Support NeoGAF

[blamite]

The graphics are fantastic too. I saw a lot of people poo-pooing it on release, but I think it's gorgeous. The lighting especially puts it in another league, it makes the game so much more pleasurable to play. In previous playthroughs (even when it originally came out on PC when I first played it) I choked down the bad lighting and ugly environments, but now it's a pleasure to play. Well done 343.

One issue I'm having is that the game will forget my controller settings when I start playing it which is weird, has anyone else come across this?

The game really is beautiful, especially the lighting. There are some valid complaints about the new graphics altering the mood of some of the darker areas, but it cannot be said that it doesn't look great regardless.

I've never had any issues with the controls, but I have everything set to the default except for the Recon button layout.

 

[Teknoman]

So looking at this thread I think I might be the only person who got this for Unnecessary Present Day. Enjoying the shit out of it so far, and I'm finding myself super impressed with the graphical update and remembering how well this game plays. The simplicity of the overpowered AR (and the beefy bass sound it kicks out) is a joy to play with. In 3 and Reach the AR is my least used weapon, but in CE it's godly, I'm not missing the BR at all.

The graphics are fantastic too. I saw a lot of people poo-pooing it on release, but I think it's gorgeous. The lighting especially puts it in another league, it makes the game so much more pleasurable to play. In previous playthroughs (even when it originally came out on PC when I first played it) I choked down the bad lighting and ugly environments, but now it's a pleasure to play. Well done 343.

One issue I'm having is that the game will forget my controller settings when I start playing it which is weird, has anyone else come across this?

I got it too, but im messing around with the kinect I got too.

 

[Sean]

I think you're right about rewards but punishment is also an important factor. Also, the consequence needs to be clearly communicated to player.

I think that's why there's a perceived dramatic increase in the amount of quitting in Reach compared side-by-side with Halo 3. Halo 3 had the edge over Reach in terms of both punishment, losing your numerical rank, and communicating the punishment to the player.

I actually think quitting would increase if drop-in was put into place as players would see quitting out as something the developers expected and planned for.

Even if quitting increased, it wouldn't matter since the quitters would quickly be replaced with new players anyway.

There are always going to be quitters for a wide variety of reasons. Some won't like the map or gametype. Others will get a game invite from their friends and leave to join that. Others will quit if their friend/guest gets booted for an accidental team-kill or whatever. Some people just have flaky internet connections. Etc etc. Punishing them with a tiny loss of XP is not the answer and won't stop people from quitting.

 

[FyreWulff]

Speaking of join in progress, wasn't there a bit of talk pre-Reach of giving players who's teams had quit the option to forfeit the game rather than quitting? I thing that there's some potential there.

It was discussed that the game, in an uneven scenario, could change the gametype to some sort of "fun" gametype and then end the game when this little lightning round ended.

It would depend on if Megalo still has the capability and if there's enough memory left in the gametype scripts to fit something like that in. I think Megalo supports knowing how many players in the game there are since it'll force someone to a Zombie if the player count drops below a certain level in Living Dead.

What I'd like to see 343 experiment with or add as an option for customs would be a Mercy Rule/Spread for Slayer, in which you define a point spread that will end the game. So if the other team goes 30-0 (for example), the game ends and everyone moves on. And then you could throw on an option on top of that were the game goes into Sudden Death until one of the teams beats a Sudden Death Spread.

 

[Jedeye Sniv]

Whenever I play through CE I forget one important thing - Flood with Rockets can go fuck themselves. Ugh!! They kill me so easy, and it always feels so cheap

I played a bit of MP last night and I think it's a bit of a let down really. I thought the whole idea of it was to replicate CE MP as best as possible, but things like jumping and run speed are way off, which is half the feel of the game right there. Also, in comparison, I think that the Anniversary visuals are far and away better looking than the Reach engine. It was a blurry mess, whereas the Anniversary visuals are clean and sharp. If the jump height was the same then I think I would be much more likely to play the MP side, but as it is I don't think I'll be giving it much time.

The SP section is amazing though. I played through the library last night and it was gorgeous, I'm really impressed with the tarting up the game has received. Going back to the old school visuals is so stark - they look almost like a pre-vis stage of a modern game with the bland single coloured walls and empty environments. The new graphics are beautiful in comparison, and the lighting especially is wowing me all the time. The night time lighting on Two Betrayals especially blew my mind, as soon as those doors opened I could see the difference between it and the lighting earlier and I was most impressed.

I really really hope that 343i re-do Halo 2 along the same lines, that could be stunning with a new lick of paint. And then the new Xbox will be out and they can redo Halo 3 and reach but seriously, Halo 2, do it!

 

[Striker]

Agree on the jump gravity, it's a bit stiff. Halo CE's jump really wasn't high, but it didn't stick your feet to the ground and cause you to miss jumps as often as you may in Anniversary.

Also agree about Halo 2, although it would absolutely need something multiplayer portioned. Love Metropolis, Delta Halo, and Outskirts.

 

[ShinAmano]

Picked this up as a present...I love this game

 

[CitizenCope]

Don't remember the game being this hard. I was 30 when I first played it 10 years ago so maybe that is why. Playing on Heroic and getting sliced & diced by invisible dudes. Thinking of lowering the difficulty for the Library. =/

 

[Grisby]

Oh man. I got through the first two levels last night.

Some beautiful stuff.

 

[Jedeye Sniv]

Don't remember the game being this hard. I was 30 when I first played it 10 years ago so maybe that is why. Playing on Heroic and getting sliced & diced by invisible dudes. Thinking of lowering the difficulty for the Library. =/

The library is easy compared to the levels that follow it. I always forget that actually, I hate this game from Two Betrayals onwards. Endless Flood, dodgy checkpoints, fucking rocket launchers. Keyes is especially egregious in the caverns at the start of the level. But still, I did it. I swore a lot. And this was on Normal. I completed Reach solo Legendary, I think this game is way harder, trying to do it on Legendary would be an exercise in frustration...

Still, it's a beautiful upres and I'm glad I played it.

 

[bobs...onGaf]

I would be willing to go out on a limb and say it has more of an emphasis on skill and map control than Halo does.

Frankie, let me make a personal appeal to you right here and now.

http://i.imgur.com/ByU3B.jpg

Please let me carry the flag and drive a vehicle at the same time in Halo 4.

I beg you.

I do miss being a one man army who single handedly manages to get the flag, defend myself and steal an enemy vehicle to bring it back. It should certainly be a setting thats enabled more often thats for sure.

 

[JohnOfMars]

Finished the game before going on break. The Maw is certainly a wild ride, but damn, the texture pop-in is awful. It's on everything: environments, distant enemies, close enemies. It really kills any immersion you feel. *sigh*.

 

[CitizenCope]

Library is beautiful. Too bad it's one of the worst levels in gaming. I agree with others in this thread how the game just goes way down hill after the introduction of the Flood.
Damn that soundtrack though. Amazing!!

 

[MooMoo]

Finally finished the campaign on legendary a few days ago. Just a few lasting thoughts:

1. Loved the updated graphics :3 I know some people complained that it completely changed the atmosphere of some levels, but it didn't really bother me. There were a few times where certain textures would load weird (i.e. on The Maw, the pipes or whatever on the fusion cores would remain blurry as hell; pretty weird). Props to the updated soundtrack and sound effects as well. I don't remember how the original CE was, but the only downside was that the VA felt a little too quiet at times.

2. Legendary isn't nearly as hard as I remembered it to be. Maybe it's a factor of just getting better at games P) or maybe it's because Reach's legendary mode felt so ridiculously and utterly cheap at times compared to CE. Either way, it was a blast to play through again, except for the lag.

3. The lag on the latter part of Two Betrayals was terrible for me. Switching back to the old graphics did little to mitigate the issue. Just terrible terrible terrible; I'd be running across a bridge just fine and next thing I know I'd be dead. That's pretty much the one memorable spot of lag I encountered throughout the game. There were definitely lag spikes throughout the game though and it's pretty much the only disappointing thing about the entire game.

All in all definitely worth my time and money. I need to go back and find the skulls and terminals though since I missed most of them. I also really enjoyed the new multiplayer maps; they're a blast to play on imo. I haven't had this much fun with Halo multiplayer in a while.

 

[Rickenslacker]

I do miss being a one man army who single handedly manages to get the flag, defend myself and steal an enemy vehicle to bring it back. It should certainly be a setting thats enabled more often thats for sure.

That's what I'm talking about. Also, bring back vehicle invincibility for Halo 4. DO IT FRANKIE! I BELIEVE!

You can already enable it for custom games. Enabling it in MM would negate the point of teamwork and co-operation.

Yeah but let's be real, teamwork and co-operation with the dredges of humanity that you encounter from the randoms on Xbox Live? I mean with Halo's popularity you've got to come to terms that you're going to be running across some of the worst that the service has to offer and trying to design the game willingly ignorant of that is silly.

 

[daedalius]

That's what I'm talking about. Also, bring back vehicle invincibility for Halo 4. DO IT FRANKIE! I BELIEVE!

Yeah but let's be real, teamwork and co-operation with the dredges of humanity that you encounter from the randoms on Xbox Live? I mean with Halo's popularity you've got to come to terms that you're going to be running across some of the worst that the service has to offer and trying to design the game willingly ignorant of that is silly.

I certainly wouldn't mind being able to grab the flag, blast my way out, and hop into a vehicle for a solo flag cap like I used to do in Quake/UT/Tribes/etc.

 

[Striker]

You could only do it in Blood Gulch and Sidewinder, how many people played with 6v6 or 8v8 and liked those rules? I prefer it much better under the rules with passenger only.

 

[ToyMachine228]

So what's the deal with non-host aiming feeling like its seconds beyond and underwater in online co-op? My buddy kept saying the aiming felt off, and that he couldn't believe the game was like this ten years ago. Once he hosted a game and I was in his position and experienced that I was like, dude, that's NOT how the game is supposed to play. So what's the story? Is there some sort of fix or way to avoid this?

 

[Grisby]

Hey guys how big is the anniversary map pack thingy download. Wasn;t going to use my code originally but I figure I'll be playing some Reach later in the new year.

 

[FyreWulff]

So what's the deal with non-host aiming feeling like its seconds beyond and underwater in online co-op? My buddy kept saying the aiming felt off, and that he couldn't believe the game was like this ten years ago. Once he hosted a game and I was in his position and experienced that I was like, dude, that's NOT how the game is supposed to play. So what's the story? Is there some sort of fix or way to avoid this?

Lockstep networking will always have input latency across the internet, but it's a bit more noticable since CEA's campaign was not set up to be networked in the first place.

 

[bobs...onGaf]

You could only do it in Blood Gulch and Sidewinder, how many people played with 6v6 or 8v8 and liked those rules? I prefer it much better under the rules with passenger only.

I played a lot of Halo PC, and on that communication was like zilch, so yeah when playing with randoms I loved doing that! There where a few other good BTB maps on that game though like Death Island and Ice Fields.

I kind of agree that on Live with the fact that you have headsets teamwork is encouraged, but if Halo 4 did have a mercenary type playlist I would love to see the ability to hold the flag while driving a vehicle.

 

[Rickenslacker]

You could only do it in Blood Gulch and Sidewinder, how many people played with 6v6 or 8v8 and liked those rules? I prefer it much better under the rules with passenger only.

As bobs mentioned, Halo PC had a few more vehicle maps and it was great fun. Ice Fields, Timberlands, Death Island, Infinity, Danger Canyon, so good.

 

[Chittagong]

Oh god I just cleared the room in T&C on Legendary where the four doors open in the corners, golden Elites come and all... Took probably a good 50 attempts.

Now I am a couple of corridors from there, in the big open space where the passage is on the left side with tons of enemies.

Bizarrely the enemies I find the hardest are not the golden elites, nor are they the slow moving but durable dinosaur like things that come in pairs. No, the most grief comes from the shield guys. They come en masse, and fire constant plasma shots, and are impossible to take out at a distance without sniper.

 

[brain_stew]

So I've just got to the Library. Sad to think the best part of the game is behind me already. :/

 

[kittens]

Oh god I just cleared the room in TRC on Legendary where the four doors open in the corners, golden Elites come and all... Took probably a good 50 attempts.

Now I am a couple of corridors from there, in the big open space where the passage is on the left side with tons of enemies.

Bizarrely the enemies I find the hardest are not the golden elites,s nor are they the slow moving but durable dinosaur like things that come in pairs. No, the most grief comes from the shield guys. They come en masse, and fire constant plasma shots, and are impossible to take out at a distance without sniper.

Use the pistol, plasma pistol, plasma rifle, or grenades for the shield dudes (their called Jackals).

 

[Rickenslacker]

So I've just got to the Library. Sad to think the best part of the game is behind me already. :/

Few things can match up to TSC/AotCR, but Two Betrayals and The Maw were good too.

 

[brain_stew]

Few things can match up to TSC/AotCR, but Two Betrayals and The Maw were good too.

Its a few years since I've played them, so my memory is foggy and clouded by the rage and frustration created by the Library.

I didn't mind battling the Flood too much in the last level using an assault rifle and shotgun so I'll see how I go, choosing the right guns is half the battle.

 

[The Librarian]

I think you're really stretching any definition of the word "good" by labeling The Maw as such.

 

[Rickenslacker]

I'd say the only thing that sucks about The Maw to me was frog blasting the vent cores. Everything else was pretty enjoyable, I liked going back to PoA except filled with Sentinels, spec ops Covenant, and Flood. The Warthog run just seals it.

 

[Domino Theory]

Guys,

Quick question. Thinking of picking this up.

1) Is there online co-op in campaign?

2) I've heard mp is not the greatest. Please elaborate.

3) Are all the halo reach maps available on the mp disk? I really miss it right now. If I understand correctly, you're playing off Reach MP disk ala Halo3 MP disk in ODST. Correct?

1) Yes, but don't expect a smooth networking experience.

2) MP is for Halo: Reach so if you like Halo: Reach's MP, you'll be fine.

3) Only the Anniversary maps are available on CEA if you launch Reach MP from the CEA disk, but there's a download code for the Anniversary maps so that you could launch ALL maps right from Reach.

 

[Hypertrooper]

I think you're really stretching any definition of the word "good" by labeling The Maw as such.

I'd say everything is good at The Maw. Still a lot better than "Keyes" and "The Library".

If I rank the missions, i'd rank them so:
Halo > 343 Guilty Spark > The Silent Cartographer > Assault Of The Control Room > Two Betrayals > The Maw > Truth & Reconciliation > Pillar Of Autumn > Keyes > The Library

 

[Domino Theory]

Thanks, DT.

If you launch Reach MP from CEA, you can ONLY play the Anniversary maps.

if you use your download code that's inside CEA to download the Anniversary maps to your HDD, you can then launch Reach itself and access ALL maps.

edit: Stealth edit!

 

[ShinAmano]

So I had a chance to play some co-op for the first time (in 10 years ) last night. I can honestly say that it made me feel like I was back in college again. The co-op was so good...the terminals that I have found are awesome...and I love skull hunting.

 

[Hypertrooper]

So I had a chance to play some co-op for the first time (in 10 years ) last night. I can honestly say that it made me feel like I was back in college again. The co-op was so good...the terminals that I have found are awesome...and I love skull hunting.

Only a few skulls and terminals are really hidden. The others are easy to find unfortunately.

 

[ShinAmano]

Only a few skulls and terminals are really hidden. The others are easy to find unfortunately.

I missed a couple on my solo legendary run (terminal on the Autumn)...and as for skulls I think I have 4 or 5 and I am almost halfway through AoTCR. I am sure I have missed a bunch...but that is what a Heroic run is for

 

[The Elite]

Don't remember the game being this hard. I was 30 when I first played it 10 years ago so maybe that is why. Playing on Heroic and getting sliced & diced by invisible dudes. Thinking of lowering the difficulty for the Library. =/

This is the hardest Halo IMO. Legendary is quite a bit harder than the rest of the games.

 

[Hypertrooper]

This is the hardest Halo IMO. Legendary is quite a bit harder than the rest of the games.

Do people normally forget that Halo 2 exists? A Jackel Sniper that killed you after a long fight. Cargo Bay 2, the reason why I never finished Cairo Station on Legendary again etc.

Halo CE is really easy if you carry a Plasma pistol always with you. Elites are easier etc.

 

[CitizenCope]

Well I played my firsty Halo mp game in a year(?) and it was a blast and the best part was it was 8vs8 with no quiters. Already beaten to death but I would join 8vs8 JIP social games 100% of the time over a ranked game where JIP was not an option if that was ever possible. Halo 4! Believe!
Anyways my point was fun game & good to be back for a bit.

 

[Barrow Roll]

This is the hardest Halo IMO. Legendary is quite a bit harder than the rest of the games.

Disagree. Halo CE feels very fair on Legendary. Once you get good at the game and learn the ins and outs it's very challenging but rewarding whereas on Halo 2 you're pretty much cheesing the entire time. Well maybe not the entire time, but a lot of it. And Jackal snipers.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Disagree. Halo CE feels very fair on Legendary. Once you get good at the game and learn the ins and outs it's very challenging but rewarding whereas on Halo 2 you're pretty much cheesing the entire time. Well maybe not the entire time, but a lot of it. And Jackal snipers.

Brag post.

Iv never had any problem with anything Halo related on Legendary other than Tartarus on H2.

H3 is easy mod, Reach wasnt much harder. CE:A is the most fun on legendary thanks to the large landscapes and multiple ways to approach most battles but it wasnt exceptionally hard

 

[Squall ASF]

Phew! After Skyrim, Zelda, and Uncharted I finally started this game. Alas, I have to do coop first so I can only play when my buddy is ready. Missed out on the big party some of you had going last night, must have grabbed the 8th guy right before my FF match ended.

I have a question though, my friend and I knocked out Halo last night without using a vehicle but my buddy didn't get the achievement while I did. He never hopped in at any point, not even for a second. Is there a known glitch? More importantly, how can we quickly do it again? Obviously we'll take the difficulty down from Legendary to speed things up but can I maybe drive and teleport him through the level? Does it teleport him inside the warthog? or behind it? Appreciate any help with this!

 

[Chittagong]

Okay I'm probably close to the end of T&R, huge room with Jackals up on higher levels and a couple of waves of enemies ending up with those two dinosaur thingies being released when everything else is done. Unlike the fist pair earlier, it seems I need to actually kill em both.

They fire this green thing that kills me in an instant if I am too far away from them. If I am close they smack me. I can run around them nut it's pretty hard to get to their back... Eventually I manage get a couple of shots at the orange goo, but what's the best weapon? Needler? Sticky grenade? Punch?

On Legendary btw

 

[Barrow Roll]

Okay I'm probably close to the end of T&R, huge room with Jackals up on higher levels and a couple of waves of enemies ending up with those two dinosaur thingies being released when everything else is done. Unlike the fist pair earlier, it seems I need to actually kill em both.

They fire this green thing that kills me in an instant if I am too far away from them. If I am close they smack me. I can run around them nut it's pretty hard to get to their back... Eventually I manage get a couple of shots at the orange goo, but what's the best weapon? Needler? Sticky grenade? Punch?

On Legendary btw

Still got that sniper rifle? Just bait them into doing their forward charge attack at you, sidestep and shoot the orange part on their back. 1-shot kill with a sniper rifle or the pistol (which isn't available on T&R).

There also should be an Overshield lying around on the other side of the hangar if you need some insurance.

 

[Chittagong]

Still got that sniper rifle? Just bait them into doing their forward charge attack at you, sidestep and shoot the orange part on their back. 1-shot kill with a sniper rifle or the pistol (which isn't available on T&R).

There also should be an Overshield lying around on the other side of the hangar if you need some insurance.

I wish. Plasma pistol, Plasma rifle, needler, possibly SMG are all I can get my hands on. Did not have the foresight to lug the empty sniper rifle along...

Overshield I did find.

 

[Grisby]

Did 343 do the new maps on Anniversery? Well, I mean, remade the 'new' maps?

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Did 343 do the new maps on Anniversery? Well, I mean, remade the 'new' maps?

Kinda, Certain Affinity are responsible for the actual asset creation

 

[blamite]

Okay I'm probably close to the end of T&R, huge room with Jackals up on higher levels and a couple of waves of enemies ending up with those two dinosaur thingies being released when everything else is done. Unlike the fist pair earlier, it seems I need to actually kill em both.

They fire this green thing that kills me in an instant if I am too far away from them. If I am close they smack me. I can run around them nut it's pretty hard to get to their back... Eventually I manage get a couple of shots at the orange goo, but what's the best weapon? Needler? Sticky grenade? Punch?

On Legendary btw

The Hunters? I don't remember if you can get a pistol on T&R, but if you can it's a one shot kill if you shoot them in the back. Otherwise I'd go with grenades and try to learn the best way to avoid their melee so you can circle around them and spam AR/Plasma rifle fire into their backs.

 

[Crucio]

Playing Anniversary. Just went through Truth and Reconciliation on Legendary Co-op trying to get achievements something really crazy happened. I haven't been following this thread so I apologize if this is old.

So we made or way through to the Command Center in this mission WITH Keyes.
After killing the three Spec-Ops Sword Elites, Cortana and Keys started talking about taking the drop ship.
Me and my co-op partner were just waiting and watching Keyes talk when suddenly everything goes white and we see "Check Point" and the end mission cinematic was activated. Master Chief activated the drop ship and the mission ended without Keyes killing any Hunter, the Drop ship just left and the game ended.

It was as if we never finished the level. I didn't get my "Close Quarters Combat" achievement neither did the game recognize that we finished the mission on Co-Op Legendary.

Crazy stuff, we laughed. But it was really annoying to have to go through the mission again!

 

[Mizzou Gaming]

I'm late as usual but I finally got the game and I'm very impressed with how freaking good it looks. I've actually only played thru the CE campaign once many years ago so this all feels pretty fresh to me.

 

[Barrow Roll]

I wish. Plasma pistol, Plasma rifle, needler, possibly SMG are all I can get my hands on. Did not have the foresight to lug the empty sniper rifle along...

Overshield I did find.

Unfortunate since there is sniper ammo spread throughout the entirety of the level. Well, just do as I said, bait and dodge the charge attack. It's easily telegraphed and with a little practice you can sidestep Hunters effortlessly. Just hit them with anything you have in the back.