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[PooBone]

We'll finally get good maps in Reach Amiright?!

Bout damn time. Still confused about what the PC map is.... or what the firefight map could be.

 

[Glassboy]

Shotgun beats Pistol close range, faster melee, and quick camo compatible.

Plasma Rifle beats Pistol close range, faster melee and quick camo compatible.

AR isn't as strong as the other two, but will beat it most of the time at close range, faster melee and quick camo compatible.

Plasma Pistol is tough to use but can dominate with the Plasma stun as well, also has a quick melee and quick camo compatible.

Needler is a joke, as any homing projectile weapon should be.

Rockets and Sniper are both Power Weapons (Rockets especially) strategically located on the maps and designed to be hard fought over.

The Pistol allows for the player to have a chance against any weapon, and makes the fight for the power weapons more balanced. All of the Weapons are very powerful in Halo CE, the kill times are very fast compared to other Halo games. The pistol is no stronger than other weapons, it is just more versatile and has a higher skill curve.

I don't even want to imagine how much Rockets and Sniper would dominate Halo CE if the Pistol wasn't as strong as it is. The weapon selection in Halo CE is smaller and has no real redundant weapons, so when there is a weapon like the Pistol that has more uses than the other weapons, people call it OP. It is not, everyone can use it, it counters the Power weapons beautifully, and weapons like Shotgun, AR and Plasma Rifle can all beat it outright in the right range.

This doesn't mean that a Pistol can't still kill you if you are using a close range weapon, it just is rare, and if someone does it, they did it with skill. The powerups in Halo CE also would be too powerful if there wasn't a strong Pistol in the game to make their acquisition more challenging. If someone was able to pick up a Camo or Overshield more easily, then it would make them far more powerful. Combine the ease of acquisition for power weapons and powerups, and you got yourself an unbalanced game.

I also refuse to believe that Halo CE's MP quality and balance was a fluke or mistake, the Pistol damage being a mistake was denied by the Lead Designer of the game. That same Lead Designer went on to be the Lead Designer of Shadowrun, arguably the most complex and balanced Console FPS ever. It wasn't a fluke, he is just good.

This is the perfect explanation of balance in h1. I still can't believe that all these rumors about a remake turned out to be a glorified reach map pack. A lot of people don't like reach and this would have been a nice option. They fucked it up so hard. Just couldn't give people what they wanted.

 

[RyanardoDaVinci]

Firefight map will be based on The Library.

*trollface*

 

[CyReN]

If anything the mp would have been ruined if they redid it.

Also YOU CAN'T 3 shot in single player, where the hell did that come from? That's a mp only thing.

 

[Sean]

While it'll be nice to play the single player campaign in co-op, the multiplayer portion of this remake was totally half-assed (seemingly on purpose for business reasons).

There are thirteen maps in Halo 1 (if you count the PC version there's 19) yet they're only giving us six. And as a map pack for Reach too, which is totally missing the point. Plus, we've had many of the original Halo maps "remade in new multiplayer engine" already in past games.

1) Blood Gulch - Coagulation in Halo 2, Hemorrhage in Reach
2) Battle Creek - Beaver Creek in Halo 2
3) Hang 'Em High - Tombstone in Halo 2
4) Derelect - Desolation in Halo 2
5) Wizard - Warlock in Halo 2
6) Longest - Elongation in Halo 2
7) Chill Out - Cold Storage in Halo 3

 

[Blue Ninja]

Not enough teleporters available to fully remake Chiron in FW.

Well fuck. Bungie, I am disappoint.

 

[oxygenal]

Totally forgot LONGEST!

One of my absolute favorites, a blast to play!

 

[Syracuse022]

Yeah, why not? I think I'll try that in my next play through of Halo 2. It should be fun.

Man, these Halo-1-is-the-only-good-Halo fans are worse than the trolls.

How about the Halo-1-is-the-only-Halo-we-didn't-get-to-play-over-Live-and-now-I-guess-we-never-will fans?

I've considered myself a diehard Halo fan since 11-15-2001, but I guess I'm not going to make it the full ten years because looking at some of the responses on HBO, GAF, etc. to the lack of multiplayer makes me wonder when the fanbase became so hard to identify with.

Ten years ago, there wasn't all of this other stuff (toys, movies, books) floating around in the Halo universe, and for me, looking at 343i's vision/plan for the Halo franchise, it's hard to tell what orbits what these days, but I don't get the feeling that this is a game-centric universe anymore.

 

[Bossniak]

Danger Canyon from PC should totally be a mp map.

 

[Blueblur1]

I'm really disappointed by the way multiplayer is handled. I would have preferred that they include the entire Reach multiplayer suite on the Anniversary disc so I wouldn't have to swap discs when I want to switch between and have access to all the maps.

 

[RunWhiteBoyRun]

Damn damn damn. I do really like the SP on Halo 1, so that'll be fun to play through. But no dedicated MP kills me. I just can't get into Reach's multiplayer. I had dreams of reliving the XBC days of not needing to get a bunch of Xbox's and people under the same roof. Very mixed feelings.

 

[kayos90]

I think this is supposed to be like the ODST Add-on

 

[Deleted member 22576]

it's hard to tell what orbits what these days, but I don't get the feeling that this is a game-centric universe anymore.

This bugs the shit out of me too.

When it was just the novels it was kinda cool, it was really easy to be a big Halo fan and read/play everything there was in that universe. I tried to keep up over the years but lost track somewhere.

Now there are like 5 books I haven't read, a comic series, an anime series, a Forerunner book series. It's completely crazy. I bet the majority of it is pretty cool, but there is just too much of it nowadays.

 

[Malio]

same game, new engine, new graphics?

Why are they wanting me to pay $40 for this again? Can't see being interested in this til it's sub $20.

 

[Blueblur1]

I think this is supposed to be like the ODST Add-on

Podcast confirms that with the Anniversary disc you will only have access to the 6 MP maps and the 1 Firefight map. You won't have access to the other maps because they still want to sell copies of Reach. Totally lame.

 

[Slightly Live]

I'm really disappointed by the way multiplayer is handled. I would have preferred that they include the entire Reach multiplayer suite on the Anniversary disc so I wouldn't have to swap discs when I want to switch between and have access to all the maps.

You'll be able to download the Reach maps for Anniversary. No swapping needed. =)

 

[ncsuDuncan]

You'll be able to download the Reach maps for Anniversary. No swapping needed. =)

Are you sure it isn't the other way around? I'm pretty sure you download the Anniversary maps for Reach.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Are you sure it isn't the other way around? I'm pretty sure you download the Anniversary maps for Reach.

That's what I took from the Sparkcast. They said if you have Reach, you can download the new maps and play them all from Reach.

 

[Photolysis]

Oh hey GAF.

I'm definitely excited for a HD remake of the campaign, even if some of those models and textures need serious work at the moment - Chief's model, especially the visor is just weird. It looks worse than pre-release CE shots from over a decade ago.

The MP deal doesn't sound so hot. Part of the problem I have with Reach is the MP maps in general, but I really would have preferred a remake of CE's MP.

 

[The Real Napsta]

Also YOU CAN'T 3 shot in single player, where the hell did that come from? That's a mp only thing.

I was thinking the same thing.

My theory (which is probably wrong) is that the 7 new maps have Halo CE weapons as options as well as the reach weapons.

AFAIK weapon data is stored in the maps themselves, so new weapons could be added to DLC maps, they just wouldn't work on old maps like powerhouse.

Maybe that is how we can "3-shot" with the pistol. Use Reaches engine/netcode/UI and Halo CE weapons and maps.

 

[Zeouterlimits]

That's what I took from the Sparkcast. They said if you have Reach, you can download the new maps and play them all from Reach.

That's what they said, yeah. Likely a redeemable code in the Anniversary box.

 

[nVidiot_Whore]

I hope they merely upgraded the old Halo : CE, and didn't try to port it.

The absolute BEST part of Halo : CE was playing on Legendary. It was the perfect difficulty, and difficult because of the tactics and strength of the enemies not because half of them have splash damage weapons and sniper rifles like pretty much every other Halo on Legendary.

If they just took the Reach engine and made CE for it I seriously doubt it will have the awesome gameplay balance of Halo : CE on Legendary.

I worry because Halo : CE's singleplayer engine wasn't designed for anything but split-screen.. and Bungie claimed it wasn't a real possibility to upgrade it directly.

 

[Zeouterlimits]

I hope they merely upgraded the old Halo : CE, and didn't try to port it.

The absolute BEST part of Halo : CE was playing on Legendary. It was the perfect difficulty, and difficult because of the tactics and strength of the enemies not because half of them have splash damage weapons and sniper rifles like pretty much every other Halo on Legendary.

If they just took the Reach engine and made CE for it I seriously doubt it will have the awesome gameplay balance of Halo : CE on Legendary.

I worry because Halo : CE's singleplayer engine wasn't designed for anything but split-screen.. and Bungie claimed it wasn't a real possibility to upgrade it directly.

They've explained that it's exactly what you want then. All that has been touched is the art (and you can switch back to the old art on the fly) AND a re-recording of the music.

 

[nVidiot_Whore]

They've explained that it's exactly what you want then. All that has been touched is the art (and you can switch back to the old art on the fly) AND a re-recording of the music.

Awesome.. thanks..

Sorry for repeating what has probably already been said. Would be good to have that info in the OP.

 

[ido]

So we have confirmation that a Reach map pack and ½ of Halo CE reskinned is going to be $40. Pathetic, imo. Like I mentioned before, at the fucking very least include the original MP via splitscreen/system link only.

With every new release of Halo I find myself disappointed that it plays nothing like CE, and the one chance we have to finally be able to play this game on a decent online service, we get fucked.

Damn it.

 

[Stinkles]

This bugs the shit out of me too.

When it was just the novels it was kinda cool, it was really easy to be a big Halo fan and read/play everything there was in that universe. I tried to keep up over the years but lost track somewhere.

Now there are like 5 books I haven't read, a comic series, an anime series, a Forerunner book series. It's completely crazy. I bet the majority of it is pretty cool, but there is just too much of it nowadays.

It's all optional. There are interesting connection points, easter eggs and so on, that span the games and books (going forward) but it would incredibly stupid to make people read a book to get the most out of a game, and vice versa. The idea is that if you do consume all of it, you'll feel like proper foundations and roots have been set.

 

[Stinkles]

I really think they should give away the maps for free for those who buy the game though..

Not sure if I am understanding you correctly, but the seven MP maps are included with the $40 package - for standalone Anniversary players, both SP and MP are launched seamlessly from the same menu. Reach players will be able to add the maps to their Reach "suite."

 

[Slightly Live]

It's all optional. There are interesting connection points, easter eggs and so on, that span the games and books (going forward) but it would incredibly stupid to make people read a book to get the most out of a game, and vice versa. The idea is that if you do consume all of it, you'll feel like proper foundations and roots have been set.

Keep those books coming. Looking forward to the Terminals in this, the ones in 3 were the icing on the cake.

 

[PooBone]

If they are uprezzing a ten year-old game for "the average gamer" instead of the people who loved it the first time, they're doing it wrong. This was their chance to answer the persistent cries for Halo CE online play, and they simply said "nope."

Anybody who wants to play Reach online is already playing Reach online. The people who spent weeks and months of their lives at LANs and on XBC/XLink Kai have every right to take this news poorly; one of their favorite multiplayer experiences of all time is being casually dismissed and repackaged as a map pack moneygrab for another game.

This makes the most sense of anyone complaining about lack of multiplayer being remade. I just hope they include some options to make the Reach experience truly "classic" like get rid of bloom and return the old weapons.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Keep those books coming. Looking forward to the Terminals in this, the ones in 3 were the icing on the cake.

My wish for the terminals in the Halo reskin is a Sadie's Story type system to pull them all together when found, so they can be set chronologically and consumed at will. If they're like Halo 3 and Reach, I'll give up after finding the first one when I realize with a sense of hopelessness that it's not something I can figure out without notes, etc. I'll just learn what they're about from FUD.

I think Halo Waypoint should start doing that, all those story references and lore should be compiled there. Waypoint could essentially be like the Codex in Mass Effect.

I would be happy with that sort of thing. Even better, link the Service Record for Halo (there will be one, right?) and as they are found, unlock them on the player's Waypoint page for viewing. Something.

 

[Booshka]

My wish for the terminals in the Halo reskin is a Sadie's Story type system to pull them all together when found, so they can be set chronologically and consumed at will. If they're like Halo 3 and Reach, I'll give up after finding the first one when I realize with a sense of hopelessness that it's not something I can figure out without notes, etc. I'll just learn what they're about from FUD.

I think Halo Waypoint should start doing that, all those story references and lore should be compiled there. Waypoint could essentially be like the Codex in Mass Effect.

 

[Slightly Live]

I think Halo Waypoint should start doing that, all those story references and lore should be compiled there. Waypoint could essentially be like the Codex in Mass Effect.

That's a horrible idea! FUD would have to change direction and adopt a new reason to exist. Urgh, fan fiction analysis.... dirty. =/

Sadie's Story, in terms of keeping track of the Terminals, would be ideal though.

 

[Stinkles]

My wish for the terminals in the Halo reskin is a Sadie's Story type system to pull them all together when found, so they can be set chronologically and consumed at will. If they're like Halo 3 and Reach, I'll give up after finding the first one when I realize with a sense of hopelessness that it's not something I can figure out without notes, etc. I'll just learn what they're about from FUD.

I would be happy with that sort of thing. Even better, link the Service Record for Halo (there will be one, right?) and as they are found, unlock them on the player's Waypoint page for viewing. Something.

The narrative for the new Terminals is very straightforward. And in normal mode, they won't be that hard to find. As the IGN article noted, Guilty Spark is the main narrator.

 

[FateBreaker]

noooooooooooo. Think MS misses an opportunity to make this a retail release? No way. Don't even think there's a downloadable version.

come on. no publisher, period, would put this as download versus retail. I even have a hard time believing it will be $40. Seems like $60 would still have people buying this.

 

[Slightly Live]

Hmm, I wonder how if there is a new HUD for the new graphics mode...

 

[border]

Is there a detailed explanation as to why, after 10 years of technological development, it is still supposedly impossible to make an online multiplayer mode for Halo CE? I heard this same excuse about the Halo PC version's online mode -- that the game wasn't made for online and it just won't work. I honestly don't get it. We have 60 FPS fighting games playable online....but somehow it's impossible to adapt a game in a genre that basically defined online gaming? I know fuck-all about networking so maybe I'm just ignorant, but I'd like to hear it explained in less vague terms.

I don't understand concerns about fragmenting the userbase either. Neither game is in any danger of having so few players that you won't be able to find a game quickly. Is having a high number of daily unique users so important? Is it that much of a dick-waving contest between developers? Whenever people used to post Major Nelson's XBL Activity charts I used to laugh at the dumb little spats people would get into over which games held the top slot..."Modern Warfare wins again NYAH NYAH NYAH NYAH!!" I didn't think that sort of mentality was going to affect development decisions. I'd like to point out that the userbase is already fragmented anyway -- fragmented between the people who have kept up and play Reach, and the people who have shyed away in recent years and just want to enjoy classic Halo with old friends (and thus aren't playing any Halo at all). Yes you might fragment things a little bit with a new multiplayer SKU. But the overall number of users would be higher since there's probably a lot of us not playing any Halo at all, who were patiently waiting/hoping for the time when Halo CE came to Live.

With the campaign they are being utterly slavish to the original (to a fault, in the opinion of some posters here but not myself). It's a cruel irony that that mentality is completely flip-flopped for the multiplayer, where it's presumed more than suitable to change up everything that made to original what it was. They were going to upset people no matter what they did but I think most people would have preferred the opposite of the current scenario -- slavishly re-crafting the original multiplayer experience and including a re-imagined Halo CE with all of Reach's innovations and alterations. 343 has been quick to point out that the campaign has already been properly archived for the ages as both a PC game and Games on Demand title, so it makes more sense to try and preserve the multiplayer since that's been lost to the ages. At the very least preserve they could preserve the LAN mode....is that a possibility?

The pistol and multiplayer balance issues -- is it really that much of a deciding factor? With the campaign the decision was made to celebrate the original with all its flaws, so why not allow the same for multiplayer? The project just seems schizophrenic.....fix it or don't fix it. Don't fix half of it and leave the other half virtually untouched beyond cosmetics.

 

[Blueblur1]

Not sure if I am understanding you correctly, but the seven MP maps are included with the $40 package - for standalone Anniversary players, both SP and MP are launched seamlessly from the same menu. Reach players will be able to add the maps to their Reach "suite."

Which would entail disc swapping.

 

[The Antitype]

Halo 1 pc has too many netcode problems.

I also disagree with Antitype, many of the people here loved the series all the way from Halo 1/ 2 and 3, change isnt a bad thing, but with Reach the changes were in the wrong direction. Good changes = good game, bad changes = bad game simple as, the inclusion of AA's and bloom among many other things killed what I loved about older halo MP, if the changes were good I might be saying something different.

This is fine, but it misses the detailed reasons why many folks don't like Reach's MP. I loved every Halo MP to date, and felt that Halo 2 and 3 were natural extensions of the core gamplay. I do not object to most of the changes in Reach - the addition of AA's, the lower jump and movement base traits, for instance. But I really don't like Reach's multiplayer, because I think it is badly balanced and there are some highly questionable additions. I like AA's, I don't like jetpacks on every map, including ones that break the map flow. I dont' like that armor lock is a counter to everything. I don't like the way melee combat was utterly broken by the shield delimiter system. Or how grenades are beefed up which, when combined with lower jump and movement, make them so powerful. Or how the DMR and Nerfle have 2x the range of the BR and Carbine, which chokes off player movement on more open maps (Hemhorrage, hello).

It's not because it was changed. I like and embrace change. It's because many of the changes were bad.

That's all. Hope this doesn't cause a derail, but you can't generalize like you did and be accurate. People who dislike or enjoy Reach's MP less than past Halos generally have good reasons for it. And it's not just because it changed.

@Bobs99 This is an opinion. It is a fair opinion. If you feel Reach went too far away from the core Halo experience, then it is your right to feel that way. I and many others, feel that we had almost 10 years and 3 games worth of the same core Halo combat experience. And we loved it. But we felt it was time to push forward, and Reach did a good job of bringing new elements to the series.

@GhaleonEB Same principle, but I disagree with a few points of yours. I think, save for a few map exploits, that the jet-pack opens up the maps and prevents a team from locking down and controlling a map as easily as they could in Halo through Halo 3. A lot of classic Halo players hate this, but I don't.

Armor Lock is a counter to everything...except waiting for it to wear off or retreating and reacquiring the target later. Again, classic Halo players hate the idea of leaving a kill behind for a few seconds or a minute, but for me, it's fine. It's his decision to use that AA and take the pros and cons with it. I choose sprint to get to power weapons quicker or flank easier. I choose jet-pack to counter map control, I use camo to get in behind the enemy without them knowing, etc. Armor lock can't do any of those things, they can just wait and hope somebody saves them.

I would prefer if melee combat cross the shield/health boundary. But I've adapted to the change, and now I just have a sense of when another player's shields are down and they're primed for a melee. This is no worse than adjusting to the changes that Halo 2 or Halo 3 brought, IMO.

I don't have a problem with the grenades. I remember people complaining that the grenades in Halo 2 and Halo 3 were either too weak or too strong. I like that I can, for example, use grenades to 'force' a player into a position for a shotgun or AR kill, if that's what I'm stuck with. It makes them valuable.

Finally, I agree that the range of the DMR and the NR are a problem...but only on remakes of old maps. Hemmo is garbage because it's a 10 year old map design thrown into a 2010 game for the sake of nostalgia. Same with Pinnacle. Most of the new maps in Halo Reach and the DLC don't feel like the DMR or NR are overpowered, certainly no more than the Pistol was overpowered in CE.

Again, these are all my opinions. You're free to dislike Reach and be disappointed in no MP for the CE remake. I wasn't saying that Halo CE fans hate change, just change away from what THEY want from a Halo. I don't think their disapproval makes the changes objectively bad or good.

As I said. I've played every single Halo, a lot. And Reach is my favorite. Easily.

But this is a nostalgia act. Pure and simple. The fact that Microsoft is humoring even SOME of the fan demand for a return to Halo CE says a lot.

 

[GhaleonEB]

The narrative for the new Terminals is very straightforward. And in normal mode, they won't be that hard to find. As the IGN article noted, Guilty Spark is the main narrator.

What I liked about Sadie's story was how the story was told chronologically, even though you could find the pieces of the story in any order. I tend to find goodies out of order, and when the goodies tell stories, that order then needs to be stitched back together again. Basically I'm a lazy bum that is hoping for some kind of mechanism to do the stitching, so I don't have to go back through and find them sequentially to experience the story in order.

You have really piqued my interest with "in normal mode, they won't be that hard to find", since I'm planning a slow, lovingly meticulous Legendary romp as my first play through. I'll be even more thorough with the nooks and crannies.

 

[erpg]

Which would entail disc swapping.

How would adding maps equal swapping? You know, addition, like putting one thing together with another thing. Together being the key word.

 

[PooBone]

The narrative for the new Terminals is very straightforward. And in normal mode, they won't be that hard to find. As the IGN article noted, Guilty Spark is the main narrator.

Do you mean they will be harder to find on harder difficulties? Different locations? Will they have different content ala Halo 3? I'm imagining playing on Legendary, flipping the warthog to drive to the bottom of the gap with the first light bridge and finding one down there, or having to warthog jump myself with grenades to the top of Silent Cartographer and find one. Aaaaaahhhh.

 

[The Librarian]

The narrative for the new Terminals is very straightforward. And in normal mode, they won't be that hard to find. As the IGN article noted, Guilty Spark is the main narrator.

Good to hear.

Edit: Will the terminals scale with the difficulties? Only some terminals can be found when playing Legendary.

 

[ncsuDuncan]

What I liked about Sadie's story was how the story was told chronologically, even though you could find the pieces of the story in any order. I tend to find goodies out of order, and when the goodies tell stories, that order then needs to be stitched back together again. Basically I'm a lazy bum that is hoping for some kind of mechanism to do the stitching, so I don't have to go back through and find them sequentially to experience the story in order.

You have really piqued my interest with "in normal mode, they won't be that hard to find", since I'm planning a slow, lovingly meticulous Legendary romp as my first play through. I'll be even more thorough with the nooks and crannies.

Exactly. Halo 3's terminals were okay because there were only 7 of them, and in pretty obvious locations. Halo Reach's data pads, however... I think I actually found 2 of them on my own and didn't bother looking up locations for the rest. I just read the text online, in order.

What I like about Sadie's story was that it was always chronological (so I didn't fear spoilers by checking them out on my first playthrough) and the presentation offered something that couldn't be replicated on a fan site as plain text. It sounds like the CEA terminals have at least some of that in terms of animation/narration.

 

[bananas]

On last night's Bombcast, the guys said that when they asked about the Library, the 343 guys hinted at some changes being made to that level.

 

[PooBone]

On last night's Bombcast, the guys said that when they asked about the Library, the 343 guys hinted at some changes being made to that level.

The changes are literally lighting and environmental cues to help you find your way. Layout, enemy spawn locations, music, weapon and item placement is exactly the same.

 

[Spasm]

The changes are literally lighting and environmental cues to help you find your way. Layout, enemy spawn locations, music, weapon and item placement is exactly the same.

Whew! I'm one of the very very few who love The Library.

 

[Muffdraul]

I'm one of the very very few who love The Library.

I thought I was the only one! *tearful hug*

 

[dangerbyrnes]

i hope 343 remakes halo 2 at some point.

Because i cant even play my halo 2 at all due to this weird burn in issue it gives me. if a bright flash happens on the screen a white outline of all the geometry stays on the screen. this only happens in campaign. i have tried one other disk and it also had this problem. it's especially bad on dark flood levels. i hope its just a disk problem and not a problem of running halo 2 on a 360.

Plus, halo 2 is my favorite so I'd like a prettier version of it.

also, the sacred icon from halo 2 is worse than the library. high charity's pretty bad too, both of these have this annoying fog that's impossible to see through. don't even get me started on cortana from halo 3.

 

[PooBone]

I thought I was the only one! *tearful hug*

I love that level. Yeah the look of it and design is repetitive, but it is such a grind to make your way through on Legendary. I mean that level keeps me on the edge the entire time. Some of those fights you barely make it through victorious and it feels AWESOME!

 

[bananas]

Whew! I'm one of the very very few who love The Library.

I thought I was the only one! *tearful hug*