Forza Horizon 2 - Wikipedia

Forza Horizon 2 is the second game in the series to be developed principally by a studio other than Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios. Playground Games, the lead developer for Forza Horizon, focused on the Xbox One version, using the graphics engine from Forza Motorsport 5 as their starting point.[5] While the engine is capable of displaying content 1080p and 60 frames-per-second, the game was locked at 1080p and 30 frames-per-second, which was deemed necessary because of the game's open-world nature.[5][6] According to creative director Ralph Fulton, "one of the big technical challenges that we had to face was making sure that we could stream in a world that is next-gen beautiful, but fast enough to keep up with the fastest car."[6]

Sumo Digital took the lead for the Xbox 360 version, starting from the original Forza Horizon graphics engine.[4] As with the original game, Turn 10 Studios provided support to the primary developers.[4] The Xbox 360 version does not include the weather system such as rain or "drivatar" A.I. found in the more-powerful Xbox One version, and also omits tuning and the free-roam open-world (as very few barriers can be broken through and crossed), with Playground Games calling the two versions "different games".[7]

On 22 July 2014, Turn 10 Studios revealed the first 100 of over 200 cars to be featured in the open world game, from exotics, rally cars, trucks, hot hatches, among others. Many cars from the Forza series return, including many cars from the original Horizon game. The list includes the 2014 Lamborghini Huracán LP610-4 and Veneno, the McLaren P1, the LaFerrari, the Agera, and the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.[8] Another new car that they had released was the Ford Capri RS3100 which is a barn find. All ten barn finds can be found off-road, usually in hidden places.

When choosing the locale for Forza Horizon 2, the developers investigated over 30 locations around the world, including California and Australia, ultimately choosing Southern Europe.[5] Creative director Ralph Fulton cited Europe's "fantastic driving roads, amazing environmental diversity, and just stunning vistas that you really want to explore" as some of the major points in selecting it for Horizon 2.[5] Fulton also noted that most of the recent open-world driving games were set in North America and that Southern Europe "just felt fresh, it felt different, it felt new, and it was a gimme for us".[5]

The Playground Games audio team recorded exhaust, intake, supercharger, and turbocharger sounds on real cars, and each sound is independent and modelled separately. To create loops through the rev range, they paired the sounds to each rotation of the engine. The mix of intake or exhaust notes depends on the camera position inside or outside the car. The team used the increased power of the Xbox One to playback assets of higher quality and loop length. They recorded environmental sounds like raindrops hitting the car, skidding on wet and dry surfaces, and debris kick-up.[9]