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[ManCannon]

About the mystery ranking on the bottom of the screenshots, not asking what it is, but are we going to find out about them before or after the beta?

Doubt you can answer it, but it's worth a shot asking. :lol

The plan is to pretty much dive into a new feature 'bucket' every week for the next few weeks. A steady build towards May 3rd, detailing all the nuances introduced in the trailer and probably culminating in more multimedia goodness before we flip the switch and go live.

Next week the focus moves to a new aspect of Reach MP, one that may very well address the 'mystery ranking', and also bring an old friend back out into the public light.

 

[Cuban Legend]

I just have one question if I may, where's Rod?

 

[JaggedSac]

No clans unless MS makes it happen

MS make it a platform wide thing damnit.

The matchmaking algorithm is sounding sexy

 

[Slightly Live]

The plan is to pretty much dive into a new feature 'bucket' every week for the next few weeks. A steady build towards May 3rd, detailing all the nuances introduced in the trailer and probably culminating in more multimedia goodness before we flip the switch and go live.

Next week the focus moves to a new aspect of Reach MP, one that may very well address the 'mystery ranking', and also bring an old friend back out into the public light.

You are a wonderful human being. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Shake Appeal]

Spoiled are we. Spoiled!

 

[Miggytronz]

im overly hyped about the new features. Things that the whole industry can say, goddamn why didnt we think of that.

 

[CrazedArabMan]

Good read, but it seemed they weren't to happy with the party chat system, hopefully we can still do party chat and we are not forced to be in game chat like MW2.

 

[Miggytronz]

Good read, but it seemed they weren't to happy with the party chat system, hopefully we can still do party chat and we are not forced to be in game chat like MW2.

I actually prefer MW2's NO PARTY CHAT allowed feature. Keeps the cheaters/boosters away.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Spoiled are we. Spoiled!

Literally. Halo 3 made it harder for me to enjoy other games. :lol

I'm still miffed that saved films are not standard for action games.

Bungie set the bar in Halo 2, and then raised it with Halo 3 before anyone had met the previous one. Now they're doing it again.

 

[Slightly Live]

Literally. Halo 3 made it harder for me to enjoy other games. :lol

I'm still miffed that saved films are not standard for action games.

Uncharted 2 managed it and it's really a pity more don't follow. Just looking over at the files gallery on Bnet shows you how well used the feature is too.

 

[Apath]

It's about fucking time Bungie realized that a pure blue screen is not appealing to look at, and goes back to the normal colored background ala Halo 1. The ruins of Reach's defense grid drifting along the planet's horizon looks great.

Everything looks fantastic. It looks like Bungie caught on to loading the map AFTER the vote, and more than that, actually gave us real options to pick and choose. My only nit pick is that it shows the votes. In Halo 3, if the voting were down to one vote, some doucher would almost always hit veto last second just to change it. I feel a vote should reflect an individual's feelings, and not be based on what everyone else is doing.

I hope we get more details on the matchmaking lists. I feel Halo 3 has too many, so hopefully Bungie will be doing something about that (outside of making an Arena section for the hardcore, which reminds me of what Blizzard is doing for Starcraft 2 more so than World of Warcraft).

 

[Domino Theory]

FTW = Fortuitous Test Work

Hmm what else can I post in real-time to spoil the BWU that Urk is literally writing at this exact moment..

Reveal Invasion before he does.

 

[Magni]

It's about fucking time Bungie realized that a pure blue screen is not appealing to look at, and goes back to the normal colored background ala Halo 1. The ruins of Reach's defense grid drifting along the planet's horizon looks great.

Everything looks fantastic. It looks like Bungie caught on to loading the map AFTER the vote, and more than that, actually gave us real options to pick and choose. My only nit pick is that it shows the votes. In Halo 3, if the voting were down to one vote, some doucher would almost always hit veto last second just to change it. I feel a vote should reflect an individual's feelings, and not be based on what everyone else is doing.

I hope we get more details on the matchmaking lists. I feel Halo 3 has too many, so hopefully Bungie will be doing something about that (outside of making an Arena section for the hardcore, which reminds me of what Blizzard is doing for Starcraft 2 more so than World of Warcraft).

I agree with you on all points. Concerning the bolded part, I too wish the votes weren't shown. Ideally they'd only be revealed once everyone has voted, and the countdown would stop as well.

Vote pops up, numbers hidden, 10 second countdown.
Everyone has voted and the countdown stops, or the countdown reaches 0.
Votes shown, map loaded.
3..2..1.. "Team Slayer" or whatever gametype it is

 

[squidhands]

Reveal Invasion before he does.

I like your style.

Spoiler

and your taste in women

 

[CrazedArabMan]

I actually prefer MW2's NO PARTY CHAT allowed feature. Keeps the cheaters/boosters away.

:lol :lol :lol

No... as you can see how that worked for MW2... oh wait, it didn't. If I have friends who aren't playing Reach but I am, and I want to talk to them while I play, I should be able to. I believe in the article they said that party chat will still be there but they are trying to make the game chat system efficient so you won't want to go to party chat (but you still can if you want to). Confirmation on this would be very nice please.

 

[godhandiscen]

The March podcast will be out either late next week or beginning of the following week. It's in the can, getting mastered and pro-tooled. We also recorded a second bonus supplemental show that will be out soon too.

Doh I just took two more snippets from Urk's update...

Thank you so much.

 

[Domino Theory]

The plan is to pretty much dive into a new feature 'bucket' every week for the next few weeks. A steady build towards May 3rd, detailing all the nuances introduced in the trailer and probably culminating in more multimedia goodness before we flip the switch and go live.

Next week the focus moves to a new aspect of Reach MP, one that may very well address the 'mystery ranking', and also bring an old friend back out into the public light.

Excellent, this is exactly what I was hoping: consistent, bat-shit crazy awesome hype for Halo: Reach.

Now about that Invasion... *taps foot on the ground*

 

[Tashi]

Actually, screw timing. It's up now!

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/62887

Answers on Clan Support, Push-to-Talk, and more details about matchmaking and Active Roster.

Also, sorry about my teasing for "CLANS". You won't be happy. Sorry, I let my desire for clickthrough dictate who I wrote that. Can you blame me?

You could say you sat down to talk with these guys about the fucking color of their shoelaces and we would read it :lol . We're HaloGAF.

 

[Magni]

:lol :lol :lol

No... as you can see how that worked for MW2... oh wait, it didn't. If I have friends who aren't playing Reach but I am, and I want to talk to them while I play, I should be able to. I believe in the article they said that party chat will still be there but they are trying to make the game chat system efficient so you won't want to go to party chat (but you still can if you want to). Confirmation on this would be very nice please.

I don't mind people in PC in social playlists, but if you're in the Arena with your settings set to "Chatty" yet are in chat, you're getting bad feedback from me.

 

[ManCannon]

Excellent, this is exactly what I was hoping: consistent, bat-shit crazy awesome hype for Halo: Reach.

Now about that Invasion... *taps foot on the ground*

I can tell you that Invasion/gametype details are in the caboose of the hype train. Basically we ordered this stuff around complexity of assets required since we're neck deep right now. UI screenshots/high level features = easy. Awesome multiplayer screenshots and details on gametypes = more time consuming. All in due time... Next week will be cool though.

 

[Slightly Live]

You could say you sat down to talk with these guys about the fucking color of their shoelaces and we would read it :lol . We're HaloGAF.

Even the mundane updates when Urk has little he can share and instead blogs it up we pour over.

Frankie's years old updates describing water are fondly recalled with loving warmth! :lol

 

[squidhands]

ferrex is answering some questions on bnet. Pretty decent questions, too.

Our playlists support Spartans Only, Elites Only, various mixtures, player selection, et cetera.

Arena Playlists will probably not mix the two, since there are some significant differences between them now and we don't want to skew the results.

Q. Will the Arena feature armor abilities and weapons such as rockets, grenade launchers, etc. Or will it be hardcore guns only.

Too early to tell. We'd like to use the range of Halo's sandbox, but if there are parts that don't work well with the Arena's goals, we'll edit them out. The MLG's excellent process of tweaking and iterating over their desired gametype is something we would like to emulate.

Seasons help us do that. If we introduce Rocket Launchers on some maps in a season, and they don't work out well, we can remove them in the next Season.

Q. When will the Arena feature objective gametypes?

When we can come up with a good way to quantify a person's individual performance in a team CTF game as a four digit numeric rating. It's very hard to do so--who did more, the person who capped the flag, or the person who defended the base?

We're starting with Slayer because it is (relatively) easy to distill into ratings. The importance of this will be more evident once the Arena is live.

I'm sure the forums will help us discuss the subject in the future. Our playlists are, as ever, very adaptive and evolving things.

I'm pretty giddy over these answers.

 

[electricpirate]

ferrex is answering some questions on bnet. Pretty decent questions, too.









I'm pretty giddy over these answers.

Okay, really awesome.

 

[Oozer3993]

ferrex is answering some questions on bnet. Pretty decent questions, too.

I'm pretty giddy over these answers.

You and me both. My small fears regarding Arena have been assuaged.

P.S. Bungie, could you please reveal Invasion during a weekend? I'd hate for the fainting spell and subsequent hospital stay that will result from the reveal to get in the way of classes.

 

[Kibbles]

No clan support is pretty lame... =\

Oh well, used to it now I guess since Halo 3 didn't have it. Would've been nice though.

 

[Tashi]

Wow, awesome of him to be taking questions like this. I'd be curious to know what exactly is taken into account when that "4 digit numeric rating" is calculated. I guess we'll find out about it in the coming BWU's. I like this steady diet of information we've gotten and will continue to get.

 

[FourDoor]

Can't wait for the BWU. No more Dark Bungie updates!

 

[Trasher]

The plan is to pretty much dive into a new feature 'bucket' every week for the next few weeks. A steady build towards May 3rd, detailing all the nuances introduced in the trailer and probably culminating in more multimedia goodness before we flip the switch and go live.

Next week the focus moves to a new aspect of Reach MP, one that may very well address the 'mystery ranking', and also bring an old friend back out into the public light.

Who be dat?!

 

[Kibbles]

^ Luke will emerge from his cave!

I'm just hoping that Arena isn't the new mode Bungie has been talking/hyping about.

 

[clashfan]

I am searching the AT&T Labs Natural Voices® Text-to-Speech database for a Princess Leia voice so i can have it read the BWU to me while gazing at the pic Frankie posted earlier this week.

[edit] that sounded creepier than expected, i'll add this - :lol

how did u do that?

 

[electricpirate]

Posted by: Jay120171
Will there be visible TrueSkill levels shown in any of the playlists or will they all be hidden?

They will all be hidden, because we are using a raw, unconstrained form of TrueSkill that does a superb job of skill matching, but which can move very unexpectedly.

Arena Divisions will take it into account, though.

Trueskill is hidden, GOOD

 

[FourDoor]

No clan support is pretty lame... =\

Oh well, used to it now I guess since Halo 3 didn't have it. Would've been nice though.

The article basically said no Clans because of MS infrastructure. With the killing off of XBOX1 Live games around the corner, there is a slight hope that Live will one day be able to support system wide clan support. Look at how many different groups, including gaf have to create separate gamertags now so we can see whos friends with that gamertag so you can find people to invite to games that aren't on your friends list?

 

[Deputy Moonman]

Trueskill is hidden, GOOD

Seconded

 

[Slightly Live]

Also can you confirm that all players will have the same starting weapon?

If not exactly the same starting weapon, then something very close (more info coming soon!) The goal is that all players start off on an even footing.

Very close? Interesting. I wonder what he means. Hopefully we'll find out tonight.

Will there be specific maps used for areana exclusively?

Probably not. There will be specific variants, though.

 

[CrazedArabMan]

Trueskill is hidden, GOOD

So that means no more 50's I assume. I will miss mine.

 

[bobs...onGaf]

Very close? Interesting. I wonder what he means. Hopefully we'll find out tonight.

Maybe in all modes Spartans spawn with AR's while Elites spawn with Plasma Rifles. The weapons are pretty close in functionality but allow the different 'classes' to feel more different?

I personally dont want that, but its the one thing I reckon they would do.

 

[electricpirate]

Maybe in all modes Spartans spawn with AR's while Elites spawn with Plasma Rifles. The weapons are pretty close in functionality but allow the different 'classes' to feel more different?

I personally dont want that, but its the one thing I reckon they would do.

I think he's speaking specifically about Arena modes there. This makes the comment... fascinating.

 

[JaggedSac]

All this info is keeping me away from work

I am incredibly excited by what I am hearing. Based on the quote above, Loadouts just might be referring to weapons and perhaps weapon variants?

 

[The Librarian]

Shacknews information, Bnet Q&A... Is it May 3rd yet?

 

[Blueblur1]

'Tis a good day to be a Halo fan.

 

[GhaleonEB]

ferrex is answering some questions on bnet. Pretty decent questions, too.

I'm pretty giddy over these answers.

Rawk. I'm glad we're at the point where they can start talking about specific features, even if they can't elaborate (nearly half of ferrex's answers truncate with some variation of, "more to come!"). It sounds like they've built much, much more control over playlist variables in Reach that were in Halo 3.

I'm very curious about the weapons comment. My only thought is that we'll have limited selection of a subset of weapons before the match (DMR/Pistol, AR/Plasma Rifle type thing). But then nearly every feature they've teased so far hasn't been what I thought. For the most part, they've been much more interesting that I had thought, as well.

'Tis a good year to be a Halo fan.

fixed

 

[feel]

Awesomeness overload.

 

[Ramirez]

The gates are finally opening, and it is good.

 

[TacticalFox88]

The only thing that would make Reach GOTG to me now is if they added a freaking mech...ZOE style with a little Halo mixed in.

 

[JaggedSac]

The only thing that would make Reach GOTG to me now is if they added a freaking mech...ZOE style with a little Halo mixed in.

 

[Slightly Live]

More pre-Update updates

The seasonal rank reset in the arena sounds neat but i'm worried that low/mid level players are just going to be cannon fodder for really good players; I don't fancy getting completely destroyed for several days while highly skilled players claw their way out of the arena's steel/bronze/silver ranks. Any plans to combat this or is it just how things are gonna work?

We have similar concerns, but we're just going to see how things pan out. The Arena is about performance against your peers, and you can have good nights or bad nights (as reflected by your Day Rating) in any Division, from Steel to Onyx.

But like I said, we'll see. It's all well and good to have hopes, but if hopes were horses, beggars would ride.

Will being ranked "Onyx" in arena be the equivelant to being a 50 in Halo 2 or 3?

Will our highest level in Arena remain on our service record just like Highest skill does in Halo 3?

Will winning affect how fast we rank up in competitive team games or is it just individual?

It's hard to map Onyx to 50 (or 45, or whatever) without knowing how big the population is. Suffice it to say that being in Onyx will be an accomplishment you can be legitimately proud of.

Your Season Results will be logged in your Service Record and on b.net, but your highest Season will probably not get any special treatment.

Winning in team games still matters. But turning in a poor performance on a winning team (i.e., being carried by more skilled teammates) will not be a good way to level up.

Can you see which league / division (or whatever it's called) you are in in the arena?

Yes. As soon as are Rated on enough Days (e.g., 5 days), you'll see what Division you're in. You can go up or down from there, but it'll give you some idea of who your peers are.

 

[Blueblur1]

The only thing that would make Reach GOTG to me now is if they added a freaking mech...ZOE style with a little Halo mixed in.

Do not want.

 

[Slightly Live]

Holy crap, moar!

In the recent info regarding arena it was said that players would have to play EVERY day to earn an overall ranking in each months league.... is this true?

No, not every day. We're still adjusting numbers, but let's say you need to be Rated on 5 days to qualify for a Division. If that were the case, you can play any 5 days you want.

And you can play more than 5 days if you think you can do better and move up to a higher Division. But you have to play at least that many days to be assigned to a Division. No more.

Will our arena stauts/rank effect our rank in the other playlists ?

No.

Will we be able to view Arena games in Theater mode?

Absolutely. I hope that high Rated Arena films are a popular commodity in the (new and improved!) File Share.

My question for the Arena is this: will Bungie fix the language boosting trick that was prevalent in Halo 3? With more options available to choose how you want to be matched, I feel it would be much simpler to exploit a form of this. Obviously in Arena, people will want to be in the highest division so I feel it could become a problem.

Yes, this is fixed. Our playlists can now be configured to match in two stages: find teammates, then find opponents. Each stage can have different parameters.

In Arena playlists, for example, we would consider Language Preference for finding teammates, but not for finding opponents. So (ideally, population permitting) you'll be on a team with people who speak your language, but your opponents will be the most appropriate skill and ping match. Somewhat harder to exploit.

Are you familiar with how Blizzard is currently operating their ladder system in the Starcraft 2 Beta?

Afraid not, I haven't had a chance to install the Beta.

Will each grouping have separate divisions? Will there be an Onyx 1 and an Onyx 2, or will all Onyx players be ranked together? Additionally, will there be a way to view the players in your division?

Are there any plans to incorporate teams into this system? Let's say a friend and I compete in a 2v2 ladder, are there any plans to rank teams of players against other teams? As an extension of this, are there plans to implement a clan system with the arena?

There will be some subdivision within divisions when the competition is most heated. Think "Gold Division, Top 5%".

There are no plans to implement a clan system specifically for Arena. If we did Clan support (not saying we are, mind you), we would support them across the board.

Is arena the only ranked playlist?

They are currently the only playlists which will display a playlist specific ranking/rating/etc.

But all of our other playlists are built on the same tech that made Halo 3's Ranked playlists work, which means they will have strong skill matching and high match quality (population permitting, as always.)

 

[TacticalFox88]

Do not want.

I mean, it doesn't have to be as fast paced and "flashy" as ZOE, but you can get a feel from it. I'd like it to be more like KZ2's mech except in first person and better designed.

 

[Slightly Live]

Is Urk out of a job?

If we were to use Halo 3 as an analogy for the Halo: Reach matchmaking system would Arena be akin to a specific playlist (e.g. Rumble Pit, Big Team Battle et cetera) or would it be a grouping (e.g. Ranked, Social, Hardcore) or none of the above?

It doesn't really map to Halo 3 analogies. This is a new beast.

The old favorites from Halo 3 will still be there, as improved as we can make them. Arena is something being added on top, to scratch a particular itch.

Are you guys putting just as much love into the Social Playlists of the game as you are the: "Super Hardcore Arena Playlists?"

Absolutely. This isn't an "us or them" thing to us.

What are seasons?

They're like sports seasons, except over a shorter timeframe. For example, an August 2010 Season would start on August 1, end on August 30, and would only count games played between those two dates. A new season would start on September 1.

Will there be an Arena Season in the beta?

Gotta test it, right?

From Last Page (incase you missed)

Holy crap, moar!

In the recent info regarding arena it was said that players would have to play EVERY day to earn an overall ranking in each months league.... is this true?

No, not every day. We're still adjusting numbers, but let's say you need to be Rated on 5 days to qualify for a Division. If that were the case, you can play any 5 days you want.

And you can play more than 5 days if you think you can do better and move up to a higher Division. But you have to play at least that many days to be assigned to a Division. No more.

Will our arena stauts/rank effect our rank in the other playlists ?

No.

Will we be able to view Arena games in Theater mode?

Absolutely. I hope that high Rated Arena films are a popular commodity in the (new and improved!) File Share.

My question for the Arena is this: will Bungie fix the language boosting trick that was prevalent in Halo 3? With more options available to choose how you want to be matched, I feel it would be much simpler to exploit a form of this. Obviously in Arena, people will want to be in the highest division so I feel it could become a problem.

Yes, this is fixed. Our playlists can now be configured to match in two stages: find teammates, then find opponents. Each stage can have different parameters.

In Arena playlists, for example, we would consider Language Preference for finding teammates, but not for finding opponents. So (ideally, population permitting) you'll be on a team with people who speak your language, but your opponents will be the most appropriate skill and ping match. Somewhat harder to exploit.

Are you familiar with how Blizzard is currently operating their ladder system in the Starcraft 2 Beta?

Afraid not, I haven't had a chance to install the Beta.

Will each grouping have separate divisions? Will there be an Onyx 1 and an Onyx 2, or will all Onyx players be ranked together? Additionally, will there be a way to view the players in your division?

Are there any plans to incorporate teams into this system? Let's say a friend and I compete in a 2v2 ladder, are there any plans to rank teams of players against other teams? As an extension of this, are there plans to implement a clan system with the arena?

There will be some subdivision within divisions when the competition is most heated. Think "Gold Division, Top 5%".

There are no plans to implement a clan system specifically for Arena. If we did Clan support (not saying we are, mind you), we would support them across the board.

Is arena the only ranked playlist?

They are currently the only playlists which will display a playlist specific ranking/rating/etc.

But all of our other playlists are built on the same tech that made Halo 3's Ranked playlists work, which means they will have strong skill matching and high match quality (population permitting, as always.)

More pre-Update updates

The seasonal rank reset in the arena sounds neat but i'm worried that low/mid level players are just going to be cannon fodder for really good players; I don't fancy getting completely destroyed for several days while highly skilled players claw their way out of the arena's steel/bronze/silver ranks. Any plans to combat this or is it just how things are gonna work?

We have similar concerns, but we're just going to see how things pan out. The Arena is about performance against your peers, and you can have good nights or bad nights (as reflected by your Day Rating) in any Division, from Steel to Onyx.

But like I said, we'll see. It's all well and good to have hopes, but if hopes were horses, beggars would ride.

Will being ranked "Onyx" in arena be the equivelant to being a 50 in Halo 2 or 3?

Will our highest level in Arena remain on our service record just like Highest skill does in Halo 3?

Will winning affect how fast we rank up in competitive team games or is it just individual?

It's hard to map Onyx to 50 (or 45, or whatever) without knowing how big the population is. Suffice it to say that being in Onyx will be an accomplishment you can be legitimately proud of.

Your Season Results will be logged in your Service Record and on b.net, but your highest Season will probably not get any special treatment.

Winning in team games still matters. But turning in a poor performance on a winning team (i.e., being carried by more skilled teammates) will not be a good way to level up.

Can you see which league / division (or whatever it's called) you are in in the arena?

Yes. As soon as are Rated on enough Days (e.g., 5 days), you'll see what Division you're in. You can go up or down from there, but it'll give you some idea of who your peers are.