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[Homeboyd]

Community Cartographers trying to get it into matchmaking in 3, 2, 1...

Oh Steely! You so silly.

 

[Devolution]

Got a new plug in play today. Tonight.

 

[Shake Appeal]

Quite liked Spartan Ops episode 2, I know a lot of people disliked it but I think there is enough variety and cohesion so far, its early days so I expect more, but happy with it right now.

Only played the first chapter (Legendary solo), had way more fun than in any of last week's chapters.

And yeah, I am a Holobro. Was my go-to AA in Reach by the end, and it's even more effective here.

 

[Reagan's BR]

Oh boy, better get my fun in while I still can.


How do you find stuff? I just tried to use the file browser and nothing appears to work.

UH, seriously though, the file browser doesn't work at all.

You can still search by GT. Search for JED05. Some guy promoting his YT channel by editing the descriptions for the remakes.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Played SWAT. I still suck at SWAT.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

Quite liked Spartan Ops episode 2, I know a lot of people disliked it but I think there is enough variety and cohesion so far, its early days so I expect more, but happy with it right now.

You know I'll agree. I've actually enjoyed Spartan Ops myself. It's not perfect by any means but it's a fun little distraction.

 

[IHaveIce]

The game guide for Halo is pretty damn serious. Its a quality tome.

You can find all the map overheads here:
http://www.polygon.com/forums/halo-4/2012/11/4/3601370/halo-4-multiplayer-map-callouts

neat but I see some some missing locations that are often used.

 

[ElzarTheBam]

Quite liked Spartan Ops episode 2, I know a lot of people disliked it but I think there is enough variety and cohesion so far, its early days so I expect more, but happy with it right now.

Mission 3 is fantastic in 4 player legendary combined with the achievement for it.

 

[feel]

I found the soundtrack really bad when compared to the original trilogy, it just didn't work at all for me; it was generic and forgettable.

 

[Steelyuhas]

Oh Steely! You so silly.

Spoiler

In all honestly, sheer terror.

You can still search by GT. Search for JED05. Some guy promoting his YT channel by editing the descriptions for the remakes.

Aye, that works. Thanks.

 

[Woorloog]

Quite liked Spartan Ops episode 2, I know a lot of people disliked it but I think there is enough variety and cohesion so far, its early days so I expect more, but happy with it right now.

Ep2 is fun, indeed it is better than the first Ep but recycling last weeks areas? What the fuck?
I don't mind recycling areas (from campaign), especially if you get to do something new on them but recycling the last weeks areas, without any new objectives or interesting alternate gameplay like having to be stealthy or a race against time or... Just no more same areas without new objectives, ok?

 

[bobs...onGaf]

Did it bug you, or anyone else for that matter, that

Spoiler

NO ONE seemed to even give two shits that Chief was still alive?!?! Laskey has some cheap line like "never thought I'd see you again" but that was it. And I think that was mainly referring to his history of knowing Chief when he was still a cadet. Like, hello?! This dude who saved the earth has been MIA for four years and thought to be dead. All we get is Laskey's comment, and then that Spartan(?) chick saying "I thought you'd be taller." Super lame. Makes me miss the chills I got when Chief is introduced in the beginning of H3. Now that's how you do an entrance scene.

(Just a minor sort of spoiler about halfway or less than halfway through the campaign)

Yeah it wasnt quite as anti climactic as "The covenant are on Reach" - but I expected more dialogue about the chief being out for 4 years and what he went through.

I kind of expected that in the first level though, he and Cortana kind of brushed over the fact the last time they really talked was after a high octane Hog ride which ended in a jump into the back of the ship they are in lol.

 

[dalVlatko]

I have a pretty good Narrows remake but man are forge maps ugly.

 

[HigherLevel]

I found the soundtrack really bad when compared to the original trilogy, it just didn't work at all for me; it was generic and forgettable.

Two best words you could use to describe the soundtrack.

 

[User 73706]

Please don't tell me you follow him on Twitter

pls

Spoiler

and I think there's 3 good songs in Halo 4, or at least any of them I can remember. The one that plays at the end of SpOps Ch.1 Mission 5 being the best

That might be Desecration, which is the "Limited Edition Track" that got mailed to LE OST buyers. Yeah, overall it's a wonderful one. I think there are way more memorable pieces of the soundtrack than people are saying, but I completely understand the complaints about it being forgettable/memorable. The reason being is that Marty would go through, say "this should play here," and so on, so it would have context behind it. If anything Davidge's tracks mesh more with the Terminals and advertisements for the game. Yeah, I can name one or two tracks that were made specifically for the game... but they were in cutscenes and aren't on the soundtrack. It sucks especially because even getting a gamerip of the tracks (which is impossible for the most part due to hardware security) would have the unlisted tracks compressed to hell due to the terrible sound mixing. Don't get me wrong, Tojima did an excellent job making some new sounds, especially the Forerunner stuff, but the actual blending and Covenant weaponry sound absolutely atrocious for the most part. We need volume sliders.

 

[LD2k]

"One shot on my...nm (shakes headin sad depression)this game sucks"

"One shot in the rocks...fuck meeee thats the whole map!"

Usually I laugh at some of your typings, but this one gave me a Halo tear which shed down my cheek. No "X" is just... wow. And so true - I can't tell you how many times I hear back, "THERE'S NO FUCKING X's ANYMORE DUDE."

 

[Tashi]

I found the soundtrack really bad when compared to the original trilogy, it just didn't work at all for me; it was generic and forgettable.

Opposite for me. I think there are more memorable songs from Marty but I never really listened to the songs over and over like I'm doing with Halo 4's soundtrack.

Tops songs are:

Immaterial
Haven
Nemesis
To Galaxy
Arrival

I'm looking forward to playing the campaign again and hearing these songs now that I know what they are.

 

[bobs...onGaf]

I found the soundtrack really bad when compared to the original trilogy, it just didn't work at all for me; it was generic and forgettable.

I quite like the soundtrack but it does feel a little generic and not very Haloish. I think the Halo Wars soundtrack hit closer to the Halo feel - that said I know Davidge deliberately moved away from that so its not a fair complaint to make. As a stand alone album its pretty damn great.

I think it would have been better if Davidge was more hands on in the 343 studio, felt like his tracks didnt work in tandem with the game, Marty knew when to put in high notes with the music based on how hands on he was. Felt like with Halo 4 the music barely kicked in, and when it did the emotional impact wasnt there. So while its a great stand alone album, maybe it doesnt work as video game music?

I also think the sound mixing in the game is pretty poor, weapons and game sounds are very high, voice acting is a bit too low and music is extremely low.

Also the CTF music is far from high octane and exciting, why the hell did they choose the music they chose for that lol.

 

[Rev3rb]

Got a new plug in play today. Tonight.

Kinky.

 

[The Librarian]

I'm just genuinely curious; for anyone to answer. Did you actually feel like there was a lot to explore on Requiem? Did you get a sense of mystery or a sense that there was something greater going on?

I really didn't, at least not after the first hour of the game. I detailed why in this post (some spoilers in there, up to the end of Mission 4). There wasn't much time to breathe and wonder what was going on...apart from general confusion about what was actually going on.

First off, JdFox's hate for Halo 3 just makes me laugh. It's been five years; dude needs to let it go.

As for what Karl said, I would agree that, for the most part, Halo 4 felt very linear when it comes to that feeling of exploration. For the most part. Halo 4 did some things I really liked as far as exploration is concerned:

Interesting opportunities to explore in the campaign. I sung praises about the opening to “Requiem” and I’ll repeat it here – one of the best, if not the best, openings to a Halo level ever. There’s plenty to discover if you take the time to look around. And that’s only the beginning! There’s stuff like audio logs and ways to interact with the environment that tell you more about the fiction, like that area in

Spoiler

Shutdown where you could push a button and learn about some artifacts the team was researching.

More of this please.

But overall Halo 4 felt very linear when it came to feeling like you're exploring.

It also doesn't help that

Spoiler

you're whisked away from the planet for about a fourth of the game. Looking back, I shouldn't have been surprised. I feel pretty neutral about it, but after five years, after I've been wondering what's inside that Forerunner planet from the moment I saw the legendary ending of Halo 3, I wish I could've spent more time there as the Master Chief.

Did it bug you, or anyone else for that matter, that

Spoiler

NO ONE seemed to even give two shits that Chief was still alive?!?! Laskey has some cheap line like "never thought I'd see you again" but that was it. And I think that was mainly referring to his history of knowing Chief when he was still a cadet. Like, hello?! This dude who saved the earth has been MIA for four years and thought to be dead. All we get is Laskey's comment, and then that Spartan(?) chick saying "I thought you'd be taller." Super lame. Makes me miss the chills I got when Chief is introduced in the beginning of H3. Now that's how you do an entrance scene.

(Just a minor sort of spoiler about halfway or less than halfway through the campaign)

Yeah that was bugging me too, and I noticed it while playing the campaign.

Spoiler

I was expecting him to be treated with a certain kind of reverence, or at the very least surprise from many people that he was still alive.

 

[Biggest-Geek-Ever]

Opposite for me. I think there are more memorable songs from Marty but I never really listened to the songs over and over like I'm doing with Halo 4's soundtrack.

Tops songs are:

Immaterial
Haven
Nemesis
To Galaxy
Arrival

I'm looking forward to playing the campaign again and hearing these songs now that I know what they are.

You forgot Green and Blue bro! It's my favorite track, though I will admit I'm a complete sucker for piano.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Anyone else seeing some lag the last 2 nights? Is there a setting to specify good connection in MM?

My NAT shows open and my speed is fine, so not sure what's up.

 

[Woorloog]

Opposite for me. I think there are more memorable songs from Marty but I never really listened to the songs over and over like I'm doing with Halo 4's soundtrack.

Tops songs are:

Immaterial
Haven
Nemesis
To Galaxy
Arrival

I'm looking forward to playing the campaign again and hearing these songs now that I know what they are.

Add Revival to the list. And Requiem. And... Legacy? Something anyway.
So good.
Arrival is the best.

Oh and Awakening is awesome BUT why is it not in-game?

 

[bobs...onGaf]

Anyone else seeing some lag the last 2 nights? Is there a setting to specify good connection in MM?

My NAT shows open and my speed is fine, so not sure what's up.

Yep.

Hit detection has been awry for me since Friday I would say.

 

[willow ve]

The game guide for Halo is pretty damn serious. Its a quality tome.

You can find all the map overheads here:
http://www.polygon.com/forums/halo-4/2012/11/4/3601370/halo-4-multiplayer-map-callouts

These map overheads just point out how imbalanced some of these maps truly are. For instance Exile. It can remain an asymmetrical map... but at least make the two spawn locations and bases the same geometry. If Blue team doesn't take full advantage of their Gauss Hog it is no contest. Red should get tank + banshee and they typically spawn in cover. Blue gets Gauss Hog and frequently spawns out in the open.

Exile feels like a map that was designed for one sided gametypes (1 flag, assault) before anyone told the map designer that those gametypes weren't shipping with the game...

Anyone else seeing some lag the last 2 nights? Is there a setting to specify good connection in MM?

My NAT shows open and my speed is fine, so not sure what's up.

Ever since the Dashboard Beta my NAT fluctuates on a daily basis. One day open, the next day moderate. Even though I literally change nothing about my home network and pre Dashboard Beta it was 100% reported as open NAT. I'm willing to bet it's on the server side.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Yep.

Hit detection has been awry for me since Friday I would say.

Good to know it's not me. A ton of people online this weekend, could be it.

 

[NullPointer]

These map overheads just point out how imbalanced some of these maps truly are. For instance Exile. It can remain an asymmetrical map... but at least make the two spawn locations and bases the same geometry. If Blue team doesn't take full advantage of their Gauss Hog it is no contest. Red should get tank + banshee and they typically spawn in cover. Blue gets Gauss Hog and frequently spawns out in the open.

Exile feels like a map that was designed for one sided gametypes (1 flag, assault) before anyone told the map designer that those gametypes weren't shipping with the game...

That bottom of the hill spawn in Exile is probably the worst place I've ever been in a Halo game. Its like being dumped into chum filled waters.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

I'll do the gameplay later. But in short, my take on Halo 4's story.

First, they did a great job establishing and building characters. Aside from Johnson, the Chief and Cortana, Bungie didn't really create any human characters that resonated with me, or even had clearly defined character traits. They were just kind of there.

Laskey (sp?), the asshole captain of the Infinity and a few other side characters felt much more authentic. It was helped by excellent voice acting, but the added animation detail sold a lot of nuance as well. I have a lot of problems/questions with the actual story, but the way it was told is really commendable. As a side note - having Taylor and Downes record their lines together paid dividends. Their relationship was the heart of the story and it worked.

I also enjoyed the way the Chief was portrayed, in particular his physicality. This the first game where you really feel like a walking, powerful tank of a man. It was sold in game and in the cinematics very well. In particular, the way the Chief inspired both awe and apprehension - even misunderstanding - in those around him was very well done. 343 captured what it means to be a Spartan from more angles that Bungie ever attempted.

That said, I was disappointed in the story on multiple fronts. I'll spoiler tag here strategically. I know this could go in the story thread or the OT or wherever, but here I am.

When 343 first revealed Halo 4, and we saw what we now know was Requiem, I got excited to explore the place. What was Requiem? What was its purpose, who built it, and why? So I was surprised at the total lack of curiosity about those questions; I still don't know what Requiem was for. It was just a setting.

The first part of the story sets up the urgency with which the Chief wants to get Cortana to Halsey and get fixed up. Then we meet the (spoilerz!)

Spoiler

Didact, and Chief’s motivation shifts to stopping him. But that shift took place before I had any idea what the threat was, and I didn't follow how they knew what it was either. It was just some dude in a huge ball with Force powers. So there was this long period of time in the Campaign when I was confused about why he took priority over saving Cortana; it was established why saving Cortana was critical long before I knew why stopping the Didact was more important.

And then we get to the (spoilerz!)

Spoiler

Didact himself. There was a lot of build up, but I'm still not sure I follow anything about his story. Why was he locked up, and why on Requiem? Why did he immediately turn to zapping humans? Why did he have Force powers? The Didact in the books is not an evil character, though that could be taken as a matter of perspective. But if they wanted the Didact's motivations to be understandable from a certain point of view, why make him look and sound like a clichéd villain?

Also: Why was the Librarian also there - what's she been up to, she wasn't locked up - and why did she only appear that one time? What did she do to the Chief, and why didn't she tell him or us what she did? And why did she disappear after, and where did she go? I thought her cameo and actions were downright comic.

And as for the ending:

Spoiler

What happened when the Chief triggered the bomb? That scene with Cortana confuses me greatly. I have no idea what time/space continuum it takes place in, why the Chief wasn't nuked, why Cortana could touch him, and why after she goes away the Chief is still floating and in good shape. I just didn't follow that at all. I assume it's related to the little unexplained static charge the Librarian hit the Chief with, but I need more to go on than that.

I also laughed out loud when the multiple Cortanas arose from the bridge to snare the Didact. Something about the image was random and comic to me and it just didn't work.

So, yeah. I didn't care for the actual story, which was a big deal considering how high 343 raised the stakes in the story, on both personal and galactic levels. Their story telling has come a long ways, but the actual story left me unsatisfied and baffled.

I have all but one termnal unlocked on Waypoint, but have not watched them.

I haven't read any books, so take my thoughts with some grace. In order, my spoilers are answered in relation to yours. Also, I refer to the terminal videos in spoiler#2/3, so don't read that second one if you aren't wanting to know anything about it yet.

1.

Spoiler

regarding the first part, I assumed that the the Infinity was their ticket off the planet to get Cortana help. With the mysterious ball clearly trying to destroy or use the ship, MC and Cortana had no choice but to try and save the crew. And eventually, it became clear how much more of a threat the Didact was not just to the ship, but all humanity. No point in saving Cortana if everyone dies. At least that is how I viewed it

VVVVTerminal reference VVVV
2 (and 3 sort of).

Spoiler

I get where you are coming from with the Didact appearing evil and having super powers. Part of me has never liked villans that can just do whatever they want because of their "super" powers. But whatever the reason, the appearance of the Didact being evil goes with the mood of the game. From the MC's viewpoint, he was evil. After watching the terminal videos, the Didact kind of went bad/evil. The librarian makes it clear that she understood the humans and did not side with her husband killing them off. So for me, I think the Didact just went off the deep end, obsessed with punishing the humans needlessly by killing them off. Why the librarian is able to just pop out of no where to help the Chief is beyond me. I thought maybe it was a program of herself, perhaps left behind to help the Chief in his time of need, like somehow she knew he or someone would eventually come. Doesn't make much sense, but I just went with it.

4.

Spoiler

It's already been said by others, but Cortana implanted herself within the forerunner structure/system. Consequently, she was able to take form using the energy or light bridge technology, and also shield the Chief from the nuclear explosion. I have no idea how. Don't ask me lol It's something she could have done in previous games, but because separation from the Chief was not likely, it would have been an akward move to appear in physical form and touch the chief. Knowing this time was a true good-bye, and to save the Chief, she took on a physical form. Or at least that is my way of trying to rationalize everything in the game. I thought it was a fun story to be honest.

Everything I said is probably completely wrong. Feel free to correct my errors, anyone.

 

[FyreWulff]

Callamaduty comes out tonight.

Alternate post endings:

a) Let's see how 4's and Reach's populations hold!


b) holy shit time flies

Anyone else seeing some lag the last 2 nights? Is there a setting to specify good connection in MM?

My NAT shows open and my speed is fine, so not sure what's up.

Game keeps on insisting on matching us up with Chileans

 

[MrBig]

I don't remember. Spoiler it, which one?

Spoiler

It's the very first encounter after leaving the FuD...

 

[Steelyuhas]

Anyone else seeing some lag the last 2 nights? Is there a setting to specify good connection in MM?

My NAT shows open and my speed is fine, so not sure what's up.

Consistently laggy games, it's happening all the time.

God these forge maps are hideous lol.

 

[feel]

Opposite for me. I think there are more memorable songs from Marty but I never really listened to the songs over and over like I'm doing with Halo 4's soundtrack.

Tops songs are:

Immaterial
Haven
Nemesis
To Galaxy
Arrival

I'm looking forward to playing the campaign again and hearing these songs now that I know what they are.

Well you liked Reach's vanilla bloom dude!

I like the tracks outside the game but in the game they just did nothing for me. You can tell Davidge did his work completely separate from 343i. The whole audio mix seems like an amateur mess, a ton of stuff was impossible to hear in campaign, and half the time it seems like it's even glitching out and not playing the enemy weapon sounds in multiplayer. Audio in general is a complete downgrade from previous games, even though I actually adore a lot of the new weapon sounds.

 

[heckfu]

Please don't tell me you follow him on Twitter

pls

Spoiler

and I think there's 3 good songs in Halo 4, or at least any of them I can remember. The one that plays at the end of SpOps Ch.1 Mission 5 being the best

No, I had to unfollow and set a mute filter for him. People think its cool to retweet his awful opinions and I was tired of reading them.

 

[VivaciousJazzy]

This 18 regicides in one game challenge is fucking terrible. I keep getting stuck as king and cant get enough regicides, you literally cant kill anyone unless theyre a king.

Why is there a challenge where I have to lose to get it?

 

[Plywood]

I don't remember. Spoiler it, which one?

Spoiler

Requiem.

Guys.

Uh.

Um.

Davidge.

>

Marty.

I already said that. But yes, it's true.

 

[HigherLevel]

Callamaduty comes out tonight.

Alternate post endings:

a) Let's see how 4's and Reach's populations hold!


b) holy shit time flies




Game keeps on insisting on matching us up with Chileans

I think Reach's player counter is broken. It's been 67,398 all 3 times I've put it in since 4 released.

 

[Tashi]

Well you liked Reach's vanilla bloom dude!

I like the tracks outside the game but in the game they just did nothing for me. You can tell Davidge did his work completely separate from 343i. The whole audio mix seems like an amateur mess, a ton of stuff was impossible to hear in campaign, and half the time it seems like it's even glitching out and not playing the enemy weapon sounds in multiplayer.

That's fair. Whenever I'm watching a movie or playing a game, I only ever notice the soundtrack if the music is really great or really bad. I had only 2 or 3 of those moments tops during the campaign. They were all positive, goosebumps moments but otherwise the music was just there and didn't do anything for me. And yea I think it is glitchy in MP. Pretty annoying since I rely a lot on sound for my gameplay.

 

[FyreWulff]

I think Reach's player counter is broken. It's been 67,398 all 3 times I've put it in since 4 released.

Per playlist is still functioning. Team Slayer goes up and down but never more than 1k away from 10,000.

Halo 3's population counter has been completely broken since Bungie had to hand off Halo 3 to 343, though.

 

[User 73706]

I'm not sure I can ever rank the tracks, but Legacy and Desecration are probably my favorites with Desecration coming out slightly on top for actually working well in-game. Here I was desperately hoping all of these tracks would be made even better by having some ridiculously awesome context in-game but it can't be said for most of the good ones. The good standalone tracks like 117 had nothing to gain and the ones I were looking forward to hearing in-game like Revival and Immaterial had barely any screentime at all. They both showed up twice; and one of Revival's times was just the opening ambience mixed with Haven's ambience. The other time was a cutscene... maybe next time.

 

[CyReN]

I really want to play the new Grifball, why wouldnt you give it a playlist?

 

[xxjuicesxx]

Damn CoD from newegg shipped UPS.

So slowwwwww. use Fedex Nubs.

 

[Woorloog]

I really want to play the new Grifball, why wouldnt you give it a playlist?

I reckon it is a rotating list.


Unforgotten, Never Forget and its remake in Halo 4 is probably the best song in Halo series. better than the main theme.

 

[Ken]

I am a distinguished Spartan Slayer. And I get nothing but another commendation telling me to kill 2400 more Spartans.

Oh, Blops2 is today.

 

[FyreWulff]

I really want to play the new Grifball, why wouldnt you give it a playlist?

I'll let NOKYARD talk about it publically if he wants to, but there's a bug on the default map where you can get the ball out of the map and it doesn't reset.. so you probably wouldn't want it as a launch playlist right around now.

 

[bobs...onGaf]

I am a distinguished Spartan Slayer. And I get nothing but another commendation telling me to kill 2400 more Spartans.

Not going to lie - I was hoping the fictional wrapper was going to be more interesting. Assassins Creed style unlockable FMV's when you pull off certain commendations could have been cool.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

Damn CoD from newegg shipped UPS.

So slowwwwww. use Fedex Nubs.

I find I always get UPS shit quick as hell. I also tend to get whatever it is in one piece unlike with Fedex.

 

[The P of Poland]

Spartan II's were raised in disciplined lives since 6 years old. Not to mention not having a sex drive from augmentations.

I hate constantly seeing this in discussions of the lore, it's like the myth that WILL NOT DIE.

The IIs augmentations contained a possible side effect of a somewhat reduced libido. It was not gone for any of them, let alone all.

I wouldn't be this pissy except this constantly pops up whenever people starts talking about those augmentations. Reading Comprehension, people.

 

[HigherLevel]

Per playlist is still functioning. Team Slayer goes up and down but never more than 1k away from 10,000.

Halo 3's population counter has been completely broken since Bungie had to hand off Halo 3 to 343, though.

This reminds me. When is 343 going to consolidate the playlists in both of those games?

 

[User 73706]

I hate constantly seeing this in discussions of the lore, it's like the myth that WILL NOT DIE.

The IIs augmentations contained a possible side effect of a somewhat reduced libido. It was not gone for any of them, let alone all.

I wouldn't be this pissy except this constantly pops up whenever people starts talking about those augmentations. Reading Comprehension, people.

 

[Esiquio]

So I FINALLY got my 360 working again. I nearly cried tears of joy. Anyways, I got Halo 4 and see that it has two discs. I'm not sure which disc to install, but Google told me that the second disc should be installed for multiplayer...so, should I not install the first disc at all? I have a small HDD and I think I can fit the install for only one of the discs. HALP GAF