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[Obscured]

Lttp, but finished Silentium a few days ago. It wrapped up nicely and was an entertaining read but I wish it had come out before Halo 4.

Even though I tried to judge the game on its own merits the characterization in the books didn't match up what I was experiencing in the game nor to the ancient evil marketing. For the most part I was able to ignore it, but it bugged me a bit. Enjoyed it, but feel there is some extraneous complexity that doesn't add much.

 

[wwm0nkey]

OT: I was going to preorder BF4 today, when it hit me. The ambiguity of the Nextbox has meant that I have no idea whether to preroder games for the 360 or to wait. Wish MS would hurry with their announcement already.

Really don't want to get BF4 on the 360. I needz 64 players and a solid framerate without tearing god damnit. But I also want it on release, so... eh

Just pre-order it now and bump it to the nextbox when its announced, you do get a mystery Download for BF4 and some (real) dog tags if you pre-order now.

 

[Fuchsdh]

Lttp, but finished Silentium a few days ago. It wrapped up nicely and was an entertaining read but I wish it had come out before Halo 4.

Even though I tried to judge the game on its own merits the characterization in the books didn't match up what I was experiencing in the game nor to the ancient evil marketing. For the most part I was able to ignore it, but it bugged me a bit. Enjoyed it, but feel there is some extraneous complexity that doesn't add much.

I think it meshed well, the issue was that even the terminals didn't adequately bridge the gap between the Didact we saw in the novels and the Didact of Halo 4. With all the fiction behind it, his actions make plenty of sense... but I think it shouldn't have required all that stuff to make him at least understandable. As to your comment about complexity, I can certainly see that argument. I'm not sure if you can really extend a franchise without that sort of complexity over time, though. At least I can't think of any franchise that has avoided it.

 

[kittens]

It should just be removed from Halo.

Remember when the first multiplayer details from Game Informer leaked last spring, and we all thought it was too bad to be true? Well, we were right about the bad part.

 

[MaximumFlipFlop]

Keep hype in check with Infinite. Out.

 

[Nebula]

Persian Pile Driver

Are those teletubbies in the top left?

 

[Obscured]

I think it meshed well, the issue was that even the terminals didn't adequately bridge the gap between the Didact we saw in the novels and the Didact of Halo 4. With all the fiction behind it, his actions make plenty of sense... but I think it shouldn't have required all that stuff to make him at least understandable. As to your comment about complexity, I can certainly see that argument. I'm not sure if you can really extend a franchise without that sort of complexity over time, though. At least I can't think of any franchise that has avoided it.

I definitely agree. My post might have sounded more harsh than I intended, but overall I think it did work well and felt like it gave the first two books more 'impact' (searching for the right word here)

Once you consume all of the fiction you can see some alternative approaches that they could've taken, but of course that isn't how the creative process works, so it is understandable and I think that is how many franchises get needlessly over-complicated. Though in some ways with the forerunner trilogy and driving Requium into a sun they've given themselves a clean-'er' slate for the next one. Be interesting to see where they take it.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

Persian Pile Driver

Spoiler

E

 

[heckfu]

Holy shit today was fun. I can't wait till we all get up here for PAX again.

 

[Twilight Gap]

Infinity Slayer should be removed from Team Doubles.

It should just be removed from Halo.

It's not a bad concept on paper, but there is absolutely no reason anybody should be able to spawn a power weapon in front of them in default matchmaking. It's just...not what Halo was built upon. It's not an evolution, but a deviation. Instead of working with your team to control them, you are awarded them for any sort of kill and encouraged to camp to earn more. Let's change that - keep it to mid-tier weapons and put the rest of the power weapons on the map in logical places.

BTB is next to unplayable if you have a team who knows how to abuse ordinance (and it's not rocket science). Every match I play is just Sniper Rifles and Spartan Lasers left and right. No vehicle combat, no infantry combat. Here I was excited for the return of Valhalla, but now it's a map I can't wait to vote over or quit out of. I mean, it's bad enough the Mantis is on it, but when it's destroyed, there are Binary Rifles all over the place. There were only 2 snipers on Valhalla and you knew when and where they'd be and how much ammo they'd have. Now we have what seems like a BiRi for every player, meaning going on the hill is asking to be blained. It's such a shame because Ragnarok would otherwise play somewhat nicely. I feel like the majority of the maps would as well if it were not for the poor balancing between gametype weapons and vehicle placement. Exile looks to solve most of Coag/Hemorrhage's dead man's land, but the overabundance of power weapons and power vehicles makes it too claustrophobic to know what's going on.

TU's, DLC, new playlists - none of it means anything until the current ones are rectified. I love BTB tremendously, but I'm not paying for any DLC if I'm going to be playing Power Weapon Roulette on them all the time. We need to get the root of the weed and stop trimming the leaves.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Are those teletubbies in the top left?

Skelanimals

Spoiler

I don't collect them, An ex did

 

[Striker]

BTB is next to unplayable if you have a team who knows how to abuse ordinance (and it's not rocket science). Every match I play is just Sniper Rifles and Spartan Lasers left and right. No vehicle combat, no infantry combat. Here I was excited for the return of Valhalla, but now it's a map I can't wait to vote over or quit out of. I mean, it's bad enough the Mantis is on it, but when it's destroyed, there are Binary Rifles all over the place. There were only 2 snipers on Valhalla and you knew when and where they'd be and how much ammo they'd have. Now we have what seems like a BiRi for every player, meaning going on the hill is asking to be blained. It's such a shame because Ragnarok would otherwise play somewhat nicely. I feel like the majority of the maps would as well if it were not for the poor balancing between gametype weapons and vehicle placement. Exile looks to solve most of Coag/Hemorrhage's dead man's land, but the overabundance of power weapons and power vehicles makes it too claustrophobic to know what's going on.

Infinity in general is just bad - even without it, though, ordnance drops in Ragnarok and Exile have had snipers drop, so at once point you can have four snipers in a 10 man game. Here some thought the weapon settings in Battle Canyon and Highlands were a little too strong (as they were), but it's expanded even further now.

And Exile solves nothing to what Coag did. Dead man's land is now the open field at blue base, so good luck getting out of there when there's Ghosts or DMR's pegging you on spawn. In Coag you weren't getting pegged across the map by a BR or vehicle. And it was actually built for 16 players, unlike Exile (5v5 or 6v6). The bases themselves are another story, awful all around.

 

[Twilight Gap]

Infinity in general is just bad - even without it, though, ordnance drops in Ragnarok and Exile have had snipers drop, so at once point you can have four snipers in a 10 man game. Here some thought the weapon settings in Battle Canyon and Highlands were a little too strong (as they were), but it's expanded even further now.

And Exile solves nothing to what Coag did. Dead man's land is now the open field at blue base, so good luck getting out of there when there's Ghosts or DMR's pegging you on spawn. In Coag you weren't getting pegged across the map by a BR or vehicle. And it was actually built for 16 players, unlike Exile (5v5 or 6v6). The bases themselves are another story, awful all around.

I'm just trying to be optimistic. I'd rather toy with the settings to get the concept to work first before doing away with it entirely. As it is now, the whole system seems like it's inherently designed to reward players for doing nothing and punish players for trying to. But I don't have the energy to go too deep into it right now.

I never really liked Blood Gulch or any of its successors anyway (to the exception of Valhalla), and the DMR certainly isn't helping. Exile still confuses me, and so do all of the other asyms currently housing symmetric gametypes.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

Blood Gulch variations are good for driving space. The open roadddd, something Halo 4 is severely lacking.

 

[Striker]

I'm just trying to be optimistic. I'd rather toy with the settings to get the concept to work first before doing away with it entirely. As it is now, the whole system seems like it's inherently designed to reward players for doing nothing and punish players for trying to. But I don't have the energy to go too deep into it right now.

I never really liked Blood Gulch or any of its successors (except Valhalla). Exile still confuses me, and so do all of the other asyms currently housing symmetric gametypes. All of my what.

I'm sure we'd try as much as we want but they aren't changing their identity. The best choices they'll hand out is by Throwdown and even though those settings aren't as annoying, it's not largely ideal. Not awful like default Halo 4's settings but meh.

As for the big canyon maps, Valhalla is more of a compressed version of Containment rather than Coag and Blood Gulch. Two boxed areas that provided quick access out of the base (mancannons in Valhalla, teleporters in Containment), an elevated hill in the middle with a power weapon/powerup to battle for, vehicle activity, Snipers on each side, and some areas on the side where players can maneuver around. Of course I thought Containment did every single one of those things better and generally had far more balance.

 

[Twilight Gap]

Blood Gulch variations are good for driving space. The open roadddd, something Halo 4 is severely lacking.

I'd rather not see large open spaces with all of the DMRing and Sniping we have. Let's fix that problem first.

As for the big canyon maps, Valhalla is more of a compressed version of Containment rather than Coag and Blood Gulch. Two boxed areas that provided quick access out of the base (mancannons in Valhalla, teleporters in Containment), an elevated hill in the middle with a power weapon/powerup to battle for, vehicle activity, Snipers on each side, and some areas on the side where players can maneuver around. Of course I thought Containment did every single one of those things better and generally had far more balance.

First map I played in H2 and my favorite

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

I'd rather not see large open spaces with all of the DMRing and Sniping we have. Let's fix that problem first.

I don't know.. You call that a problem, I call that Halo. Wheelmen need love too, just balance it by restricting DMR on spawn for BTB and have it as a pickup scattered on top/around the bases.

Halo 2 BTB needs to make a return, including the maps.


On the Infinity discussion, you know what makes it extra balls? Perks. Allowing Ammo for power weapons was a poor decision.

Yes, Halo needs wide open maps with plenty of room for Vehicles.

Halo 4 doesn't. The last thing I'd like to spawn into is a BiRi aiming at me across the map. Maps like Sandtrap, Avalanche, Headlong, Relic, and such would be ruined by the abundance of long-range weapons Halo 4 has.

I find fun in dodging Binary Rifles. You telling me you wouldn't want to play on Avalanche over Vortex regardless of settings? Blasphemy.

Also, don't forget about the addition of universal Sprint and faster movement speed. It balances itself with past Halo games IMO.

 

[Twilight Gap]

I don't know.. You call that a problem, I call that Halo. Wheelmen need love too, just balance it by restricting DMR on spawn for BTB and have it a pickup scattered on top/around the bases.

Halo 2 BTB needs to make a return, including the maps.

Yes, Halo needs wide open maps with plenty of room for Vehicles.

Halo 4 doesn't. The last thing I'd like to spawn into is a BiRi aiming at me across the map. Maps like Sandtrap, Avalanche, Headlong, Relic, and such would be ruined by the abundance of long-range weapons Halo 4 has readily available. All of that can be fixed right now, but it seems like 343 is reluctant to. I can't be asked to pay for more maps when the settings I'm playing them on are not enjoyable, and I imagine others feel the same.

 

[Nebula]

Yes, Halo needs wide open maps with plenty of room for Vehicles.

Halo 4 doesn't. The last thing I'd like to spawn into is a BiRi aiming at me across the map. Maps like Sandtrap, Avalanche, Headlong, Relic, and such would be ruined by the abundance of long-range weapons Halo 4 has.

Vehicle combat is dead. Even Tanks get pooped on most of the time, and when they don't, it's because the tank has them on spawn.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

All of that can be fixed right now, but it seems like 343 is reluctant to. I can't be asked to pay for more maps when the settings I'm playing them on are not enjoyable, and I imagine others feel the same.

This is a point I cannot argue with. Thanks for ruining my night..

RIP Halo.


v Yeah, Infinity sucks as is.. especially with 16 players.

 

[Twilight Gap]

I find fun in dodging Binary Rifles.

We have very different definitions of fun. Though if you're a thruster pack user, I can understand the thrill. Personally, it's my favorite addition to Halo.

You telling me you wouldn't want to play on Avalanche over Vortex regardless of settings? Blasphemy.

Avalanche without the Hornets and with BiRi's everywhere is a 100% veto for me. It was already a veto in H3 unless it was Multi-Flag.

I try to avoid Vortex.

Also, don't forget about the addition of universal Sprint and faster movement speed. It balances itself with past Halo games IMO.

Sprint makes past BTB maps smaller, which works for some of them and ruins others. I'm not worried about that though. I just want to be able to spawn and know when and where weapons are coming up and who has what. Having to guess how many of the enemies have rolled Spartan Lasers before I get in a Banshee is not fun to me. There is supposed to be one or two of them on the map unless it's heavies (which I vetoed in H3).

That level of predictability allowed players to be unpredictable. If I know you have Rockets, then I'm not going to go near you. Thus, the onus is on you to outplay me and use those rockets in a way I wouldn't expect. When I don't know what you have, the element of surprise is less skill-based and more random chance. It just so happens that you rolled a Scattershot behind that corner after you spawned as opposed to landing a nade and popping me with your starting weapon.

Again, fix the problem and you might just see people come back. As much as Castle and Majestic have tickled my fancies, I know the first thing I'm going to be bothered with is the ordinance. It isn't worth the time to offer criticism because nothing is being done.

 

[Nebula]

Infinity BTB is Heavies pretty much.

 

[Twilight Gap]

Vehicle combat is dead. Even Tanks get pooped on most of the time, and when they don't, it's because the tank has them on spawn.

I haven't really been able to enjoy the Scorpion since Halo 3. There were a few moments where it was nice in Reach, but it's gradually sacrificed most of its armor in favor of firepower. That doesn't make much sense to me.

Infinity BTB is Heavies pretty much.

Heavies was fine when vehicles were balanced and you didn't spawn with anti-tank weapons.

The whole reason I chopped off this farm animal's leg was for some good ol' BTB fun back in H3. Since then, BTB has decided to sacrifice all of its charm in favor of shallow, flashy gameplay.

Look, crazy shit happened all the time in Halo 3. Stuff like this video from my fileshare or even this one are just some of the simple yet amusing things I've remembered for years. When it wasn't lagging or matching you poorly, H2/H3 BTB were phenomenal. And the best part was you didn't need to force explosions or randomness to happen; when the settings are good, it occurs naturally.

Halo 4 has all the resources it needs to excel at BTB. There is no reason it shouldn't own that playlist right now.

 

[Omni]

Just pre-order it now and bump it to the nextbox when its announced, you do get a mystery Download for BF4 and some (real) dog tags if you pre-order now.

Ooooh. Yeah, I think that's what I'll end up doing

Infinity BTB is Heavies pretty much.

But somehow even worse. It makes meh sad how bad BTB is these days. Twas my favourite playlist in Reach and 3.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

343 is Michael Bay.

 

[EagleBurnn]

Heavies was fine when vehicles were balanced and you didn't spawn with anti-tank weapons.

Heavies has always sucked. It's only fun for a week or two until it's voted every game and ruins the BTB playlists.

Halo 4 has all the resources it needs to excel at BTB.

Except the small map problem. Infinity is just the tip of iceberg to fix BTB in Halo 4.

The DMR needs to be fixed in the second TU. The Castle Map Pack or Forge Island (if it gets community support) might be good. Daybreak looks promising. And on top of all of that, Infinity needs to be taken out. Then BTB will be playable.

 

[Twilight Gap]

Heavies has always sucked. It's only fun for a week or two until it's voted every game and ruins the BTB playlists.

The conditions I listed literally apply to one or two maps out of all the games, and I believe it was a custom gametype. I don't think throwing in ALL THE THINGS to unbalance a map makes it more enjoyable. There's a reason there's one tank or one laser or 2 snipers; Standoff didn't have a banshee or sniper on default, and it should stay that way.

 

[Nebula]

Heavies was fine when vehicles were balanced and you didn't spawn with anti-tank weapons.

The whole reason I chopped off this farm animal's leg was for some good ol' BTB fun back in H3. Since then, BTB has decided to sacrifice all of its charm in favor of shallow, flashy gameplay.

Look, crazy shit happened all the time in Halo 3. Just look at this video from my fileshare, or this even this one. Simple moments that happened that I've remembered for years. I was always having fun unless it was red bar or we were getting steam-rolled by a full party. You don't need to force explosions or randomness to happen; when the settings are good, it occurs naturally.

I meant it was more like heavies because more than 50% of the team had a power weapon of sorts. The issue with this on Halo 4 is that Snipers are anti vehicle, and loadouts give access to anti vehicle weapons off of spawn. It just stifles Vehicle combat to a point where you question the use of a vehicle in BTB.

 

[Twilight Gap]

I meant it was more like heavies because more than 50% of the team had a power weapon of sorts. The issue with this on Halo 4 is that Snipers are anti vehicle, and loadouts give access to anti vehicle weapons off of spawn. It just stifles Vehicle combat to a point where you question the use of a vehicle in BTB.

Oh I most definitely agree, my mistake for not covering that part as well. As much as I love the Plasma Pistol, it's just not something you should be spawning with. We make the starting rifles anti vehicle, then we give people anti-matter snipers, then we allow them to call in lasers and rockets, then we have them spawn with plasma grenades and plasma pistols, and on top of that we limit driving space on the maps? Yea, there is no way anyone is convincing me to get in a vehicle.

These are all very simple issues that are easily fixed when they're looked upon with an open mind. BTB has so much potential...

 

[EagleBurnn]

The conditions I listed literally apply to one or two maps out of all the games, and I believe it was a custom gametype. I don't think throwing in ALL THE THINGS to unbalance a map makes it more enjoyable. There's a reason there's one tank or one laser or 2 snipers; Standoff didn't have a banshee or sniper on default, and it should stay that way.

How was that a reply to anything I said?

You said Heavies always sucked, and I agreed by mentioning that I rarely enjoyed it even when it was appropriately balanced. Perhaps my word order was confusing? I'm running on fumes...

Yeah I got it now. Took another read. Basically, Halo 4 BTB is terribad.

 

[malfcn]

Annie achievements for Reach are pretty much impossible to get now, right?

 

[Twilight Gap]

How was that a reply to anything I said?

You said Heavies always sucked, and I agreed by mentioning that I rarely enjoyed it even when it was appropriately balanced. Perhaps my word order was confusing? I'm running on fumes...

 

[Striker]

BTB since then has suffered big in some form, either by so many overpowered vehicles, piss poor gametypes, bad maps, or just inconsistent/over-powered weapons (DMR, spread BR, Laser, Binary Rifle).

 

[EagleBurnn]

BTB since then has suffered big in some form, either by so many overpowered vehicles, piss poor gametypes, bad maps, or just inconsistent/over-powered weapons (DMR, spread BR, Laser, Binary Rifle).

Reach was the start when they made the DMR and Sniper better anti-vehicle weapons than the Rocket Launcher (god I can't believe this is a problem in Halo). On top of that, the maps were terrible. Then Halo 4 and it's Infinity plague comes along and infects everything.

 

[Nebula]

I'm going to take a guess and say you know what Goosing is A 3 legged Goat. I used to do that in Halo 3 and it died in Reach for most people. Halo 4 showed promise, believe it or not... Then people started to figure out(or unlock) the Plasma Pistol/stickies combo and ran riot with it. The ability to take out vehicles with incredible ease has turned every vehicle into a contract for your death that you sign the moment you begin the boarding animation.

BTB was once the playlist you jumped in for vehicle mayhem. Now you go in there to ping people with a DMR and chain ordnance while not moving in front of your base.

So much potential, as you said. But no one to reveal it.

 

[Pop]

but who was custom options

 

[willow ve]

Annie achievements for Reach are pretty much impossible to get now, right?

You might luck out and get a full party going with the help of TrueAchievements - going in random is going to be near impossible.

 

[Ghazi]

Fuck pre-ordering BF4, I got BF3 Premium Edition for $15 and they will undoubtedly come out with one of those for BF4 so I'll probably wait.

 

[DeadNames]

BTB would be miles better without flinch.

 

[Ghazi]

BTB would be miles better without flinch.

I think the across the map DMRs break it the most. They should try a BR Valhalla game type and see how that's received.

 

[Pop]

This cannot be the real price.

Image is from somebody browsing at EB games Australia and find that

Edit: Image link is broke, well the price was $900 for the PS4

 

[Omni]

This cannot be the real price.

Image is from somebody browsing at EB games Australia and find that

Edit: Image link is broke, well the price was $900 for the PS4

I think they're just placeholder prices. I know someone who works at EB games so I'll ask her about it tomorrow...

$900 seems a tad steep though. My guess would be around the $700 mark when the time comes

 

[Korosenai]

Yup and the next Smash will be shown and all other games will seem irrelevant.

I think this will be the first time ever where I will buy two copies of the game for two different systems.

 

[Genesis Knight]

When do the Death Xs come back?

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Holy shit today was fun. I can't wait till we all get up here for PAX again.

I need to start doing PAX every year instead of every other. Last fall was a blast with all you guys (and tequila shots from Frank). I miss the Lox bagels with fresh raw salmon dearly here in Iowa. I won't be back to Seattle (unless I somehow find a job out there) until next year (2014) PAX Prime.

 

[Akai__]

When do the Death Xs come back?

The Title Update is out, so I suppose they are back now. Haven't played yet, but people on Twitter say so.

 

[Ghazi]

The Title Update is out, so I suppose they are back now. Haven't played yet, but people on Twitter say so.

Wait, really? Wow, I need to hop on and try it tomorrow! I thought it didn't come out until the map pack and CSR?

 

[FyreWulff]

Checking for title update.

Also, as an aside: Wii U just had clan support announced. Games can also technically support matchmaking only inside communities/clans.

Pretty neat (Microsoft plz implement this for Live again)

edit: Yep, prompted to update. 37MB

 

[Akai__]

Checking for title update.

Also, as an aside: Wii U just had clan support announced. Games can also technically support matchmaking only inside communities/clans.

Pretty neat (Microsoft plz implement this for Live again)

edit: Yep, prompted to update. 37MB

Thanks for clarification.

 

[FyreWulff]

They also retroactively show up in old films (well, I expected that)

Capturing a film I vidcapped for someone again so you can see the difference between TUs