• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

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

About Halo Escalation #10.

The Control Room scene between The Didact and Chief was well done, because I genuinely could not predict how that was going to play out.

The Didact is locked up again and Guilty Spark goes into hiding with a Halo. Yeah, both those outcomes are obviously setup for the larger story; but nice to see that those things were not neatly tied up and there was some wiggle room left there. It does feel that they might be stepping back from those characters, or they might become less prominent and they bring them back when it makes sense.

The most interesting part of the comic was the ONI classified conversation between two unidentified people about the mental state of Chief. Hood advised Chief and his team to take a vacation, but Chief discards that idea and continues on to the next mission. During the course of the Oni conversation we find out the Chief’s psych evaluation noted that he refuses to stop working. The conversation also notes that nobody is going to stop him, even if he is going to destroy himself. Understandably, because nobody is going to tell the legendary Spartan to stop doing what he does best.

All of the above reminds me of Halo 4’s intro with the mysterious investigator. The interviewer notes that the original Spartans routinely exhibit mildly sociopathic tendencies and Chief was successful, because he was, at his core, broken. Maybe that gives some clues that Chief really has gone rogue and they have sent Agent Locke to stop him.

So the only way to stop Microsoft is to kill it
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
Destiny PvP is giving me headaches

Went from Destiny to Reach Anniversary Slayer, God damn that's refreshing
I got to play 90 minutes of Reach Anniversary Slayer the other day and it was as glorious as ever. I kept trying to aim with left trigger and wasting grenades, though.
 
Destiny PvP is giving me headaches

Went from Destiny to Reach Anniversary Slayer, God damn that's refreshing

Storing a super that can kill more than 3 people with super shield is baaaaaad, on the other side having a rocket launcher that have more ammo when you pick up ammo is baaaaaaad or having an exotic weapons with all its passives is baaaaaaad
 

Booshka

Member
Storing a super that can kill more than 3 people with super shield is baaaaaad, on the other side having a rocket launcher that have more ammo when you pick up ammo is baaaaaaad or having an exotic weapons with all its passives is baaaaaaad

Too bad Destiny didn't follow Derek Carroll's quick writeup he did on Shadowrun's combat.

Derek Carroll said:
Weapons vs. Magic vs. Tech

Weapons-Cause damage to targets in a realistic manner
People understand what guns do. Let's not mess with that.

Magic-Is not possible
Can't be something that technology could achieve.
If it can be done with technology, it's either a weapon or Tech.
Example: "Detect Aura" can become a sensory upgrade or targeting computer.

Is external
Our magic should be big and obvious.
No "heal self" spells that just give you a little glow. Tree of Life as described is cooler and has more gameplay.

Is not a gun
Test: Could this same effect be duplicated by a weapon
Fireball and Magic Missile would fail this test.
Tree of Life and Summon Elemental pass the test.

Tech
Affects your body, not others
There are no broadly offensive cybertech implants, only defensive and upgrade modifications.
Example: No secret poison-dart-gun implanted in your eye socket that you'd use a button to fire.

Is always "on"
There is no system of readying and selecting implants as there is with weapons and magic.
Everything you've got implanted is available to use at any time.
By this logic, Wired Reflexes must work differently or becomes magic.

I understand that superpowers in Destiny are cool looking and fun to use, but it causes more problems in balance than it is worth, imo. I like the more clearly defined sandbox of Shadowrun.
 

Granadier

Is currently on Stage 1: Denial regarding the service game future
I got to play 90 minutes of Reach Anniversary Slayer the other day and it was as glorious as ever. I kept trying to aim with left trigger and wasting grenades, though.

You fucking freaked me out for a second there before I realized what you were talking about.
Halo Coop was garbage.

Hope that netcode is addressed in next gen. Use the cloud or some shit idk

Those 300,000 servers are going to have to be used for something.
 

Omni

Member
I spent hours trying to get past the first boss in the raid on hard the other night. And 200+ deaths later we still failed.

So the way I see it is if you actually complete that damn thing and get that weapon as a reward then you deserve it. PvP is unbalanced as fuck anyway
 
nope

well, might be slightly better since it's 60fps, as that will reduce the input lag even offline.

but it's gonna be the same netcode.

crying-cat.gif
 

Tawpgun

Member
nope

well, might be slightly better since it's 60fps, as that will reduce the input lag even offline.

but it's gonna be the same netcode.
What about halo 5? If they use the same asynch or synch or whatever it was model. Anyway next gen with more servers and cloud will remedy the lag?
 

FyreWulff

Member
What about halo 5? If they use the same asynch or synch or whatever it was model. Anyway next gen with more servers and cloud will remedy the lag?

They could totally (and should) go to async AI for Halo 5 and run them off dedis. My theory is still the entirey of Halo 5 is on dedicated servers when you're online. Campaign, firefight (if it comes back), online, and even customs (if they have them). Make it an Azure showpiece.

Destiny went to having servers handle things, hence why you don't have input lag in PvE when you're with other people. If you've got Azure now, there's not much reason to use full lockstep anymore.
 

Woorloog

Banned
I never liked the Hayabusa armor in Halo 3 (the shoulder armor aside, i like the overlapping plates, i don't like the damn white in them).
But damn if the source for the armor, Ninja Gaiden, awesome! Bought Ninja Gaiden Black for 360, fun game, if punishing. Needs some (more?) AA on 360 though.
The original Xbox Ninja Gaiden was, along with Halo 2, one of my favorites on original Xbox. (I never actually had Halo CE on Xbox, borrowed it from a friend once, but i mostly played it on PC.)

That was almost ten years ago, a few more months...

Too bad there's no Ninja Gaiden (Black) remaster for Xbone to go with Halo 2 Anniversary, that would be very tempting. I'm not usually one to indulge in nostalgia but i might make an exception here.

Since the Elites are space-samurais, i wonder if we will get ninja-Elites at some point. You know, more ninja-like than the stealth Elites are, add some dark coloring and curved energy swords or something.
Not sure if i'd be OK with that really. Perhaps i should not give them ideas.
 

RowdyReverb

Member
Since the Elites are space-samurais, i wonder if we will get ninja-Elites at some point. You know, more ninja-like than the stealth Elites are, add some dark coloring and curved energy swords or something.
Not sure if i'd be OK with that really. Perhaps i should not give them ideas.
It would be kinda weird to have them alongside stealth elites. Like, why would they come up with another class to fill the same role? I guess they could be very agile and do parkour or whatever, but that just wouldn't feel right.

Pirate elites on the other hand...
 

Woorloog

Banned
It would be kinda weird to have them alongside stealth elites. Like, why would they come up with another class to fill the same role? I guess they could be very agile and do parkour or whatever, but that just wouldn't feel right.
Of course they would not make any sense. I wasn't really serious.
Really, the stealth Elites are ninja enough already, though i wouldn't mind them being smarter about it.

Pirate elites on the other hand...
So... Jackals?

Actually, couldn't the whole Covenant remnant be treated as kind of pirates, i got a feeling they do engage in piracy when it suits them.
 

aycb

Neo Member
What's everyone's favourite encounter (overall/each game (each level!?)) Been thinking about this lately but it's been too long and I can't remember the details well enough.


Just got the 10th - 14th off work. Never had time off for a game before.
 

Vhagar

Neo Member
What's everyone's favourite encounter (overall/each game (each level!?)) Been thinking about this lately but it's been too long and I can't remember the details well enough.


Just got the 10th - 14th off work. Never had time off for a game before.

The two scarabs in Halo 3. Doesn't get much better than that.
 
Take Mongoose, back way the fuck up, launch yourself off cliff onto back of Scarab, steal plasma turret and fuck everyone's day up, destroy scarab's core, get back on Mongoose before shit blows up, drive off and slightly turn the camera around for cool guy explosion escape
 

Granadier

Is currently on Stage 1: Denial regarding the service game future
They could totally (and should) go to async AI for Halo 5 and run them off dedis. My theory is still the entirey of Halo 5 is on dedicated servers when you're online. Campaign, firefight (if it comes back), online, and even customs (if they have them). Make it an Azure showpiece.

Destiny went to having servers handle things, hence why you don't have input lag in PvE when you're with other people. If you've got Azure now, there's not much reason to use full lockstep anymore.

This...this is actually a really good idea. It would help to show off the power Microsoft has within their Azure network.
 

Woorloog

Banned
What's everyone's favourite encounter (overall/each game (each level!?)) Been thinking about this lately but it's been too long and I can't remember the details well enough.

They're so many...
Halo 2 boss battles. Pain in the ass in Legendary but i still like them quite a lot, especially since i have a good strategy for each one.
Always loved the fight against the Scarab's crew in Metropolis.
It is hard to name specific encounters because i tend to like them while playing, but afterwards i can't remember them. Kind of a muscle memory thing...

From Halo CE, i'll just say the Silent Cartographer, the map is just plain wonderful, the very best map on Halo CE. Attacking the structure that leads to the Cartographer with a Warthog is fun, especially when the bastard Elite slams the doors locked in front of you.

From Halo 3, Tsavo Highway: The part near the end where you attack 2 or 3 Wraiths supported by Choppers. Good music, fun encounter.

Halo 4's Trench Run is fun. I ended up disliking Reach's space combat but Halo 4's i liked, though i think it has a lot of room for improvement. Specifically adding a bit more maneuvering space and adding enemy fights, Starfox-style (or Starwing for those who know it by that name).
Also Halo 4's Forerunner's area where the Covies and the Prometheans slug it out. Always love three-way fights.

And a lot of others...

The two scarabs in Halo 3. Doesn't get much better than that.

That gotta be among my least favorite encounters (from any Halo). So damn boring. And annoying, one Scarab shoots you while you're trying to board the other... Halo 3 overused the Scarabs.
 

FyreWulff

Member
This...this is actually a really good idea. It would help to show off the power Microsoft has within their Azure network.

Halo 4 actually used Azure a bit as well. The stats and the matchmaking playlists are all run on Azure, hence why Halo 4 has fallback playlists when Azure goes down.


The MCC's dedis for H1/H2/H3/H4 multiplayer are assumed to be Azure powered.


Spinning up an Azure instance even for customs makes sense for Halo 5, because people actually do go into playlists with a full party (ie 4v4, go in with an 8 player party) and use it to serve out gametypes. So you're not saving much money by making customs peer hosted, might as well spin up an Azure instance when someone starts a custom lobby.


Azure for co-op and campaign would allow drop in Firefight/Campaign. It's technically possible to do drop-in on the lockstep model, but it's a memory and bandwidth hog to get someone in the session. Very few lockstep games do it even on PC.
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
Being able to play Halo online co-op without network lag would be a fucking dream come true.

What's everyone's favourite encounter (overall/each game (each level!?)) Been thinking about this lately but it's been too long and I can't remember the details well enough.
The first one to come to mind is the section in Halo CE that the "Installation 04" Reach Firefight map is based off of. That's when I really felt that Halo magic for the first time.
 

Granadier

Is currently on Stage 1: Denial regarding the service game future
FlyreWulff you seem to know you shit well. I hope it works out, and I agree with your reasonings for using the Azure with 5. Would Azure be working in sync with Live for multi and everything, or are Azure and Live one and the same at this point?

Also I really, really hope that there is proper
working
fileshare support in the MCC for gametypes and maps. Looking back at Reach videos made me realize that was one of my favorite parts of the game. There was so much variety because the community could just constantly pump out content.
 

-Ryn

Banned
As long as Halo 5 isn't online only I'm fine.
Offline should always be an option.

Take Mongoose, back way the fuck up, launch yourself off cliff onto back of Scarab, steal plasma turret and fuck everyone's day up, destroy scarab's core, get back on Mongoose before shit blows up, drive off and slightly turn the camera around for cool guy explosion escape
The Scarab battles in Halo 3 were the pinnacle of badassery in all of Halo. I can't think of an encounter that measures up to it in terms of scale, and sheer awesomeness.
 

FyreWulff

Member
Live is more the authentication/profile handling/messaging/presence (What game am I playing?) for Microsoft.

Azure is the data/server side, what you host your servers on, or feed stats through.

One doesn't need the other, but for first party MS games they're heavily intertwined. You can use Azure for anything web, not even related to games:

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/

and technically you can use Live for presence/sign in on any site (ie, Bungie.net, Rockband.com, etc etc) but the whole Live Passport initiative didn't gain traction so you mostly just see it for game sites with Xbox versions.
 
Live is more the authentication/profile handling/messaging/presence (What game am I playing?) for Microsoft.

Azure is the data/server side, what you host your servers on, or feed stats through.

One doesn't need the other, but for first party MS games they're heavily intertwined. You can use Azure for anything web, not even related to games:

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/

and technically you can use Live for presence/sign in on any site (ie, Bungie.net, Rockband.com, etc etc) but the whole Live Passport initiative didn't gain traction so you mostly just see it for game sites with Xbox versions.

I'd imagine Live is built/hosted on Azure given the multi language, multi currency, content distribution (CDNs), redundancy, security, scalability etc.
 

Granadier

Is currently on Stage 1: Denial regarding the service game future
One doesn't need the other, but for first party MS games they're heavily intertwined. You can use Azure for anything web, not even related to games:

Yep, I was familiar with Azure for other situations and tasks besides games, but I wasn't sure how closely intertwined they were in the Xbox ecosystem. Interesting to learn.

I'd imagine Live is built/hosted on Azure given the multi language, multi currency, content distribution (CDNs), redundancy, security, scalability etc.

I would assume that Azure was actually built using knowledge and tech from Live since Live predated Azure by nearly a decade, (8 years).
edit: I think I misinterpreted your post. It could very well be run through Azure now.
 
Yep, I was familiar with Azure for other situations and tasks besides games, but I wasn't sure how closely intertwined they were in the Xbox ecosystem. Interesting to learn.



I would assume that Azure was actually built using knowledge and tech from Live since Live predated Azure by nearly a decade, (8 years).

Maybe a small percentage but Azure is driven by the corporate/web world and a means to tackle competing datacentre/software sales against linux/MySQL/java/CMS and the virtualisation/unification technology etc. It's magnitudes more diverse, reaching and complex than live. It's a means of moving corporate windows, servers, SQL, email and all that to the cloud while creating a hierarchy that requires Azure at a higher level to run other technologies on it. Great business strategy that has a ton of success.

So I'd so no.
 

VinFTW

Member
I actually think my hype is starting to decrease for the MCC. No Halo 1 footage? No Halo 4 footage? Barely any Halo 3 footage.

Just seems like a bad sign to me.
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
I actually think my hype is starting to decrease for the MCC. No Halo 1 footage? No Halo 4 footage? Barely any Halo 3 footage.

Just seems like a bad sign to me.
I'm keeping my hype in check just because, well, I could easily let myself get absurdly hyped only to end up disappointed by who knows what. Like I've said before, playlist management is my biggest worry. I'm also worried about CE netcode not working well. Other than that, I have no major worries -- but who knows what could arise. Regardless, I'm optimistic.
 

Granadier

Is currently on Stage 1: Denial regarding the service game future
Maybe a small percentage but Azure is driven by the corporate/web world and a means to tackle competing datacentre/software sales against linux/MySQL/java/CMS and the virtualisation/unification technology etc. It's magnitudes more diverse, reaching and complex than live. It's a means of moving corporate windows, servers, SQL, email and all that to the cloud while creating a hierarchy that requires Azure at a higher level to run other technologies on it. Great business strategy that has a ton of success.

So I'd so no.

Ha, you're right. That was a stupid assumption to make. Building a business class platform based on a games technology would be silly.
 

VinFTW

Member
I'm keeping my hype in check just because, well, I could easily let myself get absurdly hyped only to end up disappointed by who knows what. Like I've said before, playlist management is my biggest worry. I'm also worried about CE netcode not working well. Other than that, I have no major worries -- but who knows what could arise. Regardless, I'm optimistic.

Yeah, I'm definitely still optimistic. I just want good community features (integrated fileshare, clans), good net-code, and excellent (perfect) play-list management.
 

Mix

Member
I actually think my hype is starting to decrease for the MCC. No Halo 1 footage? No Halo 4 footage? Barely any Halo 3 footage.

Just seems like a bad sign to me.

Okay here we go...

I am so fucking tired of these posts. Why are you getting on here to complain about something that you're looking forward to? People (and I definitely don't mean only you) have been taking to this thread to shit it up with posts like this, "Ugh, why is there no Halo CE footage" "gooh, but f they don't show Halo 4 before the release (which is still almost two months out) I'm not gonna buy it" "Why should I trust a company with my money when they wont show me a finished product before it's finished?" They haven't shown it yet because they aren't ready to show it yet. If they wanted people to see it, they'd show it. Maybe they think that youtube videos or trailers won't cut it, maybe they're waiting for the game to be in a more finished, more polished state. Who the fuck actually cares? As long as the game is done by the time it's supposed to be finished, you know damn well you'll buy it.

People come in here, post this crap to up their post counts, and leave not to come back for another fifteen pages. They just bitch and bitch and bitch about how 343 aren't catering to their every demand and are throwing hissy-fits all over forums and social media because they want to see something they've had access to for over ten fucking years but what? In a higher resolution? in faster frames? IT'S NOT GOING TO TRANSLATE OVER YOUTUBE. They have said that they will release footage when they feel it's the right time, they will make sure your needs and demands will be met before the street date is broken, so just wait calmly and stop posting these "I'm afraid that they won't deliver on their promises" posts. They still have plenty of development time. Come back in here the week of launch and complain if they still haven't shown anything by then. That's the time to worry, not two months before fucking certification.

I understand wanting to see things in advance, but you wouldn't expect to see the ending to a movie before it releases, right? Just give them time to get their game done, then check your hype levels around that. Wait for the team to say, "Okay, take a peak at what we've been slaving over for months, and expect the final game on 11/11/14", don't come in here with a misplaced feeling of entitlement. Be patient.
/rant
 

VinFTW

Member
Okay here we go...

I am so fucking tired of these posts. Why are you getting on here to complain about something that you're looking forward to? People (and I definitely don't mean only you) have been taking to this thread to shit it up with posts like this, "Ugh, why is there no Halo CE footage" "gooh, but f they don't show Halo 4 before the release (which is still almost two months out) I'm not gonna buy it" "

Stopped reading there. Sorry friend.
 
Top Bottom