12th terminal obviously unlocks your Halo 4 beta code. Grunt is out of the bag.
Halo Anniversary |OT| It All Comes Full Circle
- Thread starter GhaleonEB
- Start date
12th terminal obviously unlocks your Halo 4 beta code. Grunt is out of the bag.
Slightly Live
Dirty tag dodger
Anyone else find the lack of a Halo 4 beta invite with Anniversary a bit puzzling? It would have made too much sense to have included it like with ODST and Reach.
Makes you wonder what the chefs are cooking.
I am thinking there is going to be an open beta, with Call of Duty in the headlights now an open beta would probably be for the best to get more people back on Halo.
I also fully expect a advertising campaign even bigger than the Halo 3 one.
K
kittens
Unconfirmed Member
Agreed on both points. I hope you're right.
Think it's just too early. We haven't even see real footage yet.
Slightly Live
Dirty tag dodger
The Reach beta with ODST was offered before we seen a single bit of Reach footage. =)
Here is what I see happening in the coming months for Halo 4.
December: VGA trailer with beta date
January: magazine cover stories with plenty of in-game images
April: First footage and details on the beta
May: Beta starts
(keep in mind both Halo 3 and Reach betas where in May too)
December: VGA trailer with beta date
January: magazine cover stories with plenty of in-game images
April: First footage and details on the beta
May: Beta starts
(keep in mind both Halo 3 and Reach betas where in May too)
Slightly Live
Dirty tag dodger
I'd be happy with this. Very happy.
StalkerUKCG
Banned
If this happens, you get elevated to GAFGold account and ill be the happiest stalker alive.
Slightly Live
Dirty tag dodger
I'd be very surprised if we end this year with nothing new on Halo 4. Would be sweet to ride the wave of Anniversary goodwill and remind folks why next year is going to be great for Halo fans.
Thats exactly why I expect a Halo 4 trailer at the VGAs, I also do not expect them to annouce that there will be a trailer either. I expect it to either be a mid show surprise like Skyrim or a end of the show surprise.
(Would also be pretty sweet if it had a terminal code at the end of the trailer too)
Slightly Live
Dirty tag dodger
I'd be content knowing how Halo 6 ends before Halo 4 comes out. Yup.
Barrow Roll
Member
You could always just not participate in the beta. Some beta's are just glorified demo's, and some legitimately help the finished product. Glad Gears 3 had a beta.
My Mark VII is ready.
I guess what I mean is I'd be okay with living in the alternate universe where there's no beta, while everyone else gets to play it in the main universe and when the game comes out I get the same version that your universe gets. :lol
I want the game to be as good as possible, whether that means a beta or not, but I think it's be cool to go into the game completely fresh and not have any foreknowledge of what's inside that mysterious planet, since any trailer, beta, gameplay demo, or anything is probably going to have to reveal that, at least partially.
K
kittens
Unconfirmed Member
Totally. I'm gonna try my hardest to resist looking at any H4 media. I want that same sense of wonder and awe when I first played Halo: CE, and any media exposure would kill that.
I'm just going to stop reading HaloGAF (*tear*), and focus on other games + stuff in my life. My interest in Reach multiplayer is waning anyways, so once I finish Anniversary I'll be ready for a break.
Yea, no. Just because Bungie refused to change much of anything from the Reach beta, aside from nerfing the Pistol, doesn't mean some good might come out of a Halo 4 beta. It is going to be 343's first game after all...
DMR magazine size changed
Jump height and movement speed increased
vehicle overhaul reverted to Halo 3 style vehicles
vehicle health system reverted to Halo 3 style
Melee buffering removed
Invasion changed from fireteam scoring to full team scoring
No more mysterious elite massacre at the end of the invasion round if spartans win
Massive AL nerf
FateBreaker
Member
I'm on the other side. I really do want to be surprised by this. I actually don't want a beta.
I'm thinking no Halo 4 beta at this point, they usually like to start beating that drum fairly early and they haven't. Plus it's their first game out as a studio and they really shouldn't attempt the split development process of running a beta and working on the retail game at the same time just yet.
Plus, what game would they tie it in with anyway?
Plus, what game would they tie it in with anyway?
Who says they need to tie it in with a game? Again with Call of Duty being the main FPS right now a open beta would draw attention back to Halo.
We're talking about Microsoft here, a move like that would actually make sense. Closed access betas are stupid.
K
kittens
Unconfirmed Member
Ehh, that's a consideration for sure, but I think the value in a public beta outweighs the strain of splitting their workload. A beta would help weed out bugs and help build hype.
There's nothing about the vehicles in Reach that feel like Halo 3, what are you on about? Listing jump height/movement speed changes is pretty laughable too considering they're still terrible.
There were no major changes to either map, even though both had huge problems, which is more to what I alluded to with Gears, those maps got massive overhauls for the better.
StalkerUKCG
Banned
Not closed access but something code based would be great, distribute ALOT of codes for a 1 week of exclusive access then open it up after for everyone. (cod 4 beta did this i think worked well).
I can see a beta being likely. Since CE:A went gold they have had an extra 40 people ish working on H4 bringing the total count to about 240 people i think and frankie has said he is not only playing MP builds of the game now but also that he is amazed how far along it is for the time frame. Sounds like they are in a good place to get a beta ready for may if they have at least another 10-11 month of dev time. Be nice to launch flawlessly aswell a BF3 style launch would kill any hope of new players coming into the game.
Speaking of new players a open/semi-open beta is a great way to increase player base. Everyone is going to get bored of MW at some point even if its for a day or 2 and having a free, launchable from dash beta means people have zero excuse to not try it.
They gotta test those dedis somehow, believe
FateBreaker
Member
I think I disagree with you here. Because the project is so mysterious yet already hyped, I think that alone will create more hype. If that makes sense. It's a rare game in which I think the surprise element works in its favor, and yes, I am talking about multiplayer, too.
Well based off of the art video we saw, Halo is getting a major make over for the better.
Reach beta: vehicles had actual acceleration, tire grip and the tank was much harder to control but had a lot more control over where you wanted it to go when you master it. They were also a lot heavier. Once they took enough damage they'd catch on fire and then blow up even if you were in it with full shields. The banshee was a glass cannon
Reach retail: hog/tank/ghost reverted back to Halo 3 style controls and weight, vehicles can no longer blow up after catching on fire, Hog accelerates to max speed within 3 seconds and the banshee is a scorpion that can fly. Damage models back to Halo 3 style/lightness.
Basically the Reach beta hog felt like you were actually driving a vehicle, instead of the arcadey feel from 1/2/3.
DetectiveGAF essemble!
K
kittens
Unconfirmed Member
Microsoft has invested a lot of money into the future of this franchise, and I think they're gonna hype the hell out of it to make it pay off. Obviously Halo games sell well, but the series has a lot less momentum than the Halo 2 and Halo 3 days. The rampant popularity of Call of Duty is an undeniable part of that, and I think MS is gonna try hard to win the Halo playerbase back.
And after the lukewarm reception of Reach, I think a lot of people need to be convinced about Halo 4. The mystery of a new world/new trilogy is a draw for sure, but for a limited number of people. The fact that it's a new dev handling the franchise creates a lot of doubt in people's minds.
Yeah, there's really just too much uncertainty amongst gamers. MS and 343 need to counter that, and build hype big time. I think a beta could be a great way to build momentum.
When you go to your Anniversary stats on Waypoint (under service record, "change game", > anniversary), and you click the achievements list... is anyone else's list in Spanish?
That's the only text on my service record that's in Spanish and I haven't edited anything or changed any settings.
That's the only text on my service record that's in Spanish and I haven't edited anything or changed any settings.
FateBreaker
Member
I agree with you on all of this (though I loved Reach, but whatever), but I just think that a beta would possibly hurt them. Let's say, for instance, the beta sucks. Then everyone thinks Halo 4 will suck, and then everything 343 will suck. Meanwhile, Halo 4 ends up being amazing, but people might be thinking they know everything based off the beta -- "oh, i played the beta, it sucks, 343 sucks." And that might be for a stupid reason.
I think a better way is to hype it up with gameplay videos, showing astonishing new features month by month (or whatever), and proving to people in that way a new sense of excitement and wonder about this game. If you release a beta, then there is a certain familiarity to the game when it is released, and I honestly think 343 does not want that. They want it to be like a wrapped-up present when it releases, and that's the new direction of Halo, and that's the full representation of it, and...you either like it or you don't. But at least people judge it from that and not the beta.
You may be right and they may be a beta and it might be a good idea, but I can really see the other side.
It's already down.
I am finding that the multiplayer in this is just not fun at all. The classic halo maps are not balanced at all for the newer vehicles (fuel rod on the fucking banshee) and the fact that there is only classic *slayer* instead of classic everything else is stupid.
And why the hell is the DMR in the maps in the classic playlist? Seriously?
*sigh*
And then don't even get me started on the horrendous lag that the non-host co-op players have to deal with. I'm glad I got this for cheap, because in it's current state it isn't even worth $40 to me. :|
And why the hell is the DMR in the maps in the classic playlist? Seriously?
*sigh*
And then don't even get me started on the horrendous lag that the non-host co-op players have to deal with. I'm glad I got this for cheap, because in it's current state it isn't even worth $40 to me. :|
Steelyuhas
Member
Keep in mind that Halo 4 is slated for "Holiday" release, and Halo 3 and Reach were "Fall" (September) releases, which could affect the dates of a possible public beta.
I assume if there is a public beta, it will just be open.
Just a couple clarifications:
-The melee buff removal was just a fix of a bug that made the times in-between shorter than they should have been.
-The AL nerf was tragically, not very massive at all.
The original point that was made though was that Bungie didn't really change any design choices with Reach based on the beta feedback, other than the vehicles and the Pistol, which was oddly contradictory to what they said was the design goal of the Pistol.
Biggest-Geek-Ever
Member
Those Maw achievements were fucking tough to get. BUT FUCK YEAH I GOT EM!
Now to experience the world's longest credits.
Now to experience the world's longest credits.
Shameless plug alert, but relevant to the thread: I chatted up GAF's own OuterWorldVoice (and my former co-worker), Frankie himself, on our podcast this week. We got into Anniversary multiplayer decisions and, yes, a bit of Halo 4. Click here if you're interested. Interview starts at about the 1:08:33 (or 68:33) mark.
TUROK
Member
Agreed. A gritty Halo inspired by the tone of Fall of Reach would be awesome.
StalkerUKCG
Banned
Listened earlier and enjoyed it, ended up listening to the entire podcast for the first time and think ill tune in more, Download speeds from the site are horrid however, so i had to buffer it in the background after accidently closing the tab. #firstworldproblems.
Biggest-Geek-Ever
Member
Thanks for posting this. All the stuff Frankie said got me so damn excited for Halo 4; I'm going to be a blob of ecstatic goo if we get a trailer at the VGAs.
Steelyuhas
Member
To be fair, I only got that price because of a $20 Amazon credit from buying BF3.
The truth comes out! What about, Juices?
Steelyuhas
Member
Not sure, you'd have to ask him. I really just thought that shoving my mearly cents cheaper purchase in his face would be a good excuse to use that amazing T-rex gif.