If people want to understand more, then they should look into the other forms of media. It isn't 343i's job to pack and rehash every little detail in the games. It would be nice, but it would affect the story they're trying to tell in some fashion because we can't have all our cake and eat it too. I want to spend more time exploring new territory in the story rather than going over old ground already covered in one form or another. I have no problem including some of that in Halo 5 as a means of setting up the overall story they're trying to tell, but let's not get crazy with how much they need to accommodate people who don't follow the larger universe fiction.
They can tell a perfectly good story even if there should be a lot of people who can't follow every single detail. People who read the fiction obviously got even more out of Halo 4, and that's not 343i's fault. It's the fault of people who chose not to explore the other pieces of Halo fiction. But it's all still available. Better late than never.
I don't agree with this one bit, and I tend to cut 343i more slack than most people.
The games are the true foundation of the Halo franchise. It's the mainstream game-only consumers that keep this franchise alive and thriving. It's great that 343i, as Bungie before them, makes the effort of producing more material that enriches the lore and enhances the experience for the more ardent fans that like to read the books. However, a problem arises when the expanded material isn't just supplementary anymore but required reading that is absolutely vital to understand the context of the games. That places an unreasonable burden on the fans of the franchise that make up the majority: keep up and read and consume everything they put out beyond the games, or be left behind and confused as you play the games.
That's bullshit. It is well within 343i's means to produce material that comes on the disk that fills in the gaps for those of us that aren't caught up with the books and comics or those that haven't read any at all, but 343i clearly don't care.
Which begs the question, are they really even that interested in expanding the franchise to be as inclusive and accesible as possible as they're supposed to, are they so caught up in their desire to tell a story that they're not bothered with whether or not the majority of their fans can keep up?
Bungie had the right idea and produced books that enhanced the experience of hardcore Halo fans. The books were rewarding in their own right.
343i makes them and the comics required reading and punishes those that don't and that is absolutely 100% 343i's fault.