Halo: Reach Beta Thread

I was told that the files found in the Reach code that involved Sgt. Johnson stemmed all the way back to Halo 2, so I wouldn't put much into those. Although I'm sure Firefight is in, just saying.
 
Dani said:
I was hopping the addition of Skirmishers and all of the new varieties of existing Covenant units would have been more than "variety". Although if the Brutes are used well and with care, much like the Hunters, then maybe these new Brute encounters can be showpieces in and of themselves.

A big battle, surrounded by a wave of Grunts, Skirmishers flocking all around, whilst Jackals nestle high above perched and aiming down at you, fighting off a charging Brute Chieftan and a few additional apes whilst cloaked Elites lie in wait...

.. I hope my expectations for Reach's big battles aren't too far-fetched.
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Nix the Jackals and you might be on to something. I've never seen the appeal in being pelted by long range fire. The Jackals in Halo 1 were the best.
 
ToyMachine228 said:
Personally I like it. It changes the way I play. With health packs and armor abilities I'm fighting more intelligently and thinking about survival rather than just running into every room guns blazing hoping to get lucky.
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Yeah, I don't like how it slows the game down.

Ramirez said:
I was told that the files found in the Reach code that involved Sgt. Johnson stemmed all the way back to Halo 2, so I wouldn't put much into those. Although I'm sure Firefight is in, just saying.
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While it still may just be legacy content. It's different from finding spare code in the beta and finding a separate url through the Reach destination. Interesting find though, wonder if it is just the flamethrower.
 
EazyB said:
Yeah, I don't like how it slows the game down.
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Being a weaker target from just about anything and having to go to designated spots to heal (so anyone eally can guess where you are going) slows the game down? Please elaborate. I find that the health system, as is, is faaaar more effective in terms of gameplay. I mean, it beats having any player being able to go HLG for half a minute just so he can come back in pristine condition. With this health system players who get hit will more often than not just carry on regardless of health. They will perish quickly. More experienced players will know where the health spots are and will use them effectively both offensively and defencibly.

I think that it was a bold move but a refreshing one. How often do we see health packs these days? Soldiers just regenerating themselves after being almost mortally wounded? ODST did it to make you feel vulnerable. Reach is doing it because of the hint of nostalgia (as you transition from these Spartans on Reach, to the Master Chief in CE). It is also doing it because it still works. You played the beta. You were aware of your health sure, and seeing a player duck out of the front line to get health was nothing surprising. If anything, with the 'insta-health' packs, the gameplay is actually faster. Chances are, once you get that health, you are still weak without your shields so any half decent player who really wanted the kill could very easily track you down.

It promotes a cushion as well in that after a firefight you find yourself with full shields and no health, getting a health pack can be one of those priority decisions the game is putting on you.

I really think saying it slows down the game is a load of bull though. Of course, your one line of a complaint (as rare as they are) was plenty of information for me as to how you feel about it.
 
GhaleonEB said:
I think the health pack system is a decided step backward for the series as well. Though I think it will make a bigger difference in campaign than MP.
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Collecting health packs is an outdated game mechanic that needs to die in the fire. I absolutely hate ODST because of it.

Regenerating health is the best thing ever to happen to shooting games.
 
-viper- said:
Collecting health packs is an outdated game mechanic that needs to die in the fire. I absolutely hate ODST because of it.

Regenerating health is the best thing ever to happen to shooting games.
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Bungie started the whole regenerating health thing.

So they have the right to take it back =P

It makes the game much more strategic. Which is more interesting imo
 
-viper- said:
Collecting health packs is an outdated game mechanic that needs to die in the fire. I absolutely hate ODST because of it.

Regenerating health is the best thing ever to happen to shooting games.
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Outdated in what way? Outdated in that nobody chooses to use it anymore? That's just the choice people make. Personally, I think a lot of developers are too lazy to really think about the context they are using it in.

Prepare yourselves for another Hydranology.

It's like saying that people drive to work everyday since the car was made. Sure it has it's good points, but once everybody has a car, traffic fucks shit up and you see the people who probably have all the money/time/effort to have a car, riding by so blissfully on a bike.

Regenerating health is a silly mechanic that does not make sense in most places it is used. I know you are gonna throw the "it's just a game" back in my face and it is true, but why do you think characters in games have so much health for in the first place? :p

Bungie has the track record that warrants some respect when making these changes to the game. They consider every detail very seriously. One can simply look back to ODST's use of lighting/music/ambience as well as some of the other mechanics they employed in order to envoke the feelings of loneliness and vulnerability in the player. Similarly, in Reach, they want to go full circle and while you are a mini powerhouse of destruction, you are really depending on Noble Team as a whole in order to function fully. Health packs are ust a simple mechanic that suggest to me that, in order to preserve yourself on the battlefield, you'll have to know when to step back and leave someone else deal the damage while you recover shields etc.
 
The health pack system is not outdated; it still works damn well in Half-Life. The health pack system forces the player to think more about how he will approach a certain encounter in order to deal the most amount of damage while receiving the least amount of damage to your underlying health. In layman's terms, I think it forces the player to be more strategic.

My favorite moment from last night.
 
GhaleonEB said:
One. Sleep
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Fixed!:D





Dax01 said:
The health pack system is not outdated; it still works damn well in Half-Life. The health pack system forces the player to think more about how he will approach a certain encounter in order to deal the most amount of damage while receiving the least amount of damage to your underlying health. In layman's terms, I think it forces the player to be more strategic.

My favorite moment from last night.
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Oh my god, I agree with Dax. That's it, it's all over. :lol
 
Dax01 said:
The health pack system is not outdated; it still works damn well in Half-Life. The health pack system forces the player to think more about how he will approach a certain encounter in order to deal the most amount of damage while receiving the least amount of damage to your underlying health. In layman's terms, I think it forces the player to be more strategic.
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And what I enjoy about Halo 2 and Halo 3 is the way encounters reset if you don't take out your enemy. Now, it's true that in those games there's an underlying health recharge system, but it's not a significant factor in gameplay because it's not exposed to the player. Combat cycles are swift and frequent. I like the focus on combat and objectives, and adding in the "I'm hurt so I need to run away and find a health pack" mechanic breaks that and takes me out of the fight to scramble for a band-aid. I think it hurts the flow of combat in the game.

To be clear, it doesn't hurt it much. In MP, your health doesn't matter that much because if you lose your shield, the primary threats are grenades and headshots, neither of which will care particularly about your underlying health. In the Beta, I only picked up a health pack if I came across them. In Campaign, I do not like health packs because of the check point system; getting a save right before a tough encounter when your health is low and no health pack is around sucks. And I liked never having to worry about that in Halo 2 and Halo 3. So I'm sad to see that return. But like I said, it's not a huge deal.
 
Hydranockz said:
You hold a button to run/fire/pick up a weapon/get in a vehicle/use an AA.... Are they stupid too? :p
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I'm not attacking blueblur or anything, but Hydranockz is right. Remember when you walked over the flag and it would auto pickup in Halo:CE?

I'm willing to bet many people would complain if they picked up health automatically.
 
Ramirez said:
I'm not sure who is worse, the fanboys in here who defend anything, or the SMG2 motion control defenders. It's a tight race!
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I'm not really seeing fanboy defense really, I'm just seeing people talking about what they prefer and why. To me it becomes fanboy crap when there is no logic behind the argument.
 
Alienshogun said:
I'm not really seeing fanboy defense really, I'm just seeing people talking about what they prefer and why. To me it becomes fanboy crap when there is no logic behind the argument.
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No, there are a certain set in here who will defend anything.
 
Blueblur1 said:
I don't want to hold a button to use a health pack. That's just stupid.
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Auto pickup sucked in ODST Firefight though. Nothing worse than using a health-pack with only a sliver of health missing.
 
Ramirez said:
No, there are a certain set in here who will defend anything.
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So call them out of that bugs you. These drive-by snipes at "a certain set" of "fanboys" without naming anyone, espeically in the midst of a conversation where people are not just spouting loyalties but are actually explaining the reasons for their preferences, is not productive. What you are seeing right now are fans discussing an aspect of the game. There's no basis for your pot shots.
 
Ramirez said:
No, there are a certain set in here who will defend anything.
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what are fanboys defending? that no health packs are better then health packs? The idea of defense is all about what way you look at something.

Just because someone likes the changes doesn't mean they're defending them any more then people who're defending the status quo.
 
Spasm said:
Auto pickup sucked in ODST Firefight though. Nothing worse than using a health-pack with only a sliver of health missing.
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Exactly, I don't know how many times I accidentally picked up health when I was going for SMG/pistol ammo, inevitably screwing my buddy.
 
GhaleonEB said:
And what I enjoy about Halo 2 and Halo 3 is the way encounters reset if you don't take out your enemy. Now, it's true that in those games there's an underlying health recharge system, but it's not a significant factor in gameplay because it's not exposed to the player. Combat cycles are swift and frequent. I like the focus on combat and objectives, and adding in the "I'm hurt so I need to run away and find a health pack" mechanic breaks that and takes me out of the fight to scramble for a band-aid. I think it hurts the flow of combat in the game.

To be clear, it doesn't hurt it much. In MP, your health doesn't matter that much because if you lose your shield, the primary threats are grenades and headshots, neither of which will care particularly about your underlying health. In the Beta, I only picked up a health pack if I came across them. In Campaign, I do not like health packs because of the check point system; getting a save right before a tough encounter when your health is low and no health pack is around sucks. And I liked never having to worry about that in Halo 2 and Halo 3. So I'm sad to see that return. But like I said, it's not a huge deal.
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Good points. I mean, I still disagree, but I see where you're coming from. I was thinking that most of the time, you'll fight, then you'll find a health pack after the battle, but I guess it depends on how Bungie implements the health packs in campaign. Will there be health packs before every medium to big sized encounter?

Is there a way, to you, that Bungie can implement health packs so it doesn't interrupt the flow of gameplay? I still replay Halo 1 once every six months, and the way Bungie implemented health packs doesn't break the flow of combat for me.
 
Popeck said:
I've got some Reach beta footage waiting on my hard drives for some time so thought I'd upload them away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE7oTMcMdnk. Including my first and to date only extermination on Reach and airjacking a banshee with a jetpack.
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Awesome maneuvering, Rocketeer! Nice extermination, too. I somehow managed to get a rampage on Invasion Slayer, but have never been able to achieve anything past an overkill on the "legitimate" gametypes.

les papillons sexuels said:
what are fanboys defending? that no health packs are better then health packs? The idea of defense is all about what way you look at something.

Just because someone likes the changes doesn't mean they're defending them any more then people who're defending the status quo.
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I like this.


I am fine with either health system, depending on the implementation, like Dax said. As long as the encounters/health packs are spaced out appropriately, I'm OK.
 
GhaleonEB said:
So call them out of that bugs you. These drive-by snipes at "a certain set" of "fanboys" without naming anyone, espeically in the midst of a conversation where people are not just spouting loyalties but are actually explaining the reasons for their preferences, is not productive. What you are seeing right now are fans discussing an aspect of the game. There's no basis for your pot shots.
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So I guess when the BR/AR debates broke out and your drive by snippets of "Not this crap again." were warranted? :lol I mean, they were just in the midst of a conversation explaining reasons for their preferences.
 
Hydranockz said:
You hold a button to run/fire/pick up a weapon/get in a vehicle/use an AA.... Are they stupid too? :p
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Replenishing health is more analogous to replenishing ammo than it is to picking up new weapons and equipment. And last I checked I didn't have to hold a button to pick some BR ammo. >:)
 
Jtyettis said:
25f3a8p.jpg


http://galaxynextdoor.com/post/694391783/we-all-know-that-halo-reach-is-going-to-be-center

Old/new? Speculatioton.
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We all know that Halo Reach is going to be center stage at Microsoft’s E3 presser tomorrow but are we going to see more from the Halo franchise? A new title update on LIVE’s Game Showcase is hyping up Halo Reach but also alluding to more from the Halo franchise. Are we going to see 345 industries new project? Well, Microsoft does love to bust out the Haloz. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.
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345 Studios! Woot!

Anyway, it's pretty clear that another Halo title will be teased. I wouldn't be surprised if it was something entirely different. Personally, I'd love a Halo character action game. I've already got a working title for it: Grunts May Cry.
 
Yea I noticed the 345 in the original article good stuff. Who knows with the pic though could be anything.

Edit; Pic is legit just checked.
 
Blueblur1 said:
Replenishing health is more analogous to replenishing ammo than it is to picking up new weapons and equipment. And last I checked I didn't have to hold a button to pick some BR ammo. >:)
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Others have said it very well so far. Picking up Health Packs in ODST when you didn't want to was annoying. I could say that implementing a feature that allows you to choose between auto pickup and button pick up wouldn't hurt, but then someone would say something about development time being spent on more important things.

You can't please everyone at once. That's just the way it is.
 
Church RvB said:
Others have said it very well so far. Picking up Health Packs in ODST when you didn't want to was annoying. I could say that implementing a feature that allows you to choose between auto pickup and button pick up wouldn't hurt, but then someone would say something about development time being spent on more important things.

You can't please everyone at once. That's just the way it is.
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I guess I'll have to use the "Get better at the game" argument because I never had that problem.
 
Shake Appeal said:
My mind is boggled.
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Which is to say, I never really went looking for them because my health was low, you snarky bastard. :lol
Jtyettis said:
25f3a8p.jpg


http://galaxynextdoor.com/post/694391783/we-all-know-that-halo-reach-is-going-to-be-center

Old/new? Speculatioton.
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We'll probably see a continuation of the pattern from before: the new Halo game announced right before the next one releases. I said before I didn't expect them to keep it up, but there we go.
 
Blueblur1 said:
I guess I'll have to use the "Get better at the game" argument because I never had that problem.
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I'm going to use the this health replenishes argument so you should ALWAYS want to pick up health
 
GhaleonEB said:
So call them out of that bugs you. These drive-by snipes at "a certain set" of "fanboys" without naming anyone, espeically in the midst of a conversation where people are not just spouting loyalties but are actually explaining the reasons for their preferences, is not productive. What you are seeing right now are fans discussing an aspect of the game. There's no basis for your pot shots.
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Ram knows a little about driveby snipes.

http://www.bungie.net/Online/Halo3UserContentDetails.aspx?h3fileid=109173336&rfilm=109175240

Sorry bro, the set up was too good to pass up lolol
 
Reach announcement at last E3 really made sense since the beta was an important part of the marketing strategy for Halo 3: ODST. And I don't know if there is a better place to announce a new Halo game than E3, especially this year. Pushing it to next year might be a bit too late, if they are going to get it out next fall, whatever the next Halo is, but we'll see. If Gears 3 is coming out in Spring, they need another strong action title for Holidays, unless there is somekind of great DLC plan for Gears 3 or Reach.
 
Louis Wu said:
While I'd LOVE to see info about new titles, this entry in Games Showcase is NOT a suggestion that we might.

It means "more from the Halo franchise behind this link" - and it includes older Reach (and other Halo-title-related) videos.

Bummer.
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Irrefutable facts won't stop this hype train! CHOO CHOO! :lol
 
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