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[Overdoziz]

Lololololololol Someone's losing their cool.

It's like they're going down the checklist. So sad.

 

[daedalius]

I like the ordanance drop ideas, because of what it does.

Right now in Halo, you spaw, you run to a power weapon, and if you're someone who is beastly with sniper, then no one really sees you that whole game since you'll rock it the whole time racking up kills.

Now, you gotta do several things to possibly get at a sniper. Gotta do some DMR/BR fighting to earn one yourself. Can't do it? Then you gotta try to take one somene else earns and drops somewhere. A whole sleu of shit can happen here with where did it drop, if it isn't picked up are they waiting to ambush you, and so on. Some more team work will come into play for controlling weapons. A lot of good it will do if one guy on your team is doing great, raining down weapons, but he can't claim them so it just powers the other team more.

There are still static weapons at the beginning of a match.

The ordnance drops only happen on power-weapon respawn.

So it would be very likely that someone could pick up an initial sniper, but perhaps not as easily additional snipers.

 

[CyReN]

That's my phrase... now.

I was waiting for you to post that lol.

 

[RebornYeti]

Thanks for the impressions Wu!

Totally called right stick sprint and B button crouch as the default control scheme.

I called it first!

Spoiler

Actually, I totally don't know who did, but I had the same thought.

 

[zlatko]

There are still static weapons at the beginning of a match.

The ordnance drops only happen on power-weapon respawn.

So it would be very likely that someone could pick up an initial sniper, but perhaps not as easily additional snipers.

Where did they say there are still static ones? Wu even said he didn't see anything aside maybe a needler, and he thought maybe that came from a dead person's body and not being a static in the game.

 

[blamite]

There were almost no weapons on the map at all in the games we played. (I'd say there were none, but I seem to remember a needler or two lying around - I guess maybe a deady guy could have dropped it, not sure.)

Hnnnnnnng. I need to see this needler. Please tell me someone got a photo of the needler!

Neeeeeeeedlerrrrrrrrr

 

[WJD]

I like the ordanance drop ideas, because of what it does.

Right now in Halo, you spawn, you run to a power weapon, and if you're someone who is beastly with sniper, then no one really sees you that whole game since you'll rock it the whole time racking up kills.

Now, you gotta do several things to possibly get at a sniper. Gotta do some DMR/BR fighting to earn one yourself. Can't do it? Then you gotta try to take one somene else earns and drops somewhere. A whole sleu of shit can happen here with where did it drop, if it isn't picked up are they waiting to ambush you, and so on. Some more team work will come into play for controlling weapons. A lot of good it will do if one guy on your team is doing great, raining down weapons, but he can't claim them so it just powers the other team more.

This is exactly what will happen in the average game with randoms though won't it? I'll be donging (relative the the rest of my team) winning all sorts of weapons and shit and they'll all just carry on sucking and handing over weapons to the other team.

The easy solution shouldn't be "don't play with randoms" either.

 

[Bregmann Roche]

I'd love to play Halo gameplay with these new systems in place. Could be a cool change of pace. But I want to be able to play classic Halo at launch also. And not just in custom games.

I agree and I'm willing to bet that 343 agrees with you as well.

You're right, they mentioned timer systems..

Perhaps it's actually a vote? Or everyone gets to pick one throughout the course of the match?

That makes the most sense, each team would get an equal number of opportunities to determine drop sites and the "predictability" that Frankie mentioned would be the predictability that the team choosing the drop site will choose a drop site close to their current location.

 

[Recarpo]

Where did they say there are still static ones? Wu even said he didn't see anything aside maybe a needler, and he thought maybe that came from a dead person's body and not being a static in the game.

There are power weapons that will be there at the beginning of the match. For example, for a map like the pit 2 snipers and rockets would be there at the start of the match and after that they would only be dropped by ordinance.

Also, it seems like with all the new options there's going to have to be a huge amount of playlists again, like reach. I hope 343 can find a nice balance of settings and playlists so we don't have so many of them that are slightly different than each other.

 

[Garrett 2U]

Not perks! The modifications are more like bees really!
Just a few customizable slots allowing you to start with faster shield regen, more grenades, extra ammo, etc, etc.

No point streaks! You simply earn ordinance drops by preforming a variety of game related tasks.

*crosses fingers that it still plays like halo, and not other game(s)*

What kind of tasks will actually earn them?

We dunno. Louis Wu wasn't sure how he earned them.
Just that he pressed the dpad to enable them. (NOT POINTSTREAKS BTW!)


I didn't mean for this to sound negative. Well I did, but it isn't my serious opinion.
I have full faith that Halo 4 will be the best Halo yet.
We just have so much speculative information and so little official information that it is a bit scary sometimes.

 

[Recarpo]

No point streaks! You simply earn ordinance drops by preforming a variety of game related tasks.

What kind of tasks will actually earn them?

 

[Overdoziz]

What kind of tasks will actually earn them?

Sexual ones.

 

[Tha Robbertster]

I thought the idea was to make the game more approachable for new, less skilled players. Now, it sounds like the bad players won't be able to get the power weapons all together.

 

[ElzarTheBam]

Awesome Wu. Thanks.

 

[FyreWulff]

Not perks! The modifications are more like bees really

Now I just got a really funny mental image of someone choosing to deploy bees onto the map.

 

[The Librarian]

I thought the idea was to make the game more approachable for new, less skilled players. Now, it sounds like the bad players won't be able to get the power weapons all together.

That's why there will be deathstreaks!

 

[The Real Napsta]

I thought the idea was to make the game more approachable for new, less skilled players. Now, it sounds like the bad players won't be able to get the power weapons all together.

They will know were they spawn (the game will tell them) and can fight over them just like they could in previous titles.

This time they will at least know where.

 

[Tha Robbertster]

Now I just got a really funny mental image of someone choosing to deploy bees onto the map.

That'll actually bee a kill streak!

Spoiler

I'm terrible lol

They will know were they spawn (the game will tell them) and can fight over them just like they could in previous titles.

This time they will at least know where.

Yep, and the good team will communicate the location and hold that location down, thus ensuring the other team won't get the power weapon. That's how it happens right now at least.

 

[Louis Wu]

Okay, last post of the day. Really.

Clarification: I have NO CLUE what generated the Ordnance popup in my HUD. I ASSUMED it was something I 'earned' (through kills/points/something else)... but I did NOT clarify this with anyone at 343. For all I know, it could be totally random, and assigned to a random player each time it comes up (no earning involved). I simply don't know.

Don't freak out until someone's TOLD you that it's exactly how you don't want it.

Demoncarnataur - I didn't see any jackals at all. Only campaign enemies in the demo were Grunts and Elites.

Also: the fact that the loadout last night included a Plasma Pistol as secondary weapon means NOTHING for Halo 4's matchmaking - it was set up at the show by the guys configuring the Xboxes. DO NOT PANIC THAT BTB WILL HAVE ANTI-VEHICLE WEAPONS ON SPAWN - you're drawing huge conclusions from very, very spotty (and non-relevant) data.

quick last-minute quote:

There are power weapons that will be there at the beginning of the match. For example, for a map like the pit 2 snipers and rockets would be there at the start of the match and after that they would only be dropped by ordinance.

This is not how it worked last night. There were no power weapons at the start of the matches - they only came in on ordnance drops. (Again - these were CUSTOM games, set up by 343 staff. This tells you NOTHING about Matchmaking - but I wanted to clarify that what I played was NOT what you just described.)

Gotta go. Love you all. Kisses.

 

[squidhands]

The fact that we can start off with the PP leads me to believe that the EMP effect against vehicles has been removed. I would be sad to see it go as I liked the functionality in multiplayer. I especially liked using it in campaign – it added a whole new dynamic, but Reach did go too far in having the enemies use it against us.

I don't expect the Halo 2 PP. The was one of the most broken, unbalanced aspects of Halo 2 and it would be so ridiculous for it to return.

Do you remember when Frankie said that loadouts were tailored to maps and gametypes, because I sure do.

We love you, Wu. Thanks for the impressions, can't wait to see all the MLG tears if HaloGAF is going off the rails already. fuckinglol

 

[AllIsOneIsNone]

There's no way power weapons are going to be killstreak related though. I don't believe it, I can't believe it. I'll wait for more info.

 

[Gui_PT]

Just got home.


Halo 4 will have Perks

 

[Overdoziz]

They will know were they spawn (the game will tell them) and can fight over them just like they could in previous titles.

This time they will at least know where.

Maybe there's a perk or armor ability that disables your opoonents' HUD. That would be so cool.

 

[Bregmann Roche]

The fact that we can start off with the PP leads me to believe that the EMP effect against vehicles has been removed.

Or using the EMP option takes out a significant chunk of the PP's ammo. Regardless of that, players are going to be spawning with plasma grenades as well which means vehicle drivers are going to have their hands full in BTB.

This is exactly what will happen in the average game with randoms though won't it? I'll be donging (relative the the rest of my team) winning all sorts of weapons and shit and they'll all just carry on sucking and handing over weapons to the other team.

The easy solution shouldn't be "don't play with randoms" either.

The bigger frustration is going to be that you will get yourself a weapon drop, then gain control of the drop location only to watch your teammate swoop in and grab the weapon OR betray you for it. I'm anxious to try this new system out and/or get details on exactly how it works. It's not fair to judge it based off of what little Wu has been able to relate to us about his experience.

EDIT: Beaten by Wu...then apparently kissed by him???

 

[monome]

It's like they're going down the checklist. So sad.

I have a Reggie Fils Aime vibe going through his WiiU check list too.

I hate perks, hate them so very much, how can I get a quick game with a non-FPS litterate friend if I have to get him up to date with all the goddamn options?
How can I play against someone who aims better, knows the map better, knows the system better, has more options than me etc...and feel like I'm gonna have fun? I'm bond to remain in noobs Hell for matchmaking...(not all doom and gloom though but I'll be stuck in SPartan Ops like I was in Firefight and Big Team Battle).

 

[zlatko]

I'm just seeing the glass half full at all this new info. Until Frankie drops a disappointment bomb, I'll keep being optomistic about all these new inclusions.

 

[Recarpo]

This is not how it worked last night. There were no power weapons at the start of the matches - they only came in on ordnance drops. (Again - these were CUSTOM games, set up by 343 staff. This tells you NOTHING about Matchmaking - but I wanted to clarify that what I played was NOT what you just described.)

Interesting. I swear I remember a 343 person saying that's how it would, or could with the option for that, work.

 

[daedalius]

Well, when ordnance is dropping in, it DOES pop up on your HUD, as we've seen in other videos.

This doesn't have anything to do with earning them though.

 

[Tawpgun]

There's no way power weapons are going to be killstreak related though. I don't believe it, I can't believe it. I'll wait for more info.

From Wu's impressions we have to remain skeptical.

They could be showing off options and what Halo 4 can do with these new systems in place.

A standard Team Slayer match might have this system, but not as extreme (I hope).

 

[The Librarian]

NOBODY PANIC...yet!

Do you remember when Frankie said that loadouts were tailored to maps and gametypes, because I sure do.

For that I thought he was only talking about the default loadouts that the game gives you. Beyond that I'm interested in seeing how they implement it. Will the inappropriate, user-created loadouts be greyed out as an option at the start of each game? Will the playlist tell us what starting weapons will not be allowed?

Edit:

Or using the EMP option takes out a significant chunk of the PP's ammo. Regardless of that, players are going to be spawning with plasma grenades as well which means vehicle drivers are going to have their hands full in BTB.

Oh yeah. That's right. Welp, that's another concern to add to the list.

 

[Tha Robbertster]

I have hope though. From the podcast, it didn't sound like you earned the weapons.

 

[squidhands]

From Wu's impressions we have to remain skeptical.

They could be showing off options and what Halo 4 can do with these new systems in place.

A standard Team Slayer match might have this system, but not as extreme (I hope).

Holy shit, a rational conclusion. Bravo, sir.

NOBODY PANIC...yet!

For that I thought he was only talking about the default loadouts that the game gives you. Beyond that I'm interested in seeing how they implement it beyond that. Will the inappropriate, user-created loadouts be greyed out as an option at the start of each game? Will the playlist tell us what starting weapons will not be allowed?

It seems completely counter-intuitive to have loadouts that are matched with a map/gametype, only to have it negated by a personalized/unlocked loadout system. There are finer details that we are obviously not privy to, so the best thing to do is just happily speculate without getting one's panties in a bunch.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Now I just got a really funny mental image of someone choosing to deploy bees onto the map.

 

[feel]

It's like they're going down the checklist. So sad.

I chuckled and SMH'd at "B to Crouch".

 

[ElzarTheBam]

Holy shit, a rational conclusion. Bravo, sir.

Is it bad that I like seeing HaloGaf freak out?

 

[The Real Napsta]

Reach maintenance is over.

 

[monome]

Interesting. I swear I remember a 343 person saying that's how it would, or could with the option for that, work.

for custom games you have extreme control of options.

 

[Overdoziz]

I chuckled and SMH'd at "B to Crouch".

I can't imagine default sprint working well with bumper-jumper.

 

[Tha Robbertster]

Is it bad that I like seeing HaloGaf freak out?

Some men just want to watch the world burn.

Or in your case, make people look up freaky shit.

 

[ElzarTheBam]

Some men just want to watch the world burn.

Or in your case, make people look up freaky shit.

Did you manage to google parazoophilia? I hope so.

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

Crouch jumping is gonna be a pain. =/

Okay, last post of the day. Really.

Clarification: I have NO CLUE what generated the Ordnance popup in my HUD. I ASSUMED it was something I 'earned' (through kills/points/something else)... but I did NOT clarify this with anyone at 343. For all I know, it could be totally random, and assigned to a random player each time it comes up (no earning involved). I simply don't know.

Don't freak out until someone's TOLD you that it's exactly how you don't want it.

Demoncarnataur - I didn't see any jackals at all. Only campaign enemies in the demo were Grunts and Elites.

Also: the fact that the loadout last night included a Plasma Pistol as secondary weapon means NOTHING for Halo 4's matchmaking - it was set up at the show by the guys configuring the Xboxes. DO NOT PANIC THAT BTB WILL HAVE ANTI-VEHICLE WEAPONS ON SPAWN - you're drawing huge conclusions from very, very spotty (and non-relevant) data.

quick last-minute quote:

This is not how it worked last night. There were no power weapons at the start of the matches - they only came in on ordnance drops. (Again - these were CUSTOM games, set up by 343 staff. This tells you NOTHING about Matchmaking - but I wanted to clarify that what I played was NOT what you just described.)

Gotta go. Love you all. Kisses.

Thanks again!

Interesting. I swear I remember a 343 person saying that's how it would, or could with the option for that, work.

Yeah, they said that in the Podcast.

 

[Karl2177]

So last night, I go to bed and I'm Bronze 30%. I check Waypoint today, and I'm Silver 80%. Dafuq?

 

[daedalius]

Is it bad that I like seeing HaloGaf freak out?

You've come to the right place then.

So last night, I go to bed and I'm Bronze 30%. I check Waypoint today, and I'm Silver 80%. Dafuq?

I just checked and I am 75% gold, but in game I am silver. Wat?

 

[Tha Robbertster]

Did you manage to google parazoophilia? I hope so.

I'm glad I searched it in a incognito tab....

 

[Bregmann Roche]

Edit:

Oh yeah. That's right. Welp, that's another concern to add to the list.

There's a tradeoff though: no armor lock AA, no power drainer equipment, and in order for people to spawn with the PP they have to deny themselves whatever weapon they could otherwise have in that slot.

I'd rather have to worry about mass PP overcharges and plasma grenades than armor lockers and power drains.

EDIT:

So last night, I go to bed and I'm Bronze 30%. I check Waypoint today, and I'm Silver 80%. Dafuq?

They got your letters!

 

[squidhands]

Is it bad that I like seeing HaloGaf freak out?

It's fun right up until the second or third page of incessant bitching. Then I just CTRL+F for Stinkles or lybertyboy comments/trolling and backtrack for lolz.

 

[Karl2177]

I just checked and I am 75% gold, but in game I am silver. Wat?

It got buried last night under the Halo 4 impressions, but here's my Arena stats for this season. No idea why it placed me in Bronze in the first place.

EDIT: Super wtf. In game I'm not placed. How many days do you have to get rated? I thought it was 4.

 

[Shake Appeal]

 

[ElzarTheBam]

I'm glad I searched it in a incognito tab....

Yes!

It's fun right up until the second or third page of incessant bitching. Then I just CTRL+F for Stinkles or lybertyboy comments and backtrack for lolz.

I understand, usually for me, I just chuckle at it and move on down the page.

 

[op_ivy]

I had some trouble getting used to finding Sprint on my left analog stick. (There are a million button layouts now, so you can pretty much set things up any way you want; I went with my normal (for me) Southpaw/Southpaw/Inverted setup, and that's where Sprint is. Crouch is on the B button, which is bizarre.) Because of this, I felt really slow sometimes.

There is indeed. I still haven't figured out my default.

picking a controller layout will be tough. maybe that default and switching crouch to toggle if its on B, but that will definitely take adjusting to...

Loadouts have a couple more slots than Reach loadouts. (In Reach, you get primary weapon, secondary weapon, grenade, AA - in H4, you get two more slots - I forget what they were called, but they hold things like increased regen and more ammo.) I primarily stuck with the first two loadouts - the first was BR/Plasma Pistol/Plas Grenade, while the second was DMR/pistol/frag. The DMR is a BEAST at range... but much harder to handle up close. The BR is a pretty fast killer up close, but at any real distance, you'll get beaten by a good DMR. The plasma pistol rocks. I don't know if it's just the sound... but DAMN. I was killing people with regular pepper shots (which aren't pepper at all in H4 - they're little mini balls of fire, it seems), and the noob combo is still a reliable annhilator. Overcharged shot seems to track, at least a little bit. (Not as much as Halo 1. )

<3 the DMR.
regen and more ammo? i'm scared...

Promethean Vision is actually pretty useful in very limited situations. It DOES let you see through walls (at least a limited number of walls; you can see people sort of near you) - but 1) you don't have very much of it (it runs out really quickly) and 2) it doesn't help you figure out where someone is if the geometry is really complicated. I guess this will become less relevant when we know the maps inside and out. It's really useful when someone dips behind a wall and then tries to fake you out... you can tell where they're going.

It also screws up colors, so if you're in the middle of a multi-person firefight, it adds more confusion than it removes. I'd say used judiciously, it's pretty cool - but as Frank said, a good player won't really need it.

as i expected. good to hear it indeed sounds like its properly balanced and it'll be less useful to those that know the game well and have skillz.

I think that name pretty much confirms the ancient enemy we'll be facing.

oh shit, never considered that the secret enemy would be anything other than forerunners... maybe at some point we'll have epic 5 way battles with the precursors, forerunners, humans, covenant AND flood at some point in the trilogy!

No. Like tuning your car for handling versus swapping out the engine. More deets at a later time.

balance and trade-offs. this sounds really really great to me and hugely alleviates my fears.

I saw no new weapons in multi. Frank showed off a short campaign demo (10 minutes of an early level in the game), and there was some sort of energy-based covenant rifle that looks pretty cool. (Didn't get to see it in very much action; it came pretty late in the demo, and depending on who was running through, there often wasn't much left alive by the time it showed up.)

we must see some footage of both multi and the short campaign demo!

There were almost no weapons on the map at all in the games we played. (I'd say there were none, but I seem to remember a needler or two lying around - I guess maybe a deady guy could have dropped it, not sure.)

Ordinance drops are pretty cool. When you earn one (I don't know what I did to earn them), you get a little thingy in your UI that pops up - three choices, mapped to three buttons on your D-Pad. Pick your drop, and it'll appear in the default location for that power weapon soon after. That is: Let's say we're talking about Powerhouse. When the game starts, there are no Rockets in the outlet under the station... but as soon as someone earns a drop, and picks Rockets, they'll pop in there. Everyone gets notified that they're about to drop - but the dropper obviously knows a little sooner. So you can either get there first, and snag 'em... or get there and set up a trap.

Clarification: I have NO CLUE what generated the Ordnance popup in my HUD. I ASSUMED it was something I 'earned' (through kills/points/something else)... but I did NOT clarify this with anyone at 343. For all I know, it could be totally random, and assigned to a random player each time it comes up (no earning involved). I simply don't know.

This is not how it worked last night. There were no power weapons at the start of the matches - they only came in on ordnance drops.

i'll wait till i get a good hands on with the game to decide if this is good or bad, but it sounds a bit worrying in some ways, and a nice change in others. "earning" and picking ordinance, in particular, has me concerned, but we'll see how accurate that is with some future clarification.