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[Iknos]

Knowing that I will sound like a complainer...

Shame that this is not out during this weekend.

I understand if that could mean too many players at once since it's a peak time. Starting with lower numbers with a midweek release makes sense.

Just being greedy is all.

That was posted on the 28th.

Cruel cruel fate. Moving soon so I don't think I'll have a chance to play the beta with my Halo 3 buddies other than this weekend.

I have an expertzone account.

But I'm in Canada. :lol

So allow me to bombard you folks with questions still May 3rd.

Is the framerate better than Halo 3?

How are the jaggies?

Would like to ask about weapon balance and other stuff but it's too early to ask.

Have to learn the levels and weapon intricacies before really giving any definitive statement on them.

So I'm taking all the complaints with a grain of salt right now.

 

[RSTEIN]

Or it might be the hyperbolic, "this is the worst looking thing ever" manner in which you present your opinion. Rubs people the wrong way. Criticisms, as you can plainly see, are welcome. Yup, there are better looking games out there. Nope, none of them are doing what Halo is doing under the hood and looking pretty while doing it. Does that require concessions to be made? LEMME FINISH! Yes. But those concessions are what makes Halo gloriously Halo-y.

tl;dr - INTERNET.

Well, I said worst looking AAA shooter, not worst lookin thing ever. And yes, you do have best netcode/menus/campaigns/playlists/everything else (which I acknowledged). Just wondering why you're using a jazzed up circa 2004 engine while everyone else is playing with flashy new toys. It's not a criticism at all. I'm sure there was a path taken for very well thought out reasons. But you guys have gone from graphics kings to also rans (i.e. the stuff Halo 2 was doing over other Xbox games is probably equal to what Halo 3 is doing over other 360 games yet Halo 2 also looked the best but Halo 3 definitely doesn't when benchmarked against other games).

It would be cool to get some insight into that thought process, that's all.

 

[CrazedArabMan]

From previous page: Does anybody know what the "Technician" commendation is for? It says "Perform an incredible feat in matchmaking" on Bnet. I've gotten it a few times in mm. Any ideas?

Nope, no clue.

 

[metareferential]

Yup, there are better looking games out there.

On the multiplayer side? I don't think so; you're being too modest. xD

On consoles, I can't think of a better looking multiplayer fps.

 

[Magni]

Now that all the people with shitty connections have finished downloading it, games are as laggy as always.. Always fun striking a guy with the flag, him returning the favor a full second afterwards, you dying, why he goes on to score the winning Flag.

Main gameplay changes proposed:
Pistol, DMR upped to 4SKs
Grenade damage reduced, or grenade blast radius reduced, or grenades on map reduced
Get rid of one hit kills with Objectives in Team Games
Stockpile Flags should be collected at :00, not :01
Games/Rounds should start after the initial Load Out selection, not before
Sudden death should be unlimited, if the Flag is dropped, then the Offending team has 5 seconds (which stacks if it's dropped repeatedly) to pick it back up

Main UI changes proposed:
Objective is the same color as the team. Red Stockpile = Red Arrow, regardless of which team you're on!
Active Roster needs a button to invite, not just one to join
You shouldn't have to queue to see how much time is remaining in a player's game
'SLAYER' should be 'Slayer' same for 'ELITE SLAYER'
Commendations, explain what the fuck they are, ingame
PGCR should tell you how many of each medal you got in the game

Glitches
Rendering a clip (BPro) gets rid of the reticle
'Territory lost' even if you win the Territory
Buttons in saved films are not displayed correctly ('Hold X to swap for' even if you are using BJ, not sure if this happens ingame as well)

 

[dslgunstar]

Jesus Christ! I just checked my stats for the first time, and Im a -21 with the AR! :lol

+21 with the DMR, +18 with the Needle Rifle.

Weird, I felt like I was getting way more kills with the AR than anything. But I guess alot of other people were killing me with it too. :lol

 

[pahamrick]

I'm really loving armor lock, though I don't think the majority of people realize it sets off an EMP if you let it run all the way out.

I was playing a match earlier, was going one on one with a guy when my shields dropped so I figured what the heck, and hit armor lock just for the hell of it. Guy runs around behind me (I guess to set up an assassination soon as I pop out of lock.) EMP goes off, guys shields die, I spin around and get him with the melee kill.

...Yeah, Armor Lock may be a tad OP. :lol

 

[randomlyrossy]

I am lonely.

I see me!

Spoiler

Sowwy.

Some random dude I got matched up with asked this in the post-game carnage report:
"Dax01, are you Dax from NeoGAF?"
:lol

:lol Excellent.

Also who was it that sent that message, Sordid Sentinel. Don't recognise that as a Gaf name.

 

[bobs...onGaf]

Oh yeah, does anybody know what the "Technician" commendation is for? It says "Perform an incredible feat in matchmaking" on Bnet. Any ideas?

I was wondering this myself, I would love a Commendation/ medal guide, to see all the new stuff. I love the commedation system, it feels like getting achievments.

 

[Azar]

It has less splash. Keep a bit of distance between you and your target and always hold and release as the shot travels. Takes a few tries to get the feel down, but once you do, it's nasty. Trust me, I have a 1.72 K/D. Probably shits all over kylej's.

Edit: yup, just checked. Pooped on.

Now this is amusing :lol

 

[Cuban Legend]

That stupid blur for starters. The image quality is great when static. I have to retract my comments from yesterday. I was watching theater mode and the graphics looked much better than in Halo 3, the improvement in image quality is there. However, once you start playing, the Blur doesn't let you notice jack shit.

Speaking of prebaked Shadows. I know what you mean by that...

But SSAO does seem to be in the Beta. (^_^) The z depth detection for the edges it shadows are very subtle (almost unnoticeable) , which is how it should be.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

One question, I get all of the gripes on feeling slow and sluggish, but to me Halo has always felt like that. I could never figure out why in the books the Spartans can run as fast as cars, but in the games it feels like you are walking briskly.

Sprint adds the fast movement to the game, but I don't get how people are thinking Halo 3 was "faster" than Reach. The jumping in 3 was higher, and I know Bungie slowed down the Reach guys a small bit, but to me it still underwhelms when the books depict certain Spartans that were super fast.

Love the game so far overall, needs some tweaks though.

 

[mYm|17|]

definitely had to get used to the controls.

I kept getting the frag and melee buttons mixed up when I was right near somebody :lol

 

[backflip10019]

I was wondering this myself, I would love a Commendation/ medal guide, to see all the new stuff. I love the commedation system, it feels like getting achievments.

Care to chime in, urkster?

 

[Deadstar]

I couldn't disagree more. I'm sorry, but a one hit grenade kill if you are right on the grenade is not what halo is about, except for plasmas because they don't bounce everywhere. Powerful grenades are fine, but the blast radius needs to be reduced then. If you want to balance a game, you need to exchange one for the other not both.

Did you play Halo: CE? One hit grenade kills happened often if you had good aim. I haven't played the beta yet so I can't comment on my own experience, but powerful grenades sound like a good thing, especially with the new abilities. It sounds like there are a lot of ways to dodge a grenade if you use abilities such as jetpack, armor lock etc.

 

[DeadFalling]

Can anybody tell me if you guys finally found out how the Arena rating works? (all games counting equally toward score or only the best 3 games counting, etc.) ...cause I'm still really confused on that

?

 

[bobs...onGaf]

Some random dude I got matched up with asked this in the post-game carnage report:
"Dax01, are you Dax from NeoGAF?"
:lol

Ive had that from people who cant get approved or dont have a valid Email - Were missing out on some cool guys.

 

[RSTEIN]

Sprint adds the fast movement to the game, but I don't get how people are thinking Halo 3 was "faster" than Reach. The jumping in 3 was higher, and I know Bungie slowed down the Reach guys a small bit, but to me it still underwhelms when the books depict certain Spartans that were super fast.

I don't get it, either. Reach feels faster, more responsive, tighter, and well, better all around. Best yet IMO.

 

[Mizzou Gaming]

I have found that common sense is the key to countering Armor Lock. :lol

 

[NG28]

I'm really loving armor lock, though I don't think the majority of people realize it sets off an EMP if you let it run all the way out.

I was playing a match earlier, was going one on one with a guy when my shields dropped so I figured what the heck, and hit armor lock just for the hell of it. Guy runs around behind me (I guess to set up an assassination soon as I pop out of lock.) EMP goes off, guys shields die, I spin around and get him with the melee kill.

...Yeah, Armor Lock may be a tad OP. :lol

I killed someone with no shield standing next to me when I went into armor lock. When I punched the ground he just died.

 

[Mr. B Natural]

I think the problem SOME people have with the reticle is the way it's implemented. It works in other games because usually the weapons in those games are fairly deadly. Look at the defualt ISA assualt rifle in Killzone 2. It's an assualt gun and it can be sprayed and be effective, but tap the trigger slightly and it's a headshot machine. It takes 5 shots to kill someone with a DMR. I do think the pistol and DMR are effective weapons especially coming from Halo 3 but 5 shots is kind of too much. They don't really compensate for the fact that someone can sprint behind cover after their shield has been popped or, someone can snag your kill because the clip in your gun ran out. The rerticle stuff would make sense if the DMR and pistol were incredibly strong weapons.

That's a major part of it. You expect me to hit you a moving target that walks like it's floating in the head 5 times with 8 or 12 bullets, yet expect me to also compensate for the faux recoil? So, in other words, you want me to get assists all day cause 1 vs 1 usually ends if both parties don't care about dying (melee ahoy!) or when someone finally intervenes.
Too much health + Slow movement + overbalanced weapons that always take nearly a full clip and around the same amount of time to kill someone + fast regenerating health + easy escape/regenerate skills + anti-climatic unexciting gametypes (which to be fair is probably the fault of everything else I list here) + faux recoil that can only be nullified by waitting = dull, drawn out, unimmersive gameplay and gunplay.

Halo Reach should have been a faster, more intimate intense game with less shield, more intimidation, more impact, more players and more at stake every moment to give a better sense of a real battle going on. When a round ends I should finally breathe out. Sadly, this game is the exact opposite. As I mentioned before, I can hold a complete coherent conversation with someone while playing this game. That's the worst thing I can say about Reach or any action oriented game. That simply says it all. Even with Halo 2, I probably couldn't talk coherently while playing. When I played geometry wars later after giving reach a break, this is what my input would be in a conversation, "huh?.....<ten seconds later>...what?......whoa WHOA...oh yeah? I...uh...She did ...oh crap... what?" That's what should be happening when playing halo or any game that sells itself on the action it provides. I should be completely immersed and I should have no choice in the matter.

The fact that I can't tell if I killed or shot someone or not is just facepalm worthy for 2010 standards and shows that Bungie really dropped the ball when it comes to priorities here. I should be going "oh, sh*t! Did you see that!?" not "did I hit em? Maybe." #1 priority, Bungie, is immersion not competitiveness.

 

[Azar]

Some random dude I got matched up with asked this in the post-game carnage report:
"Dax01, are you Dax from NeoGAF?"
:lol

You're internet famous!

 

[Thagomizer]

Can somebody render the bug film in my post up there for me, please?

 

[zewone]

On the multiplayer side? I don't think so; you're being too modest. xD

On consoles, I can't think of a better looking multiplayer fps.

MW2.

 

[mYm|17|]

so I played a few games and some dude had this powerup when he pounded the ground. What is that?

 

[NG28]

From previous page: Does anybody know what the "Technician" commendation is for? It says "Perform an incredible feat in matchmaking" on Bnet. I've gotten it a few times in mm. Any ideas?

I may be mistaken, but I'm 99% sure I got that when playing SWAT. I jumped off a ledge and headshot someone while I was in the air.

 

[NameGenerated]

Can rockets hit headhunter skulls? Because I think that happened to me. Skull about face high, 2 inches from me, rocket. Wasn't pretty.

 

[Teknoman]

Friends, Family, and Illegitimate Experts

:lol nice.

 

[FunkyMunkey]

That's a major part of it. You expect me to hit you a moving target that walks like it's floating in the head 5 times with 8 or 12 bullets, yet expect me to also compensate for the faux recoil? So, in other words, you want me to get assists all day cause 1 vs 1 usually ends if both parties don't care about dying (melee ahoy!) or when someone finally intervenes.
Too much health + Slow movement + overbalanced weapons that always take nearly a full clip and around the same amount of time to kill someone + fast regenerating health + easy escape/regenerate skills + anti-climatic unexciting gametypes (which to be fair is probably the fault of everything else I list here) + faux recoil that can only be nullified by waitting = dull, drawn out, unimmersive gameplay and gunplay.

Halo Reach should have been a faster, more intimate intense game with less shield, more intimidation, more impact, more players and more at stake every moment to give a better sense of a real battle going on. When a round ends I should finally breathe out. Sadly, this game is the exact opposite. As I mentioned before, I can hold a complete coherent conversation with someone while playing this game. That's the worst thing I can say about Reach or any action oriented game. That simply says it all. Even with Halo 2, I probably couldn't talk coherently while playing. When I played geometry wars later after giving reach a break, this is what my input would be in a conversation, "huh?.....<ten seconds later>...what?......whoa WHOA...oh yeah? I...uh...She did ...oh crap... what?" That's what should be happening when playing halo or any game that sells itself on the action it provides. I should be completely immersed and I should have no choice in the matter.

The fact that I can't tell if I killed or shot someone or not is just facepalm worthy for 2010 standards and shows that Bungie really dropped the ball when it comes to priorities here. I should be going "oh, sh*t! Did you see that!?" not "did I hit em? Maybe." #1 priority, Bungie, is immersion not competitiveness.

Or both. And agreed.

 

[LukeSmith]

Oh yeah, does anybody know what the "Technician" commendation is for? It says "Perform an incredible feat in matchmaking" on Bnet. Any ideas?

Technician - a placeholder name - is for exceptional Medals and actions. Here's a list of what increments this Commendation in the beta:

1. Bulltrue
2. Revenge
3. Skyjack
4. Highjack
5. Killjoy
6. Kill from the Grave
7. First Strike
8. Close Call
9. Opportunist
10. Headcase
11. Pull
12. Extermination

 

[Teknoman]

so I played a few games and some dude had this powerup when he pounded the ground. What is that?

Armor Lock.

 

[Magni]

Did you play Halo: CE? One hit grenade kills happened often if you had good aim. I haven't played the beta yet so I can't comment on my own experience, but powerful grenades sound like a good thing, especially with the new abilities. It sounds like there are a lot of ways to dodge a grenade if you use abilities such as jetpack, armor lock etc.

I can dodge one nade no problem. Four, five, six nades.. a bit tougher. Grenade spam is huuuuge in this game, even I do it, though I take no pleasure in it. Grenades in Halo to me were about lowering the shields before a quick headshot, or finishing shieldless opponents, not killing fully shielded, 75% health Spartans.

 

[backflip10019]

Technician - a placeholder name - is for exceptional Medals and actions. Here's a list of what increments this Commendation in the beta:

1. Bulltrue
2. Revenge
3. Skyjack
4. Highjack
5. Killjoy
6. Kill from the Grave
7. First Strike
8. Close Call
9. Opportunist
10. Headcase
11. Pull
12. Extermination

Awesome, thanks for clarifying. I have quite a few revenge, killjoy and opportunist medals under my belt.

 

[metareferential]

MW2.

You're joking, right?

 

[Son of Godzilla]

Technician - a placeholder name - is for exceptional Medals and actions. Here's a list of what increments this Commendation in the beta:

1. Bulltrue
2. Revenge
3. Skyjack
4. Highjack
5. Killjoy
6. Kill from the Grave
7. First Strike
8. Close Call
9. Opportunist
10. Headcase
11. Pull
12. Extermination

"exceptional"

 

[CrazedArabMan]

Did you play Halo: CE? One hit grenade kills happened often if you had good aim. I haven't played the beta yet so I can't comment on my own experience, but powerful grenades sound like a good thing, especially with the new abilities. It sounds like there are a lot of ways to dodge a grenade if you use abilities such as jetpack, armor lock etc.

There's your problem, once you play it you'll understand then. And yes I played CE, its what got me into Halo, and yes I have good aim. Power is fine, as long as the radius is reduced somewhat.

 

[Striker]

I can dodge one nade no problem. Four, five, six nades.. a bit tougher. Grenade spam is huuuuge in this game, even I do it, though I take no pleasure in it. Grenades in Halo to me were about lowering the shields before a quick headshot, or finishing shieldless opponents, not killing fully shielded, 75% health Spartans.

So instead of decreasing the strength of the grenade, Bungie should remove the amount that's fallen from enemies/players themselves, and reduce the amount on the map itself. Frags, of course. Plasma grenades aren't much of a problem.

 

[mYm|17|]

Armor Lock.

ahhh thanks. I was wailing on the guy and he wasn't dying :lol

It's been ages since I played a Halo game and it was a bit overwhelming. After I got the hang of it, it got much better.

 

[Hixx]

Jetpacking up to someone in midair on Sword Base and kneeing them in the face is SO GOOD. Now if only I could find the pic on bungie.net :|

 

[Domino Theory]

How do you get the Pull medal?

 

[kylej]

That's a major part of it. You expect me to hit you a moving target that walks like it's floating in the head 5 times with 8 or 12 bullets, yet expect me to also compensate for the faux recoil? So, in other words, you want me to get assists all day cause 1 vs 1 usually ends if both parties don't care about dying (melee ahoy!) or when someone finally intervenes.
Too much health + Slow movement + overbalanced weapons that always take nearly a full clip and around the same amount of time to kill someone + fast regenerating health + easy escape/regenerate skills + anti-climatic unexciting gametypes (which to be fair is probably the fault of everything else I list here) + faux recoil that can only be nullified by waitting = dull, drawn out, unimmersive gameplay and gunplay.

Halo Reach should have been a faster, more intimate intense game with less shield, more intimidation, more impact, more players and more at stake every moment to give a better sense of a real battle going on. When a round ends I should finally breathe out. Sadly, this game is the exact opposite. As I mentioned before, I can hold a complete coherent conversation with someone while playing this game. That's the worst thing I can say about Reach or any action oriented game. That simply says it all. Even with Halo 2, I probably couldn't talk coherently while playing. When I played geometry wars later after giving reach a break, this is what my input would be in a conversation, "huh?.....<ten seconds later>...what?......whoa WHOA...oh yeah? I...uh...She did ...oh crap... what?" That's what should be happening when playing halo or any game that sells itself on the action it provides. I should be completely immersed and I should have no choice in the matter.

The fact that I can't tell if I killed or shot someone or not is just facepalm worthy for 2010 standards and shows that Bungie really dropped the ball when it comes to priorities here. I should be going "oh, sh*t! Did you see that!?" not "did I hit em? Maybe." #1 priority, Bungie, is immersion not competitiveness.

Excellent post. Well done.

 

[Magni]

So instead of decreasing the strength of the grenade, Bungie should remove the amount that's fallen from enemies/players themselves, and reduce the amount on the map itself. Frags, of course. Plasma grenades aren't much of a problem.

Did you read all of my post? Specifically the last sentence?

 

[Magni]

That's a major part of it. You expect me to hit you a moving target that walks like it's floating in the head 5 times with 8 or 12 bullets, yet expect me to also compensate for the faux recoil? So, in other words, you want me to get assists all day cause 1 vs 1 usually ends if both parties don't care about dying (melee ahoy!) or when someone finally intervenes.
Too much health + Slow movement + overbalanced weapons that always take nearly a full clip and around the same amount of time to kill someone + fast regenerating health + easy escape/regenerate skills + anti-climatic unexciting gametypes (which to be fair is probably the fault of everything else I list here) + faux recoil that can only be nullified by waitting = dull, drawn out, unimmersive gameplay and gunplay.

Halo Reach should have been a faster, more intimate intense game with less shield, more intimidation, more impact, more players and more at stake every moment to give a better sense of a real battle going on. When a round ends I should finally breathe out. Sadly, this game is the exact opposite. As I mentioned before, I can hold a complete coherent conversation with someone while playing this game. That's the worst thing I can say about Reach or any action oriented game. That simply says it all. Even with Halo 2, I probably couldn't talk coherently while playing. When I played geometry wars later after giving reach a break, this is what my input would be in a conversation, "huh?.....<ten seconds later>...what?......whoa WHOA...oh yeah? I...uh...She did ...oh crap... what?" That's what should be happening when playing halo or any game that sells itself on the action it provides. I should be completely immersed and I should have no choice in the matter.

The fact that I can't tell if I killed or shot someone or not is just facepalm worthy for 2010 standards and shows that Bungie really dropped the ball when it comes to priorities here. I should be going "oh, sh*t! Did you see that!?" not "did I hit em? Maybe." #1 priority, Bungie, is immersion not competitiveness.

+1 for everything in that post.

 

[Flipyap]

I am lonely.

Aww. Don't worry, you're not alone. There's at least two of us! Woo! EXCLUSIVE BETALESS CLUB!

 

[bobs...onGaf]

Technician - a placeholder name - is for exceptional Medals and actions. Here's a list of what increments this Commendation in the beta:

1. Bulltrue
2. Revenge
3. Skyjack
4. Highjack
5. Killjoy
6. Kill from the Grave
7. First Strike
8. Close Call
9. Opportunist
10. Headcase
11. Pull
12. Extermination

Sweet, that actually seems like a pretty cool commendation. What is Pull for though? I have sniped a few Jetpack users and havent got anything. From the trailers it seemed like it was for killing people in mid air?

Im just going to be cheecky and ask someone to render this - http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Reach/FileDetails.aspx?fid=6276

I went on a Sniper spree starting by jetpacking up and sniping another dude who was using the jetpack in mid air. Felt awesome and I didnt know what to do so I dropped to the floor straight afterwards :lol

 

[SuperSonic1305]

On consoles, I can't think of a better looking multiplayer fps.

Is this a joke?

 

[Bryant]

Some random dude I got matched up with asked this in the post-game carnage report:
"Dax01, are you Dax from NeoGAF?"
:lol

Random my ass... That was me!

 

[LordPhoque]

Is this an opinion?

 

[Sanic]

This is terrible of me to say but I just realized that, apparentely, anybody can render anybody's videos. I just checked out Bnet and both of mine had been rendered. Nice.

 

[GhaleonEB]

How do you get the Pull medal?

Kill someone who is jetpacking.