User 73706
Banned
What is HaloGAF?
HaloGAF is a nexus of hardcore game shamers, enthusiast career-seekers, and video game industry developers and publishers. This is a stomping ground where SALT and SLRP, presented within the confines of draconian, inclusive discourse, prevail through careful bishopery. And occasionally, ghalleoning.
...More specifically, Halo |OTs| are established in the presence of up-and-coming Halo titles or substantial info drops. The concept of a HaloGAF |OT| was an attempt by yours truly to specifically cater, in a middle-of-the-road fashion, to an ever-evolving community that's formed since the days of Halo 2. Ramirez and Ghaleon are the only known survivors of Halo2GAF. Lately, a bunch more Halo news has surfaced since the hiatus. So, to begin...
343 Industries announced a megaton in the form of HALO: The Master Chief Collection at E3, concurrently confirming ntkrnl's various Halo-related leaks for the year. 343 has provided fairly succinct recaps with their E3 compendium (linked above), as well as with a page for Halo MCC itself. Details continue to surface on a daily basis thanks to confirmations / clarifications by Stinkles, aka Frank O'Connor, Franchise Director of the Halo series.
On-Box Devs: 343 Industries, Bungie
Associated Developers: Saber Interactive, Certain Affinity, Ruffian Games
Release Date: November 11, 2014
Price: $59.99 (USD)
A list of global features includes:
[-] Contains full feature set of Halo: Combat Evolved (Anniverasry), Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4.
[-] 1080p, 60FPS (frame-per-second or 60Hz) bump for all titles. "Improved lighting" for all four titles.
[-] CEA now features an instantaneous (fade-in / out over the course of roughly a second) switch from classical graphics engine to Anniversary graphics engine, and vice versa.
[-] Multiplayer on dedicated servers for all titles; CE retains classic multiplayer, not Reach Anniversary edition builds.
[-] Combat Evolved multiplayer is currently falling victim to "at a later date" for clarification; netcode base is unknown, though a "mix of PC and console assets" are being used to provide the experience.
[-] All PC-exclusive maps such as the veritable colossi Infinity, Gephyrophobia and Death Island are all in, albeit with their weaponsets unknown. The PC build featured some exclusive weapons such as the Fuel Rod Gun and Flamethrower.
[-] Halo 2 Vista maps District and Uplift are included, as well.
[-] All multiplayer builds are their most recent including title updates: Halo 2 has its pivotal balance patches, Halo 4 makes use of the Turbo update, etc.
[-] Maps from Halo 3 and Halo 4 filesharing will carry over.
[-] Armor permutations and customization options do not carry over from their 360 iterations, but obtainment methods in MCC are unknown.
[-] Completely new Matchmaking system will exist, with new Hoppers catering to the four titles.
[-] "Uses" the Halo 2 ranking system, at least graphically. From a technical standpoint, its raw ELO system may receive tweaks.
[-] Switching between engines on a per-game basis is possible. New Playlist options allow you to create sequences (like songs in a playlist) shifting between titles of the franchise and various gametypes.
[-] ...for example, a 343-made "Tanks, Tanks, Tanks" sequence consisting of every tank-headlining Campaign mission or "Flooded" gauntlet featuring every mission where you combat the Flood.
[-] Operates using a global Master Chief Collection launcher known as the "Master Menu" with a completely new UI channeling elements from interfaces throughout the franchise.
Halo 2 Anniversary comes with the Master Chief Collection free of charge as a visual upgrade to Halo 2. Everything we know so far:
[-] Features a Halo 2 Anniversary graphical engine overlay
[-] Switch between it and classic graphics on the fly; transition is seamless this time around
[-] Also switches sound engines; Classic 2 uses classic sounds, while H2A uses updated audio and a remastered score
[-] Features new Terminals
[-] Features old Skulls and adds new skulls; approx. 30 available now
[-] New cutscenes during Anniversary graphics done by Blur Studios, responsible for Halo 4's cutscenes
Another completely new gameplay suite known as Halo 2 Anniversary Multiplayer or H2AMP for short comes free with the Collection.
[-] Built on Halo 4's engine as a base, but gameplay is much closer to Halo 2's
[-] Features Callouts just above Motion Tracker, while shield bar is moved center-north of HUD like in modern titles
[-] Uses Halo 2's original sandbox, but with the Assault Rifle and Silenced SMG added in (both were slated for Halo 2 but scrapped in-dev)
[-] Features new gameplay elements such as the "Gungoose" (armed Mongoose vehicle) and Ricochet, Infection, etc.
[-] Uses 6 completely original map remakes done in the new engine:
[-] Coagulation Anniversary, Lockdown (Lockout Anniversary), Shrine (Sanctuary Anniversary), Zanzibar Anniversary, and Zenith (Ascension Anniversary)
[-] 6th map is currently unknown, fan speculation is a big team map
[-] Has a unique Halo 2: Anniversary Forge component, with a a ton of added features new and restored old
[-] H2AMP Forge also features 3 "Skybox Canvases," which are an empty aether or void allowing for full spatial usage by players
The Halo 5 Guardians Multiplayer Beta is also free with the Collection serving as a "ticket in" like Crackdown for Halo 3's multiplayer beta.
[-] It begins December 29, 2014 and ends January 18, 2015.
[-] Beta's primary focus is small-scale 4v4 arena gameplay with an "emphasis on map control."
[-] Custom loadouts and all that entails (Armor Abilities, Support Upgrades, Tactical Packages) absent. Instead, all players start with equal footing.
[-] Will feature seven maps: a Midship remake, an urban space featuring features similar to those of Halo 4's Skyline and Halo Reach's Condemned, a vacuum-exposed "bloodsports arena," and four unknowns
[-] Features eleven weapons: the BR, DMR, SMG, Sniper, Magnum, Assault Rifle, Energy Sword, and an unidentified Rocket Launcher.
[-] The unidentified Rocket Launcher appears to be single shot; a modernized Halo take on the "javelin" RPG concept.
[-] Spartan Abilities enter the fray as a completely new concept - a universal gameplay mechanic similar to Halo 2's introduction of dual-wielding and hijacking, and not a "flavor-of-the-month X button feature" like Equipment or AAs.
Survival is a choice. Halo Nightfall an Xbox Originals webseries - an episodic, five-piece series - produced by Ridley Scott in conjunction with 343 Industries.
[-] Takes place on a human colony world bombarded by once-adrift jetsam from Alpha Halo, the ring Master Chief destroyed in Combat Evolved.
[-] A small platoon led by Agent Locke (Michael Colter) must explore the ring fragments to find the source of a compound-element purported to be killing humans.
[-] Filmed in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
[-] $10,000,000 USD budget.
[-] Locke will also have a role in Halo 5: Guardians as a playable character alongside Chief.
[-] Colter has confirmed he will be doing voice-acting and mocap work for his in-game character.
A companion piece to MCC, the Halo Channel is a separate application on the Xbox One - a successor to the Halo Waypoint app. It features updated content on the Halo universe, community features, and a "Halo Encyclopedia." It also notably features a GUI radically different to the ones by 343 we've seen before.
If you're new, don't forget to fill out the HaloGAF New Member Survey.
[-] How long have you been a member of NeoGAF? How long have you lurked?
[-] How old are you? What country or state are you posting from?
[-] How long have you been a Halo fan? Have you played all the games?
[-] What mode do you spend most of your time in? (i.e. Multiplayer, Campaign, Forge, Firefight, Theater)
[-] What is your favorite playlist? (i.e. MLG, Action Sack)
[-] AR or BR?
[-] Highest Halo 3 level and what playlist?
[-] Favorite Halo 2 map?
[-] Favorite all-time Halo map?
[-] Other Halo sites/forums you have been a member of.
[-] Any other games you spend a lot of time playing.
[-] Personal bio stuff. (occupation/hobbies/etc.)
Halo Community Sites | The Halo community is vast. Here are a few highlights.
HBO
The oldest and biggest Halo fan site on the web, run by one of the nicest (and oldest) people on the internet. If there's news about Halo, HBO will cover it.
Bungie.net forums
A vast community of upstanding and thoughtful commentators.
Tied The Leader
A community, clan and site dedicated to fair play and thoughtful commentary on Halo.
rampancy.net
Another long time Halo fan site, dedicated to unusually in-depth commentary and analysis of the series, as well as news and community creations.
Forward Unto Dawn
In the spirit of Ascendant Justice, FUD is devoted to analysis and commentary on various aspects of the Halo games and universe.
Major League Gaming
An organized league of professional gamers, in which Halo plays a starring role. Forums, league schedules, rules and live streams are available from their site.
Forge Hub
A large community devoted to creating custom maps in Forge. Tutorials, guides and an active forum to provide feedback and testing, as well as an excellent resource for well crafted maps.
The oldest and biggest Halo fan site on the web, run by one of the nicest (and oldest) people on the internet. If there's news about Halo, HBO will cover it.
Bungie.net forums
A vast community of upstanding and thoughtful commentators.
Tied The Leader
A community, clan and site dedicated to fair play and thoughtful commentary on Halo.
rampancy.net
Another long time Halo fan site, dedicated to unusually in-depth commentary and analysis of the series, as well as news and community creations.
Forward Unto Dawn
In the spirit of Ascendant Justice, FUD is devoted to analysis and commentary on various aspects of the Halo games and universe.
Major League Gaming
An organized league of professional gamers, in which Halo plays a starring role. Forums, league schedules, rules and live streams are available from their site.
Forge Hub
A large community devoted to creating custom maps in Forge. Tutorials, guides and an active forum to provide feedback and testing, as well as an excellent resource for well crafted maps.
HaloGAF.com is HaloGAF's actual site. Contains info on PAX meetups, archives of HaloGAF radio, etc. Also has some light archived links of past Halo OTs.
Reclaimer Radio isn't a unique site, per se, but is the spiritual successor to HaloGAF radio. Episode one features Mix, Ghazi, aHebrewMenagerie and myself. If HaloGAF Radio gets a revival at some point, they'll be featured equally on here.
HGS is, uh... well, uh. Hmmm. I, uhh... just follow the infographic and you'll be fine.
WHAT NOT TO DO IN THIS THREAD
[-] Post Halo news here and then not make a thread about said news or keep it community-inclusive
[-] Shit on every potential Halo fan that comes in here that is a fan of any Halo metagame after Halo on Mac's reveal trailer
[-] Gang up on members, elicit direct harassment, etc. That's more of a general internet "don't be a dick thing," but this should be common sense. If you are directly targeting someone in an argument for personal reasons on your or their part and not directly out of an informational dispute with regards to Halo or Halo Community, take it to PMs or just don't do it. You will probably get yourself banned and the threads locked until next E3.
[-] Don't post long-winded rants, megaposts, etc. in here without context. If you have an idea on a really cool Newtonian-principle-modifying handheld forearm aperture, provide some background information such as "Halo made me think of X, therefore Y." Disembodied masses of random information will get you the boot. Plenty of lengthy posts make it in here and are lauded, such as those from Karl and The Henery - this is because they're informative, completely statistically factual or otherwise taking informative notes on existing concepts and not trying to pull new ones out of thin air, and generally keep themselves well-paced either by persuasive narrative or supplementary media, like infographics.
