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[JaggedSac]

SP stuff sounds great.

MP stuff is wait and see for me. Nothing sounds bad so far though.

 

[pringles]

SP sounds like it has the potential to be amazing. IF it can recapture the Halo:CE feeling of exploring an alien world.

MP could turn out great too, but some things do seem questionable. I do however LOVE that they will have random weapon spawns. I've always hated the nerds who timed power weapon spawns and always grabbed them, or camped power weapon sites. Anything to make the playing field more even for those of us that don't play with a pen, paper and a stopwatch is great.

 

[Kud Dukan]

Well if definitely sounds different. Some of it sounds interesting, some of it not so much. Unlike everyone else here though, I'll reserve judgement until I actually see how this all actually works and hear some impressions.

 

[WrikaWrek]

Man I feel like buying a 360 when this comes out. So psyched, the beginning of this game sounds like a throwback to Halo CE, like Altogether said... mystery and sense of discovery is back on baby.

 

[elcranky]

Instant Respawn and Random Weapon Spawns????

All the more reason to not take matchmaking seriously anymore. I love the bit about Clans. Oh.. nvm

Customs.

LOL and this is why I don't play multiplay. Two obviously great ideas, and what happens, non-stop bitching.

 

[Doffen]

Man I feel like buying a 360 when this comes out. So psyched, the beginning of this game sounds like a throwback to Halo CE, like Altogether said... mystery and sense of discovery is back on baby.

The 360 is bloody cheap, so it's worth it.

 

[Deadly Monk]

SP sounds like it has the potential to be amazing. IF it can recapture the Halo:CE feeling of exploring an alien world.

MP could turn out great too, but some things do seem questionable. I do however LOVE that they will have random weapon spawns. I've always hated the nerds who timed power weapon spawns and always grabbed them, or camped power weapon sites. Anything to make the playing field more even for those of us that don't play with a pen, paper and a stopwatch is great.

Exactly. MP sounds awesome to me, can't wait. I still own a 360 because of this game. The story has always been intriguing and it hasn't had a huge shift in location since the second one.

 

[Arnie]

LOL and this is why I don't play multiplay. Two obviously great ideas, and what happens, non-stop bitching.

I'd love to hear how those are two 'obviously great ideas' in the Halo sandbox?

 

[FlawlessCowboy]

Yikes, that sounds bad. Please just release Halo 2 on the XBLA.

Please.

 

[Rigest]

I think he is talking about clans and custom games. I really don't understand why I cannot join custom games, because with all the amazing gametypes and forge maps that would be pretty cool. And basic clan support was already present in Halo 2.

 

[Uno Venova]

Damn, the in game shots look really good.

 

[Hoo-doo]

Sounds to me like they are trying to take the Halo out of Halo.
The sprint thing i'm okay with, and I could deal with the armor abilities.

But straight up removing weapon spawn locations? Level up to start unlocking weapon mods? Removing the respawn timer? What the fuck are they doing.

I felt Halo had amazing longevity just in how it was balanced for anyone right from the start.
A completely level playing field, you got beat because the other player was better than you, plain and simple.
Now I imagine a future where the "veteran" players have all the best gear unlocked, and the casual players get slaughtered, occasionally to get lucky when the powerweapons get randomly dropped on their heads. What a weird way to take the series.

I'll still buy and enjoy it for the campaign, but I hope to god they haven't taken even more pointers from Call of Duty. I already noticed the use of the words "cinematic" and the unnecessary QTE door-opening sequences. Eugh.

 

[Slightly Live]

Sounds to me like they are trying to take the Halo out of Halo

Totally! I have yet to see a single giant space death ring.

You owe us death rings, 343!

 

[shinobi602]

Holy SHIT, my 360 will...display those graphics?

 

[scently]

Well I for one am really impressed with the direction of the SP. The changes to the art is really nice as is the massive improvement to the tech and graphics. From the lighting to the 720p to the inclusion of FXAA, all very impressive. And from the concept arts we have seen, both old and new, it seems as though we are in for some really open scale, impressive and interesting locations.

As for the direction and story of the campaign, I think, given the exposition at the end of Primordium, and the little details we have thus far from Glassland, I think I have an idea how the Covenant got there, and which faction of the Covenant they are. I expect the Thursday War to really give us a lot more detail. What do you think Dani?

 

[CrazedArabMan]

I am hoping that they make everything optional and you can still make the game like classic halo. Also, I am happy to see the return of armor abilities. If they do it right, it can be a great addition, BRING ON THE HATE!

Ok, you asked for it...

HATE!!!!!!

Just quoting myself from the other thread.

I really don't know why people want join in progress for match-made Halo games, to me Halo isn't one of those games that makes sense for it. Hopefully we have the option to search for games that are still in a lobby, I do not want to join a game in progress at all. If that is the case it will be a little better, but if it just throws you in the first match available like other join in progress games, than no, horrible idea.

 

[Slightly Live]

As for the direction and story of the campaign, I think, given the exposition at the end of Primordium, and the little details we have thus far from Glassland, I think I have an idea how the Covenant got there, and which faction of the Covenant they are. I expect the Thursday War to really give us a lot more detail. What do you think Dani?

Yeah, I already have a few theories and thought streams about how the dots join up. I'm really glad they went to the effort to do it for the folks that care enough to look and read into it all. Reading about a Covenant armada put a big ol' smile on my face.

I'm really excited for The Thursday war. I'm dying to see how the Human Separatists and the black markets are handled too.

 

[Capital_Five]

I havnt been happy with these games since Halo 2, I'm glad they are taking a bold new direction. I hated the multiplayer in Reach and 3 and I think it was time for something like this. I don't even play the single player for these games or co op so I dont care about that stuff but it sounds alright. If I'm not going to get another Halo 2 then I want to see the series' roots burn

 

[Portugeezer]

Here's a summary of the non-multiplayer stuff.

• Halo 4 is set in 2557 - four years, seven months and ten days since the FUD was split into two and the finale of the events of Halo 3.
• True native 720p with FXAA
• New HUD, features subtle paralla movement during athetic actions and additional visual cues indicating that you are actually wearing a helmet.
• Chief, Cortana and other characters animated with the assistance of motion capture.
• Cortana impending rampancy will be a critical theme as will be exploring Master Chief as a person.
• Cortana has chosen a new visual identity whilst the Chief has been sleeping.
• The Covenant, at least Elites and Grunts, return but are not the primary enemy.
• The FUD eventually crash lands on Requiem, a planet enclosed in a massive Dyson Shell.
• A new faction from Reqium is introduced. Like the Covenant they will have unique and different enemy types, weapons and equipment. "If anything, they're kind of elevated in terms of their intelligence and complexity relative to the Covenant."
• Huge, alive environments - a piece of concept art depicts a floating air squid in a jungle setting.
• The skybox is filled with massive pillars reaching down from above and the surrounding view is painted by the inside of the Dyson Shell.
• Game is split between Campaign and Infinity - the new term of the entire multiplayer experience seperate from the Camapign.
• Multiplier directly and in-directly ties into the Campaign.
• Multiplayer features Spartan IV's - adult volenteers taken from the the best of special ops soliders, equippe with a new version of the Mjolnir armour (lightweight variation) and deployed onboard the UNSC Infinity.
• The UNSC Infinity is the largest ship the UNSC has ever created. Over three kilmetres long, it was designed with cutting edge technology and features some additional technological enhancements provided by the study of Forerunner technology - including faster and more accurate slipspace travel.
• The UNSC is deployed on a top scret mission into deep space but will cross paths with the Master Chief during the campaign.
• The Spartan IV's onboard train in the Infinity's "combat deck" (think holodeck or Danger room). The deck and simulate any known environment and plays host the the multiplayer games players are familar with.
• Firefight is absent and it is stated that there are no plans for it to return.
• New Co-Op mode called Spartan Ops for up to four players in online Campaign-esque missions.
• Spartan OPs introduces new movies sequences and missions on a weekly basis which tells the story of the UNSC Infinity's mission and battles the new Spartan IV's face.
• Spartan Op missions are objective based and feature new content, events and locations each week. Spartan Ops missions also reward Spartan Points and feature selectable difficulty levels like Campaign.
• Spartan Ops missions are not DLC, they are included in the overall Halo 4 package but it is unclear if the content is available on the disc or must be downloaded separately.
• Weapons in the overal sandbox include Assault Rifle, Battle Rifle, DMR, Assault Carbine, Covenant Carbine, Shotgun, Rocket Launcher, Sniper Rifle, Magnum and Plasma Pistol. There are numerous unrevealed, new weapons.

And Multiplayer details summary.

• Loadouts are composed of a primary and secondary weapon, a grenade type, armour ability and modifications. It is unclear how the modification system works or what things it modifies or how.
• Returning Armour Abilities include Hologram, Jet-Pack and Camo. A new ability to see through walls was shown and Sprint is now a baseline ability all players will have access to at all times.
• FFA Variant, Regicide. Lead slayer is "King" - each of the King;s kills raises his "bounty". The bounty is claimed by whomever kills the King.
• In Team Slayer (not confirmed for other gametypes), players can respawn instantly after death if they choose. Additionally, power weapons are introduced into a game on a random timer and appear at random drop points on the map.
• Medals are turning including new medals for "revenge kills" and for causing a distraction.

Thanks.

 

[scently]

Yeah, I already have a few theories and thought streams about how the dots join up. I'm really glad they went to the effort to do it for the folks that care enough to look and read into it all. Reading about a Covenant armada put a big ol' smile on my face.

I'm really excited for The Thursday war. I'm dying to see how the Human Separatists and the black markets are handled too.

Indeed.

Oh yeah, totally forgot about the Human Separatists and the black market. Really looking forward to the book. Anyway I am really glad that they are paying attention to the story and also the timeline. Those two aspects are the areas in which Bungie always messed up (except Halo 2).

 

[AllIsOneIsNone]

Tell me again how random weapon drops makes for a less even playing field? I for one think it's a great idea. Im sure there will be objective gametypes for people who want to control strongholds.

 

[Sydle]

Intrigued by the MP changes and love that there will be no more weapon spawn camping. Might bring me back to Halo MP if executed right.

 

[Chiggs]

Disappointed that the Covenant are even in the game.

 

[dragonelite]

Disappointed that the Covenant are even in the game.

Wouldn't be a halo game without a grunts birthday skull
So yeah grunts for the win.

 

[Genesis Knight]

Most of these changes look like they're trying to tone down the learning curve for new players and the COD horde.

Join in progress? Wallhack-as-armor-ability? Random weapon drops? So now instead of backing off a guy because he went into a rocket spawn, I get to try to guess if there's rockets there or a sniper or whatever.

Fuck it, I guess I'm an oddball anyway because I actually love Reach.

 

[The Librarian]

Intrigued by the MP changes and love that there will be no more weapon spawn camping. Might bring me back to Halo MP if executed right.

"Weapon spawn camping" was never a problem in Halo.

 

[Pennybags]

Soo...

Cortana

Spoiler

"adjusts the Chief's firmware" while he is in cryo-suspension, but how is his suit different upon waking up from the pod, as shown in the couple of Forward Unto Dawn level screenshots?

I know about the

Spoiler

MJOLNIR VIII nano-magic stuff, but I hope the jump is explained reasonably.

Not a deal-breaker for me but still.

 

[thetrin]

Hahaha, random weapon spawns on multi maps? Oh jeez, this is going to start a riot.

"Weapon spawn camping" was never a problem in Halo.

I honestly don't get why 343 tried to "solve" timed weapon spawns. It's a perfect okay mechanic.

Random weapon spawns are going to kill me, because I play Halo with routes (in much the same way I play Quake)

 

[BakedPigeon]

Instant respawn seems like a bad choice. It goes against everything i know.

 

[jet1911]

I'm glad the singleplayer seems to go back to Halo CE. I think it's the main problems of all the campaign of Halo 2 to Halo Reach is that the focus shifted from "explore this cool alien world" type objectives to "go destroy this big AA gun" military type objectives.

 

[AdmiralSnackbar]

Hahaha, random weapon spawns on multi maps? Oh jeez, this is going to start a riot.

I honestly don't get why 343 tried to "solve" timed weapon spawns. It's a perfect okay mechanic.

Random weapon spawns are going to kill me, because I play Halo with routes (in much the same way I play Quake)

Hopefully they stick to the Halo principle of "if it sucks change it" .

Spartan Ops also sounds like the logical evolution of the daily challenges.

 

[TheOddOne]

Don't expect the podcast too soon.

For those expecting a podcast release this weekend, don't. All of the information you're getting at this point is from leaked scans of the GI article. As is the case with all cover stories, the magazine needs to start hitting more hands before we offer full clarifications.

I will say this, some of the conclusions that are being reached are not entirely accurate. Some of the mp items mentioned in the story have changed since the media visit. I can't really say too much more at this time, but please be patient while we begin clarifying and answering questions in the near future.

As Frank has said previously, we knew some elements of the Halo mp evolution would be controversial in some circles, while many others would be less so. Keep in mind that none of these design decisions have been made lightly, but have been carefully thought out and continue to be tweaked based on feedback from people playing the game.

And yes, Spartan Ops is as awesome as it sounds. Can't wait to share more.

 

[TheBioLover]

Where are you guys seeing these ingame screens?

 

[RebornYeti]

Where are you guys seeing these ingame screens?

If we told you, we'd have to shoot you.

JK but seriously it's against the rules to post scans of magazines, and that even includes linking to them.

 

[B_Rik_Schitthaus]

Where are you guys seeing these ingame screens?

Well the screen are only officially released in a magazine, so obviously they all bought the magazine.

 

[dragonelite]

Well the screen are only officially released in a magazine, so obviously they all bought the magazine.

Totally

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Totally! I have yet to see a single giant space death ring.

You owe us death rings, 343!

Thank you for this. I've almost had a hernia reading the bitching in these threads.

Adding some of the best parts of CoD and reinvigorating Halo with some fresh ideas is great, I'll wait to hear more.

So far most of the people bitching seem to just want Halo 2 HD. That being as it is I doubt anything but Halo 2 in HD would satisfy them.

 

[Somnid]

Sounds intriguing. Multiplayer does need some shakeups both for relevancy and because the camping game gets extreme the farther you go.

Always sprint - Yes please, only AA I really used. That plus others should be interesting.

Instant Respawn - I only see this as a problem on really small maps. I've never minded it in other games.

Random weapon spawns - Great addition. No more teams camping the sword/sniper. Also gives newbs the ability to have some power weapons too.

Load outs - As long as these don't get too cumbersome I'm all for it. I don't like crazy customization because it's time consuming for MP but a few options is fine.

Join in progress game - I like it. As someone who really likes team games dropping was a huge problem. Usually these are more casual affairs anyway. Even if you come in at the tail end of a game it's still better than sitting in the lobby.

 

[Bornstellar]

You could tell the gpu to not render those pixel part of the vignette. But im not sure if helmet parts are always visible because they arent visible in every corner in the scans i saw that were in fps mode.

They aren't fixed so they do render behind them as well (the helmet apparently bounces and shifts with player movement).

 

[The Librarian]

Thank you for this. I've almost had a hernia reading the bitching in hese threads.

Adding some of the best parts of CoD and reinvigorating Halo with some fresh ideas is great, I'll wait to hear more.

So far most of the people bitching seem to just want Halo 2 HD. That being as it is I doubt anything but Halo 2 in HD would satisfy them.

Personally, it's not that I want "Halo 2 in HD," but that the changes being made are taking away from what makes Halo, Halo. Drawing conclusions only from the information presented so far, 343 seems to be chasing after Call of Duty rather than doing something new, and I worry that with the injection of so many aspects of Call of Duty, it won't be Halo anymore. Especially hearing so many changes for the sake of change (seemingly) – random weapon respawns, etc.

I've already discussed at length as to why stuff like jetpack and AAs, sprint, aren't good for Halo as a result of earlier information back in March, so I won't repeat myself.

 

[B_Rik_Schitthaus]

Does the article say anything about infantry vs vehicle combat, in 1 you needed skill and guile to a Hog' or tank while on foot, in 2 you just needed to pick up the instant vehicle destroying
weapons and press fire while on was somewhere on your screen.
Like a lot of things fucked up in 2 Bungie never could get back what they lost.

 

[Future PhaZe]

Possibilities of BR start + sprint right off the bat makes this automatically better than H3 though :O

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Personally, it's not that I want "Halo 2 in HD," but that the changes being made are taking away from what makes Halo, Halo. Drawing conclusions only from the information presented so far, 343 seems to be chasing after Call of Duty rather than doing something new, and I worry that with the injection of so many aspects of Call of Duty, it won't be Halo anymore. Especially hearing so many changes for the sake of change (seemingly) – random weapon respawns, etc.

I've already discussed at length as to why stuff like jetpack and AAs, sprint, aren't good for Halo as a result of earlier information back in March, so I won't repeat myself.

Thing is, we barely know anything here. Just bullet points with barely any context. I think we owe it to the guys at 343 to at least wait until we have a true MP unveil to where we can accurately judge the new additions' affect on multiplayer. From what I've seen they aren't "chasing cod" but adding some of the best things modern shooters have offered, while maintaining the look and feel of the Halo universe.

Like I said though, it's not worth it to have a meltdown (not you Dax, in general) until we at least get the full story.

 

[metareferential]

Spartan Ops receiving new contents on a weekly basis? And possibly even for free?

hype.

I can almost, almost forgive them for killing FF.

 

[Prophet Steve]

LOL and this is why I don't play multiplay. Two obviously great ideas, and what happens, non-stop bitching.

Fuck off, they are not obviously great ideas and there are reasons they were never put in the Halo games. You think they did not do something like instant spawn times because nobody came up with that brilliant idea at Bungie?

I'm not liking what I'm hearing, but I'll wait until we get more details.

 

[TheOddOne]

[Update 2: Dem graphics.]

 

[SCHUEY F1]

SP sound great, MP sounds very good. Can't wait!

 

[Zomba13]

I really don't know why people want join in progress for match-made Halo games, to me Halo isn't one of those games that makes sense for it. Hopefully we have the option to search for games that are still in a lobby, I do not want to join a game in progress at all. If that is the case it will be a little better, but if it just throws you in the first match available like other join in progress games, than no, horrible idea.

Because it fucking sucks when all your team rage quit and you are left alone, or when half the enemy quit and then teams are unbalanced.

 

[Genesis Knight]

LOL and this is why I don't play multiplay. Two obviously great ideas, and what happens, non-stop bitching.

Of course it's a great idea to you - you don't play multiplayer. Those changes cater to you, not us.

Because it fucking sucks when all your team rage quit and you are left alone, or when half the enemy quit and then teams are unbalanced.

It does fucking suck, but you have to remember the flip side - now you, too, are joining matches mid-game to fill OTHER players' games. That sucks WAY more than having some quitters on the other team.

 

[Y2Kev]

LOL, Cortana adopted a new visual form that I'm sure will insert sexual tension throughout the game!