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[Gabotron ES]

So we will have to wait another month to get evade removed uh? not cool.

Anyway, I applaud 343 for trying to fix Reach's DLC, well done.
Now I might be able to play some Invasion on Breakpoint, I have played Spire and Boneyard so many times it almost feels like if I were playing a scripted sequence.

 

[The Henery]

Okay, so sometimes you get teamed up with the guys that thee henery likes to play with... and sometimes... they're on the other team.

(I'm actually embarrassed they got 10 kills. I was sloppy.)

Ha, I bet you enjoyed that one! I usually lament quitters but when the opposition are that inept... a 1v5 can be a sumptuous banquet of spartan pillage.

Evade still lives. :|

Does it have compromising photos of 343 staffers at an after party or something?

 

[Blue Ninja]

Linky linky?

Gloriousness.

 

[Hypertrooper]

Btw. Xplay released their Halo: CEA preview. And this time it really has some exclusive stuff in it.

Now continue reading Glasslands.

 

[Rickenslacker]

Btw. Xplay released their Halo: CEA preview. And this time it really has some exclusive stuff in it.

Now continue reading Glasslands.

Whoa, is it just me or does the crosshair for the sniper look a lot bigger?

 

[squidhands]

FF Limited was the only FF worth playing, really dumb. Guess people enjoy Rocket Fight where they can herpa derp around and not worry about getting killed.

It's really sad how the introduction of those garbage, "fun" gametypes really doomed FF Limited. Compiled with the idling problem that took forever to fix, it really destroyed it's population and never recovered. I fled to FF Doubles when the playlist went live and have never really gone back. Fortunately Limited is an option there, and I play it with Ghaleon when I get the chance to play with him.

Reach's Limited model left a lot to be desired anyway; it was barely a shadow of the feeling of desperation that ODST's Firefight was. I really hope that future FF can take some notes from Horde 2.0, because there is some overlap that I'm sure could be integrated into Halo's Firefight. Horde's popularity shows that people like and want to slog through a long game of progressively difficult opponents (maybe just for the medals, I'll grant you), and the upgrade system really helps people feel like they're achieving some larger goal. FF as it is currently doesn't give any sense of accomplishment even at the end of a round, and slogging through a Horde-equivalent time would bore me to tears. Starting us out with the bare minimum of weapons and no AA's would be a great way to begin and as you progressed you and your teammates would be able to unlock some better weapons and have access to some equipment (and maybe even some vehicles) to help you survive. Really not sure why Reach abandoned ODST's version, but they sure did end up attracting some lovely kids who like to be invincible and blow shit up. yay

 

[Striker]

So we will have to wait another month to get evade removed uh? not cool.

It's another Drop Shield problem. That was a big complaint early and still took a while to remove from Objective modes completely. I don't get why they removed Hologram (speaking from a Team Objective standpoint, and also BTB) and put in Evade in the first place. I never understood why.

Also never understood why it needed a complete "Monthly Update" to remove a fusion coil from Valhalla.

 

[Louis Wu]

Reader doesn't always work on the bulletin for me either, so you're probably right.

If it helps, the HBO version is usually live within half an hour or so of the Waypoint version - probably more Reader-friendly.

Here's this week's.

 

[PooBone]

All of this Glasslands and Crytpum craziness makes me excited. I get the feeling Halo 4 will be almost exclusively set on that planet thing but I want to see Halo 5 back on Earth.

Would be awesome to see: (Spoilers for Glasslands)

Spoiler

MC back on earth with Spartan 4's remaining SII's in a giant global battle with a new enemy. Basically what we all thought Halo 2 was going to be like with the war against the covenant on Earth.

I'm done with the Earth shit. Halo belongs on alien worlds. Save the Earth wrecking for Modern Warfare.

 

[The Librarian]

I just finished Glasslands. My thoughts:

Spoiler

I really liked it a lot, but I do have some problems with it. My main one is that the last half, or the last quarter, is essentially all Halsey-bashing. I think the book is too harsh, or rather unbalanced, in its treatment of Halsey. Yeah, I realize she did some terrible things, but it's impossible for any living human being to not benefit from the results of her work.

An interesting development with Vaz and Mal at the end, but the ending made me realized how much of the book, for me, was Halsey and crew, not anyone else. I was ready for the book to end after Parangosky's conversation with Halsey.

I expect Phillips will eventually make his way to the temple 'Telcam and Jul were in, and he'll be able to put his hand through that shield.

 

[Gabotron ES]

This probably belongs in the Forge thread (which I've seen a couple post about already) but time is a factor here so I'd like to ask if anyone has some sweet race maps that have seen a good bit of testing and are enjoyable.

Carry on.

Race maps eh? my hopes are on a FFA Action Sack playlist, current playlist is all but fun :/

Speed 4 Life!

Edit: I have a few questions regarding the matchmaking update:
-Are MLG v6 zero bloom?
-What are these armor lock changes they are talking about, did they nerf it even more? (this is a good thing )

 

[The Real Napsta]

I miss Jeremiah. It used to be every month we'd get some cleanup, maintenance, new playlists or gametypes. Haven't had a decent matchmaking update since July (damage bleed alone makes TU Beta a broken playlist, IMO). All of this playlist retiring reminds me of the old Shishka regime.

How does damage bleed "break" the playlist?

DMR is always a 5 shot, pistol is always a 4 shot. I'm not seeing the confusion.

 

[lybertyboy]

What are these armor lock changes they are talking about, did they nerf it even more? (this is a good )

Yes

 

[Gabotron ES]

Yes

Aww yeah! it's happening

I guess they reduced the ammount of damage to knock you out of it, it almost felt the same to me.

 

[squidhands]

How does damage bleed "break" the playlist?

DMR is always a 5 shot, pistol is always a 4 shot. I'm not seeing the confusion.

Plus it would be completely ignorant to pick up a DMR on the smaller maps. Pistol rules all in the no-bloom gametypes.

 

[PooBone]

I'm still fairly early on in Glasslands, I haven't had the time to read it that I'd like, (about a third in right now) but it's very good. It is more similar to Nylund's books in tone than I expected, but Traviss is an exceptional writer when it comes to characters and describing what's going on in someone's head. Really good so far.

 

[The Real Napsta]

Yes

Awesome.

Did you check on that campaign bumper jumper yet?

 

[minasodaboy]

I just finished Glasslands. My thoughts:

dax spoilers

Spoiler

re: the end of the book, wasn't phillips in the temple already?

Spoiler

regarding halsey, you have to remember that the story being told is not primarily from the perspective of people that were on Halsey's side. in fact, they are actively trying to remove her from power. so why would their narrative be kind to halsey? plus, i wouldn't say that the book was unkind to her when the story is told from her perspective.

either way, whether or not you as a reader agree with her methods/motives is irrelevant to the character's narratives.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

How does damage bleed "break" the playlist?

DMR is always a 5 shot, pistol is always a 4 shot. I'm not seeing the confusion.

I think people just like knowing that as long as they have a sliver of health left, they can take one more shot without dying. But in my opinion, it's an easy thing to adjust to... Don't take chances, use cover, and kill them before they kill you. Problem solved.

 

[lybertyboy]

Awesome.

Did you check on that campaign bumper jumper yet?

Thanks for the reminder. I'll hop on my kit when I get into the office.

 

[PooBone]

Of the many small changes 343/Saber have made to Halo CE's campaign, and I understand many of them were done with time constraints in mind, using old models and whatnot.... there's only two that I really can't get over.

Number one is the

Spoiler

change in time of day on Halo. That level's temperate environment and sunny afternoon sky is such an iconic setting, I don't know why but the near-sunset change in lighting has thrown off the vibe for that level.

And two:

Spoiler

The amount of purple in the forerunner structures, I've never seen any purple in anything forerunner before, only Covenant. It's a confusing mishmash of races winding up in technology that shouldn't have it. The control room looks like the bridge of a Covenant ship, even the Halo itself looks like it should be a part of High Charity. I hate it.

 

[daedalius]

Race maps eh? my hopes are on a FFA Action Sack playlist, current playlist is all but fun :/

Speed 4 Life!

Edit: I have a few questions regarding the matchmaking update:
-Are MLG v6 zero bloom?
-What are these armor lock changes they are talking about, did they nerf it even more? (this is a good thing )

They have the V6 settings listed here: http://halo.xbox.com/Forums/yaf_postst37963_The-V6-ZB-Gametypes-are-LIVE.aspx

Looks like they are all ZB. I doubt they have pistol starts, haha.

Hmm, actually I'm not sure if these are for MLG or not.

 

[The Librarian]

Spoiler

regarding halsey, you have to remember that the story being told is not primarily from the perspective of people that were on Halsey's side.

Well, derp, but that doesn't change the fact that it's

Spoiler

unbalanced. Not every new character introduced had to dislike Halsey, and that's the way it ended up. And even those who like her, the book never really gave them a chance to speak up for her. Hood? Fred? Linda? Kelly? Their opinions were sidelined.

so why would their narrative be kind to halsey?

I'm not saying it should, all I'm saying is that the book went to great lengths

Spoiler

to paint her as a monster, to show all the bad she did, but did not put equal effort into portraying the good she did. This book, as it chronicles what happens at the end of the war, should've been a time of reflection. Instead, it's kicking her when she's down.

Spoiler

plus, i wouldn't say that the book was unkind to her when the story is told from her perspective.

Spoiler

The book was told from many perspectives, and every single one of those besides hers disliked her.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

Glasslands...

That ending...

WHAT

Total Halo 2 flashbacks huh?

I just finished Glasslands. My thoughts:

Spoiler

I really liked it a lot, but I do have some problems with it. My main one is that the last half, or the last quarter, is essentially all Halsey-bashing. I think the book is too harsh, or rather unbalanced, in its treatment of Halsey. Yeah, I realize she did some terrible things, but it's impossible for any living human being to not benefit from the results of her work.

An interesting development with Vaz and Mal at the end, but the ending made me realized how much of the book, for me, was Halsey and crew, not anyone else. I was ready for the book to end after Parangosky's conversation with Halsey.

I expect Phillips will eventually make his way to the temple 'Telcam and Jul were in, and he'll be able to put his hand through that shield.

Spoiler

Yea Traviss really did try her damndest to make Halsey look like a just down right evil evil bitch. To me it only made me feel for her more. And I do agree on the rest. As I said earlier the Onyx stuff was the meat for me. I'd just read through the rest hoping it would hurry and get back to Onyx. The rest wasn't bad per say. It just wasn't interesting. All it did was confirm to me that ONI are dicks.

 

[PooBone]

Big Glasslands spoiler

Seriously, don't look if you plan to read it.

Spoiler

MIRANDA KEYES IS HALSEY'S DAUGHTER!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

 

[daedalius]

Raven, your spoiler is broken.

I'm only halfway through, you guys are making it more difficult, heh.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

Raven, your spoiler is broken.

I'm only halfway through, you guys are making it more difficult, heh.

Yea. I just caught that. Fixed it now. I'm still trying to wake up. Siting here with it being 40 degrees and raining. The nice warm cup of hot chocolate is helping me wake up though.

 

[The Librarian]

Miranda being Halsey's daughter isn't a spoiler. This was revealed in Halsey's journal that came with the Reach special editions.

 

[Havok]

Big Glasslands spoiler

Seriously, don't look if you plan to read it.

Spoiler

MIRANDA KEYES IS HALSEY'S DAUGHTER!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

The Reach journal practically spells it out.

 

[squidhands]

Yeah, I realize she (Halsey) did some terrible things, but it's impossible for any living human being to not benefit from the results of her work.

This line of thinking is a slippery slope. Destroying people's lives in the name of science (or whatever her motivations were/are) is never, ever worth it. In my humble opinion, of course.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

This line of thinking is a slippery slope. Destroying people's lives in the name of science (or whatever her motivations were/are) is never, ever worth it. In my humble opinion, of course.

True but I don't think anyone can deny that her intentions weren't good. More so if you have read the Staten Halo book. Just look at what the insurrectionists were doing. Then with the Covies man if it hadn't been for the Spartans odds are there would be no Earth much less any humans left.

 

[squidhands]

True but I don't think anyone can deny that her intentions weren't good. More so if you have read the Staten Halo book. Just look at what the insurrectionists were doing. Then with the Covies man if it hadn't been for the Spartans odds are there would be no Earth much less any humans left.

Did she know about the Covenant when the Spartan Program was in it's infancy? I honestly don't remember; my lore knowledge is very limited.

...and you know what they say about the road to hell...

 

[darthbob]

Spoiler

Miranda being Halsey's daughter isn't a spoiler. This was revealed in Halsey's journal that came with the Reach special editions.

FUCK!

 

[ElRenoRaven]

Did she know about the Covenant when the Spartan Program was in it's infancy? I honestly don't remember; my lore knowledge is very limited.

...and you know what they say about the road to hell...

Nope. The program was started to deal with the insurrection. Then once the Covenant hit they adjusted it to deal with them. Also I'm not going to deny the things she did some evil things. Hell even she admits in the journal and elsewhere that she has.

 

[PooBone]

The Reach journal practically spells it out.

Ah okay. I've got that thing sitting on my shelf and have been meaning to read it for a while. It's the only Halo book I've not read, if you want to put it in the same category as the novels. Is it worth it?

This line of thinking is a slippery slope. Destroying people's lives in the name of science (or whatever her motivations were/are) is never, ever worth it. In my humble opinion, of course.

The sorts of dilemmas presented here that cause discussions like we're having is what good fiction is all about.

 

[lybertyboy]

Awesome.

Did you check on that campaign bumper jumper yet?

I can confirm that Bumper Jumper is indeed in.

 

[Hypertrooper]

All Glasslands spoiler.

I just finished Glasslands. My thoughts:

Spoiler

I really liked it a lot, but I do have some problems with it. My main one is that the last half, or the last quarter, is essentially all Halsey-bashing. I think the book is too harsh, or rather unbalanced, in its treatment of Halsey. Yeah, I realize she did some terrible things, but it's impossible for any living human being to not benefit from the results of her work.

Spoiler

Dax, you love Dr. Halsey? You really do. And I can’t blame you. Nylund’s books only dealt with her, her Spartans and people, who knew about the Spartan II program. No civilians comment about the stuff she did. Glasslands shows the reaction of normal people. Normal soldier who found out the truth about Spartan II program and their reactions are human. That’s the reason why I like the fiction in this book a lot more than Nylund’s books.

Spoiler

An interesting development with Vaz and Mal at the end, but the ending made me realized how much of the book, for me, was Halsey and crew, not anyone else. I was ready for the book to end after Parangosky's conversation with Halsey.

Spoiler

Didn’t you ask yourself, why Parangosky only blame her for not telling about the clones? She stole valuable resource of the war. But Parangosky didn’t mention this topic. We found the reason in the next part of the chapter: Voila! Naomi’s dad turned into a maniac with a lot of nukes below his ass, because of the clone.

Spoiler

I expect Phillips will eventually make his way to the temple 'Telcam and Jul were in, and he'll be able to put his hand through that shield.

Spoiler

Phillips was with ‘Telecam in the temple. At the end there was explosion, and all we just know, it wasn’t Telecam group who did that.

Edit.:

Well, derp, but that doesn't change the fact that it's

Spoiler

unbalanced. Not every new character introduced had to dislike Halsey, and that's the way it ended up. And even those who like her, the book never really gave them a chance to speak up for her. Hood? Fred? Linda? Kelly? Their opinions were sidelined.

Spoiler

She is dead for Hood. How should he speak for her? He really doesn't care about her at the moment. He has other problems right now.

Spoiler

I'm not saying it should, all I'm saying is that the book went to great lengths

Spoiler

to paint her as a monster, to show all the bad she did, but did not put equal effort into portraying the good she did. This book, as it chronicles what happens at the end of the war, should've been a time of reflection. Instead, it's kicking her when she's down.

Spoiler

Spoiler

I mentioned it earlier. The war is over. We found reaction of normal soldiers. And what she'd done, was cruel. You can say nothing against it. Even if her work changed the path of war. Let's make that clear with an example: What would you say, if the government abduct your sister? You never found out what happened to her. Then when the war is over, you get the messages, that she was tortured by the government to a super soldier. Would you still say, that stuff was all okay?

Spoiler

The book was told from many perspectives, and every single one of those besides hers disliked her.

Spoiler

Tell me one moment, where the Spartan-IIs are against her on Onyx? There is none. Mendez is only against her, because of the insults he got from her. The Spartan-IIIs do have a very neutral position. Naomi is on her side first too until she finds out, what Halsey did to her. Stuff, that Halsey never told them.

.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

Hmm. Didn't see this posted. IGN has new preview of HCEA. Nothing new though.

Opening Halo: CE Anniversary's Hushed Casket

 

[Havok]

Ah okay. I've got that thing sitting on my shelf and have been meaning to read it for a while. It's the only Halo book I've not read, if you want to put it in the same category as the novels. Is it worth it?

It is quite good. Worth it for the art alone, even if you don't have time to read the text, I think.

 

[Hypertrooper]

It is quite good. Worth it for the art alone, even if you don't have time to read the text, I think.

I really like that the journey plays such a big role in Glasslands. =)

Major Glasslands spoilers - What will the Halo 4 universe look like?

Big spoiler by Dani.

I know I'm probably missing a ton, but it's pretty sweet how much development we got to see here.

I hope you forgot these points:

Spoiler

- the threat mentioned by the Engineers on Onyx. And it isn't the flood. This part of the stories destroyed every "The timeless one is the gravemind theory" for me somehow. Because if the threat were flood-infected, the Engineers wouldn't make difference between the flood and the threat. =)
-At one of the future chapters BB asks himself, if there are other organizations than ONI. At the end he can't answer it clearly. It was a small tease, that we will see a counter part of ONI in the other books maybe. I guess I'm the only one who got this impression. :^)

 

[PooBone]

It is quite good. Worth it for the art alone, even if you don't have time to read the text, I think.

I have flipped through and looked at the pencil drawings and all the loose extras. Awesome stuff and very well made.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

I really like that the journey plays such a big role in Glasslands. =)

I really do too. It really helps to drag us into it. Just knowing that they're referring to something we have in our hands. It's just kind of cool.

 

[Karl2177]

So from all of these Glasslands spoilers, I get that

Spoiler

the humans are a bunch of shady motherfuckers.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

So from all of these Glasslands spoilers, I get that

Spoiler

the humans are a bunch of shady motherfuckers.

Yup. I forgot who it was in this thread but it's best explained as dicks being dicks to dicks.

That said I just watched the video preview in that article I linked and I noticed one thing. A few spots we had seen in other video previews which had slowdown didn't in that one. So maybe it was the videos making it look bad before.

 

[Tashi]

MLG v6 has bloom. After Providence we will probably see Official no bloom gametypes. Ny guess is v7.

 

[squidhands]

Nope. The program was started to deal with the insurrection. Then once the Covenant hit they adjusted it to deal with them. Also I'm not going to deny the things she did some evil things. Hell even she admits in the journal and elsewhere that she has.

Right, that's what I remember from my solitary reading of Fall of Reach.

The sorts of dilemmas presented here that cause discussions like we're having is what good fiction is all about.

Indeed. I really didn't take much from the Reach book, but it seems as if Glasslands is pretty enjoyable to lots of people here. I'm happily reading all the spoilers; good stuff.

 

[PooBone]

Right, that's what I remember from my solitary reading of Fall of Reach.

Indeed. I really didn't take much from the Reach book, but it seems as if Glasslands is pretty enjoyable to lots of people here. I'm happily reading all the spoilers; good stuff.

Mind you, I haven't finished Glasslands yet, (according to my Kindle I'm 36% through) but if I were to judge it based on that, I'd say my top 3 favorite/most recommended Halo books are:
Contact Harvest
Cryptum
Glasslands

 

[The Real Napsta]

I can confirm that Bumper Jumper is indeed in.

Thanks a lot for checking.

Can't wait!

Mind you, I haven't finished Glasslands yet, (according to my Kindle I'm 36% through) but if I were to judge it based on that, I'd say my top 3 favorite/most recommended Halo books are:
Contact Harvest
Cryptum
Glasslands

Maybe I should re-read Contact Harvest, its one of the worst ones IMO but it's been a while since I've read a lot of them.

I see a lot of you like it.

 

[Hypertrooper]

I can confirm that Bumper Jumper is indeed in.

Woah. Can you please confirm, that there is a Halo CEA copy already on the way to me?

 

[Photolysis]

Also never understood why it needed a complete "Monthly Update" to remove a fusion coil from Valhalla.

Certification for you. Whenever the playlists are changed they have to be rebuilt and submitted for testing as per MS policy.