Occasional Tales

 I’d normally start the Festival playlist with the treasure hunt in case it’s still bugged, but I started with the weekly in the Senna instead. No issues apart from running into a live HA which I ignored to complete the rest of the tasks. For FH6, they need to add a pop-up which says “Join HA Y/N”, which allows players to opt out because the siting of such events is often a blasted nuisance (e.g. over a player house; right across the motorway; etc.) I also used the Senna to find the Festival site south of the stadium and deal with the daily, being the usual photo-at-the-Festival-site routine. I switched to my Range Rover SVR to deal with the collectibles that are supposed to be south of the stadium. The treasure hunt was merely a matter of doing an SZ in the Willys Jeep. I don’t know whether I was supposed to get at least one star, but the job was done and I got my treasure, which was close to the end of the airfield runway. For the first time in a while we had an Eventlab, Skyline...

 A slight delay this week because I was on my hols. I wasn’t going to take my laptop, but because the forecast was for inclement weather, I decided to take it just in case. As it turned out, the weather was the extreme opposite of inclement (which is what we had at home while I was absent). As it turned out, it was a good thing I took my laptop, but for other reasons, and at no time did I play any FH5, mainly because the built-in keyboard is rubbish. I thought that after a week of no FH5, I’d be all rubbish, but it seems not. The weekly was in the Lamborghini Centenario. Another straightforward set of tasks, including other tasks to be done on the Festival playlist such as the piccie at the FH3 festival site. I did the Horizon Tour in a stock (?), but presumably tuned Hoonigan Escort Cosworth, which had by far the lowest PI in my team. I started at the front round El Pípila , but couldn’t match the pace of the cars ahead of me, managing a 4th because the player ahead of me was in t...

The weekly in the 2014 Huracán ended up covering the daily (the visit to the vaguely located Festival site-of-the-week) and the scattered collectibles. I was expecting the novelty speed zones to be pains to do, but one-shotted both of them. Pyramid of the Moon took a couple of attempts as it usually does. One one-third very good SWS, and the other two were rubbish. I ended up ion B-class modern sports cars for Horizon Tour and chose the 2013 BRZ. I ought to have picked the BMW Z4 (older or newer) because the car launched like a slug that’s been nailed to the door of the garden shed. I started from the back round Emerald and came 3rd, but couldn’t catch the Z4s. Started on the front row for Horizon Mexico and came 3rd after overtaking a couple of less competent players, who insisted on sliding into turns. I was on the front row for Mulegé and came 2nd, partly because of a late overtake (again, I’ll beat ’em on corners every time) and partly, I believe, because someone missed a check...

I started with the weekly challenge in the 2013 Viper GTS. It was remarkable only for being unremarkable. I used the car to deal with the daily (visit the Festival outpost in Copper Canyon) and the photo challenge. I one-shotted the East Resort ST for a one-third excellent SWS. I one-shotted and PB’ed the Horizon Baja ST. The SWS included the Ferrari F50 GT, which I kept because I couldn’t recall how many I had. I’d forgotten that the answer to Pantano Pass is to do the run from the Mangrove Scramble . I also don’t have many Fords at the top of S1-class. I thought the Mach E might do the job, but in the end it was the Mustang RTR Spec 5. Rubbish SWS. Like last time, getting the collectibles was a matter of driving along Copper Canyon and smashing the boards. Rivals week again, but neither Lookout nor Mulegé was a problem. Eventlab (1). The Backroads . B700 Mitsubishi (i.e., every bloody modern rally seasonal ever). Marks off for night, rain, glare, a misplaced checkpoint, and irri...

How could I not two-star that sodding SZ with the Deberti Mustang in one go to complete the treasure hunt? I even came off both bridges. Bloody disgraceful. I now have 110,000FPs. How? I haven’t done 2,000FPs of graft since last week. The weekly was in the MB 190E, which is not a car I especially like at the best of time in comparison with its near contemporaries. I repainted it in a garish green and slapped a stripe in the colours of the German flag on it. This had nothing to do with the weekly, but the car is rather drab. The PR stunts were the International Scout with the annoying engine swap to ruin the handling to complete the tasks. I one-shotted the SZ and the ST, but had to do the engine swap for the DS. Eventlab (1). Lighthouse National Circuit . Marks off for making me waste time going to Eventlab Island. Why can’t we just drive over a bridge to the island? The layout needs to be doubled in size, and the checkpoints kept winking into existence as I went round the circuit. The...

No treasure hunt, but I combined the collectibles with the daily. I took a picture. I got an orange suit. Gods, I feel so sexy that my underpants have melted. No, wait, that’s the effects of the heatwave. The weekly challenge was in the 2010 Nissan 370Z. Fortunately, I had a new one, which I could build to complete the first event. I did the drift zone challenge in two goes, probably using the same car I used the last time. I used another Street Scene race for Rivals. My opponent had a dirty time, which mean I didn’t have to win to get the job done. My 1997 BMW M3 was still the same car from the last time I had to use it for the PR stunts. The ST is easily doable from the west even in a car that’s mostly stock. The SWS was one-third good and one-third very good. I managed to one-shot the SZ even though I crashed through the armco. One-third very good SWS. The DZ was a pain because I cannot drift for sustained distances in RWD cars. I was rubbish. The SWS was rubbish. Eventlab (1). Plyn...

I had to make the Nevera go fast along the runway to complete the treasure hunt. No idea how many FPs I now have, and I certainly have nothing to spend them on. The weekly was a pain because of the Showoff skill. I have no idea what one of these is. If I did know, I’d be unable to consciously do one. I did a plenitude of races before I finally got one in Vista del Mar, although at what point this happened, I have no idea. I one-shotted the DS for a one-third very good SWS. I one-shotted the ST for an SWS that was beyond excellent, but I don’t actually need another Sesto Elemento. I also one-shotted the SZ for an SWS that was one-third good and one-third very good. The photo is of the painting on the side of the player house in Playa Azul. Eventlab (1). Sunset Palms Raceway . Points off for Eventlab Island, another excellent advertisement for incorporating such places into the main map instead of forcing players to load a new map in. Good use of props. Marks on for daylight, and a tick ...