• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Halo: Reach |OT3| This Thread is Not a Natural Formation

I just had this thought last game that I was playing, like no matter how much you hate Bloom just remember how H3's BR was...

Think about like a dude one shot across the outside of Anchor 9 and you are right on his head and shoot, but you have the BR and its 3 bullet spread, you are right aimed on their head you pull the trigger, no dice, it doesn't manage to get you the kill...That WAS Halo 3.

Reach really is great.
 

Brolic Gaoler

formerly Alienshogun
xxjuicesxx said:
I just had this thought last game that I was playing, like no matter how much you hate Bloom just remember how H3's BR was...

Think about like a dude one shot across the outside of Anchor 9 and you are right on his head and shoot, but you have the BR and its 3 bullet spread, you are right aimed on their head you pull the trigger, no dice, it doesn't manage to get you the kill...That WAS Halo 3.

Reach really is great.


What did you do with Juices?
 
All it takes is playing some COD (or just about any other shooter) online to appreciate the value of having your shots actually register.

I actually like those other games, but I wish they spent more time tuning their netcode and mechanics for better online play.
 
NullPointer said:
All it takes is playing some COD (or just about any other shooter) online to appreciate the value of having your shots actually register.

I actually like those other games, but I wish they spent more time tuning their netcode and mechanics for better online play.
I would say Reach needs dedicated servers, but I ONLY run into lag during Campaign Co-Op....so I guess it's a non issue.
 

Domino Theory

Crystal Dynamics
TacticalFox88 said:
I would say Reach needs dedicated servers, but I ONLY run into lag during Campaign Co-Op....so I guess it's a non issue.

I think we need to focus on making the gunplay consistent before worrying about servers.
 

GhaleonEB

Member
Oh, it's a bloom gripe.

...

It works the same ever time I play. I suggest pacing your shots, and firing the AR in short, controlled bursts.
 

Arnie

Member
Bloom is only random when you don't pace your shots, in which case you're doing it wrong. Doesn't mean I think it makes the game more fun, just the game is funner when I do it right. If that makes any sense.
 

Domino Theory

Crystal Dynamics
Arnie said:
Bloom is only random when you don't pace your shots, in which case you're doing it wrong. Doesn't mean I think it makes the game more fun, just the game is funner when I do it right. If that makes any sense.

Has Halo ever been known for slow gameplay before Reach?

(Not trying to be sarcastic or anything, asking seriously)
 

Striker

Member
Domino Theory said:
Has Halo ever been known for slow gameplay before Reach?

(Not trying to be sarcastic or anything, asking seriously)
Halo 3 was pretty slow, especially if you weren't playing any MLG settings.
 
Hypertrooper said:
I shouldn't play Matchmaking after 2am. I was really awful when I played with Barrow Roll :/
I thought it might have just been a connection thing on your end, being in Germany and all. Good games nonetheless. That last game impressed me, Slayer Pro on Cliffhanger actually doesn't suck when it's 3 vs 3!
 
I like the change with shield damage when it comes to the DMR. You can put four shots on anywhere on the body, and the shields will drop. Then you go for the headshot.
 

equil

Member
Barrow Roll said:
I thought it might have just been a connection thing on your end, being in Germany and all. Good games nonetheless. That last game impressed me, Slayer Pro on Cliffhanger actually doesn't suck when it's 3 vs 3!

Im in Germany also, and i dont normally have any connection issues playing with my US friends.
 

Domino Theory

Crystal Dynamics
Dax01 said:
I like the change with shield damage when it comes to the DMR. You can put four shots on anywhere on the body, and the shields will drop. Then you go for the headshot.

Uh, you could do that in Halo 3.
 

Arnie

Member
Domino Theory said:
Has Halo ever been known for slow gameplay before Reach?

(Not trying to be sarcastic or anything, asking seriously)
Nope. I'm sad that it has become slower with Reach, in all facets of gameplay. However that doesn't negate my point that when used as Bungie intended the bloom is consistent. I would, like you prefer faster gameplay with no bloom.

I find Reach easier to play when I don't treat it as I would previous Halo games. This saddens me. I want to run around pushing my DMR to it's absolute limits at maximum pace like I used to with my Battle Rifle, but in doing so I fail. When I treat Reach's gameplay with a more considered approach I tend to be better off, timing each individual shot whilst I track my target. This may take away from some of the fun I used to have with the series but I still find it fun nonetheless.

In a perfect world I would like to interview Bungie about this issue. About why in their last ever love letter to the fanatical Halo community they would completely alter the gameplay and gratification loop to an extent that certain segments of the population can't even get the most basic enjoyment from the game. I know it's anecdotal, but my once Halo filled friends list is now a barren wasteland in a post Reach world, with only the odd Halo 3 custom match to be seen.

In one of the Vidocs prior to release, a Bungie staffer said that they wouldn't make the game unless they thought it was going to be played for years. If this was really the case then why didn't they polish the wheel to perfection rather than reinvent it. Reach feels like Bungie's new IP seeping into the Halo universe. A need to branch out with completely fresh ideas despite a devoted community who already embrace their old ones.
Dax01 said:
I like the change with shield damage when it comes to the DMR. You can put four shots on anywhere on the body, and the shields will drop. Then you go for the headshot.
There was something sweet about stripping the last of the opponents shields and nailing the head in one squeeze of the trigger. Again it feels like a change made for the sake of it, rather to increase the fun factor.
 
equil said:
Im in Germany also, and i dont normally have any connection issues playing with my US friends.
Nah the connection isn't the real problem. But I'm tired at this time. My reaction were really slow.

I've only connection problems when I play Firefight/campaign with guys from oversea. But I only have DSL-1000 at the moment. I hope it'll change in a near future.

Btw. I noticed that Beachhead is the best-looking Firefight map yet. I really hope that Bungie will release a Halo-ring based map in a DLC because Tempest is looking amazing and the human architecture is kind of boring after Halo 3: ODST and the Reach FF maps.
 

Domino Theory

Crystal Dynamics
Arnie said:
Nope. I'm sad that it has become slower with Reach, in all facets of gameplay. However that doesn't negate my point that when used as Bungie intended the bloom is consistent. I would, like you prefer faster gameplay with no bloom.

I find Reach easier to play when I don't treat it as I would previous Halo games. This saddens me. I want to run around pushing my DMR to it's absolute limits at maximum pace like I used to with my Battle Rifle, but in doing so I fail. When I treat Reach's gameplay with a more considered approach I tend to be better off, timing each individual shot whilst I track my target. This may take away from some of the fun I used to have with the series but I still find it fun nonetheless.

In a perfect world I would like to interview Bungie about this issue. About why in their last ever love letter to the fanatical Halo community they would completely alter the gameplay and gratification loop to an extent that certain segments of the population can't even get the most basic enjoyment from the game. I know it's anecdotal, but my once Halo filled friends list is now a barren wasteland in a post Reach world, with only the odd Halo 3 custom match to be seen.

In one of the Vidocs prior to release, a Bungie staffer said that they wouldn't make the game unless they thought it was going to be played for years. If this was really the case then why didn't they polish the wheel to perfection rather than reinvent it. Reach feels like Bungie's new IP seeping into the Halo universe. A need to branch out with completely fresh ideas despite a devoted community who already embrace their old ones.

Such a beautiful post.
 
Regardless of bloom, I still think that Reach has the most consistent quality peer-to-peer setup of any shooter out there. I've tried to get into other shooters with my buddies, but lag ends up bringing down what would otherwise be some truly fun matches. Its not rare to play any modern console shooter and drop a full clip into an enemy only to have them turn around and take you down in one shot. I'm talking COD4, Modern Warfare 2, Gears 1 and 2, Black Ops, Bad Company 2, and MAG. All were games I really wanted to love, and every last one of them let me down.

Lag is my adversary, and while some people can adapt their gameplay style to compensate it usually just frustrates the hell out of me.

I've had laggy games in Reach too, sure. I've had Firefight matches I had to quit out of because it was unbearable and completely unplayable. But that's been a serious rarity relative to other console shooters. Reach deserves more credit on this particular front than it gets.

Arnie said:
In a perfect world I would like to interview Bungie about this issue. About why in their last ever love letter to the fanatical Halo community they would completely alter the gameplay and gratification loop to an extent that certain segments of the population can't even get the most basic enjoyment from the game. I know it's anecdotal, but my once Halo filled friends list is now a barren wasteland in a post Reach world, with only the odd Halo 3 custom match to be seen.
I'd love to see this interview if it ever happened, but my take on this is that they did it to provide more balance to the weapons. We now have a solid balance between pistol, AR and the DMR and that's primarily due to bloom imho.
 

DMeisterJ

Banned
I've gotten back into Reach recently, and I've actually never completed the campaign, so I felt compelled to do the challenge and finally beat the campaign. I have to say that I didn't have half the fun I had playing previous Halos... I'm not sure if it's because I haven't played Halo single-player in a while, but the whole run into an area, defeat waves upon waves of enemies, and then repeat wore thin after the first few missions... I mean, it was bordering on predictability by endgame.

I also really disliked the general uselessness of any A.I. companion in the game, especially with the ill-equipped teammates like one member of Noble six who seemed to have a fucking shotgun in the goddamned grand canyon. Completely useless for any and all parts of that mission since everyone was basically long-range on that level. And them also being attached to your hip meant that flanking an enemy was impossible. Or they were caught on an object or chilling way far back from any point of interest.

All that said, I did have a lot of fun with the campaign and learning what happened before the original Halo (since I don't read the Halo books), but I'll never touch it again. The 10k xp points were pretty ace though.
 
DMeisterJ said:
I've gotten back into Reach recently, and I've actually never completed the campaign, so I felt compelled to do the challenge and finally beat the campaign. I have to say that I didn't have half the fun I had playing previous Halos... I'm not sure if it's because I haven't played Halo single-player in a while, but the whole run into an area, defeat waves upon waves of enemies, and then repeat wore thin after the first few missions... I mean, it was bordering on predictability by endgame.

I also really disliked the general uselessness of any A.I. companion in the game, especially with the ill-equipped teammates like one member of Noble six who seemed to have a fucking shotgun in the goddamned grand canyon. Completely useless for any and all parts of that mission since everyone was basically long-range on that level. And them also being attached to your hip meant that flanking an enemy was impossible. Or they were caught on an object or chilling way far back from any point of interest.

All that said, I did have a lot of fun with the campaign and learning what happened before the original Halo (since I don't read the Halo books), but I'll never touch it again. The 10k xp points were pretty ace though.
And this pretty much sums up my feelings on the SP to a tee.
 

GhaleonEB

Member
TacticalFox88 said:
Ghal, how in the hell do you have such a high KDR? O_O
Fuck.

EDIT: Whoops I thought your Firefight KDR was your MP KDR. :lol
My Campaign K/D isn't that too shabby, either. :p

Speaking of which, I just pushed my MP K/D positive for the first time after my first Arena game. Yay!
 

GhaleonEB

Member
Grimm Fandango said:
This has probably been answered months ago but oh well.

Why is the multikill timer shorter in Firefight and campaign than it is in multiplayer?
I don't think it's ever been addressed, but I assume it's because it's easier to get multikills in those modes. It's a lot easier to get an overkill on a string of Grunts than on player controlled Spartans. (I believe it's set to one second, while the MP is set to four seconds.)
 

Oozer3993

Member
MrBig said:
I don't get why more people don't follow this. It really is the best. It actually tried to tell a story. It held the most fiction. It was the most diverse. The multiplayer was addictive. Reach is bland in comparison, even if it is more grand and feature rich.

I far prefer Reach to Halo 2. Halo 2 is a solid game, and was great for it's time, but in my opinion it's the worst game in the series. The mulitplayer was riddled with bugs and glitches and featured huge heaping doses of auto-aim and reticle magnetism. It was also very susceptible to modding and hacking and had netcode that by today's standards would be considered pretty bad. The campaign, while harboring the series best story and some excellent cutscenes and voice acting, was a big disappointment gameplay wise. The levels were largely linear and the only big addition to the enemy roster was a poorly executed bullet sponge. Arguably the game's biggest change to gameplay, dual wielding, was so under-utilized and derided that it was taken out for the last two Halo games, as were every weapon introduced in the game.

Arnie said:
Nope. I'm sad that it has become slower with Reach, in all facets of gameplay. However that doesn't negate my point that when used as Bungie intended the bloom is consistent. I would, like you prefer faster gameplay with no bloom.

A constant knock against Halo's multiplayer has been it's slow speed. Compared to most other shooters (Call of Duty, Counter Strike, Battlefield), it takes significantly longer to kill an opponent.

There was something sweet about stripping the last of the opponents shields and nailing the head in one squeeze of the trigger. Again it feels like a change made for the sake of it, rather to increase the fun factor.

That hasn't been possible since Halo 1. Halo 2 was the first to move to the "strip the shields than go for the head" mechanic. Halo 1 is the only game in the series where you can head shot an enemy through a shield with a weapon that isn't a sniper rifle.
 

GloveSlap

Member
People keep saying to pace your shots to negate them bloom, but that only works at long range. If you are between close and mid-range you have to spam the trigger to knock your opponents shields off or you are going to lose against someone else that is spamming or spraying their AR. The credit slot machine isn't the only slot machine in Reach, i pull the handle every time i am forced to hit the trigger in that scenario. It is a sloppy game mechanic pure and simple.

The whole game seems set up to hinder precision weapon users, which isn't surprising considering how many AR users seem to work at Bungie (judging from the vidocs and the like anyway). Even the maps seem set up in that direction IMO.
 
GloveSlap said:
People keep saying to pace your shots to negate them bloom, but that only works at long range. If you are between close and mid-range you have to spam the trigger to knock your opponents shields off or you are going to lose against someone else that is spamming or spraying their AR. The credit slot machine isn't the only slot machine in Reach, i pull the handle every time i am forced to hit the trigger in that scenario. It is a sloppy game mechanic pure and simple.

The whole game seems set up to hinder precision weapon users, which isn't surprising considering how many AR users seem to work at Bungie (judging from the vidocs and the like anyway). Even the maps seem set up in that direction IMO.

Which ultimately sucks. The way bloom is implemented sucks. The concept was good though. It just doesn't punish spammers like Shadowrun did.
 
equil said:
Im in Germany also, and i dont normally have any connection issues playing with my US friends.
Belgium here. Multiplayer itself is fine when playing with people from Australia or the US, but once you start co-op (Firefight or campaign) it quickly takes a turn for the worst. Sniperfight is nigh impossible in such situations. Thank god for the Needler and FRG.:lol
 

Zennshi

Neo Member
Daily Challenges:

A Friend in Need - 1300cR
Earn 5 assists in Firefight Matchmaking.

A Satisfied Thirst - 1800cR
Kill 250 Grunts in Firefight Matchmaking.

Demon - 1250cR
Kill 10 Elites in Firefight Matchmaking.

Hyper Lethal Vector - 2000cR
Kill 100 enemies with headshots in Firefight Matchmaking.

Yeah FF DAY:D
 
Yes but lets agree Bloom and Hitscan (Reach) greater than H3's Shit BR spread and don't forget to lead your shots by WHO THE FUCK KNOWS HOW MUCH! :D

Basically Reach > H3 in terms of precision gunplay, not discussing other factors. Its just nice to nail someone across the map when you clearly pinpointed him down.

Ultimately in terms of MP I would want a HD'ized Halo 2, no aspect ratio changing no speed changing. Game that runs at 60 fps, features the same ranking system H2 except all securized unlike H2. BUT with all the weapon combos added as normal gameplay learned in tutorials. With Reach's Menu's + Credit system for the aesthetics + and Reach's AA's (Most of em stay in the Social playlists though!) Hitscan precisions (BR+Pistol+Snipe+Covie Equiv's), No bloom on precisions, bloom on automatics. Automatics on purpose balanced to be a bit weaker than precisions.

I can't have what I want though. Real Talk.
 

Gui_PT

Member
xxjuicesxx said:
Yes but lets agree Bloom and Hitscan (Reach) greater than H3's Shit BR spread and don't forget to lead your shots by WHO THE FUCK KNOWS HOW MUCH! :D

Basically Reach > H3 in terms of precision gunplay, not discussing other factors. Its just nice to nail someone across the map when you clearly pinpointed him down.

Ultimately in terms of MP I would want a HD'ized Halo 2, no aspect ratio changing no speed changing. Game that runs at 60 fps, features the same ranking system H2 except all securized unlike H2. BUT with all the weapon combos added as normal gameplay learned in tutorials. With Reach's Menu's + Credit system for the aesthetics + and Reach's AA's (Most of em stay in the Social playlists though!) Hitscan precisions (BR+Pistol+Snipe+Covie Equiv's), No bloom on precisions, bloom on automatics. Automatics on purpose balanced to be a bit weaker than precisions.

I can't have what I want though. Real Talk.

Why ain't u been hired yet?
 

KevinRo

Member
holy crap o_O

I found you guys again. I thought the thread was lost forever :lol

To add my 2 cents to the bloom discussion and why it's stupid, I remember an interview with I think Treyarch or Infinity Ward where they discussed that a shot with a sniper rifle should in all purposes destroy someone in one shot. But they said that because of the history of FPS and how the community is so use to 2 shot body shots they kept it like that.

I think in this instance Bungie should not have added bloom to add to the 'realization' of shooters. Just ruins the game tbh when you're shooting someone nice a calmly only for someone to spas out and 5 shot you with a pistol without trying to atleast slow down and aim.
 

Kuroyume

Banned
Domino Theory said:
Has Halo ever been known for slow gameplay before Reach?

(Not trying to be sarcastic or anything, asking seriously)

Yeah? Halo has always been (if not the slowest then) one of the slowest FPS around. It's one of the things people have always been critical about in the series. That's taking into account everything from how many times you have to pull the trigger to basic movement speed.

I find bloom annoying after the changes they made to the weapons after the beta, but it's not near the top of the list I want to see changed. It's really unfair how bloom is set up for a precision weapons compared to something like the AR. These weapons have slower rates of fire, less ammo per clip, and take a bit of effort to aim and then they add bloom on top of it. The AR having bloom is a joke. It hardly effects it all. Nerf that shit.

Zennshi said:
Daily Challenges:

A Friend in Need - 1300cR
Earn 5 assists in Firefight Matchmaking.

A Satisfied Thirst - 1800cR
Kill 250 Grunts in Firefight Matchmaking.

Demon - 1250cR
Kill 10 Elites in Firefight Matchmaking.

Hyper Lethal Vector - 2000cR
Kill 100 enemies with headshots in Firefight Matchmaking.

Yeah FF DAY:D

Terrible. Will do the gruntpocalypse ones and I may be up for a game of Firefight... Can't really tolerate these long games. Long games versus human opponents? Good. Versus AI evading everything, lag, and frame rate issues? Don't like.
 
xxjuicesxx said:
Yes but lets agree Bloom and Hitscan (Reach) greater than H3's Shit BR spread and don't forget to lead your shots by WHO THE FUCK KNOWS HOW MUCH! :D

Basically Reach > H3 in terms of precision gunplay, not discussing other factors. Its just nice to nail someone across the map when you clearly pinpointed him down.

Ultimately in terms of MP I would want a HD'ized Halo 2, no aspect ratio changing no speed changing. Game that runs at 60 fps, features the same ranking system H2 except all securized unlike H2. BUT with all the weapon combos added as normal gameplay learned in tutorials. With Reach's Menu's + Credit system for the aesthetics + and Reach's AA's (Most of em stay in the Social playlists though!) Hitscan precisions (BR+Pistol+Snipe+Covie Equiv's), No bloom on precisions, bloom on automatics. Automatics on purpose balanced to be a bit weaker than precisions.

I can't have what I want though. Real Talk.

Im the opposite, that damn spread was annoying, but at least the gunplay had a good pace to it. Reach feels better when you nail someone across the map - but the mid to shorter range combat is just aweful.
 
Kuroyume said:
Yeah? Halo has always been (if not the slowest then) one of the slowest FPS around. It's one of the things people have always been critical about in the series. That's taking into account everything from how many times you have to pull the trigger to basic movement speed.

Halo hasn't been known as the slowest for consoles. Maybe casually, but when played at a high level it's known for it's speed. The only games faster are Unreal tournament and Shadowrun. Call of Duty, Rainbow Six, and Gears of War are all slower when played at the highest level.

Halo Reach is slightly slower for whatever reason.
 
Top Bottom