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[InvincibleAgent]

I don't think the laser should automatically fire if you just tap the button, but I do think starting the charge should use up significant ammo. Maybe once you hold it for a full half-second, there's no turning back.

 

[J-Roderton]

I don't think the laser should automatically fire if you just tap the button, but I do think starting the charge should use up significant ammo. Maybe once you hold it for a full half-second, there's no turning back.

Agreed.

Idk why but it took me a while to master the Spartan Laser. But once you get the timing down you are beast with it.

 

[kylej]

The problem with the laser is that it doesn't force the driver to watch his ass, he either knows someone on the other team has the laser and gets out of the vehicle because with that sole weapon they've negated the viability of any vehicle in your team's possession or they don't know they have the laser and are obliterated without warning. Yes, Juices is right in saying that vehicles should be a high risk/reward, but the laser doesn't does accomplish that. The laser either makes it bat-shit insane to step into a vehicle or if the balance of the map relies so heavily on the laser (standoff) and your team controls it, it become a no (or incredibly reduced) risk option. A weapon like the missile pod is very effective in taking out vehicles so long as you don't make the false assumption that locking on to a vehicle will automatically result in a kill and actually wait for the right moment. The missile pod actually makes drivers watch their ass because there's a point to watching their ass; the have some chance of evading the weapon without parking the vehicle and giving up on it.

Oh I don't care about the laser. I think it's a shallow part of the sandbox that could be removed with little effect. I want to be able to fight back against vehicles with the tools given to me. If some dope wastes the pod or it takes 6 shots to time a hog kill correctly, my team is just as boned now as the people dependent on vehicles are when I have laser. The laser is a false fulcrum for the issue to swing on. The missile pod is empty before you can kill every vehicle on most BTB maps.

There are two ways to avoid vehicle domination

1) Nerf the vehicles
2) Implement an ammo limit on every vehicle (I'm for this one)

Now the hog gunner is rewarded for smart shooting and the other team doesn't have to worry about getting mowed down by an endless stream of bullets. There would also be an extra layer of strategy created for the individual via a cat and mouse game.

I don't think the laser should automatically fire if you just tap the button, but I do think starting the charge should use up significant ammo. Maybe once you hold it for a full half-second, there's no turning back.

Both of those options would make the laser easier to use than it already is. The sniper rifle would be less effective if you had to hold the trigger for 2 seconds before the bullet released.

 

[GhaleonEB]

The fact that the Halo 3 laser charges is really a none-issue. Anyone using it is constantly charging and releasing so with very little anticipation they can instantly snipe a warthog from across Sandtrap with absolutely no warning to the vehicle and thus no challenge to the Warthog. The key differences about the covie weapon are that the projectiles are relatively slow moving, it locks on (probably giving the driver a warning), and takes multiple shots to destroy a vehicle. All those differences that actually matter are qualities of the missile pod which is a great because is worked well in Halo 3. This new weapon will be more versatile because someone could keep it in their back pocket and run faster with it now that it's just a normal weapon.

To add an one final note, the missile pod - and from the looks of it, this new weapon for Reach - also have a wide tracking angle, meaning evasive maneuvers can be effective, and firing it from the wrong angle can result in a clean miss. Between the missile pod and rockets, there was no reason for the laser to exist.

 

[J-Roderton]

To add an one final note, the missile pod - and from the looks of it, this new weapon for Reach - also have a wide tracking angle, meaning evasive maneuvers can be effective, and firing it from the wrong angle can result in a clean miss. Between the missile pod and rockets, there was no reason for the laser to exist.

So it doesn't lock on like in Halo 3?


Plus would someone mind telling me how to quote more than one person at a time please???

 

[vhfive]

So it doesn't lock on like in Halo 3?


Plus would someone mind telling me how to quote more than one person at a time please???

Ctrl-C

 

[Spasm]

I'd love to play against you on Standoff with a decent gunner. I could make you change your mind in a single 10 minute match. :lol

If their vehicles weren't being instantly destroyed upon spawn for across the map they'd have a better chance. It's not there there is absolutely no way that they could grab this super-powerful weapon and sway the balance of power it's just that more often than not it doesn't act this way and it's much easier to control laser spawn when you already have laser & vehicles. Many maps are balanced in such a way makes having a laser is necessary to take down vehicles, in these cases vehicles can oftentimes become dominant and unchallenged because one team loses laser and the map isn't properly balanced for those situations.

Yeah, having a good driver and a halfway decent gunner, it's way too easy to run Standoff. But it's not controlling the power weapons that makes it so hard for the other team to take back control. 1 of 3 simple things could go a long way toward fixing Standoff.

1. Spawn with stickies. Hog can't always stay a safe distance away from freshly spawning badguys. Too bad they spawn without any serious means of taking on a Hog.
2. Rotate bases. Valhalla will start spawning teams on the other side of the map when they're getting run, why doesn't Standoff?
3. Fix the God damned spawns. Standoff has the worst spawns in the history of online gaming. Wouldn't need 1 and 2 if you could spawn INDOORS more than 3% of the time. Instead, the hog gets way too many easy kills picking off gimps running for cover.

To add an one final note, the missile pod - and from the looks of it, this new weapon for Reach - also have a wide tracking angle, meaning evasive maneuvers can be effective, and firing it from the wrong angle can result in a clean miss. Between the missile pod and rockets, there was no reason for the laser to exist.

It's still too easy for the Banshee to juke the missile pod. I would hope they leave the laser in just for the Banshee, but I would also accept a little nerfing. As someone mentioned, have warming it up use ammo. They could make it work like the Plasma Pistol charge blast in ODST. The longer you hold the charge, the more ammo it chews on.

 

[user_nat]

2. Rotate bases. Valhalla will start spawning teams on the other side of the map when they're getting run, why doesn't Standoff?

In my hundreds of games on Valhalla I have never seen it change spawns unless the host leaves.

 

[Spasm]

In my hundreds of games on Valhalla I have never seen it change spawns unless the host leaves.

It's happened to me plenty of times on Valhalla. I never really knew what caused it. I always assumed it was one team crowding the others' spawns. I can't ever recall switching bases on Standoff.

Whatever causes teams to switch bases, it doesn't seem to happen on Standoff.

 

[Tashi]

The spawn system doesn't scale well to the larger maps in the game.

 

[EazyB]

Yeah, having a good driver and a halfway decent gunner, it's way too easy to run Standoff. But it's not controlling the power weapons that makes it so hard for the other team to take back control. 1 of 3 simple things could go a long way toward fixing Standoff.

1. Spawn with stickies. Hog can't always stay a safe distance away from freshly spawning badguys. Too bad they spawn without any serious means of taking on a Hog.
2. Rotate bases. Valhalla will start spawning teams on the other side of the map when they're getting run, why doesn't Standoff?
3. Fix the God damned spawns. Standoff has the worst spawns in the history of online gaming. Wouldn't need 1 and 2 if you could spawn INDOORS more than 3% of the time. Instead, the hog gets way too many easy kills picking off gimps running for cover.

I'm neither a fan of sticky spawns nor rotating bases (ala Narrows) but I agree the spawns could help. That said the main thing that hurts the map is still the laser. A rampaging warthog would be heavily contested if not destroyed if the team without a hog could hop into theirs once it spawns without being instantly vaporized.

It's still too easy for the Banshee to juke the missile pod. I would hope they leave the laser in just for the Banshee, but I would also accept a little nerfing. As someone mentioned, have warming it up use ammo. They could make it work like the Plasma Pistol charge blast in ODST. The longer you hold the charge, the more ammo it chews on.

Like I said, the banshee is the only vehicle in MM that the missile pod isn't suited to take out. A boosting banshee just moves way too fast. If they slowed it down a bit it'd balance out. That said, the laser doesn't necessarily help the banshee situation because maps like Valhalla throw banshees in there but only one team gets to control of laser. If the opposing team has a good (conservative) banshee pilot the only real hope your team has of taking down the banshee is to get a hog up or wait for their banshee to respawn. Unfortunately the other team has the laser and will destroy your hog/banshee the moment someone gets in (if not sooner). Like I said, the laser doesn't balance out the vehicles, it causes one side's vehicles to go with little threat while the other side's vehicles are death traps.

On a map like Sandtrap there is a respawning laser on each side so it's not so lopsided and it's harder for one team to gain an insurmountable vehicle/weapon/map control but it has the effect of making all vehicle death traps. Then players are left with going on foot in this massive map that was designed for heavy vehicle use and is significantly more dull without them.

 

[feel]

Plus would someone mind telling me how to quote more than one person at a time please???

There's no automated way. Just CTRL+Click on the quote button of every post you want to reply to, this will open a new tab for every quote reply, then just copy/paste everything into a single reply window.

 

[InvincibleAgent]

Both of those options would make the laser easier to use than it already is. The sniper rifle would be less effective if you had to hold the trigger for 2 seconds before the bullet released.

Less ammo and less freedom to abort would make it easier? lolwut

Never said you wouldn't have to wait as long. You'd have to wait as long. But part-way through that hold you'd lose the freedom to abort. You wouldn't have to keep holding it at that point, it would go off regardless.

 

[Slightly Live]

I almost fully agree with Easy's point about the laser, pretty much articulates my feelings on the subject specifically regarding his example on Standoff which I can attest to time and time again.

 

[Tashi]

MLG has released its v8 map set. I'm usually happy when these updates are released but this time, I am sad. Midship Ball has been replaced by Guardian Ball. WTF! Fuck these MLG kids who never played Halo 2 and hate Midship. You have no idea how many times Midship comes up in the playlist whether it's slayer, flag or ball and people are immediately vetoing. It boggles my fucking mind. *sigh* Oh well, I'll still shit on people no matter the map. I really do enjoy Midship ball though.

Also, custom camo has been added to Construct. This will be interesting. This will definitely help those on Construct locked down by a fierce setup. I can see camo being a bigger part of the map than the OS.
edit: Looks like construct slayer will have only camo while construct king will have only overshield.

The MLG Combine event in Nashville being held at the end of the month will use the v7 gametypes so I don't see the playlist being updated until April.

 

[Booshka]

It's mainly because of how much Heretic comes down to Plasma's and beat downs. The melee system was better in H2 (for the most part) and in H3 people melee and throw a grenade (while dying) to either trade beat downs or get a nearly guaranteed kill with the nade. It ends up being really sloppy most of the time.

Also, the Heretic ball spawns are all kinds of messed up, Walshy explained it back at an event and now everyone knows how dumb they are and how to exploit them.

Midship was great, Heretic is great, but this isn't H2 and the game mechanics don't make Heretic as amazing of a map as it used to be in H2.

 

[les papillons sexuels]

If the laser were to be nerfed I'd like to see it act as a timed vehicle kill, Like how the ghost will take a second to explode after being beat-down. This would give players just enough time to exit, but still destroy the vehicle.

Vehicles on the other hand need to be nerfed to a larger degree, slower turning rate on the gunner, and a loss in health every time the vehicle rolls over would make me quite happy, it would make both grenades and the brute shot more effective, while lessening the killing power to a degree, while still rewarding good drivers and gunners.

 

[Nutter]

It's happened to me plenty of times on Valhalla. I never really knew what caused it. I always assumed it was one team crowding the others' spawns. I can't ever recall switching bases on Standoff.

Whatever causes teams to switch bases, it doesn't seem to happen on Standoff.

In a Team Slayer or BTB match on Valhalla, the bases do not switch, the most it does is start spawning players outside of the base (like the hills to the sides). Unless of course the host quits and it reconnects then yes the bases switch. But outside of that it doesnt do that, in fact no map does that outside of Narrows. (which shows exactly how bad that turns out in the end)

 

[The Librarian]

Hopefully the question of whether or not the spartan laser is in MP will be answered in the next podcast.

Edit - Also, I hope Bungie specifies any improvements to the MM for Reach. If it's possible, I'd love for the MM in Reach to take into account the recent maps and gametypes you've played while your searching for games so you don't get a disproportionate amount of one gametype/map.

 

[Kapura]

Hopefully the question of whether or not the spartan laser is in MP will be answered in the next podcast.

Edit - Also, I hope Bungie specifies any improvements to the MM for Reach. If it's possible, I'd love for the MM in Reach to take into account the recent maps and gametypes you've played while your searching for games so you don't get a disproportionate amount of one gametype/map.

Something tells me that would be both impractcal and slow down matchmaking.

 

[squidhands]

I'm neither a fan of sticky spawns nor rotating bases (ala Narrows) but I agree the spawns could help. That said the main thing that hurts the map is still the laser. A rampaging warthog would be heavily contested if not destroyed if the team without a hog could hop into theirs once it spawns without being instantly vaporized.

I'd like to hear a post-mortem on Standoff and hear why the laser was chosen as the control weapon. I've played a custom version with a fully loaded missile pod in it's place and it seemed to play much better.

Didn't Ghaleon make a Standoff variant? Could have sworn he was working on one when I was silently stalking HaloGAF.

Just CTRL+Click on the quote button...

And here I was using right click->Open Link in New Tab like a sucker. Thanks, Letters!

 

[Slightly Live]

I'd like to hear a post-mortem on Standoff and hear why the laser was chosen as the control weapon. I've played a custom version with a fully loaded missile pod in it's place and it seemed to play much better.

I have a variant that we've played in Customs a few times, and it's received overall positive feedback, especially compared to the default map.

I've got a regen in the middle (3 minute re-spawn) in place of the laser, I've placed a bubble shield to the left of the main entrances of each base (3 min spawn), relocated the power drainer from the auxiliary base room with the door switch to main spawn room in each base, there's a teleport in the back corridor of each base that's a one way exit to the areas behind each base which now feature an overshield on 3 minutes re-spawn and some weapons and grenades (in case you get locked into your base by the other team), I've added some barriers around the camo spawn areas to provide some extra cover, relocated the brute shot to the new cover areas at camo spawn, moved the warthog to the back of each base (to halt damage by start of game grenade spamming) and moved a mongoose to the front to provide some start game mobility, placed a single non-re-spawning trip mine to the top level above each base and finally moved the rockets to each of the silos to encourage map movement and some risk/reward.

In addition to drastic spawn tweaks (kept the default spawn count but spaced out the spawns more fairly to prevent easy to target cluster respawns and symmetrically relocated a number of spawn into better cover positions and out of weaker ones) and some weapon tweaks.

Everything else in the map remains.

It was tweaked to provide a better balance between hogs and infantry, with the laser gone, the hog driver doesn't have to worry about random instant death but the tweaks and additions mean the driver and gunner must co-operate intelligently and have great map and game co-ordination.

The variant is practically ancient and it was intended for ATLAS submission a long time ago, but Sandbox pretty much silenced traditional variants and I doubt it would even have a slight chance of being looked at seriously if I submitted it now.

 

[BladedExpert]

Aaaaand I'm back (PC nearly died :/ )

So here's the links to the Forgehub customs from Sunday:
Game 1 (part 1) and (part 2) - CTF Pit

Game 2 - TS Quarantine (Still processing so quality is bad right now)

Game 3 - TS Ber Ber Creek

Game 3 still haunts me...

 

[Slightly Live]

Aaaaand I'm back (PC nearly died :/ )

So here's the links to the Forgehub customs from Sunday:
Game 1 (part 1) and (part 2) - CTF Pit

Game 2 - TS Quarantine (Still processing so quality is bad right now)

Game 3 - TS Ber Ber Creek

Game 3 still haunts me...

Frak that dust!

 

[EazyB]

Game 3 - TS Ber Ber Creek

Game 3 still haunts me...

I was afraid it was going to be a film of my map buckling but holy shit, up 48-39 and they managed to steal the win. What in the world...

 

[BladedExpert]

I was afraid it was going to be a film of my map buckling but holy shit, up 48-39 and they managed to steal the win. What in the world...

We hit the self destruct button and they played into that. We were so close it was a case of just charge and try and clean up each others kills (charging individually was not a good idea though). Problem was we didn't clean up any, they kept escaping, and coming back for more.

I should have pulled my BR out at the end instead of going for the no scope. Havn't had a good nights sleep since :lol

 

[bobs...onGaf]

It's mainly because of how much Heretic comes down to Plasma's and beat downs. The melee system was better in H2 (for the most part) and in H3 people melee and throw a grenade (while dying) to either trade beat downs or get a nearly guaranteed kill with the nade. It ends up being really sloppy most of the time.

Also, the Heretic ball spawns are all kinds of messed up, Walshy explained it back at an event and now everyone knows how dumb they are and how to exploit them.

Midship was great, Heretic is great, but this isn't H2 and the game mechanics don't make Heretic as amazing of a map as it used to be in H2.

Agreed, I also dislike how the map seems to be 'chunky' - I cant explain it, but it doesnt seem as streamlined as Midship, I always seem to get stuck in scenery.

As far as the laser goes I think that the idea's here would be perfect, personally I think that if it took 2 shots to kill a vehicle it would be perfect, after getting hit once everyone would just bail out, at the moment its just blind death.

BladedExpert - Im really sorry about that last game :lol I did just charge when we were 48 -39 and died 3 times in a row, one of the times im sure I got screwed and should have got the kill but meh, I contributed to that loss nicely.

Spoiler

Lets never play Ber Ber Creek again

 

[LunaticPuma]

Hopefully the question of whether or not the spartan laser is in MP will be answered in the next podcast.

Edit - Also, I hope Bungie specifies any improvements to the MM for Reach. If it's possible, I'd love for the MM in Reach to take into account the recent maps and gametypes you've played while your searching for games so you don't get a disproportionate amount of one gametype/map.

I think you need to take a statistics class. Yes, it's annoying to play the same map a few times in a row, but there's no need for MM to look into your recent history. As long as the playlist's map frequency is appropriate, you'll get a good variety overall.

 

[Kapura]

Agreed, I also dislike how the map seems to be 'chunky' - I cant explain it, but it doesnt seem as streamlined as Midship, I always seem to get stuck in scenery.

As far as the laser goes I think that the idea's here would be perfect, personally I think that if it took 2 shots to kill a vehicle it would be perfect, after getting hit once everyone would just bail out, at the moment its just blind death.

re: Heretic: wat. It's a port of midship. I don't see how it could be more midship. I guess you people just can't be satisfied.

Re: laser: If it took two hits to kill a warthog, the warthog would be neigh impossible to kill. If the first hit makes contact, there is the laser cooldown and then the charge time to contend with. A decent warthog driver could easily get to cover in five seconds, wait for recharge, then re-emerge, rendering the shot wasted. The laser doesn't have too much ammo to begin with, either.

 

[LunaticPuma]

After witnessing all of the re-makes and watching most of them crash and burn, I've decided there's only 1 re-make I'd like to see in Reach and that's Blood Gulch/Coagulation/Valhalla. Some form of the boxed-in canyon with 2 opposing bases would be fitting since it's been in each of the previous games. The rest of the Reach MP maps should be originals.

 

[Slightly Live]

If they simply made the laser not one shot instant vehicle death it would be fairly balanced as has been said repeatedly.

With the strength of a direct grenade hit, the laser would take 2 hits to kill a fresh hog or just hit to destroy a damaged one. It would be a lot more acceptable this way too against infantry, two hits for a fully shield full health person and one for someone that has had they health taken down.

 

[Tashi]

It's mainly because of how much Heretic comes down to Plasma's and beat downs. The melee system was better in H2 (for the most part) and in H3 people melee and throw a grenade (while dying) to either trade beat downs or get a nearly guaranteed kill with the nade. It ends up being really sloppy most of the time.

Also, the Heretic ball spawns are all kinds of messed up, Walshy explained it back at an event and now everyone knows how dumb they are and how to exploit them.

Midship was great, Heretic is great, but this isn't H2 and the game mechanics don't make Heretic as amazing of a map as it used to be in H2.

I think H2 and H3's melee system are both a little wonky. In H2, there was BXB and beat downs missed all the fucking time. In H3, beat downs connect almost all the time but the beatdown trading system is fuckin dumb if you stop and think about it.

I don't think it is the spawns either. Playing MLG Halo 3 at a high level is all about exploiting the spawn system. Look at Onslaught, that game is entirely based on the spawn system. To break out of a spawn trap on Onslaught against a team who knows what they're doing is insanely difficult to pull off. At least on Heretic you spawn in some cover and can wait for your teammates to build an attack. And if the other team decides to come in the base to get you on your spawn, the chances that your teammates will spawn P1 or Carbine increase substantially.

I will agree that going in for a beatdown on that map will mostly end in 2 ways. Beatdowns trade and both players die, or beatdowns trade 1 player survives but the other play shit out a grenade and stuck the guy who killed him. However, Halo 3 only allows 2 plasmas to be held at a time while back in Halo 2, you could carry 4. Shitting out grenades was also possible in Halo 2 but in Halo 3 the timing window is much larger and has become very easy.

Also this is not unique to Heretic ball. Heretic flag and slayer still remain. This would lead me to believe that it is less about the plasma grenades and beat down system. For flag, the spawn are still predictable but it is a little more difficult to make the opposite team spawn where you want them to. I haven't completely figured out the slayer spawns yet.

I don't think that the removal of Heretic Ball is all about the gametype itself. Since MLG made the big move by removing Guardian totally and adding 3 Midship gametypes, there has a been quite a large backlash. Mostly because people love Guardian (for some fucking reason that's beyond me) and either don't like Heretic or don't like that it appears 3 times. People have been bitching like crazy.

 

[squidhands]

I have a variant that we've played in Customs a few times, and it's received overall positive feedback, especially compared to the default map.

Sounds good. Hopefully I'll be around this weekend for customs; I'd love to try it out (as well as one of my own concoctions).

Aaaaand I'm back (PC nearly died :/ )

So here's the links to the Forgehub customs from Sunday:
Game 1 (part 1) and (part 2) - CTF Pit

Game 2 - TS Quarantine (Still processing so quality is bad right now)

Game 3 - TS Ber Ber Creek

Game 3 still haunts me...

Nice games, guys. Just in case you didn't know, Quarantine was made by the same guy who made Lockdown. How did you guys like the map?

 

[bobs...onGaf]

re: Heretic: wat. It's a port of midship. I don't see how it could be more midship. I guess you people just can't be satisfied.

Re: laser: If it took two hits to kill a warthog, the warthog would be neigh impossible to kill. If the first hit makes contact, there is the laser cooldown and then the charge time to contend with. A decent warthog driver could easily get to cover in five seconds, wait for recharge, then re-emerge, rendering the shot wasted. The laser doesn't have too much ammo to begin with, either.

Well its not exactly a 1:1 port, there are lots of little differences here and there, most of those differences seem to be upgrades to the look of the map but I dislike em cos H2 with its simpler geometry just seemed to play a bit better, also the gameplay in Halo 3 is different with movement being slightly different. im just nitpicking really.

As for the laser, I was thinking more the vehicle damage itself rather than spartan damage, if a vehicle gets shot it gets heavily damaged but its not instant death. This way the hog users know that they need to be wary of a laser, and the laser still has the ability to stop vehicles, it just seems a bit more balanced than having it instant kill them.

Squidhands, Quarantine was a interesting map, REALLY well put together but a little bit too big in my opinion, I liked it though, and one of the few maps that doesnt just look like a bunch of forge rocks shoved together. While it seemed a bit big, the gameplay on it was still really good.

 

[The Librarian]

Aaaaand I'm back (PC nearly died :/ )

So here's the links to the Forgehub customs from Sunday:
Game 1 (part 1) and (part 2) - CTF Pit

Game 2 - TS Quarantine (Still processing so quality is bad right now)

Game 3 - TS Ber Ber Creek

Game 3 still haunts me...

Watching now. Sweet videos.

 

[BladedExpert]

Nice games, guys. Just in case you didn't know, Quarantine was made by the same guy who made Lockdown. How did you guys like the map?

It was a little confusing (like any map you've never played on before), but pretty well made. Interesting geomerging, too. Not the best map I've played on but far from the worst. I enjoyed it well enough.

 

[Slightly Live]

It was a little confusing (like any map you've never played on before), but pretty well made. Interesting geomerging, too. Not the best map I've played on but far from the worst. I enjoyed it well enough.

It looked very interesting from the videos, I might steal it for some early Customs on saturday. I take it 8 players max? Looked that way from the game.

 

[kylej]

Less ammo and less freedom to abort would make it easier? lolwut

Never said you wouldn't have to wait as long. You'd have to wait as long. But part-way through that hold you'd lose the freedom to abort. You wouldn't have to keep holding it at that point, it would go off regardless.

What difference would that make? If all I had to do was move the thumbstick after a half second of charging, it would be easier than the clawing motion I have to go through now.

I'd like to hear a post-mortem on Standoff and hear why the laser was chosen as the control weapon. I've played a custom version with a fully loaded missile pod in it's place and it seemed to play much better.

I think you know why.

 

[DiabolicalBagel]

What difference would that make? If all I had to do was move the thumbstick after a half second of charging, it would be easier than the clawing motion I have to go through now.

I know, right? Triggers are so damn hard to hold. Primary fire should have definitely been on the guide button.

Have you seriously never stopped midcharge with a laser because your target moved behind cover?
No one could possibly argue that the laser having to discharge anyway, wasting ammo, is a bad thing.
(I'm pretty sure the laser discharges at a certain point anyway, but it is WAY up past half charge which is where I'd like to see it)

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Game 3 - TS Ber Ber Creek

Youch! They really handled the looming 2 kills remaining well.
Great games

 

[BladedExpert]

It looked very interesting from the videos, I might steal it for some early Customs on saturday. I take it 8 players max? Looked that way from the game.

4v4 worked pretty well. 5v5 or maybe 6v6 would probably work too. Though it might get a little crowded.

 

[Ramirez]

Those looked fun, wish I coulda played.

 

[JaggedSac]

I didn't see this posted:

http://www.edge-online.com/features/gdc-how-to-balance-halo?page=0,0

Good read on the Bungie panel at GDC about game balancing.

 

[Syracuse022]

Looks like it was a lot of fun, and both teams looked pretty solid. As for the maps, Quarantine looks awesome, and so does Eazy's map. Really looks like a faithful rendition. DL'ing both now. Also, where's that dude who was in here a few weeks ago talking about how nobody ever manages comebacks in Halo 3?

Game 3 - TS Ber Ber Creek

Game 3 still haunts me...

:lol I guess he can always stick to the anecdotal argument though.

 

[electricpirate]

I didn't see this posted:

http://www.edge-online.com/features/gdc-how-to-balance-halo?page=0,0

Good read on the Bungie panel at GDC about game balancing.

Really interesting stuff in there. I liked the part about preventing himself from being too good, and as a bonus I see it causing internet rage on the Bungie.net and MLG forums. More entertainment for me!

I'm surprised he didn't issue the idea of making it harder to use though, notching down the sticky aim with it.

I did LOL a bit about the repetitive weapons though, considering H3 could lose about 3-4 weapon s and the game wouldn't change a bit.

 

[The Librarian]

Really interesting stuff in there. I liked the part about preventing himself from being too good, and as a bonus I see it causing internet rage on the Bungie.net and MLG forums. More entertainment for me!

I'm surprised he didn't issue the idea of making it harder to use though, notching down the sticky aim with it.

I did LOL a bit about the repetitive weapons though, considering H3 could lose about 3-4 weapon s and the game wouldn't change a bit.

But not too connected. "Pro players say that the Halo makers are shit at their own game - it’s true. I’m not that good on purpose," Griesemer said. Playing well at his own game makes him feel good, but he mustn’t confuse that with feeling good because the game's well balanced. He spends hours happily driving the Warthog around because it's already well balanced and an intrinsic part of the game, but he mustn't spend time 'imprinting' himself on elements of the game which don't work so well, learning to accept their rough edges when he should be considering cutting or overhauling them.​

Good, short read. Griesemer balanced Halo: CE on easy by playing with his nose? Pretty impressive.

 

[Striker]

Nothing wrong with the current laser IMO. Except maybe it should always fire after 50% charge.

Just don't get in a vehicle whilst the other team has a laser, it's usually not that hard to kill one person. Just like killing a warthog without a laser, it just requires some coordination.

The current Spartan Laser absolutely does have problems. It acts as a sniper rifle on maps like Standoff, Sandtrap, Avalanche, etc. - that should never be the case for an anti-vehicle/tank weapon.

Your second idea of not just using a vehicle because they have the premier weapon of destruction would be valid if the actual weapon itself was balanced. The Rockets in Halo 2 were susceptible to dodging, unlike the Laser, for one. My hope for Reach is they add weapons like this new Covenant anti-vehicle weapon and keep the Rockets as the primary anti-vehicular weapons, with possibly the Missile Pod, as well, unless they feel it is too similar to the Covenant side.

The Warthog chain gun would probably be better if it got nerfed slightly. It kills within 2-3 seconds. Unless it is a Gauss 'Hog, it shouldn't be that powerful.

The spartan laser doesn't bother me. Something's gotta be done about one team controlling all the vehicles.

Doesn't make sense to get rid of the laser and introduce a new covenant weapon that does the same exact thing.

Sure it has been said, but they are different. They are similar in part, but I think overall it would be a more balanced weapon than the Spartan Laser.

I sincerely doubt this Covenant weapon can charge and blast others across the map with precision. Also sure this weapon gives the driver a "warning" sound ala Halo 2 Rockets and Halo 3 Missile Pod; it would make sense to, anyhow. Hoping they can learn from their mistakes, and we know there's more than just a few (playlists).

 

[LAUGHTREY]

The current Spartan Laser absolutely does have problems. It acts as a sniper rifle on maps like Standoff, Sandtrap, Avalanche, etc. - that should never be the case for an anti-vehicle/tank weapon.

Your second idea of not just using a vehicle because they have the premier weapon of destruction would be valid if the actual weapon itself was balanced. The Rockets in Halo 2 were susceptible to dodging, unlike the Laser, for one. My hope for Reach is they add weapons like this new Covenant anti-vehicle weapon and keep the Rockets as the primary anti-vehicular weapons, with possibly the Missile Pod, as well, unless they feel it is too similar to the Covenant side.

The Warthog chain gun would probably be better if it got nerfed slightly. It kills within 2-3 seconds. Unless it is a Gauss 'Hog, it shouldn't be that powerful.


Sure it has been said, but they are different. They are similar in part, but I think overall it would be a more balanced weapon than the Spartan Laser.

I sincerely doubt this Covenant weapon can charge and blast others across the map with precision. Also sure this weapon gives the driver a "warning" sound ala Halo 2 Rockets and Halo 3 Missile Pod; it would make sense to, anyhow. Hoping they can learn from their mistakes, and we know there's more than just a few (playlists).

I heard the covenant missle pod does a little more than the regular missile pod does now, besides not being 3rd person anymore.

 

[Striker]

I heard the covenant missle pod does a little more than the regular missile pod does now, besides not being 3rd person anymore.

If that's the case, it sounds very promising. I forgot about the new grenade launcher, so that would work work in replace the Brute Shot, unless it returns with the Brutes. The grenade launcher seems to work great as a close quarters weapon to bleed out folks hiding in rooms or small corners.

My primary hope is the Laser is cut or nerfed to a decent degree. If it serves no purpose and doesn't do anything different than what the Rockets or the new Covenant weapon does, it wouldn't be unique and thus, be needed in the armory.

 

[squidhands]

It was a little confusing (like any map you've never played on before), but pretty well made. Interesting geomerging, too. Not the best map I've played on but far from the worst. I enjoyed it well enough.

Cool, I posted the vid in Nexn's Quarantine thread on MLGpro. Seems like it would be a really great Hill map.

I didn't see this posted:

http://www.edge-online.com/features/gdc-how-to-balance-halo?page=0,0

Good read on the Bungie panel at GDC about game balancing.

Nice little read. Who knew that a degree in philosophy would actually amount to anything.

I heard the covenant missle pod does a little more than the regular missile pod does now, besides not being 3rd person anymore.

You should probably take anything you hear about the weapons with a grain of salt since so few people have been able to play it. Still all speculation at this point.