@DarkRula I see. Thanks for the addition. Does make parting with your Xbox 360 much easier than me with mine, though, so I'll keep it around for a little while longer. And to be honest, I actually also like being able to play games without having to install them first...
As for your digital titles: you probably already know, but just in case: all digital Xbox 360 titles that will work on the Xbox One, can be found in your "Ready to install" list under the "My Games & Apps" page.
That way, you also don't have to remember all of them. All Games with Gold downloads will also go there.
Drift zones in Forza Horizon 4. Does anyone else feel they've been made harder than the third? Or did I start trying to three star them on one of the hardest in the game? Don't ask how long I spent trying that one near Kingfisher House. I'd rather not think of it.
The drift zone by Kingfisher House just feels so thin that everything needs to be done right otherwise you'll end up losing out on points. After trying it for so long, I'm surprised that there's a long list of people in the leaderboard who have almost double the amount of points needed to three star it.
@DarkRula What is the name of the challenge in a white van in rainy weather? I still haven't beaten that and it always shows up as a suggestion killing every good vibe I have. You have to be fast, get tons of points and not leave the road for a second. I wish I could erase it from suggestions at least. How do people do this challenge I wonder.
No idea. I haven't touched many of the challenges in FH4 yet, and don't usually take note of the challenge names anyway. But it sounds like a tough one.
@BlueOcean Ah, yes.... The challenges, a lot of which include the infamous barn finds...
In every Horizon game I've played, I've always come across a few that I can't complete myself either.
I always have, and probably always will. Comes with the territory of not having enough time, or not as much time, to play games anymore, because life and all of its more necessary obligations simply takes precedence over hobbies.
And at my age, even if it does seem like I'm putting in a lot of my time, it's STILL not enough.
I simply can't compete with kids and/or younger gamers, who have the luxury of being able to spend next to all of their waking moments honing their skills. I already experienced that sad fact, back in the early days of the Xbox 360, when going online in first person shooters with anyone else other than my friends.
I probably got shot around 10 to 12 times before I'd even have a chance to get a score of my own, let alone get my bearings after being respawned for the umpteenth time...
At some point, I just decided not to be bothered by all of that anymore, so if I go online, it's only with friends, so that matches are still fun to play, and in the case of these challenges in games, I just skip the ones that I can't complete, either until I feel like I've improved, so I can try again, or I simply ignore them for good, adding another unfinished game to the list.
I've got quite the collection of those, unfinished games...
And especially in the case of older games, it's much harder to go back to them and still try to complete them. Also because you'd have to get back into the flow of the game itself, to even be able to make a useful attempt.
Ultimately, what counts for me when gaming, is having fun or feeling good about it. If I have to replay some section or level for WAY too many times, and I still can't improve enough to achieve the required result, then it's time to let go, because by then, it either becomes an obligation, or borders on OCD territory, and that is not what I want games to feel like to me...
Oh, and suggestions are called that for a reason. No need to feel obligated to actually do them, no matter how many times they appear in the list.
Imagine all the unnecessary things we'd buy online, if we agreed with every suggestion that was presented to us...
@DarthNocturnal I'll try that tactic for Forza Horizon 3, I have 1 road left which I can't find and eventually gave up.
By the way, Microsoft announced Project xCloud for 2019. It's the Xbox game streaming service for phones and tablets they briefly mentioned at the end of E3.
@ThanosReXXX Man, the suggestion is the first that pops up every time I ask the navigator. It's a useful feature if you don't want to drive aimlessly, but I wish I could ignore that particular one! Or someone will have to come to my house and do it.
Of course I don't expect to beat every game 100%, that's only possible playing a few games or playing 100% of your time as some OCD players do.
@BlueOcean Yeah, I know, but it's still only a suggestion. You've always got multiple options. Just because Forza Horizon's Cortana has the suggestion at the top of the selections, doesn't mean I have to go for that one...
Or someone will have to come to my house and do it.
Haha, yeah, I've done that sometimes, with certain parts in shooters such as COD or Gears of War, although often times, doing them in online co-op (or with a friend in spectator mode, giving hints) was already helpful enough...
'The console wars are like boobs: Sony and Microsoft fight over which ones look the nicest and Nintendo's are the most fun to play with.'
@ThanosReXXX But every time I ask for things to do that challenge pops up, it's annoying. I don't even know until I'm there because they just guide you there.
@BlueOcean Well, if it still works as in the previous games, then she should tell you beforehand, what it is that she'll show you the quickest route to, so that should help. And of course, the choices are also displayed, next to the directional controls on screen...
EDIT:
Alternatively, you can just skip using the voice operated route planner altogether and use the full screen map to plot your course and look for barn finds, billboards and what not.
@ThanosReXXX "can be found in your "Ready to install" list under the "My Games & Apps" page."
Well this week, anyway. After the patch, "Ready to install" is going away and will become a tab on the My Games page.
Also, yeah it was 1X vs. PC, but also 1X vs Pro. I remember someone sending me comparisons of how much better Shadow of War looks on the 1X, and the importance of the best looking version of the game other than the PC version
FWIW, each day I get closer to settling on 30fps/HQ for FH4. Smooth is really really cool. If I were racing online, smooth would be the way to go. But man, you give up so much wow in the game with turning the gfx options down. Especially with the seasons. Fall is so cool...leaves blowing, trees blowing in the wind, leaves on the road in slick puddles, beading on the windows, it's all so "present"....if you turn it to 60fps, the cars are smoother, but the trees look kind of like sprites, the leaves blowing look ok but kind of non-distinct, the puddles lose that wet feeling the rain feels UI-like and the road/fields feel kind of flat and empty.
60fps is very cool to have and it looks kinda pretty still, but it's all so clinical looking. 30fps looks like watching cars in a movie, but you get to play them. 60fps shows cars moving like real life in a world that looks like an arcade Cool in their own ways, and I haven't given up on 60fps totally, but more and more I feel like the full quality is how "Horizon is meant to be played." They spent a lot of time building beautiful seasons to explore, and 60fps mode just makes it a clinical racer with low-minimum PC spec type graphics. I really great option to have, but I'm not sure it's the ideal way to explore that world. Maybe a great setting after you've seen it all and get bored with it and just want some races though.
@NEStalgia Well, that comment should be a statement to advocate lower frame rates in some other thread,
that I used to be in months ago, about the pros and cons of frame rate or better graphics (but which I now steer clear from, due to all the pig-headed people in it).
As you might know, anything in between 24 and 30fps is often also labeled the so-called movie, or cinematic frame rate, named so because of it being the predominant frame rate in actual movie making. As obvious by now, a frame rate which besides leaving more power for graphics, also allows for a grander scope of things, because of that "movie feel", which compares rather nicely with your own experience in and sentiments about the game.
But of course, we could also say that they have always made Forza Horizon work in 30fps, so it's no mystery that they have now done so again. The 60fps mode is just a nice bonus, but one that comes with a certain trade-off.
The stills (apparently) don't do it justice, though, because I really wasn't all that impressed and/or shocked, while looking at those comparison shots in that EuroGamer article, so that isn't going to persuade me that 60fps is ugly. At worst, a little bit less pretty, in my opinion. But not by much at all.
On a side note: this IS the first Forza Horizon game built from the ground up with X as the lead platform, so there's that...
And EuroGamer doesn't seem to agree with your choice of "going for pretty" either, seeing as they specifically mention that going back from 60fps feels like such a downgrade in racing feel, that it feels hard to pass up, so to each their own, I suppose. Which does make having the choice a really nice thing.
Concerning My Apps and Games: doesn't really matter much, since the Ready to install list was already always accessed by first going to that page anyway. At least, that's how I always do it anyway.
In the whole 1X vs PC vs Pro debate, I did post a couple of Digital Foundry comparisons (none of them Shadow of War, though, so that was someone else), so I guess I kinda did join in there, but I was never under any illusion, nor was I trying to persuade people, that console graphics could at any current point in time surpass PC graphics.
But convenience, and near-instant plug and play is a MASSIVE bonus to me, one that I would gladly trade a little less polish in the graphics department for...
@ThanosReXXX LOL, yeah. In most games I'm an advocate for 60fps. You'd think I would be in a racing game. But I think it's the combination of they did such impressive work on the visuals combined with their impressively rock solid 30fps and impressive use of motion blur that makes it feel totally solid. I think 30fps gets a bad rep because most games that are "30fps" actually play at 20fps at least a quarter of the time, and the unsteady frame-rate is really noticeable. Horizon 4 is 30fps, rock solid, and that helps a lot. OTOH an action game like Bayonetta would be awful below 60fps....taht smooth motion is important in a game where the camera is all over the place. In a racer the camera is wherever you're pointing.
Yeah the stills while showing a stark visual difference, IMO, I think with the game, in motion, what stands out at lower detail (when you're not stopping to gawk...which you do do) is just the overall LoD and density. Feeling like a real street with real fields on the side versus "the flat ground texture to the right". The immersion just doesn't happen at 60. Certainly it has pros and cons, but it's noticeable to me in the way I'm pulled into the world and want to play with and interact with the objects around me. In quality mode I was smashing fences just for the fun of it....the effect is so cool, and the scattered pieces everywhere are fun. The world invites you to mess with it more. 60fps just makes you want to race. The world doesn't become the main character anymore, your car is.
I don't disagree with EG. Droping to 30 from 60 does feel like a downgrade at first in racing. But the immersion and interaction with the world are upgraded. The flip side is also true, 30 to 60 is immediately smooth but the world feels less inviting, and I don't feel the need to interact with it as much, just fast travel to the next race.
Ready to Install: Now you'll just go to your big alphabetical list of games itself, and there's some toggle to show the ready to install ones. I don't actually like that change but they're playing it up like a big cool thing.
And no, of course 1X couldn't surpass PC. PC can do higher quality FH4 and do it all at 60fps...that's always a perk there if you're willing to spend the $$$$ and frustration. I do agree on the convenience (and thermal output!)
@NEStalgia There's a recurring theme here: you're doing that over-scrutinizing/dissecting thing again.
I used to be an artisan in printing, before I became a sales & marketing professional (12 years in the offset printing industry), so I'm no stranger to looking at the finer details, but I'll stick to my earlier statements regardless. Those EuroGamer stills in their comparison tool really only show a minor downgrade, that shouldn't really bother most of us. I've been flipping them back and forth, time and again, in full screen, even just now, and I don't see this almost harrowing experience that you seem to describe, at ALL.
Even in 60fps mode, the game STILL looks beautiful, although obviously not maxed out. But if it still looks as good as previous outings, such as I have already mentioned in previous comments, then it is a beautiful game regardless, in either mode. And I think the flat textures remark is highly over-exaggerated: there were very little to no flat ground textures in FH2 or 3, so I can't for the life of me imagine them to be there this time around, seeing as all Playground has ever done, is improve upon each game with a new installment.
I think games should not be put under a microscope. Instead, we should just play and enjoy them.
Taking it to another level either requires someone to either be predisposed to see what he/she wants to see, or to simply over-analyze things time and again, the latter of which is what I often feel you are doing, because in a lot of things, such as now FH4, but previously when discussing sound installations or PC builds, you seem to have a tendency to go overboard with the details, and which ones you fully take note of.
Too much scrutinizing, and in some cases, too little accepting and/or enjoying how things are, and that they're really good enough as is.
No offense, but that is, for the most part, the general impression across all these comments (well the text wall ones anyway), that I keep getting from you.
All that tinkering, or thinking about settings and so on, is still very much (too much?) in line with the whole PC community, so even though you did get on board of the Xbox One X train, that still seems to be pretty much ingrained into your system...
Oh, and no, I will NOT stop and gawk at some roadside vista or whatever, seeing as I play racing games to race, not to stand still. Never done that, never will...
But hey, I'm talking to the guy who's getting up close with the trees, to see if the bark texture is either flat or more realistic, so this will probably fall on deaf ears anyway...
@ThanosReXXX The differences in those stills are pretty stark to me to a degree. Look at the detail on the boat and the stone wall behind it in that one shot. It's not subtle, it's pretty stark. But in motion the emptiness of the fields and the radical loss of detail on trees in motion (and for that matter buildings) is pretty extreme. I don't mean the car in motion past the trees. I mean the car sitting still and the trees blowing in the wind. They're very reduced and very sprite-like. It's just unsettling Also the house-lined streets feel just more "backdrop". That doesn't cover the reflections on water, the headlights (headlights cast shadows and react with surfaces in quality mode, but don't in 60fps mode.) You can say it all doesn't matter, but what is a Horizon game? Is it about winning races, or interacting with the world? If it's about winning races, why not just play Motorsport? I'll cull all the detail for a few extra frames in Motorsport, you're note looking at the world, ever there. And yeah, dissecting things is what I do When presented any choice I ABX test it until I nail down the differences, absolutely
Yes, Playground improves each time which is my point: 60fps mode was a technical feat for them to pull off...but to pull it off on the X they had to back down to a fidelity level below previous fidelity levels, but do some neat tricks to make it still feel "mostly as good." But the improvements otherwise are all in quality mode (and they are quite beautiful.) The geometry, density, etc gets reduced, not just textures or reflections. Fields in particular are lush and alive normally. In performance mode they become a ground texture and a smattering of blobby plant-like filler. That's not to denegrate 60fps mode....it does mostly look good enough. But I do think it needs to be clear, 60fps mode is for someone who is all about maximized racing and isn't too interested in exploring the world and interacting with its pieces. It's awesome it exists, and I will use it at times. But I don't believe it's the intended way to experience the new seasons etc at their best. From what I've seen, a still frame from 1x Performance mode is lower fidelity than 1S normal play, so they had to back the visuals down below 1S performance to double the frames.
So, I'm OCD Yes I will obsess over things until I've evaluated every detail. I mentioned I was an audiophile....that means listening to the same track over again with every possible speaker/amplifier/DAC/cable/settings option at your disposal, back and forth, again and again and again until you can identify the differences between each and try to identify your favorite. It's an exceedingly OCD nature that goes into that....I do it with everything . Cooking, audio, video, everything. Can't help it! I'm obsessed with perfection? Which sucks when I never even get close The problem with PC is, yeah, that probably is most in tune with my nature but that's not always a good thing to feed that nature. I'd still have gone for it were it not the expense, and my litany of struggles to keep it actually running stably though. I got 1X literally because it was close to getting a PC without a PC for 1/3 the cost, after all....otherwise the PS4 would have been more than plenty
Ewwwww, not stopping to gawk at vistas in Horizon? Why play Horizon at all then? Motorsport is where it's at! I stop constantly.....slam into cars and walls often just to stop and enjoy the scenery.... Not during a race event....but while free roaming? Absolutely, non-stop. The beautiful landscape is the whole reason for the open world! I've been winning a lot of races all the same (even at 30fps mode ) And that's with all the assists disabled, save the full blue racing line, auto transmission, rewind active, and cosmetic damage model-only. But braking, steering, stability, traction are all manual/simulation, so I'm getting that nice 50% CR bonus. Even with taking in the vistas
Be one with nature! Make your fender one with nature!
@DarthNocturnal Looking at comparisons, 1X 60fps mode has a lot in common per-frame with OG X1 mode, but there are some aspects that look better, and some that look worse. IMO, 60fps mode on 1X has an excessively aggressive FSAA (We'll call it 'PS3 mode' ) that may help things look less jagged, but also soften too much of the image too extreme in a way that makes the OG X1 look sharper in some aspects. Specifically I think draw distance sharpness is better on OG X1, whereas Performance mode on X tends to close you in to a field of view close to the car and gets blurrier and less detailed further away than the OG X1 mode. So it looks better in some areas worse in others.
Awesome feature, but more for very focused race fans like our resident mad titan than for those that love exploring the beautiful seasons in the UK. I may switch to it as a "post-game" thing eventually. It's nice to have the option. "Same exact game as OG X1 but visually more striking" or "double frame rate version of same gfx more or less." It's a technical feat they managed to squeeze so much out of the OG 1 to the point some things look better on it than performance mode on the X!
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