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Halo: Reach Beta Thread

soldat7 said:
Hyperbole, etc. Some stuff needs fixing, not lots of stuff. Bungie will do what Bungie does, regardless of what you or I say. Ultimately they are making Reach something that they want to play, not something to appease HaloGAF. They're on a trajectory to making their best multiplayer title ever, and thank goodness for that. Halo was growing extremely stale.
So stale that it's been a contender for most played game on XBL since its release? Speak for yourself, dude.

Yeah, an appeal to popularity. I know.

Chittagong said:
This one is something bizarre. I can play Grab Bag for ages, just did some 5 matches without any errors, but any time I choose Invasion and I'm about to begin on Boneyard it gives me a Dirty Disc Error. Its as if something on Boneyard was broken on my Xbox.
That definitely sounds different than my issue. Have you tried clearing your cache?
 
Mr. B Natural said:
So, after taking a short hiatus from the beta, I gave Invasion a shot last night with some friends. Wow, yet another awful gametype. It plays like a second-thought mod. Can't believe the map manages to be both too big and too cramped. That's a feat. It's like bungie played bad company or tf2 and said, "yeah, we can do that too without changing the dynamic of our game at all!" NO! It's hard enough for Dice or Valve (two companies that completely out class bungie) to balance a game like this when their game was exclusively built around an "invasion-style" gametype. You just can't throw the pieces together and expect it to be magic. Bungie, you've been off more than you can chew here. At best, Invasion just plays like an uninspired 1 team king of the hill with awful unfair spawns and an oversized map. I'll tell you one thing it doesn't play like - the preview videos of invasion from a few months ago.

Not sure why I expected Invasion not to suck. So far, headhunter, juggernaut, 1 flag ctf, crazy king of the hill, stockpile and oddball play like god awful mods thrown into maps and said "good enough." There's not a single FFA gametype that doesn't amount to a cluster-eff within 15 seconds. Not a fun cluster eff either, but a slow, opportunist's driven and tiring one.

Oh well, see you guys next friday.

Stop talking in riddles,do you like the game or not?:D
 
Sir Fragula said:
Okay, has anyone ever defended invasion round 2? Because it seems unbalanced as fuck...

You mean the little outside area that the Elites can take before getting to the Core? Yeah, my first round and I found it really unbalanced towards Elites. Then I found the Rocket Launcher as a Spartan and things changes. :lol
 
Monocle said:
So stale that it's been a contender for most played game on XBL since its release? Speak for yourself, dude.

Yeah, an appeal to popularity. I know.

Agreed, for the Halo fans it sure wasnt getting stale. If Bungie need to change things up to get more fans then fair enough, but appealing to non Halo fans is like trying to feed a Cat Dogfood. They have made up theyre minds already and probably wont give up theyre game.
 
Monocle said:
I don't understand how anyone could go from Halo 3 to Reach and say, "Yep, this all feels just right." Was the Halo 3 beta such a radical departure from Halo 2?
I remember playing the Halo3 beta and hating it. Maybe hate is an extreme word. I just remember not really caring for it, and thinking that it was rather dull. I don't find the Reach beta dull in the slightest. There are just a lot of things that annoy me about it and make me frustrated. But I'm still having quite a bit of fun with it, and that by itself is a huge jump from what I remember in the Halo 3 beta.
 
bobs99 ... said:
You realize Bungie wernt trying to copy bad company or tf2 with Invasion right? Its really theyre own take on a BTB Aliens invading Humans scenario, I actually think Invasion has the potential to be really good with some tooling up of loadouts.

Invasion needs more than just a 'retooling' of loadouts. This mode just comes off completely uninspired. And like someone else stated, looks nor plays nothing like the videos. And Armor Lock was suppose to be the big issue? Hah, the mode itself is an issue.
 
Whoever said that jumping should be limited should just gtfo.
And you don't complain about realism in a game with purple aliens.
Besides, jumping is fun and awesome.

I try to jump as much as possible in every game I play, it just feels awesome.
 
game is gorgeous. love the details and textures. even the "plain" white walls of sword base look incredible when you look closely at the stucco.

4588673391_d4f90a0c5d_b.jpg


and just cause i'm posting screenies...
4588673929_f7aac59143_b.jpg
 
I can also solve any weapon damage or melee damage problems - it's sooo simple! No shields for anyone! With the spartans already on a snazzy set of wheels, it won't be a big of a problem as you'd imagine!
 
Jexhius said:
I can also solve any weapon damage or melee damage problems - it's sooo simple! No shields for anyone! With the spartans already on a snazzy set of wheels, it won't be a big of a problem as you'd imagine!

Burnout: Reach - "Explore Paradise City while ramming into your opponents to kill them, dont forget ramming into them from behind starts a fancy new assassination manouver where you mount theyre car!"
 
TheSeks said:
Well, maybe they'll have "no load out" featured in custom games to where you can have your "Halo 2/3" style games with new maps/weapons + forge? Surely Bungie wouldn't be crazy to exclude that? (*knock on wood, look at Urk/Mancannon?*)

However: Reach doesn't play like Call of Duty. My main issue is the grenades and slightly more effort it takes to kill someone. And sometimes I pop their shield, and suddenly they pop mine and kill me even if I had the drop on them. ARGH.
I want the core game to play like Halo 2 & 3 because that's the game I'll be forced to play when I load up matchmaking. And maybe Reach definitely doesn't play like CoD but it leans that way; you can't argue that.

*Cue Huge rant*
I don't want to deal with railings blocking my line of sight, being stopped in my tracks because I jumped to a platform a couple feet below (I'm a goddamn Spartan in Reach, not a fucking plain army soldier), and all the other changes they've made. I want to jump across gaps, I want to jump over other players, I want to check my friends list/active roster while searching for a match, I want damage to spill over from the player shield into player health, and I want drive vehicles that aren't nerfed and handle silky smooth like they did in the last 4 games.

I don't want to wait 5 seconds longer to start matches just to pick a loadout, I don't want to have to press Y to switch from my Banshee Plasma Cannons to the Fuel Rod Cannon, I don't want to fight a ridiculously overpowered Juggernaut, I don't want a Rocket Launcher with lock-on, I don't want to move slower than an ODST, I don't want static in my HUD or in the menus, I don't want to have to melee twice to kill someone (lol, two melee attacks do more damage that a stream of Assault Rifle bullets), I don't want to have to hold a button to use a Health Pack.

I'm just not happy with Reach. And Invasion is absolute garbage at the moment. The loadouts are completely uneven, Boneyard's excessively large and the spawns and the way they function are worse than beach spawns on High Ground. Oh and before I forget, the vehicle combat is complete shit. I haven't used the Wraith or Scorpion yet so I cannot comment on them but the Warthog and Banshee are terrible. Their handling is sluggish and their speed are a joke. And with all the anti-vehicle measures included in Reach, you might as well just stick to the tanks (Because I've seen them own an entire team)!
*End of rant*

I couldn't be more disappointed with Reach. Aside from hitscan, it does nothing better than Halo 3 does in my opinion. With that said, I will try the final game out. I'll most likely not open the $60 Legendary Edition I'm getting from Amazon and try the game out by renting it or playing it at a friends house first. I hope it Bungie tweaks it and it becomes more like Halo and less like a realistic military shooter. Because seriously, when was Halo ever about realism?
 
Here is a list of changes I think would really help.

-increase jump height for Spartans
-give vehicles more health, because in Invasion they get destroyed by anyone good in the final tier
-change loadouts in Invasion, you shouldn't spawn with a Pro Pipe, and Elites should get a Needle Rifle in the first tier
-you should spawn as soon as the timer stops beeping
-sprint time should be slightly increased
-armor lock should only be usable once before it has to recharge
-remove the Spartan Laser from the spawn room near the extraction point in Boneyard

also one major thing that needs to be changed is the speed of the vehicles, well at least the Warthog, Ghost, and Banshee. All 3 are too slow and get stuck by plasma grenades way too easily.
 
I hear Halo Reach isn't Halo 3 isn't Halo 2 isn't Halo 1. And that's because, in Halo Reach everyone starts with armour lock, which instantly activates whenever a grenade bounces next to you.
 
Dirtbag said:
My hype has been reset, and will take time to build up again.
I'm looking forward to the campaign.
Yeah. From what I've played in the Beta, I'm really not that excited for MP anymore. I holding out hope that the campaign will be absolutely awesomely memorable.
GhaleonEB said:
Ground vehicles are hopelessly outclassed by the avalanche of anti-vehicle measures. Rockets, lasers, plasma grenades, plasma pistols, armor lock, the plasma launcher and worst of all, the grenade launcher which can be chosen as part of a load out. Grenades and EMP bursts for all! And to compensate, the vehicles are nerfed with an overheating turret.
Agreed. Vehicle combat has been severely gimped, and vehicle combat was one of my most anticipated aspects of Invasion. It's like Bungie is trying to make vehicles a deathtrap.

Bungie, you need to get rid of the spartan laser, grenade-launcher starts, and remove the plasma launcher's guidance system (as in, it can't lock on to anything).

The new health system for the vehicles doesn't work at all either. The Halo 2/3 system of linking vehicle health and player health was a lot more fun and was easier to understand. Bungie, you got to go back to that, or tell us in clearer terms how damaged our vehicles are - like in Halo 1.

Invasion Slayer's weapon drops are kind of comical: they've gifts to the opposing team. The pattern throughout the games seems to be the team that gets a territory does so by the skin of their teeth, barely surviving the hail of grenades that comes down on the territory. And then the other team cleans up the stragglers, the fallen dudes spawn a long ways away, and the other team get away from the goods. It's a preferential strategy not to go for them until the other team does. That is, unless one is so far away you can't get to them. I tried to head off a drop from the moment it went active, but it took over 25 seconds - and three sprints - to get there a moment too late.
There's also the problem of the vehicles spawning in all this mess and and barely having any chance to survive it. Most, if not the majority of the time, the vehicles are destroyed right off the bat.

The idea of weapon and vehicle drops don't work at all, in its current form, in Invasion slayer.

The new system of dumping all the power weapons in one area - the rack with two rockets, two lasers, two snipers - only encourages randoms to grab two of each and head off with them as soon as they can. Play with a disciplined party, or they'll go to waste. I know it's a bug in the Beta, but since the party splits, that means the rack gets cleaned out and wasted before the third round every time. A method of spawning a few in each round would really help out.

And the starting round of Invasion really is unfair to the Elites. Spartans spawn with pistols and DMRs, they get needlers and plasma pistols over very long range; can't even engage the Spartans with either starting load out. Sure there's a few needle rifles scattered around, but they're less effective and too few; plus, they've got to be hunted down and you're exposed doing so.

One last thing. There are some weapons that just shouldn't be part of a load out. Off hand, swords, shotguns and grenade launchers. Especially on the last round of Invasion, it's easy for the Spartans to all be rocking shotguns or swords, and grenade launchers. When defending a tight indoors area with what have traditionally been close quarters power weapons in the hands of everyone on the team, the attackers are at a distinct disadvantage. Good grief we destroyed the Elites, a symphony of exploding grenades and shotgun blasts as they came through the doors. Got some nice double kills, myself.
Agreed with all of this.

And Firefight. Don't forget about Firefight. <3

There's bound to be a subset of Reach's MP that I latch on to and enjoy, as I did with Halo 3's BTB. It's just not in the Beta.
Indeed.
Monocle said:
Same here. I feel like in Reach I'm witnessing Halo's death by degrees. Bungie is monkeying with things that didn't need changing—jump height, movement speed, weapon and melee behavior—fundamental aspects of Halo's gameplay. I'm totally on board with additions like armor abilities, the gameplay differences between Spartans and Elites, and the fantastic new weapons (the Pro Pipe is rapturous). I can accept tweaks like the grenades' new damage scheme (if not the amount of damage they inflict), the loss of dual wielding, and the omission of weapons that were redundant or ineffective in Halo 3. None of this changes my opinion that Reach very nearly feels like a game from a different series.

I don't understand how anyone could go from Halo 3 to Reach and say, "Yep, this all feels just right." Was the Halo 3 beta such a radical departure from Halo 2?
Eh. I wouldn't go that far, but it does seem like, in a lot of aspects of Reach, Bungie isn't even trying.

I don't want anyone to get me wrong, I realize Reach isn't Halo 3 - I like the idea of what Bungie is trying to do with loadouts and armor abilities and Invasion, but it seems like, in trying to do all of this, Bungie's focus on what makes Halo Halo has suffered.
 
Jexhius said:
I hear Halo Reach isn't Halo 3 isn't Halo 2 isn't Halo 1. And that's because, in Halo Reach everyone starts with armour lock, which instantly activates whenever a grenade bounces next to you.
One post was enough. Two was pushing is. Now you're just trolling.
 
I agree with Dax. I agree with Dax. I agree with Dax. Don't you guys understand the severity of the situation!? :lol

Just joking there. <3 you, Dax.
 
Blueblur1 said:
I agree with Dax. I agree with Dax. I agree with Dax. Don't you guys understand the severity of the situation!? :lol

Just joking there. <3 you, Dax.


Quick Urk, to the Banhammer-mobile!
 
I'm actually not bothered by any of the changes in the slightest, and I feel a lot of people won't be able to tell. I still expect a lot to change between now and release, but so far the only thing that I actually find underwhelming is Invasion. Apart from that, I don't really care - oh wait, dude's punching my sword. That isn't cool.

Bungie has certainly annoyed plenty of hardcore players - but they are going for mass market appeal anyway and when I sat down a few friends down to play the Beta the only thing people complained about was grenades.
 
Monocle said:
Same here. I feel like in Reach I'm witnessing Halo's death by degrees. Bungie is monkeying with things that didn't need changing—jump height, movement speed, weapon and melee behavior—fundamental aspects of Halo's gameplay.

I don't understand how anyone could go from Halo 3 to Reach and say, "Yep, this all feels just right." Was the Halo 3 beta such a radical departure from Halo 2?
You do realize that all that stuff from the previous Halos was because you played teh same character, you no longer play as Master Chief or even as a spartan of his caliber anymore. It's called Canonical Accuracy.

If they left all that stuff the same even though you still play a different person, you and all of GAF would be crying about inconsistencies and wanting more of a variation over the past Halo.

GAF = were you're never good enough even if you're being canonically accurate. :lol
 
Monocle said:
I don't understand how anyone could go from Halo 3 to Reach and say, "Yep, this all feels just right." Was the Halo 3 beta such a radical departure from Halo 2?

That's the friggin' point! Halo was getting STALE and was in dire need of CHANGE.
 
Cuban Legend said:
You do realize that all that stuff from the previous Halos was because you played teh same character, you no longer play as Master Chief or even as a spartan of his caliber anymore. It's called Canonical Accuracy.

If they left all that stuff the same even though you still play a different person, you and all of GAF would be crying about inconsistencies and wanting more of a variation over the past Halo.

GAF = were you're never good enough even if you're being canonically accurate. :lol

No.. Gaf wanted good gameplay, I dont think anyone has ever asked for Canon to even infringe on that.

Also Soldat, Halo getting stale is only your opinion, clearly hundreds of thousands of players who are still on Halo 3, and the hundreds still on Halo PC dont agree.
 
Jexhius said:
I'm actually not bothered by any of the changes in the slightest, and I feel a lot of people won't be able to tell. I still expect a lot to change between now and release, but so far the only thing that I actually find underwhelming is Invasion. Apart from that, I don't really care - oh wait, dude's punching my sword. That isn't cool.

Bungie has certainly annoyed plenty of hardcore players - but they are going for mass market appeal anyway and when I sat down a few friends down to play the Beta the only thing people complained about was grenades.

Casual players aren't vocal, and they find one thing that works and stick to it.
The hardcore explore every nook of the sandbox/game to find competitive advantage/fun in all scenarios. Give the casuals the proper time and see where they net out. A sample of a halo game for a casual tells you so little. The hardcores have been playing for 7 years now and are a bit more aware of how the game will develop or be exploited in its current format. The casuals will play right up until MW3 comes out, and the rest of us will be left with a sub-optimal game.
 
Monocle said:
That definitely sounds different than my issue. Have you tried clearing your cache?

Just gave cache cleaning a go but still dirty disc error every time I start an Invasion game.

Then I re-downloaded and reinstalled the Beta. Still the dirty disc error, and only in Invasion. Grab bag games work just perfect.

Something is definitely broken in the Beta.
 
Dirtbag said:
The casuals will play right up until MW3 comes out, and the rest of us will be left with a sub-optimal game.

I don't find the game sub-optimal though. I find it hugely enjoyable. I have no doubt Bungie will fix things like grenade damage, over-powered weapons, veto not working properly, map problems etc.

However, I doubt they will change jumping or movement speed any time soon, those seem like such clear design decisions.
 
I've been playing online shooters since Quakeworld in 1996 and every time a sequel to one of those comes out it's the same shit. It seems that for one person that welcomes change there's another one that fears it. Forums are in full meltdown mode and I pity the poor devs who try to get anything constructive from the shit flying everywhere. :lol
 
I'm also having a hard time distinguishing enemy vehicles from friendly one. The marker that a friendly vehicle is too faint, or nonexistent until you are a certain distance away from said vehicle.
 
soldat7 said:
That's the friggin' point! Halo was getting STALE and was in dire need of CHANGE.
That's your opinion. And I don't absolutely hate everything about Reach; the armor abilities are great and the new weapons are fun to use. I really love Powerhouse and Sword Base even in their slightly-flawed current state. What I don't like and didn't think needed fixing are the many nuances of the Halo gameplay formula. That's where my problem lies.

Oh and Juices loves Reach.

xxjuicesxx said:
Vehicles gimped? I'M LOVIN IT!~ Reach Beta, It's super awesome! The tears, they are delicious. 5 minutes ago via web
 
Jexhius said:
However, I doubt they will change jumping or movement speed any time soon, those seem like such clear design decisions.

That's my main issue with Reach so far, horrible feeling of jumping through tar and feeling weighted down.

The Elites in the game handle exactly how I want the Spartans to feel like.

It's a pain in the ass when you feel that ODST's control better than Spartans.
 
Dirtbag said:
The casuals will play right up until MW3 comes out, and the rest of us will be left with a sub-optimal game.

I love how at least half of HaloGAF is emo after less than a week with the beta. Toughen up and accept the game for what it is (combat evolved), or play Halo 3. It's kinda simple, really. Halo 3 will be around for an awful long time with plenty of players to BR and Power Drain. The rest of us will be playing Bungie's finest multiplayer game yet.
 
Dirtbag said:
Casual players aren't vocal, and they find one thing that works and stick to it.
The hardcore explore every nook of the sandbox/game to find competitive advantage/fun in all scenarios. Give the casuals the proper time and see where they net out. A sample of a halo game for a casual tells you so little. The hardcores have been playing for 7 years now and are a bit more aware of how the game will develop or be exploited in its current format. The casuals will play right up until MW3 comes out, and the rest of us will be left with a sub-optimal game.
I can't help but disagree. As someone who has played the Halo franchise since its inception, I love Reach. I'll even say that the Reach beta is far more compelling than the Halo 3 beta which I found to be horribly mediocre (and I went on to love that game mind you).
 
Mr.Green said:
I've been playing online shooters since Quakeworld in 1996 and every time a sequel to one of those comes out it's the same shit. It seems that for one person that welcomes change there's another one that fears it. Forums are in full meltdown mode and I pity the poor devs who try to get anything constructive from the shit flying everywhere. :lol

Yeah, Bungie.net can be horrific most of the time. :lol

I am in a similar boat to you, playing online since the Doom/Quake days and it does follow the same pattern. New game comes out, loads love it, some hate it and they drift away. Rinse and repeat.
 
Dax01 said:
I'm also having a hard time distinguishing enemy vehicles from friendly one. The marker that a friendly vehicle is too faint, or nonexistent until you are a certain distance away from said vehicle.

That's a good point! I assumed it was just me since I also have a hard time distinguishing all the different buttons on my controller but it feels good knowing I'm not the only one!
 
Dani said:
That's your opinion, not fact.
It's a fact that in order to stay fresh, competitive, and increasingly enjoyable you have to evolve. Evolution is a natural progression of many aspects of life, why not the way you play a game series? Sure you could argue whether the changes from H3 to Reach aren't correct path of evolution, but that's opinion, at least the change Bungie has done so far has been carefully thought out.

They know how serious of a gaming series they are messing with and how large their varied fanbase is warrant that they are careful in who/what they change? Can't we trust them with that much? They made Halo CE, people... HALO CE. Nevar forget.

I have faith, whoever doesnt will always have Halo 3, evolving the way you play a a game is called doing it right.

And with that... You fellas up for some weekend Reach Beta? Skip the Saturday Morning Cartoons! :lol
 
Mr.Green said:
I've been playing online shooters since Quakeworld in 1996 and every time a sequel to one of those comes out it's the same shit. It seems that for one person that welcomes change there's another one that fears it. Forums are in full meltdown mode and I pity the poor devs who try to get anything constructive from the shit flying everywhere. :lol

To be fair, this is a pretty radical departure in the series when the fundamentals change.
 
Mr.Green said:
That's a good point! I assumed it was just me since I also have a hard time distinguishing all the different buttons on my controller but it feels good knowing I'm not the only one!
Yeah, I have the same problem too.
 
Just went back and played a game of BTB in Halo 3. Sweet Jesus this game feels perfect after playing Reach for two weeks. And Valhalla is still gorgeous.

I didn't even realize that I missed the bubble shield or dual SMGs.
 
soldat7 said:
I love how at least half of HaloGAF is emo after less than a week with the beta. Toughen up and accept the game for what it is (combat evolved), or play Halo 3. It's kinda simple, really. Halo 3 will be around for an awful long time with plenty of players to BR and Power Drain. The rest of us will be playing Bungie's finest multiplayer game yet.

Are you trying to earn a high rank in the Bungie Defence Force or something? The game is in a public Beta right now and everyone here is fully within their rights to bring up their valid criticisms.

Even Bungie realise that this version of the game has issues and are quick to point out the issues which are already resolved in later builds of the game.
 
The only problem I have with any of the current armor abilities is armor lock. Invasion has made me realize that, if you stick someone, and if they go into armor lock, it should still kill them. Just remove that aspect about it and I'd be fine with it.
 
REV 09 said:
Just went back and played a game of BTB in Halo 3. Sweet Jesus this game feels perfect after playing Reach for two weeks. And Valhalla is still gorgeous.

I didn't even realize that I missed the bubble shield or dual SMGs.

Well here's a piece of advice that I wish I would have taken: enjoy the version of the game that you love. I didn't do this with Halo 2, and completely abandoned it for Halo 3, a game I found inferior in many ways to 2. Play what you really like, soak up the nostalgia, and don't bother playing something that doesn't make you happy.

Dani said:
Are you trying to earn a high rank in the Bungie Defence Force or something? The game is in a public Beta right now and everyone here is fully within their rights to bring up their valid criticisms.

Even Bungie realise that this version of the game has issues and are quick to point out the issues which are already resolved in later builds of the game.

I'm not sure what your motivations are, but mine are quite simple: smack HaloGAF cause you're being too emo about Reach! Go with the changes, embrace them, they ain't changin'. And fall back to Halo 3 if it really bothers you that much. All of the things you love about Halo are still in that game and it will be well populated for years to come.

Mr.Green said:
I respectfully disagree. I'm not as hardcore as most of you guys but it still feels very much like Halo to me.

You have to understand, some of these guys have been playing Halo 3 and posting on HaloGAF for nearly 3 straight years now. The changes are quite radical to them.
 
Dirtbag said:
To be fair, this is a pretty radical departure in the series when the fundamentals change.

I respectfully disagree. I'm not as hardcore as most of you guys but it still feels very much like Halo to me.
 
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