FH5 is lacking the magic of FH4

[BMW435iZHP]

I have been playing Forza games since Forza first came out, each game always felt special and had something new. IMO FH5 is just FH4 with better graphics, a new map and less true season. At least with FH4 we got real seasons and it felt like things changed every week. FH5 feels like a grind, I have zero motivation to play. Am I missing something with the game?

[AquaPainter168]

I think Goliath Pro setting is quite enjoyable.

[anonyyymous]

Unfortunately you’re spot on.

[BugattiBreno]

I totally agree, FH5 is just a reskin of FH4 with a few more bugs. I’ve been playing since FH3 and each new iteration of horizon game brought new features and gameplay except FH5.

[KrazedOmega]

FH4 was my first Forza game and it was much more enjoyable than FH5 is. There’s a handful of features that are better in FH5 but it just doesn’t have the “soul” that FH4 had.

[George_RGJ]

I still dont get it where people see in FH5 better graphics than FH4 lol. Maybe some need glasses?

[RUHRCOAST]

@George_RGJ

I still dont get it where people see in FH5 better graphics than FH4 lol. Maybe some need glasses?

I even don’t care about the graphics, nothing new. I wanna race with my club ,but without some kind of private session I’ll switch back to FH4 or FH3.

And yeah, FH4 on the series x looks same, maybe some a little bit better.

[TheGillesMuller]

Maybe aside from the driving physics I personally didn’t find any magic in FH4.

I’m struggling to understand all this retrospective admiration for 4 since 5 released, it had 3 years as the latest game and to put it lightly it’s forum wasn’t showered with threads praising it in that time.

The live service, the clothes + emotes, the stories with awful, irritating dialogue + characters, all things that began in FH4 and are likely to remain in the series indefinitely now, not to mention the festival itself mattered less in FH4 than it ever has done in the series.

[anonyyymous]

@TheGillesMuller

Maybe aside from the driving physics I personally didn’t find any magic in FH4.

I’m struggling to understand all this retrospective admiration for 4 since 5 released, it had 3 years as the latest game and to put it lightly it’s forum wasn’t showered with threads praising it in that time.

The map in FH4 was better imo. It wasn’t so dull and lifeless as FH5. It made better use of elevation. It felt more diverse. You could take your car offroad and drive through the forest which sadly no one can do any more without hitting logs every 2 seconds.

Seasons were unbelievable. How your car handled and what car you would drive changed drastically between summer, spring and winter where the road changed from dry to wet to ice. The whole map looked vastly different between each season too with trees blooming in spring and not being able to see in the distance to a bunch of twigs in winter where you could see far out into the distance.

FH4 also had many great features that have now been removed such as ranked racing.

FH4 has a greater sense of community where you could see 50+ people on the map and no one would disappear and people would always greet each other, drag, race, etc.

Eliminator was fun in FH4. Now it’s an embarrassment.

I could go on and on. I only started playing in FH4 and no from others that earlier titles were better but for me FH4 was an amazing game. And to me although Im now on FH5 and won’t go back to FH4 I think FH5 in it’s current state is 1 steep forward and 2 steps back. I also think they can address all my concerns and issues that I’ve shared on the forums to date but I honestly think I have a better chance of winning the lottery then seeing any of my feedback or suggestions actioned. And it’s not that they don’t care, it’s how their development process works. As someone else said they are most likely focused on FH6. In reality they will be focused on the expansions. The game as it stands is what it is for better or worse.

[TheJackal_GN]

@anonyyymous

@TheGillesMuller

Maybe aside from the driving physics I personally didn’t find any magic in FH4.

I’m struggling to understand all this retrospective admiration for 4 since 5 released, it had 3 years as the latest game and to put it lightly it’s forum wasn’t showered with threads praising it in that time.

The map in FH4 was better imo. It wasn’t so dull and lifeless as FH5. It made better use of elevation. It felt more diverse. You could take your car offroad and drive through the forest which sadly no one can do any more without hitting logs every 2 seconds.

Seasons were unbelievable. How your car handled and what car you would drive changed drastically between summer, spring and winter where the road changed from dry to wet to ice. The whole map looked vastly different between each season too with trees blooming in spring and not being able to see in the distance to a bunch of twigs in winter where you could see far out into the distance.

FH4 also had many great features that have now been removed such as ranked racing.

FH4 has a greater sense of community where you could see 50+ people on the map and no one would disappear and people would always greet each other, drag, race, etc.

Eliminator was fun in FH4. Now it’s an embarrassment.

I could go on and on. I only started playing in FH4 and no from others that earlier titles were better but for me FH4 was an amazing game. And to me although Im now on FH5 and won’t go back to FH4 I think FH5 in it’s current state is 1 steep forward and 2 steps back. I also think they can address all my concerns and issues that I’ve shared on the forums to date but I honestly think I have a better chance of winning the lottery then seeing any of my feedback or suggestions actioned. And it’s not that they don’t care, it’s how their development process works. As someone else said they are most likely focused on FH6. In reality they will be focused on the expansions. The game as it stands is what it is for better or worse.

1. People moaned about seasons non stop. Hating snow, challenges too hard in the wet etc etc
2. Ranked racing was a mess
3. There were never 50+ people on the map.
4. FH5 handling model is soo much better. Better sense of momentum, realistic brake behaviour and for once stock cars can be raced in their own right.

Nostalgic claptrap.

[Bearxor]

@TheJackal_GN

@anonyyymous

@TheGillesMuller

Maybe aside from the driving physics I personally didn’t find any magic in FH4.

I’m struggling to understand all this retrospective admiration for 4 since 5 released, it had 3 years as the latest game and to put it lightly it’s forum wasn’t showered with threads praising it in that time.

The map in FH4 was better imo. It wasn’t so dull and lifeless as FH5. It made better use of elevation. It felt more diverse. You could take your car offroad and drive through the forest which sadly no one can do any more without hitting logs every 2 seconds.

Seasons were unbelievable. How your car handled and what car you would drive changed drastically between summer, spring and winter where the road changed from dry to wet to ice. The whole map looked vastly different between each season too with trees blooming in spring and not being able to see in the distance to a bunch of twigs in winter where you could see far out into the distance.

FH4 also had many great features that have now been removed such as ranked racing.

FH4 has a greater sense of community where you could see 50+ people on the map and no one would disappear and people would always greet each other, drag, race, etc.

Eliminator was fun in FH4. Now it’s an embarrassment.

I could go on and on. I only started playing in FH4 and no from others that earlier titles were better but for me FH4 was an amazing game. And to me although Im now on FH5 and won’t go back to FH4 I think FH5 in it’s current state is 1 steep forward and 2 steps back. I also think they can address all my concerns and issues that I’ve shared on the forums to date but I honestly think I have a better chance of winning the lottery then seeing any of my feedback or suggestions actioned. And it’s not that they don’t care, it’s how their development process works. As someone else said they are most likely focused on FH6. In reality they will be focused on the expansions. The game as it stands is what it is for better or worse.

1. People moaned about seasons non stop. Hating snow, challenges too hard in the wet etc etc
2. Ranked racing was a mess
3. There were never 50+ people on the map.
4. FH5 handling model is soo much better. Better sense of momentum, realistic brake behaviour and for once stock cars can be raced in their own right.

Nostalgic claptrap.

I’ll just say that when I went back and started playing FH4 again, I’d regularly get in to sessions with 60-ish people on the map. And this was a month or so after FH5’s release so I was kind of surprised.

Lately it’s been 30-40 though. If there has been a change to the way other players are loaded or indicated on the map it’s been for the worst. I also notice FH5 doesn’t have any way for you to see a list of the players in the session like 4 does.

[Shaikul_Kai]

@TheJackal_GN

@anonyyymous

@TheGillesMuller

Maybe aside from the driving physics I personally didn’t find any magic in FH4.

I’m struggling to understand all this retrospective admiration for 4 since 5 released, it had 3 years as the latest game and to put it lightly it’s forum wasn’t showered with threads praising it in that time.

The map in FH4 was better imo. It wasn’t so dull and lifeless as FH5. It made better use of elevation. It felt more diverse. You could take your car offroad and drive through the forest which sadly no one can do any more without hitting logs every 2 seconds.

Seasons were unbelievable. How your car handled and what car you would drive changed drastically between summer, spring and winter where the road changed from dry to wet to ice. The whole map looked vastly different between each season too with trees blooming in spring and not being able to see in the distance to a bunch of twigs in winter where you could see far out into the distance.

FH4 also had many great features that have now been removed such as ranked racing.

FH4 has a greater sense of community where you could see 50+ people on the map and no one would disappear and people would always greet each other, drag, race, etc.

Eliminator was fun in FH4. Now it’s an embarrassment.

I could go on and on. I only started playing in FH4 and no from others that earlier titles were better but for me FH4 was an amazing game. And to me although Im now on FH5 and won’t go back to FH4 I think FH5 in it’s current state is 1 steep forward and 2 steps back. I also think they can address all my concerns and issues that I’ve shared on the forums to date but I honestly think I have a better chance of winning the lottery then seeing any of my feedback or suggestions actioned. And it’s not that they don’t care, it’s how their development process works. As someone else said they are most likely focused on FH6. In reality they will be focused on the expansions. The game as it stands is what it is for better or worse.

1. People moaned about seasons non stop. Hating snow, challenges too hard in the wet etc etc
2. Ranked racing was a mess
3. There were never 50+ people on the map.
4. FH5 handling model is soo much better. Better sense of momentum, realistic brake behaviour and for once stock cars can be raced in their own right.

Nostalgic claptrap.

Those all sound as legitimate complains. Something to address. I imagine there were also those that liked seasons, hard challenges and ranked. So, what do you do? Do you improve on the concept or simplify?

Forzathon. It started in a new form and it was a complete fiasco. It was a miracle if you were able to complete one of them, because there was never anyone but you, to do them. They had the chance of improving on their new idea of Forzathon and the way they bring players together for group activities, but they didn’t. They lowered the requirements so much, it became one of the easiest activities in FH5. Something that was challenging and fun to do in FH4, something that continuously brought players together, hour after hour, is now so diluted it’s possible to finish in little over 3 minutes. Alone. Because you still have to do them by yourself as there still isn’t anyone around. They took the easy road. The one were they don’t have to put any effort.

Online racing. It started OK. In time, as more and more players joined in, problems with number of tracks and general dislike of offroad racing presented them with another problem. How to fix that? How to improve it? Well, just make it dark sometimes and “force” players to do it by presenting it as a weekly requirement. Again, they took the easy road. The one that requires zero effort. Not to mention the number of times you are put into a lobby with race already started and if you are lucky, you will be able to drive in two remaining ones. If you are lucky.

Seasons. We still have wet conditions, so snow got replaced by wind. Something that has almost no effect on conditions, besides lowering visibility (shockingly difficult to achieve) and wind noise so loud, you think you have a tornado inside your car.

But contrary to some, I don’t think it’s developers that are to blame. We are talking about people that were able to make all this we see, play, and yes, sometimes enjoy. They have the knowledge and, I believe, desire to improve on this. IMO it’s the management that forces these bizarre changes.

[FullNietzsche]

@Shaikul_Kai

But contrary to some, I don’t think it’s developers that are to blame. We are talking about people that were able to make all this we see, play, and yes, sometimes enjoy. They have the knowledge and, I believe, desire to improve on this. IMO it’s the management that forces these bizarre changes.

Context. When people say ‘the devs’ are to blame, we mean whomever at the company, up to and including the management or directors. Playground Games or Turn 10 are ‘the devs’. So of course it’s ‘the devs’ who are to blame, who else.

btw, your post correctly identifies that they like to take the easiest laziest option at all times, so your belief they have desire to do better has no evidence to support it.

[SlateTexas30788]

@FullNietzsche

@Shaikul_Kai

But contrary to some, I don’t think it’s developers that are to blame. We are talking about people that were able to make all this we see, play, and yes, sometimes enjoy. They have the knowledge and, I believe, desire to improve on this. IMO it’s the management that forces these bizarre changes.

Context. When people say ‘the devs’ are to blame, we mean whomever at the company, up to and including the management or directors. Playground Games or Turn 10 are ‘the devs’. So of course it’s ‘the devs’ who are to blame, who else.

btw, your post correctly identifies that they like to take the easiest laziest option at all times, so your belief they have desire to do better has no evidence to support it.

I see evidence PG want to do better. I’m sure we’ve all read the long statement 11th Jan specifically relating to FH5 bugs and their intentions; they stop short of apologising, but there’s a clear tone of contrition. They’ve spent the previous three years polishing FH4… and I can’t recall ever seeing a response from PG for any of it’s myriad issues like the one we’ve received for FH5. Usually the best update we could hope for was 160 characters on Twitter.

I get that people are frustrated and maybe even a little hurt (it’s hard not to be when something you feel strongly about disappoints you), but they will fix the bugs. The glowing feels for FH4 is proof of that, because it certainly hasn’t been three years of smooth sailing for that title.

[TheWarmWind76]

Yeah I’m not getting this nostalgia for 4. 4 was a pretty boring map with features removed from 3 for no reason and an always online format that NEVER worked as advertised.

Only reason I enjoyed 4 over 3 was better physics and larger car list.

5 doesn’t really add anything new, but at least it didn’t take stuff away.

[FullNietzsche]

@TheWarmWind76

5 doesn’t really add anything new, but at least it didn’t take stuff away.

Did you forget what they removed that FH4 had?

[davejc64]

Well the accolade system is a new feature, and the being able to choose what discipline you open up first like you can concentrate on road racing or whatever you choose, I tended to open all the levels in order so did all the horizon Mexico ones first so was able to do the Goliath early, before moving on to Apex then the wilds and so on.

[ValeDominissi]

@FullNietzsche

@TheWarmWind76

5 doesn’t really add anything new, but at least it didn’t take stuff away.

Did you forget what they removed that FH4 had?

THE MAGIC

@davejc64

Well the accolade system is a new feature, and the being able to choose what discipline you open up first like you can concentrate on road racing or whatever you choose, I tended to open all the levels in order so did all the horizon Mexico ones first so was able to do the Goliath early, before moving on to Apex then the wilds and so on.

Personally I do not see those features as new. Accolades come from Lego Island (FH4) and the Horizon Adventure is a very little imaginative variation of expanding festivals from FH3

[davejc64]

@ValeDominissi

@FullNietzsche

@TheWarmWind76

5 doesn’t really add anything new, but at least it didn’t take stuff away.

Did you forget what they removed that FH4 had?

THE MAGIC

@davejc64

Well the accolade system is a new feature, and the being able to choose what discipline you open up first like you can concentrate on road racing or whatever you choose, I tended to open all the levels in order so did all the horizon Mexico ones first so was able to do the Goliath early, before moving on to Apex then the wilds and so on.

Personally I do not see those features as new. Accolades come from Lego Island (FH4) and the Horizon Adventure is a very little imaginative variation of expanding festivals from FH3

Best to agree to disagree then.

[anonyyymous]

@davejc64

Well the accolade system is a new feature, and the being able to choose what discipline you open up first like you can concentrate on road racing or whatever you choose, I tended to open all the levels in order so did all the horizon Mexico ones first so was able to do the Goliath early, before moving on to Apex then the wilds and so on.

Wasn’t the accolade system copied from the Lego expansion in FH4?