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[Ramirez]

How does jumping result in a random outcome? It's not like rolling a dice. I jump out from behind a corner, you expect me to be at eye-level and panic as you move your cursor up, and I pop you in the head. It's not random at all.

Having said that, I am not a bunny-hopper in Halo. I got owned by one severely last night in Team SWAT, which was very frustrating, but I can't chalk it up to anything other than this person was playing better than me.

What in the world are you blabbering about? Reread the posts that spawned my reply.

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

Are we getting weekend playlists back anytime soon? It always was fun having something new to look forward to, it feels a little empty without them.

Also, Infection maps all need some minor tweaks and changes, for starters color filters to give them a different feel would be cool. I like infection, but I hope they bring back the customization and variety Halo 3 had.

 

[MarshMellow96]

I get back on today after a week or so out...

'BIG credits for people who finish games'? I got 84cR, 60 odd and then even less. I don't think I'm going back to the grind somehow. Are any of you realistically going to stick around for two years to get the late, late items? As much as I like this Halo, I can't imagine playing the maps for that long...

What really pisses me off is playing really well any not getting any love for it. I got the same amount of credits as a guy who got less than 10 kills, when I had 23/47, including sticks, doubles etc. They should give you additional credits for getting medals on top of the commendations. It might speed it up a little big.

Anyway, I'm going to go out there and say that credits for item unlocks was a bad idea, period. 500cR per match when you have items that cost 1,000,000 was even worse. If the credits system was meant to encourage retention - boy, did they get it wrong. The fact of the matter is that BO is out next week, and (before you go off on your 'Halo is different to CoD' or 'why are you posting here'-type shtick) as a casual shooter fan - one who played Halo 3 an awful lot, there's not much keeping me on board.

 

[DJ Lushious]

Reread the posts that spawned my reply.

Nah, it's cool. It's already been established that I misread your response. It happens. And when you've dyslexia, it happens more often than not. :lol

 

[metareferential]

there's not much keeping me on board.

Well then go play Call of Duty. There's nothing wrong with it.

Seriously, do we play because we like playing or because we like to get stupid numbers thrown at us at the end of the game?

You said you played a lot of Halo 3, a game that had virtually nothing as far as player investment is concerned.

 

[Ramirez]

I get back on today after a week or so out...

'BIG credits for people who finish games'? I got 84cR, 60 odd and then even less. I don't think I'm going back to the grind somehow. Are any of you realistically going to stick around for two years to get the late, late items? As much as I like this Halo, I can't imagine playing the maps for that long...

What really pisses me off is playing really well any not getting any love for it. I got the same amount of credits as a guy who got less than 10 kills, when I had 23/47, including sticks, doubles etc. They should give you additional credits for getting medals on top of the commendations. It might speed it up a little big.

Anyway, I'm going to go out there and say that credits for item unlocks was a bad idea, period. 500cR per match when you have items that cost 1,000,000 was even worse. If the credits system was meant to encourage retention - boy, did they get it wrong. The fact of the matter is that BO is out next week, and (before you go off on your 'Halo is different to CoD' or 'why are you posting here'-type shtick) as a casual shooter fan - one who played Halo 3 an awful lot, there's not much keeping me on board.

These unlocks probably take about the same amount of time as getting a Prestige in CoD, and to unlock everything is probably pretty similar to 10th Prestige. It's designed to make you play for a long time, and it will work in that regard. I prefer this to the Halo 3 method of beating a campaign level and unlocking everything in a week.

 

[feel]

Last night I got 7,875cR just from a Slot Machine after one game.

Thank you, Jackpot!

Awesome.

I'm hoping urk goes a little bit more indepth on how this is triggered. If you get it by very regularly completing games, or if (like Dani suggested) it's totally by chance after completing a single match, even if you just quit the previous 4 all in a row. Really hoping for the former.



And I reached Commander! Commando helmet get! <3

 

[electricpirate]

I stopped working on it, but took a few of the lessons from it and am trying to apply them to the current map. In particular, I'm condensing and improving the base design, both for infantry and so vehicles can get around it better, and layering in some side routes for infantry to crisscross the map on routes that aren't tethered to the main roads. Streamlining (and at the same time, improving) the bases and surrounding area is netting me $1,000 in budget. Solutions may include bridges, buildings, man cannons and/or teleporters. Once I'm through with the base rebuild tonight I'm going to explore a bunch of options.

And thanks.

I second Dax's opinion, great read, and I 'm learning a ton reading your pieces. My first map design was really small, which worked to allow me to play and tweak easily, my mind boggles at figuring out what worked and what didn't on a BTB map. To see your process is helping me think about my larger (still not huge) second map.

 

[StUnNeR H2K]

Seriously, do we play because we like playing or because we like to get stupid numbers thrown at us at the end of the game?

The point of a video game is to have 'fun', and I agree that to many people are getting caught up on this 'numbers' thing. Sometimes I remember the Halo CE LAN days when it was just all about fun... Also how does having the top armor make the game anymore fun then it was before you had that armor?

 

[MrDaravon]

Last night I got 7,875cR just from a Slot Machine after one game.

Thank you, Jackpot!

What the fuck, I've played literally hundreds of games in a row without quitting now, and I've gotten 777 twice and that's it (and both of those were weeks ago).

Urrrrrrrrk!

 

[Genesis Knight]

@marshmallow

My friends and I are seeing the same problem. Cosmetic armor changes are already pretty boring, especially considering the amount of play required to get the permutations you want. So maybe unlocking weapons and features doesn't fit Halo's play style, I'll buy that, but frequently unlocking cool stuff you can use in game

Spoiler

CoD

is much, much more arresting than Reach's pretty pointless grind.

Basically if they wanted a reason to keep players playing (besides the great gameplay), they missed the mark. Some of my more casual friends are already turned off because there is so much focus on credits and armor and it's just boring to them to try to get something that doesn't even matter in the end.

For Halo fans it's all good because we like the game itself - hell, as you guys said we liked Halo 3 when there was nothing to earn. Don't think Bungie has won over any new fans, though.

@Ramirez - in CoD you get dozens of unlocks on the way to each prestige, though. You're always playing because you want the new sights, equipment, gun, etc.

 

[Ramirez]

@marshmallow

My friends and I are seeing the same problem. Cosmetic armor changes are already pretty boring, especially considering the amount of play required to get the permutations you want. So maybe unlocking weapons and features doesn't fit Halo's play style, I'll buy that, but frequently unlocking cool stuff you can use in game

Spoiler

CoD

is much, much more arresting than Reach's pretty pointless grind.

Basically if they wanted a reason to keep players playing (besides the great gameplay), they missed the mark. Some of my more casual friends are already turned off because there is so much focus on credits and armor and it's just boring to them to try to get something that doesn't even matter in the end.

Should there really be any other reason? :lol

I usually pick 1-2 guns in CoD and stick with them the entire prestige, heck usually my entire time playing the game, so most of the time I'm playing for the level if anything.

 

[Jinjo]

clip is taking forever to render, must be really busy right now.

Thanks!

Hit Lt. Colonel Grade 3 last night. 60.000 Cr for Commander? Ugh. This going to be Warrant Officer Grade 3 all over again. I want that Commando helmet so bad. So bad.

 

[bobs...onGaf]

The point of a video game is to have 'fun', and I agree that to many people are getting caught up on this 'numbers' thing. Sometimes I remember the Halo CE LAN days when it was just all about fun... Also how does having the top armor make the game anymore fun then it was before you had that armor?

Well yeah, if you dont enjoy Reach, playing it just for the armours is silly. The player investment system doesnt work as something to retain players on that front, but it does reward the long term players.

CoD on the other hand has a system where literally one night of play will help you unlock the next set of stuff. That does make people say, I hate this game, but ill stop playing tomorow after I get the next gun. :lol

So yeah the system has varying levels of success the way you look at it, I kind of hope it was made with the intention of rewarding long term fans than stringing along people who are indifferent to the game for a little while longer.

 

[feel]

I see the Reach player investment system as a great bonus for the players who were planning to stick around for the gameplay anyways, not as an attempt to single-handedly keep people playing, because for that they would need to completely destroy some fundamentals to Halo, and as much as people keep forgetting, they actually care about not doing that.

 

[The Librarian]

Player investment in Reach is a lot of fun. Because of the daily challenges, I play campaign missions with different sets of skulls on, something I never did in Reach. Incentive is a lot of fun.

 

[Striker]

All I want/care for in regards to the cosmetic changes really is Mark V and gold visor.

I saw Ramirez on earlier sporting the Emile helmet. Looks odd under a female body.

 

[Ramirez]

All I want/care for in regards to the cosmetic changes really is Mark V and gold visor.

I saw Ramirez on earlier sporting the Emile helmet. Looks odd under a female body.

I've been getting thoroughly donged on ever since I equipped it as well. :lol

 

[squidhands]

Last night I got 7,875cR just from a Slot Machine after one game.

Thank you, Jackpot!

Damn, dude. I wish that would bleed over into Score Attack; I never quit those games. :lol


Great article, Ghaleon. As an avid forger myself, it's cool to read someone else's thoughts on how they go about the building process.

 

[Princess Carl]

Should there really be any other reason? :lol

I usually pick 1-2 guns in CoD and stick with them the entire prestige, heck usually my entire time playing the game, so most of the time I'm playing for the level if anything.

How bout some dam variety?

Great gameplay will get stale with no maps or good gamtypes. (See Halo Reach)

 

[Gui_PT]

I get back on today after a week or so out...

'BIG credits for people who finish games'? I got 84cR, 60 odd and then even less. I don't think I'm going back to the grind somehow. Are any of you realistically going to stick around for two years to get the late, late items? As much as I like this Halo, I can't imagine playing the maps for that long...

What really pisses me off is playing really well any not getting any love for it. I got the same amount of credits as a guy who got less than 10 kills, when I had 23/47, including sticks, doubles etc. They should give you additional credits for getting medals on top of the commendations. It might speed it up a little big.

Anyway, I'm going to go out there and say that credits for item unlocks was a bad idea, period. 500cR per match when you have items that cost 1,000,000 was even worse. If the credits system was meant to encourage retention - boy, did they get it wrong. The fact of the matter is that BO is out next week, and (before you go off on your 'Halo is different to CoD' or 'why are you posting here'-type shtick) as a casual shooter fan - one who played Halo 3 an awful lot, there's not much keeping me on board.

How are you getting 500cR per match? I've never gotten a number so low. Maybe you should start playing better before complaining about how many credits you get?

 

[cuevas. PhD.]

I take back what I said about al in arena...when there's 6 people in a match with it the game turns into a halo I don't enjoy.

I still think all aa's people use just give people who fucked up an easy way out.

Oh I'm an idiot and went into the open, let me sprint into cover.

Oh I'm an idiot and got into a fight I can't win, let me jetpack to the platform above and run.

Oh I'm an idiot and got into another fight I can't win, let me armor lock and stop the game while my shields start to recharge.

 

[Ramirez]

How bout some dam variety?

Great gameplay will get stale with no maps or good gamtypes. (See Halo Reach)

The game hasn't even been out 2 months, give me a break. They've already added 2 Forge maps and 3 more official maps will be out by the end of the month. Once that forge contest is done, you're probably going to see another 4-5+ maps join the fold.

What gametypes are missing? You have freaking playlists dedicated to Living Dead/SWAT/Snipers, all of which took forever to happen in Halo 3, 1 of them just being a weekend playlist through the entirety of its life.

I mean, if you're going to complain, at least make it about problems that are actually there.

Great gameplay will never get stale, if it does, then it must not have been that great to you in the first place.

 

[NullPointer]

What gametypes are missing?

Firefight versus. Does anybody know when it will go live? And Invasion on the same damn maps gets old quickly.

Reach has all the mechanics for an awesome multiplayer - but outside of Team Slayer I'm not feeling it. The firefight changes have been nice though.

 

[Ramirez]

Firefight versus. Does anybody know when it will go live?

I'm stunned that people want this, Firefight Coop lag is SO bad, I can't imagine playing against humans in that garbage.

 

[NullPointer]

I'm stunned that people want this, Firefight Coop lag is SO bad, I can't imagine playing against humans in that garbage.

Yeah, no reason to want a game mode that was advertised beforehand. Is there even an ETA for it?

 

[PalaceBrother]

Player investment in Reach is a lot of fun.

I see the Reach player investment system as a great bonus...

The player investment system doesnt work as something to retain players...

When did this become the go-to term for persistent character rewards? Just curious.

 

[Mo0]

Around the time Bungie started calling it that, I'm assuming.

 

[MarshMellow96]

How are you getting 500cR per match? I've never gotten a number so low. Maybe you should start playing better before complaining about how many credits you get?

23/47 kills in a game I spoke of in the text that you quoted. I tend to hit decent numbers each game thank you very much.

 

[squidhands]

When did this become the go-to term for persistent character rewards? Just curious.

Luke Smith started it when Bungie first started talking about Reach's features.

 

[Ramirez]

Yeah, no reason to want a game mode that was advertised beforehand. Is there even an ETA for it?

Do you actually think it will be fun with the lag? Just curious. I've yet to play a firefight game that was even remotely playable at a skillful level as far as earning the high score on the team.

Can anyone tell me why Gears' Horde mode doesn't lag the same way FF does? Or the Campaign co-op for that matter.

 

[LosDaddie]

How are you getting 500cR per match? I've never gotten a number so low. Maybe you should start playing better before complaining about how many credits you get?

Not everybody can be elite in this game.

A lot of my games I get under 1k Cr. I think in Team Slayer I get the lowest amount.

 

[Truelize]

I have always thought of the player investment system in this game as a pure bonus to the players that are already going to spend a lot of time playing the game. With a hope to maybe keep a small percentage of us OCD players around for longer than we were with Halo 3.

I'm really happy that Halo didn't go the route that CoD has with having selectable weapon starts that are not even among all players. I found that CoD was only fun once I got to a certain level and had better equipment than other players.

Halo is Halo and I love the dance that it is.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Damn, dude. I wish that would bleed over into Score Attack; I never quit those games. :lol


Great article, Ghaleon. As an avid forger myself, it's cool to read someone else's thoughts on how they go about the building process.

Thanks. I'm finding that writing the series is actually helping me to be more methodical in how I evaluate the map, because I need to be able to organize and articulate the reasoning. There were some things I didn't even realize were problems until I started thinking about how to write about the play tests.

And I second the quit jackpot for Score Attack. I've quit about a half dozen games since Reach shipped, all Score Attack, and all because I picked the wrong map due to not paying attention. Would be just lovely.

 

[Neuromancer]

We need more Firefight playlists, although I don't want versus. Just more variety. Also the single weapon loadout on Gruntpocalypse has made it really boring to play, which is a shame because it should be a blast.

In fact I made a custom game type I called Gruntpocalypse eXtreme!!! to solve this conundrum. It's the Gruntpocalypse you know and love with a few key differences:

-player speed and jump height increased
-ammo and armor abilities are infinite
-much more varied loadouts, including the Melee only gladiator

It's just good plain dumb fun, the way Gruntpocalypse should be dammit.

 

[Ramirez]

Urk, are the spartan pictures on your profile ever going to update?

 

[Gui_PT]

Not everybody can be elite in this game.

A lot of my games I get under 1k Cr. I think in Team Slayer I get the lowest amount.

I'm a ridiculously average player. He's complaining about getting few credits when he apparently doesn't do very well to get more than that.

What's worse is that it seems he's placing more importance on credit gaining than actually having fun.

 

[NullPointer]

Do you actually think it will be fun with the lag? Just curious. I've yet to play a firefight game that was even remotely playable at a skillful level as far as earning the high score on the team.

Can anyone tell me why Gears' Horde mode doesn't lag the same way FF does? Or the Campaign co-op for that matter.

I don't experience the lag that others consistently complain about. Although I run into framerate problems on Glacier as expected. Also keep "good connection" as my go to preference in that mode. But at the very least the lag shouldn't be any worse since the player count in Firefight versus is the same. 2 on 2.

I'm just looking for something to keep the game fresh, and I had no idea when I bought Reach that Firefight Versus would languish in some limbo zone.

 

[Squall ASF]

I've been getting thoroughly donged on ever since I equipped it as well. :lol

I'm rocking the EVA C as well, decided on blue visor as the black is a little too subtle for me. Still looked cool, however. What visor are you using out of curiousity?

 

[squidhands]

Do you actually think it will be fun with the lag? Just curious. I've yet to play a firefight game that was even remotely playable at a skillful level as far as earning the high score on the team.

Can anyone tell me why Gears' Horde mode doesn't lag the same way FF does? Or the Campaign co-op for that matter.

I've played a few co-op FF games, and I never had any lag problems. My connection's fairly mediocre, too. I haven't played it since they made it a full round, so it may be different now.

Can't say as to why Horde is less laggy than FF without talking out of my ass.

Thanks. I'm finding that writing the series is actually helping me to be more methodical in how I evaluate the map, because I need to be able to organize and articulate the reasoning. There were some things I didn't even realize were problems until I started thinking about how to write about the play tests.

And I second the quit jackpot for Score Attack. I've quit about a half dozen games since Reach shipped, all Score Attack, and all because I picked the wrong map due to not paying attention. Would be just lovely.

I may start writing out my thoughts as well, lol. Getting a map to a "perfect" playable state is such a pain in the ass, especially when factoring in framerate issues (which your map fortunately lacks).

 

[PalaceBrother]

Not everybody can be elite in this game.

A lot of my games I get under 1k Cr. I think in Team Slayer I get the lowest amount.

What mode are you getting 1k on? I also like filling bars.

 

[Ramirez]

I'm rocking the EVA C as well, decided on blue visor as the black is a little too subtle for me. Still looked cool, however. What visor are you using out of curiousity?

I went ahead and bought the Gold one, it depleted my credit stash.

 

[The Librarian]

I get 1K credits on Invasion and Team Slayer.

 

[Squall ASF]

I went ahead and bought the Gold one, it depleted my credit stash.

Nice. Gold looks cool but I decided to look different than Emile. So expensive too! I think our helmet was worth the money Now I'm considering if I want to upgrade other armor or save for the inclimate weather (I'm OCD and prefer buying most expensive stuff first and working my way down).

For those commenting on Ramirez's FF lag post, are you playing with locals? FF, like campaign, tends to lag when playing with people at great distances. If I play with friends in town, it's not bad at all but my buddy in Korea? ......

 

[Ramirez]

You would have to do absolutely terrible to not get around 1K in any of the playlists...game complete is always like 500, then commendations are usually 3-500 for me, then the slot machine bumps you over if you didn't get near it already.

Is Emile's Gold in the game? I thought it was the default color you start with?

 

[GhaleonEB]

I may start writing out my thoughts as well, lol. Getting a map to a "perfect" playable state is such a pain in the ass, especially when factoring in framerate issues (which your map fortunately lacks).

Yeah I definately lucked out on the frame rate issue. My love of big maps spread things out enough that it didn't strike. It's something I'm keen to avoid on map #2 as well, since it's much smaller and will have some dense geometry in the middle (currently dubbed, Beached).

 

[Squall ASF]

You would have to do absolutely terrible to not get around 1K in any of the playlists...game complete is always like 500, then commendations are usually 3-500 for me, then the slot machine bumps you over if you didn't get near it already.

Is Emile's Gold in the game? I thought it was the default color you start with?

Is it? I always thought it was Gold but now I feel compelled to have another look :lol

 

[PalaceBrother]

You would have to do absolutely terrible to not get around 1K in any of the playlists...

I don't believe this. I've gotten over 1k once or twice, and it's entirely due to commendations when it happens.


http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Reach/CareerStats/default.aspx?player=SEN0R MachoSolo

 

[ZROCOOL]

:lol winning a BTB CTF 4 v 6 made my day.

Other team was talking it up during the match, but watching them chase us was funny shit.

 

[Ramirez]

I don't believe this. I've gotten over 1k once or twice, and it's entirely due to commendations when it happens.


http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Reach/CareerStats/default.aspx?player=SEN0R MachoSolo