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Halo |OT9| One Final Effort Is All That Remains

I would bet that Halo 4 has Spec Ops and Campaign that allows players to drop out, but doesn't allow new players to jump in during the game.

And I would assume the pre game lobby / menu would operate a lot like BF3 spec ops (or whatever they hell they call them). ie: You'll enter the Sparty Ops playlist, you'll choose your desired level and difficulty setting, and the game will match you up. Conversely you could choose "any level on Legendary, etc." or "this specific level on any difficulty" ... I would hope they also put in the option to play any level on any difficulty; the "just put me in a damn lobby that needs a 4th" option.
Pretty much what I'm thinking. No drop-in, the ability to choose a specific level and difficulty, then wait to match up with other players. It would be nice if, like Gears 3, the next mission would just play without interruption. I don't see that happening with no drop-in, though.

Noob question: I'm aware this is probably dumb to ask but what are the fallen circular structures embedded in the ground when you first emerge from the caves on Tsavo Highway? They look like mini Halo's lol.
Fallen space elevator, same one you see blow up and collapse in ODST

edit: hyper'd
 
Noob question: I'm aware this is probably dumb to ask but what are the fallen circular structures embedded in the ground when you first emerge from the caves on Tsavo Highway? They look like mini Halo's lol.

And if you didn't know, when you emerge from the tunnels and kill the first little group of Jackals, the Brute and grunts in front of the collapsed piece of the space elevator, drive under it towards to cliff and look out. The Marines will talk about it and explain it over the coms.

So basically drive straight from the tunnels until you go under the broken piece of the elevator and to the cliff.
 

Woorloog

Banned
Fallen space elevator, same one you see blow up and collapse in ODST

edit: hyper'd

Can it be called "collapsing"? The cable is broken at the anchor point so the counterweight pulls it up. Sure, the rings fall down but overall, there is no collapse.

Regardless, one of the coolest moments in ODST.

I still haven't figured out what's the purpose of the rings though. Unless it is kind of a giant coilgun, ie the rings are electormagnets and they lift/lower the climber attached to the center cable.
 

Gui_PT

Member
Can it be called "collapsing"? The cable is broken at the anchor point so the counterweight pulls it up. Sure, the rings fall down but overall, there is no collapse.

Regardless, one of the coolest moments in ODST.

I still haven't figured out what's the purpose of the rings though. Unless it is kind of a giant coilgun, ie the rings are electormagnets and they lift/lower the climber attached to the center cable.

geek.jpg
 

Omni

Member
I still haven't figured out what's the purpose of the rings though. Unless it is kind of a giant coilgun, ie the rings are electormagnets and they lift/lower the climber attached to the center cable.

Probably not best to look into the details... A lot of things in previous Halo games really don't make any sense.
 

Duji

Member
The rank resets were part of the reason why I only managed to get a division ranking about 3 times over the course of reach. I always thought whats the point of trying to get a rank that will just be reset in a couple months time.

I also felt as though it was somewhat too easy to gain a high ranking in arena. It didn't feeling as though there was any challenge. You would just play a few games over the week and end up in a division. Unlike in 1-50 where you progressed through the ranks over time, and every game felt as though it would have a significant impact on your rank (usually not the case if you were rank locked). However there was always a belief that if I just won one more game I would rank up. This is the thing I miss the most about 1-50 (crazy thinking, I know) but I loved attempting to progress through the ranks, even when I knew it would be unlikely I would rank up.

I didn't feel this same progression in reach's arena system, and it probably didn't seem necessary considering that there was the exp based progression system along side it. However the exp based system always seemed to me as a pointless ranking system, which shows no indication of a players ability in the game. Only their dedication to the game itself. I much more prefer Halo 3's playlist exp based system which showed other players how familiar said player was with the specific playlist based upon their exp. This accompanied with competitive ranks, usually gave players a somewhat good representation of another players ability.

A ranking system based upon these ideas is something that I would love to see in halo 4. However I do not expect it, and will remain contempt with whatever ranking systems there are in Halo 4 like a good Kiwi. :D

Bottom of page fml
The things you listed are actually all good features to have in a ranking system, surprisingly enough. Seasonal based ranking is put there to deter boosting and deter the whole "my rank is stuck!" issue, which were both major complaints in H3. As for it feeling to easy to rank up, *sigh*, it's actually done because those first few games are placement matches. Ranking up in Reach isn't too easy. The problem was that ranking up in Halo 3 was far too slow. If you're an MLG pro and go into the MLG playlist to win 40 games in a row only to be rank 23, clearly the ranking system is broken. You might say that gradually ranking up in H3's sense brought a sense of fun and progression, but when you think about it, you are actually ruining the fun of the lesser skilled players. I was a 50 in Halo 3 and I would trade a slow, "fun" progression just so that the lesser skilled players get an unadulterated ranked experience. In H3, the 50-48 rank range consisted almost exclusively of players with a matching skill but the lower ranks had players of all skill. There was barely any consistency. Lesser skilled players were constantly being demolished by skilled smurfers since the smurfers get to start at level 1 instead of being placed higher after a few placement matches.

What other proof is there for a good seasonal system with placement matches? StarCraft 2 and League of Legends are actually the best ranking systems around and they both feature these concepts. They do not, however, have the annoying "play X times in X days to rank." Nor do they suffer from many other Halo problems such as bad maps and poor gametypes. Also recall that the win/loss Arena didn't get a fair chance since the vast majority of the playlist's population had already left after months of the horrific kills/assists/deaths based system. Basically what I'm saying is if you want to bag on the Arena, it doesn't make much sense to criticize the season system and the placement matches. You gotta think about the newbies for once.
 

IHaveIce

Banned
These next 33 days are going to be LONG! :(

We get almost everyday something Halo related.

Today is Ragnarok on IGN, Tomorrow is FUD and next week again 2 map videos by IGN, a Bulletin with maybe something new, again FUD and then is NYCC aaaand sooo on.


I think the days will past fast and the next OT won't last long with the blow out of information.

EDIT: Good call Dopey Ranks and Forge will also be a big thing in the coming days

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Good to see KOTH confirmed, now they just need to confirm One Flag
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Inspired by the recent picture stories on here (and having my hand forced by a complete outage of my internet services), I played through Halo 3's first three levels this morning. Beam rifle and BR feel wonderful to shoot again and equipment works surprisingly well in the campaign setting and AI (more interesting than a Brute Armour Locking).

Noob question: I'm aware this is probably dumb to ask but what are the fallen circular structures embedded in the ground when you first emerge from the caves on Tsavo Highway? They look like mini Halo's lol.

Others have answered it but they're part of the magnetic/structural apparatus that drives the "elevators" up the cables. Depending on how one of these things was damaged, the tether would be either mostly yanked into orbit, or slammed into the ground, but either way you're getting a lot of damage and debris on the ground.


One sleep until this becomes an importqant part of the universe fiction again...
 

GhaleonEB

Member
Others have answered it but they're part of the magnetic/structural apparatus that drives the "elevators" up the cables. Depending on how one of these things was damaged, the tether would be either mostly yanked into orbit, or slammed into the ground, but either way you're getting a lot of damage and debris on the ground.


One sleep until this becomes an importqant part of the universe fiction again...

As someone who has had a longstanding fascination with the space elevator since Halo 2's title screen - seeing it fall in ODST was a devastating dream come true - this pleases me. Greatly.
 

Doodis

Member
Why do links to articles and news posts on Waypoint never, ever work? I don't understand why it's so hard to do the Internets.
 

heckfu

Banned
Others have answered it but they're part of the magnetic/structural apparatus that drives the "elevators" up the cables. Depending on how one of these things was damaged, the tether would be either mostly yanked into orbit, or slammed into the ground, but either way you're getting a lot of damage and debris on the ground.


One sleep until this becomes an importqant part of the universe fiction again...
Just think, it'd probably be out today if y'all hadnt been wasting time on mapping food joints in Seattle.

oh that, that's parody

Lul what ranking system? Implemented after launch.
You're sounding idiotic.
oh that, that's how I actually feel about your nonsensical, fiction based rants a lot of the time
 

CyReN

Member
few things about ign ragnarok vid

  • editor forgot to turn off resample or something, footage came out weird (not gameplay/h4)
  • no real weakness spot for the mantis seems weird
  • map looks great
 
few things about ign ragnarok vid

  • editor forgot to turn off resample or something, footage came out weird (not gameplay/h4)
  • no real weakness spot for the mantis seems weird
  • map looks great

Still not a fan of the ground texture. Can't really point it out as I'm no artist guy, but it just breaks the immersion.
 

Jonsoncao

Banned
Okay, after all these exposure to the media blow out including this sexy version Valhalla, I am pretty sure that the only possible element that is gonna suck in Halo 4 is the music.
 
1 week until NYCC. I don't think you guys realize just how excited I am.

I'm excited to hear more of Halogafs thoughts on the game, between NYCC and first look this weekend a lot of halogaf will touch the game.

I need you to all talk dirty to me after you play it

And I really don't think I can last another 30 days without touching the game - I'm having serious withdrawals.
 

A remix album? Oh it must sound great as they're driving through the modeled Seattle and not making halo 4 60 fps.

/kylej

On-topic: maybe the mantis replaces the scorpion/wraith as the "heavy" vehicle on the map. Given it's amazing at anti-air it'd make sense since it could counter the Banshees.
 
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