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Halo 5: Guardians |OT5| Is HaloGAF irrelevant now?

Woorloog

Banned
Silly idea: Radar is classic Halo radar but only works while moving fast enough, so twitching in place doesn't work. Also jumping up and down shouldn't work.

And no, i haven't thought about any logical consequences for this.
 
How liberated Halo 5's gameplay becomes when the radar doesn't track every movement. Crouch camping completely eliminated as an effective tactic. And those sweet, sweet jukes.

I'm unsure I can go back to any other playlist in the game now. Full radar is just so oppressive.

Welcome to the future, or I guess the past because CoD has been doing it for years. The one thing 343 should have copied for Halo 4.
 

op_ivy

Fallen Xbot (cannot continue gaining levels in this class)
Catching up on Sundays lcq and why is cryptic playing so slow!? Watching the early matches, where they shot on everyone, they were laughing about how good it felt and how good they play ultra aggressive. Then they play in the finals against spylce sloooow. Come on.
 

Madness

Member
Catching up on Sundays lcq and why is cryptic playing so slow!? Watching the early matches, where they shot on everyone, they were laughing about how good it felt and how good they play ultra aggressive. Then they play in the finals against spylce sloooow. Come on.

Might have to do with the fact they had to stay up till 2 am playing and were tired as shit whereas for Splyce it was earlier.
 

op_ivy

Fallen Xbot (cannot continue gaining levels in this class)
Might have to do with the fact they had to stay up till 2 am playing and were tired as shit whereas for Splyce it was earlier.

That too. They had a long day as it was and the absurd wait imposed by the halo twitch channel was bullshit.
 

Trup1aya

Member
Honestly, I'm having trouble enjoying other playlists now that Proving Grounds is out. Thankfully it's making large contributions to the assassinations commendations

Well, I'm positive this will be one of the most unpopular opinions I ever post but here we go.

That new radar is not what I want in my Halo game. While it may cut down on camping it weakens my awareness overall. Yes, stick with your teammates. Yes, you shouldn't be watching the radar all game any ways. I've heard these arguments, I understand these arguments.

When holding the flag while waiting for two members of my team to hunt down the enemy carrier I've had enemy players, full walking speed mind you, open up before I was aware of their existence. Classically that would've required a slower more methodical crouch walk to get that close without being noticed. Now, why crouch walk at all? If the enemy player isn't sprinting right up, the radar is useless when playing defense.

I've been in firefights fully aware of the three enemies ahead of me, only to realize the fourth is to my 7 o clock, again at full walking speed, but it's too late to counter now. He's only on my radar once his rounds are shredding into me.

Ill be the first to admit I'm a happy camper, love my Sword use or really any close quarters weaponry. But these changes punish everyone's awareness. With walking speed being as fast as it is, and with Sprint being more penalized than ever why would you ever Sprint unless to get away from a bad situation? I can see the idea they were going for but at the end of the day it seems to only emphasize blind spots for a long time Halo player.

Perhaps if walking speed were a little slower thus pushing the desire to Sprint for players I could understand. But I feel like these changes just try to take us back to the classic Halo 2 team of four with BR's being the best strategy in all cases. And while for many that's a good thing I've always relished the myriad of ways I could kill in Halo. Now Spartan charging feels like a guaranteed way to throw yourself to your death more than ever, so why have it at all? If an enemy doesn't have to sneak in to a base for flag or return what's the use of crouch walking at all?

I'll keep playing Proving grounds to see how this continues to feel but it makes all of my Halo strategies seem useless excluding the standard "stay together and out shoot them."

I can't believe I'm about to say this sentence but if this is my choice I think I'd rather just not have radar. But both of those options make me want to play the game far less.

You just described you being penalized for not being aware. You didn't describe your awareness being weakened by the new radar. Your awareness was already weak, and the tweaking of the radar has highlighted this weakness.

Crouching walking is slow and methodical, but there is nothing skillful about it. You just hold down a button. The fact that crouching was the only way to stay of radar just removes the need for people to cover their flanks- because enemies flank too slow to actually harm you, or the game outright tells you where they are flanking from.

I'm not sure why people are in anguish over the loss of utility for crouch walking. It's not a rewarding activity. You just hold down a button, eyes on the radar waiting for someone to ambush, hoping your opponent doesn't walk/sprint away from you before you do your damage

Crouching is still useful for ducking/sliding behind cover, crouch jumping, throwing off your enemies shot, and reducing recoil on certain weapons. It's far from useless.
 
Win or lose, good performance or poor performance, I've been having a lot more fun with this radar.

One thing they need for Halo 6 is showing which players are in a party. It'd help with making guesses as to which enemies will more likely have support. Also, there needs to be explanations for these things in the game, like the audio/visual feedback systems in play (e.g. friendly indicators -- what the different statuses mean).
 
one more first strike to go. But i need sleep



Lol That's disgusting.

It's been a good day for SCs. I've been getting ~5 per game playing KOTH and Diminishing Kings, in addition to a similar number of assassinations. Even have SCs overtaking Buckle Ups to move out of last place in commendations.
 

Trup1aya

Member
Just watched that clip on the club page, what the hell, haha

Lol that was my first time recording a clip in forever. I just couldn't stop laughing at how they both left a flank open and that second guy being totally oblivious- granted he was taking damage from elsewhere.


I've gotta say, Mercy is a much better map with the ability tracker. Actually being able to flank people makes the two level nature of it actually interesting.

It's been a good day for SCs. I've been getting ~5 per game playing KOTH and Diminishing Kings, in addition to a similar number of assassinations. Even have SCs overtaking Buckle Ups to move out of last place in commendations.

It seems like SC and Assassinations have sped up quite a bit lately. I've been logging tons of Assassinations in PG.

Action Sack was my go to for SCs (I can get 20 in a game of rift ball) but PG is just too damn fun and I don't have to deal with crappy gametypes.
 
Honestly, I'm having trouble enjoying other playlists now that Proving Grounds is out. Thankfully it's making large contributions to the assassinations commendations



You just described you being penalized for not being aware. You didn't describe your awareness being weakened by the new radar. Your awareness was already weak, and the tweaking of the radar has highlighted this weakness.

Crouching walking is slow and methodical, but there is nothing skillful about it. You just hold down a button. The fact that crouching was the only way to stay of radar just removes the need for people to cover their flanks- because enemies flank too slow to actually harm you, or the game outright tells you where they are flanking from.

I'm not sure why people are in anguish over the loss of utility for crouch walking. It's not a rewarding activity. You just hold down a button, eyes on the radar waiting for someone to ambush, hoping your opponent doesn't walk/sprint away from you before you do your damage

Crouching is still useful for ducking/sliding behind cover, crouch jumping, throwing off your enemies shot, and reducing recoil on certain weapons. It's far from useless.

Sure I could have done a better job of watching every angle, or my team could have done more to let me know where enemy players are. But to say that the new radar does not make it more difficult for the individual compared to what the traditional motion tracker does is poppycock. You are severely more blind than before. After over a decade of it being a motion tracker, not a radar, it is a change that I'm not happy with.

The speed at which someone can come at you undetected is a huge difference. I know this group of players is very pro no radar, which perhaps in top level 4 v 4 that's not a terrible idea. It does ensure more team reliance, you simply can't cover every angle by yourself without a motion tracker. But for either unranked games, or Free for all's the traditional motion tracker is needed for an empowered individual experience. Again I'd rather have no radar to see over this useless version. See them on radar? Well it's probably to late to do much because they're already shooting you so what did the radar really do for you? Oh but you definitely can catch Spartan chargers far easier so I guess that's something. But that's not a bonus to me, that's a weakening of a battle option.

And I completely disagree that crouch walking was not rewarding. You took the time to hunt down an individual, you sacrificed time to get a specific kill. Them having a trustworthy radar helps with that. I've had some very rewarding assassinations and kills that came from the enemy player being misled that I had left the area only for me to sneak back around.

Maybe my opinion will just make me like the old no Sprint crowd. An old fanboy who preferred the series the way it has always played, but eventually we'll just get told to get over it because this is the game now. Ill try it again more today, but I really hope if nothing else this shit never comes to free for all's.
 

jem0208

Member
I literally only play solo and I've found this radar to be empowering. With the normal radar I felt like any solo pushes were immediately shut down because someone would see me on radar. With The proving grounds radar I've been able to make a number of sneaky pushes and flanks to catch people unawares.

Rather than being forced to push with teammates I've found playing individually to be far more effective and satisfying. It's great.
 

Woorloog

Banned
How do you guys feel about Halo Reach on XB1's framerate? Feels like its running at 20-25 fps, still doesnt feel like the xbox 360 version to me
It is slightly better than 360. Still dips badly at times. Small dips have vanished IMO.
This on S model.

EDIT That said, this was on split-screen, i haven't bothered trying solo.
 

Karl2177

Member
I like the radar change so far. I'm still getting Spartan Charged even when I thrust out of the way though, and it's dampening my enjoyment in general. The worst thing is that I'll see their whole character model go through the animation, which should be enough distance away, but yet the damage still gets applied and I get knocked back.

And rig is still a turd.

Which is a stupid ass decision, since here works just fine.
 
I only ever played by myself in halo 5, and having no radar would have been wonderful. In my opinion it empowers the individual just as much as it empowers the team. Its more about being strategic in how you move across a map - putting yourself in positions that give you the upper hand - and always being ready to react to the opposing team. I feel like radar is the same as having training wheels on a bike. No-radar teaches you awareness and better map movement. So much more intense and exciting when you don't know where people are on a map. My opinion anyway. Now if 343 would get their heads out of their butts and add a lone wolf playlist for halo 6... how many years and many halo games is it going to take? Missed the opportunity the past two halo games. Thats 6 years of stubbornness. Will we have to wait 9 more years or will it be 12?
 
When holding the flag while waiting for two members of my team to hunt down the enemy carrier I've had enemy players, full walking speed mind you, open up before I was aware of their existence. Classically that would've required a slower more methodical crouch walk to get that close without being noticed. Now, why crouch walk at all? If the enemy player isn't sprinting right up, the radar is useless when playing defense.

I mean, you don't show up on radar either when holding the flag, unless you've been spotted/taken damage. There's no reason why you can't get the jump on the enemy first when they enter your base if you're positioned right.

I don't think FFA will ever incorporate no radar.
 

Wuiji

Member
Anybody else having issues with matchmaking on Halo 5? For the last 3-4 days it seems to take forever to find a game (my NAT is set to Open), and more often than not I get hit with the generic "there's an issue with dedicated servers". I initially thought it might be some preview program error, but it only seems to be affecting Halo 5 in both Arena and Warzone.
 

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
Anybody else having issues with matchmaking on Halo 5? For the last 3-4 days it seems to take forever to find a game (my NAT is set to Open), and more often than not I get hit with the generic "there's an issue with dedicated servers". I initially thought it might be some preview program error, but it only seems to be affecting Halo 5 in both Arena and Warzone.

Had that happen once last night, but other than it was fine. Also in the preview.
 

klaus

Member
Anybody else having issues with matchmaking on Halo 5? For the last 3-4 days it seems to take forever to find a game (my NAT is set to Open), and more often than not I get hit with the generic "there's an issue with dedicated servers". I initially thought it might be some preview program error, but it only seems to be affecting Halo 5 in both Arena and Warzone.

I'm also in the preview and didn't encounter any server issues..
 
I mean, you don't show up on radar either when holding the flag, unless you've been spotted/taken damage. There's no reason why you can't get the jump on the enemy first when they enter your base if you're positioned right.

I don't think FFA will ever incorporate no radar.

Yeah that's true that either side could get the jump. And that is one of of the few things I do like with the new radar. Running the flag doesn't feel quite as punishing because even though you can't Sprint they cannot see you on radar until you fire or thrust.

It seems like I'm the only one who wants to keep the traditional motion tracker. Shame, it made Halo well, Halo to me.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
Yeah that's true that either side could get the jump. And that is one of of the few things I do like with the new radar. Running the flag doesn't feel quite as punishing because even though you can't Sprint they cannot see you on radar until you fire or thrust.

It seems like I'm the only one who wants to keep the traditional motion tracker. Shame, it made Halo well, Halo to me.

Nah, I'm right there with you.
 
Silly idea: Radar is classic Halo radar but only works while moving fast enough, so twitching in place doesn't work. Also jumping up and down shouldn't work.

And no, i haven't thought about any logical consequences for this.

That's not impossible, programmatically - you would just get the player's x-velocity (so, lateral movement) and highlight them if they were exceeding x speed. I don't know how well that would actually translate to gameplay, though.
 

Woorloog

Banned
That's not impossible, programmatically - you would just get the player's x-velocity (so, lateral movement) and highlight them if they were exceeding x speed. I don't know how well that would actually translate to gameplay, though.

This would be basically inverse of crouch-moving (or actually moving just slowly, crouching isn't actually necessary). Radar would work like normal while moving. Camping would disable radar, you'd have to rely on your eyes and/or sound. At least, that's how i thought it would work.
Standing still for a moment would kinda punish the player for no good reason though, especially if you do in the open. I mean, more so than the player being stupid enough to stop in the open...
 

Madness

Member
Yeah that's true that either side could get the jump. And that is one of of the few things I do like with the new radar. Running the flag doesn't feel quite as punishing because even though you can't Sprint they cannot see you on radar until you fire or thrust.

It seems like I'm the only one who wants to keep the traditional motion tracker. Shame, it made Halo well, Halo to me.

It is not a good fit for Halo 5. With small maps, things like clamber, spartan charge, unlimited sprint and all sorts of abilities, high powered autos, it is not fun in competitive Halo or even high level pro play. It either needed to be changed or removed altogether.

I still think it should be kept maybe for social gametypes. But again, I think the new radar functions the same as the old one for maybe 95% of the same amount of time.
 

op_ivy

Fallen Xbot (cannot continue gaining levels in this class)
I literally only play solo and I've found this radar to be empowering. With the normal radar I felt like any solo pushes were immediately shut down because someone would see me on radar. With The proving grounds radar I've been able to make a number of sneaky pushes and flanks to catch people unawares.

Rather than being forced to push with teammates I've found playing individually to be far more effective and satisfying. It's great.

this has been my experience as well.
 

Trup1aya

Member
Sure I could have done a better job of watching every angle, or my team could have done more to let me know where enemy players are. But to say that the new radar does not make it more difficult for the individual compared to what the traditional motion tracker does is poppycock. You are severely more blind than before. After over a decade of it being a motion tracker, not a radar, it is a change that I'm not happy with.

The difficulty is relative. The act of gaining knowledge on enemy locations is equally more difficult for everyone- because the game isn't spoon-feeding anyone that information

The speed at which someone can come at you undetected is a huge difference. I know this group of players is very pro no radar, which perhaps in top level 4 v 4 that's not a terrible idea. It does ensure more team reliance, you simply can't cover every angle by yourself without a motion tracker. But for either unranked games, or Free for all's the traditional motion tracker is needed for an empowered individual experience. Again I'd rather have no radar to see over this useless version. See them on radar? Well it's probably to late to do much because they're already shooting you so what did the radar really do for you? Oh but you definitely can catch Spartan chargers far easier so I guess that's something. But that's not a bonus to me, that's a weakening of a battle option.

Motion tracker empowers players who aren't moving and gives them an advantage over those who are. Then there's the ring around the rosy : nothing is more "empowering" than two opponents are each tipped off off by radar, dancing around a peice of geometry so as to avoid conflict until helps arrives.

This ability tracker empowers individuals because you don't have to slow down to take advantage of superior positioning and stealth- allowing you to take on multiple opponents at once. This radar also allows you to be more elusive and avoid being successfully called out after retreating.

And I completely disagree that crouch walking was not rewarding. You took the time to hunt down an individual, you sacrificed time to get a specific kill. Them having a trustworthy radar helps with that. I've had some very rewarding assassinations and kills that came from the enemy player being misled that I had left the area only for me to sneak back around.

I mean you can still mislead players then sneak back around. You can actually do it more effectively, now. And the lack of radar also means that you had the awareness and positioning skills to keep track of your opponent without him being able to keep track of you. That's far more of an accomplisment than holding the crouch button and hoping he doesn't turn around or have a teammate spot you.

Maybe my opinion will just make me like the old no Sprint crowd. An old fanboy who preferred the series the way it has always played, but eventually we'll just get told to get over it because this is the game now. Ill try it again more today, but I really hope if nothing else this shit never comes to free for all's.

Don't feel so gloomy. If this ever takes hold, I doubt it would be for more than a 1-2 playlists. I do understand that people simply like what I like and hopefully 343 understands that too.
 
Munch, consider how "taking the time to crouch-walk" sometimes negatively impacts your team. Crouching around is very, very slow, I'm sure you'll agree with that, so while you're crawling around playing you're own game, your teammates are more than likely being outnumbered elsewhere.

You may personally find it rewarding, but players who frequently play this slow, methodical game are not being as effective as a teammate because most randoms and teams don't play that way, unless both teams are equally matched which rarely happens with H5's rather unbalanced matchmaking. You may be more reserved in your playstyle, but that could potentially leave your team at a disadvantage in key situations where you're focusing so much on one kill, taking so much time to make one single play. In that time the enemies could be gaining momentum, positioning themselves properly and collecting pickups around the map.

If you're a sneaky player, this new radar should be better for you because you're not limited to crouching, allowing you to be more creative in sneaky approaches and getaways.
 
Maybe my opinion will just make me like the old no Sprint crowd. An old fanboy who preferred the series the way it has always played, but eventually we'll just get told to get over it because this is the game now. Ill try it again more today, but I really hope if nothing else this shit never comes to free for all's.

The "No Sprint" crowd was right, but this is a good change. Halo's "motion tracker" has always been bad precisely for the reasons you are trying to defend it. It's why up until Halo 5, competitive Halo was played without it.

I still think it should be removed from the game entirely, but this is a good middle ground, especially for those who don't play with headsets.
 
The "No Sprint" crowd was right, but this is a good change. Halo's "motion tracker" has always been bad precisely for the reasons you are trying to defend it. It's why up until Halo 5, competitive Halo was played without it.

I still think it should be removed from the game entirely, but this is a good middle ground, especially for those who don't play with headsets.

I'm pro-no radar and pro-no sprint, but that's disingenuous. Asking for no sprint in the new titles along with asking for asking for no radar are fundamentally flip sides of the same coin, c'mon.
 
I'm not sure where you are going with that

The "right" choices for Halo's gameplay in the future are subjective, but historically most of the Halo titles have had motion tracker, and if you count Reach as a mainline title there's been just as many Halo entries with sprint as without at this point (and it started with Bungie!). Asking to ditch the former is as "un-Halo" as asking to ditch the latter.
 
The "right" choices for Halo's gameplay in the future are subjective, but historically most of the Halo titles have had motion tracker, and if you count Reach as a mainline title there's been just as many Halo entries with sprint as without at this point (and it started with Bungie!). Asking to ditch the former is as "un-Halo" as asking to ditch the latter.

I have what I'm sure will come to be known as a radical opinion about Halo at this point. I'm finding that most of Halo's problems stem from the ideologies established during Halo 2, half of which were abandoned with Reach, with the rest becoming distorted thereafter. For example, Halo 2 slowed the game down and pushed it towards bigger player counts, understandably so as Bungie's vision for the game included the original inception of Warzone. While BTB was one of my favorite gametypes back in the day, I find that this fundamental shift towards a larger player count ultimately hurt the game at its core when it came to the weapon sandbox, player traits, and overall design of the map pool.

For me, the "right choices" for Halo's gameplay are to strike a balance between individual and team play and to never reward anything that slows down the pace of the game. Another example: In Super Smash Bros Brawl, the shield mechanic became so powerful that high level gameplay revolved around two players running towards each other, and then rolling backwards shielding themselves. In Melee, that wasn't an issue because the shield wasn't as strong, and there were glitches that sped up the pace of the game by rewarding aggression. By empowering a defensive mechanic, the game slowed down and it goes without saying that most Smash fans hold Brawl in low esteem for that reason.

Halo's individual vs team balance has skewed significantly since Halo 2 in favor of the latter. Some would argue that Halo should be a "team shooter" where an individual's role is diminished compared to the team effort, but I'd disagree on the premise that the player wants to feel empowered. When you take their ability to make game-changing plays away, they will ask for that power back, wherein we get compromises like Armor and Spartan Abilities that give the illusion of power while being inherently defensive.

Changing the Motion Tracker is the first step towards restoring that, but the rest lies dormant in principles that have long since been forgotten, especially as a newer generation of Halo players comes to dislike gameplay that feels different than what they're accustomed to at this point. My wish for Halo on a gameplay level is for the combat to be fast, smart and precise. I don't really care how it gets there, but with the current trends, at least one of those has been missing for a long time now.

Elaborating, I still do not understand what Sprint adds to Halo that faster movement does not. This whole awareness issue wouldn't even be an echo if there were only one movement speed to design maps and gameplay around. And a fast one opens up a tremendous amount of opportunity for level design that Sprint simply doesn't allow.
 
Smash 64 is my Halo CE. That game is LUV.

On the discussion of sprint/thrusters, I'd be more fine with them if the Pistol didn't feel so inadequate against competent players/teams. I generally like the improvements made to the Pistol after previous games, and I understand that if they make it too strong that 4v4's/higher player counts may suffer, but that's why I think they should consider different Pistols for different playlists. For example, the CE Pistol is a good fit for Doubles, whereas the standard H5 Pistol is a better fit for 8v8's (RIP BTB Pistol starts). For 4v4's I think there's a better balance to be struck between the CE Pistol and what we have now.
 
Smash 64 is my Halo CE. That game is LUV.

On the discussion of sprint/thrusters, I'd be more fine with them if the Pistol didn't feel so inadequate against competent players/teams. I generally like the improvements made to the Pistol after previous games, and I understand that if they make it too strong that 4v4's/higher player counts may suffer, but that's why I think they should consider different Pistols for different playlists. For example, the CE Pistol is a good fit for Doubles, whereas the standard H5 Pistol is a better fit for 8v8's (RIP BTB Pistol starts). For 4v4's I think there's a better balance to be struck between the CE Pistol and what we have now.

They should either increase the Pistol's RoF or just make it a 4sk and be done with it. When the starting weapon is overshadowed by pick up rifles in larger playlists, what happens is that you get in the stupid games of chicken where players are head glitching and you can't contest them because they have better range and faster kill times than you.

Halo unfortunately has a lot of weapons it doesn't need in its sandbox that are going to be dragged along and clash with the starting weapon's balance.
 

belushy

Banned
Cratos, Naded, Str8 Sick, and Danoxide will now be going under the name...... TMMT Crowd Pleasers for Worlds. Not C9 again haha
 
TMMT is the shittiest organization led by the shittiest scumbag in the scene. Dude's the most disrespectful, condescending, womanizing, despicable, vile figure that has "leadership" because he's been throwing money at the scene for the past year or two. Zach's his name, spewing shit is his game.
 
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