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[the natron]

I'm actually looking forward to the new SpOps episodes. Like I said I enjoy SpOps, I just really take issue with it when I try to play the Matchmaking for it. I have to say the new environments look better and more interesting than most of the earlier ones. And the news that they're focusing on more open battle scenarios sounds fantastic.

Also it may seem strange and a bit weird, but I actually really enjoyed the campaign. I thought the whole relationship and story arc between Chief and Cortana and her slow descent into rampancy was really well done and I thought the Didact wasn't half bad either, even if he didn't get that much screen time. The levels though are what made the campaign for me missions like Reclaimer, Infinity and Requiem, I thought they were great. There are some issues like the heavy reliance on material from the books and the ending, but I personally thought the pros outweighed the cons. I definitely thought it was better than the multiplayer anyway.

Which brings up a good question what was better for you guys, the campaign or the multiplayer?

 

[senador]

I'm not saying AA/perks/whatever isn't Halo or should exclusively not be all of that, but including those things in the game means you have to waste resources designing the game around those elements, and for me, it would be more beneficial if they're not included at all.

AAs, perks, vehicle health like Reach, flinch, 3x scope weapons, global ordnance, these CTF changes, custom loadouts, and sprint (I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff): I never want to see them in a Halo game ever again.

Ideally I wouldn't want to see those things either, but it seems very unlikely they'll all just disappear.

I really like loadouts, or at least being able to choose my primary weapon.

 

[IHaveIce]

I don't know..eventhough Barlow said it in a harsh way I have to agree to some degree..

In my mind someone who welcomed the changes brought by Reach and Halo 4 didn't really play Halo and liked Halo for it's core gameplay. They just did for the Halo brand and probably for the campaign..

Of course these are just my opinions, but I also really hate the arguement "it is still fun, that's why I like it".. I mean I also have fun with Hack'n Slay games, doesn't mean I want to Halo to turn into some just for the sake of fun.

I really would like to see how Halo 4 would have turned out if Reach didn't exist and wouldn't have invented the idea of Loudouts, Armor Abilities and so on.

 

[Korosenai]

These look awesome. Can't wait. For as much as people bag on SpOps it's a ton of fun to play in co-op.

Actually it's even worse in coop because of the terrible lag.

Out of all the times i've played SpOps, I had one lag free experience. Yes it was beautiful, but it only happened once.

 

[EagleBurnn]

I don't know..eventhough Barlow said it in a harsh way I have to agree to some degree..

In my mind someone who welcomed the changes brought by Reach and Halo 4 didn't really play Halo and liked Halo for it's core gameplay. They just did for the Halo brand and probably for the campaign..

Of course these are just my opinions, but I also really hate the arguement "it is still fun, that's why I like it".. I mean I also have fun with Hack'n Slay games, doesn't mean I want to Halo to turn into some just for the sake of fun.

I really would like to see how Halo 4 would have turned out if Reach didn't exist and wouldn't have invented the idea of Loudouts, Armor Abilities and so on.

To be fair, Halo 3's equipment evolved into AA's in Reach. I mean, I thought the equipment in Halo 3 was cool, but I could have done without it, and that seems to be the starting point to what we have now.

 

[Talents]

Which brings up a good question what was better for you guys, the campaign or the multiplayer?

Campaign for me. I liked the story

Spoiler

well except for how easily it was to "beat" the Didact and how stupidly Cortana "died"

only thing other than that I didn't really like was the prometheans, weren't really a fun enemy to fight. Probably tied for my favourite Halo campaign.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

To be fair, Halo 3's equipment evolved into AA's in Reach. I mean, I thought the equipment in Halo 3 was cool, but I could have done without it, and that seems to be the starting point to what we have now.

I agree there. I didn't like Equipment but that was easy to remove by just removing them from the maps. I honestly though would take equipment any day of the week over AAs. Course to each their own I say.

 

[FyreWulff]

I agree there. I didn't like Equipment but that was easy to remove by just removing them from the maps. I honestly though would take equipment any day of the week over AAs. Course to each their own I say.

RIP Flare 2007-2007

 

[Tashi]

There's nothing to talk about though. We know nothing about the TU. MLG has dropped Halo 4, so there went a significant part of the community. This Virgin Tournament thing is boring as shit and it's all for a truck that the winner is going to sell. The rotational playlists is causing more anger towards 343 because they're basically teasing us with great playlists while keeping ones we don't like in.

If MLG didn't drop Halo 4 because of the Virign Tournament, I feel like the Halo community will be different everywhere. The H4 MLG gametypes look very promising and even better than Reach's MLG. I'm just getting tired of seeing the 'what if' rather than what's actually happening.

Which community? This community? You're overselling MLG's signicance in both this community and the general Halo community. If MLG and competitive gaming was important to the general Halo community, it probably would not have been dropped in the first place.

Let's not forget this happened with Halo Reach as well.

 

[IHaveIce]

To be fair, Halo 3's equipment evolved into AA's in Reach. I mean, I thought the equipment in Halo 3 was cool, but I could have done without it, and that seems to be the starting point to what we have now.

But you didn't spawn with that stuff and had an unlimited use of it.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

That's an exaggeration but you're entitled to disagree. Nevertheless Halo 4 tanks badly.

Start a tally by post or something if you need numerical verification. A good portion of the negative posts have solid reasoning, but even those after a while start to weigh on people.

Halo 4 sold 7+ million, tanks? No. Is bad in your opinion (and that of others)? Sure.

 

[Tashi]

But you didn't spawn with that stuff and had an unlimited use of it.

This was one of the reasons AA's were born.

 

[Redford]

To be fair, Halo 3's equipment evolved into AA's in Reach. I mean, I thought the equipment in Halo 3 was cool, but I could have done without it, and that seems to be the starting point to what we have now.

I'm feeling like Halo 4 is the high-watermark for this stuff, the blatant CoD clone was due at some point, I guess. I'd rather have it coming right off of Reach and adjusting and paring it down over the next two games. And everyone saying it'll be too late by then, I'm fairly certain based on the passion in here that they'd wait another 15 years and still wet themselves at any true Halo comeback.

 

[malfcn]

Damn Infinity challenge, I had a bad night. Dropped from 555 to 585.

 

[BigShow36]

This place has become too toxic for me. I think I'll let biggy find GAF-generated news going forward; I don't have the energy to wade through the vitriol to find the good stuff.

Definitely won't make a huge change around here; I hardly post any more anyway... but for folks who are surprised by the attitude this group gets from other parts of GAF, you should understand that as someone who used to come here for the high level of discussion, things have degraded a LOT in recent months.

See ya starside.

The quality of posting is actually better than I've seen it in a long time because we have people actually delving into the why of things. Just because it's not constant slurping doesn't mean there is no "high level of discussion." I've seen more intelligent, meaningful posts about Halo in the past month than I have over the past several years. The fact that you abandon ship just because everyone isn't constantly praising Halo speaks volumes. How do you think those of us who posted here for years and years when our opinions where constantly shit on felt? Anytime anything critical was posted, everyone jumped on it like it was the most absurd and unthoughtful thing ever. Guess what? We kept at it because thats what an internet forum is all about; discussing things. If you get butthurt anytime someone disagrees with you it's amazing you lasted this long.

Man up and deal with the fact that this is a discussion board and it's better when people are actually discussing things, even if you disagree with them, rather than blindly praising everything. If you can't handle the fact that a lot of people don't like the direction Halo is going then by all means, leave.

 

[Madness]

There is nothing wrong with civil discourse as long as it remains CIVIL. Name-calling, insults, exaggerated hyperbole, that is why I think so many long time members have stopped posting.

I know I'm just a junior but I've been lurking for years, have played against most of you, spoken to you on twitter etc.

I've read almost every post in these OT's dating back to the launch of halo 3.

It just sucks that as I finally join, so many are leaving. We'll miss you Wu and hope you reconsider. Isn't it worth digging through miles of dirt to get to the gold?

 

[EagleBurnn]

I'm feeling like Halo 4 is the high-watermark for this stuff, the blatant CoD clone was due at some point, I guess. I'd rather have it coming right off of Reach and adjusting and paring it down over the next two games. And everyone saying it'll be too late by then, I'm fairly certain based on the passion in here that they'd wait another 15 years and still wet themselves at any true Halo comeback.

The thing is, Halo 5 may be the best chance we get at a Halo "comeback" for a long time, meaning they remove the idea of AAs and have it be more of a simple experience than the previous installment, because it's on a new console.

343 can just say "We want a new Halo for the new generation". This series, with the help of both Bungie and 343, has dug itself into a corner. Taking out all these features that have been embedded into the multiplayer will make the next game seem "lacking" to most fans. It sucks and I wish 343 would just have the guts to do what they want and not feel pressured to please everyone, because it's hard to believe that these developers who obviously love the series want to watch Halo no longer innovating.

Call of Duty did it. Look at the success of CoD2, it was as huge as it can get and won nearly every game of the year award. Why would they change a successful formula? Well that's exactly what they did. They took a huge risk of dumping the style of their most successful game to build a new one. However you may feel about CoD4, it was still a radical change in the series and re-launched the franchise. This is what Halo needs, but 343 needs to have enough confidence to do it.

 

[the natron]

To be fair, Halo 3's equipment evolved into AA's in Reach. I mean, I thought the equipment in Halo 3 was cool, but I could have done without it, and that seems to be the starting point to what we have now.

With Halo 4, I honestly thought the next step would be for 343 to try and blend AA's and equipment into one category. The new equipment system would be pick up only like in Halo 3 but there would also be some AA style equipment like the jetpack. Those types of equipment would have an energy meter attached to them from which you would only get a certain amount of uses and the energy would not recharge, meaning you would have to discard it and find another piece of equipment when it runs out.
To me that just seemed like the next step of evolution in terms of AA and equipment.

Campaign for me. I liked the story

Spoiler

well except for how easily it was to "beat" the Didact and how stupidly Cortana "died"

only thing other than that I didn't really like was the prometheans, weren't really a fun enemy to fight. Probably tied for my favourite Halo campaign.

yeah i know what you mean the prom knights were total bullet sponges and would teleport at the most random times. And the Watchers were more of a pain in the ass than a cool enemy to fight. You always had to worry about killing them first or they would bring back the knights

 

[Blueblur1]

I couldn't care less about Spartan Ops season 2. New environments don't mean shit when fighting dumbed down Covenant and annoying Prometheans is not any fun.

 

[senador]

The quality of posting is actually better than I've seen it in a long time because we have people actually delving into the why of things. Just because it's not constant slurping doesn't mean there is no "high level of discussion." I've seen more intelligent, meaningful posts about Halo in the past month than I have over the past several years. The fact that you abandon ship just because everyone isn't constantly praising Halo speaks volumes. How do you think those of us who posted here for years and years when our opinions where constantly shit on felt? Anytime anything critical was posted, everyone jumped on it like it was the most absurd and unthoughtful thing ever. Guess what? We kept at it because thats what an internet forum is all about; discussing things. If you get butthurt anytime someone disagrees with you it's amazing you lasted this long.

Man up and deal with the fact that this is a discussion board and it's better when people are actually discussing things, even if you disagree with them, rather than blindly praising everything. If you can't handle the fact that a lot of people don't like the direction Halo is going then by all means, leave.

You are being ridiculous if you really think Wu is leaving because people don't agree with him or because they aren't singing praises to the game. There's just a shitty attitude here with plenty of unnecessary posts. "RIP Halo, RIP HaloGAF" bullshit, attacking 343 directly, etc, etc. I would say that this very post of yours now is a type of post that would contribute to Wu leaving. Saying he is butthurt because people don't agree with him? You just don't get it man. Grow the fuck up.

 

[Orochinagis]

Glad to play again some Reach with you guys I really missed auto grenade pick ups, no ordinances, static power weapons locations even drop the flag.

This place has become too toxic for me. I think I'll let biggy find GAF-generated news going forward; I don't have the energy to wade through the vitriol to find the good stuff.

Definitely won't make a huge change around here; I hardly post any more anyway... but for folks who are surprised by the attitude this group gets from other parts of GAF, you should understand that as someone who used to come here for the high level of discussion, things have degraded a LOT in recent months.

See ya starside.

Oh man, no =(

 

[Hydranockz]

I couldn't care less about Spartan Ops season 2. New environments don't mean shit when fighting dumbed down Covenant and annoying Prometheans is not any fun.

It's not Season 2 yet.

 

[Slightly Live]

The quality of posting is actually better than I've seen it in a long time because we have people actually delving into the why of things. Just because it's not constant slurping doesn't mean there is no "high level of discussion." I've seen more intelligent, meaningful posts about Halo in the past month than I have over the past several years. The fact that you abandon ship just because everyone isn't constantly praising Halo speaks volumes. How do you think those of us who posted here for years and years when our opinions where constantly shit on felt? Anytime anything critical was posted, everyone jumped on it like it was the most absurd and unthoughtful thing ever. Guess what? We kept at it because thats what an internet forum is all about; discussing things. If you get butthurt anytime someone disagrees with you it's amazing you lasted this long.

Man up and deal with the fact that this is a discussion board and it's better when people are actually discussing things, even if you disagree with them, rather than blindly praising everything. If you can't handle the fact that a lot of people don't like the direction Halo is going then by all means, leave.

Wu doesn't need anyone to defend him and this isn't my attempt to do so.

But ffs, stop lying to yourself.

The level of discourse across HaloGAF has dipped lower than it ever has been and has constantly stayed down there over the past few months.

You honestly think Wu is such a sycophant that he'd stopped posting because we aren't praising Halo enough? Are you really that cluesless?

And history lesson for you. Wu has been posting here for years before you even joined up. If he think the place has become something different, he's been here long enough to recognize it.

It's shit like this from upstanding whining, basement dwellers like yourself that's been bringing the tone down here. You can't see the problem because it's folks like you are ARE the problem.

Hah, "man up". Fucking hilarious.

 

[JHall]

You are being ridiculous if you really think Wu is leaving because people don't agree with him or because they aren't singing praises to the game. There's just a shitty attitude here with plenty of unnecessary posts. "RIP Halo, RIP HaloGAF" bullshit, attacking 343 directly, etc, etc. I would say that this very post of yours now is a type of post that would contribute to Wu leaving. Saying he is butthurt because people don't agree with him? You just don't get it man. Grow the fuck up.

Spoiler

RIP Halo

 

[MaximumFlipFlop]

I couldn't care less about Spartan Ops season 2. New environments don't mean shit when fighting dumbed down Covenant and annoying Prometheans is not any fun.

I think a large part of it will come down to encounter design. I know we rag on the enemy design alot, but I feel a large part around their negativity also came from the way they were thrown at you in the first part of Spartan Ops. Trying to take down 12 crawlers, 5 watchers, and 4 knights all at once, in a very crammed space can become very frustrating. If these encounters are designed better with more thought into how engagements might and should play out, I think that will help.

 

[malfcn]

For LASO, I got the impression some people were getting it with any mission, or the last mission. Some without Blind on. And with the last rally tricks.

 

[senador]

Spoiler

RIP Halo

RIP JHall.

 

[JHall]

RIP JHall.

I'm a massive smart-ass, Reagan can contest to that.

Please, don't take anything that I say too serious.

 

[Tashi]

Welp, looks like Bigshow was taken care of already.

Don't forget to leave feedback for the new playlist on Monday guys. That includes any bug reports too.

 

[Hydranockz]

Welp, looks like Bigshow was taken care of already.

Don't forget to leave feedback for the new playlist on Monday guys. That includes any bug reports too.

Was expecting a ban to warrant that phrase.

 

[Redford]

I couldn't care less about Spartan Ops season 2. New environments don't mean shit when fighting dumbed down Covenant and annoying Prometheans is not any fun.

They're supposedly bringing improvements and it's not even season 2 yet, so maybe just wait and see.

 

[Moa]

 

[Tashi]

Was expecting a ban to warrant that phrase.

Lol sorry, didn't mean to give that impression.

 

[Madness]

I think that's the max that Xbox allows for dlc. I remember talking with Mike gamble of bioware during the me3 leviathan and omega dlc launches and he said they have to max at 2 gb.

It's great though because it shows they really utilized all they could to give us great new spaces. Gotta say, the more I read about the second half of Spartan Ops, the more hopeful I am it'll be great.

 

[Coux]

That's a lot of cheddar.

 

[User 73706]

That's a lot of cheddar.

Someone should make a Spartan Ops: Season One Recap video consisting of someone throwing some cheese omelets at a door hinge.

 

[Hypertrooper]

First I thought the Spartan Ops Second Half launch trailer was just the VGA trailer but then I spotted the damn beautiful and green environment. So pretty!

 

[FyreWulff]

Looks like Waypoint got a new feature, if a 343 employee posts in a thread the post icon changes to a bubble with the 343 logo in it, and now 343 employees have a gigantic 343 logo banner behind their name when viewing the thread.

 

[Tashi]

Looks like Waypoint got a new feature, if a 343 employee posts in a thread the post icon changes to a bubble with the 343 logo in it, and now 343 employees have a gigantic 343 logo banner behind their name when viewing the thread.

Yea I noticed that yesterday. Pretty cool.

 

[Coux]

Looks like Waypoint got a new feature, if a 343 employee posts in a thread the post icon changes to a bubble with the 343 logo in it, and now 343 employees have a gigantic 343 logo banner behind their name when viewing the thread.

Yep. Was implemented earlier this week in hopes of giving threads that employees have responded in a little more visibility. Not quite gold text or septagon, but it seems to work.

 

[Moa]

Looks like Waypoint got a new feature, if a 343 employee posts in a thread the post icon changes to a bubble with the 343 logo in it, and now 343 employees have a gigantic 343 logo banner behind their name when viewing the thread.

Noticed that when I was lurking the other day, a lot better than the obnoxious red bar they had at the side of the posts.

 

[BlueScrote]

How do you mean too strange? Like the plot was outside of what we've come to know as a Halo story? I didn't feel that way at all. I just thought that it played like a movie that may get a sequel if it did well at the box office, which obviously wasn't a concern here. If this was supposed to be the first story of a planned trilogy (or whatever), it certainly didn't come across as one.

Please, this thread and most of the others have been full of hostility and negativity for some time now. I don't blame people at all for not wanting to post in here that enjoy the game for fear of being ostracized as an idiot who doesn't get how Halo is supposed to be.

This rings 100% true for me.

This place has become too toxic for me. I think I'll let biggy find GAF-generated news going forward; I don't have the energy to wade through the vitriol to find the good stuff.

Definitely won't make a huge change around here; I hardly post any more anyway... but for folks who are surprised by the attitude this group gets from other parts of GAF, you should understand that as someone who used to come here for the high level of discussion, things have degraded a LOT in recent months.

See ya starside.

Disappointing to see you leave. You always made well thought out posts and shared the excitement for the franchise many others do.

What gets toxic is the extensive sugarcoating done on a daily basis. It's getting better now though.

Are we reading the same thread?

 

[FyreWulff]

Yep. Was implemented earlier this week in hopes of giving threads that employees have responded in a little more visibility. Not quite gold text or septagon, but it seems to work.

Must have taken a while to propogate to the Cartographer forum then, or my browser finally refreshed the CSS.

I remember on Optimatch that having that Gold Septagon would light a thread like no other

 

[Coux]

Must have taken a while to propogate to the Cartographer forum then, or my browser finally refreshed the CSS.

I remember on Optimatch that having that Gold Septagon would light a thread like no other

Yeah, took a bit for it to show up for me as well.


It always made me laugh on Bnet to see a thread explode like that. The first reply after gold text was always "Instant hot topic". It hasn't had that same exact effect on Waypoint yet.

 

[kylej]

the level is discourse is exactly the same as its always been there are just more people here now. don't be ridiculous

 

[BigShow36]

Welp, looks like Bigshow was taken care of already.

Hardly; I stand firmly behind my statement. Someone getting pissed at me for my posts is hardly new and hardly "taking care of me." This is one of the few message boards that changes very little. The only big change has been that Halo has been getting worse and worse and more and more people are being vocal about it. The tone is rightly more critical of Halo, but that doesn't mean the level of discourse has worsened.

I get it, people grow tired of message boards and move on; I've done it several times myself. But to somehow pretend you're leaving because the message boards have just become so much less intelligent than they used to be is laughable.

the level is discourse is exactly the same as its always been there are just more people here now. don't be ridiculous

I'd say its better. There are more people taking a good hard look at what actually makes Halo tick, what they actually enjoy about Halo, and are posting about it.

 

[MrGreencastle]

Don't forget to leave feedback for the new playlist on Monday guys. That includes any bug reports too.

Will do. I'm really excited about Monday, now.

--

That Spartan Ops environment looks better than all the first ones combined. Though I'd still say Episode 3 was the high point of SpOps so far for me. I also like that a hundred trillion enemies aren't thrown at you at once there, there's some actual pacing. Good stuff.

--

Sorry to see Wu go, but I definitely have to agree with him, sadly.

--

That sins mod looks really cool. Would love to do some voiceover work for that

 

[xxjuicesxx]

I don't think anyone in HaloGAF plays the excellent Sins.

Might check out this mod when it's finished though. Nice models.

http://madefromawesome.blogspot.com/2010/02/making-decent-rts-part-one.html

 

[squidhands]

Also, screw you guys Team Regicide is a blast.

Best playlist in the game. I'll cry like a hungry, angry baby when it eventually gets "temporarily removed" in favor of something else.

In my mind someone who welcomed the changes brought by Reach and Halo 4 didn't really play Halo and liked Halo for it's core gameplay. They just did for the Halo brand and probably for the campaign..

Of course these are just my opinions...

You should really reconsider this opinion, because it's selfish crap. There's nothing wrong with enjoying and appreciating the changes made to Halo; many people do. Personally, I have to struggle with finding things I like about Halo 4, but that doesn't give me the audacity to make a blanket statement that everything I don't like is just complete shit across the board and anyone who disagrees with me is a fool who doesn't understand how it's supposed to be. It's shit like this that makes the thread more and more of a chore to read.

 

[Steelyuhas]

Start a tally by post or something if you need numerical verification. A good portion of the negative posts have solid reasoning, but even those after a while start to weigh on people.

Halo 4 sold 7+ million, tanks? No. Is bad in your opinion (and that of others)? Sure.

Halo 4 has sold over 7 million copies? Source?

I don't think that's close to correct.

I think that's the max that Xbox allows for dlc. I remember talking with Mike gamble of bioware during the me3 leviathan and omega dlc launches and he said they have to max at 2 gb.

It's great though because it shows they really utilized all they could to give us great new spaces. Gotta say, the more I read about the second half of Spartan Ops, the more hopeful I am it'll be great.

BF3 has multiple DLC's larger than 2GBs. I think the GTA IV DLCs are larger than 2 as well.