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[Leyasu]

I personally think that she had to go. She was in charge, it’s ultimately her that takes the fall.

But I don’t think that the management were the sole problem and that they should now consider moving to an engine that is more modern. The guy who was in charge of getting the slipspace engine together also went last week.

Perhaps moving to a new engine would mean that they would lose some of halos quirky physics, but I don’t believe that they couldn’t replicate the feel on another engine.

Keep a team on the mp, and then stat work on a sequel with a fresh engine. Looking at how long it has taken them to get things out, a get the feeling that a 3hr campaign expansion will take them ages to do anyway. Without changing things up, it just seems like a money/time sink

 

[Banjo64]

Well you say that everyone can generally agree that 90+ games are better then 80+ games. I don't think that's the case.

I mean if a game gets 87 or 88 or 89 and a game gets 94 or 95 what does 5 or 6 points even mean..... The margin is to small to really matter. I'm sure there plenty of people who prefer forbidden west over BOTW and vice versa.

There’s probably one or two people who legitimately believe that Gears 5 is a better game than Elden Ring. There’s also some people who believe in flat Earth.

 

[Panajev2001a]

well according to some 343 employees there was one higher up in the studio (forgot his name) that constantly lied about the state and progress of the game to management at Microsoft.

the Studio is simply a hot mess

The person who pushed for having this sea of rotating contractors ensuring lower. Orale and constant corporate amnesia is also at fault as it is a terrible way to develop software.

 

[fuck_diggity_cunt_ingdon]

I said somewhere in another thread that the people at the top would have to change first and it looks like things are moving in the right direction.

 

[Sosokrates]

There’s probably one or two people who legitimately believe that Gears 5 is a better game than Elden Ring. There’s also some people who believe in flat Earth.

And? That Does not make what I'm saying any less true.
You can cherry pick example which may prove your point, but that does not make opposite occurrences of that less common.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Genuine theoretical question: Let's say you're the team leader and you're being asked to pull off a live service model in addition to a full sized open campaign. Over the course of development you're realizing it isn't feasible for the window of time you're given(either due to staff size or development time) and you go to your publisher to let them know, but you are then told 'No, they have to be done and released on this date, that's final. Also, fix up the graphics again too.' What is the optimal path in this situation?

Get nine women and make a baby in 1 month of course .

Adding people can help in some cases but hiring slows down the dev team to do the interviewing and onboarding. You can improve the efficiency of the people that work there too as well as hiring some more: apparently the bulk of the workforce was short term contractors that would rotate every few months ensuring corporate amnesia and onboarding woes every time.

Who pushed back against doing anything other than that is also at fault that is all I am saying.

 

[Jennings]

Brad Sams is the man. I love hearing inside scoops from those mired in the drama and deep in the know. It's a level of access that mere journalists/middle-men like Jason Shreier can't offer and it feels good to peel away the layers and get this info directly from the source.

I look forward to seeing where Halo Infinite stands this time next year.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Correct.

There’s a recurring theme on GAF where the people who complain the most about the mods are usually the ones who do deserve to be moderated because of the way they conduct themselves.

Cribbio, to say that you are sad for the reason she is departing early but think a change in leadership is good and maybe there is an element of being pushed out anyways (for obvious reasons) is not something that deserves a two weeks ban.

You can follow the rules and avoid that, “nothing to hide nothing to fear/thin skinned thought police” based groups or societies have obviously worked so well in the past . Oh well… thought crimes are still very much a thing in some cultures though.

 

[SatansReverence]

100%. 343i has not released a single bad game in her entire time at the helm. Results speak for themselves.

All you've done with this post is prove just how meaningless metacritic is.

 

[Bergoglio]

The reaction to this news, from the neogaf members, is so so much better than the other. You know what I mean when I say “the other”.

 

[Corndog]

I mean, yeah - but I don't feel the need to gloat. Halo Fans wanted her gone, and she's gone. What more do people want?

A good game.

This is shit stirring and it does Microsoft no favours. Not sure why everyone is so excited that she may have been fired instead of stepping down for the reasons she stated.

I’m just glad she is gone. Fired or not she needed to be removed from her position.

 

[Roberts]

I'm a big fan of Infinite - I think it's their best game, but even I can admit that there is something truly wrong in how they deliver all the mp updates. So, I would only be glad If this somehow helps the efficiency of the company instead of creating an internal chaos.

 

[Corndog]

The same brad sams that people here say is a reliable source when it suits them? Yep....same guy. Works both ways.

He is a fairly reliable source for MS news.

 

[ZehDon]

A good game.

I'm sure this sounded cool when you thought to post it. Doesn't make much sense, though.
"I'm Bonnie Ross, and I'm leaving 343i. Oh, and here's a secret Halo game I've been holding on to that's actually good." What?

 

[Spukc]

I don’t get, it if you reshuffle a milkshake made out of shit you still end up with a shitty milkshake

 

[StealthGoblin]

If true, I’m not surprised.

In all honesty, there are quite a few leaders on the studio side at Microsoft that I think need their positions looked at. It stretches back 20 years now and outside of a few success stories like Turn 10, their internal studios have been poorly managed.

They’d never got that cadence of delivery right and struggled to get new IP out to a well-received high level.

They’ve bought in a lot of talent now too, so hopefully allowing them to manage themselves will help alleviate the problem a bit.

 

[John Wick]

Insiders.. insiders everywhere.

Brad Samms is a reliable MS insider. I bet his version is more true than the corporate shite of family reasons?

 

[BlackTron]

Jebus. How do the mods over there survive in the real world?

They don't. They take their place feeling important as King of the Peasants on a game forum.

 

[RoboFu]

I mean after that other guy “ left “ it was pretty obvious that they both got kicked out.

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

This is shit stirring and it does Microsoft no favours. Not sure why everyone is so excited that she may have been fired instead of stepping down for the reasons she stated.

Because it would mean MS is definitely, finally taking steps to fix the Halo situation. If she's not forced out that means MS may still not have recognized the dire state of this IP and the need for change. It's not hard to grasp or "shit stirring".

 

[STARSBarry]

The campaign was great and the multiplayer gameplay feels amazing. The problem with Infinite is a lack of variety in the maps and modes. There is a reason Halo peeps have gone back to MCC, but it isn't Infinite being horrible, more just not being able to keep your attention when you have to play the same maps over and over with little variety.

I see this argument thrown around and its really confusing because it makes zero sense, do all games need to be live service to be played? Is content really THE issue instead of one of many based on the games design choices?

Most of my gaming life has been spent playing games with limited content and limited updates, but then it was gameplay that kept me coming back for more. The issue is people don't seem to be sticking around for Halo Infinites gameplay and that's not a content issue, content gives people who don't really enjoy a game a carrot to chase after, and that's really infinites problem, not enough carrot way to much stick, but it also reveals an underlying issue which is the game really is just not that good.

Game design especially in the weapon choices make little to no sense, sure they can "feel" good to shoot but that doesn't matter if what they add or take away from the sandbox makes the game unfun out of a few meta weapons.

For example what is the point of the plasma pistol? It's EMP has been removed and given to a much better and easier to use weapons with the disruptor and shock rifle. Because the EMP is easier to land this essentially means any vehicle is now nerfed across the board because there is an easy to land and attain (if the RNG weapon spawns for the map deem them worthy) weapon to counter them always. With the plasma pistol and its slower shot this meant lighter and faster vehicles which are more naturally negatively effected by having their mobility removed could dodge it, but not with this weapon set in infinite.

Why are the maps so uttely abysmal? Why are weapon spawns random at all? Why are power weapons and vehicles dropped randomly across the map? All these changes are not an issue of content but design, and people are just not sticking with Halo Infinite because of only content, it's just the most glaring one for player numbers based on twitch streamers.

The weapon sandbox of infinite is limited and just not that good, BTB is the worst effected but even in regular PvP people are not sticking around showing that maps can't be designed well without fixed weapon placements. These are design issues with how the game plays, and that needs to be resolved just as much as the content issue for infinite to come back.

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

I gotta keep it real. That same thing happens over here, too. You showcase a tiny bit of backbone in a response to somebody or call it it as you see it, and you're getting a warning over inappropriate behavior. Seems kinda tame and out of step for the kind of discourse I see commonly allowed on here, and I'm certain I never step to deeply into disrespect when having discussions, but the way it's moderated you seem like you have to really cater to specific poster's feelings here or you're pretty much hit with a ban.

But when a certain type of user who maybe has a different set of preferences gets abused and disrespected, there's a higher degree of tolerance and acceptability for that. So neither side is flawless on moderation, and that's just me being honest. And attempts to directly address it with moderation never seems to generate a response or any discourse that doesn't come off seeming like a direct threat of shut up or you're gone. So yea.

If that starts happening here regularly than this site is done for. The amount of activity here is already pretty low compared to Era. Sometimes days go by here with threads getting no comments. Just something I've noticed. I've only been a member for a year though.

 

[M1chl]

Should have fired her after the Halo: MCC disaster which took years to fix. And by the way, no, it wasn't fault of companies which contributed to it. They were told that it would use some unified MP lobby, which then didn't worked out and it took 343i years to fix/develop.

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

I see this argument thrown around and its really confusing because it makes zero sense, do all games need to be live service to be played? Is content really THE issue instead of one of many based on the games design choices?

Most of my gaming life has been spent playing games with limited content and limited updates, but then it was gameplay that kept me coming back for more. The issue is people don't seem to be sticking around for Halo Infinites gameplay and that's not a content issue, content gives people who don't really enjoy a game a carrot to chase after, and that's really infinites problem, not enough carrot way to much stick, but it also reveals an underlying issue which is the game really is just not that good.

Game design especially in the weapon choices make little to no sense, sure they can "feel" good to shoot but that doesn't matter if what they add or take away from the sandbox makes the game unfun out of a few meta weapons.

For example what is the point of the plasma pistol? It's EMP has been removed and given to a much better and easier to use weapons with the disruptor and shock rifle. Because the EMP is easier to land this essentially means any vehicle is now nerfed across the board because there is an easy to land and attain (if the RNG weapon spawns for the map deem them worthy) weapon to counter them always. With the plasma pistol and its slower shot this meant lighter and faster vehicles which are more naturally negatively effected by having their mobility removed could dodge it, but not with this weapon set in infinite.

Why are the maps so uttely abysmal? Why are weapon spawns random at all? Why are power weapons and vehicles dropped randomly across the map? All these changes are not an issue of content but design, and people are just not sticking with Halo Infinite because of only content, it's just the most glaring one for player numbers based on twitch streamers.

The weapon sandbox of infinite is limited and just not that good, BTB is the worst effected but even in regular PvP people are not sticking around showing that maps can't be designed well without fixed weapon placements.

THIS. People need to realize that just because the core gameplay (movement + shooting) feels really good in this game, that's not all that "gameplay" consists of. This game has huge issues aside from just lack of content. That goes for both campaign and multiplayer.

 

[DaedalusGrim]

If that starts happening here regularly than this site is done for. The amount of activity here is already pretty low compared to Era. Sometimes days go by here with threads getting no comments. Just something I've noticed. I've only been a member for a year though.

I haven't been here long either, but the quality of poster is considerably higher on average that both era and faqs, so I dig it.

 

[reinking]

Because it would mean MS is definitely, finally taking steps to fix the Halo situation. If she's not forced out that means MS may still not have recognized the dire state of this IP and the need for change. It's not hard to grasp or "shit stirring".

Look who released this "news." It is not Microsoft. It is a shit-stirrer. If it is such a big deal that MS "fire" her to fix Halo then shouldn't they have been more honest in their release?

 

[Mister Wolf]

THIS. People need to realize that just because the core gameplay (movement + shooting) feels really good in this game, that's not all that "gameplay" consists of. This game has huge issues aside from just lack of content. That goes for both campaign and multiplayer.

I'm still mad the VRR in this game is borked.

 

[DaedalusGrim]

Look who released this "news." It is not Microsoft. It is a shit-stirrer. If it is such a big deal that MS "fire" her to fix Halo then shouldn't they have been more honest in their release?

Lmao what, that would involve them admitting there's a problem. They're never gonna do that.

 

[Banjo64]

Look who released this "news." It is not Microsoft. It is a shit-stirrer. If it is such a big deal that MS "fire" her to fix Halo then shouldn't they have been more honest in their release?

How is Brad Sams a shit stirrer when MS have used him as a mouthpiece for years?

 

[The Alien]

It's either a management shuffle or she kept not delivering. It can't be both.

She was shown the door TBH. Was a long time coming.

 

[Lognor]

MS problem is that they have too much money. All of that money

Gee, let me see.

They can’t release a major game without it being delayed 100 times. Even when those games come out they get plagued with issues. Numerous stories of first party games changing management. Aside from Forza and Gears, they fail, to have a steady stable of games on a regular basis. With their resources and money, they should have 2-3 major exclusives coming every year like Sony who has their own issues, but still gets that part right. Don’t give me this bullshit about game development takes time, they’ve had many studios for years and they still can’t get game development right. They bought up all these studios, but they’re dead in the water without direction. This is a pattern with MS and it starts with them thinking that they can fix every problem by throwing money at it.

Microsoft did win publisher of the year last year. Don't forget. Sony is the one who struggled last year. It happens. Now this year Sony is releasing new games and Microsoft is on the other end. It happens. Pretty sure Hali infinite was not plagued with issues when it released. It didn't have coop but the game played great. Still does. It just needs me content. Phil is doing great work. Booty too I'm sure.

 

[Interfectum]

Like I said: https://www.neogaf.com/threads/bonn...-family-medical-issues.1641340/post-266563940

 

[OmegaSupreme]

 

[kapshin]

343 is the shitty version of 989 studios. Prove me wrong.

I cannot..

 

[chromhound]

So 2022... You cant fire a woman without giving some bullshit excuse.

She need to find a new job

 

[Ansphn]

No big loss. 343 destroyed Halo.

 

[CuNi]

Good thing she's gone.

Sadly this won't save infinite, but at least I know I can give the next halo a chance again.

 

[Corndog]

I'm sure this sounded cool when you thought to post it. Doesn't make much sense, though.
"I'm Bonnie Ross, and I'm leaving 343i. Oh, and here's a secret Halo game I've been holding on to that's actually good." What?

Now that she’s gone hopefully they can either improve the current game or make the next one an actual success. What’s so hard to understand?

 

[VolticArchangel]

Disband it, create smaller more focused teams from that staff.

And no more fucking H1B workforce. Morally wrong and it works terribly for game development.

While both, Microsoft and Google do this with their OS/enterprise division, (majority from the sub-continent) they don't do it for GameDev, like at all.

They instead split work and outsource a lot, and I mean, a LOT, to countries like India (again, cheap labor for really good work), in asset creation (character/environment modelling), beta testing etc. You might have seen their work in games like the Forza Horizon series. The dev is Dhruva Interactive, who is now acquired by Rockstar Games (renamed to Rockstar Bangalore) and is on GTAVI.

Microsoft don't deal with sub-par results in GameDev outsource, the finest example would be Platinum and Scalebound, and Platinum are a waaaay more talented and more skilled studio than Dhruva.

There are others though, like a Dev named Laskshya Digital in Mumbai, who did assets for Shenmue III, and it showed. A single comparison with the Yakuza mainline games during the PS4 gen would just outright embarrass their work. When you spend more money on a project, especially for assets, you get more quality. It's as simple as that. I feel sorry for YsNet and Yu Suzuki, as they're on a peanut budget so that they could only afford Lakshya, and they HAVE to outsource asset creation because YsNet isn't that big. Lakshya are currently working on Shenmue IV. I wish RGG studio and the Yakuza team collabed with YsNet and Suzuki to do Shenmue IV but that's a pipe dream and Sega wouldn't fund it. It's a self-fullfilling prophecy and they'll cry about Shenmue III bombing at the charts and reviews. It'll happen again with Shenmue IV.

It's the same case with the recent reveal of the PoP: Sands of Time Remake. Done by Ubisoft Pune, peanut budget, abhorrent quality by today's standards.

 

[GloveSlap]

In the past, it felt like MS had a reputation of being a bit of a hard ass with their developers. In more recent years though, they came off as almost too hands off. Which is fine for studios that have their shit together, but then you get situations like Crackdown 3 and 343.

Hopefully this restructuring is a step in finding a happy middle ground.

 

[FireFly]

Doesn't feel like a real 343 thread if it wasn't started by Eddie Griffin.

 

[TheDreadLord]

How big is 343i? I mean, number of employees, etc. I assume it is a pretty decent sized team with a lot of resources available. It is kinda hard to justify why their output is so lackluster and ineficiente. Even more if you put into perspective that they are basically a Halo fps only studio.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Whoever signed off on them updating that old ass game engine instead of switching to Unreal needs to be fired ASAP.

 

[ahtlas7]

How dare Brad Sams with two first names be so insensitive.

 

[bentanchorbolt]

Yes, fair enough. But going all in on “we are empowering women”, then pulling the plug on them at the first fault is not a good look either.

First fault? Her team as underperformed for a long time. It was time to go.

 

[supernova8]

The whole "family issue" thing just sounds really fishy. Don't people (especially those who have been with a company so long) usually get time off to deal with "family issues" and then only leave completely if that time off wasn't sufficient? By that logic, unless she has been off work for like the last few months then it would be odd if she just left out of the blue without it having anything to do with Halo Infinite being a bit of a mess (and her being in charge of that team).

 

[Jinzo Prime]

While both, Microsoft and Google do this with their OS/enterprise division, (majority from the sub-continent) they don't do it for GameDev, like at all.

They instead split work and outsource a lot, and I mean, a LOT, to countries like India (again, cheap labor for really good work), in asset creation (character/environment modelling), beta testing etc. You might have seen their work in games like the Forza Horizon series. The dev is Dhruva Interactive, who is now acquired by Rockstar Games (renamed to Rockstar Bangalore) and is on GTAVI.

Microsoft don't deal with sub-par results in GameDev outsource, the finest example would be Platinum and Scalebound, and Platinum are a waaaay more talented and more skilled studio than Dhruva.

There are others though, like a Dev named Laskshya Digital in Mumbai, who did assets for Shenmue III, and it showed. A single comparison with the Yakuza mainline games during the PS4 gen would just outright embarrass their work. When you spend more money on a project, especially for assets, you get more quality. It's as simple as that. I feel sorry for YsNet and Yu Suzuki, as they're on a peanut budget so that they could only afford Lakshya, and they HAVE to outsource asset creation because YsNet isn't that big. Lakshya are currently working on Shenmue IV. I wish RGG studio and the Yakuza team collabed with YsNet and Suzuki to do Shenmue IV but that's a pipe dream and Sega wouldn't fund it. It's a self-fullfilling prophecy and they'll cry about Shenmue III bombing at the charts and reviews. It'll happen again with Shenmue IV.

It's the same case with the recent reveal of the PoP: Sands of Time Remake. Done by Ubisoft Pune, peanut budget, abhorrent quality by today's standards.

Hey, you seem really knowledgable about the Indian game development scene. Please continue to keep us all informed of future developments in that space!

 

[vpance]

The whole "family issue" thing just sounds really fishy. Don't people (especially those who have been with a company so long) usually get time off to deal with "family issues" and then only leave completely if that time off wasn't sufficient? By that logic, unless she has been off work for like the last few months then it would be odd if she just left out of the blue without it having anything to do with Halo Infinite being a bit of a mess (and her being in charge of that team).

These days anyone and everyone at these ultra progressive companies can get generous amounts of leave for mental or personal issues if they want it, not to mention someone at her level and history with the company.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Microsoft did win publisher of the year last year. Don't forget. Sony is the one who struggled last year. It happens. Now this year Sony is releasing new games and Microsoft is on the other end.

 

[tmlDan]

Microsoft did win publisher of the year last year. Don't forget. Sony is the one who struggled last year. It happens. Now this year Sony is releasing new games and Microsoft is on the other end. It happens. Pretty sure Hali infinite was not plagued with issues when it released. It didn't have coop but the game played great. Still does. It just needs me content. Phil is doing great work. Booty too I'm sure.

what? LOL

i can't believe what im reading tbh.

Before last year when did you care about the publisher of the year by Metacritic (they're so credible /s)