The Forza Horizon franchise has carved its own path, veering away from Turn 10's mainline series with its emphasis on arcade racing set within a massive open world. The series' evolution has been a long but often spectacular journey - a vibrant racing celebration that's given Horizon its own distinct identity and in Forza Horizon 4, Playground Games aims for something even more special from a technical perspective - a game that builds substantially on the last entry's technical strengths and focuses on Xbox One X as lead platform. "I definitely think there's a leap in fidelity in Forza Horizon 4 over Forza Horizon 3," creative director Ralph Fulton says. "Part of that is kind of natural because Xbox One X is our lead platform. It allows us to just go into more detail. But I also think that with every run at the tech we get better at using it, we get better and more efficient at using it. Our processes and our art techniques become more refined, so I think you naturally see that it's a team who has a huge experience making horizon games, are growing in justified confidence in the way the way that they go about making a game." Moving away from the Australian heat to a distinctly seasonable UK impacts development in many ways, providing a suitable challenge for Playground's art and tech departments. The location choice is a big starting point, and it meant visiting and meticulously rendering landmarks across the country using physically-correct properties. The landscape of the UK is carefully replicated too using a digital elevation model, giving its rolling pastures an authentic look. "We base our original world map on DEM data, which is basically satellite height map imagery," Ralph Fulton says. "In Australia we could only buy it to a resolution of 30 metres. What that gave us was kind of a spongy height map, so you could see what was a mountain and what wasn't. In the UK though, you can get satellite DEM data to a resolution of five metres, and what that gives you is a much, much higher resolution height map which almost gives you hedge rows." That's a lot of data to work with, but it's translated to more options for the art team. Technical art director Gareth Harwood says that this provides a ready-made base for the team's artists to work from. "We built on the system that we had in Forza Horizon 3, a height field system that allowed us to create terrain very quickly and very easily for the artists to iterate on," he explains. "This automatically creates LODs, it creates collision for the artists as well, and it gives them more time to be artists, rather than having to worry about technical constraints in having to build our world." DF's in-depth technical analysis of Forza Horizon 4 - it's a beautiful release. The notion of the four seasons also provided a challenge for the team. "With seasons we needed a new way for them to be able to paint down all of the new materials throughout [each season]. We came up with a material system that allowed the artists to choose which material to paint down once, and then it would just reflect in all the different seasons," Hardwood says. "For example, if we were painting down a corn field, we could say what a cornfield would look like in spring, summer, autumn and winter, and then also how it handles, what type of pick-up you get, whether there's 3D corn on there, or whether it's all been cut away, whether it turns into deformable snow [and] what type of grip levels you get." This impression of the UK wouldn't be complete if it were only focused on terrain though. The sky also had to be accurately modeled, along with the lighting properties that come with it. Time-lapse photography sessions lasting 24 hours were carried out, to capture the ideal skyline for each season, each time of day, and weather as well. With each switch between seasons, there's a hard cut, but from Playgrounds extensive outdoor shoots, you get the best-case from each. It's Britain with its best face. "The assets that we end up with [amount to] 1.2TB of photography for every shoot," says CG supervisor Jamie Wood. "Every shoot that we capture takes about four weeks to process, and we end up with a HDRI image sequence. We take these images that become the sky, and obviously we also generate cubemaps for lighting, directional fog maps, cone shadow masks down on the ground. And because we're out in the field capturing real world data, we can also gather weather information, and make sure our dynamic weather is accurate." He describes this as unprecedented work, taken to a level that hasn't been seen before in a game. That high resolution, high dynamic range sky capture then feeds into the lighting, regardless of in-game time, weather or the season. It forms a bedrock of the game's lighting, something that has been improved since Forza Horizon 3. Xbox One X features two modes, with performance mode running at a fixed 1920x1080, compared to the full 3840x2160 on quality mode. You get 4x MSAA on each. Dynamic lights from headlamps are removed on the performance mode to keep its 60fps output in check Ambient occlusion is also dialled back, as you can see underneath the car body here. Motion blur takes on a less intrusive form with performance mode selected - though undeniably the 4K quality mode gives the crisper image overall. Playground also tells us that lighting, shadows and particularly specular highlights on foliage are improved across the board with a fully overhauled model. With Xbox One X as the lead platform, many of the engine improvements trickle down automatically to the base Xbox One. However, the bump to 4K resolution on X reveals the extent to which the team could improve this game over the last. For example, snow returns, after its appearance in the Blizzard Mountain DLC for the last game.<doc-sep>There are few games out there that can truly define themselves as console sellers, but for Microsoft, the Forza games absolutely fit that bill. Two years ago, Forza Horizon 3 reaped the benefit of losing its last-gen shackles, bringing a huge, glorious recreated representation of Australia to the table. In 2018 we have the Xbox One X, and once again with Forza Horizon 4, Playground Games has delivered another genre-defining racer. Forza Horizon 4 is a racing game everyone can enjoy and everyone should play. It is magnificent. See at Amazon See at Microsoft Forza Horizon 4 key details Before jumping in with the full review, there are a few key details worth highlighting: Forza Horizon 4 is available on September 28 to Ultimate Edition buyers who get four days early access. The regular edition of the game and the Xbox Game Pass release are available on October 2. Forza Horizon 4 is Xbox One X enhanced supporting 4K resolution at 30 FPS. Xbox One X players have an optional performance mode which drops the resolution to 1080p at 60 FPS. HDR is available on both the Xbox One X and Xbox One S as well as the PC version for Windows 10. Forza Horizon 4 is an Xbox Play Anywhere title and will be available on Windows 10 at the same time as the Xbox One. Forza Horizon 4 complete car list As always, Forza Horizon 4 comes with a ton of different cars to race around in. Way too many to mention in a review, but luckily, we've compiled a full list of everything you can expect to see. Forza Horizon 4 complete car list Welcome to the Horizon Festival The core formula of Forza Horizon 4 remains unchanged from the previous three games. The action centers around the Horizon Festival, which this year has set up camp in the north of the United Kingdom. The high-rise, beaches and desert stretches of Australia are a long way from the very green, extremely rural, but always picturesque setting for Forza Horizon 4. To see the UK recreated like this is awe-inspiring. At first glance, it's easy to dismiss the map as being smaller than its predecessor, and while it does feel that way, the UK is also a much smaller country. Instead of a wide, sprawling map, Forza Horizon 4 delivers something compact, but incredibly dense, with over 500 roads to explore. The Horizon Festival is centered around one site in this year's game, with the upgrade mechanics of Forza Horizon 3 completely gone. Instead, Forza Horizon 4 has houses across the map for you to buy, which in turn unlock perks and fast travel points. One of the houses, for example, must be bought in order to unlock the in-game drone mode. The setting is utterly glorious, and while I may have a little British bias, to see my homeland recreated in this way is truly awe-inspiring. The sweeping country roads, the attention to detail you find on road signs, roadworks and things like traffic lights and road markings is incredible. It feels like you're barreling down the British country roads, Playground Games has captured the setting perfectly. It's a tremendous homecoming. Forza Horizon 4: Performance and visuals Forza Horizon has always been an incredible looking game, but the fourth installment is the first to launch with Xbox One X enhancements. This brings it closer than ever to the PC version, delivering 4K resolution alongside HDR (which is also supported on the Xbox One S). Players are given the choice of two different graphical settings. If you're looking for the highest quality 4K visuals, the "quality" setting is for you, with a small caveat that you'll be restricted to 30 FPS. If you're playing on an Xbox One X use performance mode. You can thank me later. If you're not interested in 4K, you can swap out to the "performance" setting, which drops the resolution to 1080p but doubles the frame rate to 60 FPS. The first time a console version of Forza Horizon has been able to run at 60 FPS, and it's as solid as a rock. On the 24-inch monitor I've been playing Forza Horizon 4 on, I can't say I've noticed any real drop in graphics quality between the two modes. Personally, I'm much happier with 60 FPS, which delivers a silky smooth experience. Most importantly, Playground Games has given us the choice to have it how we want it. More game developers should do this. There are a couple of wobbles on frame rate, thankfully not during the gameplay in my experience so far. But the Forzavista mode suffers a little and when you're viewing cars in the garage at the Festival site there's a little tearing. Neither affect the enjoyment of the game, and will probably get fixed in a future patch. The changing seasons bring their own suitably British weather. Graphically, Forza Horizon 4 continues the high standards that the previous games have set. The big new thing this year is the changing seasons, so beyond just weather and day turning to night, the environment looks different during each of the four seasons. During autumn, you'll find plenty of oranges and browns, leaves thinning on the trees and frequent showers. Winter brings plenty of snow, spring is fresh and sunny but with the traditional British rain, and summer is bright, clear and the best time for road racing. The closer you look the more you'll appreciate the detail. Mud, snow, and sand deform around your wheels, leaving tire tracks behind. The light breaks through the trees and makes your cars glisten as you drive past. As with Forza Horizon 3, the sky is a giant HDR light source, and everything beneath it reacts in a realistic way. Two years ago I called Forza Horizon 3 a work of art. That more than still applies. Forza Horizon 4: The Horizon Life Horizon Life is the center of the Forza Horizon 4 experience, and it's a little deeper and more complex than previous games.<doc-sep>The Forza Horizon 4 demo is available now, giving eager road warriors a little bit of driving to do before the full game arrives on October 2. You don't need to sign up or pre-order or do anything special to get in - just read on to find out how you can start racing ASAP and see how it addresses three of the series' biggest issues for yourself. What platforms is the Forza Horizon 4 demo available on? You can download and play the Forza Horizon 4 demo on two platforms: Xbox One and Windows 10 PC. The demo includes special Xbox One X enhancements as well, in case you're rocking Microsoft's latest system. PS4 or Nintendo Switch versions are extremely unlikely because both the franchise and developer are owned by Microsoft. How do I get the Forza Horizon 4 demo? Just load up either the Xbox Store or Microsoft Store (depending on your platform), search for "Forza Horizon 4 Demo" and start the download. You'll need about 28GB of open storage space to complete the download and installation. What's included in the Forza Horizon 4 demo? The big new open-world element for Forza Horizon 4 is shifting seasons, and you'll be able to experience all four of them in the demo. Developer Playground Games also says that you'll be able to try a "heavy-hitting lineup of vehicles" around the recreated roads and trails of Great Britain, but didn't specify how many of the full car list or how much of the map is included. What's the Forza Horizon 4 Demo Sweepstakes? If you live in the US or Canada, just downloading and playing the demo on Xbox One any time from now until October 2 will automatically enter you into the Forza Horizon 4 Demo Sweepstakes. Two Grand Prize winners will get an all-expenses paid trip to drive a McLaren car on a race circuit with professional training, as well as an Xbox One X, Elite Controller, and a copy of Forza Horizon 4. Here are the full terms and conditions for the contest<doc-sep>The game is available now, so you're probably looking for Forza Horizon 4 cheap deals, right? Because you need it, but want to save some money. Horizon 4 - set in a fictional version of Britain - is one of Microsoft's biggest Xbox One hitters for the end of 2018, and it's a damn good game, offering 100s of hours play if you tackle everything in single player and online. In terms of value for money, this is a good one to see you through the winter. In our review of Forza Horizon 4 we awarded the game 4/5 stars, calling it a "challenging and all-encompassing online racer". Our reviewer praised the game for how beautiful it looks - and if you pick up Forza Horizon 4 cheap and pop it in your Xbox One X, it looks stunning - and for the range of races and options available. If you're a fan of the Forza series, you probably already bought one of the pre-order or special editions, but they're listed below anyway. You may still be able to pick one up, although they tend to get far rarer after release. If you're tempted to upgrade your console to play Horizon 4, here are the best Xbox One X deals available now. And if you're waiting for them, here are the best Black Friday game deals for 2018. However, here are the best prices on just the game: Forza Horizon 4 console bundles If you need a new Xbox One S or Xbox One X to dive into the latest Forza, there are a handful of options available. US Bundles Walmart has the lovely white Xbox One S bundled with the base game as well as a month-long Game Pass trial and a 14 day trial of Xbox Live Gold. Get it at Walmart for $299.99 The Microsoft Store also has the white Xbox One S bundle, as well as a black Xbox One X Forza Horizon 4 bundle which comes with the game as well as Forza Motorsport 7, a 30-day trial for Game Pass and 14-day trial of Xbox Live Gold. Get it at the Microsoft Store for $499.99 UK Bundles GAME has a solid deal on a combo bundle that comes with an Xbox One X, Forza Horizon 4, as well as the last mainline Forza, Motorsport 7. Get it at GAME for £449.99 Special editions Horizon 4 is launching in three editions, which seems relatively restrained in the current climate. As with the pre-order bonuses, most of the additional content in the expanded editions comes in the form of extra cars, including their new garage expanding Car Pass, though the Ultimate edition also includes VIP access and some other assorted goodies. Deluxe Edition The Deluxe Edition comes with the base game, the Formula Drift Car Pack, and the Car Pass, which doles out 42 new cars two at a time over the course of 21 weeks. Deluxe Edition US (digital only): $79.99 from Amazon Deluxe Edition UK (digital only): £64.99 from Amazon Ultimate Edition The Ultimate Edition has everything from the Deluxe offering plus the Day One Car Pack (including the 2012 Dodge Challenger R/T, 2014 Ford Fiesta ST, and 2013 Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG), VIP access, two forthcoming DLC expansions, and the ability to play early, on September 28th. Ultimate Edition US: $99.99 from Amazon Ultimate Edition UK: £79.99 from Amazon<doc-sep>
Developer Playground Games excels in creating vibrant, varied landscapes - and Forza Horizon 4 doesn't disappoint. Based on a preview build we recently sampled, Xbox One X offers up two compelling ways to explore it too. For the first time in the Horizon series' history, console users get a choice between 4K resolution at 30 frames per second and a new performance mode that delivers a solid 60fps. It's a long-requested feature, and while a mainstay of the Forza Motorsport games, it's been off limits for the Horizon series on Xbox - until now. The 60fps mode is significant, especially in terms of its sheer consistency, but running the game at its default 4K30 should be the first port of call in appreciating the sheer quality in the visuals. ForzaTech shines as its global tour finally returns home to Great Britain, and while the push for colour, confetti and fireworks keeps the series' trademark bombast, at its core the terrain is accurately modelled, with photo-realistic takes on each country's landmarks. The game's four seasons also distinguish this move to Britain too. From spring through to winter, materials, foliage, sky-boxes and of course, driving physics change with the conditions. The open world map size is roughly similar to Horizon 3 all told, but the new four-way split helps multiply the possibilities. It's a bold new direction for the series but the switch from season to season isn't a gradual transition, but rather a hard cut - it fades in and out, planting you in the middle of an idealised version of each. However, it still represents a fundamental challenge from a technological perspective. "Each individual season touches pretty much each individual asset in the game in some way," creative director Ralph Fulton tells us. "It was a challenge for tooling, pipelines, as well as for rendering, art creation. The challenge was to make it less than a 4x modifier on the cost, because that just wouldn't have worked. It was really a very cross-disciplinary approach to solving all the many problems that come with that." Previous techniques Playground pioneered return for Horizon 4 too. "One of the big things we did in Australia [in Horizon 3] was the sky capture technology which kind of pioneered on that project," he continues. "We've continued to use that - we've actually enhanced it. We've built a new rig for this game with a slightly higher level of fidelity. In Forza Horizon 4 we're doing seasons, so we [also] had to capture all four seasons." Our first look at how Forza Horizon 4 handles its 4K quality mode and its 60fps-orientated performance offering. Playground has experience with Xbox One X of course, with a small team porting Horizon 3 to the six teraflop system earlier this year, delivering a beautiful native 4K presentation. But this time, the developer has targeted the system more specifically, with a studio-wide focus: Xbox One X is treated as the lead platform, and the options are broadened. There's more to come on this closer to the game's launch - but needless to say, the engine changes are impressive and Playground is getting more from the hardware than simply resolution and frame-rate increases. The quality mode at 4K remains solid, and that 30fps frame-rate is basically rock solid from the first hour I've played of the preview build. As with the last Horizon title, CPU and GPU resources are carefully managed to avoid bottlenecks, while at the same time maintaining visual consistency. For example, for the most part, foliage renders in seamlessly across the bend of a valley. It's rare you'll catch sight of pop-in, or any sign that the X hardware is struggling to cope with the magnitude of objects being rendered in. Jumping into a high horsepower vehicle allows you to push the streaming technology harder though, making occasional LOD transitions are more apparent on trees. Even so, more so than any Horizon game before it, this is the most fluid, and consistent open world I've seen from the series on an Xbox One machine. The frame-rate metrics hold up, regardless of mode. Playground Games loves to give a bite-size summary of everything the game can do in its opening 10 minutes - an engine stress-test that Forza Horizon 4 indulges in brilliantly by flashing through each season. It's also a good workout for the new 60fps performance mode, if that's your choice.