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Halo 4 New Information: Specializations Explained and Detailed

I did always admire Halo's commitment to the "Everyone enters on the same playing field" philosophy to multiplayer in the face of COD etc. That 'arena' (?) style is fast becoming extinct, I'll be sad to see it go.

It will still be available in other playlists im fairly sure. The weapons drops arent in every playlist and Halos customisation is still in the game. Didnt Frankie come in these very forums like 100 times and state over and over that the game still feels & plays like Halo? I mean, how many more times does he need to do this?
 
It will still be available in other playlists im fairly sure. The weapons drops arent in every playlist and Halos customisation is still in the game. Didnt Frankie come in these very forums like 100 times and state over and over that the game still feels & plays like Halo? I mean, how many more times does he need to do this?

So what would you have me do? Ignore what's staring me in the face on vague promises that there will be a playlist to suit everyone? Is there going to be a mirror 'vanilla Halo' playlist for all the main gametypes? That's a tall order, even given Halos player count.

Regardless of all that, the main design philosophy has changed. For the time being, my original point stands, it's not being designed with that "Everyone spawns equally mindset". And I'm sad to see that go, as Halo was one of the few high profile games left to have that philosophy.

People re-evaluate as new information comes. If it all turns out to be fine then great. But in the meantime, people are right to judge with the information they have.
 

soldat7

Member
Too complicated and too much of a time investment. I miss Halo 2...Sadly, Halo 2 wouldn't fly in today's FPS scene.
 

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
I did always admire Halo's commitment to the "Everyone enters on the same playing field" philosophy to multiplayer in the face of COD etc. That 'arena' (?) style is fast becoming extinct, I'll be sad to see it go.
This is my biggest frustration with all the new Halo 4 nonsense.
 
This sounds fucking terrible.

First halo that I won't purchase day 1, I'll wait for reviews(from fans, not paid websites). If I wanted to play CoD, I would play CoD. This sounds like a clusterfuck of bad ideas, ones that seem poorly copied from CoD. Reach was already a step in the wrong direction, in my opinion, and this game seems like it's getting into a jet and flying mach 2 further into that same direction.

And 343 are NOT proven developers. At least Bungie had a decent repertoire. And I'll echo the whole "I miss Halo's commitment to 'everyone enters on the same play field'".
 
Halo 2 can be played online wirh XBConnect, if you don't like Halo 4 online, you can play Halo 2. I like evolution, and I trust in 343i.
 

DopeyFish

Not bitter, just unsweetened
Halo 2 can be played online wirh XBConnect, if you don't like Halo 4 online, you can play Halo 2. I like evolution, and I trust in 343i.

Tunneling isn't easy when you're behind routers and switches

And... Not enough players and no playlists (where halo 2 shined)
 

HiiiLife

Member
Damn right after I was getting hyped about this game too. Is this one of those sequels that is suffering from "too" much change from its original formula?
 

sp3000

Member
Yeah, I'm not going to be buying this game for it's COD inspired multiplayer.

This is likely going to be a rental.

343 seems to have no real direction of what to do with the franchise. It's obvious they want to attract more players, but you would think they would have the sense to look at another franchise besides COD

I mean why not take some inspiration from battlefield for a change.


And 343 are NOT proven developers. At least Bungie had a decent repertoire. And I'll echo the whole "I miss Halo's commitment to 'everyone enters on the same play field'".

This was the NUMBER ONE thing that sets Halo apart from other shooters. The level playing field thing is critical to the core of Halo. Bungie understood that and that's why they kept XP upgrades to be cosmetic only.
 

sp3000

Member
There was a time when Halo used to actually innovate and be the game other games would try to take inspiration from. It's pretty sad that the franchise has been reduced to this.

This sort of garbage has no place in a Halo game, and the fact that 343 is incorporating it into the game purely to attract new players speakes volumes about the direction Halo is headed in


I miss Halo.
I miss its simplicity.

Too complicated and too much of a time investment. I miss Halo 2...Sadly, Halo 2 wouldn't fly in today's FPS scene.

Halo 3 was the beginning of the devs adding too many features which undermined the simple, yet effective Halo experience well all know and love.

Games like Halo 2 and UT2k4 are long gone. It's all about perks, watered down RPG elements and carrot on stick mechanics nowadays.....Fuck.



I know that feel. How I miss the days of Halo 2 multiplayer. Still the best console multiplayer experience ever made.
 

DR3AM

Dreams of a world where inflated review scores save studios
Oh god, just saw the YT video. These specializations sound horrible. Where's my run and gun Halo. Halo 2/3 were great. Simple, easy to use, no layouts, map control, rankings, and everyone was equal so that your skill actually matters.

The more we hear about Halo, the less exciting it gets for me.
 
The armours practically look abstract compared to the ones in previous games. They look interesting at least.

Though I hate this trend of adding timesink grinding into competitive multiplayer, worst thing to come out of this gen by far. So many games that I don't even want to try because they have this carrot on a stick nonsense trying to get me to fill bars that turn me off from the start.

Since this is Halo though, I'm willing to begrudgingly give it a shot. Though it does seem like a last chance for the series for me because of the colossal disappointment of Reach; if 4 just proves to me that 343 want to turn Halo into another me-too shooter in this market then I'm done with it.

The impressions I get from the previews just bum me out, but I'm gonna wait until the game's out and I've played it for a couple weeks to make my ultimate call on it. It's just so disappointing that the 360 Halo games have felt like diluting what made the multiplayer so good, especially unfortunate that the opportunity to have proper CE online multiplayer in Anniversary was sidestepped for the sake of adding maps to the abomination that is Reach.
 

ZROCOOL

aka II VerTigo II
I came in here expecting hype thru the roof. I'm leaving this thread really disappointed, and the helmets look horrible.
 

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
Damn right after I was getting hyped about this game too. Is this one of those sequels that is suffering from "too" much change from its original formula?
Change is nice, and there is welcomed change too, but then they had to go ahead and fuck with the concept of even footing that kept a lot of people attached to Halo's multiplayer. The target audience has broadened and unfortunately this is the result.
 
Its funny, you have the Black Ops thread complaning that it doesnt change enough and the Halo thread that complains that it changes too much.

If these guys listen to forum feedback for their games, nothing will ever get done.

Im gonna go on a limb and say that this Halo game will probably the best selling one, whether you guy play it or not.
 
The only thing people should get frustrated about is the fact that LE people get this stuff early. We already knew for a long time that people are going to unlock gameplay altering abilities.
 

harrytang

Member
i have one rule: put my trust in frank o conner and know that happiness will follow. these people are paid to make a game that prints money. nothing is being implemented that's going to spoil the fun. not gonna worry about it. will play day one and love the hell out of it as par the course for the last 10 years.
 

Orayn

Member
If these guys listen to forum feedback for their games, nothing will ever get done.

There are many frivolous complaints, but I don't think "make it Halo and not CoD" is too much to ask, 'cause they shoehorned killstreaks, perks, prestige, and in-game advantages for progression in what used to be a fair multiplayer game.
 
There are many frivolous complaints, but I don't think "make it Halo and not CoD" is too much to ask, 'cause they shoehorned killstreaks, perks, and long-term progression in what used to be a fair multiplayer game.

All the gameplay videos ive seen plays like Halo and even the mlg guys (and everyone else that played it) said so. So theres more dept to the games mp, god forbid!
 

Raide

Member
Now give me larger scale maps with more players in them, more varied objectives and we have Halo: Battlefield. Just make sure all the stripped down versions are there for fans to play so they don't start crying about Halo purity etc.

Would hope to see some footage of these classes in action before judging though.
 

GhaleonEB

Member
There's still the campaign and Spartan Ops, right?....guys?....

Getting a waypoint over the last Grunt to have killed you so you can track them down will come in handy in Campaign. :p


I kill someone. I move to a different position. But because the guy I killed had a certain perk, he gets a waypoint telling him where I am, and can give my new position away to his team. I am punished for successfully killing someone.

This is a bad thing, 343.
 

darthbob

Member
Its funny, you have the Black Ops thread complaning that it doesnt change enough and the Halo thread that complains that it changes too much.

If these guys listen to forum feedback for their games, nothing will ever get done.

Im gonna go on a limb and say that this Halo game will probably the best selling one, whether you guy play it or not.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.
 

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
There are many frivolous complaints, but I don't think "make it Halo and not CoD" is too much to ask, 'cause they shoehorned killstreaks, perks, prestige, and in-game advantages for progression in what used to be a fair multiplayer game.

Killstreaks? Prestige? In Halo? Where?
 
All the gameplay videos ive seen plays like Halo and even the mlg guys (and everyone else that played it) said so. So theres more dept to the games mp, god forbid!

It's more to do with the homogenization of multiplayer shooters than people thinking the game is going to be terrible.

Also, making perks and weapon choices something that occurs outside of the match that's being played is only deep on a superficial level. It's interesting when it comes to personalizing your play style but when you die because your opponent chose something that's completely out of your control, it actually diminishes depth at high level play.
 

Orayn

Member
All the gameplay videos ive seen plays like Halo and even the mlg guys (and everyone else that played it) said so. So theres more dept to the games mp, god forbid!

I have never truly understood what it is like to argue with someone who irrationally defends horrible design decisions, despite having done it myself in the past. We are truly through the looking glass on this one.

Killstreaks? Prestige? In Halo? Where?

Personal ordnance, and needing to level up beyond the maximum (multiple times?) to get all the specializations.

EDIT:
I don't know what a Prestige is, but the personal ordnance system in Halo 4 is an iteration on killstreaks. The better you do, the more power weapons and abilities you get. (The distinction being it accumulates without being reset on death.)

This makes it even worse than CoD.
 

GhaleonEB

Member
Killstreaks? Prestige? In Halo? Where?

I don't know what a Prestige is, but the personal ordnance system in Halo 4 is an iteration on killstreaks. The better you do, the more power weapons and abilities you get. (The distinction being it accumulates without being reset on death.)
 
Im a little surprised at all the backlash here, we have known these existed for some time now, we just didn't know exactly how the unlocks and progression played out. Anyways, I would go out on a limb and say none of these are as game changing as certain perks in CoD such as 'flak jacket' or 'deep penetration' (I think thats what those are called). These seem to be more passive abilities that will help you play the way you like a little more, but when you are in a battle with someone they wont really give you an advantage at all. I suppose the reduced weapons kick and radar while zoomed in will give you an advantage to a degree, but opposing players likely will not know whether you are zoomed in or not, so that plays out pretty subtlety.

This sounds fucking terrible.

First halo that I won't purchase day 1, I'll wait for reviews(from fans, not paid websites). If I wanted to play CoD, I would play CoD. This sounds like a clusterfuck of bad ideas, ones that seem poorly copied from CoD. Reach was already a step in the wrong direction, in my opinion, and this game seems like it's getting into a jet and flying mach 2 further into that same direction.

And 343 are NOT proven developers. At least Bungie had a decent repertoire. And I'll echo the whole "I miss Halo's commitment to 'everyone enters on the same play field'".

While this borrows a lot from CoD (what shooter doesn't anymore) I believe it adds its own flavor.. Ultimately it feels 343 approached the progression system a bit like an rpg, where your character gets more options rather than stronger. People shouldn't forget that there a base loadout classes per game that will include items you do not have, so low level players can still use the other items. I dunno, it still looks like Halo to me.. And ultimately I am sure it will still play like Halo.

Its funny, you have the Black Ops thread complaning that it doesnt change enough and the Halo thread that complains that it changes too much.

If these guys listen to forum feedback for their games, nothing will ever get done.

Im gonna go on a limb and say that this Halo game will probably the best selling one, whether you guy play it or not.

This. Whether you like it or not, games have to change, evolve, progress or else they stagnate. I have been saying this for a while, and I may not be jumping up and down at this, Im also not displeased. If done right it sounds like it could be really cool, and give Halo some new life.
 

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
I don't know what a Prestige is, but the personal ordnance system in Halo 4 is an iteration on killstreaks. The better you do, the more power weapons and abilities you get. (The distinction being it accumulates without being reset on death.)

Maybe ordinance is akin to a care package, but there is nowhere near the "killstreak" system in Halo 4 that CoD has. Also, ordinance is limited to Infinity playlists. Getting a needler is not like getting 9 kills from an airstrike or chopper.

Prestige in CoD is getting to level 55, and starting over. This doesn't really match the Halo 4 max level + 10/spec system.

I'm just being reverse salty, or playing Devil's advocate. :p
 
Don't see why everyone's making such a big fuss about abilities and what not. If you don't like it you can stick to old styled playlists.
 
343 is squandering so much potential... practically all of the changes it is making to the Halo formula are derivative and uninteresting -- most are unwanted by the majority of the community.

It will inevitably be a fun and solid and polished game, but it seems impossible not to be a bit disappointed with 343. Regardless of whether you think these changes will make Halo better or worse....
 

MaDGaMEZ

Neo Member
I believe the type of progression/perk system used in COD is becoming stale with gamers and 343 went with these changes at a bad time. Heck even COD is changing their system with BLOPS2.

Not good 343, not good at all.

BTW anyone know where their Lead Muliplayer designer worked before this? Seems like a lot of weird decisions considering what Halo used to be.
 
In the end, couldn't they just make a separate playlist that is called "classic halo" that is basically halo 2 & 3? Seems like it would be easy enough.
 
In the end, couldn't they just make a separate playlist that is called "classic halo" that is basically halo 2 & 3? Seems like it would be easy enough.

I am 100% positive they will have classic, barebone playlists. Probably Classic Slayer, Classic Objective and Classic BTB.. As the game gets later into its life cycle they may need to be trimmed though, but ultimately I think the Infinity gametypes will be really fun.
 
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