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[FyreWulff]

Burring it doesn't make it any less true.

First 360 game on Halo engine

Second 360 game on Halo engine

Third 360 game on Halo engine, now with a completely new face system

Fourth 360 game on Halo engine, based off Reach's new face tech, and now facescanned actors

Dunno about you, I see iterative progression here

We go from counting pixels on Lord Hood's clothing to actual visible texture on Kat's underarmor and then improved lighting on Lasky.

Meanwhile back in Halo 2

 

[Madness]

343 releases a Halo two years after the last Bungie game and it looks better on a technical level?

That's kind of a 'no shit'. It's natural progression of prowess over the hardware. The next Bungie title will be a jump over Halo 4. Then Halo One will be a jump over that. Then Destiny 2 will be a jump over that. etc.

My thoughts exactly. Reach came out in 2010. ODST was 2009 and it was an expansion. And Halo 3 was 2007. I think a better argument would be to see what they've achieved with the Xbox 360 version of Destiny and compare it with Halo 4 on a technical level.

Bungie have been known throughout this gen to be releasing Halo 2.5 looking games. Its not a "no shit" at all. Their games for the most part never completely delivered on 360 graphically until Halo4, which is imo leagues better in the gfx department then what Bungie have ever accomplished on 360.

Well "technical" can also mean other things. Level design, textures, animations, water/skybox, textures, lighting, menu UI etc. I still think Halo 4 was perhaps the best looking game, but it also had the 2 year difference in console development, not to mention piggybacked off the Reach engine no?

I'm asking because it was in a thread, but was Reach playable 4 player splitscreen or no?

 

[Omni]

Reach is still the best looking Halo game, IMO.

Well "technical" can also mean other things. Level design, textures, animations, water/skybox, textures, lighting, menu UI etc. I still think Halo 4 was perhaps the best looking game, but it also had the 2 year difference in console development, not to mention piggybacked off the Reach engine no?

I'm asking because it was in a thread, but was Reach playable 4 player splitscreen or no?

343i sacrificed too much just to render those extra few pixels (did anyone actually care that Reach wasn't "true" HD?), IMO. I feel like pretty much everything in regards to the environment - from sky boxes, water, to rendering distance and textures - took a nosedive. Sure the IQ is nice due to the lack of temporal AA and native 720p rendering, but it doesn't exactly have much more going for it.

The multiplayer portion of the game has been effected the most. At best it looks like Halo 3.5. Even Forge World in Reach had more going on and looked better than most of the multiplayer maps in H4. Let's take a look, shall we?
We went from having maps that looked like this:

to this:

It's almost jarring

 

[Madness]

I always write this, but can anyone tell me why Exile has that pervasive yellow tint? It's in quite a few of the levels and in the campaign sort of. Reminds me of like Gears, Uncharted, Resistance and that yellow/brown next gen look.

I actually miss the colors of CE-3 and Reach.

But I agree, I thought Reach was a much more polished game, not many cut features, longer campaign, solid level design, enemy AI, sound design etc.

 

[Ghazi]

I always write this, but can anyone tell me why Exile has that pervasive yellow tint? It's in quite a few of the levels and in the campaign sort of. Reminds me of like Gears, Uncharted, Resistance and that yellow/brown next gen look.

I actually miss the colors of CE-3 and Reach.

But I agree, I thought Reach was a much more polished game, not many cut features, longer campaign, solid level design, enemy AI, sound design etc.

The Sun?

 

[DeadNames]

The rocks in halo 4 look really good though, gotta give it that.

 

[Madness]

The Sun?

No man... Is it the lighting or some type of filter? It's first thing I noticed when I fired up H4 at launch. Game looks amazing, character models are great etc. But why's it have that next gen look, why are the colors washed out.

You see on the right? Is it less color saturation? Best way I can describe it is watching TV on dynamic picture setting and then change it to like movie and see the difference.

 

[NobleGundam]

I've seen many Halo 4 casual players surprised that XP codes are given out to redeem on Waypoint. They thought everyone should be SR130 by now and they're kinda bored with it now since their Spartan Rank is maxed.

Could 343 raise the bar higher so players can fill more bars and be satisfied?

Spoiler

 

[Enter The 36 Chambers]

Honest question: Is there a shooter out there released in the last few years that doesn't have ADS? Pretty much seems like a relic of shooters past at this point (unfortunately).

Counter Strike : GO. I played a ton of this on live when it came out. I'd imagine its pretty dead now though.



So catty in here.

 

[Fuchsdh]

No man... Is it the lighting or some type of filter? It's first thing I noticed when I fired up H4 at launch. Game looks amazing, character models are great etc. But why's it have that next gen look, why are the colors washed out.

You see on the right? Is it less color saturation? Best way I can describe it is watching TV on dynamic picture setting and then change it to like movie and see the difference.

I don't think the issue is saturation so much as vibrance. All the colors in the game haven't been knocked down uniformly, the intensity of the peak colors have been dropped. The actual character colors all feel like tints of the main color, too, which gives that pastel look that can feel washed out when matched with the environment and lighting. Something I've also noticed (especially in Reach with its vistas) is that Bungie seems to cant heavily towards a blue cast for its aerial perspective, while Halo 4's maps tend to have a more yellow tone to them.

In short, Halo 4 isn't really a next-gen game in the classic "everything's brown" mode. It's a bit more nuanced.

And you really should avoid picture styles on your TV. Since they indiscriminately bump colors they can wreck havok on some films.

 

[Ghazi]

Could 343 raise the bar higher so players can fill more bars and be satisfied?

Spoiler

Why should anyone give a fuck about rank? It's not like people were asking for an extension of the rank 50 in 3 (although you can lose rank, so that would be why this isn't a good comparison). Rank should never have been used to put unlocking behind in a Halo game other than cosmetics. edit: Whoops, didn't see "casual"; that explains it.

Counter Strike : GO. I played a ton of this on live when it came out. I'd imagine its pretty dead now though.



So catty in here.

Bought GO during launch on Live, played about 2 matches and haven't touched it since. Should've been 60fps, can't play CS at 30

No man... Is it the lighting or some type of filter? It's first thing I noticed when I fired up H4 at launch. Game looks amazing, character models are great etc. But why's it have that next gen look, why are the colors washed out.

You see on the right? Is it less color saturation? Best way I can describe it is watching TV on dynamic picture setting and then change it to like movie and see the difference.

That comparison picture is great, I can see it now. Personally, I felt that Halo 3's colors were a little too bright, but that Halo 4's are too washed out. Reach also looked a little bit like 4, although the colors were more washed out on maps that weren't Reflection and some other ones I'm forgetting. Seems like it's a combination of the render distance (fog) and the just the way the lighting itself is seems it's consistent like that over all the other maps. I t may be a filter, like you said, but for some reason I don't think it is.

 

[Enter The 36 Chambers]

I don't play PC games so the 30fps didn't bother me at all. Game was fun

 

[Madness]

I don't think the issue is saturation so much as vibrance. All the colors in the game haven't been knocked down uniformly, the intensity of the peak colors have been dropped. The actual character colors all feel like tints of the main color, too, which gives that pastel look that can feel washed out when matched with the environment and lighting. Something I've also noticed (especially in Reach with its vistas) is that Bungie seems to cant heavily towards a blue cast for its aerial perspective, while Halo 4's maps tend to have a more yellow tone to them.

In short, Halo 4 isn't really a next-gen game in the classic "everything's brown" mode. It's a bit more nuanced.

And you really should avoid picture styles on your TV. Since they indiscriminately bump colors they can wreck havok on some films.

Yeah I post somewhat regularly on Avsforum and use whatever settings the guys there come up with for the model televisions I have to get uniform 6500k etc. I just wanted to use that comparison to highlight what I meant.

I think Halo 4 is great and shows how far we've come and just what they are able to take from aging hardware but it just felt a bit different.

 

[Fuchsdh]

Yeah I post somewhat regularly on Avsforum and use whatever settings the guys there come up with for the model televisions I have to get uniform 6500k etc. I just wanted to use that comparison to highlight what I meant.

I think Halo 4 is great and shows how far we've come and just what they are able to take from aging hardware but it just felt a bit different.

I like the art style for what it is, but to me part of the appeal of Halo has always been the purple and pink Covenant and bright multiplayer skins. 4 is closer than Reach was in terms of the aesthetic I like but I think they could go further.

Also every time I see Tempest I get a flood of nostalgia. I guess it's the long, vertical Forerunner buildings sort of perching on outcroppings that reminds me of Silent Cartographer all the time.

 

[TheOddOne]

Halo 4’s color palette seems to be the effect of removing the ‘somber’ filter that was put in Reach. Every surface now looks too bright and has some unwanted side effects – the overall palette doesn’t seem to meshing well with basically everything and anything. However darker sections, like for example the level Forerunner, look really good because they focus on a small set of primary colors – in case of Forerunner, purple, gray metallic and orange. The outside sections on the other hand have a bigger palette of color and there is where the game seem to look off or overblown. The second half of Reclaimer really just shows how much it just does not mesh well. It just looks unfocused. Maybe the somber filter would have helped to smooth out the edges.

I’m not expert on it though, but that is my takeaway on overall look of Halo 4.

 

[The Henery]

Reach is still the best looking Halo game, IMO.

343i sacrificed too much just to render those extra few pixels (did anyone actually care that Reach wasn't "true" HD?), IMO. I feel like pretty much everything in regards to the environment - from sky boxes, water, to rendering distance and textures - took a nosedive. Sure the IQ is nice due to the lack of temporal AA and native 720p rendering, but it doesn't exactly have much more going for it.

The multiplayer portion of the game has been effected the most. At best it looks like Halo 3.5. Even Forge World in Reach had more going on and looked better than most of the multiplayer maps in H4.

I agree in many respects that Reach looks better but that statement veers into the outrageous. Forge World in Reach is disgusting low res undifferentiated garbage. Forge in Halo 4 looks leagues better and the maps themselves are obviously better looking than Reach's FW. Which Halo 4 maps do you think look worse than Forge World?

 

[FyreWulff]

Heh. The freeflying mode in Disney Infinity's world editor is called Spark Mode.

(was watching a gaffer stream here: http://www.twitch.tv/shuzu21 )

 

[User 73706]

I agree in many respects that Reach looks better but that statement veers into the outrageous. Forge World in Reach is disgusting low res undifferentiated garbage. Forge in Halo 4 looks leagues better and the maps themselves are obviously better looking than Reach's FW. Which Halo 4 maps do you think look worse than Forge World?

"all of them. art is subjective dude. looks like someone has some growing up to do"

Just throwing it out there, Halo 4's Gears of War Covenant aesthetic could actually be a brilliant move. If we get Arbiter and friends in Halo 5, they could use Bungie's aesthetic for Elites while the Remnant use 343's!

 

[Fuchsdh]

"all of them. art is subjective dude. looks like someone has some growing up to do"

Just throwing it out there, Halo 4's Gears of War Covenant aesthetic could actually be a brilliant move. If we get Arbiter and friends in Halo 5, they could use Bungie's aesthetic for Elites while the Remnant use 343's!

I don't really think the Covenant designs are bad on their own. But bad in the sense of rewriting what they've looked liked for a decade? Yeah. Two different things.

 

[Chig]

Not sure if anyone would be interested, but I have a free pass for someone to get into the Halo 4 Global Championships in Seattle to spectate. Of course you'd have to get yourself there. If anyone is interested, let me know! The deadline is tonight.
Either PM/DM on here or tweet me @Chiig, i'll be checking back shortly.

Edit: SOLD.

 

[NobleGundam]

The Unsc could probably issue Automated Mantis Drones that can be dropped from Pelicans onto the battlefield.

Seeing as having Mech-sized Spartans (Gundams) won't ever happen in the Halo-verse. Mantis Drones is very possible.

 

[Madness]

I don't really think the Covenant designs are bad on their own. But bad in the sense of rewriting what they've looked liked for a decade? Yeah. Two different things.

My feeling is, they took 3 distinct races of alien that were united under this Covenant banner in a sham and made them into small, medium, large versions of the same race.

They homogenized their look, the skin tone, markings on the arms etc.

 

[nillapuddin]

I dont care what he looks like, but I am DYING to hear/see more about the Arbiter..

Sarah Palmer withstanding, I can't imagine a single fan of Halo fiction being disappointed with where we are headed

• 343 Guilty Spark is alive again and on the prowl
• The Librarian is possibly still "alive"
• Mendicant Bias is clearly on the horizon
• Halsey has achieved an unprecedented level of rogueness
• Chief has some serious issues
• Arbiters Sanghelli vs "The Storm" faction
• I can only imagine one if not both Didacts will be present
• Precursors/Flood likely being in the mix

 

[Fuchsdh]

I dont care what he looks like, but I am DYING to hear/see more about the Arbiter..

Sarah Palmer withstanding, I can't imagine a single fan of Halo fiction being disappointed with where we are headed

• 343 Guilty Spark is alive again and on the prowl
• The Librarian is possibly still "alive"
• Mendicant Bias is clearly on the horizon
• Halsey has achieved an unprecedented level of rogueness
• Chief has some serious issues
• Arbiters Sanghelli vs "The Storm" faction
• I can only imagine one if not both Didacts will be present
• Precursors/Flood likely being in the mix

I suppose you can be disappointed that the Forerunners aren't some shadowy, mysterious, possibly human race, or that bringing back things like 343GS is unnecessary. But the easy solution to being dissatisfied with later stuff is that you can still enjoy and play the originals and say to hell with whatever you don't care about. 343 has been very mindful of pulling a Lucas.

 

[wwm0nkey]

I dont care what he looks like, but I am DYING to hear/see more about the Arbiter..

Sarah Palmer withstanding, I can't imagine a single fan of Halo fiction being disappointed with where we are headed

• 343 Guilty Spark is alive again and on the prowl
• The Librarian is possibly still "alive"
• Mendicant Bias is clearly on the horizon
• Halsey has achieved an unprecedented level of rogueness
• Chief has some serious issues
• Arbiters Sanghelli vs "The Storm" faction
• I can only imagine one if not both Didacts will be present
• Precursors/Flood likely being in the mix

Honestly the only thing that kind of gives me a Halo boner right now is having chief meet up with Chakas GS and revealing Chief has some relation to the Bornsteller Didact.

The explanation for "Last time, you asked me, if it were my choice, would I do it?" in Halo 1 was the greatest thing that was done so far.

 

[nillapuddin]

I suppose you can be disappointed that the Forerunners aren't some shadowy, mysterious, possibly human race, or that bringing back things like 343GS is unnecessary. But the easy solution to being dissatisfied with later stuff is that you can still enjoy and play the originals and say to hell with whatever you don't care about. 343 has been very mindful of pulling a Lucas.

I really dislike that approach.
edit: thought you meant just continually playing the old games for eternity

Im just saying, I was very uneasy about the state of Halo fiction after Bungie split, 343 seems to have scrapped together bits from every corner and is making something of it.

 

[User 73706]

I dont care what he looks like, but I am DYING to hear/see more about the Arbiter..

Sarah Palmer withstanding, I can't imagine a single fan of Halo fiction being disappointed with where we are headed

• 343 Guilty Spark is alive again and on the prowl
• The Librarian is possibly still "alive"
• Mendicant Bias is clearly on the horizon
• Halsey has achieved an unprecedented level of rogueness
• Chief has some serious issues
• Arbiters Sanghelli vs "The Storm" faction
• I can only imagine one if not both Didacts will be present
• Precursors/Flood likely being in the mix

Don't get me wrong, that's a hypeworthy list, but with 343 at the helm I'm not sure it's going to be everything we're expecting. Franchises with god-tier plot threads don't always end up peachy keen in terms of continuing the narrative. See: Metroid Fusion.

 

[bobs...onGaf]

I suppose you can be disappointed that the Forerunners aren't some shadowy, mysterious, possibly human race, or that bringing back things like 343GS is unnecessary. But the easy solution to being dissatisfied with later stuff is that you can still enjoy and play the originals and say to hell with whatever you don't care about. 343 has been very mindful of pulling a Lucas.

Hmm I think that makes following the series going forward a lot less interesting though.

 

[wwm0nkey]

After downloading and trying all Halo 3 Yelo maps I really think this is the best mix of halo CE + 2 + 3 ever. 343 should release it on Steam already so I can actually play with some of you guys.

Halo 1 map, Halo 2 vehicles and Halo 3 weapons and armor, also some motion blur

 

[nillapuddin]

Don't get me wrong, that's a hypeworthy list, but with 343 at the helm I'm not sure it's going to be everything we're expecting. Franchises with god-tier plot threads don't always end up peachy keen in terms of continuing the narrative. See: Metroid Fusion.

to be fair though, its not like there were 50 different open threads to go on from Halo 3.

Thats why I said "scrapped together" they are kinda having to just go with it, it would be pretty difficult to take a book, read it half way, then have to just make up all the rest (on a deadline) and it be as cohesive as the first half which took years of planning

 

[Dongs Macabre]

After downloading and trying all Halo 3 Yelo maps I really think this is the best mix of halo CE + 2 + 3 ever. 343 should release it on Steam already so I can actually play with some of you guys.

Halo 1 map, Halo 2 vehicles and Halo 3 weapons and armor, also some motion blur

I would download them, but I'm to to download every single one and moving them to a folder.

Anyone have a link to all of them in one file?

 

[wwm0nkey]

I would download them, but I'm to to download every single one and moving them to a folder.

Anyone have a link to all of them in one file?

I will go make a quick zip file of all of them.

 

[HiredN00bs]

First 360 game on Halo engine

Second 360 game on Halo engine

Third 360 game on Halo engine, now with a completely new face system

Fourth 360 game on Halo engine, based off Reach's new face tech, and now facescanned actors

Dunno about you, I see iterative progression here

We go from counting pixels on Lord Hood's clothing to actual visible texture on Kat's underarmor and then improved lighting on Lasky.

Meanwhile back in Halo 2

They say that time is the Fyre in which we burn.

I have been balls-deep in New Leaf for weeks now. That franchise has held onto its core game play over the years, almost to a fault (which is interesting when juxtaposed with the changes in the Halo franchise). I say almost because I am loving it and it's the first Animal Crossing game I've really gotten into since Animal Crossing released on Gamecube almost 11 years ago.

 

[User 73706]

to be fair though, its not like there were 50 different open threads to go on from Halo 3.

Thats why I said "scrapped together" they are kinda having to just go with it, it would be pretty difficult to take a book, read it half way, then have to just make up all the rest (on a deadline) and it be as cohesive as the first half which took years of planning

I think the weirdest part is just how many threads they (apparently) closed through the Forerunner trilogy. Spoilers:

Spoiler

EVERYONE DIES. And not just in the Halo sense. Apparently all of the ancient Precursors in the galaxy are dead along with just about every other plot thread save for the Didact.

It was a weird narrative choice imo.

 

[ElzarTheBam]

They say that time is the Fyre in which we burn.

I have been balls-deep in New Leaf for weeks now. That franchise has held onto its core game play over the years, almost to a fault (which is interesting when juxtaposed with the changes in the Halo franchise). I say almost because I am loving it and it's the first Animal Crossing game I've really gotten into since Animal Crossing released on Gamecube almost 11 years ago.

You better be playing that turnip game, boy!

I made a 400k loss this week.

 

[Ghazi]

I think the weirdest part is just how many threads they (apparently) closed through the Forerunner trilogy. Spoilers:

Spoiler

EVERYONE DIES. And not just in the Halo sense. Apparently all of the ancient Precursors in the galaxy are dead along with just about every other plot thread save for the Didact.

It was a weird narrative choice imo.

I remember reading that and was like wtf, I don't know if Greg Bear considered the future of where the game/even more books could advance plotwise when he wrote that stuff. Or he did and just wanted it that way....

 

[Steelyuhas]

First rule of narrative in 343's Halo universe: There is no such thing as "dead" characters, they just come back to life.

 

[User 73706]

First rule of narrative in 343's Halo universe: There is no such thing as "dead" characters, they just come back to life.

What about Halo though?

 

[wwm0nkey]

Halo 3 sandbox maps for Halo CE for those that want them. Opensauce is REQUIRED!

-Halo 3 weapons
-Halo 3 bipeds
-Halo 1 maps (no texture changes)
-Halo 1 mechanics (ex: Fall stun)
-Halo 2 vehicle appearance

 

[Steelyuhas]

What about Halo though?

8/10

 

[Barrow Roll]

First rule of narrative in 343's Halo universe: There is no such thing as "dead" characters, they just come back to life.

Anyone that's familiar with or reads superhero comics should be pretty used to this mentality by now.

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

After downloading and trying all Halo 3 Yelo maps I really think this is the best mix of halo CE + 2 + 3 ever. 343 should release it on Steam already so I can actually play with some of you guys.

Halo 1 map, Halo 2 vehicles and Halo 3 weapons and armor, also some motion blur

My god that looks nice.

I think the weirdest part is just how many threads they (apparently) closed through the Forerunner trilogy. Spoilers:

Spoiler

EVERYONE DIES. And not just in the Halo sense. Apparently all of the ancient Precursors in the galaxy are dead along with just about every other plot thread save for the Didact.

It was a weird narrative choice imo.

Really? I still haven't read the latest book.. wtf are they thinking? You know, I give Bungie a ton of flak for not being able to write a good/cohesive narrative after Halo 3, but at least they knew how to keep the universe filled with mystery and potential. Things just feel so.. I don't even know what to call it now that 343 took over. Its just.. the Universe needs a refresh after Halo 4, it kinda feels dry and off now.

 

[Hypertrooper]

For god's sake, I hope they won't introduce Bonestellar Didact as Didact/IosDidact in the game if he is planned to appear. And I wish that he appears in the game.

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

For god's sake, I hope they won't introduce Bonestellar Didact as Didact/IosDidact in the game if he is planned to appear. And I wish that he appears in the game.

I feel like the choice for the two Didacts thing over complicates things as is. Its going to be hard to explain that all in a game.

I just hope there is a "surprise, army of actually living Forerunners!" for us to fight and interact with. And on top of that, I would prefer not all wind up as enemies. But who knows anymore.

 

[Steelyuhas]

Anyone that's familiar with or reads superhero comics should be pretty used to this mentality by now.

Never read one in my life.

Speaking of which though, I have a question about the Shield TV show. (The Avengers film spoilers)

Spoiler

The guy that appears be to the main character of the show fucking died in the film. Does the show happen prior to that film, or is it just "don't worry about it"?

I feel like the choice for the two Didacts thing over complicates things as is. Its going to be hard to explain that all in a game.

I just hope there is a "surprise, army of actually living Forerunners!" for us to fight and interact with. And on top of that, I would prefer not all wind up as enemies. But who knows anymore.

They failed at a narrative level with one Didact in the game, so it doesn't seem like a great idea to introduce the "other" Didact.

 

[Hypertrooper]

I feel like the choice for the two Didacts thing over complicates things as is. Its going to be hard to explain that all in a game.

I just hope there is a "surprise, army of actually living Forerunners!" for us to fight and interact with. And on top of that, I would prefer not all wind up as enemies. But who knows anymore.

He is a Forerunner. Easy way to introduce him as another Forerunner. Maybe call him an old Warrior with the same rank as the Didact. But do not tell the players that he is another Didact.

Never read one in my life.

Speaking of which though, I have a question about the Shield TV show. (The Avengers film spoilers)

Spoiler

The guy that appears be to the main character of the show fucking died in the film. Does the show happen prior to that film, or is it just "don't worry about it"?

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. happens after Avengers. So ehm... watch the series when it comes out?

 

[NobleGundam]

First rule of narrative in 343's Halo universe: There is no such thing as "dead" characters, they just come back to life.

Yup No longer Forerunner Trilogy now it's Saga

 

[Steelyuhas]

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. happens after Avengers. So ehm... watch the series when it comes out?

So, (again, Avengers spoilers)

Spoiler

They're will probably just be some he's alive again nanomachines don't worry about it. Sounds bad already.

They knew the TV series was going to happen, why did Whedon kill him off in the film?

 

[Barrow Roll]

So, (again, Avengers spoilers)

Spoiler

They're will probably just be some he's alive again nanomachines don't worry about it. Sounds bad already.

They knew the TV series was going to happen, why did Whedon kill him off in the film?

Probably to

Spoiler

make Nick Fury look like a manipulative asshole willing to do whatever it takes to rally the team for a good cause.

Too bad it's probably Sam Jackson's most boring performance since Mace Windu.

 

[Steelyuhas]

Probably to

Spoiler

make Nick Fury look like a manipulative asshole willing to do whatever it takes to rally the team for a good cause.

Too bad it's probably Sam Jackson's most boring performance since Mace Windu.

Spoiler

Yeah I understand the narrative reason in the film for his death, but don't kill a character that you know you will be using in the future. You're forcing yourself into a corner where you have to make up some cheap bullshit why your character is alive again.