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Halo |OT19| 793 Posts, And None Worth Reading

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Fracas

#fuckonami
Hold me guys, I'm scared.

wato0kb4.png

lol, he followed me too, and I see he also followed GrizzNKev.

You have made a grave mistake, Brad
 

nillapuddin

Member
I don't think there's ever been a post of yours that I didn't enjoy reading hahah - You're so nonchalant with your humor sometimes; it's hilarious.
nilla 4 best poster of 2014?
nilla 4 best poster of 2014.


btw, Escalation 2 was good.
I like this frame

BvOhIUp.png


I love the dichotomy of the Arbiter and other Sangheli,
So pumped for Halo universe fiction moving forward,
regardless of video game depictions
 

Vico

Member
Guess Brad followed everyone back. :p
Funny thing is I've just opened my twitter account a couple of days ago (in 2014... I know, right?), and I still haven't started using it.

Still need to understand how that works.
 

gAg CruSh3r

Member
Guess Brad followed everyone back. :p
Funny thing is I've just opened my twitter account a couple of days ago (in 2014... I know, right?), and I still haven't started using it.

Still need to understand how that works.

I know how you feel bro.jpg

I barley use it now.
 

GrizzNKev

Banned
When Brad followed me I told him to invite me to the office, then winked at him.







Did it work?

Bullshit. No auto aim=one of the most skillful console FPS games out there, and it also had no random power weapon drops, so saying it's worse than IS is some of the worst hyperbole I've ever read on here.

The controls and player movement is all just so clunky. I don't even care about the rest. The mechanics don't matter if moving from point A to point B is an absolute struggle. That's something Halo will always have over other series.
 

Ramirez

Member
The controls and player movement is all just so clunky. I don't even care about the rest. The mechanics don't matter if moving from point A to point B is an absolute struggle. That's something Halo will always have over other series.

It's a more grounded movement experience, jumping doesn't factor into the core gameplay much, the movement itself is fine. What is clunky about the controls? It's your basic CoD/BF control scheme. An absolute struggle? Lol c'mon dude. You playing with your feet or what?
 
If 343 wants to truly expand the Halo Universe, they have to put out content that the masses will actually enjoy.

Nightfall_Halo_Reach.jpg


They need to make a sequel to ODST as a squad-based shooter. Use The Truth and Reconciliation (CE) and Nightfall (Reach) as inspiration. Special operations, behind enemy lines, recon missions, and so on. A story that actually matters written by people who realize that not everybody wants to read a book to get exposition, that pays dividends in the overall arching Halo story. Put the Spartan Ops cast in there with a good writer that could actually make them likable and 343 will see dividends.

343 is trying this with the books and comics, but let's be reality here. Very few Halo fans actually go out and buy the comics and books. They're not expanding the Halo fanbase with those. They are appeasing those that are already there that are dedicated enough to spend time with the side stuff.

People want Chief at the center of the Halo universe, but it's inconceivable for him to be everywhere at once. That's why they have this expansive side roster that includes Blue Team, Gray Team, Fireteam Majestic, Commander Palmer, and so on. But most of their stories are being told in books and comics that, while selling decently enough, are not truly reaching the masses that another high-budget side series could enjoy. Bungie realized that and tried to make a different take on Halo with ODST.

250px-Halo_3_ODST_Cover.png


The problem with ODST was that it was seen as some type of expansion(Why was the 3 there? Why not call it Halo: ODST? Silly). It was cheaper than other Halo games and had a tacked on multiplayer that linked it with Halo Reach. Not that I am complaining about that.

But the worst offense of ODST was that the story, in retrospect, served little purpose. You play through this campaign that presents itself maturely and mysteriously, that tries to have this smaller yet almost-as-important storyline as the mainline Halo games. You rescue a Huragok. The first one that the UNSC has ever had. Wow. Such amaze.


But then Bungie went nowhere with that. They put out Ghosts of Onyx and 343 follows that with Glasslands and we found out that the UNSC practically has an infinite amount of Huragok at their disposal now. It erased whatever remained of the ODST legacy.

Spartan Ops was presented as a different take on Halo with the possibility of showing different types of military engagements when it came to the UNSC. Yet somehow it just turned into monotonous and mundane classic Halo that involved others. That discussion has been pounded into the dirt tons and tons of times so I am not going to rehash all of it, but I will say that Spartan Ops certainly had problems that could be fixed if 343 wanted. And the likely will.


Spartan Ops tried to have a story that would be important to the overall Halo universe and only time will tell on whether or not that is actually true (probably will, when it comes to Halsey). And while it was pretty mediocre in the early episodes ("Cwimson! Go save dat gai!") it proved that 343 has the right idea of putting actual good story stuff in other formats rather than just the Halo mainline story campaigns.

A potential side game that has a story that would matter to the overall Halo universe would allow 343 to do their thing with Halo 5 while also trying something different with another game. Some players want to see what happens with Chief, and some want to see what happens with the overall universe. That is why I said earlier that it is inconceivable to have Chief everywhere at once. He cannot be at location X fighting against the new Insurrectionist forces, as well as being at location Y fighting the new Covenant, and be at location Z to fight the Didact(who is obviously still alive).

The Arbiter is becoming a big character again thanks to book and comics exposure. It is likely, at least to me, that we will see him in Halo 5. It would not be surprising at all to see that he has a ton of enemies among both the UNSC, some Covenant forces, some Sangheili forces, and a multitude of other factions. He is a character worth exposition and 343 is doing their best to give us fans that. A Special Operations side game that features a mission or two protecting the Arbiter would be fantastic.


Basically, what I am saying is that a side game that allows players to see the Halo universe from another perspective could be a lot of fun. Even if it was basically a montage of moments from past games from other viewpoints would be fantastic. Assisting Jun in the evacuation of Halsey, clearing the streets of New Mombasa with Johnson as Chief is running around a few blocks away, running sniper protection of Keyes as she is leaving Crow's Nest, and so on and so on. Throw in missions featuring new locations to fill in time between 2552 and 2557, and missions linking Halo 4 to Halo 5, and feature a story that won't just be retconned/erased/whatever with a book a year or two later, and I think 343 would allow fans to really feel like they are not simply wasting time with a story that does not matter.

A side game would also allow 343 to experiment with gameplay in a way they clearly want to. Halo 4 was a departure from a lot of what Halo was known for up until that point, and many fans hated it. Others loved it. As much as many of those on this board would hate to admit, the audience of games is changing and Halo 4 was an attempt to appease those changes. Whether or not that was the right call or not is obviously debatable, but it is clear to me that there are two audiences for FPS games. Call of Duty is at the center of one fan-base, and arena shooters like Halo 2 is at the center of the other. Halo 4 was an attempt to merge the two fan bases and according to most, it failed.

Halo 5, according to a lot of speculation, will likely turn back toward classic Halo. Hopefully. But why should 343 completely drop everything they did with Halo 4? Why should they simply ignore the supposed "COD-like" elements they introduced in Halo 4? Separate the two, sure. But there is no reason, IMO, for 343 to completely ignore the strides they made with some of the innovations they achieved with Halo 4. 343 tried to capture a new audience with Halo 4. They brought in lots of new fans but also dropped many others. And if they simply ignore everything they did with Halo 4 that attempted to expand the fan base in favor of classic Halo for the fifth mainline entry, it will invalidate pretty much everything they did that actually lost them fans in the first place. There is a time to cut losses and there is a time to realize that what they did can be beneficial in unseen ways as well.

0fc.gif


343, if they actually did this, would have to present this game as an actual high-budget thing worth of play, unlike ODST. They would have to put in lots of time, effort, blood/sweat/tears, and probably most importantly money at the risk of it not being well-received, but in all honesty, if Microsoft wants to stay relevant in the next generation, they need to expand first/second party offerings. Expanding their biggest franchises reach would, could, and should be their secondary objective after creating new intellectual properties.

Funding such a game as this would allow them to show that they care about gamers and silence the questions that many have of whether or not Microsoft will continue down their path of starting strong and faltering in later years. The Xbox 360 had a fantastic start but really fell behind in its last two years. So far, they look to have corrected this a bit with the number of exclusives coming out in the next two years. But there is no reason to sit on their heels and allow Sony and Nintendo to grasp hold of the market with the many exclusives that they are certainly going to put out.

xboxonebanner.jpg


Developing new IPs is great, but expanding existing franchises is just as good. New IPs typically have growing pains associated with low(ish) sales for their first few entries. If Microsoft truly wants their own version of Mario, they need to expand the brand with quality games that will leave no question as to whether or not a consumer should buy them. A new Halo game every two years is good, and even though people complain about possible over-saturation and beating dead horses and so on and so on, more Halo games is not a bad thing. If they are handled well.. There aren't many complaints about yearly high quality Mario games. Because Galaxy/Galaxy 2/3D World/Mario Bros were all good games. Nintendo put care into them and consumers could see that and wanted to play them.

I have no doubt that if Infinity Ward/Activision/Treyarch actually put time/care/effort into Call of Duty that it would be a true juggernaut in the games industry. Hell, it already is. But imagine if it had the quality that Modern Warfare originally had?

A potential side Halo game could offer something no Halo game before it has done. It would appeal to audiences that have so far stayed away from Halo, while also expanding the Halo audience and universe in new ways, while still yet allowing 343 Industries to preserve classic Halo in the mainline games. Halo fans are always looking for something new because this entire universe is just so damn fun. ODST sold well. Halo Wars, even though it was a mediocre RTS in most respects, sold damn well for being a console RTS game. A well done side game would sell like hotcakes to both Halo fans and the entire overall gaming community.

I am not calling for Halo to become an annual franchise. I am calling for Halo to expand its horizons in quality ways that people will actually care about. 343 Industries seems to want to do it anyway, and I think if handled correctly that it will do nothing but benefit Microsoft, Halo, and the gaming industry as a whole.
 

Dongs Macabre

aka Daedalos42
I thought the point of customs was so we wouldn't have to play with loadouts and stuff we could be playing in Matchmaking. We should play actual custom gametypes and modded stuff.

Also, if you're going to have Jetpacks on a map, use soft killzones.
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
I would love to read this, but I meant these OT threads.
The general Halo OTs? Those started while Reach was out. Actually, all the old threads are listed in the OP of this one. Looks like the first general OT was January 2012.

The controls and player movement is all just so clunky. I don't even care about the rest. The mechanics don't matter if moving from point A to point B is an absolute struggle. That's something Halo will always have over other series.
Yeah, I totally agree. I tried hard to like Shadow Fall, but as soon as BF4 started working reliably, I couldn't go back to Killzone. The movement was just so painfully slow.
 

GrizzNKev

Banned
It's a more grounded movement experience, jumping doesn't factor into the core gameplay much, the movement itself is fine. What is clunky about the controls? It's your basic CoD/BF control scheme. An absolute struggle? Lol c'mon dude. You playing with your feet or what?

The maps are designed in a way that conflicts with the movement of the characters. Small ledges and rubble and short walls everywhere. Forcing players to go around almost everything is a major annoyance and is a hindrance to their awareness of their surroundings. Where jetpacks are one extreme, this is the other. Neither are very fun.
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
The maps are designed in a way that conflicts with the movement of the characters. Small ledges and rubble and short walls everywhere. Forcing players to go around almost everything is a major annoyance and is a hindrance to their awareness of their surroundings.
Yup. The maps are cluttered with stuff, which impedes movement and degrades visual clarity. Getting caught on ledges and rubble is an issue in Battlefield, too, but BF's overall gameplay is so strong that I don't mind so much.
 
The general Halo OTs? Those started while Reach was out. Actually, all the old threads are listed in the OP of this one. Looks like the first general OT was January 2012.

WOW nice.. Didn't even realize that. Just a snippet:

i just realized halo2 is gonna pretty much make xbox connect a ghost town.

how do you figure?

99% of xbc users played halo1. and id say a very big majority of those users will get halo2 and play on live.

I don't think I should read this thread anymore..
/wrist
 
I thought the point of customs was so we wouldn't have to play with loadouts and stuff we could be playing in Matchmaking. We should play actual custom gametypes and modded stuff.

Also, if you're going to have Jetpacks on a map, use soft killzones.

No, the point is to run around on mongooses or suicide outside the map in protest of gametypes.

We started with custom / modded gametypes and only a couple gametype/map combos that are even available in MM have been played. Modded test was a bust (unfortunately) and every customs night for the last couple months has been mostly random gametypes that were hit and miss, so I personally welcome a change to more stable and traditional gametypes for at least part of one night..

Some people just want to play Halo, or as close as H4 can get to that goal.
 

Chettlar

Banned
Good post FUBAR. I wanted to comment on this:

A side game would also allow 343 to experiment with gameplay in a way they clearly want to. Halo 4 was a departure from a lot of what Halo was known for up until that point, and many fans hated it. Others loved it. As much as many of those on this board would hate to admit, the audience of games is changing and Halo 4 was an attempt to appease those changes. Whether or not that was the right call or not is obviously debatable, but it is clear to me that there are two audiences for FPS games. Call of Duty is at the center of one fan-base, and arena shooters like Halo 2 is at the center of the other. Halo 4 was an attempt to merge the two fan bases and according to most, it failed.

And it always will. Something good for you to read would be "22 immutable laws of branding." It's a very important book that many people, if you go to the right places, will recommend to you. Had a friend over the internet point it out to me, and despite not being interested in branding, read it just to be nice....and it is one of the most interesting books I've ever read.

Basically, expanding a brand is rarely good. The book really goes into the whys and hows, but for right now, understand that that is simply the case. Mercedes Bens used to be very top of the line and popular, and yet now they're just another car company. Can't remember the name, but before FedEx and UPS there was another delivery company. The company tried to appeal to different audiences and eventually died when FedEx tightened themselves up and started selling only a few services, mostly overnight delivery, and far outpaced this other company. Apple, you notice, has very few products, and all their products are named very similar, and notice how wildly popular they are. MS killed Zune, Games For Windows Live, and others because they were all over the place. They weren't consolidated. Whether or not you agree they are succeeding, MS has now realized this about companies like Apple, and is trying to contract the brand. It's not "trying to be like Apple"; it's suddenly realizing a good business practice.

Anyway, the same thing can be applied to a game. When you try to take a single game and spread it out to try to cover multiple audiences, you loose both. What MS ought to do is simply do the best they can with Call of Duty, and continue to make Halo, Halo. It would also be stupid of MS to make a separate game to appeal to the CoD crowd. That would split the fanbase three ways (CoD, New Game, Halo). It's just a bad idea.

The best thing MS can do right now is to keep making mainline Halo games like Halo. If they want to have games that appeal more to the CoD crowd, then they should make some more side-like games, like you said, that go more in more "experimental crowd."

Just remember, I don't think a single person has ever made a "CoD Killer" so I'm not sure why MS and others keep trying. It doesn't work, for another reason explained in that book (has to do with brand association and other terms. Hard to explain in a short post, but very, very interesting.).
 

Dongs Macabre

aka Daedalos42
No, the point is to run around on mongooses or suicide outside the map in protest of gametypes.

We started with custom / modded gametypes and only a couple gametype/map combos that are even available in MM have been played. Modded test was a bust (unfortunately) and every customs night for the last couple months has been mostly random gametypes that were hit and miss, so I personally welcome a change to more stable and traditional gametypes for at least part of one night..

Some people just want to play Halo, or as close as H4 can get to that goal.

Modded gametypes would be much more like Halo than anything we've played so far. There's Assault, Classic CTF, VIP, and tons of stuff we could be doing.

Customs drama! Daedaolesoso strikes me as the type that would pout if he didn't like the settings, no surprise!

I just want to try Assault. D:
 

Slightly Live

Dirty tag dodger
Modded gametypes would be much more like Halo than anything we've played so far. There's Assault, Classic CTF, VIP, and tons of stuff we could be doing.

Why the heck aren't you playing classic Halo then?

Mod the shit out of the gametype, remove as much of the crap and you can, and voila.

Why not?
 

IHaveIce

Banned
Had to leave aswell, was actually falling asleep midgame sometimes. It is almost 4AM here.

Good games, at least some of them huehuehueh
 
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