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[Ryck]

Lol so confusing, so if I buy Halo CE can I play online mp? Or do I also need Reach? I don't own Reach so I only get CE can I jump online and play?

 

[GarthVaderUK]

I don't own Reach so I only get CE can I jump online and play?

Yes.

 

[Ryck]

Yes.

Ok... so why is everyone upset then?

 

[GarthVaderUK]

Ok... so why is everyone upset then?

Some want the original multiplayer with online functionality too.

 

[border]

Putting Halo CE multiplayer online would feel dated, and more than likely people would dump it to go back to Halo Reach/3 once the nostalgia wore off.

People that were really into Reach may go back, but all the people that they've lost over the years to various "improvements" would likely stay for quite a while. There's really nothing "dated" about Halo CE....it's just a different set of rules and weapons. It's not like the dumb comparisons people are making to Perfect Dark, which really is quite a crude and rudimentary FPS by current standards.

Seems like in service of "not fragmenting the fanbase" what they're actually doing is crystallizing the existing die-hards on one side of the fence or the other.

I think that is a great way to put it. You either opt-in completely or opt-out completely. They don't want to give a little in any direction, because god forbid people end up playing different Halo games. They had an opportunity to expand and include the fans they've lost over the years, but I guess it's more important to make sure everyone is playing exactly the same game.

 

[The Lamonster]

Ok... so why is everyone upset then?

Who the fuck knows, dude. The early pages of this thread are pathetic. I don't know why people are so up in arms about the multiplayer using the Reach engine, when the ENTIRE POINT of this release is to have an updated engine on a classic game.

If people really thought that the competitive component of this package was going to be Halo Reach gameplay with AA's and the like...well, then they're dumb.

 

[Ryck]

Some want the original multiplayer with online functionality too.

See this is where the confusion sets in, If I can go online and play with Halo CE isn't that the multiplayer, or do you mean it is ONLINE only?


edit: oh I see it uses the Reach engine, does that mean the damage and what not is the same? In Reach it takes way too many rounds to put someone down.

 

[GarthVaderUK]

See this is where the confusion sets in, If I can go online and play with Halo CE isn't that the multiplayer, or do you mean it is ONLINE only?

OK, I'll try to explain better:
Halo: CE had a multiplayer mode back in the day, some people want that with online functionality in the remake.
What we're getting in the remake is 7 maps from Halo and Halo 2 remade in the Reach multiplayer engine, which you can play off the disc or add to Reach.

 

[Booshka]

Who the fuck knows, dude. The early pages of this thread are pathetic. I don't know why people are so up in arms about the multiplayer using the Reach engine, when the ENTIRE POINT of this release is to have an updated engine on a classic game.

If people really thought that the competitive component of this package was going to be Halo Reach gameplay with AA's and the like...well, then they're dumb.

That's exactly what it is actually.

 

[Ryck]

OK, I'll try to explain better:
Halo: CE had a multiplayer mode back in the day, some people want that with online functionality in the remake.
What we're getting in the remake is 7 maps from Halo and Halo 2 remade in the Reach multiplayer engine, which you can play off the disc or add to Reach.

Oh ok I get it now, I really didn't like Reach's mp to be honest. I hope it is at least similar to the first one in regard to bullet damage and what not.

 

[Booshka]

Oh ok I get it now, I really didn't like Reach's mp to be honest. I hope it is at least similar to the first one in regard to bullet damage and what not.

Frankie has hinted at some features to help respect classic Halo gameplay within the Reach engine, we shall see how far those features go.

 

[ncsuDuncan]

That's exactly what it is actually.

That's exactly what we don't know, actually.

I imagine the Anniversary disc lets you access a "classic" playlist without AAs. But it might also let you access a normal Reach playlist that DOES have AAs.

But you are spreading misinformation if you tell people that Anniversary multiplayer will force them to play with Armor Abilities.

 

[kittens]

edit: oh I see it uses the Reach engine, does that mean the damage and what not is the same? In Reach it takes way too many rounds to put someone down.

Yeah, the weapon sandbox and effectiveness is totally different, as is the movement speed, jump height, presence of fall damage in Reach, etc.

I'm not too upset, for one, but I can see why it would bug a lot of fans looking for the true CE experience.

 

[Ryck]

That's exactly what we don't know, actually.

I imagine the Anniversary disc lets you access a "classic" playlist without AAs. But it might also let you access a normal Reach playlist that DOES have AAs.

But you are spreading misinformation if you tell people that Anniversary multiplayer will force them to play with Armor Abilities.

Well there is a TEAM CLASSIC playlist within Reach that uses the old maps and no AAs. It's close but the bullett damage, melee damage, and grenades are still like Reach.

 

[The Lamonster]

That's exactly what it is actually.

I think this highlights the poor communication job 343 has been doing so far regarding this game.

Something as majorly important as this shouldn't have been cast aside with a vague "oh we are modifying Reach game play AND MORE! details to come LATER"

 

[wwm0nkey]

There WILL be something that adds an extra classic feel to the MP. Frankie has stated this many times but will not say what it is, we will probably find out at Halo Fest.

 

[ncsuDuncan]

Well there is a TEAM CLASSIC playlist within Reach that uses the old maps and no AAs. It's close but the bullett damage, melee damage, and grenades are still like Reach.

Yep. And we are getting hints that the multiplayer mode for Anniversary may be similar to TEAM CLASSIC, but more of a "Classic++". As in they may have figured out a way to fix things like grenade damage.

I think this highlights the poor communication job 343 has been doing so far regarding this game.

Something as majorly important as this shouldn't have been cast aside with a vague "oh we are modifying Reach game play AND MORE! details to come LATER"

Are you serious? I think 343 has done an excellent job. Between the multitude of interviews and employees POSTING ON NEOGAF, I don't think we can complain about a lack of communication. What are you expecting, a full disclosure of every minute detail? The game doesn't come out until NOVEMBER. For all we know these details are still being ironed out, and 343 reps certainly don't want to promise things they can't deliver.

Besides, there are still 5 months to go. I imagine they don't want to give away every detail they have right after the announcement just because people are jumping to conclusions over something they saw in the trailer. We're going to get more details (and probably hands-on time) at PAX.

Relax.

 

[Booshka]

That's exactly what we don't know, actually.

I imagine the Anniversary disc lets you access a "classic" playlist without AAs. But it might also let you access a normal Reach playlist that DOES have AAs.

But you are spreading misinformation if you tell people that Anniversary multiplayer will force them to play with Armor Abilities.

Yeah your right, I was mistaken, but it is still going to be the core mechanics of Reach. There are a ton of custom settings that people can try to replicate the gameplay of Halo CE, but they never play right. 343/CA will have to do some real adjustments to the gameplay to give it a legitimate classic style, I won't say feel, because that is not possible in the Reach engine.

It's funny how there will be an Announcement for playlist and game settings modifiers.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Are you serious? I think 343 has done an excellent job. Between the multitude of interviews and employees POSTING ON NEOGAF, I don't think we can complain about a lack of communication. What are you expecting, a full disclosure of every minute detail? The game doesn't come out until NOVEMBER. For all we know these details are still being ironed out, and 343 reps certainly don't want to promise things they can't deliver.

Besides, there are still 5 months to go. I imagine they don't want to give away every detail they have right after the announcement just because people are jumping to conclusions over something they saw in the trailer. We're going to get more details (and probably hands-on time) at PAX.

Relax.

I generally agree, and in time this period of ambiguity will be forgotten. But I do think the community is - at the moment - poorly served by an incomplete understanding of what the package will entail. It's one thing to hold back on detailing what maps are included, or what other features are being added to the campaign, so more information can be doled out as launch approaches. But one of the most important questions to a big swath of the community is what kind of gameplay they'll get to have on these new maps. Without the original MP, players want to know how close they're going to get to it. Instead we have asymmetric information: we know what it's not, but not what it is.

So I think the confusion and frustration right now is understandable. I'm expecting the details on what kind of 'classic' features will be included are likely to be announced to much applause at Halofest, but until then we're in this weird state of not really understanding the scope of the game.

 

[ncsuDuncan]

I generally agree, and in time this period of ambiguity will be forgotten. But I do think the community is - at the moment - poorly served by an incomplete understanding of what the package will entail. It's one thing to hold back on detailing what maps are included, or what other features are being added to the campaign, so more information can be doled out as launch approaches. But one of the most important questions to a big swath of the community is what kind of gameplay they'll get to have on these new maps. Without the original MP, players want to know how close they're going to get to it. Instead we have asymmetric information: we know what it's not, but not what it is.

So I think the confusion and frustration right now is understandable. I'm expecting the details on what kind of 'classic' features will be included are likely to be announced to much applause at Halofest, but until then we're in this weird state of not really understanding the scope of the game.

I can respect that. CE multiplayer is obviously important to a lot of people, and it's tough to have to wait to see what Anniversary will offer.

I just suspect that 343 has been quiet about it out of necessity, not some marketing plan. I assume that integrating Anniversary with Reach is a tricky task, and it might make some of the aspects of the Classic mode harder to pin down at this point. The confusion right now is unfortunate, but it would be far worse if they promised changes that have to be cut for the final release.

Imagine if 343 announced today that they are still working on modifying the Anniversary maps to trick the Reach engine into eliminating bloom, fixing grenade damage, and bringing back the Battle Rifle. Then fast forward to August and they announce that "Well, we tried but all we could manage without a 6GB Reach Title Update was to fix grenade damage." The tears shed on the forums would drown us all.

I think the current message of "it's like TEAM CLASSIC, but a little better" sets a reasonable level of expectation. Confusion now is better than bitterness at launch. I just get frustrated at the people raging over 343's "lack of communication" without considering that maybe there's a logical reason behind it.

 

[The Lamonster]

You guys are making good points, and we also have to remember that a passionate community is going to complain, no matter what you do.

 

[godhandiscen]

I generally agree, and in time this period of ambiguity will be forgotten. But I do think the community is - at the moment - poorly served by an incomplete understanding of what the package will entail. It's one thing to hold back on detailing what maps are included, or what other features are being added to the campaign, so more information can be doled out as launch approaches. But one of the most important questions to a big swath of the community is what kind of gameplay they'll get to have on these new maps. Without the original MP, players want to know how close they're going to get to it. Instead we have asymmetric information: we know what it's not, but not what it is.

So I think the confusion and frustration right now is understandable. I'm expecting the details on what kind of 'classic' features will be included are likely to be announced to much applause at Halofest, but until then we're in this weird state of not really understanding the scope of the game.

Most likely they haven't locked the feature set of the MP and its better for them to remain quiet about it. I do not feel annoyed at all as I understand that they need to thread carefully considering the initial reaction to the MP information.

 

[Stinkles]

Most likely they haven't locked the feature set of the MP and its better for them to remain quiet about it. I do not feel annoyed at all as I understand that they need to thread carefully considering the initial reaction to the MP information.

The reaction to MP was almost verbatim what we predicted it would be, good and bad. 343 is full of old school Halo fans, and people who "get" it. But going into a project like this, with timelines, budgets and production realties to juggle (most of the organization is working exclusively on Halo 4), like any game, is going to mean compromises and tough decisions. Of all of them, MP was going to be the most controversial.

While we feel confident that people will ultimately be very happy with the package when they experience, we are not ignorant of the passion for Halo's original MP. That said, we also have legions of fans who ONLY want Halo 2's MP. Even a fair amount who only want 3's or Reach's.

We can't satisfy all those corners of the community perfectly, so please bear with us. We'll explain more about MP matchmaking and more as we get closer to implementing it. It's not a tease, it's just not baked yet. That's the reality of test and production.

 

[The Librarian]

I want a trailer of Sgt. Johnson advertising Anniversary at HaloFest.

 

[infinityBCRT]

I thought 343 said they'd be adding new playlists to bring in classic game modes. I assumed that meant they'd have modes with Halo 1 style health & without the Reach enhancements (jetpacks, new weapons, etc)

 

[GhaleonEB]

We can't satisfy all those corners of the community perfectly, so please bear with us. We'll explain more about MP matchmaking and more as we get closer to implementing it. It's not a tease, it's just not baked yet. That's the reality of test and production.

Entirely fair, and good to know. From the hints provided by 343, (5% happier, "classic plus plus"), I had assumed the scope of the features were defined and locked down at this stage of production. Curious to see the approach you take. I'm sympathetic to the difficulty of the needle to thread here.

 

[szaromir]

I want a trailer of Sgt. Johnson advertising Anniversary at HaloFest.

I want a remake of that trailer. A lot of what I loved about CE campaign condensed in 2:30.

 

[oxygenal]

While we feel confident that people will ultimately be very happy with the package when they experience, we are not ignorant of the passion for Halo's original MP. That said, we also have legions of fans who ONLY want Halo 2's MP. Even a fair amount who only want 3's or Reach's.

We can't satisfy all those corners of the community perfectly, so please bear with us. We'll explain more about MP matchmaking and more as we get closer to implementing it. It's not a tease, it's just not baked yet. That's the reality of test and production.

But this is not a remake of Halo 2, Halo 3 or Reach. This game is meant to celebrate the first Halo, thus you should concentrate on satisfying the people who expect this to be a remake of Halo: Combat Evolved and not concentrate on any other Halo game.

At least that's what I think

 

[Blueblur1]

The reaction to MP was almost verbatim what we predicted it would be, good and bad. 343 is full of old school Halo fans, and people who "get" it. But going into a project like this, with timelines, budgets and production realties to juggle (most of the organization is working exclusively on Halo 4), like any game, is going to mean compromises and tough decisions. Of all of them, MP was going to be the most controversial.

While we feel confident that people will ultimately be very happy with the package when they experience, we are not ignorant of the passion for Halo's original MP. That said, we also have legions of fans who ONLY want Halo 2's MP. Even a fair amount who only want 3's or Reach's.

We can't satisfy all those corners of the community perfectly, so please bear with us. We'll explain more about MP matchmaking and more as we get closer to implementing it. It's not a tease, it's just not baked yet. That's the reality of test and production.

Thank you for being so frank with us.

 

[Stinkles]

Thank you for being so frank with us.

I see what you did there.

 

[ncsuDuncan]

But this is not a remake of Halo 2, Halo 3 or Reach. This game is meant to celebrate the first Halo, thus you should concentrate on satisfying the people who expect this to be a remake of Halo: Combat Evolved and not concentrate on any other Halo game.

At least that's what I think

That's weird, your quote seemed to leave out the first part of his post. Let me fix that for you:

The reaction to MP was almost verbatim what we predicted it would be, good and bad. 343 is full of old school Halo fans, and people who "get" it. But going into a project like this, with timelines, budgets and production realties to juggle (most of the organization is working exclusively on Halo 4), like any game, is going to mean compromises and tough decisions. Of all of them, MP was going to be the most controversial.

So, oxygenal, what you're saying is you'd rather 343 focus on a Halo: CE remake than Halo 4?

 

[thatbox]

So, oxygenal, what you're saying is you'd rather 343 focus on a Halo: CE remake than Halo 4?

If it somehow requires a diversion of resources from Halo 4 to add netcode to a ten year old game, then yes. I'd prefer that. I don't play Reach online. I can pretty much guarantee I won't play Halo 4 online. I still occasionally play Halo CE online, and on an Xbox no less!

 

[oxygenal]

That's weird, your quote seemed to leave out the first part of his post. Let me fix that for you:

Sorry, did that on purpose since I wanted to focus on the latter parts of the post.

So, oxygenal, what you're saying is you'd rather 343 focus on a Halo: CE remake than Halo 4?

Of course. The first Halo games had the best multiplayer maps for 4-6 players. Halo 3 and Halo Reach have been pretty dissapointing in that regard. I would rather have a well done remake of Halo: CE with competitive multiplayer online and classic gameplay, than a Halo 4 which can be anything from the most unbalanced game in the series to the greatest Halo game ever made.

 

[border]

But this is not a remake of Halo 2, Halo 3 or Reach. This game is meant to celebrate the first Halo, thus you should concentrate on satisfying the people who expect this to be a remake of Halo: Combat Evolved and not concentrate on any other Halo game.

Yeah, I'm not really sure what bearing the "legions of fans" who want the other games' multiplayer style should have on a remake of Halo 1. People that like Halo 3 or Halo Reach can already go play it. People that like Halo 2 will have to wait for an XBLA or retail remake on its tenth anniversary.

So, oxygenal, what you're saying is you'd rather 343 focus on a Halo: CE remake than Halo 4?

I'm not sure why it has to be a binary proposition. I thought the purpose of getting Saber Interactive and Certain Affinity to make the game was so that 343 could concentrate on Halo 4. I'm not sure why Halo 4 is an excuse for the quick-fix multiplayer setup.

That being said....I wouldn't care if Halo 4 got delayed into 2013 if it meant bringing a real version of Combat Evolved online. Halo 4 can happen anytime, and it's pretty much inevitable. The likelihood of a Halo remake being given any sort of budget or attention after its 10th anniversary is very low -- so get it's imperative to get it right the first time.

 

[szaromir]

So basically:
-they don't have the netcode to make matchmaking for Halo 1 work (and some gameplay tweaks for lag) and they would rather have people to work on netcode for Halo 4
-they still need to support Halo Reach multiplayer in some way and HCEA is basically the Fall map pack
They try to hit two birds with one stone, it's going to leave a lot of people unhappy, but all things considered there's not much they could do if bringing the matchmaking to original Halo MP could result in broken experience (at launch).

 

[jet1911]

That being said....I wouldn't care if Halo 4 got delayed into 2013 if it meant bringing a real version of Combat Evolved online. Halo 4 can happen anytime, and it's pretty much inevitable. The likelihood of a Halo remake being given any sort of budget or attention after its 10th anniversary is very low -- so get it's imperative to get it right the first time.

I'm pretty sure the people who takes these kind of decision at Microsoft would rather have Halo 4 ready in 2012 than 2013.

Halo 4 release = wooooooo money
Halo CEA release = meh money

 

[Photolysis]

So, oxygenal, what you're saying is you'd rather 343 focus on a Halo: CE remake than Halo 4?

Personally, I'd prefer that, but that's because I know the CE remake will be awesome if it's handled right. Based on what's already known, it would be quite hard to mess it up!

It's not that I doubt Frank's sincerity, when he talks about how much he and the 343i team care about doing the Halo franchise justice, but when I read about a new trilogy being announced... I'm somewhat apprehensive over how it will play out and what it will do for the franchise. I guess time will tell whether those concerns are justified or not.

 

[Hitmonchan107]

nvm. I'm not going to get into it again.

Damn. I've been caught! Abort!

 

[godhandiscen]

The reaction to MP was almost verbatim what we predicted it would be, good and bad. 343 is full of old school Halo fans, and people who "get" it. But going into a project like this, with timelines, budgets and production realties to juggle (most of the organization is working exclusively on Halo 4), like any game, is going to mean compromises and tough decisions. Of all of them, MP was going to be the most controversial.

While we feel confident that people will ultimately be very happy with the package when they experience, we are not ignorant of the passion for Halo's original MP. That said, we also have legions of fans who ONLY want Halo 2's MP. Even a fair amount who only want 3's or Reach's.

We can't satisfy all those corners of the community perfectly, so please bear with us. We'll explain more about MP matchmaking and more as we get closer to implementing it. It's not a tease, it's just not baked yet. That's the reality of test and production.

That's what I expected. Will we get to play the game at Halo Fest?

 

[JdFoX187]

I just don't know why a lot of people are unhappy with it. Sure, Halo: CE's multiplayer would have been nice to have, but it's obviously one of those pipe dreams. It's not like bringing Halo 2 back with multiplayer since that game already worked online. Network lag was never a factor in the original game. It just seems like people are making a mountain out of a mole hill when it comes to this whole situation.

 

[border]

I'm pretty sure the people who takes these kind of decision at Microsoft would rather have Halo 4 ready in 2012 than 2013.

"Desire of quick money" is not exactly a compelling reason to bork the project.

But as I said, that doesn't even have to be a priority. I thought the point of handing Halo: CEA off to 3rd party developers was so the projects could be developed concurrently.

I've got Halo PC running on an admittedly shitty laptop.

Halo PC is just no substitute for people that want online multiplayer - the lag is just horrendous. It's actually quite good in campaign though, and from the looks of CEA it appears it's the only time we'll ever been able to play Halo at 60 FPS or better.

 

[Booshka]

I just don't know why a lot of people are unhappy with it. Sure, Halo: CE's multiplayer would have been nice to have, but it's obviously one of those pipe dreams. It's not like bringing Halo 2 back with multiplayer since that game already worked online. Network lag was never a factor in the original game. It just seems like people are making a mountain out of a mole hill when it comes to this whole situation.

We really aren't, we love Halo CE MP, we feel it is the best in the series and want to play it on Xbox Live with a controller. We're not making anymore out of it than what was expected and warranted, we'll get over it, but it still sucks.

If only Halo CE MP was released on XBLA with original assets at 60 FPS online, I would never stop playing it.

 

[JdFoX187]

We really aren't, we love Halo CE MP, we feel it is the best in the series and want to play it on Xbox Live with a controller. We're not making anymore out of it than what was expected and warranted, we'll get over it, but it still sucks.

If only Halo CE MP was released on XBLA with original assets at 60 FPS online, I would never stop playing it.

But people are making more of it than what should be expected. I could understand if someone said that the game was going to have online multiplayer, and then 343i pulled the feature at the last minute. That would be something to get angry about. But adding online multiplayer to a game that's never had it before is more complicated than just slapping Reach's netcode on the package and calling it a day, especially in the time frame that 343i is working with.

Now if it was something like Halo 2, which had online multiplayer already in the initial package, and it got "remade" without that, it would be something to complain about. I don't think anyone that saw this coming really expected it to have MP, especially since it was merely graphical update more than anything. The fact they're bringing back a bunch of maps is above and beyond even what I expected.

 

[Zabka]

I just don't know why a lot of people are unhappy with it. Sure, Halo: CE's multiplayer would have been nice to have, but it's obviously one of those pipe dreams. It's not like bringing Halo 2 back with multiplayer since that game already worked online. Network lag was never a factor in the original game. It just seems like people are making a mountain out of a mole hill when it comes to this whole situation.

The only thing missing from Halo on the Xbox was online multiplayer. When you announce a remake and you don't fix the one thing wrong with the game, why bother?

 

[GloveSlap]

I just don't know why a lot of people are unhappy with it. Sure, Halo: CE's multiplayer would have been nice to have, but it's obviously one of those pipe dreams. It's not like bringing Halo 2 back with multiplayer since that game already worked online. Network lag was never a factor in the original game. It just seems like people are making a mountain out of a mole hill when it comes to this whole situation.

The fact that Halo CE never had online play is the whole point, fixing that fact gives the concept of a remake a purpose beyond the cosmetic.

To a lot of people, the multiplayer is like 90 percent of a Halo game. The campaign lasts what, 8 hours at best? People play the Halo multiplayer modes for up to 100s of hours. Hell I know people that played Halo games religiously over the years that never even finished any of the campaign modes.

 

[thatbox]

But people are making more of it than what should be expected. I could understand if someone said that the game was going to have online multiplayer, and then 343i pulled the feature at the last minute. That would be something to get angry about. But adding online multiplayer to a game that's never had it before is more complicated than just slapping Reach's netcode on the package and calling it a day, especially in the time frame that 343i is working with.

Now if it was something like Halo 2, which had online multiplayer already in the initial package, and it got "remade" without that, it would be something to complain about. I don't think anyone that saw this coming really expected it to have MP, especially since it was merely graphical update more than anything. The fact they're bringing back a bunch of maps is above and beyond even what I expected.

The game is called Halo: CE Anniversary. Halo: CE multiplayer is a big part of Halo: CE. People can express how happy they are with Reach multiplayer all they want, but I really don't think that anyone can argue that Halo: CE multiplayer wasn't a reasonable expectation for inclusion in something called a Halo: CE Anniversary edition.

My basic expectations for this product when it was initially announced:
1) Halo: CE campaign
2) Halo: CE multiplayer

It currently features one of those, and not the one I would have preferred. Synchronous lockstep, physics prediction, whatever. Mix and match a lot of technical words to Mad-Lib an excuse. All I can say is XBC worked pretty goddamned well, and it has been ten years.

 

[Syracuse022]

So, oxygenal, what you're saying is you'd rather 343 focus on a Halo: CE remake than Halo 4?

Hell yes. We're talking about a bird in the hand versus a bird in the bush accompanied by a severely crippled second bird (of the same species as the hand bird, only the one in the bush can't fly).

 

[JdFoX187]

The only thing missing from Halo on the Xbox was online multiplayer. When you announce a remake and you don't fix the one thing wrong with the game, why bother?

...not sure if serious. There was nothing wrong with the original game. The reason it didn't have online multiplayer was because online multiplayer wasn't possible on the Xbox at the time. You also ignore the fact that because it's never been done before, it would take a lot more work to implement it. This is a project that's on a short timeframe. Now sure, they could add online multiplayer for the vocal minority and it might top out in the middle of Major Nelson's activity chart for a couple weeks before falling off into oblivion. And that's if 343i did it right and balanced everything out for online play and spent hundreds of hours playtesting it to make sure it played well online and there were no issues. Of course, that would also take time away from Halo 4, the actual project the studio has been working on. That's like taking time off from your day job to go do some part time work for a buddy. It doesn't make sense.

Besides, they haven't announced what they'll be doing for matchmaking. They might be able to replicate a Halo: Combat Evolved environment on these new maps. It'd be great. I hate the implementation of armor abilities and equipment in the Halo formula and would love for a more streamlined game. But I understand they've got a certain amount of time, limited resources and this is a side project for the studio, nothing more.

The game is called Halo: CE Anniversary. Halo: CE multiplayer is a big part of Halo: CE. People can express how happy they are with Reach multiplayer all they want, but I really don't think that anyone can argue that Halo: CE multiplayer wasn't a reasonable expectation for inclusion in something called a Halo: CE Anniversary edition.

My basic expectations for this product when it was initially announced:
1) Halo: CE campaign
2) Halo: CE multiplayer

It currently features one of those, and not the one I would have preferred. Synchronous lockstep, physics prediction, whatever. Mix and match a lot of technical words to Mad-Lib an excuse. All I can say is XBC worked pretty goddamned well, and it has been ten years.

It's extremely reasonable because a) this is a remake and b) the original game never had online MP before. They never announced it was going to have it, they never mentioned it would have it and they never promised anything of the sort before the game was officially announced. You can have lofty, and unreasonable expectations, but don't get mad when they're not met.

 

[nVidiot_Whore]

I'm a little confused as to how a handful of classic maps is going to get many players back. If you didn't like Reach, you didn't like Reach. What turned you off about it is still going to remain even if there's some new maps. A separate CEA community would increase the total number of players more, even if slightly splintered.

Some people here seem intent on imagining a "classic" mode for Reach that will come very close to CE, but 343 has been so cagey I kinda doubt it.

Well, like I was saying, I think they actually can make it pretty worthwhile within the Halo Reach engine... for much less cost than implementing multiplayer into a codebase that only had LAN.

We'll just have to wait and see.. it's a decision they made.. they have reasons..

I think this is the more plausible reason. They just don't want to spend the money on it. Which is a shame, since all the corners being cut makes it hardly worth the $40 asking price....yet a proper remake with online could have easily commanded $60.

Well, that's one opinion.

There are many who are gladly paying $40 for just the chance to play the single player as well as co-op online.

AND.. some of us are optimistic about the Reach add-on actually being fun, and reminiscent of playing Halo 1.

COST is almost always issue #1.. the "fragmenting the user-base" is just another reason logically to not spend the cash.

It's arguably a bad decision, I personally don't think it is but can understand those that disagree.

 

[Stinkles]

That's what I expected. Will we get to play the game at Halo Fest?

Some people certainly will yes. Lines, etc may mean that you're not guaranteed. I will be keeping an eye out for special cases.