Forza Horizon 2 XB1 & XB360 - out now

[Monkey Man]

[Codename 47]

Am I right in thinking some previews for this (and possibly a trailer) will go live at around 2pm?

[False]

"fall"

sort your life out

[Monkey Man]

Am I right in thinking some previews for this (and possibly a trailer) will go live at around 2pm?

IGN preview at 2pm, these are the screens from it.

[evanswolves]

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/03/ ... ium=social

[Codename 47]

Am I right in thinking some previews for this (and possibly a trailer) will go live at around 2pm?

IGN preview at 2pm, these are the screens from it.

Yeah the IGN preview is up now. It's sounding pretty awesome from what Playground have said in that preview, they're encouraging off road races, putting a lot of effort into coming up with a shitload more challenges, etc. Also sounds like they've put a lot of work into the lighting system so I can't wait to see how this looks in motion.

So far it sounds like they're putting in a lot of things folks would hope for in a Horizon sequel. Reckon I'll definitely pick this up on the Xbone.

[Garth]

When I get an Xbox One I'd be more inclined to pick this up over Forza 5, sounds fantastic!

[tomvek]

Had a lot of fun with the first Horizon, Playground Games did such a good job with it. I ended up liking it even more than the core Forza series.

So glad Sumo is working on the 360 version so PG can concentrate fully on the next gen Horizon. Looking forward to seeing some gameplay of this

[Monkey Man]

Forza Horizon 2: Resolution, Framerate, Music, & More Detailed -- IGN First -

The discourse around resolution and framerate continues to make headlines as developers optimise their games as they see fit. Fulton and the team at Playground are firmly of the belief the next-generation is about light rather than resolution, but he did confirm Forza Horizon 2 on Xbox One would display at 1080p and, like the original Forza Horizon, a locked 30 frames-per-second.

Dropped or torn frames have traditionally been a common bugbear with many console games that target approximately 30 frames-per-second. However, with the original Forza Horizon Playground found it was able to avert these issues entirely. The team adopted a zero-tolerance approach to frame drops (regardless of what level of rendering was required on screen the frame rate was never permitted to dip) and as such the game was rigidly locked at 30 frames-per-second. Most importantly, the locked frame rate (as opposed to a fluctuating one) resulted in a smooth and consistent racing experience. Playground has approached Horizon 2 similarly.

“I think what we did on Horizon was demonstrate that, and this is really important, a locked frame rate that’s absolutely solid and never drops is the most important thing for our game,” explains Fulton. “30 [frames-per-second] actually enables us to realise that experience.”

“I think I remember that’s always a hot-button topic, until a game comes out and people go, ‘Oh, this actually really works.’ But 1080p was an absolute must for us; it’s the benchmark for next-gen.”

“It’s a massive world, and the undertaking to build not just the roads, but everything off them on either side – farmland, crops, hills, mountains, forests – is a huge undertaking. I think that’s the thing that people will get long term value out of as they play the game. There are always new things to find [and] new places to explore.”

Fulton confirms the licensed civilian traffic will once again feature.

“That’s still a part of the game, and our civilian car list will be refreshed to suit to locale,” he says. “So you’ll see some cars in there you certainly wouldn’t see in Colorado [and] that’ll give it a real European flavour.

“You’ll be delighted to hear that more than half of our Barn Finds in Horizon 2 are completely new to Forza,” reveals Fulton. “So when you find them you’ll never have seen them before, so restoring them is gonna be an extra thrill. We’ve got some great stories coming up about the cars that are new to Forza.”

Forzavista, the mode that allows players to gaze upon engine bays in all their obsessively-detailed glory, won’t be a part of Forza Horizon 2

we’ve doubled the number of radio stations in the game. We’ve doubled the amount of music that we’re going to be shipping with the game on disc....

Playground Games has once again enlisted the aid of BBC radio DJ Rob da Bank, founder of two major UK music festivals and a well-known proponent of new music.

“He’s curating the three main radio stations within the game,” explains Fulton. “There’s a cool dance electronic station, there’s a station which is much more indie rock, or alt rock depending on which side of the Atlantic you hail from, and then there’s a station which is all about really just living up to the world and the summer vibes that you have in Horizon; it’s all summery, dance-y pop which was really popular in the original Horizon.”

Unsurprisingly, Showcase Events are back with a vengeance in Forza Horizon 2.

“We had a list this long,” smiles Fulton, stretching one arm towards the floor. “That’s a great brainstorm to be in at the start of a project.”

“For us, making them and then playing them, that was one of the most fun parts of Horizon. We’ve really plussed them up. We’ve just taken what was really fun about racing a plane and said, ‘What if it was five planes, spewing colours out the back, like an aerial stunt team?’

Another example will have you racing a steam train across the countryside.

“You’ll be in a classic rally car for that one,” says Fulton. “That’s just coming together right now, actually.”

“It’s the same system [from Forza Motorsport 5]; all you have to do in Forza Horizon 2 is train your Drivatar to drive in the open-world,” says Fulton. “It already knows exactly how you take corners, where you brake, how you pass other cars from Forza Motorsport 5, and you can continue to train it to do those things in Forza Horizon 2.”

“What it learns only in Forza Horizon 2, though, is when you leave the road, where you explore, the kind of places that you go. That’s an exciting new element to the Drivatar story.

“A super cool nuance of this, which is one of the organic things that just comes out of systems that are as complex as Drivatars, is that if your friend has found a secret collectible, or maybe even a Barn Find that you haven’t, sometimes you can just follow where he’s going. And because his Drivatar is driving where he has been, he can lead you to a collectible or a secret that you haven’t even found.

“So your friend is helping you, almost asynchronously, to play the game. It’s a system which just keeps on giving.”

Fulton stresses that Playground Games has been able to create a world that is “bigger in virtually every dimension than the one we had in Horizon.”

“It’s bigger in terms of the miles of road you’ll find there, it’s bigger in terms of the overall area but, most importantly, we’ve found it’s bigger in terms of the drivable area – the places you can actually go and explore,” he says. “Three times bigger, actually.”

A lot more on locations, cars, music, audio here - http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/04/ ... rst?page=1

[NickSCFC]

Will this one have cardboard crowds?

[tomvek]

Hopefully, they're fantastic

[Gemini73]

Popped into Game while at work today to see if I could get a copy of the first game. They wanted £29.99 for it new and £15 pre-owned.

Just ordered a new copy for £13 from Amazon.

[Venom]

Preview on Tuesday and hopefully some screenshots. Maybe a trailer at E3. Might be a surprise 60FPS on Xbox One

It's 30fps. Native 1080p.

[Monkey Man]

Preview on Tuesday and hopefully some screenshots. Maybe a trailer at E3. Might be a surprise 60FPS on Xbox One

It's 30fps. Native 1080p.

I know, I posted that info above. I made that "prediction" when we thought it was more of a cross-gen game.

[Peter Crisp]

Hopefully, they're fantastic

I also don't see a problem with them.
Maybe I'm just easily pleased but if a compromise has to be made between a stable game overall and a pumping more resources into a hyper realistic crowd then I say bring on the cardboard crowds.

[Photek]

Preview on Tuesday and hopefully some screenshots. Maybe a trailer at E3. Might be a surprise 60FPS on Xbox One

It's 30fps. Native 1080p.

I know, I posted that info above. I made that "prediction" when we thought it was more of a cross-gen game.

Same as Driveclub then on PS4, pretty much a Direct comparison then with that, no doubt Cooldawn may come in here and list off features that This game hasnt but hey ho, I think I might get this, loved first one.

[Venom]

Same as Driveclub then on PS4, pretty much a Direct comparison then with that, no doubt Cooldawn may come in here and list off features that This game hasnt but hey ho, I think I might get this, loved first one.

Photek I'm not really mad into driving simulators but I do enjoy arcadey games like Motorstorm or the old Sega race games. In the Drive Club thread you said it was a pity that Drive Club is only 30fps. Do you think 30fps will impact or hinder these games?

[Peter Crisp]

I know it's a different style of racing but 30fps doesn't seem to hinder Mario Kart 8 in the slightest.

[Photek]

Same as Driveclub then on PS4, pretty much a Direct comparison then with that, no doubt Cooldawn may come in here and list off features that This game hasnt but hey ho, I think I might get this, loved first one.

Photek I'm not really mad into driving simulators but I do enjoy arcadey games like Motorstorm or the old Sega race games. In the Drive Club thread you said it was a pity that Drive Club is only 30fps. Do you think 30fps will impact or hinder these games?

To be honest im no really into driving games either, I didnt bother with Forza 4 or 5, I didnt notice the 30fps being too bad in Forza Horizon 1 so a bump in resolution to 1080p plus weather plus better graphics is a big plus. I do like Open world driving games like Burnout paradise and TDU though.

I said its a pity Drive Club is 30fps cos the developer said it would be 60fps.

[Monkey Man]

The major difference is that Forza Horizon is open world, Drive Club is not.