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Halo 5- Where does Microsoft go from here? The good, the bad and the Halo 5

Note*- this is not directly a thread based on the sales of the product but a thread to discuss the past, current and future state of the franchise. I personally do not mind a small bit of sales talk and how that goes along with some of the other issues but this is not a thread to focus on the sales themselves. I have had mod approval for this, and I only wish we can all be civil as HALO brings out a lot of passion in a lot of people including myself so I hope the mods can have my back here. I just love halo and this is a fact.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>**If you feel there aren't any issues with the game, it's fine to say this but this thread isn't created to be a shouting match of "I think it's great" It's a thread to discuss the issues we feel the series has

*You may also skim down and go "straight to the point" if you don't like reading my halo history but I suggest you skim from H5 as well.

First of all, I do not directly have anything against 343 and am sure quite a few o f them worked at Bungie and other big titles.

The slight downfall in player count and play time from the dedicated and hardcore fans didn't begin with 343 as well.


For me the feeling and gameplay was directly affected in Reach. At this time a lot of my friends were still on Halo 3 and while we tried reach it just wasn't the same for us and a lot of us continued on H3 with a lot less time spent on Reach. I'd call it a 70/40 split for reach during week one that got a big shift to halo as each week passed. After a few months I was strictly on Halo 3 again and didn't care for the new play style of reach.

Then, as things turned and H4 came, I was watching a lot of videos of it and my feeling in the look and design of the game just wasnt there at all. I had almost no feeling and i watched the launch of the series on twitch, watched a ton of pros playing it and they wouldn't actually comment on if they liked it or not. I finally played through H4 and just couldn't enjoy it even though I had a bit of an open mind for the campaign. Ended up not enjoying the core map design or gameplay of the mp and stuck with the other halo game's on mcc.

MCC had a terrible launch, I actually ordered me a white bundle in HK, live and got it all ready. I had not played online games much and was really looking forward to it here in China.

Well, we all know the issues... I was pretty heart broken in the sense that I believed I was going to be on H1, 2 and 3. And all on servers as far as I knew so boy was I really excited, hadn't been that excited for more than 2 or 3 games in years.

Took me a year and I still can't find matches in MCC to this day. 2 or 3 if I search all day, so that is that. (When I'm back in america hope it will still be around )


Halo 5 ...

So, I wasn't really looking forward to halo 5, I firmly admit this. But the hype got to me and I ordered it and bought it digitally.

Well, did enjoy half the campaign, half of it is tedious and not great but it has parts as good as halo 2 for sure.

Then I got to the mp. There are some good things there but to be honest with you you it feels like the game is 30 percent complete and I am to assume they spent 3 plus year's on this?

For one, the game simply doesn't feel like Halo imo, the sprint, clamber and map design is just not the right fit (and it's perfectly fine to disagree with me)

So, the thing is I just feel bad all over again cause not only have I had halo issues for many many year's but when I play halo 5 I am seeing a game that is missing all the things I love about Halo

maps with weapon point control
Doubles
BTB

and the things like sprint, clamber and jet packs just feel a bit too much. I simply want to focus on my poisition, my shots and how to take the upper hand. Now, I just feel things are a bit out of hand here and as to how I should handle the game.

I will say this, as far as what the game is it seems fun and decent, but I just enjoy the basic halo style a lot more.


So, with that said I do feel there is a problem for microsoft and 343 and this isn't just about sales which is also a bit worrying for them I would assume.

The reason I don't want to focus o sales is because I don't think it's easy to say where the real problem lies. Is it in the issues, the classic halo feel being gone for such a logn time or is it console fatiguep? Obviously, we can't prove any of these and it's fine to discuss them so I won't just flat out say no to that.

IMO- I think 343 simply needs new management or some key team memebers that get what halo really is. I don't want to see warzone, cluttered maps or sprint in the next halo. I am not looking to see what kind of Req cards I can open. If you want me to pay for your game, I suggest you make a solid foundation and make maps that halo fans care about. I have no issues in paying for maps that I really enjoy. As it stands, if I have to play another Eden, plaza or empire map... I almost feel I'd have to seriously ask someone to pay me to play on them. I just don't feel them, not at all and that is to put it lightly and sincerely.

Straight to the point

Now, considering the issues that the game has (missing playlists) and missing modes it's just too easy to say "they are coming". And I hope some of you can actually discuss what MS should or could be doing to turn this franchise around?



What can MS do to turn the ship around?
-new management?
-Classic Halo design and game play?
-more marketing?
-Better release schedules and better dlc transaction plans?
-Fixing MCC with dedicated severs?

How do you feel?
-Is the things they have in place fine for you ?
-What are you enjoying or not enjoying in the mp or single player experience?

Bottom line- I feel Halo 5 has huge issues, it's main design points in clamber and map design just feel off to me. I simply feel tired and I'd even say my hands hurt from the style of play. I get tired of people charging around just to hit a button and melee me when they happen to get near me. I just want sprint and these other things out

-We have had a sinking player base (not that we need it to enjoy a game) but there are obvious issues


I simply feel it's been near 8 year's since I had a Halo that played near what Halo should play like. I hope MS will take this time to create a game that resembles the play of halo 1 2 and 3 while adding new guns and some simple new things to the mix.


I think the progression from 1 to 3 was quite nice and while they don't play like each other they still feel like Halo. You can add new lifts and new designs to maps that feel like new things, and that is exactly what we had seen in the original evolution.

I respect Halo as a series and it is my favorite mp series since I have been playing online, I want nothing but the best for the series and for the games that will be coming.


I want to keep the issues of the game out of the main thread as I feel people who are enjoying it deserve a good place to chat about the game itself (including myself)
 
I just pick this up earlier this week. While I do enjoy the game, this game is lacking in content when compare to other shooters in the market... I don't know how long before they start dropping those free contents, but if I have to pay for them they can fuck right off.
 
ODST 2 will right the ship.

I know people love this title but in all honesty is it really that good? I had a hard time finishing it the first time around and I did end up finishing it on MCC and while it has some good points, I think it sort of has that issue of being different enough to like it. like the ugly step child, but it ends up falling apart in a lot of places.

I beleive odst is loved just cause it's an add on and is different.

Now, not to say that the style can't work. I for one would love if it was expanded upon in a more large and detailed world with ai routines, more involved missions such as deus ex and had missions on the outskirts in large covey bases and ships. Now, that would actually be pretty nice..

But it would help if people actually shared what they like about odst so much compared to a halo 5, 3 and reach maybe :)
 
I just pick this up earlier this week. While I do enjoy the game, this game is lacking in content when compare to other shooters in the market... I don't know how long before they start dropping those free contents, but if I have to pay for them they can fuck right off.

IMO and what I believe 343 is thinking

They feel warzone and breakout takes the place in some ways of those other playlist. I oidn't mean replacement, but like they wanted them to be the new and popular things for players.

I just think this didn't go over as well as they had hoped.

I personally can't get into warzone. I don't care at all about the req system and I gave up spending my points I had gotten one day. Breakout is "ok" but it simply isn't something I want to play a lot of to be honest. The objective part isn't solid enough and it ends up feeling off for me.

So, with me not liking what they spent time on, it sort of created the issues I have with the game and maybe you feel the same way.
 

Unity2012

Member
Not to say is right or that the game doesnt have its flaws; but Marketing wise, I think with Black Ops and Battlefront coming out right after Halo 5, MS just paced their content outing to maintain the audience engaged and excited about the new game. The real question is to see if it works on their favor.

I, for once, cannot wait for BTB, I like Warzone but we need more maps; and Team Arena random picks is NOT fun for me at all. We need variety and the power to choose.
 
Better character development is about all I want, I thought the game was great with a campaign I really liked and good multiplayer, the changes they made to the Spartan abilities were really good
 

shoreu

Member
I think 343 should keep doing what they are doing Halo 5 took a hit because of MCC. It's a solid game and the MP is amazing. They need to go all out on the campaign and improve the quality of the multi-player even more.


The updates that they are doing seem interesting and I hope that they go well to keep us playing a long time.


It sucks that this quality game suffered for anothers mistake.
 

dumbo

Member
People tend not to buy sequels to franchises they don't know, and at this point the Halo franchise is around 14 years old... that is a hell of a lot of sequels that people feel that they need to have played.

I'd suggest 2 options:
a) Mass Effect: Andromeda. The franchise restarts somewhere else, it is only loosely connected to the original game. Similarly, the gameplay may be different.
b) Reboot. Re-imagine the series from the start, but modernized/subverted/twisted.

[I'd say the same thing about a few other gaming franchises...]
 
I was in the opposite boat than TC: played far more Reach than I did H3. And I disagree with TC concerning sprint and clamber, but ground pound and shoulder charge are strange additions.

What I do like is how 343i has tried to streamline the weapon configuration and not provide you with virtually identical or inferior weapons of the same type. DMR is perhaps the one exception, where it is sort of an in-between for pistol and BR but barely better than stock pistol IMO. I do also enjoy the framerate bump and tighter control configuration.

My biggest gripe with H5 is the lack of maps, primarily, and how oddly plain many of them look. Variety is something that will be addressed, but I worry it was preliminarily determined by management in order to maximize revenue. Unfortunate if true.

UI is iffy, hopefully they can get back to the Halo: Reach days of efficiency. I also miss the statistical information for MP matches provided in Halo 2 - the limited statistical reports leaves much to be desired.

For SP, there is serious need. Direct narrative has really begun to bog down Halo, kinda wish they would change their approach to something more passive.

Warzone is...well, forgettable. On paper I couldn't have been more excited, but it's just an excuse to shoot stuff if you don't have a large group online and when you do, I'd rather just play BTB. It's enjoyable grinding for req packs, but the spread of rewards needs to be tweaked. Spending 10k points to keep 2 items and sell the other 10 is monotonous. Provide 3-5 meaningful items per pack at least.
 

BokehKing

Banned
I think the real question for you is

Is there enough people out there that enjoy that style of shooter you desire in today's competitive console shooter market.

In order to have a game to be successful it needs to be hitting all the right chords for the hardcore and be approachable to new comers to the series or people who have not played since halo 2.

Destiny, Cod, Battlefront, Battlefield
If you can get a kill in one of those 4 games you could excel at any of those 4 games.
(you can extend those mechanics to Far Cry and Wolfenstein as well)
Problem is, halo has a steep learning curve, the hardcore faithful are proud of that, but the hardcore is not enough for opening week and to sustain multiplayer life
You may not like sprint and clamber
But the game needs to change ON consoles

If the game was on PC, we would not be having this discuss probably, sales would not be as abysmal and at least a quarter of the counter strike crowd would be playing it.
 
I want the ones of you you who use the word modernize to please clairfy what this means


Does just having sprint, jet packs suddenly make games modern? Would GTA or Mario need some sort of????? to be modern?

I really just dislike the idea that a shooter has to be a game that copies some other popular series to feel "right". There is nothing that make sprint, jet packs or wall climbing modern.

In a space where a game can feel unique and fun for a vareity of reasons, I hate to think that we use a word like modern to try and say why a game should or shouldn't have certain gameplay elements. There is nothing wrong with a game not having sprint and being more slow, this doesn't make it "non modern"


When I think of modern, I think of game play movement, even if it's slow or fast. Resolutions and other tid bits such as hit detection net code

I'd personally like to see how a modern halo would feel without sprint, jet packs and other abilities that sort of take a way from shooting and map control.


speaking of

think the real question for you is

Is there enough people out there that enjoy that style of shooter you desire in today's competitive console shooter market.

In order to have a game to be successful it needs to be hitting all the right chords for the hardcore and be approachable to new comers to the series or people who have not played since halo 2.

Destiny, Cod, Battlefront, Battlefield
If you can get a kill in one of those 4 games you could excel at any of those 4 games.
(you can extend those mechanics to Far Cry and Wolfenstein as well)
Problem is, halo has a steep learning curve, the hardcore faithful are proud of that, but the hardcore is not enough for opening week and to sustain multiplayer life
You may not like sprint and clamber
But the game needs to change ON consoles

If the game was on PC, we would not be having this discuss probably, sales would not be as abysmal and at least a quarter of the counter strike crowd would be playing it.


THIS is a great question and I would say


YES!!

The people who like halo for the slow and more control, great shots and nades gameplay didn't all swittch to cod or titanfall. A lot of us just don't play shooters at all.

Now, I hate speaking for others but to answer your question. Will people enjoy and like a game outside of what cod is doing. I think, 100%, YES. Give it to us. Give it to us and let's see. it can't do any worse than Halo 5 anyways, right?

I believe without a doubt there is a large market for what halo, tf and unreal were. I believe this a lot because I have been around the scene enough and I know there are a ton of people out there that enjoy the game play I do.

It's sort of like the order and until dawn, people wanted a shooter with the order and it sort of failed but did a lot of things well, until dawn was more of a hardcore story riven experience and it did very well for people and even those people who don't typically play those type of games.

let's remember the classic halo never had a chance to fail, I can't fathom why they wouldn't at least try it at this point? There are no grounds to prove why it would fail.
 

RoKKeR

Member
The good: Multiplayer, campaign level design, free DLC/community interaction/content updates

The bad: Story, lack of custom game/forge map browsing (which I assume will be added in soon), no splitscreeen

They are on the right track, that's for sure.
 
I just pick this up earlier this week. While I do enjoy the game, this game is lacking in content when compare to other shooters in the market... I don't know how long before they start dropping those free contents, but if I have to pay for them they can fuck right off.

BTB drops next week.

And yes, it's free.

Also, I like how the OP straight up says "if you think it's good, get out." It's refreshingly honest.
 
I want the ones of you you who use the word modernize to please clairfy what this means


Does just having sprint, jet packs suddenly make games modern? Would GTA or Mario need some sort of????? to be modern?

I really just dislike the idea that a shooter has to be a game that copies some other popular series to feel "right". There is nothing that make sprint, jet packs or wall climbing modern.

In a space where a game can feel unique and fun for a vareity of reasons, I hate to think that we use a word like modern to try and say why a game should or shouldn't have certain gameplay elements. There is nothing wrong with a game not having sprint and being more slow, this doesn't make it "non modern"


When I think of modern, I think of game play movement, even if it's slow or fast. Resolutions and other tid bits such as hit detection net code

I'd personally like to see how a modern halo would feel without sprint, jet packs and other abilities that sort of take a way from shooting and map control.
Your post confuses me, since you answered your own question of what makes a game 'modern' by answering gameplay movement. Which this game changed drastically, but in a way that still makes the game feel like Halo at its core. Try going back to the previous games, and they feel sluggish as suddenly you're not able to maneuver the environment as smoothly or capably.

Personally, this is my favorite Halo since ODST. Just waiting for more multiplayer updates.
 

Cheesy Steve

Neo Member
The new spartan abilities are a solid evolution of the traditional Halo gameplay. They just need to make more varied multiplayer maps. The campaign on the other hand needs better pacing. Also those little hub levels were an interesting addition, and I wouldn't mind those being expanded on.
 

Madness

Member
I think the real question for you is

Is there enough people out there that enjoy that style of shooter you desire in today's competitive console shooter market.

In order to have a game to be successful it needs to be hitting all the right chords for the hardcore and be approachable to new comers to the series or people who have not played since halo 2.

Destiny, Cod, Battlefront, Battlefield
If you can get a kill in one of those 4 games you could excel at any of those 4 games.

(you can extend those mechanics to Far Cry and Wolfenstein as well)
Problem is, halo has a steep learning curve, the hardcore faithful are proud of that, but the hardcore is not enough for opening week and to sustain multiplayer life
You may not like sprint and clamber
But the game needs to change ON consoles

If the game was on PC, we would not be having this discuss probably, sales would not be as abysmal and at least a quarter of the counter strike crowd would be playing it.

I feel sad for you, that you think homogenousization of the genre is a positive. Halo is Halo, that's what makes isn't unique. Your comments in the Halo thread have been enough to show its not something you enjoy, and that you prefer a very casual and low skilled Halo game, where random elements and fast time to kill are required.

Not every game needs to be the same. I counter your argument by saying, if CoD, Battlefield, Destiny play so similarly, fans of those series should continue playing those and not try and change Halo to suit that. I agree the game needs to come out on PC as well and probably will for the next iteration.
 

16BitNova

Member
I will say that when it comes to playlist and variety, 343 screwed up. I get it, they want to keep people coming back as they release things steadily but, I think that was the wrong approach. Just give people their content. The longer you wait the more people will jump ship. It's a shame that Halo didn't launch with BTB and an Objective only playlist. A shame. This is Halo.

The gameplay, I love. People who want classic Halo gameplay need to move on. It's like you want this franchise to die. No franchise would survive if they gave you the same gameplay for what? Almost 15 years now? No way. Halo is evolving as it should. Clamber is great, the way sprint works in that your shields don't recharge while using it is great. The evolution of gameplay is all great. But, the lack of variety is what is already boring me with Halo 5. We need more and soon.
 
I will say that when it comes to playlist and variety, 343 screwed up. I get it, they want to keep people coming back as they release things steadily but, I think that was the wrong approach. Just give people their content. The longer you wait the more people will jump ship. It's a shame that Halo didn't launch with BTB and an Objective only playlist. A shame. This is Halo.

The gameplay, I love. People who want classic Halo gameplay need to move on. It's like you want this franchise to die. No franchise would survive if they gave you the same gameplay for what? Almost 15 years now? No way. Halo is evolving as it should. Clamber is great, the way sprint works in that your shields don't recharge while using it is great. The evolution of gameplay is all great. But, the lack of variety is what is already boring me with Halo 5. We need more and soon.

well luckily it's only a 3 wait week for BTB from launch.
 

Nephtes

Member
I'm going to disagree on the gameplay aspects related to movement.

I love the additions of sprint, clamber, ground pound, boost, etc.

It makes traversing the map fun. I can't go back to the slow, plodding movement from the earlier Halos after Titanfall and Destiny blew them away.
 
I know people love this title but in all honesty is it really that good? I had a hard time finishing it the first time around and I did end up finishing it on MCC and while it has some good points, I think it sort of has that issue of being different enough to like it. like the ugly step child, but it ends up falling apart in a lot of places.

I beleive odst is loved just cause it's an add on and is different.

Now, not to say that the style can't work. I for one would love if it was expanded upon in a more large and detailed world with ai routines, more involved missions such as deus ex and had missions on the outskirts in large covey bases and ships. Now, that would actually be pretty nice..

But it would help if people actually shared what they like about odst so much compared to a halo 5, 3 and reach maybe :)

Being different, putting us in other people's shoes and fleshing out the universe is exactly why it's so good.

Halo needs differentiation instead of just having the same old tired main character with the same boring supporting characters. Let's leave MC alone for a little while, focus on others and let's flesh out the world. Let's have a game that takes entirely during the Forerunner war.

Let's have a game that follows Arbitar doing his thing. It's time to start experimenting with the Halo formula or risk the game becoming a mere footnote instead of a huge gaming event.
 
Variety needs to be increased (maps, gametypes, etc) but in my mind 343 made proper changes to gameplay. Jumping into Arena feels like Halo to me, and I haven't felt that since early days of Reach, maybe Halo 3 even.

To nitpick - I don't think sprint is necessary. Thankfully they added respawns times back in, but with such small maps it feels like I'm always in conflict. In older Halo games there was respite and less sprinting back to the spot I died to see if that guy is sill there.

Overall I'm of the mind that this is a step in the right direction. Brig back splitscreen though. Seriously. What the hell.
 
Honestly? Just give us a whole game on Blue Team, have them all playable and really explore their backgrounds, traits and personalities.

Here's a good fact, Linda and Kelly are both practitioners of Zen and use it to hone their sniping skills/ fast reflexes
 

LQX

Member
Make it open world.....more worlds rather than square corridors that look like some weird alien shipping and storage facility. Make the game a real soap opera rather than a dire mission, go go here, kill all the enemies before you can move on, cut scene, repeat. It is especially stale in Halo now as the single gets so much praise but it is so run-of-the-mil and behind the times. This is probably the first Halo where you interacted with people but it seemed so odd as if the engine was not built to that outside of cut scenes. I would love to see species and worlds where you can really interact like say a Fallout.
 

Azlan

Member
I personally feel like the mechanics of Halo 5 multiplayer are the best they have ever been. I have been playing Halo since the first game, and at this point it is very difficult for me to go back to older titles without the enhanced maneuverability that Halo 5 offers with clambering, sprinting, etc. In my opinion 343 made progress towards making me feel like I am playing as a Spartan and allow me to execute things tactically that would have been impossible with the slower pace of the older games. I also enjoy what they have done with the existing weapon selection. The sound and feel of the weapons are very satisfying, and they have taken weapons that were borderline useless in older games and made them viable choices.

Where I find Halo 5 lacking is in the amount of available mp maps and game modes. I know that they are adding big team battle next week, but they really need more mid sized maps like we had in previous games. Where are the Blood Gulches and Lockdowns. I really hope they add some more non-forge slayer maps soon. I would also like to see some old game modes brought back as well, like ricochet and rocket race. In order for the multiplayer to have legs, they need to keep delivering content. For a AAA game with such a long development cycle the amount of content is lacking.
 

16BitNova

Member
well luckily it's only a 3 wait week for BTB from launch.

I know this because I keep up on such things, but I know people who already gave up on Halo 5 because they say there isn't BTB or the over all lack of playlist.

The casual people don't research stuff like this.
 
Your post confuses me, since you answered your own question of what makes a game 'modern' by answering gameplay movement. Which this game changed drastically, but in a way that still makes the game feel like Halo at its core. Try going back to the previous games, and they feel sluggish as suddenly you're not able to maneuver the environment as smoothly or capably.

Personally, this is my favorite Halo since ODST. Just waiting for more multiplayer updates.

I think that is an issue of getting use to have sprint , it isn't something that can't be gotten use to again with games that don't use it imo

I can feel like using clamber when I boot halo 3 or odst etc, but that feeling would be gone after a few hours anyways and I wouldn't miss it.

I don't feel the games feel sluggish, it's just that you get use to things and rely on them. Dive deep into Halo 3 for a few hours and you would start timing your jumps and placements without issues. Clamber gets in the way of shooting, but the biggest issue is it affects the flow and design of the maps a lot more than the pros of using it.
 

shoreu

Member
I think the real question for you is

Is there enough people out there that enjoy that style of shooter you desire in today's competitive console shooter market.

In order to have a game to be successful it needs to be hitting all the right chords for the hardcore and be approachable to new comers to the series or people who have not played since halo 2.

Destiny, Cod, Battlefront, Battlefield
If you can get a kill in one of those 4 games you could excel at any of those 4 games.
(you can extend those mechanics to Far Cry and Wolfenstein as well)
Problem is, halo has a steep learning curve, the hardcore faithful are proud of that, but the hardcore is not enough for opening week and to sustain multiplayer life
You may not like sprint and clamber
But the game needs to change ON consoles

If the game was on PC, we would not be having this discuss probably, sales would not be as abysmal and at least a quarter of the counter strike crowd would be playing it.


Your last point is the real issue. Their are so many young gamers who only know or like COD because it's really easy to get into. And the many halo 2 vets feel like their too old to play competitively( some of the guys ik say this not the standard), and getting into halo is very very frustrating to new comers and takes a while to get into, and even still you'll be average for a long time.

We are seeing these new halo players with all the quitters. And people who just can't handle getting dominated in the game, and even for a "good" player like me its aggravating to lose in halo.


This game is amazing I feel that a lot of people avoid it because you don't just get on and good immediately.
 

Monocle

Member
Bring back splitscreen, campaign theater, and firefight, and we're good. 343 fixed just about all of Halo 4's major problems. Best campaign since ODST.

I'm going to disagree on the gameplay aspects related to movement.

I love the additions of sprint, clamber, ground pound, boost, etc.

It makes traversing the map fun. I can't go back to the slow, plodding movement from the earlier Halos after Titanfall and Destiny blew them away.
Yeah, 343 nailed these. They're so well integrated with Halo's classic mechanics. Yes, they change the feel of the game, but I think it's a good change. Your movement options are so intuitive.
 
Being different, putting us in other people's shoes and fleshing out the universe is exactly why it's so good.

Halo needs differentiation instead of just having the same old tired main character with the same boring supporting characters. Let's leave MC alone for a little while, focus on others and let's flesh out the world. Let's have a game that takes entirely during the Forerunner war.

Let's have a game that follows Arbitar doing his thing. It's time to start experimenting with the Halo formula or risk the game becoming a mere footnote instead of a huge gaming event.

Like i was saying. I could dig a more Kotor like mission and level design (just fit for halo of course) Getting to know the world and how the people live and breathe in the world is something that makes a lot of sense and would go well wit the typical halo gameplay.

I do like how the world in halo 1 felt connected and that is sort of where they should expand on the game imo
 

j-wood

Member
Here's the deal I think:

1. BTB is dropping in the next week or two, along with other free content, so let's get that out of the way.

What we are seeing with these games is the cost of increased graphics. We all want games to take advantage of the new consoles right? Well, those increased graphics have a substantially increased development time. Same thing goes for all the new game systems, AI, etc. All of that cost way more time than it did on the old machines.

We eventually reach a point where you have a time/money issue. So we are seeing games get pushed out with less content.

Now how does a game like call of duty do it? Because they are using the same assets and pumping them out on a yearly basis. Basically like Madden, where only 1 or 2 new systems are created. Do you want Halo on that track? I don't.
 

StoveOven

Banned
Make it open world.....more worlds rather than square corridors that look like some weird alien shipping and storage facility. Make the game a real soap opera rather than a dire mission, go go here, kill all the enemies before you can move on, cut scene, repeat. It is especially stale in Halo now as the single gets so much praise but it is so run-of-the-mil and behind the times. This is probably the first Halo where you interacted with people but it seemed so odd as if the engine was not built to that outside of cut scenes. I would love to see species and worlds where you can really interact like say a Fallout.

I'm not sure it will be in the next game, but I think they are definitely going in that direction. After seeing the few non-combat sections of Halo 5, I could definitely see a future game introducing hub locations where you can interact with NPCs and take quests from them. I don't believe that everything has to be open world, but I'd definitely be interested to see how they would pull that off.
 

Pizza

Member
Better character development is about all I want, I thought the game was great with a campaign I really liked and good multiplayer, the changes they made to the Spartan abilities were really good


I was all in for two full teams of characters, but chief and Locke didn't feel super deep and their teams, minus buck, felt like gameplay mechanics rather than squads
 
Your last point is the real issue. Their are so many young gamers who only know or like COD because it's really easy to get into. And the many halo 2 vets feel like their too old to play competitively( some of the guys ik say this not the standard), and getting into halo is very very frustrating to new comers and takes a while to get into, and even still you'll be average for a long time.

We are seeing these new halo players with all the quitters. And people who just can't handle getting dominated in the game, and even for a "good" player like me its aggravating to lose in halo.

We can't pertain to gamers just cause they only know cod. It has been proven that putting out the same thing over and over will always fail eventually. COD will have it's day too more than likely.

I have to ask, if we are making things too similar why would the kids pick up halo if it's doing half the things cod is doing? wouldn't they just pick up cod?

At least when a game is different, you have a greater reason to play it versus the compeitition?

Isn't this what cod did, I didn't see anyone saying cod needed to copy halo.

THIS is exactly what IW did, they made their own basic design and idea for their shooter and it became popular. And by it's single player first, not even the mp made it popular the first 4 games.

Why weren't people calling for IW to copy halo shields and slow game play???

I think you guys get too caught up int he moment and miss important details that can easily be broken apart.

I don't think it's fair to say a game needs to follow a game, I just don't agree. Halo 3 was the most popular online shooter and it didn't get copied that much honestly, but it got beat sure, but halo trying to copy back broke halo imo, no need for it.
 
IMO and what I believe 343 is thinking

They feel warzone and breakout takes the place in some ways of those other playlist. I oidn't mean replacement, but like they wanted them to be the new and popular things for players.

I just think this didn't go over as well as they had hoped.

I personally can't get into warzone. I don't care at all about the req system and I gave up spending my points I had gotten one day. Breakout is "ok" but it simply isn't something I want to play a lot of to be honest. The objective part isn't solid enough and it ends up feeling off for me.

So, with me not liking what they spent time on, it sort of created the issues I have with the game and maybe you feel the same way.

Warzone is fun and all, but it feels like it's a pay to win type of game mode. Can barely get any of those power weapons and vehicles through the dumb REQT card system. On top of needing to grind to get those REQT points and levels you need those damn cards? Really? I mean wtf were they thinking?
 

Rains

Member
Loving warzone however they need more maps and need more AI dropping in. In regaurds to Arena i am finding it alot more enjoyable then say black ops 3
 

belushy

Banned
Woo, so much wishful thinking in this post.

----------------------------------------

I know 343 already denied that Halo 5 will get campaign DLC, but I think this would be awesome(inspired by a Reddit post I saw the other day):

2016: 2nd Act expansion of H5. Maybe Halo 5:Hunters or Halo 5:Cortana or something like that. Multiplayer is still normal H5 MP we've been playing. Anyone who has left in the last year will be able to come back to it with new playlists, a bunch of new maps (the free DLC + new maps with the 2nd Act)

2017: H3A. Extra cutscenes that maybe show Cortana/Chief's relationship. Multiplayer is the same as Halo 5. New maps added to MP are re-imagined H3 maps. Guardian, Sandtrap, etc. Maybe 6-7 maps. New playlist a la Halo Reach that tries to replicate classic Halo 3 gameplay. Since H3 was the first game forge was in, maybe a bunch of new forge features are added at this point. (Win10 support or something)

2018: Final Act of H5 story. New maps. Maybe firefight mode or something.

Final map count: Around 30-40 MP maps. Around 30 campaign missions + H3A campaign.

With something like this you will give people a chance to play Halo 5 MP at different periods of time. Those who stick around get a lot of nice new stuff(cosmetics!!). Maybe SR cap gets raised each year. I know some people don't care but this also helps the competitive scene for Halo. They won't have to switch games after a year or so. They get to play the same game over a long period of time (CS:GO, LoL, etc). As the years go by they could even add new features to the game like live broadcasting of tournaments right at the main menu so new people everyday can see competitive Halo easily.
 

StoveOven

Banned
I was all in for two full teams of characters, but chief and Locke didn't feel super deep and their teams, minus buck, felt like gameplay mechanics rather than squads

I thought Locke's team was all pretty enjoyable and felt like real characters. Blue Team on the other hand felt slapped in there to give Chief a team as well. Considering how little you play as Chief, I actually think this game would have been better if you played as Fire Team Osiris the whole time and were chasing a lone Master Chief
 

BokehKing

Banned
I feel sad for you, that you think homogenousization of the genre is a positive. Halo is Halo, that's what makes isn't unique. Your comments in the Halo thread have been enough to show its not something you enjoy, and that you prefer a very casual and low skilled Halo game, where random elements and fast time to kill are required.

Not every game needs to be the same. I counter your argument by saying, if CoD, Battlefield, Destiny play so similarly, fans of those series should continue playing those and not try and change Halo to suit that. I agree the game needs to come out on PC as well and probably will for the next iteration.
You feel bad for me but I feel bad for you because your series is taking massive hits population wise for being stuck in the past in the way a console FPS operates.

I'm sorry I don't fawn and trip over halo like I use to when I was 23, I went out and bought the system to give it a fair shot, just like I will give it another fair shot after next weeks patch. The controls won't change drastically, but they will change enough where my aim when strafing won't be completely borked

Your favorite FPS will do wonders on a platform where other like minded individuals like yourself would gravitate towards halos play style.

I have nothing against arena shooters on consoles, OverWatch will be approachable and make a nice transistion.
 
Core combat stays exactly the same. They nailed it in H5. They also did a great job with the variety in modes.

What Halo 6 needs multiplayer wise is more memorable maps and maybe one new mode. That's it.

From a campaign standpoint, 343 has much more work to do. We need to shake things up sandbox wise. I want to see the series really advance. I want to fight new enemies. I want to use new weapons and new vehicles. Not just a few either.
 

MJLord

Member
PLEASE stop continuing the story with books and shit like that. For the last two games everything in their campaign has felt alien to me.
 

shoreu

Member
We can't pertain to gamers just cause they only know cod. It has been proven that putting out the same thing over and over will always fail eventually. COD will have it's day too more than likely.

I have to ask, if we are making things too similar why would the kids pick up halo if it's doing half the things cod is doing? wouldn't they just pick up cod?

At least when a game is different, you have a greater reason to play it versus the compeitition?

Isn't this what cod did, I didn't see anyone saying cod needed to copy halo.

THIS is exactly what IW did, they made their own basic design and idea for their shooter and it became popular. And by it's single player first, not even the mp made it popular the first 4 games.

Why weren't people calling for IW to copy halo shields and slow game play???

I think you guys get too caught up int he moment and miss important details that can easily be broken apart.

I don't think it's fair to say a game needs to follow a game, I just don't agree. Halo 3 was the most popular online shooter and it didn't get copied that much honestly, but it got beat sure, but halo trying to copy back broke halo imo, no need for it.

I'm not trying to say that they only know cod more so that the gate of entry into halo. Is so much higher and the gameplay isn't really appreciated that much anymore. Why lose in halo when you can go 24 - 5 in cod every match.

I don't see halo really copying anything in 5 I guess clamber but no one really has their stamp on that.


And to be fair couldn't you say Black Ops 3 kinda copied Titanfall pretty hard.


PLEASE stop continuing the story with books and shit like that. For the last two games everything in their campaign has felt alien to me.

If they do this the EU is dead to me completely. Halo 5 stood on its own and their were no characters out of left field. Yes, osiris has new members but we don't need to know everything about their back story in their first game.
 

Trup1aya

Member
I think Halo 5 is a solid title, and easily the best halo title since Halo 3.

Where it lacks is content. Compared to its FPS competition, it really missed a lot of opportunities to makes sure players want to return over and over.

I'm not going to talk about the quality of the story. None of the other big shooters have stories worth writing home about. When you look at Destiny (a game that has done extremely well despite one of the most barebones in-game narratives I can remember), the lackluster story didn't matter. You'll do those same missions over and over again for the loot drops and leveling opportunity. 343i missed an opportunity to include campaign scoring and daily/weekly objectives, and tie it to their Req system, Giving the Campain a ton of replayability in the process...

On the MP side, again, there is a severe lack of content. The Req system is addictive, especially if you are into Warzone. But currently, there are only 3 Warzone maps, each with 2 variants. On the Arena side, there are 5 breakout maps and standard maps. BTB and Forge aren't released yet. Also, the only Arena game modes are slayer variants, CTF and strongholds. that's pretty sad for any FPS, but especially for Halo.

If Halo6 can launch with improvements where I mentioned, I think it will fair much better. Maybe 343i's plan to aggressively support this game with post launch content will result in longer legs than previous iterations, but I'm not convinced yet.
 

Solidsoul

Banned
To make a long story short.

Halo 5's campaign made me lose interest in the entire franchise from a story perspective. It was just so bad, and I feel the damage is unfixable, in fact for me I know it is. For the record, this is coming from someone who loved Halo 4's campaign/story. It's not a 343 thing, I respect those people and I think they do really good work. Unfortunately the direction of the story is something I just cannot get behind personally.

When it comes to Halo I feel people often speak in absolutes. If 343 makes one decision out of several wrong, people will start chanting how 343 fucked up. Let's be honest here, there are things they have done better and worse than Bungie. It's not black and white.

So basically, for me...the only thing that can turn the sinking ship of a story around is if they go back and do a game set before the end of Halo 3. Prometheans (while fun to fight in 5) are not interesting or cool at all and they are a bad mark amongst all the other great enemies in the series.

I want to say bravo on the gameplay and multiplayer, Great job 343.

Also, Forerunners are humans...hate to tell y'all. 343 ret-conned it.
 
I'm not trying to say that they only know cod more so that the gate of entry into halo. Is so much higher and the gameplay isn't really appreciated that much anymore. Why lose in halo when you can go 24 - 5 in cod every match.

I don't see halo really copying anything in 5 I guess clamber but no one really has their stamp on that.


And to be fair couldn't you say Black Ops 3 kinda copied Titanfall pretty hard.

Yep but for me I want a more objective based game in cod. I personally never liked Cod's play style nor do I want to rush on maps so it makes me linger for classic halo even more. I know i'm not the only one so I won't say am i the only one? lol

I don't see the point of coping what cod did or what tf did or what another shooter will do. Developers need to trust in themselves and make game without playing others games.

I appreciate that yu suzuki doesn't copy anything in his games honestly. It gives the world a much different feel when playing, one i can really appreciate.

I admit I am close to tired of H5, I am sure I got over 500 games but I'm not sure. This is well below my 25,000 plus halo 3 games. I admit to being addicted though.

I may pick it back up if doubles feels fun and if the maps are decent but I don't have my hopes up.


I think Halo 5 is a solid title, and easily the best halo title since Halo 3.

Where it lacks is content. Compared to its FPS competition, it really missed a lot of opportunities to makes sure players want to return over and over.

I'm not going to talk about the quality of the story. When you look at Destiny (a game that has done extremely well despite one of the most barebones in-game narratives I can remember), the lackluster story didn't matter. You'll do those same missions over and over again for the loot drops and leveling opportunity. 343i missed an opportunity to include campaign scoring and daily/weekly objectives, and tie it to their Req system, Giving the Campain a ton of replayability in the process...

On the MP side, again, there is a severe lack of content. The Req system is addictive, especially if you are into Warzone. But currently, there are only 3 Warzone maps, each with 2 variants. On the Arena side, there are 5 breakout maps and standard maps. BTB and Forge aren't released yet. Also, the only Arena game modes are slayer variants, CTF and strongholds. that's pretty sad for any FPS, but especially for Halo.

If Halo6 can launch with improvements where I mentioned, I think it will fair much better. Maybe 343i's plan to aggressively support this game with post launch content will result in longer legs than previous iterations, but I'm not convinced yet.

I like some of your points but how about the last half of the campaign, I felt things were looking up in the campaign and the first half was pretty good, but didn't things get really tedious and feel like they rushed it. it was the same basic area for most of the last half and it was just encounter after encounter without much sense to it. That is where I was just getting burnt out on the campaign after the nice mining map.


So basically, for me...the only thing that can turn the sinking ship of a story around is if they go back and do a game set before the end of Halo 3. Prometheans (while fun to fight in 5) are not interesting or cool at all and they are a bad mark amongst all the other great enemies in the series.

I want to say bravo on the gameplay and multiplayer, Great job 343.

Also, Forerunners are humans...hate to tell y'all. 343 ret-conned it.

Agreed, classic hall felt fun, interesting and silly all in one. I can't connect with prometheans at all, they are just robotic and souless.
 
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