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[Enfinit]

What was that stat about Halo 3? Something like 75% of the people who bought the game never signed onto XBL with it

Even further argues the point that multiplayer is not what Halo has "always been about".

 

[FUBAR McDangles]

bobs.. FUBAR is like the nicest person in this thread lol. I don't think he meant it in the tone as you're describing, so your hostile attitude was unwarranted in the first place.

Thanks man, I appreciate it

Well Halo sure isn't going to entertain me.

<3 you too silent stranger.

FUBAR seems cool and its not a personal attack or anything, anyone who forgoes spoiler tags would get a hostile response from me, when I was reading the thread a lot it would have annoyed me to no end to walk blindly into spoilers and im just thinking of all the Halo fans who cant quite get access to the books because there are a lot.

Regardless apologies FUBAR if my hostility seemed over the top, I only wanted to be just hostile enough to show that I dislike spoilers.

Sorry about that man.

I don't want to cause anyone distress, so I'm not sure why I was so hostile earlier. Wasn't in the greatest of moods when I was typing some of that. I'll definitely fix that in the future.

Again, sorry.

are we really arguing semantics over spoilers that haven't been spoilers for 11 months

spoiler warning: bornstellar and librarian sacrifice themselves to didact can use the dragon balls and the chaos emeralds to defeat Mecha Gogeta Gravemind in the Battle for Middle-Earth

THANKS OBAMA

And regarding the campaign talk stuff, I was the first of my friends/school to get into Halo. Bragging about the Scorpion/Warthog/Marines section of AOTCR really sold my friends on Halo and the Xbox as a whole. Even through Halo 2, campaign co-op is what brought my friends together rather than the multiplayer. Anecdotal case, though.

My top-5 campaign missions, just because:

5. Metropolis
4. Assault on the Control Room
3. The Storm
2. 343 Guilty Spark
1. The Ark

 

[User 73706]

I just realized why I'm loving GTAV so much: forcing cars with shitty offroad handling up to the highest mountaintop you can before getting instakilled by bobcats jackal snipers and then flinging yourself off them is pretty much Delta Halo in a nutshell.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

These are nice, Waypoint headline source

McFarlane Toys: Halo 4 Series 2 Figures

Also I think it was Frankie here not too many months ago confirmed over 50% of Halo players never touch multiplayer. No idea how many have live or not but they basically built SPOPS to bridge that gap and get campaign only players over into coop and then eventually war games. That was the idea anyhow.

 

[daedalius]

Also I think it was Frankie here not too many months ago confirmed over 50% of Halo players never touch multiplayer. No idea how many have live or not but they basically built SPOPS to bridge that gap and get campaign only players over into coop and then eventually war games. That was the idea anyhow.

I think Spops would have gone better if the coop netcode wasn't such a disaster. I literally could never play Spops without horrible lag.

Kinda want that Didact figure...

 

[Booshka]

Agreed, multiplayer in Halo 1 was more of an afterthought. It's always struck me that Halo's always been about the campaign, at least to reviewers, or at least as equally important to the multiplayer. Halo's campaign's have always been at least, pretty good, even Halo 4's I enjoyed for the most part. Multiplayer is a different question, and is, obviously subjective, along with the campaign.

come on, man, I haven't gotten around to play Halo: CE yet!

Spoiler

:lol

It's too bad that all of the other Halo MP's weren't an "afterthought" as well. Bungie and now 343 over-think it and each one has been worse than the last.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

I think Spops would have gone better if the coop netcode wasn't such a disaster. I literally could never play Spops without horrible lag.

Kinda want that Didact figure...

I am drooling waiting for dedis and coop campaign or SPOPS/firefight. I've barely played coop campaign in 3 or 4 due to input latency. It's just terrible, here's hoping it's badass networking magic with dedis though.

 

[Prinz Eugn]

I think Spops would have gone better if the coop netcode wasn't such a disaster. I literally could never play Spops without horrible lag.

Kinda want that Didact figure...

I'm really not sure how Spartan Ops got past the prototype stage. The whole idea of reusing spaces over and over to get to 50 missions is absurd on its face. I guess they were thinking that they would be able to use Forge wwwaaay more and/or have more interesting objectives than just "kill everything" and "push the button".

 

[aHebrewMenagerie]

Those figures look pretty sick. Especially that Didact one. What a waste of a good character. :'(

 

[daedalius]

I'm really not sure how Spartan Ops got past the prototype stage. The whole idea of reusing spaces over and over to get to 50 missions is absurd on its face. I guess they were thinking that they would be able to use Forge wwwaaay more and/or have more interesting objectives than just "kill everything" and "push the button".

I probably would have preferred firefight without the horrible lag myself.

Those CG episodes sure were neat though! The actual missions themselves... well.

 

[CobbFC09]

These are nice, Waypoint headline source

McFarlane Toys: Halo 4 Series 2 Figures

Very nice indeed.

 

[Prinz Eugn]

I probably would have preferred firefight without the horrible lag myself.

Those CG episodes sure were neat though! The actual missions themselves... well.

Makes me shudder to think the conversations that happened in 343i:

:"So we have a budget of $xxx for Spartan Ops, how should we divvy it up?"
:"How about 80% on cutscenes?"
:"Hell yes, players love them!"
:"I'll go warm up the mo-cap."

I mean, they were cool and all, but after the first couple episodes I watched them and didn't even attempt to play a mission until months later (and it only reminded me of why I stopped in the first place).

I agree firefight (and I didn't like Reach firefight especially) would have been preferable.

 

[Fuchsdh]

I probably would have preferred firefight without the horrible lag myself.

Those CG episodes sure were neat though! The actual missions themselves... well.

Well, it turned out mostly to be quality versus quantity. I dunno how the development came together, but if I were the magic hindsight fairy I would have had them cut the episodes down to just 2 or 3 a week and focus on making at least one of them not a kill-everything style mission. It felt like padding, especially when there was no reason to force us to clear an area before proceeding.

All things considered the level reuse wasn't too bad, save for the fact that it made the UNSC and Covenant look incompetent at holding areas. And the levels in 1.5 were a lot better designed as well (Apex especially).

I think Spartan Ops did what it was supposed to fairly well, all things considered, but it ultimately failed to provide an equivalent experience to Firefight to compensate for the latter's removal, and that's a shame. Ideally, I'd love both modes to be back, because they do fit different niches--perhaps Spartan Ops should be its own spinoff expansion like ODST.

 

[Prinz Eugn]

I dunno, Fusschced, I think that's a pretty generous assesment considering how many players they were losing in spite of regular Spartan Ops installments (the core goal of which was to keep people playing as I understand it).

I too think they would have been much better off releasing fewer, better episodes, closer to a mini-campaign level. The basic problem for me was it was too boring and repetitive in the first few episodes and I got out of the habit of trying to play them more or less as they came out. Five episodes was a considerable time investment on the player side, too, if you played on anything above Easy.

Even so, not really as innately re-playable as firefight.

 

[User 73706]

It really blows my mind that us gamers actually have some common sense in this day and age.

Halo 4: completely obliterated off the charts after a few months
GTAV: fastest-selling piece of media entertainment in recorded history

I mean, think about it. Yeah, we still have to deal with crap like people paying for yearly cod / halo / mario releases, but the fact that people actually stopped playing outright is absolutely mindblowing. Even more so because a Halo game hasn't had a decline like that before, even Reach.

 

[Enfinit]

It really blows my mind that us gamers actually have some common sense in this day and age.

Halo 4: completely obliterated off the charts after a few months
GTAV: fastest-selling piece of media entertainment in recorded history

I mean, think about it. Yeah, we still have to deal with crap like people paying for yearly cod / halo / mario releases, but the fact that people actually stopped playing outright is absolutely mindblowing. Even more so because a Halo game hasn't had a decline like that before, even Reach.

Why was GTA V so successful though? Hype? The "I'm-getting-it-because-my-friends-are" marketing?

Or, is it because Rockstar took the time to craft an excellent game, put in an immense amount of effort to ensure player satisfaction (half a decade?), and built a world based off already-successful mechanics instead of deviating from its already-successful foundation?

 

[Orochinagis]

Why was GTA V so successful though? Hype? The "I'm-getting-it-because-my-friends-are" marketing?

Or, is it because Rockstar took the time to craft an excellent game, put in an immense amount of effort to ensure player satisfaction (half a decade?), and built a world based off already-successful mechanics instead of deviating from its already-successful foundation?

There is only one strip club in the entire insland, ONE.

But yeah GTA 5 is the culmination of all the entire games they made before in one single game.

 

[Enfinit]

But yeah GTA 5 is the culmination of all the entire games they made before in one single game.

I think one of its main successes is, like CoD, people know what they're getting before they buy it.

 

[Fuchsdh]

I think one of its main successes is, like CoD, people know what they're getting before they buy it.

Not to say that building GTA is easy, but I think everyone is on the same page with what they want in a sequel, so I feel like it's far less of a gamble on expectations.

 

[The Henery]

It really blows my mind that us gamers actually have some common sense in this day and age.

Halo 4: completely obliterated off the charts after a few months
GTAV: fastest-selling piece of media entertainment in recorded history

I mean, think about it. Yeah, we still have to deal with crap like people paying for yearly cod / halo / mario releases, but the fact that people actually stopped playing outright is absolutely mindblowing. Even more so because a Halo game hasn't had a decline like that before, even Reach.

Not that mind blowing that a relatively poor game which boasts less features and options than its predecessors has been summarily tossed in the trash by the playing public.

What i do find mind blowing is the fact that well paid developers of these products don't share the 'common sense' of your average franchise fan.

Gaf after the Game Informer reveal: "Um, guys, these ideas sound like complete dogshit, it'll never work"

343: "Trust Us"

Result: dogshit on paper, dogshit in play.

Fucking flinch in HALO? GET OUT NOW

 

[User 73706]

Let me word this better: for all of the shit gamers have to deal with in the industry like paywalled game components that probably would have been free if not for money-hungry business models or QTEs, people still realized Halo 4 didn't deliver.

I guess what I'm saying is that it's surprising that Halo of all things managed to create a pretty much fatal community breaking point compared to, say, CoD or Pokemon.

Granted, it still got a shitton of sales, but there hasn't been a population dropoff that big since they decided to release Dino Crisis: Origins on 64,000,001 BC.

 

[NobleGundam]

Why was GTA V so successful though? Hype? The "I'm-getting-it-because-my-friends-are" marketing?

Or, is it because Rockstar took the time to craft an excellent game, put in an immense amount of effort to ensure player satisfaction (half a decade?), and built a world based off already-successful mechanics instead of deviating from its already-successful foundation?

Pretty much the latter..

343 has so much to prove in the next installments to the franchise. It's crazy how one game can cause such a huge ripple effect to the franchise and the Halo community for better or worse.

 

[Silly.Mikey]

Not to say that building GTA is easy, but I think everyone is on the same page with what they want in a sequel, so I feel like it's far less of a gamble on expectations.

Well, there aren't ten thousand ways to expand on gangster life games either.

I think i just repeated what you said, only a lot meaner.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Pretty much the latter..

343 has so much to prove in the next installments to the franchise. It's crazy how one game can cause such a huge ripple effect to the franchise and the Halo community for better or worse.

A bit of hyperbole don't you think mate? Reach multiplayer, arena ranking, no BR and dull forge pieces caused similar ripples. When you talk about campaign/story it paints a different light than your post if you ask me. I too expect a far more polished game with the next instalment though.

Some more from the Essential Visual Guide:

 

[NobleGundam]

A bit of hyperbole don't you think mate? Reach multiplayer, arena ranking, no BR and dull forge pieces caused similar ripples. When you talk about campaign/story it paints a different light than your post if you ask me.

I too expect a far more polished game with the next instalment though.

It's not a hyperbole when player count to Halo 4's population is almost dead compared to Reach.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

It's not a hyperbole when player count to Halo 4's population is almost dead compared to Reach.

Guess you missed the part about campaign in my response. In terms of raw numbers that purchased and played campaign that say 50% of the audience is much the same. Even if you said 4 did half the numbers of Reach in sustained multiplayer that is only a 25% drop. Again to me that points to hyperbole because you focus on just multiplayer.

What of FuD or the books or merchandise sales or events like GC finals? Again when you factor in the overall Halo franchise your statement is in fact hyberbole. FuD was a major success, campaign was a success, games sales a success, multiplayer at launch was average but now is good. Multiplayer has room to be great at launch in the next instalment.

No Halo is not dead.

 

[aHebrewMenagerie]

Guess you missed the part about campaign in my response. In terms of raw numbers that purchased and played campaign that say 50% of the audience is much the same. Even if you said 4 did half the numbers of Reach in sustained multiplayer that is only a 25% drop. Again to me that points to hyperbole because you focus on just multiplayer.

What of FuD or the books or merchandise sales or events like GC finals? Again when you factor in the overall Halo franchise your statement is in fact hyberbole. FuD was a major success, campaign was a success, games sales a success, multiplayer at launch was average but now is good. Multiplayer has room to be great at launch in the next instalment.

No Halo is not dead.

I agree that Halo is not dead.

But it is in a coma.

Just because it's still alive doesn't mean you can fucking wake it up from its hospital bed and go outside to play fucking frisbee. It's recovering, but it's in no state like it was 6 years ago.

 

[Fracas]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on5kklX2fR8

 

[NobleGundam]

Guess you missed the part about campaign in my response. In terms of raw numbers that purchased and played campaign that say 50% of the audience is much the same. Even if you said 4 did half the numbers of Reach in sustained multiplayer that is only a 25% drop. Again to me that points to hyperbole because you focus on just multiplayer.

What of FuD or the books or merchandise sales or events like GC finals? Again when you factor in the overall Halo franchise your statement is in fact hyberbole. FuD was a major success, campaign was a success, games sales a success, multiplayer at launch was average but now is good. Multiplayer has room to be great at launch in the next instalment.

No Halo is not dead.

You assume too much.

I didn't miss anything. The Campaign/Story is of no concern to the overall status regarding Halo 4's very low population.

Halo 4's online population is almost dead. Let's be honest and face the facts.

I do welcome any & all improvements that 343 can dish out for the MP.

 

[YourExWife]

Guess you missed the part about campaign in my response. In terms of raw numbers that purchased and played campaign that say 50% of the audience is much the same. Even if you said 4 did half the numbers of Reach in sustained multiplayer that is only a 25% drop. Again to me that points to hyperbole because you focus on just multiplayer.

What of FuD or the books or merchandise sales or events like GC finals? Again when you factor in the overall Halo franchise your statement is in fact hyberbole. FuD was a major success, campaign was a success, games sales a success, multiplayer at launch was average but now is good. Multiplayer has room to be great at launch in the next instalment.

No Halo is not dead.

k bro

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

I agree that Halo is not dead.

But it is in a coma.

Just because it's still alive doesn't mean you can fucking wake it up from its hospital bed and go outside to play fucking frisbee. It's recovering, but it's in no state like it was 6 years ago.

You assume too much.

I didn't miss anything. The Campaign/Story is of no concern to the overall status regarding Halo 4's very low population.

Halo 4's online population is almost dead. Let's be honest and face the facts.

I do welcome any & all improvements that 343 can dish out for the MP.

Please campaign and game sales were a resounding success. Yes launch multiplayer was average, now it's good and the population hasn't returned to the king of FPS of old. Looking forward when I see the continuation of:

• Campaign story e.g. Janus Key, Halsey, Lasky, Rogue John, possible MB, Infinity, lore unification etc
• CGI scenes e.g. best we've ever seen in Halo IMO
• Ranked vs. social multi e.g. CSR in game evolution and no guest + quitter reduction in ranked
• Regional dedicated servers e.g. this alone brings Halo to the forefront of multiplayer
• Halo TV show e.g. look at FuD success/quality for the budget
• Books like Silentium
• Toys like the series 2 figures
• 60 fps
• Cloud for interactive maps/large scale matching
• 343i sustain devotion e.g. despite population drop
• A new Firefight/SPOPS
• No more serious hardware limitations e.g. campaign AI or on the rail graphics so now we can go open world more.
• X1 personal DVR/live streaming and Skype snapchat.
• Global championships & finals e.g. pros return for quality tournies & money plus where this points next gen Halo tournies
• Soundtrack remix contest and Vol 1/2 OST e.g. hopefully we get audio mixing levels in campaign next time
• Community creations like AGL settings, throwdown, community creations like screenshots, YT channels, tattoo tuesday

Fuck me next gen Halo is already shaping up to be a serious contender for the best in the series. Halo dead, I say fuck you 343i are just getting started with next gen Halo. Yes launch Halo 4 had serious issues and in my mind was a second priority behind next gen Halo in terms of development/timeframe/features etc.

 

[NobleGundam]

Please campaign and game sales were a resounding success. Yes launch multiplayer was average, now it's good and the population hasn't returned to the king of FPS of old. Looking forward when I see the continuation of:

• Campaign story e.g. Janus Key, Halsey, Lasky, Rogue John, possible MB, Infinity, lore unification etc
• CGI scenes e.g. best we've ever seen in Halo IMO
• Ranked vs. social multi e.g. CSR in game evolution and no guest + quitter reduction in ranked
• Regional dedicated servers e.g. this alone brings Halo to the forefront of multiplayer
• Halo TV show e.g. look at FuD success/quality for the budget
• Books like Silentium
• Toys like the series 2 figures
• 60 fps
• Cloud for interactive maps/large scale matching
• 343i sustain devotion e.g. despite population drop
• A new Firefight/SPOPS
• No more serious hardware limitations e.g. campaign AI or on the rail graphics so now we can go open world more.
• X1 personal DVR/live streaming and Skype snapchat.
• Global championships & finals e.g. pros return for quality tournies & money plus where this points next gen Halo tournies
• Soundtrack remix contest and Vol 1/2 OST e.g. hopefully we get audio mixing levels in campaign next time
• Community creations like AGL settings, throwdown, community creations like screenshots, YT channels, tattoo tuesday

Fuck me next gen Halo is already shaping up to be a serious contender for the best in the series. Halo dead, I say fuck you 343i are just getting started with next gen Halo.

All of this excites me for what 343 has in stored for us. Hoping they pull it off and not playing it safe (as others have said before).

 

[Karl2177]

Please campaign and game sales were a resounding success. Yes launch multiplayer was average, now it's good and the population hasn't returned to the king of FPS of old. Looking forward when I see the continuation of:

• Campaign story e.g. Janus Key, Halsey, Lasky, Rogue John, possible MB, Infinity, lore unification etc
• CGI scenes e.g. best we've ever seen in Halo IMO
• Ranked vs. social multi e.g. CSR in game evolution and no guest + quitter reduction in ranked
• Regional dedicated servers e.g. this alone brings Halo to the forefront of multiplayer
• Halo TV show e.g. look at FuD success/quality for the budget
• Books like Silentium
• Toys like the series 2 figures
• 60 fps
• Cloud for interactive maps/large scale matching
• 343i sustain devotion e.g. despite population drop
• A new Firefight/SPOPS
• No more serious hardware limitations e.g. campaign AI or on the rail graphics so now we can go open world more.
• X1 personal DVR/live streaming and Skype snapchat.
• Global championships & finals e.g. pros return for quality tournies & money plus where this points next gen Halo tournies
• Soundtrack remix contest and Vol 1/2 OST e.g. hopefully we get audio mixing levels in campaign next time
• Community creations like AGL settings, throwdown, community creations like screenshots, YT channels, tattoo tuesday

Fuck me next gen Halo is already shaping up to be a serious contender for the best in the series. Halo dead, I say fuck you 343i are just getting started with next gen Halo. Yes launch Halo 4 had serious issues and in my mind was a second priority behind next gen Halo in terms of development/timeframe/features etc.

jesus

 

[J10]

Please campaign and game sales were a resounding success. Yes launch multiplayer was average, now it's good and the population hasn't returned to the king of FPS of old. Looking forward when I see the continuation of:

• Campaign story e.g. Janus Key, Halsey, Lasky, Rogue John, possible MB, Infinity, lore unification etc
• CGI scenes e.g. best we've ever seen in Halo IMO
• Ranked vs. social multi e.g. CSR in game evolution and no guest + quitter reduction in ranked
• Regional dedicated servers e.g. this alone brings Halo to the forefront of multiplayer
• Halo TV show e.g. look at FuD success/quality for the budget
• Books like Silentium
• Toys like the series 2 figures
• 60 fps
• Cloud for interactive maps/large scale matching
• 343i sustain devotion e.g. despite population drop
• A new Firefight/SPOPS
• No more serious hardware limitations e.g. campaign AI or on the rail graphics so now we can go open world more.
• X1 personal DVR/live streaming and Skype snapchat.
• Global championships & finals e.g. pros return for quality tournies & money plus where this points next gen Halo tournies
• Soundtrack remix contest and Vol 1/2 OST e.g. hopefully we get audio mixing levels in campaign next time
• Community creations like AGL settings, throwdown, community creations like screenshots, YT channels, tattoo tuesday

Fuck me next gen Halo is already shaping up to be a serious contender for the best in the series. Halo dead, I say fuck you 343i are just getting started with next gen Halo. Yes launch Halo 4 had serious issues and in my mind was a second priority behind next gen Halo in terms of development/timeframe/features etc.

I remember when it felt like I was the only one around here who thought Reach was good, that's why I'm not gonna give you shit.

 

[Fuchsdh]

Please campaign and game sales were a resounding success. Yes launch multiplayer was average, now it's good and the population hasn't returned to the king of FPS of old. Looking forward when I see the continuation of:

• Regional dedicated servers e.g. this alone brings Halo to the forefront of multiplayer
  

Uh, where did we hear that there were going to be *regional* dedis in the context of Halo? Would be great for our non-NA friends but I don't think MS has said much beyond "we have so many servers!"

 

[HiredN00bs]

Uh, where did we hear that there were going to be *regional* dedis in the context of Halo?

It's wishful thinking after one too many games with players from Mexico.

 

[Ominym]

Please campaign and game sales were a resounding success. Yes launch multiplayer was average, now it's good and the population hasn't returned to the king of FPS of old. Looking forward when I see the continuation of:

• Campaign story e.g. Janus Key, Halsey, Lasky, Rogue John, possible MB, Infinity, lore unification etc
• CGI scenes e.g. best we've ever seen in Halo IMO
• Ranked vs. social multi e.g. CSR in game evolution and no guest + quitter reduction in ranked
• Regional dedicated servers e.g. this alone brings Halo to the forefront of multiplayer
• Halo TV show e.g. look at FuD success/quality for the budget
• Books like Silentium
• Toys like the series 2 figures
• 60 fps
• Cloud for interactive maps/large scale matching
• 343i sustain devotion e.g. despite population drop
• A new Firefight/SPOPS
• No more serious hardware limitations e.g. campaign AI or on the rail graphics so now we can go open world more.
• X1 personal DVR/live streaming and Skype snapchat.
• Global championships & finals e.g. pros return for quality tournies & money plus where this points next gen Halo tournies
• Soundtrack remix contest and Vol 1/2 OST e.g. hopefully we get audio mixing levels in campaign next time
• Community creations like AGL settings, throwdown, community creations like screenshots, YT channels, tattoo tuesday

Fuck me next gen Halo is already shaping up to be a serious contender for the best in the series. Halo dead, I say fuck you 343i are just getting started with next gen Halo. Yes launch Halo 4 had serious issues and in my mind was a second priority behind next gen Halo in terms of development/timeframe/features etc.

What I would give for this kind of optimism.

 

[Prinz Eugn]

Uh, where did we hear that there were going to be *regional* dedis in the context of Halo? Would be great for our non-NA friends but I don't think MS has said much beyond "we have so many servers!"

I just hope they do something so I can stop fantasizing about violently severing undersea fiber-optic cables.

 

[aHebrewMenagerie]

Just because Halo 5 might be good doesn't mean that Halo 4 doesn't suck ass anymore. Before you pull out the turbo card, I'd like to say that sprint, flinch, big maps, no in game ranking system, and missing 380k players disagree with you.

 

[User 73706]

jesus

 

[blamite]

Please campaign and game sales were a resounding success. Yes launch multiplayer was average, now it's good and the population hasn't returned to the king of FPS of old. Looking forward when I see the continuation of:

• Campaign story e.g. Janus Key, Halsey, Lasky, Rogue John, possible MB, Infinity, lore unification etc
• CGI scenes e.g. best we've ever seen in Halo IMO
• Ranked vs. social multi e.g. CSR in game evolution and no guest + quitter reduction in ranked
• Regional dedicated servers e.g. this alone brings Halo to the forefront of multiplayer
• Halo TV show e.g. look at FuD success/quality for the budget
• Books like Silentium
• Toys like the series 2 figures
• 60 fps
• Cloud for interactive maps/large scale matching
• 343i sustain devotion e.g. despite population drop
• A new Firefight/SPOPS
• No more serious hardware limitations e.g. campaign AI or on the rail graphics so now we can go open world more.
• X1 personal DVR/live streaming and Skype snapchat.
• Global championships & finals e.g. pros return for quality tournies & money plus where this points next gen Halo tournies
• Soundtrack remix contest and Vol 1/2 OST e.g. hopefully we get audio mixing levels in campaign next time
• Community creations like AGL settings, throwdown, community creations like screenshots, YT channels, tattoo tuesday

Fuck me next gen Halo is already shaping up to be a serious contender for the best in the series. Halo dead, I say fuck you 343i are just getting started with next gen Halo. Yes launch Halo 4 had serious issues and in my mind was a second priority behind next gen Halo in terms of development/timeframe/features etc.

Literally half of the points in that list are totally irrelevant to actually getting a good game, which is really all most people are asking for. :lol

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Uh, where did we hear that there were going to be *regional* dedis in the context of Halo? Would be great for our non-NA friends but I don't think MS has said much beyond "we have so many servers!"

Microsoft Windows Azure cloud is regional by design. In fact when you use things like xbox 360 movie rentals you're already using the Content Delivery Network (CDN) stemming off the core Azure datacentres around the world, see WikiPedia quote below for specifics . It's regional delivery of content and X1 uses this Azure infrastructure from Microsoft. It's been deployed since 2008 and I use it everyday in web dev/hosting.

The regional by design infrastructure branches into redundancy, currency, language, localisation, deployment, DRM etc. IMO this is the home of next gen Halo matchmaking/coop. In fact Halo 4 already uses Azure in some capacity and worked with the Azure team initially. 343i bugged some code and slowed the entire Azure network down for a few hours too, remember the Azure team video about this?

The locations of the data centers are:
North America
North-central US - Chicago, IL
South-central US - San Antonio, TX
West US - California
East US - Virginia

Asia
East Asia - Hong Kong, China
South East Asia - Singapore

Europe
North Europe - Dublin, Ireland
West Europe - Amsterdam, Netherlands

Oceania (announced, coming soon)
Sydney, New South Wales (announced, coming soon)
Melbourne, Victoria (announced, coming soon)

The CDN nodes are located in 24 countries.

Just because Halo 5 might be good doesn't mean that Halo 4 doesn't suck ass anymore. Before you pull out the turbo card, I'd like to say that sprint, flinch, big maps, no in game ranking system, and missing 380k players disagree with you.

Exactly why I use the term "good" instead of great when describing 4's multiplayer. I'd prefer more maps like The Pit (original with ledges etc), Zanzibar, High Grounds, Guardian, Burial Mounds, Coag. etc. less Vortex and clusterfuck maps please. Turbo was huge multi-steps in the right direction. Sure things like no ranked/social split or flinch vs. descope but for what resources they assign post game they've done some really great work. 4 of the DLC maps are good to excellent e.g. Monolith, Pitfall, Skyline and could have made a large difference at launch. Again Halo 4 to me doesn't suck ass but is a good Halo game now, it has a number of minor issues as you mention but it's not an average game like at launch. It's not just turbo though, it's GC tourney at all those events and online with the finals, it's the good DLC maps, skulls added to SPOPS, playlist sustain shows how much they care, BR returned, JiP playlist specific settings, CC's etc.

Anyhow I know it's not a mass popular multiplayer and I too want the in game ranked portion to return to even starts but I also want some playlists/settings where customisation is possible. There's plenty of room for both they just missed at launch is all. The next gen Halo really looks set to deliver. It's also already hitting a ton of sweet spots IMO.

The more enthusiasm I hear about Halo and Microsoft, the more disgusted and turned off I am. Thank God for Bungie and the PS4.

I wonder what HaloGAF will be like when Destiny launches and later on when Halo X1 launches...Personally I'll enjoy both games as I don't see them as mutually exclusive.

 

[HiredN00bs]

The more enthusiasm I hear about Halo and Microsoft, the more disgusted and turned off I am. Thank God for Bungie and the PS4.

I wonder what HaloGAF will be like when Destiny launches and later on when Halo X1 launches...Personally I'll enjoy both games as I don't see them as mutually exclusive.

They aren't mutually exclusive. Halo was a much better franchise when Bungie was making the games. Halo 4 is vapid in so many ways, despite the efforts of the sustain team. It's a patchwork mess, and the worst part was they saw fit to leave a similar stain on Reach.

The 360 was an outstanding platform with Bungie's games. Netflix party viewing was probably one of my favorite things this generation as well. So much for that. Kinect was a major disappointment. So now they're doubling down on it on XB1. Shaking my fucking head.

Bungie represents hope. The PS4 represents hope. Hope for better experiences and better systems, and a corporate mindset that is humble, not bumbling like Microsoft. Fuck man, how can people be blind to this shit?

 

[Tawpgun]

Please campaign and game sales were a resounding success. Yes launch multiplayer was average, now it's good and the population hasn't returned to the king of FPS of old. Looking forward when I see the continuation of:

• Campaign story e.g. Janus Key, Halsey, Lasky, Rogue John, possible MB, Infinity, lore unification etc
• CGI scenes e.g. best we've ever seen in Halo IMO
• Ranked vs. social multi e.g. CSR in game evolution and no guest + quitter reduction in ranked
• Regional dedicated servers e.g. this alone brings Halo to the forefront of multiplayer
• Halo TV show e.g. look at FuD success/quality for the budget
• Books like Silentium
• Toys like the series 2 figures
• 60 fps
• Cloud for interactive maps/large scale matching
• 343i sustain devotion e.g. despite population drop
• A new Firefight/SPOPS
• No more serious hardware limitations e.g. campaign AI or on the rail graphics so now we can go open world more.
• X1 personal DVR/live streaming and Skype snapchat.
• Global championships & finals e.g. pros return for quality tournies & money plus where this points next gen Halo tournies
• Soundtrack remix contest and Vol 1/2 OST e.g. hopefully we get audio mixing levels in campaign next time
• Community creations like AGL settings, throwdown, community creations like screenshots, YT channels, tattoo tuesday

Fuck me next gen Halo is already shaping up to be a serious contender for the best in the series. Halo dead, I say fuck you 343i are just getting started with next gen Halo. Yes launch Halo 4 had serious issues and in my mind was a second priority behind next gen Halo in terms of development/timeframe/features etc.

Damn.

I miss being excited for the next Halo. maybe Hype train will get me, but at this point Halo 4 turned me from huge halo supernerd to casual halo fan.

 

[daedalius]

Bungie represents hope. The PS4 represents hope. Hope for better experiences and better systems, and a corporate mindset that is humble, not bumbling like Microsoft. Fuck man, how can people be blind to this shit?

ffs really? What is going on in here?

 

[aHebrewMenagerie]

Damn.

I miss being excited for the next Halo. maybe Hype train will get me, but at this point Halo 4 turned me from huge halo supernerd to casual halo fan.

To be honest, halo 4 has turned me off of video gaming in general. Nothing is going to be able to scratch that itch like halo did. :'(

 

[Gui_PT]

Only 25% drop? That's close to NOTHING

Hyperbolators gonna Hyperbolize

 

[FUBAR McDangles]

k bro

It's still amazing.

"Meet me in the middle, I got the bullets I'll put one in yo head ----- no homo"

Hahahaha so good.

EDIT: Top of the page oh god...anyone playing Halo tonight?

"Meet me in the middle bro, meet me in the middle right now, son. Right now ----- my team against your team "
"Wait, When?"
"What you mean 'when'? The fuck you mean 'When'? Obviously NOW!"

 

[Prinz Eugn]

It's still amazing.

"Meet me in the middle, I got the bullets I'll put one in yo head ----- no homo"

Hahahaha so good.

EDIT: Top of the page oh god...anyone playing Halo tonight?

"Meet me in the middle bro, meet me in the middle right now, son. Right now ----- my team against your team "
"Wait, When?"
"What you mean 'when'? The fuck you mean 'When'? Obviously NOW!"

I might be on tonight, but probably going to be super late. I did get my mic fixed so I'll be able to hear people other than ExWife in-game.

That guy was amazing in his persistence, like I hadn't made it abundantly clear that I was mirthfully enjoying his tirade instead of raging. I don't think I even cussed a single swear the entire time.

 

[Madness]

Gotta disagree with campaign story, a lot of reviewers and players said they has trouble with what was really going on, who the players were. Let's be honest, books to advance the plot is never a good thing when the primary medium is games. I honestly don't think many even care about Didact, Palmer etc.

343 also needs to make sure it's entire story is self contained for the next one. No external apps, sites, second screen etc.

Let people know EXACTLY what happened in Halo 4 and Spartan Ops, who Didact was, what Chief and Cortana did. There's a pretty good chance, millions or people never finished Spartan Ops, because many stopped playing the game before second half of season 1 was even out.