Dear god...
Is Jeff like 10 years old?
I know he isn't but the fact that he is older than me and still says that makes me feel strange.
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Halo |OT 21| Battle is the Great Redeemer | LIVE. DIE. RESPAWN.
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Is Jeff like 10 years old?
He plays shooters that all have zoom/scope on LT; as do a lot of the 'shooter audience' I imagine.
Those are the words of a babby
Many video game journalists rarely stick to one game for years and years. Many casuals, or let me re-phrase it, the masses, move from the most popular game to the next, year after year. In this case, it would be COD or Battlefield, both use almost the same exact controller settings.
Of course when a video game journalist pops in a first person shooter today, it's an automatic given that they will assume left trigger is for aiming down the sights of your gun. On top of that, they're also going to assume that ADS is in the shooter to begin with. As well as sprint, health regeneration, etc.
Shadowrun on the Xbox 360 got a bad reviews for not having a single player campaign. On top of that, they just had to note that the game didn't feature ladder animations for climbing up the ladder.
It's like good gameplay alone can't be enough for a damn game these days. It's gotta have a robust stat tracking system, on-rails single player campaign that's at least 4+ hours long...and it needs spring, aim down the sights, and create-a-class.
Like who determined this?? Hell, I'd hate to be an indie developer, I'd be scared out of my mind to release something that's not on that list of features.
Ugh.
Deadly Cyclone
Pride of Iowa State
Playing Halo 2 Anniversary finally. Man, Blur needs to do a Halo movie. Also the audio is fantastic in the game.
Titanfall got a lot of flak for not having a SP campaign. Sooner or later some journalist is gonna critisize Halo for not having prone.
Thinking outside the box, let's hypothetically create this scenario:
Halo 5 beta comes out, it's basically a better looking Halo 2 annv graphics-wise. It's 60fps, and 1080p. Imagine spartan abilities don't exist, scope-aiming is just like Halo 4, the weapons with scope show a classic Halo scope. Sprint doesn't exist. The marketing message remains the same "Next-generation Arena Combat".
New maps are shown. A few new weapons are shown. But the tie-in here is that classic Halo has returned. Halo defined the first person shooter on the consoles, and it's back.
What would be wrong with this?
Would people actually think it wouldn't sell millions of copies?
Then look at reality...we have just the opposite of what I described...
Halo 5 beta comes out, it's basically a better looking Halo 2 annv graphics-wise. It's 60fps, and 1080p. Imagine spartan abilities don't exist, scope-aiming is just like Halo 4, the weapons with scope show a classic Halo scope. Sprint doesn't exist. The marketing message remains the same "Next-generation Arena Combat".
New maps are shown. A few new weapons are shown. But the tie-in here is that classic Halo has returned. Halo defined the first person shooter on the consoles, and it's back.
What would be wrong with this?
Would people actually think it wouldn't sell millions of copies?
Then look at reality...we have just the opposite of what I described...
Demoncarnotaur
Member
That black glossy/reflective ground looks way better IMO. It's very unique, and made me think 'that looks next gen'. I hope they consider reverting back to it.
Can't wait to try out that map/gametype in the Beta.
I think Titanfall got a pass to be honest. While the lack of a proper offline single player campaign wasn't there, the rest of the game, with the Titans and the movement system, all of that seemed to out-weigh the lack of a single player campaign.
I've read some video game journalists pieces on what their review process is like and how they come to their conclusions. They basically flat-out said, they review games from the perspective of a person who has never played the game before. In otherwords, if any average person was at a store looking at the video game shelves and were trying to decide what game to buy...that's who they're writing reviews for.
The average consumer.
So, if you were to describe today's average first person shooter player, they're used to having aim down the sights, sprint, create-a-class, all that crap. If the game doesn't feature it, the reviewer will single that out so that the average consumer knows this going in.
It's pathetic in my opinion.
Halo should be reviewed from what HALO FANS expect, not COD fans, not shooter fans, not Titanfall fans, just Halo fans. If new people want to pick up Halo and try it, then so be it, but damn, don't design the game based on people who HAVEN'T played Halo before.
Look at Streetfighter, look at Starcraft...I mean my god...if those games re-invented the wheel for their respective titles...their fan base would go completely ape shit.
Jeff is a funny guy but he has absolute shit taste in video games.
In modern games, not having ladder animations is a hugely positive feature. Seriously. Polished ladder animations usually require huge compromises on giving snappy control to the player.
Ladder animations can be reasonable in not-quite-realistic game worlds where the player character is cartoonishly agile, and doesn't have to sluggishly "mount" and "dismount" ladders and can effortlessly charge up them. That's certainly not every case, though.
I think their perspective is a valid one. They're mass-market publications for mass-market audiences.
You may have to dig a little more to find die-hard fans' opinions, but they're still out there and they're still useful. I don't see the point of getting angry about these sorts of comments, because they're not aimed at "us" anyhow.
I certainly don't agree with a lot of people's opinions here on things regarding sprint, which Halo multiplayer is best, et al... but I respect those opinions as coming from a similar appreciation of the games I share, and from a level of expertise I can't expect people who have to review games for a living to have.
large, flat, high gloss reflective surfaces don't really work that well with Screen Space Reflections.
The second you aim a little bit too far down the reflections disappear, since your reflection rays cant hit what is offscreen, so a common way to get around this is to lower the gloss and add other details.
One way to semi-convincably get around this is localized/box-projected cubemaps, and they are definitely using that in Halo 5 (Which is awesome!) and H2A campaign, but I dont expect to see them in forge or in similarly dynamic maps. Their not perfect so you probably wont see many mirror-like surfaces still. I like the shader they made for the breakout maps grid floors though.
The resolution and the sampling on the reflection in the sprint episodes is also really high for what we are at now with the beta on xbone, makes me think its probably played on their beefier PC workstations.
For sure, but I just mean it would be cool if there was something to spice up Flag that doesn't get rid of being able to drop the flag (like Flagnum.. I thought it was a good idea, but not being able to drop the flag... whut.)
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So we still don't know what the 7th map is, right? Or are all the maps announced? I saw the schedule for the beta but it doesn't mention the last map by name at all, only Trench.
Wait, what are the maps?
I know there's:
Empire
Truth
Regret
Crossfire
but what else is there?
I think the fact that he's a bit longer in the tooth is exactly why it bothers me. He should be smart enough to remember that the older Halo games predate the when games started mapping zoom/scope to LT
Source on Trench and Eden? Have they been seen?
I believe they were seen on whiteboards in The Sprint (i know Eden was at least; a whiteboard said that Empire is actually the remix map for Eden)
Problem with Titanfall was its lack of content all around. Gameplay can be really solid but the if the content doesn't justify the price tag then your gonna have a bad time.
I think if a game is gonna be $60 it needs to have a solid single player (no always online bullshit) and a multiplayer or co op potentially. There are a lot factors that can get in the way of online multiplayer so a full priced game needs to have a dedicated offline experience to justify the price.
Some suits at MSFT are pushing out the design direction. I have no doubt Josh Holmes didn't just come up with these new features in Halo 5 all from his mind. He was directed to do so, just like any other creative director or director for that matter, is told by who they get paid by.
It would be different if Josh Holmes owned 343 and it was his studio...then I'd like to see how Halo 5 would be designed.
Even going back on Bungie, the Bungie president had said in several interviews, that after Halo CE, they weren't even planning on doing a Halo 2, or a 3 for that matter. They were instructed by MSFT to do those sequels. You can tell that after Halo 2, they were already burnt out on Halo. Look at Bungie over the years, their creative talent kept leaving.
The Bungie president also said they couldn't keep their creative talent because they weren't allowed to be creative...they had to follow some damn list set forth by the upper execs.
I work in marketing in the oil and gas sector, and our business development teams have quotas to meet...unfortunately that's the biz, but they sure as hell didn't set the quotas.
343 probably also have a quota to meet set forth by MSFT. Just like Activision does the same for their studios that create COD games year after year.
I'd be willing to bet that the creative ideas in Halo 5 were maybe....10% coming from 343, and 80% of the game was directed by MSFT.
Hell, even Gears of War 1 was directed by MSFT. Cliffy B said there was a MSFT exec in everyone of their meetings signing off on all things/ideas/direction/etc for Gears of War.
John Blow of Braid was told by MSFT, "we think you should put tips in the game, game hints." His reaction? He told them to go screw themselves and that if he puts tips/hints in Braid, he just simply won't release it. He'll stop work on it all together.
But hey, I'm just a Halo fan, this is all assumption.
Trench is a forge variant of Crossfire.
and Eden is the remix version of Empire.
(there is some eden clips out there, but they were taken down off of Xboxdvr.)
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I wonder if the last map is that forge (?) map we saw in the Sprint this past episode.
I wasn't talking at all about the studiosI'm talking about people concerned about what mainstream reviewers say about Halo games.
TriStateTryHard
Member
So far, 343 has yet to even come close to the amount of gametypes, and customization, Reach offered. Maybe they should first focus on things that will sustain a long term population, like a plethora of gametypes that players have grown to love, before they begin changing Halo into Space Marine.
They need to do their chores before they can go out and play.
I honestly don't believe this for a second considering CE has two sequel hooks right in the ending "No, I think we're just getting started" plus Guilty Spark surviving.
I think they always had sequels planned (at least 2 and 3, after 3 they did seem like they were getting burnt out), it's just that CE exploded into a phenomenon out of nowhere and it expedited sequel plans.
They legitimately didn't. The dialogue for CE wasn't even written by Bungie - that was done by two outside writers (which is why we have the infamous 'this cave' line).
From what we publically know, other projects were supposed to happen, like Phoenix. Halo 3 is built off the remnants of the third cut act of Halo 2. Halo 2 was legitimately supposed to be the end of the story arc.
That would have been a long friggin game
Yup! It was supposed to be an epic, sweeping game. There really hasn't been an attempt at an FPS at that scale before or since in a single release. Halo 2 almost killed Bungie.
RSB
Banned
Yep, it seems game reviewers can only play one type of shooter, and anything that deviates from that, will get critiziced for being different. So stupid.
The homogenization of the FPS genre (on consoles at least) is just sad.
Man, Halo 2 would have been long (and amazing).
I imagine the missions back on Earth probably wouldn't have happened if Halo 2 had the complete story. It probably would have jumped straight from the end of Halo 2 right into everyone going to The Ark.
RSB
Banned
The Ark was supposed to be on Earth, no? They changed that for Halo 3.
Titanfall had 15 MP maps at release. That's more than most online shooters.
The Ark was on Earth in the original version of Halo 2, afiak
So the idea was Earth -> Delta Halo -> ?Moon? -> Earth (The moon geometry became Quarantine Zone)
You can have sequels in the works, instructed by your publisher before you even finish the first.
Look at the music industry. When bands sign contracts with record labels, it's not for just one record.
THQ gave Kaos Studios a two-game deal with Frontlines Fuel of War. Frontlines obviously failed, but they sold just enough to earn that sequel, Homefront. Homefront failed, thus Kaos Studios got shut down.
FASA studios, the guys who made Shadowrun on the Xbox 360, led by John Howard (previous lead design on Halo CE), their studio gets shut down by MSFT because it didn't meet MSFT's sales quota.
Which by the way, FASA Studios had a single player campaign made for Shadowrun, MSFT came in and said, nope, stop all work on that, focus on cross-platform compatibility with Windows PC and Xbox Live.
FASA Studios gets shut down shortly after Shadowrun launches. Sad. Sad. Sad.
Anyway, I have a feeling I'm going way off topic here.
biosnake20
Member
Nvm
I'm honestly kind of glad they changed it so The Ark wasn't Earth. The Ark being beyond the edge of the galaxy presumably out of the range of the Halo rings seems to make a lot more sense
User 73706
Banned
I wonder what 343's "contract" is regarding Halo titles.
Are the guns really that much more accurate? Far bigger problem is IMO aim assist while using the smart scope. BR locks on across Truth. It's actually hilarious considering how much aim assist was tuned down when shooting un-scoped.
Yeah, sometimes you can make adjustments like that due to deadlines.
It's why I've said before that I wish at some point Halo 2 and 3 are combined into the single game they were intended to be. Never thought it would be possible since up til recently we assumed anniversary-style releases would keep the games apart. Now we actually ended up with Halo 2 and 3 in the same release. Dunno, maybe another 10 years from now?
NobleGundam
Banned
MS to 343.
"Make Halo games good." - H4
"Copy/paste all haloz into one disc." - MCC
"Listen to community." - H5
Moon geometry wasn't Luna, it was Basis. Originally the Heretic faction didn't set up shop on the Threshold gas mine, rather they were going to use Basis.
This is related to some of the original background for Burial Mounds, no?
It should be more of a revolving door kind of structure where people still interested in making Halo can develop and expand the franchise. It's sole purpose as a studio is Halo, so I think anybody hired or signing up to work there know what they're getting into. Not like Bungie that wanted to do other things and had to buy back their independence.
Yeah, Burial Mounds is canonically set on Basis.
It was also the earliest known screenshot of Halo 2 MP as well:
Interestingly the geometry in this image didn't change a whole lot from alpha to release. Also of note this image was composited from multiple game sessions IIRC.
The one thing in that image that stands out to me is that the blues and reds of the armors pop out a lot more. Wish they would have kept that.
CloudyTuba
Member
Yeah the black gloss really does look better. Stinkles pls.
They certainly do stand out more, but I definitely prefer the final armor shader.
vs
"Screen-space reflections don't really work in games with a free camera, and looking around causes horrible visual artifacts."
"A typical solution is to use other stuff instead of screen-space reflections."
Meanwhile, planar reflections continue their eternal march through "we don't really use this" territory, and actually keeping track of how light is propagating about in world-space is still too expensive for most developers to want to do in real time (and/or too low-frequency to get sharp reflections out of).
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