Forza Horizon 5 Gets Highly Anticipated Update; Angers Gamers

Forza Horizon 5 has not received a patch since mid-December, and problems during that time have only increased. This state of affairs has finally changed - the game has received a major update, ahead of tomorrow's Series 4 launch. I wrote about new content and other attractions prepared for February last week. Today I'll focus on the fixes that the update has brought... and the community's reaction to the changes - largely negative.

What does the new update fix?

The patch notes are quite extensive - the list consists of dozens of items. Most of them concern minor bug fixes, but there are also some "major" changes:

1. At the forefront is the the ability to edit works created using the EventLab. Nothing prevents us from making adjustments to published templates anymore.
2. Equally important is the increased stability of servers, so that players experience sudden connection loss as rarely as possible...
3. ...but should such a situation nevertheless occur, at least the skill combination being cranked out at the moment will no longer be interrupted.
4. Improved graphics. PC users who play on ultra settings should see nicer textures and vegetation in the distance.
5. Several Accolades have been unlocked that were previously impossible to get due to bugs.
6. It should no longer be difficult to find friends in the online player list.
7. Bug that caused progress resets in weekly Forzathon challenges was resolved.
8. Convertibles are no longer unnaturally dark when using the cockpit view.
9. Shuffle-related "exploits" have been eliminated... and this point angered the community.

Why aren't players happy about the changes?

Gamers do not agree - to put it mildly - with the definition of the word "exploit" used by Playground Games. The changes regarding the draws became apparent on two levels:

1. There has been a noticeable reduction in the prize money that can be obtained from draws and superdraws (1000, 2000 and 5000 credits have been added).
2. The ability to earn draws and superdraws through the proficiency trees of individual cars has been removed (this applies to most or even almost all models).

While the developer has returned the proficiency points spent on the removed perks to the players, the community no longer sees a use for them; besides, they don't feel they've been treated fairly. Many people lament that everything in the game is expensive (or at least much of the content), and they've just lost a primary source of income - and some good time that wasn't hurting anyone.

In addition, users have pointed out burning issues that have been present in FH5 for a long time, but are yet to be solved - such as cheaters posting results in the leaderboards, game "freezes" of a few seconds when starting a 1v1 race in Eliminator mode, car lights not working properly after a network race, occasional "crashes" in the paint editor, and much more.

Speaking of disappointments - do you remember the topic of the mysterious Volkswagen Golf R, which is to be included in the Car Pass for February? Turns out it will be the 2021 (and not 2019) model after all, but... not from the 8th generation. We will get a 7th-gen after a facelift, which is a car very similar to the one that has long been present in the Forza series (Golf R from 2014). Not the best choice for paid content.

Maybe it would be easier for players to swallow the changes (or lack thereof) if the cars added in Series 4 were more... impressive?

What will Series 5 bring?

First and foremost, more improvements. Playground Games is still working, for example, on compensating players who were unable to complete various Festival Playlist activities in past weeks due to bugs (such as a treasure hunt that required scoring goals). The developer also takes care of at least the aforementioned car lights.

As for the more spectacular highlights - in Series 5 (in March), we can expect a new location, aptly named Stunt Park. We can also look forward to more activities connected with PR shows on the Festival Playlists, as Series 4 is to focus on racing as part of the Horizon World Cup event. There will also, of course, be new cars and other content. We'll probably have to wait until the end of February for details, though.

1. Forza Horizon 5 - game guide

Forza Horizon 5

November 9, 2021

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