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HaloGAF |OT: Anniversary| So fades the great harvest of our betrayal.

FyreWulff

Member
i would rather not deal with people killing me because i didn't fire fast enough for random bullets to kill them.

Should have RoF locked the DMR instead of reducing the bloom then, while not touching the rest of the sandbox.

The Reach TU feels unfinished and the population numbers speak for themselves.

Plus most playlists are still pointlessly duplicated, so even if you were ignoring the actual gametype settings, would you rather play High Population Team Slayer or Low Population Team Slayer?
 

Karl2177

Member
Should have RoF locked the DMR instead of reducing the bloom then, while not touching the rest of the sandbox.

The Reach TU feels unfinished and the population numbers speak for themselves.

Plus most playlists are still pointlessly duplicated, so even if you were ignoring the actual gametype settings, would you rather play High Population Team Slayer or Low Population Team Slayer?

The populations speak for themselves because "Team Slayer" is at the top of the list, while "Super Slayer"(who really wants to play a playlist called super slayer?) is hidden in the TU stuff.
 
Should have RoF locked the DMR instead of reducing the bloom then, while not touching the rest of the sandbox.

The Reach TU feels unfinished and the population numbers speak for themselves.

Plus most playlists are still pointlessly duplicated, so even if you were ignoring the actual gametype settings, would you rather play High Population Team Slayer or Low Population Team Slayer?

As an individual player, I thought the TU was a godsend and kept me playing (h8 u bloom), but the matchmaking experience became a little absurd. Month and months later people would be still be asking what the hell "ZB" meant pre-game.
 

FyreWulff

Member
The populations speak for themselves because "Team Slayer" is at the top of the list, while "Super Slayer"(who really wants to play a playlist called super slayer?) is hidden in the TU stuff.

But the playlist category is named Evolved. That means it's better.
 
Plus most playlists are still pointlessly duplicated, so even if you were ignoring the actual gametype settings, would you rather play High Population Team Slayer or Low Population Team Slayer?
neither because team slayer has armor lock and jetpack, the two most unholy things in the existence of halo.

i only play objective.
 

-Ryn

Banned
I wonder what the likelihood of 343 bringing Invasion back is? Hell for that matter, how likely is it we will see the return of Elites in matchmaking?

*edit*
I never noticed this but in Invasion if your teammates see an enemy it puts a little callout marker above the it. That's awesome.
 

Booshka

Member
Q: What version of Halo 2 will be included? Is it "pre-patch multiplayer?"
-WulfwoodsSins

A: We are making huge investments to deliver a premium experience at 1080p, 60 fps. Having said that, the original game had a lot of dependencies running at 30 fps so we are focusing on making sure Halo 2 plays the way it did “post-patch.” Gameplay will feel the way you remember it.

I imagine this goes for Halo CE as well, we'll see if the Gameplay "feels" the way we remembered it or not come November. Really hope the increased framerate doesn't noobify Halo:CE like it does to Shadowrun.
 

Booshka

Member
Did no one ask about system link/LAN? Or is 343 dodging the question?

Frankie said they are working on trying to get it in, but said it's complicated. It's not concrete at this point if all/any versions will have it. But for fuck's sake, Halo 1-3 need to have it. I'm sure MLG is harping on them about it if they plan on holding any tournaments for MCC.
 

Mistel

Banned
Q: Will Halo 2: Anniversary have button combos, such as BXR?
-KitKat The Fox

A: The original Halo 2 multiplayer and campaign will still have BXR and similar button combos. The 6 new maps are built upon a modified engine for Xbox One, so some of these button combos/glitches will not work as they did in the original. Rest assured, we are working very hard to match the original experience as closely as possible on this engine.
Just in case anyone cares if they were going to fix button combos or not.
 

FyreWulff

Member
Q: How long has The Master Chief Collection been in development?
-TeK x Fernplant

A: We started thinking about exactly how we were going to debut on Xbox One several years ago, prior to releasing Halo 4.

Well, that answers a lot.

Frankie said they are working on trying to get it in, but said it's complicated. It's not concrete at this point if all/any versions will have it. But for fuck's sake, Halo 1-3 need to have it. I'm sure MLG is harping on them about it if they plan on holding any tournaments for MCC.

The only reason I can see LAN not being present when the original games had it is because they have new dedicated server netcode is entirely built around well.. dedicated servers, meaning they're not leaving any processor power on the table for client-hosted games in the game itself. Or you'd need an extra One to host games on LAN.

It should definitely still be in though. LAN Halo > online Halo. 2, 3, and Reach all had much better feel on LAN

Also, it appears the Collection doesn't use any of the games original matchmaking playlist code, but rather a new playlist functionality specifically for it. Hence why there's no Join In Progress for Halo 4.
 

HTupolev

Member
Halo: Combat Evolved
- 1080p, 60FPS
- Dedicated Servers
- Anniversary-build Campaign including back-button Anniversary / Classic Mode switching
- "Special Blend" tech-spec feature set using the original Xbox build as a base, with some PC assets included
- All maps, including PC maps such as Gephyrophobia and Infinity.
Where did they talk about this "special blend"? Certainly it would be nice if the game wasn't another butchered HPC port.
 

furious

Banned
No join in progress.
iblQ0TcLe4Q0Qk.gif

I've been working on a project where I've been looking at a large sample size of Halo 4 matches.

The 'Join In Progress' statistics are disgusting.

Q: Will you be tracking game statistics for Halo 1, 2 and 3? If so, will they be separate and viewable on Halo Waypoint?
-Noogatuck

A: We aren’t revealing all details just yet, but yes, Halo Waypoint will support stats for all games.

Small glimmer of hope on an official API.
 

HTupolev

Member
Bulletin said:
A: Yes, campaign co-op play will be supported across all four titles, both online and split-screen. In addition, we will be changing to a horizontal view for the split-screen multiplayer for Halo 2: Anniversary.
Err, I wonder what they mean by that. The original Halo 2 uses different split-screen views depending on whether you console is set to 4:3 or 16:9. The 4:3 is a top-bottom split which isn't great but is somewhat serviceable. The 16:9 split is a left-right split with a tiny FoV.

Does "horizontal" mean a left-right split? If they do that, hopefully the FoV isn't trash.
 

belushy

Banned
Q: Will you be adding a spectator mode to The Master Chief Collection?
-Blurrance


A: By leveraging the Xbox One platform we’re able to take advantage of Twitch functionality to provide a spectator experience that will allow online players to stream their matches, speedruns, Forge sessions and more. However, there is not a dedicated in-game specific spectator mode. While we understand the importance and versatility of a dedicated spectating system, we’re confident that Twitch functionality will make it easy for anyone to share gameplay at any time while playing The Master Chief Collection.

Didn't really expect one in MCC. Hopefully they get one into Halo 5, and not just settle for Twitch streaming.
 

FyreWulff

Member
Small glimmer of hope on an official API.

Ain't happening in the 343 era. They closed off the Reach API to the general public even though it was still functional and working. And then they required you to log in to even view stats to make it more of a pain in the ass to even scrape the stats.

Bungie era Halo was about letting the community do what they wanted to with the game. 343 era Halo is you do it 343's way, or you don't do anything.
 
Well, that answers a lot.



The only reason I can see LAN not being present when the original games had it is because they have new dedicated server netcode is entirely built around well.. dedicated servers, meaning they're not leaving any processor power on the table for client-hosted games in the game itself. Or you'd need an extra One to host games on LAN.

It should definitely still be in though. LAN Halo > online Halo. 2, 3, and Reach all had much better feel on LAN

Also, it appears the Collection doesn't use any of the games original matchmaking playlist code, but rather a new playlist functionality specifically for it. Hence why there's no Join In Progress for Halo 4.

I'd be okay with this as long as we get LAN.
 
I've been working on a project where I've been looking at a large sample size of Halo 4 matches.

The 'Join In Progress' statistics are disgusting.



Small glimmer of hope on an official API.

Quitting is the real culprit here, take the quit option out of the game and don't let players join another game until that quit one has finished. Quitting screws with rank, stats, player pools and forces Xbox/developers to attempt to deal with such issues through features like reputation, JiP etc.
 

Rev3rb

Member
Ain't happening in the 343 era. They closed off the Reach API to the general public even though it was still functional and working. And then they required you to log in to even view stats to make it more of a pain in the ass to even scrape the stats.

Bungie era Halo was about letting the community do what they wanted to with the game. 343 era Halo is you do it 343's way, or you don't do anything.

Ugh yeah, don't even get me started on this...

Pretty sure 343 contracted a company to do their current site and I don't think 343 have an in-house Web Development group (unless they started one recently), so it's pretty slim to none on an open API.
 

Booshka

Member
Quitting is the real culprit here, take the quit option out of the game and don't let players join another game until that quit one has finished. Quitting screws with rank, stats, player pools and forces Xbox/developers to attempt to deal with such issues through features like reputation, JiP etc.

Nah, you can't remove the Quit Game option, only Souls games get to do that. I do like the option of preventing you from starting another game until the one you quit finishes for Ranked. But, I feel if you quit a ranked game, you can go join a social game, but not vice versa. If you quit two Social games in row, then you have to wait until the one you just quit finishes before you can start again. That might help a little bit, but people are gonna quit regardless.

Most important thing is to make quitting always a worse penalty than staying for your Rank in Ranked matches. If someone quits, then any subsequent quits by players shouldn't be penalized though, the match is essentially invalid toward any proper Ranking at that point.

There also needs to be a Surrender voting option for longer objective games, or sessions that go over 12-15 mins.
 

Nirvana

Member
Err, I wonder what they mean by that. The original Halo 2 uses different split-screen views depending on whether you console is set to 4:3 or 16:9. The 4:3 is a top-bottom split which isn't great but is somewhat serviceable. The 16:9 split is a left-right split with a tiny FoV.

Does "horizontal" mean a left-right split? If they do that, hopefully the FoV isn't trash.

I really hope it isn't a left/right split. I physically cannot play games that way in splitscreen, it's really disorientating.

Players will be starting fresh in terms of rank, stats, armor, and more on Xbox One. We’ll have more specifics at a later date.

I thought they said all armour permutations would be unlocked (at least in Halo 3). I suppose as long as they have new achievements and ways to unlock them I will be happy, but the unlocks in Halo 3 were a real pain to get. Having said that, the Vidmasters were awesome, so I would hope for another challenge like that to get 1080p Recon.
 

furious

Banned
Ain't happening in the 343 era. They closed off the Reach API to the general public even though it was still functional and working. And then they required you to log in to even view stats to make it more of a pain in the ass to even scrape the stats.

Bungie era Halo was about letting the community do what they wanted to with the game. 343 era Halo is you do it 343's way, or you don't do anything.

The current API for Halo 4 is great.

Some of the endpoints are public, the rest require a 'SpartanToken' via Microsoft OAuth.

EDIT: Public Endpoint 'playercard' (you can request JSON too)
 
Nah, you can't remove the Quit Game option, only Souls games get to do that. I do like the option of preventing you from starting another game until the one you quit finishes for Ranked. But, I feel if you quit a ranked game, you can go join a social game, but not vice versa. If you quit two Social games in row, then you have to wait until the one you just quit finishes before you can start again. That might help a little bit, but people are gonna quit regardless.

Most important thing is to make quitting always a worse penalty than staying for your Rank in Ranked matches. If someone quits, then any subsequent quits by players shouldn't be penalized though, the match is essentially invalid toward any proper Ranking at that point.

There also needs to be a Surrender voting option for longer objective games, or sessions that go over 12-15 mins.

All good points I can agree with. The last 2 or 3 game versions have been ramping up quit bans and the like but I like the points you describe better. It allows quit for extreme cases but enables the system to act/react very quickly. I'd also like the ranked quit option to severely impact rank in a negative way. Surrender is long overdue and would also help reduce the need for systems like JiP while recycling players back to the hopper pools.
 

Rockyrock

Member
Quitting is the real culprit here, take the quit option out of the game and don't let players join another game until that quit one has finished. Quitting screws with rank, stats, player pools and forces Xbox/developers to attempt to deal with such issues through features like reputation, JiP etc.

goes a lot further than that.

having a bad or no ranking system is a far bigger culprit.

If matches are balanced and there is an engaging ranking system in place people are far less likely to quit. There was no true skill in H4 so matches were often heavily lopsided. You can't fault people for quitting when the game matches them with people at a far higher skill level then them.

Hell, its gotten so bad in games i have actually stopped playing games because they are just too easy.
 
goes a lot further than that.

having a bad or no ranking system is a far bigger culprit.

If matches are balanced and there is an engaging ranking system in place people are far less likely to quit. There was no true skill in H4 so matches were often heavily lopsided. You can't fault people for quitting when the game matches them with people at a far higher skill level then them.

Hell, its gotten so bad in games i have actually stopped playing games because they are just too easy.

No in game ranks = the suck. H4 did have trueskill behind the scenes though and CSR works with trueskill as a component, same has Reach/3/2 did. The matching these days is very similar to Reach mid-late and 3 late life online, less players = wider search parameters for party restrictions and player skill etc.

I'm really hoping the fans turn out in full force and stay with a massive population for MCC over time. Honestly dedis, 1080p, 60fps, all maps/game versions, ranks and for the most part (I assume) no guests in ranked either.

Keeping players in the hoppers = better skill/party/region matching.

Having player/party toggles = better game experience/skill matching and closer game outcomes without having to play gametypes or maps you really don't want to.
 

FyreWulff

Member
The current API for Halo 4 is great.

Some of the endpoints are public, the rest require a 'SpartanToken' via Microsoft OAuth.

EDIT: Public Endpoint 'playercard' (you can request JSON too)

From all I've looked up, this is just like the Reach 343 era API - unsupported, undocumented, and was accomplished by poking around and seeing what 343's official apps were doing. It's still limited compared to the fully functional Bungie Reach API.
 

furious

Banned
From all I've looked up, this is just like the Reach 343 era API - unsupported, undocumented, and was accomplished by poking around and seeing what 343's official apps were doing. It's still limited compared to the fully functional Bungie Reach API.

I never got the chance to play with the Bungie variant :(

You're not wrong about it being unsupported and undocumented though. You can somewhat rely on the the service list for self-documentation, but it's not really friendly.

I actually got pinged by Bravo asking to stop using it after some time.
 
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