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Halo |OT12| Last One Out, Get the Lights

Karl2177

Member
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REACHSeptember201124hrUU.png
One is peak population, one is total population. That type of data isn't really comparable.

Knights and Brutes are kindof similar. But you can headshot Knights. Pop their shields and then pop off their head armor, and then go for the final headshot. It can be hard to notice though.

Watchers do that little fold-over move (I'd guess to minimize their profile) and then scurry away when they're hurting - its maybe one or two shots to take them down from this point.

But yeah, spawning in and one-shot-kill weapons can both be extremely annoying and lead to cheap deaths.

That's poorly shown to the player. The Watcher thing to me is just that it is taking some form of damage, not that it is one shot from death. I was reading on Havok's blog about the way 343 has been about player feedback. It's really evident in Halo 4 how information about enemy health and shields are displayed to the player.

I'm also reminded of another quote by Shi Kai Wang on how Jason wanted the enemies to be bright and colorful. The Prometheans are all orange and grey, and the Covenant have been reduced to very bland colors. It takes a lot away from the player when there isn't a clear color to how difficult an enemy may be.
 

sp3000

Member
Don't worry everyone will be back when this ranking system kicks in.

The game is far more broken than just the ranking system.

That player graph show the results. A year after Halo Reach came out, it had 500k players, Halo 4 has barely 100k just weeks after it's release.
 
FYI if you haven't used Thruster pack at 300% base movement speed, you haven't lived.

Had a Halo 4 LAN yesterday, played FFA Swords on Ragnarok with 300% speed, unlimited thruster pack, and waypoints on all players. It was amazing. (Don't forget to give everyone Mobility :p)
 
I meant both actually, as I don't count ODST as a side project and I'd guess more people got a taste of Firefight through playing Reach, even if it didn't debut there.

So if we're looking at online numbers - there was a lot to do in Reach, a lot of new stuff on offer, and it all had legs, not only because a lot was tested in the beta and tweaked, but also stuff like theater and fileshares were available. Challenges were new, and kept people going back in, and every mode had scoring and customization.

To the extent Halo 4's populations drop, I think we have to add a lack of wholly new modes and unfinished or cut community features in there as reasons, not just the competitive gripes.

No Ghaleon campaign/firefight picture posts are what bums me out about Halo 4.


I honestly can't imagine it.
Basically not being able to share your experiences with rendered videos is a big bummer. I love watching other people's clips and what not, even from Reach. Right now I feel like we're just twittling our thumbs until that feature becomes available for Halo 4. Changing instant respawns and Ordnance drops would do a lot for the game imo and it doesn't seem like it should be that hard of a fix.
 

sp3000

Member
Basically not being able to share your experiences with rendered videos is a big bummer. I love watching other people's clips and what not, even from Reach. Right now I feel like we're just twittling our thumbs until that feature becomes available for Halo 4. Changing instant respawns and Ordnance drops would do a lot for the game imo and it doesn't seem like it should be that hard of a fix.

It's not going to be fixed because it's not viewed as a problem by 343. It was a design decision, not an unintentional bug.
 

blamite

Member
Wow. SpOps 4 not fun. I quit halfway through the Valhalla mission. I'll pick it up again tomorrow to see if my mood about it has improved, but no guarantees.

You picked a good place to stop, the next mission takes place on that snow map we've seen twice already, and it plays worse this time than it did in either of those missions.

The fifth chapter in this episode is decent. The others range from boring to awful.
 

Brolic Gaoler

formerly Alienshogun
This is true of pretty much any big franchise. Look at Star Wars fans, heh.

I've said this multiple times but Ghost Recon too, but you're on to something. Quake was the same way. I loved Quake, then 2, and Arena sucked my ass. Every series does seem to do the evolution that fractures the fan base.

I just had some messages with Stephen, and even he's not a fan of the new Halo.

It really does seem like Halo 4 is making some old fans who don't like change mad, but it also seems to be bringing in other people. Guys I knew that didn't like Halo ( my Gears guys) are liking Halo 4.

The game is far more broken than just the ranking system.

That player graph show the results. A year after Halo Reach came out, it had 500k players, Halo 4 has barely 100k just weeks after it's release.

You're reading those graphs wrong.
 
That's poorly shown to the player.
Nothing about the knights is clear. Its easy to tell a knight from a leader, but not which weapon they have on them. Not until they fire it anyway, which a lot of the time is too late. Their shield pop is relatively faint, and its hard to notice how very quickly they get those shields back up to full. The headshot thing is something I read about more than actually noticed in combat, and only once I knew what to look for could I appreciate the details.

I've still had some good fights with them, if only because limited ammo forced me to take them on in relatively close quarters and try to use the environment to keep me safe. Start by trying to get the widest field of view possible so that when taking out the watchers, you don't let them get away. Then the crawlers. Then do whatever you can to split knights apart from each other, try to move in and get their shields to pop - then rush closer for a close range finale - either suppressor to their spindly bits, or a scattershot to the gut. It can be fun and tense at times, especially when the watchers are good at hiding, and you have to make due within short windows of opportunity. And crawler packs that don't show up until you engage with a knight can be trouble too.
 
It's not going to be fixed because it's not viewed as a problem by 343. It was a design decision, not an unintentional bug.
I didn't say it was a bug or that 343 somehow accidentally implemented everything in its current form. But, if population numbers keep decreasing then they will do something. And they don't exactly have to change infinity slayer. It is possible to add new playlists :p
 

Brolic Gaoler

formerly Alienshogun
For all the praise I've given Halo 4. I can honestly say I wouldn't pay money for a season 2 of spartan ops. I'd rather just watch the cutscenes on Youtube.

I know it's firefight with a story, and that's what you should expect, but the problem is, when you tag a story like this onto the game you EXPECT more than just firefight, you can't help to.

I think that is ultimately what hurts spartan ops.
 
Frankie's job isn't in trouble is it?

Frankie's job would have had little to do with the gameplay/bugs in Halo 4 and more to do with things like the CG cutscenes, the terminals, the books, and Forward Unto Dawn, which have all ranged from good to excellent.

Anecdote: hadn't played for a few days, got into some games with Aggro which were pretty fun, but then he left and Franklinator and I tried some FFA Throwback. Game 1 we were JiP'd into a game where the leader had 38 points already (game is to 50). There were multiple red bar/teleporting guys so we backed out.

Next game JiP'd into another game that ended 10 seconds later. Stayed in lobby everyone bailed and we played a 2-3 minute game of KotH on Adrift with only 4 players total. One guy respawned on the other side of the map and got some lucky hill placements so he just ran the table on two hills to win. Awesome.

Stayed in the lobby and got JiP'd into a game with 9? players that was a laggy mess, but mercifully it ended soon thereafter. There are too many bad experiences with this game to justify playing it even as much as I played Reach. I kept an open mind, I remained positive through the first two weeks of its release, but unfortunately the game doesn't give me any reasons to continue that behavior.

If I play Halo 4 half as much as I played Reach it will be a miracle.
 

Havok

Member
That's poorly shown to the player. The Watcher thing to me is just that it is taking some form of damage, not that it is one shot from death. I was reading on Havok's blog about the way 343 has been about player feedback. It's really evident in Halo 4 how information about enemy health and shields are displayed to the player.

I'm also reminded of another quote by Shi Kai Wang on how Jason wanted the enemies to be bright and colorful. The Prometheans are all orange and grey, and the Covenant have been reduced to very bland colors. It takes a lot away from the player when there isn't a clear color to how difficult an enemy may be.
I'm actually planning (or was planning) a Halo 4 feedback article at some point, but it kind of requires some pretty specific screenshots that I'm not capable of taking at the moment without Campaign Theater, which would have been a great tool for those articles. It basically boils down to the Promethean Knight and Crawler classes being well distinguished for the most part, with Battlewagons and Commanders having distinct features to let them easily be prioritized over the regular dudes (except when they all teleport into the fight right in front of you, thanks Spartan Ops Episode 4). In stark contrast, as you mentioned, are the Covenant classes, which are more nebulous from a distance than ever: they're all dark muted colors, even the gold Generals, and the headdresses/helmets don't have unique enough profiles except maybe the Zealots' and Rangers', which is a huge shame coming from Reach's immediately identifiable enemy ranks.

Then of course the damage stuff which is missing some pretty key features on the Prometheans, such as a recognizable shield flare (they have shields, why do we not see that as they're being hit?), hit reactions at all (especially unshielded enemies), Knight melee reactions (Do they have any at all? It'd be impossible to tell from the user's perspective when they take up 95% of your screen like a Hunter), bright and obvious shield recharge flare, and the hit-or-miss nature of the skull-revealed Knight headshot (I still can't tell if it'll work when I try it, after hundreds of Knight kills). Honestly, I hate to compare them to Elites too much because it's kind of a lazy shortcut, but when they share so many health mechanics, why not allow them to share the feedback mechanisms?

It's really unfortunate, because Prometheans as a whole have some very interesting behaviors that are telegraphed pretty well, but when you're left guessing as to how much health they have or how effective your attacks are, they're not a ton of fun to fight. Plus, I know that 343 has a firm understanding of that kind of damage feedback, because it's just as solid in multiplayer as it's ever been in terms of damage having a visual conveyance.

(Thanks for reading!)
 

willow ve

Member
Leaving this one for you Ellis: WP link

Why do people who are unhappy with stuff insist on griefing others? Ban those kinds of people from everything, they probably take that mentality into theaters, malls, bathrooms, etc. Between that and the people who spawn others off maps, what the fuck.

That can't be a bannable offense. It's full of bad behavior, but it's not cheating, glitching, or breaking any rules...
 

Kujo

Member
The population numbers are getting kinda bad for the non IS playlists in Australian peak time

Team Slayer Pro was just over 200 players last night
 

heckfu

Banned
Why do people who are unhappy with stuff insist on griefing others? Ban those kinds of people from everything, they probably take that mentality into theaters, malls, bathrooms, etc. Between that and the people who spawn others off maps, what the fuck.
Devo, this post doesn't make any god damn sense.
 

rakka

Member
my k/d was the highest in a regicide game by far, and I came second?? fuck it's a retarded game type. I just want a ffa slayer is that too much to ask. not to mention on smaller maps the dominance of fucking slighty too powerful AR / melee and fucking boltshot melee combos
 

heckfu

Banned
my k/d was the highest in a regicide game by far, and I came second?? fuck it's a retarded game type. I just want a ffa slayer is that too much to ask. not to mention on smaller maps the dominance of fucking slighty too powerful AR / melee and fucking boltshot melee combos
A post full of u mad topped off with the word retarded. Classic.
 
lol Regicide. Defend yourself when there is a big KILL ME SIGN a bunch doesn't give you shit. This game type was made by assholes.

(TD made me play while he ran out for mixers)
 

FyreWulff

Member
Yah. Would be pretty ridiculous to ban someone for something so trivial

Bungie has banned for (provable) griefing in the past, and Ellis already asked for the gamertag of someone spawning people into a rock.. I imagine 343 has a similar policy.

Unless people already forgot the ban wave where a bunch of people got hammered for killing two grunts in Firefight then going off and hiding.
 

rakka

Member
you must be one of the camo boltshot types.

seriously, I don't mind a
waypoint over my head when leading the match but if I'm to lead most of the match, i give away 35 points every time i die. makes me want to trail the winner til the very end instead of playing my best.

fun to be had at times but seems flawed to me.
 

Omni

Member
Bungie has banned for (provable) griefing in the past, and Ellis already asked for the gamertag of someone spawning people into a rock.. I imagine 343 has a similar policy.

Unless people already forgot the ban wave where a bunch of people got hammered for killing two grunts in Firefight then going off and hiding.
Why stop at Spartan Ops then? I've been betrayed in CTF a few times... will they get banned too? Just seems trivial to me. If someone betrays you, just deal with it, IMO.
 
my k/d was the highest in a regicide game by far, and I came second?? fuck it's a retarded game type. I just want a ffa slayer is that too much to ask. not to mention on smaller maps the dominance of fucking slighty too powerful AR / melee and fucking boltshot melee combos

Try killing the King? :lol
 

Ramirez

Member
lol Regicide. Defend yourself when there is a big KILL ME SIGN a bunch doesn't give you shit. This game type was made by assholes.

(TD made me play while he ran out for mixers)

Suuuuuuure he did.

spongebob.jpg


Regicide sucks as a competitive game type, quit playing it if that's what you're looking for Rakka, simple really.
 

GhaleonEB

Member
Griefing brah!

Just the fact he HAD to go online to tell everyone about it because griefing in the game just wasn't enough. To the forums!

I'd be more annoyed if Spartan Ops had limited lives, point multipliers based on kill streaks or visible streak medals. In Firefight I was vocal about the problem with splatters because they ended streaks (which could affect Challenges) and (in the case of Limited) cost lives. Eventually betrayal booting was turned on, so if you got splattered, that dude was outta there.

In Spartan Ops, there are unlimited lives, no points kept, no visible medals and to my knowledge no Challenges griefers can thwart. Just blow the bastard's vehicle up to take his toys away.
 
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