Topic: The everything Xbox thread

@RR529 If 4 is anything like 3 you have to purchase the cars.

@RR529 as @Tasuki says, you can buy them with in-game currency by visiting the garage at the Horizon Festival site, but there are a other ways too. Unfortunately you can just drive up to another car and take it - although that would be pretty cool

If I remember correctly, the first "Dirt Series" race you participate in gives you a car to keep - i think it's a choice of 3 like when you picked the initial car - and increasing your "Influence" (basically XP) by competing in races/doing challenges often rewards you with cars as you Level Up.

Bear in mind that as well as your overall Level, you also Level up each category of race/activity separately as well. So you have a Level for Road racing, Drift Zones, Off-road Racing etc; there's probably about 20+ in total so plenty of opportunity to build up your car collection that way.

Also keep an eye out for Game Pass perks too, I think there was a free 'Welcome Pack' of free DLC cars there, although not sure if it's still on offer at the moment.

Starring Ocelot:
"Afghanistan is a big place. I expect you to become quite familiar with those binoculars as you plan your next move. How and where you make it, well that's up to you. Now go! Let the legend come back to life!"

@Tasuki, @dmcc0, thanks!

Yeah, I know I have to buy new cars with in-game currency, but during an old E3 presentation I thought they showed you could buy cars hidden in the environment, which is why I asked about the Mini Cooper. Good to have that cleared up.

@RR529 there are some cars hidden in the environment. They're called Barn Finds and appear every once in a while. I'm not sure if they are tied to progression or something else, but they guy on the radio announces them and the general area shows up on the map. They're usually well hidden off the main roads

@Eel I've played all Forza Horizon games except for the current one (4), and as @WoomyNNYes has already mentioned, it's definitely a game series where you can free roam all you like. There IS a story line, but once you've got your first car, you can decide for yourself if you want to follow that, visit festivals, do discoveries/barn find quests or free roaming first. You can basically do everything in whatever order you like. The only thing that's kinda scripted, are seasonal events, much like in for example Animal Crossing, where some stuff is only available for a certain time, but there's no obligation whatsoever to join in.

If you'd rather visit ancient temples, cruise through rivers and jungles, or even if you want to closely inspect lava rock pebbles inside that volcano in that trailer, then you can...

What it basically comes down to, is that it's a "play it as you like" kinda game, no strings attached and no restrictions, except for the obvious one, which is that you HAVE to do some races, quests and barn finds to expand your car collection, but other than that, it's all up to you.

I'll just tag free roaming underbrush specialist @NEStalgia in here again, he'll be able to tell you ALL about those kinds of things...

@ThanosReXXX @Eel Did you know every cactus needle is individually rendered? It's true! LOL. XSX rendering every cactus needle. PS5 rendering cheek hair and every strand of moss. This is what we waited 7 years for! Man, 10 year old me would be blown away to find out someday in the future, my video games would have cheek hair and cactus needles individually rendered. Total game changer!

Seriously, though, like Thanos said, Horizon's gimmick is that it's whatever you want it to be. It can be a total sandbox where you do nothing but cruise around a huge map and goof around, like an overdone Minecraft or Animal Crossing. Just start the game, do the obligatory first race, then spend the next 400 hours bombing around in the default car just doing random stuff, and some of the challenges like speed traps just laying around the open world, or challenging human or AI drivers you stumble into. Or you can do the myriad events from races to stunt tests, to whatever. you can do the barn finds (searching the woods with a car for an easter egg, basically) Billboard smashes, etc. It's a big open sandbox with some features to engage with in the open world, or locations to start activities that are all over the map (a few at first, they open up the more of them you do.) "Story" is overblown. There's a progression, but it's not God of Boi, it's just 'you're going to win the festival" with a few smaller side-stories like "you stumbled into being a stunt driver for this movie in production." But it's a big do-what-you-want open sandbox, with a ton of activities to start located around the map.

@RR529 I think what you're thinking of are barn finds as @dmcc0 stated. I don't know either how it's determine when a barn find shows up on your map. I literally had one barn find show up immediately after I just found a car in FH3 which is the one I am currently playing.

@Eel You can literally go anywhere you want in the Horizon games areas aren't locked or anything it's just a matter of how much you want to explore.

@NEStalgia Oh, man. What have I done? I've unleashed the shrubbery addict upon our unsuspecting Forza Horizon novice...

@Tasuki Well, special areas like DLC actually are locked, so that's not entirely true, my friend.

Can't wait for the USA Visa dlc to visit Disneyland

@Eel I was trying to come up with a joke of my own in reply, but all I can think of concerning Mexico and the US, is actually too sad and inappropriate to make any joke about.

On second thought: crashing through that artificial wall in Forza might actually be loads of fun...

@NEStalgia Forza Horizon 5 Series X grass has nothing on BotW 2 Switch Pro grass!

How important is it that you actually win the "story" races in FH4 (for purposes of unlocking stuff)? Even with the difficulty set to "New Driver" I get way left behind as soon as the second lap, and while so far the game still treats you like the most awesome thing in the world (even when finishing dead last) and moves on to the next story beat, I'm assuming it's going to start asking for more concrete results before too long, and even if not it still feels kinda demoralizing (I've never heard anything about these games being particularly difficult, so I feel like I'm missing something).

"Look who's finished the race! Yes, you have! Go, you! You're such a great driver, and we are so proud of you!"

(proceeds to place the certificate of participation on the fridge door)

@Grumblevolcano Switch Pro will have FH5 on Game Pass for Switch. You'll see, you'll see!

@RR529 the settings can be tweaked beyond the major skill settings, but I thought "new Driver" is about as forgiving as MK8. It really rubber bands a lot to give you an edge. I wonder if another setting is still set high?

IIRC the game really unlocks by completing the main event races (the scripted special "battle" type events), and the amount of "XP" (whatever they call it.) Even roaming the open world earns XP, including tearing up fences, and near-misses etc. It's slow, but there's still progression. Thanos might be more familiar with the progression details though.

@NEStalgia Alas, but no: I haven't played 4. Had to divide my attention between Horizon 2, 3 and Motorsport 6 and 7, which was already more than enough. And I actually partially replayed Horizon 2 on the Xbox One, because I initially started it on the Xbox 360, but last year, I bought the 10th anniversary edition, with a simply MASSIVE add-on bundle, and I still never even got close to finishing that.

With Horizon 3, the interest kinda faded, once I unlocked the Hot Wheels and Snowy Mountain content. And then came the Switch, so my focus was spread even thinner than it already was...

No, my friend, you are, or should be the resident Forza Horizon 4 guide, had you spent a little more time racing, instead of inspecting the shrubberies....

@ThanosReXXX Yeah, you got me there lol 😆. But you can go everywhere you want barring you have the DLC for it.

I think my big problem with Forza Horizon 4 is getting used to proper corner taking. I really don't play many racing games other than Mario Kart (which is important as neither Switch or 3DS had analogue triggers), so it's going to take me time to learn the muscle memory required not to constantly jam down the acceleration or brakes all or nothing, which is what's causing me to lose control & spin out.

@RR529 the assist that shows you the racing line is essential for a new player. Keep an eye on the colour, if it turns red you need to brake. When it's blue just keep your foot down. Also, I find that AWD or Front wheel drive vehicles are easier to control.