Occasional Tales

And the answer is… Someone on the forums recommended a tune by aeqnx (share code 424 935 909) for the 1992 Honda NSX for the HW speed zone. AWD and a lot of power (max. speed about 391kmh). I used it to cheese the speed zone, bumping off a wall or two in the process, but the build had enough speed to complete the job. Out of curiosity, I rebuilt the NSX to my specs (bodykit, AWD; max. speed 302kmh) to see how my times compared with the target time. To begin with, I was hitting 243kmh (6kmh short of the target) on average in both directions. I switched to cockpit view (because that’s how I normally play FH4 and 5) and did the speed zone in the direction of the loop, passing the target speed with no real bother. Was cockpit view the answer all along? It gave me a better view of the walls, a better sense of the line to take, and a better sense of speed, whereas chase cam seems to encourage manic speed, which undermines strategy.

In spite of exams this week and the horrors of marking, I’ve managed to get through the Festival playlist. Almost. Treasure hunt. I guessed that the best jump for the Isetta was off the volcano. Job done, but the chest had to be placed awkwardly for a lovely slice of slight irritation. The weekly was in the BMW M4 GTS. Be nice if there was an in-game manual explaining exactly what a Hard Charger skill is. Nope, I have no idea. Something to do with going fast off the line; something I achieve randomly. I wasn’t much impressed by the reappearance of the Ladera speed zone which so vexed everyone last week. I did it badly, but completed the task. I got a good wheel spin afterwards. Eventlab (1). Rabbit Raceway , was a twisty Hot Wheels track which merely succeeded in being another slice of annoying for the week. Too many fiddly turns and no banking. Eventlab (2). Touge Battle Vol. 3 . Drive down some narrow road. Pretend it’s fun. Get a one-third excellent SWS. PR stunts. It was another we...

But first some news from last week. I was unable to do last week’s HA as a daily till yesterday. I spent 11 fraught minutes hoping that I wasn’t going to be disconnected. I also switched HAs when I got the impression that I might be dealing with a freeloader. Job done. But HAs should not be dailies since the connectivity is so appallingly bad. I started with the treasure hunt. I crashed about in the AMC Rebel. The treasure was placed in a position which provoked annoyance. I had an issue with the weekly. You had to drive 8.0 km, but my 3-Eleven refused to register more than about 100m. I think the problem was from fast travelling to claim a gift (that I could then pass on to some “new” player) because when I switched to my other Lotus 3-Eleven, the process resumed. The game then crashed when I went to Casa Bella to upgrade the car. The rivals challenge was a nuisance because I’m running out of races where I’m put up against the slowest time. I took a picture of the Morgan Aero GT, whic...

The pain and the grind. I started with the weekly in the BAC Mono which went well. The photo was a repeat screening of the cave that’s roughly SSE of Ek’ Balam. Eventab (1). Laderas GP . Another good circuit. Didn’t quite have the polish of Pie de Volcán , but was an excellent choice. Eventlab (2). Ninja Marv Muddy Mangos . Silly name, but a decent enough rally circuit with some awkward corners. Rubbish SWS. Absolute donkey turd. Eventlab (3). GP Goyta Full . What in the name of the Forza gods was this sodding ridiculous thing?! The moment I saw S2-class extreme track toys, I knew that I was going to loathe it and I did. I assume that it’s a track where the kiddies can slam into each other, knock each other out of checkpoints, and vote each other capital fellows for being enormous plonkers. Not fun. And the prize was some ridiculous clothing, thus confirming my supposition of the target audience. I one-shotted the speed trap in the Nova, and then spent half an hour or so building and r...

Let the bugs begin. I went over to the stadium which was empty apart from an icon marking Winter Wonderland . I clicked on it, and the Forzathon shop appeared. I sent someone an Alfa Romeo TZ2 as a gift before a bunch of props appeared and I fell through the ground. I reset my car, but was still trapped inside the barrier and had to fast travel to safety. The introductory announcement is being repeated each time I start the game. The treasure hunt seemed to be a matter of driving up the Volcán Sprint until some random point. I was online in free roam, which meant I was able to do an HA. As it turned out, I did the HA while a bunch of freeloaders who lurked elsewhere waited till the time ran out. If I’d had another minute I would’ve been able to get it all done, but the task was complete even though all three rounds weren’t. I think this was the first weekly in a car that I actually like – the 2016 Cayman GT4. The Winter Wonderland Circuit is as bad as I feared. Might make a good cart...

Could do better. Fast and Furious dlc – more overweight, overpowered American barges. Yes, I’ll probably buy the car pack, but as I said in the previous entry, there are so many cars in the game, I don’t have time for all of them. I’ve neglected other car packs somewhat and I may never try these outside of free roam. Four expensive, copy-and-paste Autoshow cars that seem to be intended – as AR12 Nick has suggested – to provoke players into shelling out their shekels on the Car Voucher scam. Yes, I called it a “scam”. The Gordon Murray T50 has piqued my interest. The Valkyrie is probably going to be the Nevera to the Concept version of the car. Same actress, different shade of lipstick. But the whole Secret Santa thing could be vexatious if I end up bombarded with rubbish. After being spared gifts for some time, I seem to have been the target for unwelcome donations. I can only hope we see no more of this in FH6. A new circuit race, albeit one that only appears in winter. Unfortunately,...