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[The Henery]

Lead Campaign Designer, Halo 4 at 343 Industries. Creator of Nazi Zombies. Ex-Call of Duty Lead Designer.

Wow. And you'll still find some on here denying the cod-ification of Halo 4? Lol.

Many on here have compiled TU wishes that I agree with but I'll list a few myself off the top of my head:

Completely overhaul the UI - Headshot count needs to be reinstated on the post match stats screen (did they remove it because it excludes AR users or what?). Return to the vertical list of gamertags on the right hand side. Format fileshares in the Halo 3 style and make your own fileshare viewable from pressing start. Shouldn't have to press RB to see K/D in the post match stats.

Scrap instant respawn - I was killed in the opening rush for the Scattershot on Haven. I lost a 1v1. I mashed X, respawned behind the guy who'd just killed me and finished him off before his shields could charge. That should NEVER happen. What's the point in shields otherwise? Their essence is in the continual resetting of the battlefield in terms of 'health'. If you win the 1v1, the next time you face you should be on an even level (barring other teammates interference). I think you can link multikills across deaths? Ludicrous if true.

Nerf Camo - It ruins the game and promotes an abysmal style of play. Ask yourself the question: if everyone in the game used it, would the game be fun? I've also realised that crouch toggle being default, kids have no qualms just pressing b and sitting there waiting for someone to walk past. Camo snipers a genuine problem now. I ran across it maybe twice in Reach? The guy who chose sprint in Reach would always beat the camo guy to snipe spawn. Now the camo guy sprints to the sniper AND gets one in personal ordnance. Awful, awful armour 'ability'.

Scrap the current medals and reinstate Reach's - Halo's medals were as iconic as the AR and bad story telling. Now they're a tiny pixel in the corner that disappear in half a second and there's far too many of them (Rocket kill? Generic kill? Seriously?). They're also buried behind two button presses in the post match stats. Oh and you implement a generic kill medal but remove the greatest medal of all, the sniper headshot medal? Who's approving this shit?

Allow at least 2 players to view a film in theatre at once - .

More control schemes - Bumper jumper with AA on RB and melee on B, please. Never use melee in this game anyway so it's even more vexing that they waste it on RB.

Static weapon spawning

 

[kylej]

why on earth would they make medals impossible to see and all the same color?

I mean, really. OK you want to "move the series forward". Whatever. It's COD, but whatever. What is the thought process behind making a visual representation of an in-game action hard to see? The entire point of a medal is to see it. What the hell was 343 thinking with this game.

 

[HigherLevel]

I've got this crazy urge to play right now but I've gotta huge paper to write tonight. College sucks.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Wow. And you'll still find some on here denying the cod-ification of Halo 4? Lol.

Many on here have compiled TU wishes that I agree with but I'll list a few myself off the top of my head:

Completely overhaul the UI - Headshot count needs to be reinstated on the post match stats screen (did they remove it because it excludes AR users or what?). Return to the vertical list of gamertags on the right hand side. Format fileshares in the Halo 3 style and make your own fileshare viewable from pressing start. Shouldn't have to press RB to see K/D in the post match stats.

Scrap instant respawn - I was killed in the opening rush for the Scattershot on Haven. I lost a 1v1. I mashed X, respawned behind the guy who'd just killed me and finished him off before his shields could charge. That should NEVER happen. What's the point in shields otherwise? Their essence is in the continual resetting of the battlefield in terms of 'health'. If you win the 1v1, the next time you face you should be on an even level (barring other teammates interference). I think you can link multikills across deaths? Ludicrous if true.

Nerf Camo - It ruins the game and promotes an abysmal style of play. Ask yourslef the question: if everyone in the game used it, would the game be fun? I've also realised that crouch toggle being default, kids have no qualms just pressing b and sitting there waiting for someone to walk past. Camo snipers a genuine problem now. I ran across it maybe twice in Reach? The guy who chose sprint in Reach would always beat the camo guy to snipe spawn. Now the camo guy sprints to the sniper AND gets one in personal ordnance. Awful, awful armour 'ability'.

Scrap the current medals and reinstate Reach's - Halo's medals were as iconic as the AR and bad story telling. Now they're a tiny pixel in the corner that disappear in half a second and there's far too many of them (Rocket kill? Generic kill? Seriously?). They're also buried behind two button presses in the post match stats. Oh and you implement a generic kill medal but remove the greatest medal of all, the sniper headshot medal? Who's approving this shit?

Allow at least 2 players to view a film in theatre at once - .

More control schemes - Bumper jumper with AA on RB and melee on B, please. Never use melee in this game anyway so it's even more vexing that they waste it on RB.

Static weapon spawning

1. Very poor UI design...please make the full 16 players post carnage report NOT SCROLL. Seriously in this age of HD we have more than enough room for all 16 players WITHOUT SCROLLING. It's crap and annoying to see so much space in that page.

2. Static spawns in Slayer Pro & objective games I think. Infinity is fine the way it is, at least big team perhaps?

 

[Tunavi]

I asked for jetpack and invis to be taken out of Halo for good because they ruin the game. Not only did 343 keep both in, they made them available at all times in every playlist except for one.

Fuck.

 

[feel]

double post

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

why on earth would they make medals impossible to see and all the same color?

I mean, really. OK you want to "move the series forward". Whatever. It's COD, but whatever. What is the thought process behind making a visual representation of an in-game action hard to see? The entire point of a medal is to see it. What the hell was 343 thinking with this game.

I asked for jetpack and invis to be taken out of Halo for good because they ruin the game. Not only did 343 keep both in, they made them available at all times in every playlist except for one.

Fuck.

Adapt.

Spoiler

Am I doing it right?

 

[Fracas]

I asked for jetpack and invis to be taken out of Halo for good because they ruin the game. Not only did 343 keep both in, they made them available at all times in every playlist except for one.

Fuck.

bu bu but the playtesters said it was balanced

 

[feel]

Playing Forza Horizon has changed my tune on 30fps vs. 60fps. 30fps is just fine if its utterly and completely locked down, like a law of nature. The real problem is, it usually isn't.

I find it crazy that Halo 4 at just 30fps feels smooth and fluid to me right now, I have fully readjusted to console framerate. I haven't touched my pc for gaming in about 10 days, my eyes will probably melt all over again next time I catch a glympse of 120hz.

 

[Rickenslacker]

I find it crazy that Halo 4 at just 30fps feels smooth and fluid to me right now, I have fully readjusted to console framerate. I haven't touched my pc for gaming in about 10 days, my eyes will probably melt all over again next time I catch a glimpse of 120hz.

I only have a 60hz monitor but when I go back to TF2 after lengthy Halo sessions I have an is this real life moment. Though going back to Halo doesn't really feel jarring.

 

[xxjuicesxx]

Adapt.

Spoiler

Am I doing it right?

perfect.

 

[Jack Scofield]

I asked for jetpack and invis to be taken out of Halo for good because they ruin the game. Not only did 343 keep both in, they made them available at all times in every playlist except for one.

Fuck.

Haha, remember when the Halo 4 announcement trailer was released and everyone thought Master Chief had a jetpack until Frankie tried to calm nerves by saying otherwise? Why mention how it's not a jetpack if you're going to put the damn thing in the game anyways?

"Guys, don't worry, MC isn't using a jetpack...BUT OTHER PEOPLE WILL IN MULTIPLAYER LOLOL."

 

[Plywood]

Active Roster didn't die, it's just missing in lobby. Am I right guys?

 

[kylej]

guys I was told by halogaf prior to release that the UI would be fine please stop the UI complaints

 

[Project]

Could anyone fill me in about Blops 2? Is there a competitive ranking system? How is the live stream feature? How is the game overall?

I'm curious because it seems like Trey Arch was listening to the halo community instead of the CoD one when they put these features in....

 

[ElzarTheBam]

I asked for jetpack and invis to be taken out of Halo for good because they ruin the game. Not only did 343 keep both in, they made them available at all times in every playlist except for one.

Fuck.

That's right, let the hate flow through you.

No amount of tweaking will ever justify the inclusion of those abilities.

 

[Devolution]

I'll just be forever annoyed with this UI. You can't tell who's lead, when you join into MM the opponents are in your roster party not even segregated. Don't fucking reinvent the wheel with square blocks. What was wrong with the previous games lobbies?

 

[Fracas]

2 Flag CTF on asymmetrical maps.

Okay.

 

[kylej]

Why mention how it's not a jetpack if you're going to put the damn thing in the game anyways?

"Guys, don't worry, MC isn't using a jetpack...BUT OTHER PEOPLE WILL IN MULTIPLAYER LOLOL."

they're not killcams, they're personal ordnance recorded video repository addendum memory devices.

 

[The Henery]

2 Flag CTF on asymmetrical maps.

Okay.

Remember when they said they'd only pair gametypes to maps that made sense this time?

Seriously though, I'm enjoying most of the MM modes that I've played. I think the only mode that Halo 4 truly crushes is BTB; it just doesn't work.

On the UI complaints: they seem practically unanimous, surely they can't leave it as it is, particularly as they've said that patches will be far more aggressive and hands on.

 

[kylej]

I'll just be forever annoyed with this UI. You can't tell who's lead, when you join into MM the opponents are in your roster party not even segregated. Don't fucking reinvent the wheel with square blocks. What was wrong with the previous games lobbies?

the problem was it defined console multiplayer lobbies and was one of the most iconic interfaces in all of video games.

I'm glad 343 scrapped it

 

[kylej]

at this point I'm pretty sure 343's design process on whether or not to include something in the game boils down to them playing heads or tails by flinging quarters off the foreheads of old people.

 

[Ryaaan14]

Active Roster didn't die, it's just missing in lobby. Am I right guys?

I giggled.

 

[Tashi]

:lol @ Kyle's avatar

 

[Arnie]

guys I was told by halogaf prior to release that the UI would be fine please stop the UI complaints

Had this specific retort thrown at me pre-release. Then I had somebody telling me I couldn't criticise the medals because I didn't know signs, or something to that effect. Started 'informing' me about iconography. Jesus. The lengths some people will go to sidestep the truth in front of them.

 

[BlueScrote]

I'll just be forever annoyed with this UI. You can't tell who's lead, when you join into MM the opponents are in your roster party not even segregated. Don't fucking reinvent the wheel with square blocks. What was wrong with the previous games lobbies?

Change for the sake of change. Also, I wonder how much input MS had on the Menu UI.

 

[xxjuicesxx]

I know how hard is it to make a blue lobby and line up the players names in a list seperated vertically?

If it isn't broken dont fix it is a fucking saying for a fucking reason. FUCK!

 

[Trey]

Active Roster didn't die, it's just missing in lobby. Am I right guys?

There we go.

 

[MaximumFlipFlop]

I'm trying to lurk and I keep seeing CoD comparisons. Take it to the CoD thread please.

Thanks.

 

[CyReN]

I didn't know Kyle was a Red Dead Redemption fan.

 

[Tunavi]

Haha, remember when the Halo 4 announcement trailer was released and everyone thought Master Chief had a jetpack until Frankie tried to calm nerves by saying otherwise? Why mention how it's not a jetpack if you're going to put the damn thing in the game anyways?

"Guys, don't worry, MC isn't using a jetpack...BUT OTHER PEOPLE WILL IN MULTIPLAYER LOLOL."

Thats not the jetpack.

That's the second jetpack.

 

[Hydranockz]

They brought HaloCharts back to life!

 

[feel]

Says a lot about Halo 4 that Jetpack is one of the least offensive things now for me.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Who would have bought Halo 4 if 343i just left all character models, textures, netcode, lobbies etc etc exactly the same as Reach? Essentially just leveraging all that great work throughout the series.

Imagine if they had of just spent all their resources on new weapons, maps, campaign content etc without having gone the full rebuild of everything?

I'm still happy with the quality of Halo 4 but I wonder what could have been if resources were handled like above? Your thoughts?

Ohh I made member today

Spoiler

Should I start berating Juniors now

 

[Sissel]

fuck, so excited to wade through endless snarky comments about halo for the next couple of years while i try to stay informed about a game i continue to love in a community thread dedicated to said game. again. helpful tip, if the game sucks, drop it and move on. pick it up again if it ever fits your definition of what it should be. you'll probably be happier without all the negativity in your life.

We're currently at phase 2 of 3 for people who don't like the game.

Phase 1: Play the game, trying to convince yourself it's great by playing for anywhere from 5-20 hours.

Phase 2: Accept it sucks and vent your frustrations on message forum. Turns out you were right all along about the bad MP decisions that were made and only enjoyment you can get out of the game now is exposing its flaws to people having fun. Cus you're a dick.

Phase 3: Stop playing it and stop posting about it.

Phase 3 will begin soon enough lol

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Who would have bought Halo 4 if 343i just left all character models, textures, netcode, lobbies etc etc exactly the same as Reach? Essentially just leveraging all that great work throughout the series.

Imagine if they had of just spent all their resources on new weapons, maps, campaign content etc without having gone the full rebuild of everything?

I'm still happy with the quality of Halo 4 but I wonder what could have been if resources were handled like above? Your thoughts?

Gaf would have complained it looked too much like Reach, thus was Reach. Sarcastic jokes would have been made about devs being lazy, etc.

 

[Tunavi]

I went 12 and 2 and got 4th place in Regicide.

But whenever I'm king I die because I have 5 other idiots nading me at once.

Bring back FFA

 

[catabarez]

I got the PC version, I did all the cheesemints for it 'cause why not. Legendary ain't got shit on Perfect Agent for PDZ. Just gotta go through some trial and error spots with Jackal snipers, while PDZ is a game entirely comprised of Jackal snipers and no health regen and no checkpoints.

I could never beat Halo 2 on Legendary when I had it on Xbox. One plasma rifle shot took my shields down almost all the way.

 

[op_ivy]

We're currently at phase 2 of 3 for people who don't like the game.

Phase 1: Play the game, trying to convince yourself it's great by playing for anywhere from 5-20 hours.

Phase 2: Accept it sucks and vent your frustrations on message forum. Turns out you were right all along about the bad MP decisions that were made and only enjoyment you can get out of the game now is exposing its flaws to people having fun. Cus you're a dick.

Phase 3: Stop playing it and stop posting about it.

Phase 3 will begin soon enough lol

you must be new around these parts.

 

[Devolution]

Gaf would have complained it looked too much like Reach, thus was Reach. Sarcastic jokes would have been made about devs being lazy, etc.

I must be one of the few people who wouldn't mind if a game looked like dogshit as long as the balance component kept it competitive.

 

[DeadNames]

You guys ready for the announcement of the grifball playlist tonight?????

 

[kylej]

re: map design challenge from last night.

here's some environment ideas I thought up in the shower in like 10 minutes. I can't be bothered to build layouts for this shit because I work too damn much. I have 25 left to do right? I'll probably only end up doing this because I'm lazy.

• Map takes place on outside of ship, but it's ME2 Shadow Broker style or opening to Enslaved, or like the Star Fox level in Smash Bros 64, so lots of smooth curves and surfaces but this would have uniquely geometric wings and fins and dips to provide flow and cover. The ship would be moving through space and picking up speed as a match goes on. You would see stars start to blur into long star trails, with your entire surroundings turning into a Star Wars warp-drive esque blur as you near the end of the game.
  
  
• Map takes place in large, wet symmetrical area with two waterfalls pouring down (one for each base). The only way you could go through the waterfall is if your team has the objective (flag, oddball), so it allows for quicker escapes and movement patterns from enemy base with a risk reward. Instead of mancannons, there would be very tightly constrained passages of water where part of your body would stick out. Your movement would be limited in this water, and enemies could fire on you, but it would allow you to move quickly around the map if you choose to take them. The two streams would almost criss-cross in the middle. When a team caps, their waterfall becomes slightly larger, allowing the enemy with less points better cover and ability to move quicker while the winning team has to find ways around to catch up.
  
  
• Next map is an arena style map slightly similar to the Pit but with more elevation changes in the middle section. Because it takes place in Infinity system, lots of action in an area would cause the simulation to glitch out. So if two grenades went off near each other, the area would dim and you would see that part of the level mosaic or slightly break down into fragments. This map would have my version of Prothean Vision. You know the opening push through green hall on The Pit where everyone nades? Well when the nades go off, you'd get some split-second transparency through the glitching of the walls, so you could see if the other team was camping and where their positioning was. This would also help with campers.
  
  
• Another map would be large Narrows style bridge map. Glass would line the middle of the bridge, objective melees would be one hit shatter allowing you to make quick escape and try to regain shields. Grenades would eventually break through glass as would bullets, enabling you to drop the enemy team down to a single lower level if you focused fire on an area. Glass would repair itself at certain times throughout the round.
  
  
• Large BTB map would be vehicle centric and suspended in the sky. Both bases would be enveloped in sunlight, the open playspace would have half of it soaked with a continuous rain, and the other half would be snowy and blizzard like. The snow side provides a more direct path for vehicles, but makes them harder to control. The rain side allows for quicker vehicle movement, but it's harder to see where you're going. Mancannons would launch players across map, but because they land in rain or snow, as long as they are not fired upon or run into anything they retain momentum until they enter the dry area at enemy base.

 

[DeadNames]

re: map design challenge from last night.

Is it wrong I like these infinitely more than the gems like Abandon and Complex?

Seriously, the infinity can simulate any place, but it chooses strictly Forerunner and Human areas?

Man being a multiplayer environment designer would be tons of fun.

 

[neoism]

Can't believe Xand was so desperate to play with Frankie today.

does he still like it...

 

[Havok]

The B hill on Haven is one of the most ridiculous placements I've ever seen. A 1x2 box that barely covers a totally exposed, grenade-bouncing, cover-devoid elevated ramp on a map where the enemy team spawns with direct line of fire to that exact spot when you've got the half of the map with the hill in it under control. No wonder that hill takes three times as long as any other to deplete.

Dominion and Big Team IS, specifically on Exile, continue to be indistinguishable from Heavies.

 

[xxjuicesxx]

Dat competitive group leaving for Blops.
Infinity looks the same too.

However BTB and Flood unsurprisingly look the same (Because Casuals will play any Halo game that is given to them)

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Blops 2 isn't that great. Coming from a CoD fan. I think I prefer Halo this year. Blops 1 was amazing, 2 just feels burnt out.

Also you want to talk about some ugly and confusing UI, Blops 2 has like 600 menus and looks bad. Halo's is not great, but at least I find stuff.

 

[Tashi]

The B hill on Haven is one of the most ridiculous placements I've ever seen. A 1x2 box that barely covers a totally exposed, grenade-bouncing, cover-devoid elevated ramp on a map where the enemy team spawns with direct line of fire to that exact spot when you've got the half of the map with the hill in it under control. No wonder that hill takes three times as long as any other to deplete.

King has the glitched out Instant spawns right?

 

[CyReN]

Dat competitive group leaving for Blops.
Infinity looks the same too.

However BTB and Flood unsurprisingly look the same (Because Casuals will play any Halo game that is given to them)

but we got ranks next year...yay.

 

[Havok]

King has the glitched out Instant spawns right?

I don't think they're instant, but it'll start to count down from 10 then jump to 3 all of a sudden. It definitely screws with the pace of the match.