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Halo |OT13|

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zap

Member
So uh...is this a new thing? I don't remember seeing this when I last checked challenges the other day, and the rest have not updated so it can't just be a "new this week" kind of thing.

ikl9p.png


Are the Waypoint challenges going to go away when this shameless cross-promotion totally legitimate competition is over? (Probably not, but it's interesting that the first Waypoint challenge to appear is tied into their marketing deal with Virgin.)

Am I totally off-base for thinking that branding challenges is kind of gross?

It's the logical extension of selling exlusives to IGN. While there is no more hype train to profit from, they're trying to get some more $$ from sponsored challenges.
 

Shadders

Member
So uh...is this a new thing? I don't remember seeing this when I last checked challenges the other day, and the rest have not updated so it can't just be a "new this week" kind of thing.

ikl9p.png


Are the Waypoint challenges going to go away when this shameless cross-promotion totally legitimate competition is over? (Probably not, but it's interesting that the first Waypoint challenge to appear is tied into their marketing deal with Virgin.)

Am I totally off-base for thinking that branding challenges is kind of gross?

The in-game Infinity Challenge playlist's image and description both being fat ads for Virgin Gaming and Ford doesn't help (especially being a replacement for the most popular playlist in the game).

I'm ok with it, I can totally understand their desire to make as much money as they can. That is, after all, why they're in the business. If there was a Virgin Gaming splash screen before every match then I'd be up in arms, but this is fairly unobtrusive.

Also, there's every chance that many Halo 4 players will actually get a lot of enjoyment out of the Virgin Gaming service, it may even improve their Halo 4 experience, so as advertising partners go, I'm happy with it. If it was LG or Burger King or something then it would be worse, but at least Virgin Gaming is relevant to Halo 4.

EDIT: Also, wtf is wrong with mhsilver? Hopefully it's permanent? People from 343 read this thread. Can you imagine that? Going on the internet and seeing some random guy saying you should shoot yourself over a decision you made at work? Eurgh. .
 
I don't know if I should keep this game. Every game on my backlog aside from Halo 4 is super appealing to me right now

Same here. It's a shame. 343 actually converted me into a believer...

And then the game came out. Especially this bullshit now is just making me wonder "why".
 

Omni

Member
I don't know if I should keep this game. Every game on my backlog aside from Halo 4 is super appealing to me right now

Personally, I don't see the point in returning games. Most times you're losing money anyway... and who knows, maybe later on you'll want to play it again.
 

Pop

Member
Gotta get that Ford guys...

Remember the days were you didn't have to listen to the lobby music, those were the days. Now it's forced upon us.
 
Just saw the thread about the new dlc cock-up.

Poor 343, I do feel sorry for them, another few months might have given them a chance to iron out some of issues, missing features and be better prepared for the complexity of a full release and managing these different dlc streams.
 
Just saw the thread about the new dlc cock-up.

Poor 343, I do feel sorry for them, another few months might have given them a chance to iron out some of issues, missing features and be better prepared for the complexity of a full release and managing these different dlc streams.

Should've just made it an Xbox Next launch title.
 
September 2013 would have been perfect for Halo 4's release. They could have made the game better, they could have done a beta, they could have done a much better marketing.
 

Omni

Member
D. None of the Above

Wouldn't have matter, 5 years is long enough.

Yeah. I don't think one more year of dev time would've changed too much. Trying to set up the company while working on a AAA game must have been messy.

Now that 343i is a full studio however, I'm expecting big things from Halo 5 (Which will be the game that decides whether or not I continue following this series as much as I have in the past). I see no reason why 343i would (and they really shouldn't) need to outsource well... anything.
 

TheOddOne

Member
I could care fuck all about Halo 5 now. First I want to see their community relations fucking improve, give faster updates and actually coming through with their promises. If those are not improved then fuck it altogether. I just can't stand this incompetence they have shown so far. I dread everything they will do now, it will not be surprising that they fuck up even more.
 

Arnie

Member
September 2013 would have been perfect for Halo 4's release. They could have made the game better, they could have done a beta, they could have done a much better marketing.

A lot of Halo 4's problems are deep rooted, rather than a consequence of time. Not all of them, mind. I'm sure Theatre and Forge could've launched on par with the Reach offering, had they had an extra year, but really that's something I feel should've been possible in the three years they had.

Saw BLOPS 2s theatre and league play modes yesterday. My word, 343 really missed the boat on that one.
 
A lot of Halo 4's problems are deep rooted, rather than a consequence of time. Not all of them, mind. I'm sure Theatre and Forge could've launched on par with the Reach offering, had they had an extra year, but really that's something I feel should've been possible in the three years they had.

Saw BLOPS 2s theatre and league play modes yesterday. My word, 343 really missed the boat on that one.

That's true, but maybe a beta could have rooted out some of that stuff if it was early on enough and if 343 would be willing to change big things because of fan feedback.
 
You're probably thinking this part of the thread was already over, but it's not. You see I just arrived and happened on this particular post and in the words of Ryaaan "someone I know could find the info very useful."

I never thought it was over, it never ends!

Not complaining :p
 
I'm just gonna flat out ignore that Infinity Challenge. They have every intention of supporting as many companies and retailers as they can. I'm struggling to think of any 1st party games that have quite so many sponsors. Maybe racing sims have more? But those are logical deals.

Call me when they get deals with Youtube or Twitch.
 

Arnie

Member
That's true, but maybe a beta could have rooted out some of that stuff if it was early on enough and if 343 would be willing to change big things because of fan feedback.

I get this sentiment, and I see it a lot, but I think sometimes people miss the point of betas.

During a beta the majority of the game, at least the central core of it, is in place. Beta's a primarily about stress test and balance, but very rarely facilitate wholesale changes in design. The thing about changing the games fundamentals is there's a knock on effect which means other things have to change, and all this occurs very late in the development cycle.

Things like ordnance wouldn't change with a Beta test, neither would elements like instant respawn, or the UI. These are design principles that helped shape the game as it is now, and changing them at such a late stage would be too big of an undertaking for the team.
 

Plywood

NeoGAF's smiling token!
I never thought it was over, it never ends!

Not complaining :p
I don't know who you are, but I do know what you want. You aren't looking for ransom and I can tell you that I don't have any money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a wonder for people like you. If you let my post go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for sauce, I will not google. But if you don't, I will look for sauce, I will google, and I will post it.
 

ElRenoRaven

Member
I get this sentiment, and I see it a lot, but I think sometimes people miss the point of betas.

During a beta the majority of the game, at least the central core of it, is in place. Beta's a primarily about stress test and balance, but very rarely facilitate wholesale changes in design. The thing about changing the games fundamentals is there's a knock on effect which means other things have to change, and all this occurs very late in the development cycle.

Things like ordnance wouldn't change with a Beta test, neither would elements like instant respawn, or the UI. These are design principles that helped shape the game as it is now, and changing them at such a late stage would be too big of an undertaking for the team.

Exactly. There are never wholesale changes done as the result of a beta. Well the betas like we get on live. At most there might have been tweaks to weapons, etc.
 

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
September 2013 would have been perfect for Halo 4's release. They could have made the game better, they could have done a beta, they could have done a much better marketing.

Two months before a new console drops? I'm not sure that would have been a good idea.

Who made you head of the 343 defense force?

I find it hilarious that when someone has a different opinion that they are now on the "343 defense force." Care to elaborate on why you said that? Or would you rather join the club of people who just brush opinions under the rug and replace them with a label?
 

TheOddOne

Member
yes, and that is completely false.
Are you joking? I want them to succeed, but just to blindly accepts their poor handling does not help either side.

- Pre-release we barely knew anything about the specializations and what normal and LE users would get.
- We barely knew what was in the Limited Edition days before release. Information was so fractured and their own website barely even highlighted it.
- We got no notice on the Campaign Theater being cut (we found out through a French Halo fan). They eventually did say that they might patch it in.
- New emerging glitches were found in the game and abused. They took their time to respond.
- Specializations codes were sent out through mail, which causes a lot of headaches for users.
- EU players can’t progress after level 70 if they bought the normal edition of the game. No clue or feedback was given to remedy this problem.
- Their first DLC release, LE users are left outside for 7 hours after release. They fix it and then everybody got the map pack for free.
- New promotion comes out of nowhere that promotes that the map pack is free.
- Confusing terminology on what happens to people who downloaded the map pack for free.
- Now banning with no clear explanation or upfront post about the situation.

They need to work on their public relations, cause they keep creating problems that should have never been issues.
 
Decided to do a couple of oddball games with Krow earlier.

we got matched up with our arch nemesis from H3, Reach and now 4.

RIP KING CHAMELEON.
 

Arnie

Member
Exactly. There are never wholesale changes done as the result of a beta. Well the betas like we get on live. At most there might have been tweaks to weapons, etc.

Obviously the carbine would've been nerfed, as is now tradition with a new Halo title.

Joking aside, I think we have to accept 343's vision, and either enjoy it, or not. At the very least I'm trying to understand it, piece together why certain decisions were made, and certain changes implemented, even if I can't embrace the version of Halo they've created. I do plan on writing a big piece on the game, and some of these decisions, but I'm continuing to play and think about the game as time goes on. I won't talk about campaign as much, because I think people like Ghaleon and Dax do a much better job than me at dissecting that side.

One thing I keep coming back to is that somewhere down the development cycle the team got excited about something, something that we now think of as a poor change, or one at odds with the traditional balance of Halo, but an idea that grew and spread within the team, and at that time felt genuinely exciting, fresh, and innovative. I believe that this excitement relieved a lot of the pressure from a team that were under great stress to create and evolve such a beloved franchise, and for that reason they clutched towards this idea and vision without properly stepping back and asking why?

I could be, and probably am, completely false, but right now that's the only explanation I can offer for how a team so devoted to a particular ideal and ethos can land so far from the goal.
 

Omni

Member
Holy crap that chick has amazing boobs.

...

Anyone know if Halo 2: Vista is still down? Might try and get a game in when I get home
 

ElRenoRaven

Member
Obviously the carbine would've been nerfed, as is now tradition with a new Halo title.

Joking aside, I think we have to accept 343's vision, and either enjoy it, or not. At the very least I'm trying to understand it, piece together why certain decisions were made, and certain changes implemented, even if I can't embrace the version of Halo they've created. I do plan on writing a big piece on the game, and some of these decisions, but I'm continuing to play and think about the game as time goes on. I won't talk about campaign as much, because I think people like Ghaleon and Dax do a much better job than me at dissecting that side.

One thing I keep coming back to is that somewhere down the development cycle the team got excited about something, something that we now think of as a poor change, or one at odds with the traditional balance of Halo, but an idea that grew and spread within the team, and at that time felt genuinely exciting, fresh, and innovative. I believe that this excitement relieved a lot of the pressure from a team that were under great stress to create and evolve such a beloved franchise, and for that reason they clutched towards this idea and vision without properly stepping back and asking why?

I could be, and probably am, completely false, but right now that's the only explanation I can offer for how a team so devoted to a particular ideal and ethos can land so far from the goal.

Yup. It's not going to change to be the Halo we all want. We either have to accept it or move on at this point. I myself am torn. It's kind of grown on me but only after I quit giving a shit about it. Kind of weird. I just honestly don't think of it as Halo anymore and find myself somewhat enjoying it.


Anyone know if Halo 2: Vista is still down? Might try and get a game in when I get home

Let me check. Last time I checked it was up for me but at that time everyone else was saying it was down for them.

*edit*

Yup still down. Nothing turns up and it just keeps saying search in progress. Guess MS finally killed Halo 2 for good.
 
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