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[ebullientprism]

First actual gameplay footage from the game thats been actually great to see.

Still am salty about the split screen being missing (and always will be, just not Halo without it) but at least they are doing some things right.

Hopefully we get to see some combat against Prometheans. Thats probably my biggest worry.

 

[Goldfishking]

I never understand the "Halo is too linear" comments. Halo has had a handful of "non-linear" missions, but it's otherwise always been a point A to point B game. The only thing that has changed in that regard is the size of the environments.

The worries of linearity in halo have existed since pre-halo 3. It's too hard to tell if the game will be linear until it is released but since it's halo, you can be damn sure someone will mention it.

 

[jelly]

Imgur (lol) gif of the Jackal shields.

He turned too soon. I wanted to see the explosion.

 

[Twilight Gap]

It's simple, most encounters in Bungie Halo games allowed you to come at them from many different ways, so despite being linear it still felt open. Halo 4 felt like it was forcing you down a tight tube 90% of the time. Halo 5 at least seems to fix this to a massive degree.

Indeed, so i'm not seeing the issue. That clip looks like a remix of Off the Rock, Through the Bush, Nothing but Jackal from Halo 2.

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

Oh god, I'm hyped.

 

[rrc1594]

I am so fucking sick of every Halo thread turning to shit.

Halo 4 wasn't for everyone. The community complained about. Loudly. 343i heard us. They're showing us clear evidence that they have. They released a MP beta that everyone seems to love, tons more footage of MP as the builds came along, and now they're showing us that the campaign will be much more open than in Halo 4.

Continuing to bitch and moan at this stage amounts to little more than concern trolling.

Having reservations and keeping expectations in check is fine, recommended in fact, but that's not what seems to happen in Halo threads. It's just unqualified opinions and whining, and it got old a long fucking time ago.

To be fair it's one person.

 

[Stinkles]

"Verticality" is one of Microsoft's buzzwords that I refuse to believe makes any sense as far as game design philosophy goes. They literally hyped "verticality" through the roof...

.

Um, I started using that term to describe an objective fact. The levels in Halo 5 are designed to be more vertical. You can count and measure it. I didn't meet with marketing or a focus group to use a perfectly valid adjective. Stop looking for controversy where none exists. The levels are taller, the maps have to be designed for more mobility and more Spartans. The end.

It's not a buzzword. It's a goddamned fact. I truncated your post because believe it or not, me and Rod didn't attend a secret marketing summit to "amplify the verticality zeitgeist."


Halo 5 is taller and wider and longer.

 

[Leyasu]

Dynamic resolution.... Digital foundry members salivating at the hits their vs will generate.

Yo stinkles, when are you guys going to talk about multiplayer? And more importantly, tell us how the matchmaking is going to work.

Awesome vids, the game looks amazing

 

[tiredheadcrab]

"Verticality" is one of Microsoft's buzzwords that I refuse to believe makes any sense as far as game design philosophy goes. They literally hyped "verticality" through the roof prior to the Gears: Judgement release and we got some of the worst multiplayer maps and campaign levels in the series.

Also, there is vertical movement in most games, so it seems pretty nonsensical to me. Seems literally synonymous to "next gen" in that it's an utterly meaningless term that gets people to buy the latest iteration of a product. Almost like those old Ford commercials that wouldn't shut up about the hemis in Ford Trucks.

Regarding Tsavo Highway, some Neogaf user got utterly fixated on me throwing it out there as an example of an open level and now everyone is trying to use it as a "gotcha" to prove that I don't actually know anything about Halo. My point is that we've yet to see a single level from Halo 5 that looks anything like the best levels in Halo (regardless of whether or not you agree that Tsavo should fit in that category). For the record, I still believe that Tsavo is significantly more open then anything that we've seen from Halo 5 thus far, but it's also a vehicular combat level and some people here have rightly pointed out that Halo levels have always had a good mix of vehicular/non vehicular levels.

So far we've just seen a bunch of levels that look a lot like Halo 4 with perhaps some Battlefield 4 campaign mixed in.

Calm yourself. The game isnt even out yet. I am sure there will be some amazing levels. Reach had some fantastic levels even though they were not as good as Halo CE first 5 levels.

 

[Cheesy Steve]

Looks great. Now I await the preload and forge info.

 

[mcrommert]

"Verticality" is one of Microsoft's buzzwords that I refuse to believe makes any sense as far as game design philosophy goes. They literally hyped "verticality" through the roof prior to the Gears: Judgement release and we got some of the worst multiplayer maps and campaign levels in the series.

Also, there is vertical movement in most games, so it seems pretty nonsensical to me. Seems literally synonymous to "next gen" in that it's an utterly meaningless term that gets people to buy the latest iteration of a product. Almost like those old Ford commercials that wouldn't shut up about the hemis in Ford Trucks.

Regarding Tsavo Highway, some Neogaf user got utterly fixated on me throwing it out there as an example of an open level and now everyone is trying to use it as a "gotcha" to prove that I don't actually know anything about Halo. My point is that we've yet to see a single level from Halo 5 that looks anything like the best levels in Halo (regardless of whether or not you agree that Tsavo should fit in that category). For the record, I still believe that Tsavo is significantly more open then anything that we've seen from Halo 5 thus far, but it's also a vehicular combat level and some people here have rightly pointed out that Halo levels have always had a good mix of vehicular/non vehicular levels.

So far we've just seen a bunch of levels that look a lot like Halo 4 with perhaps some Battlefield 4 campaign mixed in.

I'm sorry to break it to you...but verticality isn't something Microsoft made up...its a real thing

I have attached a picture to demonstrate how vertical works

 

[ArchedThunder]

"Verticality" is one of Microsoft's buzzwords that I refuse to believe makes any sense as far as game design philosophy goes. They literally hyped "verticality" through the roof prior to the Gears: Judgement release and we got some of the worst multiplayer maps and campaign levels in the series.

Also, there is vertical movement in most games, so it seems pretty nonsensical to me. Seems literally synonymous to "next gen" in that it's an utterly meaningless term that gets people to buy the latest iteration of a product. Almost like those old Ford commercials that wouldn't shut up about the hemis in Ford Trucks.

Regarding Tsavo Highway, some Neogaf user got utterly fixated on me throwing it out there as an example of an open level and now everyone is trying to use it as a "gotcha" to prove that I don't actually know anything about Halo. My point is that we've yet to see a single level from Halo 5 that looks anything like the best levels in Halo (regardless of whether or not you agree that Tsavo should fit in that category). For the record, I still believe that Tsavo is significantly more open then anything that we've seen from Halo 5 thus far, but it's also a vehicular combat level and some people here have rightly pointed out that Halo levels have always had a good mix of vehicular/non vehicular levels.

So far we've just seen a bunch of levels that look a lot like Halo 4 with perhaps some Battlefield 4 campaign mixed in.

Tsavo Highway is a great level, but it's also one the Bungie's most "linear" levels.

 

[btags]

"Verticality" is one of Microsoft's buzzwords that I refuse to believe makes any sense as far as game design philosophy goes. They literally hyped "verticality" through the roof prior to the Gears: Judgement release and we got some of the worst multiplayer maps and campaign levels in the series.

Also, there is vertical movement in most games, so it seems pretty nonsensical to me. Seems literally synonymous to "next gen" in that it's an utterly meaningless term that gets people to buy the latest iteration of a product. Almost like those old Ford commercials that wouldn't shut up about the hemis in Ford Trucks.

Regarding Tsavo Highway, some Neogaf user got utterly fixated on me throwing it out there as an example of an open level and now everyone is trying to use it as a "gotcha" to prove that I don't actually know anything about Halo. My point is that we've yet to see a single level from Halo 5 that looks anything like the best levels in Halo (regardless of whether or not you agree that Tsavo should fit in that category). For the record, I still believe that Tsavo is significantly more open then anything that we've seen from Halo 5 thus far, but it's also a vehicular combat level and some people here have rightly pointed out that Halo levels have always had a good mix of vehicular/non vehicular levels.

So far we've just seen a bunch of levels that look a lot like Halo 4 with perhaps some Battlefield 4 campaign mixed in.

So basically you have nothing to match your assertions with what has been shown so far. I will grant you that if they show a vehicle section and it is not the same scale as say halo 3 then there is a problem, but so far the on foot sections have been bigger than most on foot sections in prior halo games. As for verticality, it is not some buzz word. I did not follow the pre launch stuff for Gears judgement because that game looked like shit from the beginning, but how the hell could you even expect verticality in Gears? The movement in the game is just not conducive to vertical gameplay besides just aiming up and down. This gen there has been a strong trend towards pushing gameplay in shooters to use all three dimensions of the play space, as evidenced by something like titanfall and the newer call of duty games. That is what verticality is, using all 3 dimensions of a game space rather than mostly relying on gunplay on a horizontal plane.

 

[JumPeRJumPzZ]

I still like the potato campaign footage more with blue team, more exciting and urgent. This was okay, big level but a bit dull and I'm disliking Locke more than ever, Buck is awesome though. The wall smash doesn't look right, feels like you miss something and comes across very charring.

This wall smashing feels forced to me. Yay more routes because you can smash some walls.

 

[Poodlestrike]

Can we all just agree to put Foolishfellow on ignore? The thread would be much better without his crap clogging it up.

 

[Twilight Gap]

Um, I started using that term to describe an objective fact. The levels in Halo 5 are designed to be more vertical. You can count and measure it. I didn't meet with marketing or a focus group to use a perfectly valid adjective. Stop looking for controversy where none exists. The levels are taller, the maps have to be designed for more mobility and more Spartans. The end.

It's not a buzzword. It's a goddamned fact. I truncated your post because believe it or not, me and Rod didn't attend a secret marketing summit to "amplify the verticality zeitgeist."


Halo 5 is taller and wider and longer.

But is it harder?

 

[Leyasu]

This wall smashing feels forced to me. Yay more routes because you can smash some walls.

Its a nice little touch imo

 

[ArchedThunder]

Indeed, so i'm not seeing the issue. That clip looks like a remix of Off the Rock, Through the Bush, Nothing but Jackal from Halo 2.

When 343 first said the levels would be more open and verticle I didn't really believe them, it didn't help that it took till very recently for them to start showing us that fact. While many other things I hated about Halo 4 remain (mostly art stuff) it really seems they took the "Hallway shooter" complaints to heart, The little bit we've seen of this level and the first level make it seem like it might be the most open Halo in terms of options for how to take on encounters.

Um, I started using that term to describe an objective fact. The levels in Halo 5 are designed to be more vertical. You can count and measure it. I didn't meet with marketing or a focus group to use a perfectly valid adjective. Stop looking for controversy where none exists. The levels are taller, the maps have to be designed for more mobility and more Spartans. The end.

It's not a buzzword. It's a goddamned fact. I truncated your post because believe it or not, me and Rod didn't attend a secret marketing summit to "amplify the verticality zeitgeist."


Halo 5 is taller and wider and longer.

Would you say it has a considerable girth?

This wall smashing feels forced to me. Yay more routes because you can smash some walls.

I think it works because it's not a route you have to worry about getting flanked from, you can open the path if you want and change the flow of the encounter or keep it closed.

 

[btags]

Um, I started using that term to describe an objective fact. The levels in Halo 5 are designed to be more vertical. You can count and measure it. I didn't meet with marketing or a focus group to use a perfectly valid adjective. Stop looking for controversy where none exists. The levels are taller, the maps have to be designed for more mobility and more Spartans. The end.

It's not a buzzword. It's a goddamned fact. I truncated your post because believe it or not, me and Rod didn't attend a secret marketing summit to "amplify the verticality zeitgeist."


Halo 5 is taller and wider and longer.

Stop, you are making me weak in the knees.

 

[Pez]

The scale is impressive, but I'm not seeing anything here in the engagements that is blowing me away, it's all very basic.

I'm not sure what they were trying to show here, as the gameplay doesn't really focus on anything? I suppose traversal? The visual aesthetic looks great, I must say.

Anyway, I hope the engagements are a little more taxing than this in the campaign.

 

[Stinkles]

This wall smashing feels forced to me. Yay more routes because you can smash some walls.

That's a fair outside-perspective, but the move is actually part of your combat arsenal, rather than a door-open script, so in practice it feels like a natural way to deal with those hazards and obstacles - the first instance in Blue Team IS forced because it's teaching you how it works in a non-combat context.

 

[Phat Michael]

"Verticality" is one of Microsoft's buzzwords that I refuse to believe makes any sense as far as game design philosophy goes. They literally hyped "verticality" through the roof prior to the Gears: Judgement release and we got some of the worst multiplayer maps and campaign levels in the series.

Also, there is vertical movement in most games, so it seems pretty nonsensical to me. Seems literally synonymous to "next gen" in that it's an utterly meaningless term that gets people to buy the latest iteration of a product. Almost like those old Ford commercials that wouldn't shut up about the hemis in Ford Trucks.

Regarding Tsavo Highway, some Neogaf user got utterly fixated on me throwing it out there as an example of an open level and now everyone is trying to use it as a "gotcha" to prove that I don't actually know anything about Halo. My point is that we've yet to see a single level from Halo 5 that looks anything like the best levels in Halo (regardless of whether or not you agree that Tsavo should fit in that category). For the record, I still believe that Tsavo is significantly more open then anything that we've seen from Halo 5 thus far, but it's also a vehicular combat level and some people here have rightly pointed out that Halo levels have always had a good mix of vehicular/non vehicular levels.

So far we've just seen a bunch of levels that look a lot like Halo 4 with perhaps some Battlefield 4 campaign mixed in.

You don't have many friends in real life do you? You hate lots of things don't you? You are angry when people like things right?

 

[Twilight Gap]

I still like the potato campaign footage more with blue team, more exciting and urgent. This was okay, big level but a bit dull and I'm disliking Locke more than ever, Buck is awesome though. The wall smash doesn't look right, feels like you miss something and comes across very charring.

This footage was more enjoyable for me. The blue team footage looked more linear and was especially boring to me because of how slow it was played. This on the other hand sees a player scaling the environment and engaging the enemy, only advancing their squad when necessary.

 

[...Scatter...]

nvm - not worth it

 

[Frog-fu]

To be fair it's one person.

Sure, but that's just in this thread and he has already successfully derailed the thread into yet another debate on whether or not 343i will ruin Halo again.

It happens in every Halo 5 thread, and like I said, it got old a long time ago.

 

[Exploratory]

The worries of linearity in halo have existed since pre-halo 3. It's too hard to tell if the game will be linear until it is released but since it's halo, you can be damn sure someone will mention it.

> Halo The Phantom Pain comes out a few years from now
> "It's too open"

 

[SamastahSukhino]

Sure, but that's just in this thread and he has already successfully derailed the thread into yet another debate on whether or not 343i will ruin Halo again.

It happens in every Halo 5 thread, and like I said, it got old a long time ago.

Looks like you fell for the halo marketing hype. All this vertical bullshit. Tsavo highway is my favorite open level in halo.

 

[Savinowned]

Every time there is new details/footage of Halo 5 there is one person who goes against the grain and somehow fans like myself still seem to reply to them over and over again so that excitement is drowned out by argumentation. You guys do realize how troll feeding works right?

 

[Fata1moose]

Um, I started using that term to describe an objective fact. The levels in Halo 5 are designed to be more vertical. You can count and measure it. I didn't meet with marketing or a focus group to use a perfectly valid adjective. Stop looking for controversy where none exists. The levels are taller, the maps have to be designed for more mobility and more Spartans. The end.

It's not a buzzword. It's a goddamned fact. I truncated your post because believe it or not, me and Rod didn't attend a secret marketing summit to "amplify the verticality zeitgeist."


Halo 5 is taller and wider and longer.

He's very fixated on this point, there's no dissuading him. From the off-screen Blue Team thread:

According to the GI article, this level is the most linear one in the game and it's not even a corridor as there's alternate routes and areas with a lot of verticality, that's a good indication that the other levels will be pretty open.

"Verticality" is a marketing term that Microsoft should officially retire. Every time Microsoft uses this term to sell a game, it almost always ends up being a bad thing. Gear's Judgment, I'm looking at you.

Or it's just an adjective I used to describe the combat when the player is above enemies who are then jump packing up to where he is. Your cynicism is probably right though.

I used it to describe what I saw, I don't think I work for Microsoft, if I do, where the hell are my checks?

 

[JoJo UK]

Lol the date the Swords of Sanghelios mission takes place is

Spoiler

October 27th

, nice touch!

 

[E92 M3]

I know most would disagree, but I would love a Halo game set in a snow environment completely mixed in with some lush green fields - something like the beginning of CE.

I hate deserts and factories.

That said, this campaign is looking to be shaping up quite well.

 

[Sai]

I never understand the "Halo is too linear" comments. Halo has had a handful of "non-linear" missions, but it's otherwise always been a point A to point B game. The only thing that has changed in that regard are the size of the environments.

For me, at least, when I think of a "linear" Halo experience it mostly relates to how much freedom you're allowed when approaching various combat scenarios; Halo 2 and Halo 4 both felt very rigid in this regard compared to the other mainline entries. The general scale of the environment you're fighting in is only a part of it, as the options you're afforded when flanking 'n such can be made apparent even in a more relatively constrained play space; there wasn't enough of that in Halo 2 'n 4, more corridor shooting than anything else.

All that said, Halo 5 seems to be hitting the right notes in this regard, based on what we've seen thus far.

 

[jem0208]

"Verticality" is one of Microsoft's buzzwords that I refuse to believe makes any sense as far as game design philosophy goes. They literally hyped "verticality" through the roof prior to the Gears: Judgement release and we got some of the worst multiplayer maps and campaign levels in the series.

Also, there is vertical movement in most games, so it seems pretty nonsensical to me. Seems literally synonymous to "next gen" in that it's an utterly meaningless term that gets people to buy the latest iteration of a product. Almost like those old Ford commercials that wouldn't shut up about the hemis in Ford Trucks.

Regarding Tsavo Highway, some Neogaf user got utterly fixated on me throwing it out there as an example of an open level and now everyone is trying to use it as a "gotcha" to prove that I don't actually know anything about Halo. My point is that we've yet to see a single level from Halo 5 that looks anything like the best levels in Halo (regardless of whether or not you agree that Tsavo should fit in that category). For the record, I still believe that Tsavo is significantly more open then anything that we've seen from Halo 5 thus far, but it's also a vehicular combat level and some people here have rightly pointed out that Halo levels have always had a good mix of vehicular/non vehicular levels.

So far we've just seen a bunch of levels that look a lot like Halo 4 with perhaps some Battlefield 4 campaign mixed in.

You are just flat out objectively wrong.

 

[Forsythia]

This looks so freaking good. Really liked the campaign for Halo 4, and it seems 343 is only improving upon that.

Would love to see some Blue Team footage, though.

 

[OEM]

Fuck man need this so bad. Looks amazing. 60fps glory

 

[Vire]

I'm all for trolling Stinkles and 343, but you could at least pick a time when they say something stupid or fuck up.

What was shown today looked absolutely amazing. Fo serious.The verticality and dynamism of the environment was exactly what everyone was asking for up until this point. Then on top of that, one of my concerns was that the game would be lacking in that awestruck feeling of crash landing on an alien planet and the sense of mystery that goes along with that. But in this video they clearly showed that there are moments of exploration and appreciation of something ancient and mysterious with the ruins towards the end of the demo.

 

[akira28]

I'm not trying to regulate anyone's excitement for this game. I'm just really sick of the Halo hype machine which seems to continue unfettered regardless a very obvious decline in the game's quality since 343i has taken the helm.

let them enjoy their hype. I know we can never feel Halo hype again, but their hearts haven't been sullied yet. their spirits haven't been broken. Let them have their innocence. If the hype is a lie, if the game truly hasn't changed, then they will understand where you're coming from. They will understand you, instead of you trying to understand them.

Maybe we can actually say that Halo 4 never existed. Maybe Halo 5 can actually bend space-time and make that happen.

 

[drigosr]

I'm not trying to regulate anyone's excitement for this game. I'm just really sick of the Halo hype machine which seems to continue unfettered regardless a very obvious decline in the game's quality since 343i has taken the helm.

I also think that one of the biggest reasons why the gaming community is silly is they're inability to detect bullshit when it comes to big franchises. You literally don't see it in any other industry, but for some reason consumers of video games become converts who are seemingly unable to critique even the most obvious garbage in their beloved franchises. Maybe it's because gaming is relatively expensive compared to other media and people like to pretend like they're getting their money's worth even when they're not.

"I'm not trying..."

 

[The Sum of Zero]

Can we all just agree to put Foolishfellow on ignore? The thread would be much better without his crap clogging it up.

Already done. I attempt to call him out without just drive-by shitposting and get ignored, a pox on him.

 

[...Scatter...]

You are just flat out objectively wrong.

I think the last XBOX game he played was COD 4 back in January of 2008 unless he has a new gamertag. Not sure if he even played Halo 4. I wouldn't pay him any mind. He's just here to concern.

 

[Primethius]

For me, at least, when I think of a "linear" Halo experience it mostly relates to how much freedom you're allowed when approaching various combat scenarios; Halo 2 and Halo 4 both felt very rigid in this regard compared to the other mainline entries. The general scale of the environment you're fighting in is only a part of it, as the options you're afforded when flanking 'n such can be made apparent even in a more relatively constrained play space; there wasn't enough of that in Halo 2 'n 4, more corridor shooting than anything else.

All that said, Halo 5 seems to be hitting the right notes in this regard, based on what we've seen thus far.

This is how I see it. I'm not even sure why Tsavo Highway is even being discussed in this regard. Halo games have always been linear in the sense of progressing from point A to point B. But the sandbox in which you do the battles have been generally massive and allowing for quite a bit of freedom.

Halo 4 was missing this. This gameplay for 5 shows quite a bit of verticality, alternative routes and so on and thus, really does seem like a return to form.

 

[link1201]

Dynamic resolution.... Digital foundry members salivating at the hits their vs will generate.

Yo stinkles, when are you guys going to talk about multiplayer? And more importantly, tell us how the matchmaking is going to work.

Awesome vids, the game looks amazing

I am anxious about this as well. I would love to know how they have improved/tweaked the ranking stuff since the beta.

 

[JumPeRJumPzZ]

I am anxious about this as well. I would love to know how they have improved/tweaked the ranking stuff since the beta.

I hope server selection is in like in Gears of War UE

 

[Scooby]

Ya'll got baited by one dude lmao

The game looks great btw I'm for sure going to be too sick for work on launch week

 

[Twilight Gap]

For me, at least, when I think of a "linear" Halo experience it mostly relates to how much freedom you're allowed when approaching various combat scenarios; Halo 2 and Halo 4 both felt very rigid in this regard compared to the other mainline entries. The general scale of the environment you're fighting in is only a part of it, as the options you're afforded when flanking 'n such can be made apparent even in a more relatively constrained play space; there wasn't enough of that in Halo 2 'n 4, more corridor shooting than anything else.

All that said, Halo 5 seems to be hitting the right notes in this regard, based on what we've seen thus far.

Eh, I just remembered how open Reach's missions were so I guess you're right. I ought to give that game another play for sure.

I don't think the criticism is unfounded, but it's difficult to say much of anything based on 3 missions of edited footage. If the game ends up feeling like a tube after i've had my hands on it, i'll be making just as much noise. What I've seen so far however does not have me convinced it is shaping up to be that way. Mission design is one thing, but if the AI isn't fun to fight, a giant sandbox level isn't going to be much better. I want to see how much 343's AI has improved.

 

[mocolostrocolos]

The fact that they are sticking to 60fps no matter what comes in screen is the best choice IMO.

Good for 343.

And best for us.

 

[Slightly Live]

I'll take smashing through walls than dozens of boring hold button to open door sequences.

Door switches are dull, smashing the shit out of a wall is fun.

 

[...Scatter...]

Ya'll got baited by one dude lmao

The game looks great btw I'm for sure going to be too sick for work on launch week

Yeah, I'm coming down with the itis. (not really, I'll just schedule a day or two off like a responsible person)

 

[Vico]

Liked that little intro animation

 

[Fahzgoolin]

People like FoolishFellow make me not want to spend my time in forums anymore.

It's fatiguing. Here I am stressed out of my mind from school/life and I just want to enjoy some Halo excitement, but some incessantly stupid jackass just wants to fling his irrational and presumptuous bullshit and spin yet another HaloGaf thread off course.

People like you just seriously suck. Get a clue and return when your diaper isn't full.

If we went into a Metal Gear Solid thread and spewed the bullshit you post, it would not be tolerated.

Liked that little intro

The lighting and art direction for the environments just begs me to walk around and ignore the mission while I soak it all in. Campaign looks like it will be something I replay MANY times. Perhaps more than CE.