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[Devin Olsen]

Well I didn't end up with nearly as much swag as I was hoping for, but there are a couple neat things I would like to give-away.

I would like to think of some fun/original way to give all of this away (and I am still willing to hear ideas) but for now I think I will just have people PM me and I will enter them into a random draw.

Grand Prize
(There will be two Grand Prize Winners, the only difference is the avatar prop)

• HaloFest Mega Bloks - Halo CE UNSC Warthog
• Oct 2011 OXM
• Halo Fest Mega Bloks - Halo CE Covenant Elite
• Energy Sword Avatar Prop OR Cortana Avatar Prop
• Cloth HaloFest Swag Bag

---------------

I wish I had more to give away, but this is all I have for now.

I will post this a few more times and likely do the draw in 2-3 days (I will announce the draw date when I figure it out).

Oh and I would like to keep this exclusive to USA or Canada, I am really sorry EuroGAF. I would glady pay for shipping but the last time I shipped a EuroGAF'er something it almost financially ruined me .

<3 Good Luck

 

[Tawpgun]

Regarding a HaloGAF OT...

It would be awesome to unite everyone under 1 thread... But it could be confusing for everyone else. They search for Halo 4 OT and can't find it.

If you're planning on having a Halo 4 OT on gaming side and A HaloGAF OT here... Not a fan either... It was annoying enough having to keep tabs on the reach thread and the Halofest thread. We've treated this as a Halo General thread/our sub communities thread and its been fine. I don't think there's a need for HaloGAF thread.

Spoiler

I secretly want to see how far the reach OT's will go

Also totally in on this giveaway.

 

[Kuroyume]

Good stuff... I just want the magazine so I can stare at something while on the toilet. I need to get some new magazines in there seriously. lol

Don't think I'll go for it though since I would throw the other stuff away.

 

[ncsuDuncan]

Fyrewulff, did you ever see the gametype descriptions at Halofest?

"Zero Bloom Slayer - This is why we don't do that."

I later thanked Chad (Shishka) for that, it really made me chuckle.

Jetpack:

- I hopped into a 4v4 game of slayer on Penance. For some reason the profile I was on was set to prefer Elites and thus spawned me as one. Since we were playing on Penance I naturally picked the Jetpack AA to see just how awful it would be for the map. It took me a while to realize that the Spartans I was fighting weren't using AAs at all and we were actually playing Anniversary Slayer. Apparently the gametype wasn't forcing players to spawn as Spartans and being an elite somehow let me pick AAs.

That's when I noticed how weird jetpack was acting. It was giving me very very little upward momentum. It seemed to drain faster than normal and was really only useful for horizontal flight and cushioning a fall. Maybe I just couldn't figure out how to time it with a jump to boost upwards, but I'm serious when I say it was practically useless.

Later I talked to Chad and asked him if Jetpack was being adjusted in the TU. He said no and when I told him what I had seen in that broken match earlier he said A) the gametype is supposed to be forcing Spartan spawns and B) jetpack must have been bugged, because that change wasn't intentional. I believe him, because when I picked Armor Lock and Camo I didn't notice any of the changes described in the TU notes. I could see reducing the amount of fuel the jetpack has, but that glitch made it play more like some kind of slowfall/glider ability.

Armory:

- Not sure if this has been stated, but all of the profiles at HaloFest were Temporary Profiles and couldn't access the Armory. Maybe the BOB helmet was cut and that weird object we saw in the Battle Canyon flythrough was just an easter egg. Maybe it only pops up on December 9th (the 343rd day of the year).

Maps:

- There was no sign of Prisoner or Timberland, only Solitary and Ridgeline were on the demo build.
- I don't recall seeing Damnation, I only played Penance but I can't remember if it was available or not.
- The impression I got was that Hang 'em High wasn't being shown because it was still being worked on and was a bit rougher than the 5 they did show. At the multiplayer panel they mention that it went through 3 different visual styles, so maybe the final look of the map will be different than what we saw at E3.

 

[Hypertrooper]

Is Fyrewulff seriously back to making sweeping claims about things that haven't been established yet? Well you live and learn!

Read the last few words and I have to think about Sonic...

 

[Captain Blood]

It almost certainly WILL be available in a playlist. Not all playlists, but some playlist. If it is horrifically overpowered then it might end up in something like a swat playlist.

Thank you sir. This was what I was hoping to hear.

 

[Steelyuhas]

And then you rage at an AR user out-burst firing you in zero bloom and you throw your Duke against the wall and take out 6 houses in the direction you threw it in.

I will be okay with that because at least in a zero bloom gametype, the AR will be balanced better with the precision weapons.

Now, this is just my opinion, but I firmly believe that this is one of the foundations of Halo. Precision weapons should have significantly faster potential kill times than automatic weapons because they are inherently more difficult to use because you have to maintain aiming and pulling the trigger multiple times as opposed to an automatic weapon were you aim as a mass area and hold down the trigger (bursting automatic weapons should give you more of an advantage over holding the trigger than it currently does, but thats another discussion entirely).

Personally, I find it concerning that a lot of people here are worried about having a good starting precision weapon again. It's one of the main things that made Halo so good in the first place.

It won't be literally swat, I mean a game type that is purely for quick, decisive outcomes, four or five shots instead of one. Anyway, in all likelihood it will end up in a variety of lists and types. So relax.

Can't relax bro, needz TU noaw!

Spoiler

Thanks for clearing the panic though

 

[Devin Olsen]

Maps:

- There was no sign of Prisoner or Timberland, only Solitary and Ridgeline were on the demo build.
- I don't recall seeing Damnation, I only played Penance but I can't remember if it was available or not.

Prisoner, Timberland, Damnation, and Beaver Creek were all playable.

 

[ncsuDuncan]

Prisoner, Timberland, Damnation, and Beaver Creek were all playable.

Are you sure? I assume all of the multiplayer demo stations were running the same build (which was actually Reach, not CEA).

The one I was playing on had:

Playable:
Solitary
Beaver Creek (Classic)
Battle Canyon
Penance
Ridgeline
Installation 04 (FF)
On-disc Reach maps

Not playable:
Prisoner (Classic)
Timberland (Classic)
Headlong (either variant)
Hang 'em High (either variant)

I'm unsure of Damnation (Classic). I want to say it was playable, but I can't remember.

 

[feel]

Regarding a HaloGAF OT...

It would be awesome to unite everyone under 1 thread... But it could be confusing for everyone else. They search for Halo 4 OT and can't find it.

If you're planning on having a Halo 4 OT on gaming side and A HaloGAF OT here... Not a fan either... It was annoying enough having to keep tabs on the reach thread and the Halofest thread. We've treated this as a Halo General thread/our sub communities thread and its been fine. I don't think there's a need for HaloGAF thread.

Spoiler

I secretly want to see how far the reach OT's will go

But if they search for Halo 4 OT they'll find us discussing it in the Reach |OT23|?

With the title change to Halogaf everything will be the same except the title won't feel inaccurate and outdated after Anniversary is out. Plus bye bye bad pre-TU Reach memories associated with Reach |OT|.

If it was in my hands I would just do away with the witty subtitles every other thread has and just have it be for example:
HaloGAF |OT| Reach, Anniversary and Halo 4 (all the main titles being discussed are easily searchable)

edit- ^ to clarify, this would be the catch-all Community thread like we use the reach one now, with news and game releases still getting proper threads on the Gaming side.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

PM sent Devin! Thanks again for grabbing what you could.

Are those magazines going to be on sale in stores?

 

[neoism]

I would say don't play competitive shooters on your own unless you don't mind losing. Reach is no different than previous iterations in this regard.

Probably one of the reasons I don't care to play with randoms... ... winning...lol If I play good in that game, its a win for me.

 

[FyreWulff]

Is Fyrewulff seriously back to making sweeping claims about things that haven't been established yet? Well you live and learn!

If you're free to make sweeping claims about things you don't know about, then I'll feel free to continue holding my opinion that never changed (therefore, I never went back to anything) on the TU. You know, I actually did play it in person. At Halofest. With a controller. I'm not making assumptions about anything.

It played exactly like I thought it would from the video reveal.

I came away completely unimpressed by all of it at Halofest. I will continue to play Bungie Shipped Reach. I'm mostly only interested in any bugfixes now (railgun Gauss Hog through Forge Objects, etc). I don't use armor lock so the changes don't affect me much and I just stick with the even more overpowered and broken Spartan Evade whenever possible.

But please, put the DMR with no bloom in matchmaking. It made it really easy to kill things without having to learn how to already make the DMR 100% reliable by actually learning the pacing, so people that don't want to actually learn how burst fire and pacing works can go play in their nbDMR playlist, and I'll be happy playing my vanilla Reach playlists. I think both sides get what they want there.

 

[bobs...onGaf]

If you're free to make sweeping claims about things you don't know about, then I'll feel free to continue holding my opinion that never changed (therefore, I never went back to anything) on the TU. You know, I actually did play it in person. At Halofest. With a controller. I'm not making assumptions about anything.

It played exactly like I thought it would from the video reveal.

I came away completely unimpressed by all of it at Halofest. I will continue to play Bungie Shipped Reach. I'm mostly only interested in any bugfixes now (railgun Gauss Hog through Forge Objects, etc). I don't use armor lock so the changes don't affect me much and I just stick with the even more overpowered and broken Spartan Evade whenever possible.

But please, put the DMR with no bloom in matchmaking. It made it really easy to kill things without having to learn how to already make the DMR 100% reliable by actually learning the pacing, so people that don't want to actually learn how burst fire and pacing works can go play in their nbDMR playlist, and I'll be happy playing my vanilla Reach playlists. I think both sides get what they want there.

I think thats the best thing about it to be honest. Freedom of choice. As much as people may dislike the TU they will never have to play the changes if they dont want to.

 

[GhaleonEB]

If you're free to make sweeping claims about things you don't know about, then I'll feel free to continue holding my opinion that never changed (therefore, I never went back to anything) on the TU. You know, I actually did play it in person. At Halofest. With a controller. I'm not making assumptions about anything.

This is a rather false equivalence, and a strange one to make.

Regardless, the good news for you is, 343 will continue to have regular Reach in matchmaking, specifcally because some people will prefer that. They have always from day 1 presented the TU as a set of new options, not as a groundshift in the way Reach will play for everyone. Personally, had I both misunderstood what was on display at HaloFest and hated it, as you did, I'd be happy about that.

 

[FyreWulff]

Are you sure? I assume all of the multiplayer demo stations were running the same build (which was actually Reach, not CEA).

The one I was playing on had:

Playable:
Solitary
Beaver Creek (Classic)
Battle Canyon
Penance
Ridgeline
Installation 04 (FF)
On-disc Reach maps

Not playable:
Prisoner (Classic)
Timberland (Classic)
Headlong (either variant)
Hang 'em High (either variant)

I'm unsure of Damnation (Classic). I want to say it was playable, but I can't remember.

I never played Damnation at Halofest, but then again maybe I wasn't there at the right time.

From what I remember:

FFA was on Prisoner.
BTB on Timberlands.
TU (other side of the wall from Timberlands) was Beaver Creek.
Firefight was Installation 04.

 

[feel]

If you're free to make sweeping claims about things you don't know about, then I'll feel free to continue holding my opinion that never changed (therefore, I never went back to anything) on the TU. You know, I actually did play it in person. At Halofest. With a controller. I'm not making assumptions about anything.

It played exactly like I thought it would from the video reveal.

I came away completely unimpressed by all of it at Halofest. I will continue to play Bungie Shipped Reach. I'm mostly only interested in any bugfixes now (railgun Gauss Hog through Forge Objects, etc). I don't use armor lock so the changes don't affect me much and I just stick with the even more overpowered and broken Spartan Evade whenever possible.

But please, put the DMR with no bloom in matchmaking. It made it really easy to kill things without having to learn how to already make the DMR 100% reliable by actually learning the pacing, so people that don't want to actually learn how burst fire and pacing works can go play in their nbDMR playlist, and I'll be happy playing my vanilla Reach playlists. I think both sides get what they want there.

Wow, you really went all out on this one. Every paragraph delivers the nonsense like no single post should be able to. Will be hard to top even for you.

 

[Risen]

Zero Bloom should either be in Multi Team or Squad Slayer.

I'll follow that up with Zero Bloom should be in all DMR start games. The only way it should be offered in games with AR starts would be very judicious placement of DMR's on the map... they would then be a power weapon, as Frankie posited about the 3 shot pistol in one of the panels.

But please, put the DMR with no bloom in matchmaking. It made it really easy to kill things without having to learn how to already make the DMR 100% reliable by actually learning the pacing, so people that don't want to actually learn how burst fire and pacing works can go play in their nbDMR playlist, and I'll be happy playing my vanilla Reach playlists. I think both sides get what they want there.

There is no way to make the DMR 100% reliable with bloom as it is implemented in Reach... particularly online with connections being what they are...

What happens when you have two people who have a perfect understanding of how bloom works? One can still spam from across a map while the other cannot. Or in a close contest of two spammers one can grab a head shot while aiming at the waist while another has better aim and gets no lucky headshot. The outcome of an interaction with Reach bloom has more to do with connection and random placement of bullets within the cone than any understanding of the mechanic.

Sure you can certainly cheat the bloom a bit, and you can play to tendencies like aiming high on the last shot because shots tend to land in the bottom of the bloom in an opened reticle - but you cannot make it 100% reliable... all you can do is play to a probability.

That's not saying there isn't skill in knowing what cadence to use at what time based on the range and connection... but it is definitely saying that two players with equal knowledge and skill in understanding bloom will have an outcome decided more often by connection and random placement than any skill in aim or knowledge of the mechanic.

If you want bloom in a game... bloom needed to go the other way... make it MUCH MUCH larger with a faster reset a la Shadowrun. That was bloom that worked like you would want based on your quote above.

 

[Tashi]

I say no HaloGAF thread. That just feels weird.

 

[FyreWulff]

This is so nonsensical it's hard to know where to begin.

It's the reason I'm not buying Halo 4, and I'll just leave it at that.

 

[kylej]

If you're free to make sweeping claims about things you don't know about, then I'll feel free to continue holding my opinion that never changed (therefore, I never went back to anything) on the TU. You know, I actually did play it in person. At Halofest. With a controller. I'm not making assumptions about anything.

Holy mackeral did you really rifle through the dude's post history just to make a terrible point? This latest round of juniors has to be the worst ever. Please go back to GameFAQS or Penny Arcade or IGN or wherever and spare us all.

 

[GhaleonEB]

It's the reason I'm not buying Halo 4, and I'll just leave it at that.

What about Halo 4 makes you not want to buy it? The fact that 343 is adding an optional set of playlists that some in the community asked for in Halo: Reach?

Makes sense. I get that you've dug in so deep you are not digging out, and so I will not engage with you on this subject again. But to say it once and with feeling: you are making no sense at all, and I honestly don't understand your perspective. You've been proven demonstratably wrong on many fronts but are disregarding that, and are superimposing your preexisting opinion over reality.

 

[heckfu]

Holy mackeral did you really rifle through the dude's post history just to make a terrible point? This latest round of juniors has to be the worst ever. Please go back to GameFAQS or Penny Arcade or IGN or wherever and spare us all.

frown.

 

[Stinkles]

Holy mackeral did you really rifle through the dude's post history just to make a terrible point? This latest round of juniors has to be the worst ever. Please go back to GameFAQS or Penny Arcade or IGN or wherever and spare us all.

It's a post I made years ago rudely and uneccessarily accusing the Homeschooled of being poorly socialized and weird. I unreservedly retract that insult. Obviously I am totally wrong on that score.

 

[FyreWulff]

Also 51 weeklies.

#52 should be beat Nightfall in over 3 hours.

 

[Syracuse022]

It's a post I made years ago rudely and uneccessarily accusing the Homeschooled of being poorly socialized and weird. I unreservedly retract that insult. Obviously I am totally wrong on that score.

*looks at post date* It was obviously an April Fools' joke. And FyreWulff obviously wants to become a regular shout-out on Sparkasts.

 

[FyreWulff]

*looks at post date* It was obviously an April Fools' joke. And FyreWulff obviously wants to become a regular shout-out on Sparkasts.

.. wait what? I was a shout-out?

 

[The Antitype]

As a fan of default Reach, I'm happy with everything 343i showed and more importantly, said, at Halo Fest.

They acknowledge and appreciate the fact that many people actually enjoy what the AAs bring to the game, they know that some people like how bloom helps confine weapons to their roles in the sandbox.

They showed a lot of respect for the game they were changing, and seem to realize that the changes they're making can't be across-the-board out of the gates without first seeing how the existing Reach community (ALL of it, not just the vocal part that bothers to post on message boards) reacts.

I like bloom because I feel Reach is the first game in the Halo series where EVERY weapon is useable at worst, and ideal at best. Nothing I wouldn't pick up under any circumstances, and no fire-fight is decided ahead of time by what weapon you're using, only the skill and awareness of the participants in the battle.

That said, I think bloom could be tweaked to nerf DMR spammers. I like that the pistol is being upgraded a bit to make it a heftier starting weapon and more effective counter-point to the AR. All these changes sound good. I probably won't spend as much time in the Anniversary or Zero Bloom playlists as the Reach playlists, but the fact that everybody gets something they want is always a good conclusion.

 

[squidhands]

It's the reason I'm not buying Halo 4, and I'll just leave it at that.

You're mad you didn't get the special Duke controller, aren't you?

 

[Gabotron ES]

It's a post I made years ago rudely and uneccessarily accusing the Homeschooled of being poorly socialized and weird. I unreservedly retract that insult. Obviously I am totally wrong on that score.

Unrelated but will some of the TU changes (specially the armor lock and camo fixes) be thrown into regular matchmaking, I'm sure the current population will welcome these changes.

Also, are you guys planning on releasing monthly matchmaking updates, just as Bungie did. Last one was like two monthes ago.

 

[FyreWulff]

You're mad you didn't get the special Duke controller, aren't you?

I'm one of like 5 guys with big hands that hates that thing.

Who thought smooshing all the buttons together in a slanted diamond was a good idea?

 

[ncsuDuncan]

I never played Damnation at Halofest, but then again maybe I wasn't there at the right time.

From what I remember:

FFA was on Prisoner.
BTB on Timberlands.
TU (other side of the wall from Timberlands) was Beaver Creek.
Firefight was Installation 04.

*facepalm* Why are you and Devin having such a hard time with the naming conventions? I can understand the initial confusion, but this is the THIRD post where I mention both the REACH variant and the CLASSIC variant by name. Reading comprehension, people!

FFA was on Solitary. (The REACH variant of Prisoner. NOT Prisoner Classic.)
BTB was on Ridgeline. (The REACH variant of Timberland. NOT Timberland Classic.)
Squad Battle was on either Beaver Creek, Battle Canyon, or Penance. (and maybe Damnation, I'm unsure)
Firefight was Installation 04.

Holy mackeral did you really rifle through the dude's post history just to make a terrible point?

He's had that post bookmarked for months. From what I understand Fyrewulff has a personal grudge against Frank because of one post he made on home schooling. THAT'S why he's refusing to buy Halo 4 - it isn't anything connected to the game itself. I think it's a little childish, especially considering the fact that Frank is obviously a nice guy and isn't the only person working on the game anyways.

 

[kylej]

He's had that post bookmarked for months. From what I understand Fyrewulff has a personal grudge against Frank because of one post he made on home schooling. THAT'S why he's refusing to buy Halo 4 - it isn't anything connected to the game itself. I think it's a little childish, especially considering the fact that Frank is obviously a nice guy and isn't the only person working on the game anyways.

Clearly Fyrewolf is breaking the stereotype of homeschooled people being weirdos.

 

[FyreWulff]

*facepalm* Why are you and Devin having such a hard time with the naming conventions? I can understand the initial confusion, but this is the THIRD post where I mention both the REACH variant and the CLASSIC variant by name. Reading comprehension, people!

Laziness and optimal Google search results.

Clearly Fyrewolf is breaking the stereotype of homeschooled people being weirdos.

100% public schooled

 

[Tashi]

Clearly Fyrewolf is breaking the stereotype of homeschooled people being weirdos.

Lolol hahahaha

Sooo uhhh are we gonna get MLG v5 into matchmaking soon? I still have no power but that would be nice lol.

 

[lybertyboy]

Unrelated but will some of the TU changes (specially the armor lock and camo fixes) be thrown into regular matchmaking, I'm sure the current population will welcome these changes.

Also, are you guys planning on releasing monthly matchmaking updates, just as Bungie did. Last one was like two monthes ago.

As we've said previously we'll test out all aspects of the TU. If some of the changes prove popular enough we'll float those into appropriate playlists.

 

[FyreWulff]

float

Jetpack buff confirmed

 

[neoism]

WTF really? REALLY? Damn. That is a very embarrassing moment.

don't feel bad bro.. I had probably 1500 games under my belt before I knew. :/

 

[Hypertrooper]

Unrelated but will some of the TU changes (specially the armor lock and camo fixes) be thrown into regular matchmaking, I'm sure the current population will welcome these changes.

Do you want an honest opinion about this? A lot of people love Armour Lock. They will be mad if 343i change it. In playlists where you can't choose Armour Lock as a loadout 343i could try to implant the fixed version of Armour Lock. The problem is we rarely know what other player are thinking. We are under ourselves. We think the user of Halo Waypoint are crazy but because they don't agree with us. Still their argumentation (if there is one. lol.) is bad...

 

[squidhands]

As we've said previously we'll test out all aspects of the TU. If some of the changes prove popular enough we'll float those into appropriate playlists.

Now that you and Frankie are here kind of answering questions, is there a quick answer to this one?

Since we can only have three Marketplace Content items active at one time, will the TU address this or will we have to ditch our Reach pre-order/retailer exclusive crap so we can have all three map packs active? I had a bitch of a time figuring out why, all of the sudden, my Defiant maps wouldn't load until I remembered that I had to delete my Bungie Pro Confirmation from a couple of weeks ago. :-\

 

[Devin Olsen]

*facepalm* Why are you and Devin having such a hard time with the naming conventions?

Don't try to rename my Damnation or Prisoner.

I honestly will probably forever call them by their Halo: CE names. I understand that will cause confusion, but I have a tough enough time remembering what all the MM Forge World maps are as it is.

Edit: Does anyone want to get on and play some Halo right now?

 

[ncsuDuncan]

Clearly Fyrewolf is breaking the stereotype of homeschooled people being weirdos.

I hope you aren't planning on releasing any video games in the future, kylej. A post like that will get you boycotted.

---

On a different note, I think some of the TU effects (or lack thereof) could just be mitigated by map and gametype variants.
- Remove the Evade ability from Spartan loadouts, keep it Elite only.
- Remove the Needle Rifle from any map variant used for Zero Bloom Slayer. (Shishka specifically mentioned the NR in the Multiplayer panel, so I'm not really worried about it.)

 

[Slightly Live]

This place has gotten lively again.

 

[kittens]

It won't be literally swat, I mean a game type that is purely for quick, decisive outcomes, four or five shots instead of one. Anyway, in all likelihood it will end up in a variety of lists and types. So relax.

This sounds potentially awesome.

Also: lol at this page.

 

[Risen]

Lolol hahahaha

Sooo uhhh are we gonna get MLG v5 into matchmaking soon? I still have no power but that would be nice lol.

DT's yet?

 

[Devin Olsen]

Hopefully this can get this thread back on track.

 

[Gui_PT]

Wow, no Swag for me. Sweet.

 

[FyreWulff]

You know, I was just thinking about this.
From what I remember (off the top of my head), Generator Defense is accomplished by making the generators allied AI to Spartans, are essentially an immobile biped, and the Covenant are wired to prioritize them heavily.

It would be interesting to see how this will pan out in Generator Defense. Do the Covies seek out both the generators and the ODSTs with the same priority, or does the TU add them as a different category of priority?

Also made me think: hardest gametype ever would be ODST Defense, where you have to keep your ODSTs alive. Failure when the last ODST dies, and the Covies prioritize them as the target.

Spoiler

Alternately, lure them over to a generator and use them as a damage buffer

Spoiler

And give them sniper rifles

 

[CyReN]

So who has a extra Halo Cortana Avatar Prop code for me

 

[Hypertrooper]

Don't try to rename my Damnation or Prisoner.

I honestly will probably forever call them by their Halo: CE names. I understand that will cause confusion, but I have a tough enough time remembering what all the MM Forge World maps are as it is.

Edit: Does anyone want to get on and play some Halo right now?

I think everyone who played them in Halo 1 & 2 times will call then with their original name. Battle Canyon is "new" Beaver Creek for me.