Getting bigger streamers to stream multiplayer

Anyone want to help me come up with ideas to put in a recruitment video for streamers? I have some AWESOME, GREAT, COMPETITIVE races in multiplayer, and I think if we could show some streamers the content that could be created, maybe we could convince them to help grow the multiplayer part of this game.

We could organize clips of good clean racing, close finishes, epic moments and custom liveries for them or just really good paintjobs. Maybe we could come up with custom routes for races, or organize some sort of relay race involving xcountry/dirt/road.

Im thinking a tournament.could attract a variety of streamers. They could already know what races/vehicles a week beforehand so they could easily not take that much time to practice/learn the game/map.

Streamers I would target:
DrDisrespect
Summit1g
Shroud
JoshOG

I only mention those, because those are the ones I would think be interested. I watched the video of Shroud trying FH4, and he spoke about the assists being off and how easy it was on keyboard, but idk if he knows what abs/tcs is and how, im guessing, much harder it is on a keyboard to turn abs and tc off. I think Shroud, with how competitive he is, would love that with every assist you turn off, it makes you faster. Also, with racing lines, i think he would like how the grip changes due to the characteristics of the road. So I think we could show an example of how elevation, surface and the other factors can affect the line. We could come up with ideas for custom videos for each different streamer, but keep the main part the same, to show them that we really put some thought into it.

With how awesome the racing in multiplayer is at times, I think we could convince them to at least try the multiplayer. If im left to myself to create everything, I dont think I would be able to focus long enough to make it a priority, so anyone willing to help me brainstorm would be a welcome partner. Thanks, and I hope you all have a great day!

We could set up a discord if enough people would like to help with anything.

I don’t think it can work, FH4 just doesn’t have the structure for online multiplayer that is needed to make it an engaging spectator sport. You just jump in and do a random race, that’s all there is to it. No championships with seasonal competitions, no scheduled races with splits where you can watch top split and see many of the same people taking part each time. No web interface to let non-players see player ratings and leaderboards. It just isn’t designed to be an engaging spectator sport.

Don’t get me wrong, I would watch some live streaming if people like Grandma Driving and Johnson live streamed ranked adventure, indeed they have done this in the past on a small number of occasions, and I’ve watched it. I’m not sure why they don’t do it more, you’d have to ask them. But I don’t think it can remain engaging for spectators in the long term in the same way as GT Sport can, where you can follow people’s progress in championships that last for weeks to months.

4 Likes

And im sorry to be this way and say this, but if you dont think it can work, id rather you just not say anything. Im not here to argue opinions. Ill get my answer if no one responds.

I love this game and the amazing races that it produces. It may be too easy or too arcadey for some of you, but i dont care. I think with how good some ppl are at video games, the races would be close and REALLY fun to watch, but thats just my opinion.

You dont just jump in and do a random race. You can have custom lobbies. Thats why a tournament, was what I was really getting at, like Fortnite Friday or Warzone Wednesday. Everyone would be in the same or equal cars. No OP cars ruining the race.

You cant track progress in Fortnite or Warzone, and its still entertaining. Im sorry, but the actual races in GT Sport are boring to watch for most. You may get one or 2 close ones,

The thing that makes Forza Horizon special, us that there can be lots of contact, and you both dont go off spinning. It allows extremely close racing, unlike GT Sport or Forza Motorsport, and that is exactly what makes for goid content. Not watching someone run the same lap over and over. If its raining, the track can change too. There may be a puddle or ice on the apex.

Im sorry, but a GT Sport Streamer Tournament would be way more boring to watch than a Forza Horizon Streamer Tournament.

I don’t get the purpose of the post. Using the interactions with the other forum members as well as the the OP, its quite clear that you have an idea how it should be done. Why would you need a creative partner for since you have everything planned out? You have already a plan, then all you need is the platform to execute it: Mixer, Twitch or Youtube? The devs at Forza are quite active on Mixer with scheduled weekly streamings. I don’t use Twitch since they have double standards. I mostly watch Youtube.

There is a tournament - Horizon Team Wars. A tournament for top racing teams battling it out on racing / dirt races to achieve the most points. They even have a penalty system, if I actually correct after watching RIZE vs. UWRC. Just search them up on youtube and you’ll see them. Perhaps the most important thing to take form this example is how the players built a fanbase before launching sth like this. Who will be in charge of the video directing, the creativity director, the editing, (cinematics) etc? Sure, it can be done by a person like Johnson Racing, Grandma Driving, etc. Have you given a single thought about this aspect?

Absolutely 100% wrong. look at the subscribers and view per video from these famous sim racers:

Sim Racing is quite popular than what you assumed and has only been solidified by the current pandemic. There are many more sim racers, but the ones above are on my watchlist. My outtake on this example is, unless you have the skills displayed by the drivers above, you need to be consistent with your attracting factor of your videos. Otherwise its all comes to naught.

If you don’t have time to do it yourself, just point them at some of Grandma Driving’s videos (isuckatdriving on youtube). They’re already carefully curated to show good racing and close finishes.

No thanks. I want clips of Cross Country and dirt racing, and id need permission to use their videos anyways. I know of him, i was in his recent Portofino video. Ive never had so many ppl follow me after that too, lol. They think I know him I guess, but iSAD joined the lobby I was in. The custom lobbies are 95% of the time clean racing because its a bunch of tryhards, like myself, so you dont have to really plan ahead of time to get clean lobbies

Plus, i figure lots of ppl think this game is too arcadey, like NFS games, and I wanted to explain how it isnt.

Plus+, if i donate to them and say “i made this short video of why you should play forza” they prob wouldnt watch it, but if i were to say, “Myself and 10 other ppl on the Forza Forums made this short video”, i think theyd take it more serious, and not just look at it as me trying to get views on a vid.

1 Like

Ppl eat up Fortnite Friday and Warzone Wednesday because it is high paced, nonstop action. I think this game would have the same potential. But not just regular multiplayer, im talking Streamer vs Streamer. After watching Shroud play the single player, i felt like he wanted to like it and I was gonna give him the reasons. Plus, DrDisrespect is ALWAYS talking about the sad state of shooters, and ive watched him play Forza 7 and he is pretty good already, so I wanted to try to get them playing for the games sake. Summit has streamed street racing in GTA V, and if he played the multiplayer in this one time, he would see hiw much better this game is for that. Albeit he was doing GTAV roleplay while racing. He has also talked about NFS and he drives a Nissan GT-R, so i figure hed like it too.

This game updates every week basically with a new rare car to unlock FOR FREE. I understand it isnt FTP like most others. All you ever really see on the internet about it is ppl hating on it for whatever reason. I can understand ppl that dont enjoy online multiplayer getting bored, but what else are they supposed to do for this game? Theyre prob hard at work on the next Horizon for the Series X, IT BETTER BE IN TOKYO, and there arent really major faults in this game that affect gameplay.

TL;DR
I FRICKIN LOVE THIS GAME AND WANT TO HELP IT IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE

And im thinking we target Doc first, put LOTS of SPEED and MOMENTUM, maybe a little violence, and he would help us talk Summit and Shroud into it.

These are just guesses, but I believe in this game.

So I’m reading through your posts.

I’m not a streamer, so I don’t quite get it all…however, I like your idea. A few of my races are really exciting, but many are just exciting for me because I am the one in control (or not) so they might not have much appeal otherwise. Buuuuuut…if you took a number of racers in the same race together, as you are saying…then did a bunch of post-production. Splice together the good bits: Dude A passes Lady B, who then cheats the turn and steals it back…bumping, grinding, occasional ram or nudge, etc. Performing trick jumps, or having multiple viewpoints as others do them…so you can switch between the views.

I know streaming is typically live-streaming. This is me playing, talking about what I’m playing while playing…but would it not be a better package to have it more like SportsCenter sort of thing…instant replays, highlights, reviews. So you can have a continuous race…but alternating viewpoint based on who has the more exciting view at that time.

I used to race MS 6 and one of the things I liked was after a race I’d watch it back from other cars…seeing the race and the circumstances from the other cars’ perspectives. Dunno, just a thought.

No not really. If you watch any tournament on Twitch, if streamers are able to stream their POV, the multicast gets very little views compared to a single streamer. People love/hate certain streamers and would rather watch their favorite streamer instead of it flipping channels every 10 seconds. I prefer watching from my favorite streamers POV way more than a universal channel and the numbers really speak that way too. Plus, the only way you wont see any of the other cars is if your person is in the lead, and they prob wouldnt care much.

Racing may be easier to watch from a universal standpoint than a battle royale, but the fandom some streamers have would trounce any edited video they have to watch a day later. This would be a one day a week/4 hours maximum tournament.

Warzone Wednesday and Fortnite Friday bring in massive views and its extremely entertaining. And i dont even think there is a multicast for it period. Like, thats how little ppl are going to watch it. Ppl dont really watch Twitch for certain games, some do, but id say 65-75% watch it strictly because of a certain streamer.if they do watch it for a certain game, they kore than likely watch a certain streamer play it.

Dont take that as me saying youre wrong about the edited video. I 100% agree that an edited video would be way more entertaining, but what im tfying to accomplish is getting as many ppl as possible to watch how awesome this game can be. You do that by getting Influencers to play it live. Most fans will watch a steamer play anything live, but if said streamer puts out a video, ppl will choose not to watch it if it doesnt interest them.

And plus, these streamers are GOOD at videogames. So every race will be close and intense. Like constantly making contact close and intense. Forza Horizon allows extremely close racing, like bumping/smacking/rubbing, without wrecking at all, while still relying on driver skill and understanding of how to pass or take multiple driving lines through a corner.

I have races like that every day with random ppl in public lobbies. There just arent as many ppl on now because they cant cheat to win a race, like ramming or wall riding, and I love Forza because of that.

You could easily have classes for the not so experienced streamer, thats why I wanted to create some type of relay race that would add in all disciplines and times.

It would be a shot in the foot, because those guys aren’t competitive in Forza Horizon (not that I know of at least). You’d get the traffic from their followers, but little interest from the people who actually enjoy online racing. If you call in some elites though like ISAD, hardcore people would probably watch, but you lose the casuals.

Besides, guys like Shroud and Summit don’t just stream any game. They stream what their public wants. If it’s Fortnite, so be it. Summit gathered a surprising following with Sea of Thieves, which helped boost the game (I suspect Microsoft also “helped” him a little), but there’s not much guarantee it’d work with FH4, despite Playground having done everything in their power to turn it into an automotive Sea of Thieves/Fortnite hybrid (consciously, might I add!).

The game called Forza Horizon has a big issue IMO, it’s been made the most casual possible, has tried to follow modern trends (dancing, FOMO content, battle royale), but it simply can’t be big enough without leaving behind its “car game” roots. Casuals prefer shooters to racers. What we ended up with was a Frankenstein with all the inner workings of Forza and what makes it great, but the appearance of a sparkly casualfest that deviates from its original focus and almost makes racing a glorified side activity. This new casual element might be held back by Forza’s less casual roots when it comes to drawing the attention of these superstar streamers.

2 Likes

I dont know why I expected anything different from a forum that is 75% complaints.

2 Likes

A large part of that supposed 75% is people telling things the way they see it.

That’s all that’s happening here and you can’t take it.

If you can’t listen to bree of all people on here giving you advice then there’s no point sticking around, you won’t get a fairer mix of unbiased + knowledgeable than him on here for something like this.

3 Likes

In fairness to him, I did slightly skim read his post on first reading and hadn’t appreciated he was suggesting an organised competition among those people rather than just getting them to stream ranked adventure. So my apologies to bergmeister for not having read his opening post carefully enough before my first response.

Such things can undoubtedly be successful, but it’s hard to say exactly what ingredients make one competition get more viewers than another. I’ve mentioned before that I also play the RTS game AoE II DE, and that had an organised competition fairly recently, Hidden Cup 3, that had over 50k live viewers during the final. OTOH Johnson organised an FH4 competition that didn’t do well at all, but it was for German players only, and was German language, which was so clearly going to hold it back that I have no idea why he did it. There are organised GT Sport competitions that don’t get many viewers, and I personally don’t find them that appealing due to their lack of wider significance. You really need winning to be worth something, IMO, to get the best players involved, and a decent prize fund helps with that. Hidden Cup 3 had a $50k prize fund, which isn’t huge in esports terms, but I’ve never seen any GT Sport competition with anything like that sort of prize fund.

The quality of driver isn’t a major factor, though you do need to be reasonably decent. TheKie25 and Tidgney are both significantly better at GT Sport than Super GT but don’t get anywhere near as many viewers. Super GT is better at driving games than Jimmy, but gets fewer viewers. Jimmy gets more viewers just having a laugh playing a random driving game than Tidgney got streaming FIA Top 16 Superstars. So yes, I can see why someone might think that it’s a good idea to get someone who has that mass appeal personality and get them to stream FH4, but there are many games out there for them to choose from, and it’s hard to see all that much that’s in it for those streamers. Kie, for example, is pretty decent at FPS games and plays Warzone, but he won’t stream it on his driving game channel because he reckons it would kill the channel to do that, due to how the algo works.

I still don’t see why the OP needs to do any more than just provide those streamers with links to videos by e.g. ISAD. No need for their permission to do that, and people like that are already doing the best they can to provide compelling edited highlights. And if that’s not enough, then just create something yourself? If you aren’t sufficiently convinced that your own idea will be a success to put the work in, then it’s hardly surprising when other people don’t jump at the chance to do your work for you to make your idea a success for you.

4 Likes

So you’re expecting these guys for whom this is their well-paying job to stop what they are doing and, instead, play a 2 year old racing game that is more casual than competitive for the sole purpose of getting people to see it, because you know…Forza Horizon is such an obscure title that nobody has ever heard of before? Your enthusiasm is sound, but your plan is naive.

You also say, above, that you know people will just show up and watch anything a big-name streamer streams. So, those aren’t fans, they aren’t immediately going to ‘love the game’ the way you do, those are fans of the influencer…what if they think the game sucks and asks why that person isn’t playing WarNight or FortZone… what are you really after? Forza Horizon 4 sold well enough that we’re guaranteed a Horizon 5 on the next xbox platform…

If you just want to find people as enthusiastic as you are about the game, go right now over to you tube and find someone streaming the game (I think SteveTheP1r4te does it weekly, he’s in the UK, there must be tons of others) and hit those stream-chats.

4 Likes