Horizon Forbidden West update improves image quality in Favor Performance mode

Guerrilla Games has released yet another update for Horizon Forbidden West that continues to improve the game.

According to the developer, this latest update improves image quality when using the Favor Performance mode by making “multiple tweaks” to vegetation. The developer has also improved the stability of depth of field in cinematics, reduced changes to saturation with motion blur, and improved the quality of grass and shadows.

In addition, several improvements have been made to the game’s Photo Mode, including a reduction in the minimum focus distance, an increase in precision in precision mode, new focal lengths, an FoV match for the default camera, and more. Read the full patch notes below:

Main Quests

• Fixed an issue in main quest ‘Reach for the Stars’ where the quest would not progress correctly if the second shuttle cable connector was shot first.
• Fixed an issue in main quest ‘Reach for the Stars’ where the player could exit the play space.
• Fixed an issue in main quest ‘The Embassy’ where rushing back through the Barren Light gate during The Embassy will get the player stuck in Barren Light.
• Fixed an issue in main quest “Death’s Door” where the player could summon their mount in an underground location.
• Fixed an issue in main quest “Death’s Door” where the player cannot interact with a console.
• Fixed an issue in main quest ‘The Sea of Sands’ where the objective to craft the diving mask updated incorrectly, blocking progression.
• Fixed an issue in main quest ‘Thebes’ where the player could squeeze through a gap in geometry near the Underwater Powerplant and fall out of the world.

Side Quests

• Fixed an issue in side quest ‘Breaking Even’ where the player could not talk to Porguf to turn in the quest if Talanah was also present in Camp Nowhere.
• Fixed an issue in side quest ‘Shadow in the West’ where reloading a save could respawn the player outside of an enclosed combat space.
• Fixed an issue in side quest ‘Blood Choke’ where Atekka could be idling unresponsively outside Thornmarsh if the player approached from a certain direction.
• Fixed an issue in side quest ‘A Soldier’s March’ where Penttoh could become unresponsive while moving towards the mountain peak, thus blocking progression.
• Fixed an issue in side quest ‘The Second Verse’ where the “Talk to Zo” objective does not update after abandoning the side quest midway.
• Fixed an issue in side quest ‘Nights of Lights’ where the “Gather the Gizmo” objective does not update.

World Activities

• Fixed an issue in Gauntlet races where in rare cases the race did not start after completing a practice run.
• Fixed an issue in Gauntlet races where coming in last place could count as a win.
• Fixed an issue in Gauntlet Run: The Stillsands, where the player could be directed to play the Activity before the Activity can be started.
• Fixed an issue with the Elusive Fanghorn salvage contract where the quest would sometimes not complete correctly.
• Fixed an issue with the Elusive Fanghorn salvage contract where the machine trails would not show if the player fast traveled away during the objective.
• Fixed an issue with the ‘Ravager Cannon’ salvage contract where the objective did not update correctly if the player detached one of the cannons with a high damage, high tear attack.
• Fixed an issue with the Eastern Lie Regalla camp where loading a save made at the campfire would place Aloy at a different campfire.
• Fixed an issue in Salvage Contract Ancient Relics, where the “Gather Ancient Relics” objective would stay stuck on 2/3.
• Fixed an issue in Regalla Camp Devil’s Grasp where enemies may not respawn after reloading a save game during the “Kill the Rebel Leader” objective.
• Fixed an issue in Rebel Outpost Jagged Deep where the player could teleport across the map when reloading a save game.
• Fixed an issue in Sunken Cavern: The Gouge, where the player could swim through a gap in the cave wall.

UI/UX

• Added an ‘Always Off’ option for weapons & ammo, and tools & potions in the Custom HUD options.
• Fixed several outfit icons that used the incorrect assets in the inventory menu.
• Fixed an issue with the map where unnatural movement would occur when centering the view on the player or a quest objective.

Graphics

• Added smoother transition between Tropospheric and Cirrus cloud layers, and better matching of the coloring of the supercell Anvil and Cirrus clouds.
• Fixed an issue with the Very Large Array Tallneck where the model would display low level detail at a certain distance.
• Made multiple tweaks to vegetation to improve image quality in the Favor Performance mode.
• Fixed an instance of flickering white lights in main quest ‘Death’s Door’.
• Improved stability of depth of field during cinematics.
• Reduced stepping artifacts from SSAO in extreme closeup situations
• Reduced changes to saturation on motion blur.
• Improved quality and stability of shadows.
• Improved quality of grass in specific situations.

Performance and Stability

• Multiple crash fixes.
• Fixed several instances where NPCs and textures would visibly stream in on PS4™ when the player approached a settlement at high speed.
• Fixed several instances where loading screens or black screens would trigger unintentionally.
• Fixed an issue with streaming after the end credits sequence was skipped.

Photo Mode improvements

• Increased precision in precision mode to allow for much more control when orienting and moving the camera, especially when using long focal lengths and large apertures.
• The minimum focus distance has been reduced to 5cm allowing for more creative shots and macro photography.
• Changed the film back to 35mm full frame, for more clear focal length and DOF translation, and more intuitive selection of focal lengths for virtual photographers.
• Added many more focal lengths to cover the range between 10mm and 300mm in 35mm full frame allowing for more creative expressions.
• Added a FoV match for the default camera.
• Increased the radius that photographers can use around Aloy from 5 to 10 meters.
• Various small quality of life improvements.
• The Auto Focus rectangle and the Rule of Third grid are now hidden when using the Hide UI option.
• Fixed an issue where a moire effect could be visible on characters’ skin during close-up shots.

Other

• Fixed a camera collision issue that would sometimes occur when the player was mounted and maneuvering near obstacles of a certain height.
• Fixed several animation issues with NPCs in settlements.
• Slightly increased the ammo cost of the Propelled Spike weapon technique for game balance reasons.
• Fixed an instance where Aloy could get stuck inside geometry in the Memorial Grove settlement when trying to jump out through a gap in the wall.
• Fixed an issue where the game would appear to hang briefly after skipping through the end credits sequence.
• Fixed an issue where the PS5 Operating System “Game Presets” difficulty would override the difficulty level in-game.
• Fixed an issue where interactable objects would sometimes lose collision, causing the player to fall through the object.
• Fixed an issue where the player might fall through the world when fast traveling while on a mount.

As usual, Guerrilla Games also outlined a couple of issues that it is aware of such as Firegleam icons not being removed from the map after interacting with them and music tracks repeating.

Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.