[lybertyboy]

It will be interesting to see how much of an impact 85% bloom will have on the DMR. I know in the three shot pistol playlist I didn't really feel much of a difference with bloom only being reduced 15%. Although to be fair when ever I was playing it was on a large tv two feet in front of my face which wasnt ideal for picking apart weapon tweaks.

If you were playing an Anniversary gametype then you should know then that pistol is not using a simple 15% bloom reduction. Also, since you were playing on a LAN the difference is more pronounced over an online match.

[-Yeti]

Is my avatar the yeti right now?

Yeah. It's weird that it won't update for me.

[Tunavi]

Sprint only/no bloom/DMR starts playlist please.

[Devolution]

I had a problem with that last night. I see your external avatar link is listed with the new one but under the option menu there is another option for 'edit avatar' specifically. Try that one now :D

OMG. Thank you. Yeti do this.

[Kuroyume]

Why the hell is Evade not getting nerfed? WTF?

[Captain Blood]

If you were playing an Anniversary gametype then you should know then that pistol is not using a simple 15% bloom reduction. Also, since you were playing on a LAN the difference is more pronounced over an online match.

Mr Jojo told me that bloom was 85% on the pistol in Anniversary. That isn't the case?

[Tunavi]

Why the hell is Evade not getting nerfed? WTF

just take it out of spartan gametypes. thats the best nerf it can get.

[Zoolader]

When the av was first posted, so a couple hours ago. Changed the url, no dice still.

Looks like it works now.

I give up on Devin Olsen's challenge, I just want to punch something now. That first submission will be my last.

[Ken]

Bungie If you have an iPad, you can download Crimson: Steam Pirates for the low, low cost of absolutely free. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/crims...438053238?mt=8 (If you don't have an iPad, you can yell at us in the comments!)

Looks like it should be up now.



Zzz...

[-Yeti]

I had a problem with that last night. I see your external avatar link is listed with the new one but under the option menu there is another option for 'edit avatar' specifically. Try that one now :D

Oh wow, that worked thank you.

I was just trying to change the URL under 'edit profile'.

[Syracuse022]

Has the most interesting question asked at HaloFest (can a stuck player armor lock to save his teammates?) been answered yet? That was the one clarification I was still holding my breath for and the armor lock section of the Bulletin came and went with no answers :(

[Captain Blood]

The real question is if a player can fall on their energy sword to die with Halo honor.

[Devolution]

Has the most interesting question asked at HaloFest (can a stuck player armor lock to save his teammates?) been answered yet? That was the one clarification I was still holding my breath for and the armor lock section of the Bulletin came and went with no answers :(

That guy had his thinking cap on. So many other questions, facepalm material.

[Zoolader]

That guy had his thinking cap on. So many other questions, facepalm material.

It was the lesser stupid of the stupid questions, but still... If it didn't work that way before why would it work that way now? How does a grenade outside of a shield get fully absorbed by said shield? That just sounds silly to me.

and video rendered

Why the hell is Evade not getting nerfed? WTF?

Because of your horrible avatar! Seriously change it... now

[Metroidvania]

The real question is if a player can fall on their energy sword to die with Halo honor.

Is it wrong of me to kind of wish for swords being replaced by hammers?

Anywho, TU looks sweet. Makes me want to reminisce about Halofest already. Good times all around.

Add another vote for keeping no bloom DMRs as a final playlist, btw. It kept the pacing just fine, and was so much more satisfying to know you had hit all 5 shots, or at least know that you lost not due to the randomness factor of bloom, but to lack of skill or getting jumped on.

Also, on the topic of Halofest, one of the things that wowed me that I haven't seen discussed as much as some of the other stuff I could mention was the 3d demo of Anniversary. Due to some eye problems as an infant, I can't see 3d that well, and that was by far the best 3d experience I've ever had. The needler looked absolutely sick.

[Letters]

Ultimately, bloom and cadence (among other features) were specifically designed to give Reach a slower pace than previous titles. However, a couple of notable features have arisen from this decision: for starters, cadence is easily interrupted in Reach. In fact, many of the Armor Abilities are almost explicitly designed to do that and waiting for that fifth DMR shot to be ready can be really frustrating when you lose the race against your opponent’s Armor Lock energy recovery. Second, shooting to cadence is really only a valid tactic at range; the closer you get to your opponent, the less cadence applies, and players both casual and competitive can attest to how spamming the trigger actually becomes the more reliable option here. So, ultimately while the goal was to make the weapons feel more sophisticated and add a layer of skill required to use them, the net result has been that medium range weapons such as the DMR feel unreliable at their intended range, and trigger spam has not been discouraged. As I read this, a smile came over my face. Because that's easily the best one-paragraph synopsis explaining why Reach's implementation of bloom is problematic. The smile got bigger as I noted that the developer this came from is making Halo 4.

[IMG]http://i55.************/29lbxqc.jpg[/IMG]

[Devolution]

It was the lesser stupid of the stupid questions, but still... If it didn't work that way before why would it work that way now? How does a grenade outside of a shield get fully absorbed by said shield? That just sounds silly to me. and video rendered

Instead of knocking the nade off the shield goes around the player and the nade. The player dies but the blast is concealed within his armor lock. I have no idea how do-able this is, but that's what he was getting at.

[Steelyuhas]

If you were playing an Anniversary gametype then you should know then that pistol is not using a simple 15% bloom reduction. Also, since you were playing on a LAN the difference is more pronounced over an online match.

Is the bloom that was on the Magnum in the Anniversary gametypes going to be there for sure when the TU drops? Take it off

just take it out of spartan gametypes. thats the best nerf it can get.

Yep.

It was designed for Elites, keep it that way.

343, please get Evade way from spartans, it is ridiculous.

[orznge]

Ultimately, bloom and cadence (among other features) were specifically designed to give Reach a slower pace than previous titles. However, a couple of notable features have arisen from this decision: for starters, cadence is easily interrupted in Reach. In fact, many of the Armor Abilities are almost explicitly designed to do that and waiting for that fifth DMR shot to be ready can be really frustrating when you lose the race against your opponent’s Armor Lock energy recovery. Second, shooting to cadence is really only a valid tactic at range; the closer you get to your opponent, the less cadence applies, and players both casual and competitive can attest to how spamming the trigger actually becomes the more reliable option here. So, ultimately while the goal was to make the weapons feel more sophisticated and add a layer of skill required to use them, the net result has been that medium range weapons such as the DMR feel unreliable at their intended range, and trigger spam has not been discouraged. As I read this, a smile came over my face. Because that's easily the best one-paragraph synopsis explaining why Reach's implementation of bloom is problematic. The smile got bigger as I noted that the developer this came from is making Halo 4.

As Reach was somehow intentionally designed to be played at a slower pace than the previous Halo games, I hope that Halo 4 takes a different direction in design to say the least.

[Hitmonchan107]

Wow. I'm so behind on all of this. Is there any chance we're going to have a customs night this weekend? I really want to play some Haloz with HalozGAFs.

[Hey You]

Those are still being finalized. Expect more info in the coming weeks. Do you really want us to lay everything out and then make you wait a month? Sounds pretty cruel to me.

Well we might run out of material to talk about soon, but then again we can start our monthly bitch fest a few weeks early :P

[PsychoRaven]

That guy had his thinking cap on. So many other questions, facepalm material.

Yup. That guy probably had the best question all weekend. Well out of those asked at the panels.

[xxxstylzxxx]

Ultimately, bloom and cadence (among other features) were specifically designed to give Reach a slower pace than previous titles. However, a couple of notable features have arisen from this decision: for starters, cadence is easily interrupted in Reach. In fact, many of the Armor Abilities are almost explicitly designed to do that and waiting for that fifth DMR shot to be ready can be really frustrating when you lose the race against your opponent’s Armor Lock energy recovery. Second, shooting to cadence is really only a valid tactic at range; the closer you get to your opponent, the less cadence applies, and players both casual and competitive can attest to how spamming the trigger actually becomes the more reliable option here. So, ultimately while the goal was to make the weapons feel more sophisticated and add a layer of skill required to use them, the net result has been that medium range weapons such as the DMR feel unreliable at their intended range, and trigger spam has not been discouraged. As I read this, a smile came over my face. Because that's easily the best one-paragraph synopsis explaining why Reach's implementation of bloom is problematic. The smile got bigger as I noted that the developer this came from is making Halo 4.

Can't emphasize enough how good it felt to read that. I think it's safe to say that the Halo franchise is definitely in good hands. <3 343i

[Devolution]

343 seems really approachable too, I appreciate David/Frankie in here informing us and even correcting rumors/tidbits.

[Stripper13]

If you were playing an Anniversary gametype then you should know then that pistol is not using a simple 15% bloom reduction. Also, since you were playing on a LAN the difference is more pronounced over an online match.

Without trying to be annoying - is there any changes to movement speed or jump height? Realistically, it's the best way to circumvent the grenade problem without actually adjusting grenades. Additionally, one of the videos from Halofest looked as though players were moving significantly quicker.

[PNut]

So I guess we are waiting for the TU before we fix Arena? Haven't read the bulletin yet but I guess there was no mention. I just want to play Halo with very limited AA's and some type of ranking system. Is this too much to ask for?

At this point I'd settle for a vanilla Reach playlist with bloom, over powered grenades, Sprint, on MLG maps that offered some type of ranking system.

[Domino Theory]

Ultimately, bloom and cadence (among other features) were specifically designed to give Reach a slower pace than previous titles. However, a couple of notable features have arisen from this decision: for starters, cadence is easily interrupted in Reach. In fact, many of the Armor Abilities are almost explicitly designed to do that and waiting for that fifth DMR shot to be ready can be really frustrating when you lose the race against your opponent’s Armor Lock energy recovery. Second, shooting to cadence is really only a valid tactic at range; the closer you get to your opponent, the less cadence applies, and players both casual and competitive can attest to how spamming the trigger actually becomes the more reliable option here. So, ultimately while the goal was to make the weapons feel more sophisticated and add a layer of skill required to use them, the net result has been that medium range weapons such as the DMR feel unreliable at their intended range, and trigger spam has not been discouraged. As I read this, a smile came over my face. Because that's easily the best one-paragraph synopsis explaining why Reach's implementation of bloom is problematic. The smile got bigger as I noted that the developer this came from is making Halo 4.

Same, I was very impressed at how they managed to nail Reach's core issues with bloom so eloquently and in a simple manner.

[Retro]

So, for what it's worth, I bumped the ForgeGAF thread tonight, to test the waters and see if people are still interested in having some kind of regular, organized map-testing meetups. It seems that with the TU on the horizon and CEA shortly after, there might be a renewed interest in map-making. A lot of us (myself included) spent more time in Forge than Matchmaking and having the regular meet-ups was extremely useful. Of course, non-map makers were always welcome as well.

Thought I'd post in here just in case nobody reads the other one.

Also, if anyone is playing and bored, I'd love some feedback on my latest map; Beach 1.4. Only set up for slayer and has not been thoroughly tested yet, but so far, feedback seems positive. Very urban combat oriented with lots of rooftops, buildings and basements to tear through.

If you give it a try, be sure to let me know what you think.

[wwm0nkey]

343 seems really approachable too, I appreciate David/Frankie in here informing us and even correcting rumors/tidbits.

Not just here either, the MLG forums absolutely LOVE Frankie after he posted there. I actually think Shishka posts there now too, or at least I thought I saw him post there.

343i has their fingers all over the community and that is a VERY good thing, it shows that they are listening to the fans and what they want.

[Zoolader]

So, for what it's worth, I bumped the ForgeGAF thread tonight, to test the waters and see if people are still interested in having some kind of regular, organized map-testing meetups. It seems that with the TU on the horizon and CEA shortly after, there might be a renewed interest in map-making. A lot of us (myself included) spent more time in Forge than Matchmaking and having the regular meet-ups was extremely useful. Of course, non-map makers were always welcome as well. Thought I'd post in here just in case nobody reads the other one. Also, if anyone is playing and bored, I'd love some feedback on my latest map; Beach 1.4. Only set up for slayer and has not been thoroughly tested yet, but so far, feedback seems positive. Very urban combat oriented with lots of rooftops, buildings and basements to tear through. If you give it a try, be sure to let me know what you think.

I'd gladly partake in the fledgling forging community here. There is a map I've been working on and tweaking since Reach released, but I'm scared of showing it to Halo Gaf after realizing how much most of them hate forge maps. With the TU so close I was actually waiting to show it then.

The map you just posted is now queued to download, I'll post in the Forge thread with feedback maybe tomorrow

[thezerofire]

So wait, was the improved grenade bounce and apparent movement tweaks from that Damnation video a tease or are those coming?

[Zoolader]

So wait, was the improved grenade bounce and apparent movement tweaks from that Damnation video a tease or are those coming?

well

From a few chosen words at pax and this thread, it seems there may be a good chance for a second TU.... just maybe. If there is another TU hopefully it doesn't take another year.

anybody want to test a map with me? This rendered video is what it looked like many months ago, it's now larger and a little less pretty to save frame rate.

[Booshka]

HaloGAF needs to start pacing their posts more in this thread, all I see is SPAM.

j/k Glad to see we're on to OT6, and that bulletin was great, some good nitty gritty details.

Hopefully the 85% or whatever ends up being the sweet spot for bloom in Reach works out, because I don't completely hate bloom, its implementation is just flawed. If I can consistently out-shoot someone who is spamming while I pace at the DMR's ideal range, I will be happy. Zero bloom playlists should be fun to check out, but without legitimate strafing in Reach it may end up being a disappointment.

[Lead Based Paint]

Ultimately, bloom and cadence (among other features) were specifically designed to give Reach a slower pace than previous titles. However, a couple of notable features have arisen from this decision: for starters, cadence is easily interrupted in Reach. In fact, many of the Armor Abilities are almost explicitly designed to do that and waiting for that fifth DMR shot to be ready can be really frustrating when you lose the race against your opponent’s Armor Lock energy recovery. Second, shooting to cadence is really only a valid tactic at range; the closer you get to your opponent, the less cadence applies, and players both casual and competitive can attest to how spamming the trigger actually becomes the more reliable option here. So, ultimately while the goal was to make the weapons feel more sophisticated and add a layer of skill required to use them, the net result has been that medium range weapons such as the DMR feel unreliable at their intended range, and trigger spam has not been discouraged. As I read this, a smile came over my face. Because that's easily the best one-paragraph synopsis explaining why Reach's implementation of bloom is problematic. The smile got bigger as I noted that the developer this came from is making Halo 4.

I really like how it is almost word for word my complaint against bloom in Reach as well....

Great minds think alike obviously

[kittens]

That really is a praise worthy account of why bloom blows. Shishka save us!?

Beach 1.4

Queued for download. I'll let you know what I think!

[FyreWulff]

The actual UI “bloom” is just a representation of a feature that has been in Halo since the beginning.

[Tashi]

It's gonna take more than a TU to be sold on 343. No doubt they're a group of great guys, but I'll wait and see with Halo 4.

Media ramp up should come soon after Anniversary I imagine??

[The Antitype]

Again it's 343 now. Bungie has moved on. So repeat after me. 343 343 343 343 343 343 lol

Damnit. 10 years of immediately associating everything Halo with Bungie. It's gonna take some time to break the habit.

[wwm0nkey]

Stanley.gif

What makes Reach’s implementation different from previous games is that it was applied to medium range headshot weapons with the goal of enforcing a “cadence.” Cadence here refers to the pacing and pattern in which the player is expected to fire the weapon to maintain accuracy.

Not the same as the other Halo games :)

[Tashi]

I wonder how good the testers at 343 are. A little birdy told me Shishka was better than all but one Reach tester. Thaaaaat's not acceptable. Not saying Shishka is terrible but I would hope testers are experts at Halo.

[Zeouterlimits]

SeanP Devin looks really demonic in that Halo 4 Panel photo.

Not the same as the other Halo games :)

Fyrewulf was just talking about the UI, not the gameplay implementation.

[senador]

That update was pretty good. I am excited to hear gametype specifics. I must say, I am somewhat bummed to learn there aren't changes to other AAs, inertia, or grenades. Oh well, the changes being made will be quite helpful still and I am glad 343 is doing what they can. Removing Evade from Spartan load outs would also help out quite a bit.

troll post

Keep dem trolls a rollin'....

[The Antitype]

Ultimately, bloom and cadence (among other features) were specifically designed to give Reach a slower pace than previous titles. However, a couple of notable features have arisen from this decision: for starters, cadence is easily interrupted in Reach. In fact, many of the Armor Abilities are almost explicitly designed to do that and waiting for that fifth DMR shot to be ready can be really frustrating when you lose the race against your opponent’s Armor Lock energy recovery. Second, shooting to cadence is really only a valid tactic at range; the closer you get to your opponent, the less cadence applies, and players both casual and competitive can attest to how spamming the trigger actually becomes the more reliable option here. So, ultimately while the goal was to make the weapons feel more sophisticated and add a layer of skill required to use them, the net result has been that medium range weapons such as the DMR feel unreliable at their intended range, and trigger spam has not been discouraged. As I read this, a smile came over my face. Because that's easily the best one-paragraph synopsis explaining why Reach's implementation of bloom is problematic. The smile got bigger as I noted that the developer this came from is making Halo 4.

Link please?

It's a great explanation for what's wrong with bloom in it's current incarnation, but doesn't really say whether complete removal of bloom is the answer, or if he/they feel that the mechanic can be tweaked to work as intended.

Because problems be damned, Reach still has the most balanced weapon sandbox in any Halo game ever, and bloom certainly has something to do with that.

I wonder how good the testers at 343 are. A little birdy told me Shishka was better than all but one Reach tester. Thaaaaat's not acceptable. Not saying Shishka is terrible but I would hope testers are experts at Halo.

LMAO, no. High level players should be included, yes, but the entire panel of testers should NOT be experts.

[FyreWulff]

Keep dem trolls a rollin'....

... No. How is quoting something written by 343 themselves a troll? [aside] People don't even know what the word "troll" means anymore. [/aside]

Kind of sadface to see fall damage cut, but you CAN kind of BS it by fudging with Gravity and Jump Height. It's possible to make it so you can fall from the top of Sword Base with no fall damage, but I think Headlong has even higher ledges, and you end up a tad floatier than Halo 2 with the jumps.

You'll probably still be able to crouchcancel it on Headlong from the top of the base, though. Skills!

[Zeouterlimits]

Grenades not being touched has me super bummed.
Banshee too, but to a lesser extent (obviously less common).

[Tashi]

Why not? It seems to always take high level players to turn stock Halo into a great game through specific map and gametype changes.

[Recarpo]

I apologize if this was already covered and I missed it, but what exactly does the 85% bloom mean? Does the bloom "bloom" out slower or retract slower or what does the sliding percentage actually effect?

[The Antitype]

Why not? It seems to always take high level players to turn stock Halo into a great game through specific map and gametype changes.

It definitely takes high-level players with a higher-than-average fixation on winning to discover the exploits in any multiplayer game. That's why I think some experts should be on the team, while all the others focus on whether or not the game is actually fun.

But designing a game for that crowd essentially means you're building a game for 5% of the population.

You need to have representation of every skill and dedication level in order to build a game that's both accessible enough for new players to enter, and nuanced enough for skilled players to find satisfying.

What playlists in Reach had been made better by experts? Honest question, cause really all I see voted for in the playlists I play (Team Slayer, BTB, Invasion, Team Objective, Premium) are the standard gametypes on the standard map layouts.

[Devin Olsen]

SeanP looks really demonic in that Halo 4 Panel photo. Fyrewulf was just talking about the UI, not the gameplay implementation.

That's me actually... Haha

[wwm0nkey]

That's me actually... Haha

Was that Corrinne Yu sitting next to you?