alright here we go, here are some of the biggest issues that really , hopefully get addressed for their next game.
Fist of all
I made this comparison for the sake of showing I care about halo and the franchise. These comparisons have nothing to do with bungie or 343 blah whatever. I didn't try to choose favorites or things to make either game look better than the other. Just in my mind, halo 5 and 4 just end up looking bad and it's with art style, effects, texture use and especially lighting.
First up
Design - map design and the halo feel
I tried to use a map that was similar design of the bad city like levels in halo 5. So I used this halo 3 dlc map which sort of has a similar feel but the big difference is the actual choke points.
On the halo 3 map, it has places that are much easier to control or lose control in. It also has less tiers in "most" of the map and is overall less cluttered and makes for a lot better sight lines.
In the last set of images you can especially see how the lighting and fog effects make things hard to see, this is a mp portion of a game, these things just simply arent needed. You can also see how there are so many open areas and no choke points in the shot at all , especially when you are on top of things.
I'm not even saying the halo 3 map is a great map, but it is quite playable, one flag, ball, doubles, 4 v 4, territories etc
next up is lighting
Lighting is something I had a huge problem with in Halo 4 and saw most of the same issues coming over into Halo 5.
As you can see, the bloom lighting effects just make a lot of the sight areas really hard to see. Again, this being a multiplayer game, the halo 3 engine seems to account for visibility. Bloom lighting and smoke just isn't needed in the MP portion of the game. There is not a lot of sense in making the game harder to see imo
Other issues include muddy or haze like look in the background in pics 2 when there isn't even any lights getting in the way.
You'll see more of this in the next set of images.
Truth/Midship
This is where we are getting into some questionable texture looks as well as the common fog/light issues that have already been detailed.
In the first pic you can see how it's hard to actually see across top mid and into the other team's base, get's quite foggy.
Pic 2 you can see how the foggy lighting takes away from seeing.
Pic 3 you can see questionable texture styles as well as things that distract your vision again.
Pic 4 is getting so blurry and foggy in the distance you can't make it out at all anymore
Pic 5- again the fogging issue
Basically the issue is, I simply don't need the atmosphere and harder to see areas in the MP portion of the game. I just want wht I'm seeing on H3. Sure, it's technically worse in Halo 3 but i like being able to see more than I like distractions and fog everywhere.
I feel Bungie could have went with a foggy lighting system, but why take away from vision in the mp portion?
Bonus Halo 4
I have to admit when I read on gaf how people felt halo 4 looked next gen and blew halo 3 away, I was completely dumbfounded and here's why
Pic 1- you can see how the blurry backgrounds and extreme lights and shadows just make it all look confusing and bit ugly
Pic 2- again the harsh lighting and colors just make it harder to see and gives a very different and negative mood
Pic 3- I think this one speaks for itself.
Pic 4- again, overly saturated lighting just makes it too busy and unfocused
pic 5- again this is probably technically worse, but it just ends up being a lot more soothing to me and I can;t enjoy the halo 5 version
So, there we go. I think 343 has a ton of engine issues that simply hurt the halo experience.
The level design just feels off and that is also easy to see in the pics withot much to say for it.
Other than that, I hope these things can finally be changed for Halo 6 or future Halo 5 dlc, Hoping.....