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Halo Reach Reveal Thread - Matchmaking/Multiplayer Details Revealed

D

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
Best quote:

IGN said:
"A dude in jetpack when you have the Needler is just hilarious. They are essentially screwed. They have five seconds to think about dying and then watch all of the needles rush towards them. And then they just explode. "
Click to expand...
 
metareferential

metareferential

Member
Interesting, [nt1] may not make it into the final game.
Click to expand...

Then it better be awful if they try to take it away from us :lol

Because it sounds freakin' awesome..

So 4 maps and 5 gametypes: slayer, headhunter, stockpile, NT1/generator defense, invasion.

This means friday we will see a new map. 5 maps for the beta? It's like an average retail game
 
P

Pennybags

Member
The article makes it sound like the map design itself heavily affects the gameplay of Invasion.

If they revealed Boneyard, would it have spoiled Invasion somewhat, or are they keeping it witheld for GTTV?
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
In visual style, this looks a LOT like High Ground:

halo-reach-the-beta-maps-20100407021619488_640w.jpg


Deadly Cyclone said:
Best quote:
Click to expand...
Pull!
 
R

randomlyrossy

Member
Pennybags said:
The article makes it sound like the map design itself heavily affects the gameplay of Invasion.

If they revealed Boneyard, would it have spoiled Invasion somewhat, or are they keeping it witheld for GTTV?
Click to expand...

There's still alot of info to be had on Invasion, we don't really know what it is still, the only thing this interview gave us was the indication it'll be more vehicle heavy than the other stuff in the beta.
 
Schmitty

Schmitty

Member
Going back to Halo 1 maps for inspiration? Cool.

" Sword Base is the stepson of Prisoner and Boarding Action - not sure which one is female - but anyway, it is a small, asymmetrical slayer map that is set in an atrium. Three man cannons allow for quick vertical loops and a series of bridges and thin "ninja rails" allow for all sorts of cool horizontal loops. It also is indeed small and intense. It works great with a variety of gametypes and in the beta expect to see things like Slayer, Headhunter and Stockpile. "
Click to expand...
 
B

bobs...onGaf

Member
Invasion is 6v6, thats not as big and insane as I imagined. I initially felt that Invasions big pull was going to be chaotic 8v8 matches.

Maps look awesome and the beta is going to have a LOT of content by the looks of things.


Does anyone else wonder what MS is planning to do with the dashboard UI now that the limitations posed by Oxbox games is gone? Hopefully the new UI doesnt screw over Reach and stuff like Active Roster.
 
Schmitty

Schmitty

Member
bobs99 ... said:
Invasion is 6v6, thats not as big and insane as I imagined. I initially felt that Invasions big pull was going to be chaotic 8v8 matches.

Maps look awesome and the beta is going to have a LOT of content by the looks of things.
Click to expand...
6v6 could always just be the minimum.
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
Schmitty said:
6v6 could always just be the minimum.
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And recall that for the Halo 3 Beta, they never did 8v8 in matchmaking. A BTB, 6v6 list was added part way through, as the net code at the time wasn't up to it. They could just be keeping the limit at 12 again for testing purposes.
 
O

op_ivy

Fallen Xbot (cannot continue gaining levels in this class)
http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360...alo-reach-the-beta-maps-20100407021532348.jpg

LOVE the lighting and shadowing in this shot. notice the shadow cast by the center column from the bright light on the left. maybe the cutscenes fantastic lighting/shadowing IS in the gameplay! also, it should be pointed out that iirc, things such as lights, can be destroyed, which would drastically alter the lighting in this scene
 
B

bobs...onGaf

Member
Ah thanks for the clarification Ghaleon and Schmitty!

op_ivy I hope your right, but that seems insane, I doubt they could technically do that?

I also wanted to ask the people here, why are beta's limited? After the Reach beta period why not just turn it into a limited Multiplayer demo for us? It cant hurt them to carry on letting us play after theyve gathered theyre data? I see the business side of things but pleaaaase? :lol
 
W

Wizman23

Banned
Very very interesting in regards to the small snippets of information given away about Invasion. I'm wondering if Invasion maps are going to be seperate from the normal maps we are used to playing on. I know this has been brought up a million times, but the more we hear about Invasion it really sounds like Battlefield Bad Company's Rush mode where you have to complete an objective to open up the next part of the map. Is it May 3rd yet????
 
R

randomlyrossy

Member
Wizman23 said:
Very very interesting in regards to the small snippets of information given away about Invasion. I'm wondering if Invasion maps are going to be seperate from the normal maps we are used to playing on. I know this has been brought up a million times, but the more we hear about Invasion it really sounds like Battlefield Bad Company's Rush mode where you have to complete an objective to open up the next part of the map. Is it May 3rd yet????
Click to expand...

I could see Invasion and Firefight using a seperate set of maps than regular multiplayer, they sound like they could potentially have a similar structure.
 
V

von zipp

Member
looks good...

NT 1 sounds like fun. I like the idea of being "forced" to use both Spartan and Elite, means I will have to design an Elite as well as a Spartan.

Any ideas on what Stockpile could be?
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
von zipp said:
looks good...

NT 1 sounds like fun. I like the idea of being "forced" to use both Spartan and Elite, means I will have to design an Elite as well as a Spartan.

Any ideas on what Stockpile could be?
Click to expand...
Like I said, I assume it's a variant of Headhunter, where you deposit the skulls in repositories.
 
N

nilam01

Banned
Is it me or does the game employ some kind of grain filter similar to mass effect 1? The maps look good, but some of the lighting seems sterile, ah well it's only multiplayer. I'm more of a singleplayer guy so I hope the atmosphere is more apparent in the campaign.
 
S

squidhands

Member
I was about to be disappointed to read that the beta maps would all be human design, but they all look beautiful, Swordbase especially.
 
R

randomlyrossy

Member
nilam01 said:
Is it me or does the game employ some kind of grain filter similar to mass effect 1? The maps look good, but some of the lighting seems sterile, ah well it's only multiplayer. I'm more of a singleplayer guy so I hope the atmosphere is more apparent in the campaign.
Click to expand...

I haven't noticed it in the screens but I wouldn't be surprised. Mass Effect and ODST (with the visor on) looked much better for it in my opinion. Made up for the lack of anti-aliasing in places.
 
D

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
nilam01 said:
Is it me or does the game employ some kind of grain filter similar to mass effect 1? The maps look good, but some of the lighting seems sterile, ah well it's only multiplayer. I'm more of a singleplayer guy so I hope the atmosphere is more apparent in the campaign.
Click to expand...

From what I have seen, the Halo series always looks better in motion, I don't think you will notice any kind of grain while playing. It may just be the screencaps too.
 
S

Sanjuro

Member
I'll be on in a little bit playing either Halo 2 or Halo 3. Tonight as well. I forgot how much better I was at H2 in the few games I have played this week.
 
W

Wizman23

Banned
I'm wondering if Overlook is actually part of a bigger Invasion map and the "generator defense" mode was put in because the rest of the map wasn't finished yet in time for the beta. Again this is all on pure speculation that Invasion is what I think it is. I can't think of any other reason why the mode may not make retail and why Bungie would even mention that fact.
 
E

electricpirate

Member
These question gets my speculation engine running
IGN: Why did you choose these specific maps for inclusion in the beta?

Chris Carney: All four maps were chosen in order to test a specific selection of gametypes and team sizes. Sword Base and Powerhouse cover the Slayer, Headhunter, end of the spectrum, Overlook is perfect for the NT 1* ("Generator Defense") game type, and Boneyard is a great landscape custom built for Invasion. Each map brings unique elements that we want to evaluate and hopefully contain enough variety to be appealing for the duration of the Beta.
Click to expand...


IGN: Overlook was pulled from a campaign mission. What is the process for converting a space designed for AI battles to one where classic multiplayer gaming can take place?

Laatrs Bakken: Overlook was chosen because we needed to use a Campaign-style map for the kinds of network testing we require for the Beta. This map is one of the furthest along artistically on the Campaign side, and it really fit with the design of the Network Test 1 gametype ("Generator Defense") you'll be playing on it. Where it's true that all the other maps you'll see in the Beta were built from the ground up for MP first, Overlook was hand-picked from existing Campaign content to fit this gametype's purpose. Don't think we didn't modify it to fit better in an MP-style experience though. There were lots of changes made to the layout, like opening up extra routes, or closing others off, to make it a more suitable map for multiplayer. We also made sure to smooth out any bumps and areas where players were getting caught, which is fundamental to a good multiplayer experience.
Click to expand...

If all the MP levels are shared with campaign, why is this one special? Why does it need a special gametype to test it on? and Why do we have a gametype that's existing for purely testing purposes?

quick possibilities

1) NT1 will be an even larger scaled Gametype (8 vs 8) to test bigger games
2) NT1 is testing some elements related to the networking of some other undisclosed gametype, that relies on spaces closer to the single player experience, IE, it's using the networking code from firefight instead of normal networking code.
3) NT1 was created with the ingame user tools that haven't been revealed yet and they want to see how the networking performs on those.
EDIT
4) Wizman's idea above mine :).
 
F

Falagard

Member
op_ivy said:
http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360...alo-reach-the-beta-maps-20100407021532348.jpg

LOVE the lighting and shadowing in this shot. notice the shadow cast by the center column from the bright light on the left. maybe the cutscenes fantastic lighting/shadowing IS in the gameplay! also, it should be pointed out that iirc, things such as lights, can be destroyed, which would drastically alter the lighting in this scene
Click to expand...

I highly doubt that light, or any light for that matter, can be destroyed. Reach is still using static lightmaps for their lighting system.
 
B

bobs...onGaf

Member
This map is one of the furthest along artistically on the Campaign side
Click to expand...

I would say thats the reason that map was chosen, I guess graphically its the most superior, and they want to see how this affects latency and stuff online?
 
P

Pete Rock

Member
GhaleonEB said:
Like I said, I assume it's a variant of Headhunter, where you deposit the skulls in repositories.
Click to expand...
As I recall that's the end goal of HH, it's kind of an empty gametype without the requirement of reaching the "altar" to trade in your skulls for frags. Although I could see a team version where you might raid the depository of the enemy to steal skulls that way :lol

Very interested to see what the other gametypes bring to the table, interested in team dynamics and broader goals than flag/bomb/whatever running. It would be interesting to have some risk/reward mechanics to guarding the generators, such as buffing your shields, while also overloading and popping them if you stay in the field too long.

If they took inspiration from HH for a more exciting Lone Wolves variant, I feel they know what needs to be done to augment the team experience in a similar fashion. The loadouts & aa's are already very encouraging in that regard.
 
Schmitty

Schmitty

Member
bobs99 ... said:
Ah thanks for the clarification Ghaleon and Schmitty!

op_ivy I hope your right, but that seems insane, I doubt they could technically do that?

I also wanted to ask the people here, why are beta's limited? After the Reach beta period why not just turn it into a limited Multiplayer demo for us? It cant hurt them to carry on letting us play after theyve gathered theyre data? I see the business side of things but pleaaaase? :lol
Click to expand...
I guess it costs resources to keep the beta running, and at the end of the day, a beta test is just that, a testing period. If they let it be a limited demo, no one would play anything else. :D
 
F

feel

Member
Good stuff. They do seem a bit like Halo 3 DLC to me, not much of an upgrade seems to have gone to the environments technically, at least from these shots, but the design and art style seem much improved and those coupled with hopefully better IQ and the wider FOV, will make them look better than anything in Halo 3 while we play. Loving Overlook.
 
Schmitty

Schmitty

Member
Letters said:
Good stuff. They do seem a bit like Halo 3 DLC to me, not much of an upgrade seems to have gone to the environments technically, at least from these shots, but the design and art style seem much improved and those coupled with hopefully better IQ and the wider FOV, will make them look better than anything in Halo 3 while we play. Loving Overlook.
Click to expand...
The outdoor environments seem to be not incredibly better, but the indoor spaces look awesome.
 
B

bobs...onGaf

Member
Schmitty said:
I guess it costs resources to keep the beta running, and at the end of the day, a beta test is just that, a testing period. If they let it be a limited demo, no one would play anything else. :D
Click to expand...


Thats not a bad thing :lol

If the Blur beta can be turned into a 'multiplayer demo' and the Timeshift Multiplayer demo can still exist this many years later it just saddens me that Halos is limited to my examination period.

I do see the business decisions behind making it limited, but I hate it :(

I dont know why, but the majority of disk maps seem better than the DLC maps to me, I hope this isnt because of a subtle shift in design philosophy over the years which will be continued with Reach
 
M

Matty McDee

Neo Member
Letters said:
Good stuff. They do seem a bit like Halo 3 DLC to me, not much of an upgrade seems to have gone to the environments technically, at least from these shots, but the design and art style seem much improved and those coupled with hopefully better IQ and the wider FOV, will make them look better than anything in Halo 3 while we play. Loving Overlook.
Click to expand...
Really?

Personally I think some of the well lit areas with natural light look far better than Halo 3's.

Anyone else get the vibe of ONI Alpha/Building with Swordbase?
 
F

feel

Member
Matty McDee said:
Really?

Personally I think some of the well lit areas with natural light look far better than Halo 3's.
Click to expand...
Don't get me wrong, I'm liking what I see, but it's more due to the designers work. I don't see anything that couldn't be done to look exactly the same on Halo 3, mostly the indoors. Either way, I don't really care, I still really enjoy these visuals.
 
T

The Librarian

Banned
GhaleonEB said:
In visual style, this looks a LOT like High Ground:
http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/108/1082381/halo-reach-the-beta-maps-20100407021619488_640w.jpg[/IMG[/QUOTE]
I got the same feeling. Hopefully I like it more than High Ground.
[QUOTE=GhaleonEB]
So Invasion and the gametype with the generators are different. The plot thickens![/QUOTE]
Yup. My interest in Invasion just skyrocketed. We know there's an Invasion Slayer, so what's the default Invasion about?

A couple of things:
[quote]As much as the Reach Beta is an awesome demo of our game, it is just as much a huge test of our matchmaking. We are going to be getting tons and tons of data on people's network connections, how matching times behave, how the game feels. Network Test 1 is really our way of saying that we need to test these really stressful network conditions, let's come up with a game type that allows us to test those conditions and then put it in its own play list. We call it Network Test 1, bear with us. This should be a really cool, fun game type for you guys to play [B]but ultimately it may not ship with the game[/B][B].[/B] We're doing it to stress the net code and give us your feedback on your networking experience.[/quote]
So this generator gametype may not ship with the final game?
[quote]
Lars Bakken: That's one of those things that kind of bleeds into what's happening in the campaign. It's probably not something that would update dynamically in the multiplayer match, but you're going to see cool little details like that which kind of tie in these maps because they are first and foremost made for multiplayer, but they are also part of the campaign as well.

Chris Carney: It is a dynamic screen that shows a couple of different things, but none of it really updates to what you're doing in the multiplayer map. We did go to great lengths to make it feel like it is part of the whole single player experience so it keeps it a little more immersive.[/quote]
Sounds like if you do a little extra digging in the Beta, you'll get some information about the campaign. Pretty cool; I know I'll be doing that.

What's probably most interesting is that, unlike the past Halo games, it seems there are maps designed for specific gametypes and those gametypes only. Like Boneyard and Invasion.

Pretty good article. Now I await the jurky in the BWU explaining all of this.

...

Looking through the screens up on IGN now.
Click to expand...
 
Kibbles

Kibbles

Member
metareferential said:
Then it better be awful if they try to take it away from us :lol

Because it sounds freakin' awesome..

So 4 maps and 5 gametypes: slayer, headhunter, stockpile, NT1/generator defense, invasion.

This means friday we will see a new map. 5 maps for the beta? It's like an average retail game
Click to expand...
Boneyard will be the map revealed on gttv since we just got concept art.
 
Kibbles

Kibbles

Member
bobs99 ... said:
I would say thats the reason that map was chosen, I guess graphically its the most superior, and they want to see how this affects latency and stuff online?
Click to expand...
I'm still awaiting the wavy fields of grass like in the VGA trailer I recommended when that area was revealed. At least from my iPod, it looks like just flat 2D grass everywhere. Boo.
 
N

Natakuu

Banned
Really liking the new info we got today. Can't wait to play on Swordbase, probably the map that has caught my interest the most.
 
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