terrain, roads that must be used, forests, lake and subtle differences between seasons. Tactics can be used as roads sometimes offer a quicker, less risky way than through the forests or over the mountain, but you still have a chance through the woods (not in FH5). The off-road parts are not too bumpy so you can get some good speed up. The town is often used for racing, has wide streets and many routes through it compared Guanajuato (which I have never had a H2H in). Plus the cars are much better balanced. I think it is a perfect game in itself and a genius idea.
Anyway, back to FH5 - I love the idea of using FH4 maps in rotation - that would add needed variety and would be great fun!
Small improvements can be made to but the core of the game will still be sadly compromised due the map:
Balance the car levels/replace some of the rubbish ones like the JCW Buggy, F150, Trackhawk, Chevy
Reduce the ‘slippiness’ of the ground; compared to FH4 or up the TCR - most cars spin out too easily (TCR on) compared to FH4 and it’s very hard to get up hills if you hit something at the bottom. Just adds to the frustration - only the Supra in FH4 was this bad. You could say don’t mash the gas, but then you can’t get up a hill either.
Foliage slows you down too much compared to FH4 - quick cars going slowly is no fun as the sense of speed is lost and there is no risk with being on the edge of control (like on Astmoor in FH4!). As all races are cross-country, it makes it a drudge and doesn’t feel like a race. Even the Mini in FH4 just feels faster when it is going 110 MPH -maybe also something to do with a bigger FOV in FH5?
Make immovable trees more obvious/less hidden. Driving fast through trees in FH4 was doable with skills, FH5 is a lottery, especially with the wide roots that stick out and catch you just as you think you made it.
Get rid of the logs randomly scattered in the forest - they often kick the car sideways into a tree that you were just about to drive past. Again, random elements that never feel good as it robs you of any skill.
Seed more cars in the first round: often there is nothing for miles and then in round two, the place is littered with drops.
As an aside and back to FH4, I am impressed to see that FH4 has got new end points for H2H races and finals as they were becoming too predictable so will continue to play FH4 Eliminator until FH6 comes out
I’m not even sure the entirety of this game can be saved, let alone Eliminator. The core problem of the game, especially inside Eliminator is the physics. I’d need 4 hands to count how many finals I’ve lost right at the end. You take a bad bounce on a hill and your car will go into a triple somersault. One flip isn’t enough, you have to impress all the judges on the dismount! The saddest part of this occurring is its the buggies, rally cars and offroad monsters that rollover more than the cars on road suspension. Its such a joke that I don’t even get upset anymore. Just initiate my slow clap after I click ‘QUIT EVENT.’
I shouldn’t admit this but it reminds me of an online race last night. Some player nudged me so I nudge them back and they ended up doing the most incredible side triple sumersault i’ve ever seen. I couldn’t stop laughing. I was literally in tears.
