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[Silly.Mikey]

It's in, and Frank referred to it's ability to create maps as 'Forge maps/environments'. Somebody brought up the 10 map count in the retail game, and Frank responded by saying that number excludes the Forge maps/environments.

I really hope u can change the colors, time of day and textures cause that really bothered me in Reach. Every map felt the same because of the colors.

 

[Woorloog]

I really hope u can change the colors, time of day and textures cause that really bothered me in Reach. Every map felt the same because of the colors.

Yeah. Also, weather would be nice. Light rain, light cloud cover. Nothing obstructive really.
Though i'd love thunderstorms and heavy fog (limiting/weakening visibility a bit).

 

[rakka]

reach looks good and all but iq isn't all that great. 720p gonna make a big difference yeah ?

 

[Woorloog]

reach looks good and all but iq isn't all that great. 720p gonna make a big difference yeah ?

Reach is 1152 x 720, not much under true 720p, with temporal AA. EDIT, well, much and much... 138 lines less.
Halo 4 is true 720p with FXAA. So it is going to be a bit better. Not that most people notice. I don't. Still nice.

 

[GarthVaderUK]

I'm pretty sure Forge was confirmed way back at Halo Fest last year.

 

[Overdoziz]

Too hard to use? Maybe they wanted to do their own take on it? *shrug* Really wish 343i would make a MP vidoc and explain this there. Or in the upcoming podcast.

I was kinda hoping the Sticky Detonator would have directed explosive grenades like the Spike 'nade in Halo 3.
You know, shoot a 'nade in a wall, wait till someone walks in front of it... Would replace bounce satisfactorily, IMO.
Without holding the trigger, the explosion could be spherical, reduced area of effect but easier to damage someone close to the grenade.

The Grenade Launcher had a great skill-gap. Not of much use in the hands of bad players and really effective when it's used by a good player. It's seriously one of the most perfect weapons in Halo ever. Being able to deflect it off of walls, knowing when to release the trigger so it explodes at exactly the right moment for a 1-shot kill, knowing when to hold down the trigger and when to just press it once (It is much stronger if you don't hold it down, many people don't know this.). This all made for a great weapon.

 

[Woorloog]

The Grenade Launcher had a great skill-gap. Not of much use in the hands of bad players and really effective when it's used by a good player. It's seriously one of the most perfect weapons in Halo ever. Being able to deflect it off of walls, knowing when to release the trigger so it explodes at exactly the right moment for a 1-shot kill, knowing when to hold down the trigger and when to just press it once (It is much stronger if you don't hold it down, many people don't know this.). This all made for a great weapon.

I know, i really love it.
But i rarely see people using it effectively.
I mean... gotta dump down the game for those poor fools who can't use it effectively?
We need a vidoc that is only about the Pro Pipe and this new grenade launcher.

 

[Silly.Mikey]

The Grenade Launcher had a great skill-gap. Not of much use in the hands of bad players and really effective when it's used by a good player. It's seriously one of the most perfect weapons in Halo ever. Being able to deflect it off of walls, knowing when to release the trigger so it explodes at exactly the right moment for a 1-shot kill, knowing when to hold down the trigger and when to just press it once (It is much stronger if you don't hold it down, many people don't know this.). This all made for a great weapon.

And that is exactly why it's not there anymore. Bad players cant use it. A perfectly balanced weapon is a weapon every player should be able to use, not just the skilled ones. This new one seems more approachable for everyone.

 

[rakka]

Reach is 1152 x 720, not much under true 720p, with temporal AA. EDIT, well, much and much... 138 lines less.
Halo 4 is true 720p with FXAA. So it is going to be a bit better. Not that most people notice. I don't. Still nice.

hope it'll be a big improvement. from the videos i can tell lighting has improved heaps. I don't believe in bullshots which most of the pics are and not an actual representation of what it'll look like on my HDTV.

also: lol to the guy comparing probably the worst possible screen of halo 3 to the new pr pics of halo 4 , obviously it's a step up visually but that isn't a fair comparison

 

[Woorloog]

hope it'll be a big improvement. from the videos i can tell lighting has improved heaps. I don't believe in bullshots which most of the pics are and not an actual representation of what it'll look like on my HDTV.

also: lol to the guy comparing probably the worst possible screen of halo 3 to the new pr pics of halo 4 , obviously it's a step up visually but that isn't a fair comparison

Halo 3 to 4 is not a fair comparison anyway (other than comparing aesthetics), Halo 3 doesn't have any AA and it is way under 720p. And it's old. Halo Reach to 4 is far more fair comparison.

 

[GhaleonEB]

The screen isn't shaking because of the banshees, there is probably some distant explosion that causes it.

May he had gas.

 

[Silly.Mikey]

Maybe he had gas.

With that suit, he can probably take a shit and u wouldn't know it

 

[Genesis Knight]

Only thing I don't like about this moment: the screen shake should come when the Phantom and first Banshees fly by. It's odd there's no screen shake for those, but it's present for the last two Banshees.

This is pretty realistic if you think about it. When a semi barrels past you it takes a few seconds for the displaced air to hit you. I think the screen shaking is just the delayed wake of the initial Phantom.

 

[Trey]

Only thing I don't like about this moment: the screen shake should come when the Phantom and first Banshees fly by. It's odd there's no screen shake for those, but it's present for the last two Banshees.

Waves in the air has to travel. Physically, it's accurate.

Holy shit, GK.

 

[rakka]

And that is exactly why it's not there anymore. Bad players cant use it. A perfectly balanced weapon is a weapon every player should be able to use, not just the skilled ones. This new one seems more approachable for everyone.

so like the shotgun then. I know the shotty's been in halo since forever but I swear even the shittest players can get kills with it just camping around corners n shit. I admit I use it too on occasion but it still pisses me off especially on small anniversary maps.

 

[Overdoziz]

And that is exactly why it's not there anymore. Bad players cant use it. A perfectly balanced weapon is a weapon every player should be able to use, not just the skilled ones. This new one seems more approachable for everyone.

What in the actual fuck? Weapons with a big skill-gap are great, it makes people who are better at the game win against people who are worse at the game. That's how it's supposed to work.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Waves in the air has to travel. Physically, it's accurate.

Holy shit, GK.

It's a nit pick, but the Phantom flies very close over head. It probably works better with the audio in sync, but in .gif form it looks odd to me.

 

[Silly.Mikey]

What in the actual fuck? Weapons with a big skill-gap are great, it makes people who are better at the game win against people who are worse at the game. That's how it's supposed to work.

They're trying to make the game more approachable to everyone. That means the sucky players too. A good player will still be better with a rocket launcher than a bad player is. Doesn't mean you have to make the rocket practically unusable to them and make it even harder. Making guns difficult to use (even to some skilled players) isn't how you grow you're player base.

 

[Trey]

It's a nit pick, but the Phantom flies very close over head. It probably works better with the audio in sync, but in .gif form it looks odd to me.

Gonna get Frankles on the line with this urgent message: "Frank man? It's Trey. I'ma need you to put a disclaimer on some of that e3 trailer footage. The part where the Covie ships fly overhead, yeah. Put "overzealous alien spacecrafts may appear closer than they actually are" somewhere on the screen. I don't care if the level is content complete already, you get it done. And make it looks nice. Hook it up with something snazzy. Glad you see things my way. Anyways, we still on for that vintage barnyard auction later?"

I got your back, Ghal.

 

[Stat!]

I'm really worried about Reach. It looks awesome but Spartan Ops over Firefight...

I'm nervous. Looks awesome but maybe this is what the franchise needs. A new take.

 

[DopeyFish]

I really hope u can change the colors, time of day and textures cause that really bothered me in Reach. Every map felt the same because of the colors.

I just want basic blocks... Build maps Halo 2 style... You could essentially make maps as big as any halo map and play exactly the way you want them to

Forge in halo 3/ reach is far too limiting imo

Forge is built for simplicity and ends up being far too complex for proper maps.... Map designers should have design freedom with minimal constraints

 

[Overdoziz]

They're trying to make the game more approachable to everyone. That means the sucky players too. A good player will still be better with a rocket launcher than a bad player is. Doesn't mean you have to make the rocket practically unusable to them and make it even harder. Making guns difficult to use even to some skilled players isn't how you grow you're player base.

I'm not talking about how to make the game more approachable, i'm talking about how to make the game better. The Sniper has a similar skill-gap to that of the Grenade Launcher, but mostly on 4v4 maps. On BTB maps it's a bit too easy to use.

Also, let's not pretend like the GL is useless for bad players (unless you're really bad like IGN journalists). You can still at least strip the shield of your enemy and finish them off with one simple headshot.

 

[AlStrong]

Waves in the air has to travel. Physically, it's accurate.

But that's how sound travels... The problem is that you can hear the Phantoms and banshees instantly, so the pressure waves already reached the player.

Had the phantoms been silent as they passed over, then you could make the case of it travelling faster than sound, so then there'd be the delayed sound and the pressure waves hitting you.

 

[Woorloog]

Also, let's not pretend like the GL is useless for bad players (unless you're really bad like IGN journalists). You can still at least strip the shield of your enemy and finish them off with one simple headshot.

Just how many bad people have you seen using the GL and even managing to strip shields off an enemy?
And how many bad people have you seen switching weapons in order to finish off an enemy?
I do not see neither behavior in bad people. Some do this of course but your average Reach player does not.

 

[Trey]

But that's how sound travels... The problem is that you can hear the Phantom instantly, so the pressure waves already reached the player.

edit: Had the phantoms been silent as they passed over, then you could make the case of it travelling faster than sound, so then there'd be the delayed sound and the pressure waves hitting you.

This is true. Only other thing I can think of is that the Infinity must have hit the ground.

 

[Overdoziz]

Just how many bad people have you seen using the GL and even managing to strip shields off an enemy?
And how many bad people have you seen switching weapons in order to finish off an enemy?
I do not see neither behavior in bad people. Some do this of course but your average Reach player does not.

These people should stop working at IGN if they can't do simple stuff like that.

 

[rakka]

even my gf switches to secondary weapon to finish off enemies when in mid combat when preferred weapon has empty clip

 

[riceandbeans]

so like the shotgun then. I know the shotty's been in halo since forever but I swear even the shittest players can get kills with it just camping around corners n shit. I admit I use it too on occasion but it still pisses me off especially on small anniversary maps.

I don't know about that. You've got to have the right range with it and know where to camp. One or two kills with it mean nothing if you can't hold onto it. Makes it no different than a BR then.

 

[Silly.Mikey]

I'm not talking about how to make the game more approachable, i'm talking about how to make the game better. The Sniper has a similar skill-gap to that of the Grenade Launcher, but mostly on 4v4 maps. On BTB maps it's a bit too easy to use.

Also, let's not pretend like the GL is useless for bad players (unless you're really bad like IGN journalists). You can still at least strip the shield of your enemy and finish them off with one simple headshot.

It's absolutely useless to bad players from what I see online and most the time, it's right there and no one ever picks it up. It's a gun that from what I notice, unless ur stuck using it, isn't worth the effort when u can grab a sniper, shotty or rockets. It doesn't do anything particularly great for most situations and most of the people dont bother learning how to use it for the one time u might shoot it around a corner. If its being changed, there's a reason.

 

[Trey]

These people should stop working at IGN if they can't do simple stuff like that.

lol

They're paid for their opinions on games, not to be good at them. It's a rare moment that I've actually seen not bad gameplay from a journalist. Granted, I've never actively sought out gameplay by known journalists, and the gameplay that I have seen is usually their impression during their first time with the game.

 

[rakka]

I don't know about that. You've got to have the right range with it and know where to camp. One or two kills with it mean nothing if you can't hold onto it. Makes it no different than a BR then.

i disagree, one or two kills means something when I'm on a riot or going for a perfection.

 

[Woorloog]

even my gf switches to secondary weapon to finish off enemies when in mid combat when preferred weapon has empty clip

Yeah, sure people switch when empty magazines but to a more effective weapon? (any non-headshot weapon to drop shields, ideally you should switch to a headshot weapon and finish them off, depend a bit on the situation of course).
I really don't see an average Reach player (who're pretty bad in my experience) doing this. Sure, there are people who do. And they're the better ones.

EDIT since it seems i'm getting so many shitty players to play with, i'm going to assume my experience with Reach is shittier than it is on average...

 

[Overdoziz]

It's absolutely useless to bad players from what I see online and most the time, it's right there and no one ever picks it up. It's a gun that from what I notice, unless ur stuck using it, isn't worth the effort when u can grab a sniper, shotty or rockets. It doesn't do anything particularly great for most situations and most of the people dont bother learning how to use it for the one time u might shoot it around a corner. If its being changed, there's a reason.

Meh, you're not worth it, cya.

 

[AlStrong]

This is true. Only other thing I can think of is that the Infinity must have hit the ground.

hm... The Infinity does already look grounded though. I thought maybe something else was causing the ground to shake, but then it only happens once during the entire demo, and Cortana probably would have mentioned it as being anomalous if it were something other than due to the ships passing.

We're probably just overthinking this, and it's just a script timing error.

 

[Overdoziz]

lol

They're paid for their opinions on games, not to be good at them. It's a rare moment that I've actually seen not bad gameplay from a journalist. Granted, I've never actively sought out gameplay by known journalists, and the gameplay that I have seen is usually their impression during their first time with the game.

I die a little inside every time I see a game journalist play a game. Especially in multiplayer.

 

[rakka]

speaking of which there's alot of new / crappy players online but i swear it's more often that they're on my team then the others lol! what's the use of getting +20 k/d spread when theres 3 others who got a fucking -10 D:

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

Sorry if this has been answered regarding spartan ops.

1) the new weekly content is free right?
2) can it be played offline/LAN?
3) will the content always be available and not time phased?

I'm guessing yes to all but it's MS so I get a bit concerned as sounds DLCish and their stance with DLC

 

[Xx AmAzE xX]

I rarely chime in on these forums but after watching the Halo 4 footage (and getting hyped) I feel like I HAVE to make this point, 343 if you are out there PLEASE PLEASE consider this post...

The argument I make for Halo > COD (in particular Halo 3 > COD4 when they were semi competing) is that Halo shines because it is purely a SKILL BASED GAME. Learning how to BR properly was critical in being a good player and instead of rewarding players for getting the first shot ,like in COD, you had to be poised, cunning and have good aim to win a BR battle.

I was an avid Halo 3 player and had level 50 in multiple playlists and the reason I think Halo 2 and 3 were so addicting for me was because of the leveling system. It creates a sense of competition and 80% of the time being of a higher level than someone meant you were better at playing the game (a game where BRing is the core skill). The Halo 2/3 level system pushed me to get better at the game, made me aware that I wasn't good because I wasn't level 50 yet. I had to hone my BRing and learn how to play with my team/partners in order to up my level.

This is why Halo Reach didn't really engross me, because it lacked a leveling system. This was so for 2 reasons:

1. If I just wanted to pick up and play without my team in a normal non-arena playlist, it would be almost trivially easy to carry my team even in 5 v 5 because there was no matching based on skill.

2. There was no sense of progression or mastery of Reach, yeah I had my stats and yeah there was the COD style "keep on trucking" rank system but what keeps me addicted and loyal to a shooter is the urge to prove that I am better than the kids I'm playing against and to some degree better than the kids on my friends list.

343 I PROMISE YOU the longevity of Halo 4 will be benefit from a leveling system akin to that of Halo 2 and Halo 3. Yes I know the drawback of people selling accounts or people boosting levels but at the end of the day the people doing that are those who are so addicted to leveling that they do it to earn money. In fact if you think about it there was a demand for a level 50 account because it's something that ALL players wanted. Do not do any arena shit, don't do any spartan vs elite shit just have playlists with levels and then if anything your rank can be universal to help noobs feel good about themselves.

I love Halo, I really do but a big part of why I love it is because of the competitive spirit and with Halo 4 looking very good I would hate for a game of such quality to not live up to it's potential because a simple level system was missing.

PS: If Halo 4 does have Halo 2/3 style leveling, I am sorry for ranting.

 

[Vire]

I saw that over the course of development the exact color of Red and Blue in multiplayer changed to the Halo 3 Beta's Salmon and Cyan, I just want to say PLEASE KEEP IT THIS WAY. It looks so much more atheistically pleasing.

Don't think I didn't notice.

 

[GarthVaderUK]

Sorry if this has been answered regarding spartan ops.

1) the new weekly content is free right?
2) can it be played offline/LAN?
3) will the content always be available and not time phased?

I'm guessing yes to all but it's MS so I get a bit concerned as sounds DLCish and their stance with DLC

AFAIK everyone who buys the game gets season 1. A season consists of many weekly episodes (Frankie said "think TV season"), and from what I understand an episode consists of 1 cut-scene and 5 chapters/missions. The content will always be available to you, I don't know for certain if you can play it offline but I don't see why you wouldn't be able to. If there's a season 2 I personally think they could charge for it, but I haven't seen any confirmation on that.

 

[Victory Red]

I'm going to play this game day 1 but I just don't know how much I'll play it.

COD perfected the "dangling carrot" system where you just have to play a little more to get x, a little longer you unlock y, do this crazy thing and unlock z, etc. In Reach, I felt like I'd have to play for weeks just to get to the next rank.

I don't know how a similar system would work in Halo 4 since there are no weapon attachments to unlock. But having a shit-ton of weapon camos, armors, and emblems to unlock would be a start.

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

Just catching up with this thread.. So replies incoming, but damn I can't get over how good looking this game is. Seriously, its kinda crazy.

both these Promethean knights are holding unrevealed weapons. the top one isn't the light rifle, there's no floating scope and the handles different. possibly assault rifle counterpart? the second one is really long, I'm assuming its a Promethean sniper rifle.

Interesting catch, but are you sure they aren't the lightrifle?

Hi res of new enemies:

Crawler

Watcher

Knight

They certainly are growing on me, but I hope we some more organic looking enemies in the game as well.

Wonder if there will be more than just those guys as the Prometheans enemy type.

Also thruster pack shot:

And Promethean Vision:

So sexy.

*single tear slides down cheek*

Forerunner Chopper will be a thing. It has to be.

 

[malfcn]

both these Promethean knights are holding unrevealed weapons. the top one isn't the light rifle, there's no floating scope and the handles different. possibly assault rifle counterpart? the second one is really long, I'm assuming its a Promethean sniper rifle.

I think one of the videos said the weapons can change and "suit the needs of the user"

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

AFAIK everyone who buys the game gets season 1. A season consists of many weekly episodes (Frankie said "think TV season"), and from what I understand an episode consists of 1 cut-scene and 5 chapters/missions. The content will always be available to you, I don't know for certain if you can play it offline but I don't see why you wouldn't be able to. If there's a season 2 I personally think they could charge for it, but I haven't seen any confirmation on that.

sounds good. thanks

 

[clav]

Verge published a detailed write-up about Halo 4's multiplayer.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/7/3069091/halo-4-multiplayer-war-games-e3

 

[GhaleonEB]

AFAIK everyone who buys the game gets season 1. A season consists of many weekly episodes (Frankie said "think TV season"), and from what I understand an episode consists of 1 cut-scene and 5 chapters/missions. The content will always be available to you, I don't know for certain if you can play it offline but I don't see why you wouldn't be able to. If there's a season 2 I personally think they could charge for it, but I haven't seen any confirmation on that.

It's been confirmed that you can play single player Spartan Ops, and in the Infinity trailer, the XP screen shows a payout line for playing online (do so, get more XP). So you can definitely play solo, or multiple players offline.

Edit: here.

 

[AHappyPanda]

Does anyone have any other information on the weapon unlocks?

I swear I saw either in the official multiplayer video montage 343 released, or in an off-screen, that the BR was not unlocked from the start.

 

[Tha Robbertster]

Does anyone have any other information on the weapon unlocks?

I swear I saw either in the official multiplayer video montage 343 released, or in an off-screen, that the BR was not unlocked from the start.

Yeah, you'll have to unlock a lot of the weapons (15 from what we've seen in a video) before you can actually select them in your loadout. You can still pick 'm up from dead bodies. There'll always be map specific default loadouts so you won't have to play on a very big open map without a long ranged weapon.

 

[Petrichor]

They've shown about four varieties of the promethean knight so far (the first one the chief encounters, the one that jumps at him and is instantly evaporated by the scattershot, the crested one at the end of the demo, and a blue variation of the crested one in the trailer) and I liked the other three design-wise much more than the first knight that spawned the watcher; not sure why they decided on that design as the "big enemy reveal"

 

[Arnie]

I rarely chime in on these forums but after watching the Halo 4 footage (and getting hyped) I feel like I HAVE to make this point, 343 if you are out there PLEASE PLEASE consider this post...

The argument I make for Halo > COD (in particular Halo 3 > COD4 when they were semi competing) is that Halo shines because it is purely a SKILL BASED GAME. Learning how to BR properly was critical in being a good player and instead of rewarding players for getting the first shot ,like in COD, you had to be poised, cunning and have good aim to win a BR battle.

I was an avid Halo 3 player and had level 50 in multiple playlists and the reason I think Halo 2 and 3 were so addicting for me was because of the leveling system. It creates a sense of competition and 80% of the time being of a higher level than someone meant you were better at playing the game (a game where BRing is the core skill). The Halo 2/3 level system pushed me to get better at the game, made me aware that I wasn't good because I wasn't level 50 yet. I had to hone my BRing and learn how to play with my team/partners in order to up my level.

This is why Halo Reach didn't really engross me, because it lacked a leveling system. This was so for 2 reasons:

1. If I just wanted to pick up and play without my team in a normal non-arena playlist, it would be almost trivially easy to carry my team even in 5 v 5 because there was no matching based on skill.

2. There was no sense of progression or mastery of Reach, yeah I had my stats and yeah there was the COD style "keep on trucking" rank system but what keeps me addicted and loyal to a shooter is the urge to prove that I am better than the kids I'm playing against and to some degree better than the kids on my friends list.

343 I PROMISE YOU the longevity of Halo 4 will be benefit from a leveling system akin to that of Halo 2 and Halo 3. Yes I know the drawback of people selling accounts or people boosting levels but at the end of the day the people doing that are those who are so addicted to leveling that they do it to earn money. In fact if you think about it there was a demand for a level 50 account because it's something that ALL players wanted. Do not do any arena shit, don't do any spartan vs elite shit just have playlists with levels and then if anything your rank can be universal to help noobs feel good about themselves.

I love Halo, I really do but a big part of why I love it is because of the competitive spirit and with Halo 4 looking very good I would hate for a game of such quality to not live up to it's potential because a simple level system was missing.

PS: If Halo 4 does have Halo 2/3 style leveling, I am sorry for ranting.

I've brought this point up multiple times in the Halo Community thread and Frank has confirmed that they're looking at a skill based ranking system, but that it's more than likely not the same 1-50 system as we're used to.

I fully agree with what you're saying; longevity in Halo 4 will be determined, not solely, by if it has a skill based ranking system. As I've reiterated countless times before, anecdotally I know tons of friends in real life who dropped Reach because it didn't have a ranking system. And if Halo 4 is the same then it'll be dropped quickly too.