• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Halo 4 |OT2| TURBO

Madness

Member
I might have bought Halo, ya know, if it weren't an Xbox exclusive. Turning a promising shooter game into a console seller, fuck off.

Not even comparable. Halo was a series that started with Xbox. When Microsoft bought Bungie and changed the game from Mac to its new lead console, it became a system seller.

Now you're taking an established game series and shoehorning it into other places. This game should be XBLA day one. Instead, it's tied to bullshit devices that aren't selling well, even worse is the Verizon exclusivity early on.

Don't see how anyone can defend or justify it.
 
F OS selling stuff. F OS exclusives even.
F Phone exclusivity
F Carrier exclusivity

What is wrong with this world and why is noone slapping these corporate douchebags?

#HireJuices
 

Booshka

Member
I can only imagine how well Shadowrun would have done if it was Windows XP, on Steam and Physical Box for 30 bucks. No cross platform play, don't nerf PC players, make it play more like a PC FPS for the PC version with M+K/B. Leave the console version as is.

I think it would have been a lot more successful as a game, than it was as some shitty OS exclusive and paid online multiplayer on PC. MS never really marketed Shadowrun for being a good unique and fun MP Shooter, just that it was tied to Vista and had Cross-Platform play. So many dumb decisions by MS. Same thing with Halo 2, Vista and the Gold required on PC killed both of those games, and their shit GFWL platform.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
Not even comparable. Halo was a series that started with Xbox. When Microsoft bought Bungie and changed the game from Mac to its new lead console, it became a system seller.

Now you're taking an established game series and shoehorning it into other places. This game should be XBLA day one. Instead, it's tied to bullshit devices that aren't selling well, even worse is the Verizon exclusivity early on.

Don't see how anyone can defend or justify it.

Because it's an entertainment product, and there's more good entertainment out there than any person could watch, read or play in a dozen lifetimes. Seriously, don't understand how you guys can get so bent out of shape over inconsequential crap on the internet.
 

FyreWulff

Member
I can only imagine how well Shadowrun would have done if it was Windows XP, on Steam and Physical Box for 30 bucks. No cross platform play, don't nerf PC players, make it play more like a PC FPS for the PC version with M+K/B. Leave the console version as is.

I think it would have been a lot more successful as a game, than it was as some shitty OS exclusive and paid online multiplayer on PC. MS never really marketed Shadowrun for being a good unique and fun MP Shooter, just that it was tied to Vista and had Cross-Platform play. So many dumb decisions by MS. Same thing with Halo 2, Vista and the Gold required on PC killed both of those games, and their shit GFWL platform.

Shadowrun failed because Microsoft shorted the budget and didn't ship it with a campaign. Plain and simple. You need an offline campaign to sell FPS in sustainable numbers.
 
Yea I wanted a Shadowrun campaign. I bet there actually was people who saw the name Shadowrun bought it and then were really dissapointed with what they just got lol. I mean really.

Plus MS pulled the plug on FASA corp (MS) a month in so there was no chance of any dlc/patches/support.

So with that, of course its going to fail.
 

FyreWulff

Member
I'm curious to see, 7 years later, how Titanfall will fair without an offline solo-mode.

It'll be interesting to see for sure.. Destiny too, if it's entirely online.

Look at TF2's population.. online only game, and it's free, and runs on shit hardware (I believe it supports all the way back to DX7)

http://store.steampowered.com/stats

There were single Halo 3 / Reach playlists that had a higher population than the entirety of TF2. CoD has single playlists with more people playing, on one console.
 
I actually don't hate Legendary Slayer. Sure AR starts are..less than ideal, but the rest of the gameplay is as close to classic halo as you could want from H4.
 

Booshka

Member
Shadowrun failed because Microsoft shorted the budget and didn't ship it with a campaign. Plain and simple. You need an offline campaign to sell FPS in sustainable numbers.

I can believe this for the Console market, but I don't believe the same is true for PC market. I still think it would have done pretty well as MP only on PC, as long as it was on XP, free online, and 30 bucks at most. If it was 40 bucks on console it would have done better, but probably not that great overall.

A Campaign for the game would have been pretty cool, even if it was just essentially an expanded tutorial with good storytelling and good level design.
 

willow ve

Member
I actually don't hate Legendary Slayer. Sure AR starts are..less than ideal, but the rest of the gameplay is as close to classic halo as you could want from H4.
That's all I play now. Usually has low lag as well. Once you learn the BR spawns it's fun to dong on AR nerds.
 

Ghazi

Member
It'll be interesting to see for sure.. Destiny too, if it's entirely online.

Look at TF2's population.. online only game, and it's free, and runs on shit hardware (I believe it supports all the way back to DX7)

http://store.steampowered.com/stats

There were single Halo 3 / Reach playlists that had a higher population than the entirety of TF2. CoD has single playlists with more people playing, on one console.

:( I get around 10 fps on TF2 with my 2010 laptop on lowest settings, why must I suffer not getting to play an amazing game?
 

FyreWulff

Member
:( I get around 10 fps on TF2 with my 2010 laptop on lowest settings, why must I suffer not getting to play an amazing game?

What GPU does your laptop have? TF2 is really GPU-dependent for framerate.

I built myself a computer last year with an 8 core processor and 16GB of RAM.. When my GTX 670 died, I had to replace it while it was being RMA'd with a 8400 GS (cheapest one I could find locally) and the framerate was a turd in TF2. Worse than my 7800 GT in the older computer with a fucking AMD Duron in it.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
It'll be interesting to see for sure.. Destiny too, if it's entirely online.

Look at TF2's population.. online only game, and it's free, and runs on shit hardware (I believe it supports all the way back to DX7)

http://store.steampowered.com/stats

There were single Halo 3 / Reach playlists that had a higher population than the entirety of TF2. CoD has single playlists with more people playing, on one console.

I'm looking at the stats and I see TF2 at 64,357 peak. That's more than I've ever seen in a 3 or Reach playlist.

It's kind of a shame the Orange Box version is dead though, because I enjoy it a lot more. On the PC version there's so many nonsense hats and different weapons with one of a thousand stat effects and modifiers that it makes no sense to a casual player.


:( I get around 10 fps on TF2 with my 2010 laptop on lowest settings, why must I suffer not getting to play an amazing game?

Really? On my 2008 MBP I could get playable 20-30 fps with a Core 2 Duo 2.5GHz, an 8600GT and only 4GB or RAM. Of course my internet connection was crap at the time so I couldn't aim at anything for other reasons...

EDIT: Intel graphics, ah. Sorry for your loss :(
 

FyreWulff

Member
I'm looking at the stats and I see TF2 at 64,357 peak. That's more than I've ever seen in a 3 or Reach playlist.

It's kind of a shame the Orange Box version is dead though, because I enjoy it a lot more. On the PC version there's so many nonsense hats and different weapons with one of a thousand stat effects and modifiers that it makes no sense to a casual player.

Base off one of my old spreadsheets for a project I was working on with DEEP NNN back in day, on Feb 2 2009 Social Slayer had 89,000 people in it. It regularly went higher, into the 90 and 100k counts (I only have numbers about a week before and after that)
 

Ghazi

Member
What GPU does your laptop have? TF2 is really GPU-dependent for framerate.

I built myself a computer last year with an 8 core processor and 16GB of RAM.. When my GTX 670 died, I had to replace it while it was being RMA'd with a 8400 GS (cheapest one I could find locally) and the framerate was a turd in TF2. Worse than my 7800 GT in the older computer with a fucking AMD Duron in it.

Intel HD Graphics, complete and utter garbage, I can't play anything on my laptop.


If I could afford one I'd try building a computer, but my parents panic and think I'm buying drugs if I spend $100 on online sites like Amazon and NewEgg (cheapest parts) so that probably won't happen either. I've already planned out all my parts to build a PC too and it's a really good one for about only $600.


I'm assuming you got a Bulldozer line processor for the 8 cores? I've been debating on whether to go with intel or AMD, how are they?
 

Fuchsdh

Member
Base off one of my old spreadsheets for a project I was working on with DEEP NNN back in day, on Feb 2 2009 Social Slayer had 89,000 people in it. It regularly went higher, into the 90 and 100k counts (I only have numbers about a week before and after that)

Ah, K. Never really played enough of either 3 or Reach online in their "primes" I guess to see those numbers.

What the hell are all those people doing in Garry's Mod?
 

FyreWulff

Member
Intel HD Graphics, complete and utter garbage, I can't play anything on my laptop.

My condolences

I'm assuming you got a Bulldozer line processor for the 8 cores? I've been debating on whether to go with intel or AMD, how are they?

Intel processors wipe the floor right now. Get Intel. Don't know what AMD's problem is, but they're just not keeping up.

My next build is going to be Intel until AMD wakes up

Ah, K. Never really played enough of either 3 or Reach online in their "primes" I guess to see those numbers.

What the hell are all those people doing in Garry's Mod?

Yeah, and that was a year and a half-ish after the game came out.
 

Ghazi

Member
Authoritative Shark said:
My condolences

EDIT: Intel graphics, ah. Sorry for your loss :(
I know, I wish they weren't standard for most laptops.
Intel processors wipe the floor right now. Get Intel. Don't know what AMD's problem is, but they're just not keeping up.

My next build is going to be Intel until AMD wakes up
Ah, I'll just be sticking on getting an i5 3570k Ivy bridge then. Always thought AMD was mostly for budget builds, but was still good and got the job done.


What the hell are all those people doing in Garry's Mod?
TT and Jailbreak, those are the two most popular game modes right now in MP. They're pretty big, add that Garry's Mod runs on even more computers than TF2 (Works on mine for about a toast 16-17 FPS lol), that it goes on sale frequently, it's a blast to play, and it's such an open platform for creating new game modes and maps for it and you've got a recipe for success.

Halo 3 and Reach hit much bigger numbers back in the day. Especially the former, had 1 mill on at one point too. Halo Reach still had 100k plus players I believe in the same timeframe since 4's release.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
I know, I wish they weren't standard for most laptops.

Well the word on the street is that the new Iris integrated graphics are pretty amazing. That said yeah anything before the HD 4000 was absolutely horrible. Will still be some time before you can truly go integrated and not miss out massively.

TT and Jailbreak, those are the two most popular game modes right now in MP. They're pretty big, add that Garry's Mod runs on even more computers than TF2 (Works on mine for about a toast 16-17 FPS lol), that it goes on sale frequently, it's a blast to play, and it's such an open platform for creating new game modes and maps for it and you've got a recipe for success.

Halo 3 and Reach hit much bigger numbers back in the day. Especially the former, had 1 mill on at one point too. Halo Reach still had 100k plus players I believe in the same timeframe since 4's release.

I guess I'm always amazed when old games like that just hang on, but I guess it shouldn't be that surprising to me. I'm still tinkering around with RollerCoaster Tycoon, a game I got in 2004, every week practically. It's the downside of consoles in general that you simply cannot have the same long life as on PC.
 

Booshka

Member
I guess I'm always amazed when old games like that just hang on, but I guess it shouldn't be that surprising to me. I'm still tinkering around with RollerCoaster Tycoon, a game I got in 2004, every week practically. It's the downside of consoles in general that you simply cannot have the same long life as on PC.

If Halo 2 was still on XBL and decently supported, I bet it would pull some pretty respectable numbers even today. Especially with how bad Halo has gotten, and how far away from classic Halo it's gone.

I would imagine at least 10K people would play Halo 2 regularly if there was still playlist management and maps being made for it.

I'm not even talking about a remake either, just the old 2004 game, but still supported.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
If Halo 2 was still on XBL and decently supported, I bet it would pull some pretty respectable numbers even today. Especially with how bad Halo has gotten, and how far away from classic Halo it's gone.

I would imagine at least 10K people would play Halo 2 regularly if there was still playlist management and maps being made for it.

I'm not even talking about a remake either, just the old 2004 game, but still supported.

I'm not doubting you. I'm sure all the Halos would pull better numbers if they had more support, and it's something that I think 343i should be able to do (or at least they have less excuses than Bungie did.)

Unfortunately it's also par for the course for console games.
 

Madness

Member
Because it's an entertainment product, and there's more good entertainment out there than any person could watch, read or play in a dozen lifetimes. Seriously, don't understand how you guys can get so bent out of shape over inconsequential crap on the internet.

Not wanting to insult or demean, but that literally has nothing to do with what I said? You're response to me saying there is more entertainment than any person can read, watch, or play for a dozen lifetimes means what?

So because there are other games out there to play or books to read, I shouldn't complain that Microsoft is taking a series I love and shoehorning it into obscure products I don't own or will ever own rather than the product it was developed and popularized on?

I'm not complaining it's not a disc based release, I'm not complaining that it's on Windows 8 devices as well. I'm complaining that it's not on Xbox 360 in any way shape or form. They'll put it out eventually when they realize those graphs and charts about potential Windows Surface and Windows 8 sales increases didn't happen, so why not day one XBLA release?
 

Computron

Member
Why are there like 3 threads now?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Halo Reach Legendary Firefight Classic on Holdout:

io7Jsg5k7tlTO.png


I've been LAN'ing this at my brothers house for the last several days and it's freaking awesome.

Why did they have to replace this with SpOps? I hope it comes back...

Many of the game mechanics and AAs added in Halo 4 that may have been disliked would be welcomed additions to firefight.

For example, HLS, Sentry, and PromVis would all be perfect for firefight.
The tactical packages and support upgrades could also easily factor into some kind of a survival metagame.
A lot of the Dominion gametype specific features appear tailor made for FF, fortifying your base against the waves would be awesome.
Ordnance Drops too, I don't think I need to say more.
And lets not forget all the new enemy types introduced in the Halo 4 sandbox.
I am sure there are a few I missed.


What would be some good mechanics for a new Halo Firefight co-op survival game?
  • Building up barricades like in Gears Horde (Dominion sheild doors)?
  • Recruiting/hacking promethean watchers to hold a shield for you?
  • Buying chaingun/rocket/rail turrets for your initially passenger-only hog?
  • Picking up shards of AAs from slain covenant squad leaders?
  • Buying AAs, TacPacs and SupUpgrs?
  • MAC Cannon orbital strike?

I'd love to hear some ideas.
 

FyreWulff

Member
Yea, I cant tell if hes trolling or if he think BF is failure on the level of shadowrun.

Either way, I am not sure I agree about campaign being necessary to pull in numbers..

A large contingent of FPS purchasers on console are and continue to play offline. Almost half of Call of Duty copies never see the internet. A wide swath of PS3s and Xboxes still get dashboard updates via game discs, not by being connected to the internet. Halo's online vs offline copy count is even lower than CoD's.

I'm not saying online only games can't sell, but they have notably lower sales ceilings unless you're one of the rare successes. Campaign is where you make the meat and potatoes of your money, especially on console. Online multiplayer is added to a lot of first person games simply to slow down trade ins. They have no intents or plans for any notable sustain post-release, if they even have any.

An anecdote here would be that a former Bungie employee posted on 2old2play once on their old forums that internally, a few guys wanted to do essentially Halo 2K4, 2K5 in the vein of Unreal Tournament 2004. The thought being that they could just do an online refresh once a year, because they had all those people playing online, right? Turned out after they got together and brought it up that the campaign base was so large, even they agreed that attempting an online-only Halo would have faceplanted.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
You are literally the worst poster in HaloGAF, and that's quite the achievement in this era.

Haha, glad to see I struck a nerve. Though with you that's not hard now is it?

Many of the game mechanics and AAs added in Halo 4 that may have been disliked would be welcomed additions to firefight.

What would be some good mechanics for a new Halo Firefight co-op survival game?
  • Building up barricades like in Gears Horde (Dominion sheild doors)?
  • Recruiting/hacking promethean watchers to hold a shield for you?
  • Buying chaingun/rocket/rail turrets for your initially passenger-only hog?
  • Picking up shards of AAs from slain covenant squad leaders?
  • Buying AAs, TacPacs and SupUpgrs?
  • MAC Cannon orbital strike?

I'd love to hear some ideas.

Yeah, while I don't like them in matchmaking, I definitely hope an expanded selection of armor and tac mods return in some way for customs, perhaps as options for trait zones in addition to load outs. Even if they gave us more control over things like Megalo, I think the building-block nature would assist novices in crafting new scenarios and whatnot.
 
What would be some good mechanics for a new Halo Firefight co-op survival game?
  • Building up barricades like in Gears Horde (Dominion sheild doors)?
  • Recruiting/hacking promethean watchers to hold a shield for you?
  • Buying chaingun/rocket/rail turrets for your initially passenger-only hog?
  • Picking up shards of AAs from slain covenant squad leaders?
  • Buying AAs, TacPacs and SupUpgrs?
  • MAC Cannon orbital strike?

I'd love to hear some ideas.
The Infinity concept of points for weapons/powerups are far more suited to Firefight than multiplayer, in my opinion. Here's my wish list:

  • No AA at the start. You can either pick them up from enemies or wait until you get enough points to pick what you want.
  • AR/pistol start.
  • Ammo crates that can be toggled in the settings to replenish every round, never, or constantly.
  • Tiered weapon drops, based on the type of points you get (style points net you quicker access to the better weapons/powerups). Basically you won't be getting heavy ordnance until you rack up a lot of points.
  • Destructable environments
  • Smarter AI with more randomized attack/defend patterns.
  • Use points as cash to call for infantry support and/or vehicles, but only once per round. Huge depletion of points to do so.
  • Invasion as a Firefight gametype, or something very similar.
 

matthieuC

Member
I think the reason why Reach Firefight didn't stick with me is because it was all about points rather than survivability. Sure, customization is great and all, but there needs to be a classic firefight in the future (if it comes back) that is similar to ODST in difficulty. It needs to be the flagship Firefight gametype. Though if your in the mood for a shooting gallery, that's an option as well.

This brings up another qualm I have with Halo 4: the gametypes are terribly fragmented. There are way too many ways to play Halo 4 Wargames. Yeah I'm cool with Flood, or Action Sack, but all of the competitive playlists mainly have different settings and I hate that. Like how Infinity Slayer has ordnance, while objective does not (I'm not saying I want this). Or how Infinty, Throwdown and Legendary all play differently. I miss that feeling of singularity and knowing what to expect that came with past Halos. So since the gametypes are fragmented, in turn the community becomes fragmented. When Halo 5 roles around, I hope 343 really work to have a flagship gametype everyone can enjoy.
 

Ramirez

Member
Haha, glad to see I struck a nerve. Though with you that's not hard now is it?



Yeah, while I don't like them in matchmaking, I definitely hope an expanded selection of armor and tac mods return in some way for customs, perhaps as options for trait zones in addition to load outs. Even if they gave us more control over things like Megalo, I think the building-block nature would assist novices in crafting new scenarios and whatnot.

Struck a nerve? More like dumbfounded at how someone could so blindly defend a company.
 

Computer

Member
I think the reason why Reach Firefight didn't stick with me is because it was all about points rather than survivability. Sure, customization is great and all, but there needs to be a classic firefight in the future (if it comes back) that is similar to ODST in difficulty. It needs to be the flagship Firefight gametype. Though if your in the mood for a shooting gallery, that's an option as well.

This brings up another qualm I have with Halo 4: the gametypes are terribly fragmented. There are way too many ways to play Halo 4 Wargames. Yeah I'm cool with Flood, or Action Sack, but all of the competitive playlists mainly have different settings and I hate that. Like how Infinity Slayer has ordnance, while objective does not (I'm not saying I want this). Or how Infinty, Throwdown and Legendary all play differently. I miss that feeling of singularity and knowing what to expect that came with past Halos. So since the gametypes are fragmented, in turn the community becomes fragmented. When Halo 5 roles around, I hope 343 really work to have a flagship gametype everyone can enjoy.
This has been a big issue with the last 2 Halos. Every time I get someone new to play Halo with me it is difficult to explain this game you can do this this game you cant do that it is fucking stupid. Reach was even worse. I don't know why this happens. Maybe they are trying to please all the different gamers or something. 343 needs to understand the more they try to cater to every gamers needs the more the game suffers.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
This has been a big issue with the last 2 Halos. Every time I get someone new to play Halo with me it is difficult to explain this game you can do this this game you cant do that it is fucking stupid. Reach was even worse. I don't know why this happens. Maybe they are trying to please all the different gamers or something. 343 needs to understand the more they try to cater to every gamers needs the more the game suffers.

But I'd argue (and I know many here have) that Halo's breadth of options and customizable game experiences is part of its appeal. You've got Grifball, Flood, Firefight, Ops, all the crazy custom mini games, speedrunning, and straight customs tweaking things to your play style for LANs or private matches. There's tons of different areas for players to find a home in, and that's a major strength of the franchise as a whole. It's tough from a development standpoint but its a standard the game is held to, hence the disappointment by the cutting of previous game features like campaign scoring and FF. Unless you're talking just about the MM experience.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Plywood, please label your Game of Thrones spoiler images accordingly :/.
 

Tawpgun

Member
But I'd argue (and I know many here have) that Halo's breadth of options and customizable game experiences is part of its appeal. You've got Grifball, Flood, Firefight, Ops, all the crazy custom mini games, speedrunning, and straight customs tweaking things to your play style for LANs or private matches. There's tons of different areas for players to find a home in, and that's a major strength of the franchise as a whole. It's tough from a development standpoint but its a standard the game is held to, hence the disappointment by the cutting of previous game features like campaign scoring and FF. Unless you're talking just about the MM experience.
He's not talking about fringe gametypes he's talking about regular matchmaking gametypes. In this one you have loadouts, in this one you don't. In this one you can call in drops, in this one you can't. In this one the drops are only nades or aa's. in this one it's everything.
 
He's not talking about fringe gametypes he's talking about regular matchmaking gametypes. In this one you have loadouts, in this one you don't. In this one you can call in drops, in this one you can't. In this one the drops are only nades or aa's. in this one it's everything.
At the very least, gametypes should have a brief description of what's going on. This has been a big problem since after Halo 2, and I'm particularly baffled as to why the devs don't think it's necessary.
 
Top Bottom