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[JonCha]

I agree.

 

[kittens]

Wedding

So what you're saying is that the Chief/Cortana love rumors are true and Halo 4 ends with a wedding cliffhanger.

 

[Steelyuhas]

It's a reasonable concern. Matchmaking is like being a DJ at a Wedding - you can hook people with the old crowd pleasers - Team Slayer, Bon Jovi - but there are lots of different people at a wedding. Old people, young people, cool people, buttrock fans. A great DJ will pick a playlist that has something for everyone, but adapts to the audience. He or she will start pulling tracks out of his boxes that he thinks the audience is going to like - and when they do, they dance. They have fun. Everyone is happy.

Every now and then he or she will accidentally put in a Macarena or Who Let the Dogs Out, and only Granny Wu will still be dancing, but even she deserves one turn on the floor.

Some of the people at the party will simply plug in their headphones and sit at their own table, head bobbing to MLG, or some other new outfit.

But a great DJ, a truly influential and amazing DJ, will introduce the audience to a track they all love, and that they'll be humming for years.

When our DJs show up at this particular wedding, for the first dance, they'll have a small box of records. Ones they know will work, more or less, and keep people dancing. Adapting to the crowd, growing the selection slowly but keeping it tight, focused, good, that's the hard part. These are new DJs and they have a couple of new tracks.

I agree with and want this approach, hopefully it works out in practice.

I will say that a gameplay design decision that you guys made that will impact matchmaking in a seriously positive way is the player choice aspect, specifically choosing your own starting weapons, as we all know that the different starting weapons have plagued past Halo games' matchmaking, making it all the more difficult to manage playlists well.

Cragmire fo leif.

And then you ruined it..

 

[Talents]

So what you're saying is that the Chief/Cortana love rumors are true and Halo 4 ends with a wedding cliffhanger.

The scene of Cortana screaming at the end of the E3 campaign demo is actually Chief walking out on the wedding.

 

[Tunavi]

I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO END THIS MARRIAGE

 

[xxjuicesxx]

I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO END THIS MARRIAGE

One of your lesser works but still enjoyable.

 

[Vire]

It's a reasonable concern. Matchmaking is like being a DJ at a Wedding - you can hook people with the old crowd pleasers - Team Slayer, Bon Jovi - but there are lots of different people at a wedding. Old people, young people, cool people, buttrock fans. A great DJ will pick a playlist that has something for everyone, but adapts to the audience. He or she will start pulling tracks out of his boxes that he thinks the audience is going to like - and when they do, they dance. They have fun. Everyone is happy.

Every now and then he or she will accidentally put in a Macarena or Who Let the Dogs Out, and only Granny Wu will still be dancing, but even she deserves one turn on the floor.

Some of the people at the party will simply plug in their headphones and sit at their own table, head bobbing to MLG, or some other new outfit.

But a great DJ, a truly influential and amazing DJ, will introduce the audience to a track they all love, and that they'll be humming for years.

When our DJs show up at this particular wedding, for the first dance, they'll have a small box of records. Ones they know will work, more or less, and keep people dancing. Adapting to the crowd, growing the selection slowly but keeping it tight, focused, good, that's the hard part. These are new DJs and they have a couple of new tracks.

Cragmire fo leif.


Drop the mic.

I thought fanfic was strictly David Ellis only?

Speaking of which:

Yay.

 

[Stinkles]

I thought fanfic was strictly David Ellis only?

Sadvire fo lief.

 

[kylej]

A DJ at a wedding plays whatever the hell the people paying him want to hear.

 

[Tunavi]

A DJ at a wedding plays whatever the hell the people paying him want to hear.

Right, but everyone at the wedding doesn't like the same genre.

One of your lesser works but still enjoyable.

thank you, sir

 

[heckfu]

One of your lesser works but still enjoyable.

Just laughed out loud at work. Thank you.

 

[Ramirez]

A DJ at a wedding plays whatever the hell the people paying him want to hear.

If you wanna go that route, then the overwhelming majority of paying customers is perfectly happy playing NonTU TS, LD, SWAT, & Grifball.

 

[GhaleonEB]

So I decided to check Xbox preferences on Xbox.com for the hell of it. Voice and Text: Blocked. I never a touched those settings.

In fact, it started when you and I were trying to play and matchmaking broke. You joined my party and all of a sudden my mic was gone and so was yours.

Well whatever. Fixed.

Edit: Might change my Xbox password.

This has happened to me on multiple occasions as well. I think it's some kind of Live bug.

Every day I pop into the thread with a mission: Accept one piece of advice directly from the community, no questions asked. Today is your day. Your wish is my command.

Curses, you missed years of Firefight advice, alas. I shall persist with Spartan Ops.

It's a reasonable concern. Matchmaking is like being a DJ at a Wedding - you can hook people with the old crowd pleasers - Team Slayer, Bon Jovi - but there are lots of different people at a wedding. Old people, young people, cool people, buttrock fans. A great DJ will pick a playlist that has something for everyone, but adapts to the audience. He or she will start pulling tracks out of his boxes that he thinks the audience is going to like - and when they do, they dance. They have fun. Everyone is happy.

Every now and then he or she will accidentally put in a Macarena or Who Let the Dogs Out, and only Granny Wu will still be dancing, but even she deserves one turn on the floor.

Some of the people at the party will simply plug in their headphones and sit at their own table, head bobbing to MLG, or some other new outfit.

But a great DJ, a truly influential and amazing DJ, will introduce the audience to a track they all love, and that they'll be humming for years.

When our DJs show up at this particular wedding, for the first dance, they'll have a small box of records. Ones they know will work, more or less, and keep people dancing. Adapting to the crowd, growing the selection slowly but keeping it tight, focused, good, that's the hard part. These are new DJs and they have a couple of new tracks.

Cragmire fo leif.


Drop the mic.

Bravo.

Though, Reach started with a smaller number of playlists as well, because it had things like SWAT and Snipers mixed in with Slayer. That was....not good. So a smaller, more focused set of playlists is good, but they've also got to be focused playlists. It will necessarily be a narrower range of experiences, lest you end up on some nightmare mix that pleases no one.

 

[Hypertrooper]

Today I am driving with Simon through the desert area of the Ark. Simon likes to blow up things and that's why he is using the Rocket Launcher. Simon is standing on my passenger seat. I am driving a M274 Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle. Simon and I are not friends for a long time. We met in a Pelican on a blitz drop on the Ark.

 

[daedalius]

If the netcode was up to par with Reach (or hell, the BR was hitscan), I'd still play it. It's simply a better game to me, and the maps are leagues better than what's in Reach...

I feel the same way, but I will still play H3 and just rage in instances of laggy games/shots not registering.

David Ellis you tease!

Yes, please. This would be amazing.

Every day I pop into the thread with a mission: Accept one piece of advice directly from the community, no questions asked. Today is your day. Your wish is my command.

Oh dang!

 

[Tashi]

So Frankie if I slip you 20$ will you put on a no radar song for me?

 

[op_ivy]

It's a reasonable concern. Matchmaking is like being a DJ at a Wedding - you can hook people with the old crowd pleasers - Team Slayer, Bon Jovi - but there are lots of different people at a wedding. Old people, young people, cool people, buttrock fans. A great DJ will pick a playlist that has something for everyone, but adapts to the audience. He or she will start pulling tracks out of his boxes that he thinks the audience is going to like - and when they do, they dance. They have fun. Everyone is happy.

Every now and then he or she will accidentally put in a Macarena or Who Let the Dogs Out, and only Granny Wu will still be dancing, but even she deserves one turn on the floor.

Some of the people at the party will simply plug in their headphones and sit at their own table, head bobbing to MLG, or some other new outfit.

But a great DJ, a truly influential and amazing DJ, will introduce the audience to a track they all love, and that they'll be humming for years.

When our DJs show up at this particular wedding, for the first dance, they'll have a small box of records. Ones they know will work, more or less, and keep people dancing. Adapting to the crowd, growing the selection slowly but keeping it tight, focused, good, that's the hard part. These are new DJs and they have a couple of new tracks.

Cragmire fo leif.


Drop the mic.

so, where does squad slayer fit into this analogy?

 

[Stinkles]

A DJ at a wedding plays whatever the hell the people paying him want to hear.

Controversial.

 

[Sai-kun]

A DJ at a wedding plays whatever the hell the people paying him want to hear.

this is true

i don't know if you know much about DJ culture (I'm an expert) but

It's a reasonable concern. Matchmaking is like being a DJ at a Wedding - you can hook people with the old crowd pleasers - Team Slayer, Bon Jovi - but there are lots of different people at a wedding. Old people, young people, cool people, buttrock fans. A great DJ will pick a playlist that has something for everyone, but adapts to the audience. He or she will start pulling tracks out of his boxes that he thinks the audience is going to like - and when they do, they dance. They have fun. Everyone is happy.

Every now and then he or she will accidentally put in a Macarena or Who Let the Dogs Out, and only Granny Wu will still be dancing, but even she deserves one turn on the floor.

Some of the people at the party will simply plug in their headphones and sit at their own table, head bobbing to MLG, or some other new outfit.

But a great DJ, a truly influential and amazing DJ, will introduce the audience to a track they all love, and that they'll be humming for years.

When our DJs show up at this particular wedding, for the first dance, they'll have a small box of records. Ones they know will work, more or less, and keep people dancing. Adapting to the crowd, growing the selection slowly but keeping it tight, focused, good, that's the hard part. These are new DJs and they have a couple of new tracks.

Cragmire fo leif.


Drop the mic.

This is truer.

Spoiler

i'm being sarcastic about the "I'm an expert" thing (even though I am a DJ [yes that's a plug]). Frank is right though.

dj franklez?

 

[Hypertrooper]

I never knew that the Forward Unto Dawn creates a shockwave. I got out of my Mongoose because of this shockwave.

 

[TheOddOne]

Cragmire fo leif.

My take away from your post. I feel disgusted.

Non-Halo related but still relevant: CNN Guest Blames Video Games For Dark Knight Rises Colorado Shooting

At 9:00 a.m. EST today, CNN hosted several guests during the news cycle, including criminal profiler Pat Brown, who theorized that Holmes was likely driven by an addiction to video games.

Although she stressed that video games alone don’t “make” people into criminals like Holmes, she theorized that given his age, he likely fits the profile of someone who’s ‘gotten into a killing mode’ with the aid of their violence:

“He’s probably prepared for this for a long time, just obsessing over it, gathering his weapons. [He] probably spent a lot of time in his apartment, playing one video game after the other—shooting, shooting, shooting—building up his courage and building up the excitement of when it’s going to be real for him. And it’s made his day.”

Mediaite has more transcription from CNN’s broadcast:

“This has been something he has really been into. And now we’re going to find, probably on [Facebook] or anybody who knows him will say, ‘Yeah, he did have a lot of interest in that. He was always playing the video games. And I’m not saying video games make you a killer. But if you’re a psychopath, video games help you get in the mode to do the killing.

So it is a problem in our society with teenaged psychopaths, that they do get inspired by this and want to make it real. So it is a danger but it doesn’t make you a psycho.”

 

[heckfu]

Controversial.

You know what would be weird? If they played Squad Slayer on repeat. What a prom to remember...

 

[GhaleonEB]

You know what would be weird? If they played Squad Slayer on repeat. What a prom to remember...

I picture you, Sai and Steely dancing vigorously while everyone else sits on the sidelines with faces in palms.

What a prom to remember indeed

 

[Swarmerr]

You know what would be weird? If they played Squad Slayer on repeat. What a prom to remember...

So I never actually got the chance to play squad slayer during its time in reach. I was all into snipers and what not..

So can someone explain what makes squad slayer good?

Spoiler

Don't be angry at my ignorance

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

It's a reasonable concern. Matchmaking is like being a DJ . . . A great DJ

Drop the mic.

>>being a great DJ

Halo's DJ Hero
--BELI343

 

[Tawpgun]

Will slurp mad d's for classic playlist emulating Halo 2 at launch.

I want to play Infinity Slayer and RandomSlayer but still have an option in matchmaking to play old Halo.

 

[kylej]

Controversial.

So basically your response to how 343 will be handling playlists in Halo 4 is "trust us". Good stuff.

Me and juices need people, Xeno and Over get online.

 

[willow ve]

Cragmire fo leif.

This is all I needed to hear - preorder confirmed.

Spoiler

Acutally thanks for the analogy, great to hear 4 is going to have matchmaking DJs to steer the way.

 

[willow ve]

A DJ at a wedding plays whatever the hell the people paying him want to hear.

Controversial.

Actually... the DJ at my wedding was contractually obligated to play only songs off of a predetermined list. Any deviation from the list was subject to a percentage loss in his pay. But then again I'm an obsessive music snob asshole who runs a music blog as a hobby... so I might have been too controlling.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

willow ve, before you get eaten alive by some of the less-than-helpful members of this thread, you should multi-quote in one post instead of making numerous new posts on a page - just a little heads up :]

 

[dangerbyrnes]

I never knew that the Forward Unto Dawn creates a shockwave. I got out of my Mongoose because of this shockwave.

dun dun dun duun, dun dun dun duuun duun duuuuun duuuuun duuuun.

probably my favorite halo level.

 

[Sai-kun]

Actually... the DJ at my wedding was contractually obligated to play only songs off of a predetermined list. Any deviation from the list was subject to a percentage loss in his pay. But then again I'm an obsessive music snob asshole who runs a music blog as a hobby... so I might have been too controlling.

ew

 

[TheOddOne]

dun dun dun duun, dun dun dun duuun duun duuuuun duuuuun duuuun.

probably my favorite halo level.

Video title is correct.

 

[Ramirez]

So basically your response to how 343 will be handling playlists in Halo 4 is "trust us". Good stuff.

lol, do you want a complete list of the playlists right this second?

 

[willow ve]

willow ve, before you get eaten alive by some of the less-than-helpful members of this thread, you should multi-quote in one post instead of making numerous new posts on a page - just a little heads up :]

I've never run into the double post issue before - was hoping that it would automerge the postings (actually rather surprised it doesn't). HaloGAF usually runs so fast that a second post 3-5 minutes after the first is 1/4th of the way down the page - I must have found a sweet spot.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Stinkles]

So basically your response to how 343 will be handling playlists in Halo 4 is "trust us". Good stuff.

Me and juices need people, Xeno and Over get online.

And back on ignore. Someone tell me if Kyle ever gets over himself.

 

[Steelyuhas]

I picture you, Sai and Steely dancing vigorously while everyone else sits on the sidelines with faces in palms.

What a prom to remember indeed

lol

So I never actually got the chance to play squad slayer during its time in reach. I was all into snipers and what not..

So can someone explain what makes squad slayer good?

Spoiler

Don't be angry at my ignorance

No Forge maps (expect Asylum), no Armor Lock, and the proper party matching restrictions.

For me personally it wasn't so much about the removal of Squad Slayer as it was that they removed to in order to have a 3rd 4v4 Slayer playlist that are all very very similar and the change of TO to 5v5, which ruined the playlist.

Will slurp mad d's for classic playlist emulating Halo 2 at launch.

I want to play Infinity Slayer and RandomSlayer but still have an option in matchmaking to play old Halo.

Dead on arrival.

We all know it, even if we'd like to believe otherwise.

 

[YourExWife]

Of course they do. In the same way that a multiplayer game does not "exist" if people don't play it, 343 does not exist if consumers don't purchase Halo products. It's easy to debate both sides from an abstract perspective (academia is riddled with this), but there is clearly a superior option -- from a multiplayer perspective -- between the ivory tower take on development and development that caters to the fanbase, all you have to do is look at your examples. Valve, Blizzard, League of Legends, all these entities are tremendously successful. There is no net benefit to obfuscation except when obfuscation itself is a tactic for engaging the community (ARGs, etc).

I think the key issue is the difference between good artistic sensibility and smart business sense. Games do not have to be crowd-sourced, there should be a vision among the people creating the game. However, when you put someone full-time on your payroll to be a "Community Manager", there are expectations that go along with that. Microsoft hasn't simply failed at community engagement, they have failed at basic marketing with Halo 4. When you say 343 operates at the "maximum" level of community interaction, that's not so much laudatory as it is depressingly representative of the state of the industry. For a collective that pats itself on the back for being an active consumer experience rather than the passive enjoyment of music or movies, there should be no surprise when communities desire an equitable stake in development.

My favorite post of yours ever. This is just so...beautifully reasonable.

I derped my herp. I didn't really expect my Xbox to start doing things on its own. I'm going to kill it with fire before it gets out of control.


Wu saved the day. Thanks!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!

My take away from your post. I feel disgusted.

Non-Halo related but still relevant: CNN Guest Blames Video Games For Dark Knight Rises Colorado Shooting

To bad that the game(s) he was apparently obsessed with was Guitar Hero. Wait, did he shoot everyone with a Les Paul? SMH

And back on ignore. Someone tell me if Kyle ever gets over himself.

And just as reasoned and thought-provoking content had started to emanate from his keyboard...it was short-lived indeed

 

[GhaleonEB]

And back on ignore. Someone tell me if Kyle ever gets over himself.

Side note: I wish the ignore list prevented me from seeing when people on it are quoted. As is, it's mostly a way to remind myself who not to take seriously.

 

[Tashi]

Actually... the DJ at my wedding was contractually obligated to play only songs off of a predetermined list. Any deviation from the list was subject to a percentage loss in his pay. But then again I'm an obsessive music snob asshole who runs a music blog as a hobby... so I might have been too controlling.

So you hired a CD player? Cool.

 

[Swarmerr]

No Forge maps (expect Asylum), no Armor Lock, and the proper party matching restrictions.

For me personally it wasn't so much about the removal of Squad Slayer as it was that they removed to in order to have a 3rd 4v4 Slayer playlist that are all very very similar and the change of TO to 5v5, which ruined the playlist.

So what made it seem like a good idea to not have party matching restrictions in all playlists? Besides of course ffa playlists..

I mean most of the reach playlists are thoroughly populated to support quick searches for other parties.

 

[Stinkles]

Side note: I wish the ignore list prevented me from seeing when people on it are quoted. As is, it's mostly a way to remind myself who not to take seriously.

I don't give a crap about the (infinite repetition) of his content. It's basically repeats of incredibly obvious information, or very normal opinions from a set of competitive players, it's the absolutely infuriating abdication of manners and discourse. I can get better, clearer, more polite interaction from every single person on the thread, and since I don't have to put up with the almost insane and endlessly negative repetition, I'm simply not going to do it anymore.

Kyle simply doesn't even want to like the game. This hobby of his is more satisfying to him and he's welcome to it.

Life is too short.

 

[HiredN00bs]

So I decided to check Xbox preferences on Xbox.com for the hell of it. Voice and Text: Blocked. I never a touched those settings.

In fact, it started when you and I were trying to play and matchmaking broke. You joined my party and all of a sudden my mic was gone and so was yours.

Well whatever. Fixed.


Edit: Might change my Xbox password.

The exact same thing happened to me once. Either someone was playing a practical joke (like my XBL friends giving my wife step-by-step instructions on how to change my privacy settings) or it's some kind of glitch. I'm guessing the latter.

 

[Sai-kun]

So you hired a CD player? Cool.

Dammit, when is GAF getting a Like button?

 

[TheOddOne]

Dammit, when is GAF getting a Like button?

There is always Halo... Waypoint!

 

[L1NETT]

Life is too short.

I loved that show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqA577_IoBk

Best scene with Ricky Gervais ever!

 

[kylej]

um ok. Juices and I need people. get online: jelyk

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Will slurp mad d's for classic playlist emulating Halo 2 at launch.

I want to play Infinity Slayer and RandomSlayer but still have an option in matchmaking to play old Halo.

Are we D slurping for that, Im all over the D if we are.

I wonder if 343 has trailed anything like that. Id bet they have.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

Life is too short.

My hero. Time to start using that ignore button on the high school members.

 

[Tunavi]

Heckfu held his hands to his face as he sat outside the ballroom. He had just had to turn down one of his biggest admirers in front of the whole school.
"I didn't mean to ruin your prom, Sai," he thought.
Suddenly, the school bully knocked open the side door and made his way. His sidekick followed right behind him.
"Hey kyleJ," Heckfu said. "Hey Overdoziz."
They stumbled over to where Heckfu sat. "I heard you make a request to the DJ for Super Slayer." He could smell the alcohol from their breath as they walked closer. "Ever since they banned Squad Slayer from the school dances, your little requests have been getting on my fucking nerves!" KyleJ grabbed Heckfu by the neck and lifted him up.
A Zoo Joo walked out of the dance and screamed. "Hey! You stop that right now, Kyle J!"
Overdoziz yelled back. "Oh yeah? Who's going to stop us? Starwolf? XX Overkill?"
A Zoo Joo ran back inside. KyleJ turned back to heckfu and cocked back his arm to punch Heckfu square in the face. His sleeve rolled back, revealing the tattoo on his arm. RIP EazyB. before he could punch heckfu, the doors opened again.
In the doorway, stood an intimidating figure. KyleJ dropped heckfu and turned towards the door.
"Thought you weren't coming to Prom, Frankie."
"I hope you weren't bullying Heckfu," said Frankie.
"Yeah. What are you gonna do about it? Bring Squad Slayer back and ban it again?"
Overdoziz forced out a mocking laugh.
KyleJ walked over and cracked his knuckles. Frankie leaned over and called to his friend David Ellis. "I'll go get Principal Bish," said A Zoo Joo.
Heckfu made his way over to Frankie, rolling up his sleeves. "Kyle, if you and your friend even touch me, I'll make you pay."
David Ellis matched up with Overdoziz, Kyle matched up with Frankie. Kyle threw the first punch.
xxJuicesxx walked out to the scene and yelled inside. "FIGHT!"
The fight started and the crowd grew larger as the fight went on. Punches were thrown everywhere from the four of them.
The crowd started chanting, "1v1!" "1v1!"
David ellis and Overdoz1z stopped fighting and let Frankie and KyleJ fight themselves.
Kyle grabbed Frankies head and said, "Bring squad slayer back!"
Frankie, in headlock, gasped, "Just trust me!"
Then Principal Bish walked out from the crowd and yelled, "All four of you! Banned! and you too heckfu!" Heckfu started crying. "I had nothing to do with this!" And thats how Heckfu's prom got ruined.