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[TheOddOne]

Didn't see these posted here. For update sake I'll put it up here.

From the Gameinformer Coverage trailer:

The pics with Brad, in the backround looks like the loadoud screens or Spartan Ops?

The one's with Chris either could be custom browser or custom games.

 

[shinobi602]

Here are two Halo 4 tracks mixed together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ-mmSh9yMw

1:37 to 2:20 is FUCKING BEAUTIFUL.

Goddamn I can picture Chief doing something epic to that music.

sogood.gif

 

[monome]

Didn't see these posted here. For update sake I'll put it up here.

From the Gameinformer Coverage trailer:

The pics with Brad, in the backround looks like the loadoud screens or Spartan Ops?

The one's with Chris either could be custom browser or custom games.

Yep, those background screens look like porn so much they turn me on.

 

[toddhunter]

Instant respawns, random weapon drops and using points to unlock armor abilities are some of the worst things I could possibly hear about the multiplayer in this game. Honestly it sounds like they are trying to make it more like call of duty.

 

[dragonelite]

The MSAA pic has *a lot* of jaggies and the FXAA is just better. I haven't tried that comparison in a game, I think, so I don't know how it'd look in motion/playing, but I think that the MSAA with its extreme sharpness would be worse than FXAA.

By the way; I'm not that into/familiar with the various aliasing modes/techniques/renders, but thought I'd chime in.

I rather have sharper image with a bit more jaggies.
Then loose a lot of detail and have a bit less jaggies.
Talking about the FXAA implemented on that picture.
Didn't keep up with all the FXAA news.

But Some of those jaggies in the MSAA screen could be because of different orientation and some Geometry being drawn more diagonal.

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

I rather have sharper image with a bit more jaggies.
Then loose a lot of detail and have a bit less jaggies.
Talking about the FXAA implemented on that picture.
Didn't keep up with all the FXAA news.

But Some of those jaggies in the MSAA screen could be because of different orientation and some Geometry being drawn more diagonal.

I do get this, but honestly while it may be too early to make the call, Halo 4's image looks fairly sharp so I'm not going to complain. At the very least it looks sharper than Reach, which came off as flat and fuzzy.

I really hope Halo 4 can capture some of the intensity of Halo 3's lighting, which is leagues ahead of Reach and still looks impressive. Sure the rest of Halo 3 doesn't look amazing, but the lighting looks so fucking crisp.

 

[Olivero]

Very happy with the direction 343i is taking this. The art work, the music, the changes to multiplayer... I am very optimistic. Very excited about the multiplayer narrative. I don't have much time to play games anymore, but could definitely get into some bite sized chunks every week.

Frankie, if you read this, you guys are doing an amazing job and I look forward to buying the legendary edition!

 

[BigTnaples]

Well I have been playing through Halo CEA wit a friend, (when it launched I was sidetracked with life and skyrim.)

Amazing job at a remake. Nostalgia trip plus pure fun..

That said it got me to start playing some Reach Multi again, and out of the last 10 games I have played, every single one was unbalanced because one team had 2 or more guys quit. It was frustrating as hell and makes me really glad join in progress is coming.

That said, I am having a blast with the new maps. Bought both map packs at launch but have not played them until now..

 

[Syphon Filter]

Best graphics ever this gen,I call it spade for spade. Pretty excited for this..

This really shows the 360 gpu pulling ahead. Just wish more games would make use of that glories gpu.

gears 3 looks better as of now.

 

[[Clark Gable]]

There is no romance forming between Cortana and Master Chief

Eh, I dunno about this shit. No

Spoiler

doting mother

please.

 

[Nibel]

What's the problem with random weapon drops? People do weapon camping all the time; this gives the game more dynamic.

Talking from a casual player's perspective.

 

[GhaleonEB]

What's the problem with random weapon drops? People do weapon camping all the time; this gives the game more dynamic.

Talking from a casual player's perspective.

Those objecting are talking from a competetive player's perspective. Using map control to lock down and/or time power weapon spawns is a critical part of high level play, and 'random' (more like multiple) power weapon spawns complicates that.

I don't have a problem with it. It sounds like they can set up weapons to spawn at one of multiple possible locations, and will use it for power weapons; I actually like the idea.

We don't have the full context for when it will be used, though. All maps, all game types? Probably not. At the least, I'm sure playlists like MLG will continue to use fixed power weapon spawns, as team map control is a core part of the competetive game.

 

[Falagard]

What's the problem with random weapon drops? People do weapon camping all the time; this gives the game more dynamic.

Talking from a casual player's perspective.

You're everything that is wrong with this world.

Kidding.

It's fine for social games, but competitive matches they are primarily based around the concept of "map control" which means players know where power weapons spawn, and more importantly, when they respawn based on timers.

The whole nature of competitive play revolves around that. Random weapon spawns gets rid of this aspect of the game. Might sound silly to a casual player, but it isn't to competitive players.

 

[snoopeasystreet]

What's the problem with random weapon drops? People do weapon camping all the time; this gives the game more dynamic.

Talking from a casual player's perspective.

Its not camping as much as its weapon control. If you know where a weapon spawns and its respawn interval, you know when go there and get the weapon or stop the opposing team from getting it. A level of randomness could affect high level play if its not properly telegraphed where the weapon will spawn.

 

[Silly.Mikey]

No you look to the core fundamentals of what made your game good in the first place

Not "hey lets focus group the fuck out of the game until its an unappealing piece of shit just in the hopes that the 20 non gamers can find their way to an objective"

Competitiveness is a side effect of the quality of a game, by the way. Not its accessibility.

And to your point, you don't have one.

Although i understand your point, if i take the example of Halo2 which a lot of people consider the best one MP wise (not me tho, to me Reach is by far the best), it was also the most noob-friendly of all Halo games. Tracking on Needlers and Plasma Pistols was completely unavoidable unless you happen to be lucky enough to be near a wall or rock thus creating the noob combo (BR & PP), Rockets locked onto air and ground vehicles and took virtually no skill whatsoever, hit boxes were unbelievably huge, etc. This game was the most user/noob-friendly Halo game ever made and look at that, it was the most played out of all of them. Coincidence? Nope.

Skill and competitiveness doesn't attract the masses, fun does. The more average players don't play Halo anymore because the barrier of entry is too high. If they dont get kills, they dont get points, they feel useless to their team and ultimately, have no fun playing the game.

The reason games like COD are so appealing to these same people is because in that game, they can have the same sucky kill/death ratio that they get in Halo, but they get lots of points regardless, and quickly too. Like for being a distraction, for getting a certain number of kills, for running a few miles with the running perk, etc.. You get points for practically everything in that game and it doesn't hurt that it doesn't take a whole clip + a grenade & melee to kill someone. This in the end makes that same bad kill/death ratio in COD a lot more fun to the masses because even if they suck at getting kills, they can still get points, feel useful, unlock shit and thus, have fun.

This might be hard to accept for most competitive players, but its a fact. Its also the main reason why Halo is moving into that direction, because it works plain and simple.

What 343 is doing now from what im seeing is that they`re trying to balance skill and fun, and i think they`re doing a great job from what ive read and seen so far. If you can keep the skill factor of Halo (without the lock-on guns and noob-combos of Halo2) and have people who stink at the game still make points for being a distraction, or whatever else, why not? Everyone enjoys the game more this way and the masses keep playing instead of moving on. It adds longevity to the game and possibly more content for everyone because of that. I like it.

 

[higherARC05]

gears 3 looks better as of now.

Umm yea.....no.

 

[EvB]

One way I could see 'random' weapon spawns happening is maybe having 4 or 5 power weapon spawn points on each map. A power weapon will spawn at a point randomly on a visible timer.

You get a waypoint to show a weapon will spawn there next but also it shows a timer showing how long until it appears.

It could even be firefight style where it is dropped in a pod on the map.

Maybe forerunner vision is a HUD overlay that shows you these details you dont otherwise see, which is why someone said a competitive player would try it once and not use it again?

 

[KageMaru]

Best graphics ever this gen,I call it spade for spade. Pretty excited for this..

This really shows the 360 gpu pulling ahead. Just wish more games would make use of that glories gpu.

Where do you people come up with this stuff?

The problem is, we don't know what version of FXAA 343i is using. The latest versions don't have the blurring problem and even have a sharpening step. The algorithm is also highly customisable. One thing's for sure, any form of FXAA is, in most cases, better than no AA.

Don't know if it was for CEA or halo 4, makes sense that it could be for both, but they were able to optimize FXAA by 15-20% and this was when it took ~1ms to run in it's default form. I think the implementation will work out great.

I rather have sharper image with a bit more jaggies.
Then loose a lot of detail and have a bit less jaggies.
Talking about the FXAA implemented on that picture.
Didn't keep up with all the FXAA news.

But Some of those jaggies in the MSAA screen could be because of different orientation and some Geometry being drawn more diagonal.

Have you played Halo CEA? FXAA is used to great effect in that game and I can't see it getting worse in Halo 4.

I really hope Halo 4 can capture some of the intensity of Halo 3's lighting, which is leagues ahead of Reach and still looks impressive. Sure the rest of Halo 3 doesn't look amazing, but the lighting looks so fucking crisp.

Their HDR implentation in Halo 3 had a greater range, and resulted in less washed out whites and such, but overall the lighting was better in Reach IMO. The world felt more disconnected or flat in Halo 3 with all the plasma fire not acting as a light source. =p

gears 3 looks better as of now.

How can anyone come to this conclusion (either way) from a small handful of single player shots? We haven't seen anything past the first level on the ship.

 

[Overdoziz]

What's the problem with random weapon drops? People do weapon camping all the time; this gives the game more dynamic.

Talking from a casual player's perspective.

I never see people camp weapon spawns.

 

[Silly.Mikey]

I never see people camp weapon spawns.

If you've never seen someone just wait for the sniper on Coagulation/Hemorrhage then you're a liar plain and simple.

 

[Petrichor]

I never see people camp weapon spawns.

I always camp laser on Valhalla. Good times.

 

[TheCongressman1]

I never see people camp weapon spawns.

Then you've never played Halo.

 

[higherARC05]

Graphics, music, story all look top notch as it can get.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

I never see people camp weapon spawns.

Really?

REALLY!?

 

[B_Rik_Schitthaus]

I never see people camp weapon spawns.

So what do you think is happening when 3 people from the same team are crouched looking at the ground and pushing one another around?

 

[brandonh83]

Music sounds great. Getting really excited for this. That being said, I need to finish Reach at some point.

 

[Havok]

So what do you think is happening when 3 people from the same team are crouched looking at the ground and pushing one another around?

Bad players are about to lose because they can't cooperate? Someone is going to come in for an easy triple and grab whatever they were waiting for?

That exact thing happens even with "random", indicated weapon spawns, and it probably happens more often since even the worst player knows where everything is. See: Elite and Invasion Skirmish in Reach. A bunch of jerks sitting in a tiny circle holding X, every single time.

 

[-PXG-]

What's the problem with random weapon drops? People do weapon camping all the time; this gives the game more dynamic.

Talking from a casual player's perspective.

Any kind of random element is not only counterintuitive, but additionally, undermines competitive play altogether. Just look at tripping or items in Brawl...That's self explanatory.

Could you imagine if players just randomly regenerated health, or pulled off Super Art in Street Fighter? Shit would be stupid.

gears 3 looks better as of now.

Yep. Let's wait until this game is actually in our hands to make any final judgements. Until then, Epic has thangz locked down

 

[Silly.Mikey]

Any kind of random element is not only counterintuitive, but additionally, undermines competitive play altogether. Just look at tripping or items in Brawl...That's self explanatory.

Could you imagine if players just randomly regenerated health, or pulled off Super Art in Street Fighter? Shit would be stupid.



Yep. Let's wait until this game is actually in our hands to make any final judgements. Until then, Epic has thangz locked down

We really need more info on how it actually works before saying that it doesn't.

 

[SlickShoesRUCrazy]

ya'll do know that the power weapons drops aren't exactly random right?

second pic at the top of the pg there is an indicator of where the weapon is going to drop.

p.s. imo, random game play is just as competitive as being able to tell everything....

 

[dragonelite]

Don't know if it was for CEA or halo 4, makes sense that it could be for both, but they were able to optimize FXAA by 15-20% and this was when it took ~1ms to run in it's default form. I think the implementation will work out great.

Have you played Halo CEA? FXAA is used to great effect in that game and I can't see it getting worse in Halo 4.

I do know that a 343 engineer was the one who tweeted he ported it to the 360 and improved it in the 20~40% range.

Bought Anniversary edition played only tutorial level. Was just before School exams and after that i had a big project. Glad i have the last Exams done for this year today was the last one . So i should finally have some time to play it.

 

[-PXG-]

We really need more info on how it actually works before saying that it doesn't.

Random. Weapon drops. If it's anything else, then it wouldn't really be random, now would it?

Trust me, ya'll don't want random shit in your game. It will be the shit storm of all shit storms. Halo fans aren't prepared...

 

[NullPointer]

Random. Weapon drops. If it's anything else, then it wouldn't really be random, now would it?

But its not random. And we don't know what new modes exist much less which modes incorporate these hinted mechanics changes.

The magazine scans were always going to come out the day after the cover debuted, that almost always happens. We can't talk about the story in detail, because it is GI's exclusive. I will say that some of the things that "invested, emotional" players are "raising eyebrows slightly at" are being very misinterpreted ("random" weapon spawns for example) but we will be able to clarify some of those things in due time.

source, and more here courtesy of TheOddOne.

 

[Silly.Mikey]

Random. Weapon drops. If it's anything else, then it wouldn't really be random, now would it?

I love the way people just ignore what Frankie said and continue pretending that they know exactly how it works.

 

[Prophet Steve]

Random. Weapon drops. If it's anything else, then it wouldn't really be random, now would it?

Trust me, ya'll don't want random shit in your game. It will be the shit storm of all shit storms. Halo fans aren't prepared...

It may be that there are only five predetermined spots and that there maybe drop predetermined weapons. Within those constraints it's still random. It's not black and white.

 

[Ichabod]

It may be that there are only five predetermined spots and that there maybe drop predetermined weapons. Within those constraints it's still random. It's not black and white.

I'd even be okay with "random" drops if the announcer or HUD telegraphed that weapon drop(s) were incoming, that way teams could have time to mobilize toward drop points and vie for control of the incoming loot.

 

[TheCongressman1]

I'd even be okay with "random" drops if the announcer or HUD telegraphed that weapon drop(s) were incoming, that way teams could have time to mobilize toward drop points and vie for control of the incoming loot.

That's something I hadn't thought of. It could work. It would be a bit like invasion slayer, but it's better than random.

 

[-PXG-]

It may be that there are only five predetermined spots and that there maybe drop predetermined weapons. Within those constraints it's still random. It's not black and white.

Well of course weapons wouldn't drop at completely random parts of the map. I doubt the pods (or however they'll be dispersed) will be like the party balls or capsules from Smash Bros.

I'd expect weapons to appear at a number of predetermined locations (probaby 4-8, or whatever). Still, even if there were a chance that one of three (again, predetermined) weapons were to spawn at a random moment (lets say a SMG, Plasma Pistol or a Spiker, just for the sake of example), it's still stupid.

You can add some elements of predictably to it. But whatever level of randomness is still there, will surely cause problems. I don't know about you, but if I die, I want it to be because I got outplayed by my opponent, not because of dumb luck or because they just so happened to be at the right place at the right time. It's not fair, it's not rewarding and it isn't fun. It's mindless.

It might be fun in silly custom games where no one gives a shit. But in ranked games or in tournies, it won't be.

There's legitimacy to the bitching. 343 better clear this up fast before it gets out of hand.

 

[higherARC05]

I do know that a 343 engineer was the one who tweeted he ported it to the 360 and improved it in the 20~40% range.

Bought Anniversary edition played only tutorial level. Was just before School exams and after that i had a big project. Glad i have the last Exams done for this year today was the last one . So i should finally have some time to play it.

Just looking at the second image from the post above you can really see how super sharp the game is. On the diagnol edges there is basically ZERO jaggies. Everyone who seen the game firsthand really push the fact how super clean the game looks with the incredible graphics. Man wonder how HALO 5 will look next gen.

*mouth foams*

 

[AllIsOneIsNone]

There's legitimacy to the bitching. 343 better clear this up fast before it gets out of hand.

No there's really not. At least wait till you see some gameplay videos first and see how it plays out. Having worries is one thing, but "I hates you 343i" is another. I mean, they've said like two sentences about it, there's just so much we don't know.

 

[-PXG-]

No there's really not. At least wait till you see some gameplay videos first and see how it plays out. Having worries is one thing, but "I hates you 343i" is another. I mean, they've said like two sentences about it, there's just so much we don't know.

Yeah, because I totally said anything like that. Okay...

I'm just saying, in general, random elements in games undermine skill. Halo, on the most part is a competitive game. There is a large and sizable group of people who take the multiplayer fairly seriously.

Items in Smash and Mario Kart are fine because those games aren't meant to be taken too seriously. They're meant to be silly, light hearted and played casually. Halo is a completely different kind of experience. Sure, there are "casual" Halo players, but they're not within the same realm as those who play MK.

Waiting to find out more is perfectly fine. I've just been down this road before whenever devs have hinted at bringing some kind of randomness into games with competitive multiplayer. I would imagine that Halo fans (especially Halo fans) would be pretty pissed if the random weapons drops are as I imagine them to be.

 

[AllIsOneIsNone]

Yeah, because I totally said anything like that. Okay...

I'm just saying, in general, random elements in games undermine skill. Halo, on the most part is a competitive game. There is a large and sizable group of people who take the multiplayer fairly seriously.

Items in Smash and Mario Kart are fine because those games aren't meant to be taken too seriously. They're meant to be silly, light hearted and played casually. Halo is a completely different kind of experience. Sure, there are "casual" Halo players, but they're not within the same realm as those who play MK.

Waiting to find out more is perfectly fine. I've just been down this road before whenever devs have hinted at bringing some kind of randomness into games with competitive multiplayer. I would imagine that Halo fans (especially Halo fans) would be pretty pissed if the random weapons drops are as I imagine them to be.

Haha, sorry, I was generalizing about this thread, I didn't think you were saying that specifically. But yea, I understand what you're saying, however I'm personally not too worried. I think Frankie said there are actually methods to the madness, I guess we'll have to see to what degree.

I also think they'll have more classic style playlists, and the new weapon system may be absent from those. Again, I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it turns out. They've said many times before that they want to push new boundaries but also don't want to ruin the Halo we've come to know and love.

 

[higherARC05]

What I see from the weapon random drop scenario is that let's say a map you're playing on has 5 points of locations that the drops occur. From what Frankie has said it could be predictable in how the weapons will drop.

So this is can be like a weapon having a single spawn location but for every certain amount of time, it moves to a new location thus causing the map control flow to change dynamically. There will still be the element of map control but both teams will have to move and dynamically adapt to the new weapon spawn location. This will be very good in compititive gameplay as it will allow both teams to get their chance to control the key locations but at the same time make them adapt to new changes to weapon spawns and moving the battles around the map evenly.

 

[-PXG-]

What I see from the weapon random drop scenario is that let's say a map you're playing on has 5 points of locations that the drops occur. From what Frankie has said it could be predictable in how the weapons will drop.

So this is can be like a weapon having a single spawn location but for every certain amount of time, it moves to a new location thus causing the map control flow to change dynamically. There will still be the element of map control but both teams will have to move and dynamically adapt to the new weapon spawn location. This will be very good in compititive gameplay as it will allow both teams to get their chance to control the key locations but at the same time make them adapt to new changes to weapon spawns and moving the battles around the map evenly.

If the weapons drop at certain points, and the weapons at the points, and the times at which they're dropped are cycled, then I wouldn't call that random at all. That's not bad at all.

As long as the time in which they drop is the same and cycles stay consistent, I'm okay.

 

[Tetrasides]

I never see people camp weapon spawns.

Is that sarcasm?

 

[TheOddOne]

Small update: The latest Xbox World Magazine UK has no new information on Halo 4. Pretty much a rehash of the info from the Gameinformer, they do confirm ― which we all guessed ― that MS E3 June press conference will be the next time we get major info.

XWM UK should for not be trusted anymore to bring any new information to the table, trust the bigger mags to bring any worthwhile information.

In other news:

 

[B_Rik_Schitthaus]

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

 

[Lakitu]

Great news. I hated fighting the Flood.

 

[Petrichor]

Great news. I hated fighting the Flood.

I'm surprised and honestly a little disappointed. The flood were always one of the most interesting parts of the narrative for me, and they'd have the opportunity to completely rework their gameplay in Halo 4 because of the introduction of the new enemy faction (and thus the introduction of new flood avatars).

Frankly I'd rather see the return of the flood than the return of the covenant.

 

[TheOddOne]

I'm surprised and honestly a little disappointed. The flood were always one of the most interesting parts of the narrative for me, and they'd have the opportunity to completely rework their gameplay in Halo 4 because of the introduction of the new enemy faction (and thus the introduction of new flood avatars).

Frankly I'd rather see the return of the flood than the return of the covenant.

Frank says that you won't be fighting them, they are bound to show up.