Enter The 36 Chambers
Member
Definately. Was hoping for some sort of boss battle like the Heretic leader in Halo 2. Wish there was more of these.
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Halo |OT13|
- Thread starter kylej
- Start date
- Status
Definately. Was hoping for some sort of boss battle like the Heretic leader in Halo 2. Wish there was more of these.
Zeouterlimits
Member
Really? As bad as the Didact's is, I find the armour much worse.
Out of curiosity, what was the per capita alcohol consumption during the design of the space section in Zealot?What you're describing isn't a focus group, but regardless, nobody develops a game based solely or primarily on research data. It's one of many tools that we have at our disposal, and research can have clear value when used properly, but is never has been nor will be the driver behind design decisions.
I don't have the data to determine whether or not the amount of beer being depicted in that shot is an accurate representation of our studio's average consumption rate. If I were to monitor the beer fridge, and keep an accurate count of beers being consumed, I'd be much better informed. It doesn't really matter to me, though. I'm only interested in the beers that I drink.
By contrast, our admin knows exactly how much beer we drink, and orders cases and kegs and barrels of beer accordingly. Therefore, we do not run out of beer, save days when there are atypical consumption rates. Even then, we are getting better at predicting the peaks and valleys as time goes on and as more data can be analyzed.
BEER
EagleBurnn
Banned
The thing that confuses me is that the Forerunners in the Anniversary terminals where exactly how I imagined them to be. Why didn't they just go off that design and not go full Voldermort on our ass?
Enter The 36 Chambers
Member
I wonder have many of the Bungie team played Halo 4. Must be pretty jarring to play a game based off a franchise you created.
Devolution
Member
Didact - cool armor.
Cortana - naked.
Librarian - hair serves as a flotation device.
Cortana - naked.
Librarian - hair serves as a flotation device.
Gabotron ES
Member
Yet we got that shitty QTE thing... Halo 5 I guess :/
Ozzy Onya A2Z
Member
The part/design where his helmet armour covers his face is great, that's where I sort of went um avoid this guy now. I just wanted to fight him in the actual game, please add that to Halo 5 in multiple missions somehow.
Must be a weird mix of emotion. Reminded me of that Bungie staffer who said "I cannot play this fucking broken game any more!", about Halo 2.
Yeah, they looked acceptable in those terminals. I kind of wish they - and the MC - remained faceless. At least until Halo 6 or something.
"Were bringing back your favorite features from Halo 2, killstreaks, loadouts and instant respawn!
Oh also, none of the maps support mechanisms anymore.
Sorry, we just don't have the bandwidth to make the Zanzibar windmill spin."
Tha Robbertster
Member
I didn't like how 343 made the forerunners look. I think I'd rather have them keep on their armor and not show their actual faces. Keep a bit of the mystery alive.
OverHeat
« generous god »
Good design right there!
MaximumFlipFlop
Banned
The whole design of the Forerunners just feels very uninspired IMO. I feel like that goes along with enemy design and weapon design too. The weapons building when you pick them up is awesome, I'll admit. But other than that they're just bland. The orange and sliver color scheme got old fast. They really do just look like slabs of metal with glowy parts. There was so much crazy awesome shit that could have been done with weapons, characters, and vehicles, but it all felt so bland.
My favorite is from that Wired article
If people are trying to shoot things far away and the gun you're giving them won't let them, maybe you should give them a ranged weapon.
I won my copy of Halo Aniversary at the MS store tourney, so I used my 60 bucks to pick up Gears 3 as well.
Like 3 days later it shows up on GonD, for like $10 cheaper. :-/
Good game though...
Ozzy Onya A2Z
Member
I still want to see Forerunner vehicles assemble themselves around me in campaign, SPOPS and multiplayer. Too badass for words.
MaximumFlipFlop
Banned
Didacts armor was cool, but look at what a fan can do. 343 shot themselves with the orange and blue color schemes being story related. Blue looks fucking great.
NullPointer
Member
One of my favorite bits from Crackdown that they ditched in the sequel was the agency cars transmogrifying to your driving level.
Its a shame that the forerunner weapon construction only happens once per weapon. Maybe it would take too long in multiplayer, but it really is a cool effect.
And speaking of spartan ops, they should add scoring and tie that into personal ordnance. Have pelicans drop those weapon capsules on the field.
Devolution
Member
You, me, juices, over, nutter and ram should just design a fucking game. When I win the lotto (never), I'll have a bunch of capital to throw at it.
Decided to check a few of the stats you quoted
Feb 10 - 191k
Feb 12 - 119k
Feb 12 - 163k (1 hour after ^)
Feb 17 - 230k
Feb 21 - 158k
Feb 23 - 221k
Feb 23 - 42k (7 hours after ^)
Dec 5 - 124k
Dec 6 - 71k
Dec 8 - 135k
source
Unless I'm missing the point, I still don't think peak hour Halo 4 two months after relesase compares favorably to non-peak hour Halo 3 at whatever date especially when you consider install base
Enter The 36 Chambers
Member
I wonder if we will actually be fighting Forerunners next game or Prometheans.
Or are they the same thing. I dont really know much about the universe.
Or are they the same thing. I dont really know much about the universe.
Zeouterlimits
Member
Some of them are.
A large amount of them are human powered. However that works.
NullPointer
Member
Aren't Prometheans just warrior caste Forerunner (before the whole composer encrypted humans got into it)? The Cryptum series is kind of a blur of hiking, eating fruit and vague descriptions of geometry at this point.
Fair enough ;P
EagleBurnn
Banned
edited
xxjuicesxx
Member
God that would be fun, and funny as hell.
--
I do like that picture, it really looks like Bungie still has this amazing group of people working together, they all seem to be actively talking and engaged in the process. Sick monitor arms too. Just looks like a very neat place to be, I'm sure they are all super excited for Destiny.
That's what they were.
And when armor abilities/sprint were brought up to be a good idea to add to Halo?
MaximumFlipFlop
Banned
Also on the topic of enemy design, what in the hell happened to Sentinals? The Enforcers were so badass in Halo 2. Watching them pick up flood vehicles and crush them was sweet. Ghosts of Onyx also made Sentinals so much more badass IMO. If 343 doesn't have Sentinals combining into new forms in Halo 5, the Prometheans better. Would add so much enemy variety and would create interesting combat scenarios..
neoism
Member
MaximumFlipFlop
Banned
still looks the same to me....
You high bro?
Ozzy Onya A2Z
Member
Nice cross section but average in your month of FEB is still only 131,000. There is also the method of collection or comparison issues. I've not bothered to go further than Tsassi's selection of data like you did. I agree Halo 3 was quite the popular game with population stamina at that time in the industry. I just disagree that Halo 4 is dying completely. Sure I'd like the population to be bigger that BLOPSII.
I'd also love to see features like what BLOPSII got but better e.g. option to render a high resolution YouTube video from a theatre file. The live stream as FyreWulff mentioned is like a crappy 280p or something which sucks due to bandwidth etc. I'd like regional dedicated servers for matchmaking and those features tied into that etc. I also think combining all that as one game package with the best execution would improve population beyond current Halo 4.
There isn't a magic feature set for winning population forever and holding #1 here. I'm hoping Halo 5 hits the mark more than Halo 4 did in terms of improving population against the COD #1 though. I would also like to see in game rank with some more competitive settings but more sandbox than MLG tend to use.
xxjuicesxx
Member
Those were the numbers I remember seeing.
I am postitive there was like 300k-400k in Grifball when it came out, Nokyard might know more?. About same #'s when SWAT and Zombies was rotated. In the beginning (They became less cool when they were there every week)
Yea I know the numbers died, and were counted different. It didnt seem as Ghost Town as H4 though.
neoism
Member
yeah lol Reach was the most updated and supported halo game ever until 343 gota hold of it...
i wish....
But you're forgetting the fundamental tenet of post-CE Halo. That is, only the sniper rifle should be able to shoot more than 30 yards accurately.
Rickenslacker
Banned
Yeah, even with their reasoning for it the end result was an experience that was worse off. They should've kept hitscan for Halo 3, they should have never thought of bloom in the first place for Reach.
Re: Halo 4 population numbers:
Not to try to defend anything or excuse anything or whatever, but a bunch of colleges did just start up again after the winter so I think a drop in population is somore or less expected. It's still a bit depressing how low Halo 4's population is.
Not to try to defend anything or excuse anything or whatever, but a bunch of colleges did just start up again after the winter so I think a drop in population is somore or less expected. It's still a bit depressing how low Halo 4's population is.
So Bungie is putting more effort into tracking beer stats and responding accordingly than 343 is into doing the same for Halo 4 two months after launch.
I don't have the data to determine whether or not the amount of beer being depicted in that shot is an accurate representation of our studio's average consumption rate. If I were to monitor the beer fridge, and keep an accurate count of beers being consumed, I'd be much better informed. It doesn't really matter to me, though. I'm only interested in the beers that I drink.
By contrast, our admin knows exactly how much beer we drink, and orders cases and kegs and barrels of beer accordingly. Therefore, we do not run out of beer, save days when there are atypical consumption rates. Even then, we are getting better at predicting the peaks and valleys as time goes on and as more data can be analyzed.
BEER
They just showed up in the "Announcements" section. Not sure if someone moved them there or if they just showed up on their own.
I'm glad they're low. In the absence of personal-restraint when faced with the purchase of a new Halo game, our only hope is that they see how low the numbers are and do something to change it. It's the only influence we have. If you bought into the pre-release Halo hype and purchased the game but aren't happy with it, stop playing it. I promise there are other games out there and maybe we'll actually see a change next Halo game.
Fuckin funniest thing you've ever said ever
neoism
Member
lol finally got to it had to do through google.. lol the forums are ok really dislike the white though... site looks nice otherwise
lol tear I'm sure you guys don't take "walk ins" anymore, but damn I would work there for free lolWhat you're describing isn't a focus group, but regardless, nobody develops a game based solely or primarily on research data. It's one of many tools that we have at our disposal, and research can have clear value when used properly, but is never has been nor will be the driver behind design decisions.
I don't have the data to determine whether or not the amount of beer being depicted in that shot is an accurate representation of our studio's average consumption rate. If I were to monitor the beer fridge, and keep an accurate count of beers being consumed, I'd be much better informed. It doesn't really matter to me, though. I'm only interested in the beers that I drink.
By contrast, our admin knows exactly how much beer we drink, and orders cases and kegs and barrels of beer accordingly. Therefore, we do not run out of beer, save days when there are atypical consumption rates. Even then, we are getting better at predicting the peaks and valleys as time goes on and as more data can be analyzed.
BEER
bungle fo lif
Ozzy Onya A2Z
Member
Nah, the Reach DMR when crouched could ping any sniper at any map distance available. The ever popular Halo 4 DMR 3X scope can handle any map distance as well. Halo 3, Reach & 4 spartan laser would like a word too. Oh and the binary rifle plus beam rifle.
Just pointing them out. Also the sword flying glitch from Halo 2 had a massive distance
On the other hand, if I, for the most part, enjoy the game, and want to have as good an experience in matchmaking as is possible, low population numbers are kind of bad news. So.
Great post, not seen you before but welcome to the thread.
Enter The 36 Chambers
Member
I really do wonder how many of the people who stat whore every post and look at previous games user stats and populations etc actually played these games back when they were out and understand why they were higher. I played online in Halo 2 since launch and have played Halo games online since.
Back when Halo 2 came out, it was the premiere online shooter for consoles. Nothing compared in terms of features and online systems. The lobby system that bungie pioneered, the friends list accessibility, the matchmaking, the playlists infrastructure etc was all new to console players and was a huge deal. People never seen anything like it. I know i hadn't seen anything like it before. This was reflected through its constant dominance of the Live activity charts. Solid gameplay, brilliant online mutiplayer and the best features made Halo the console shooter king.
Halo 3 was in a similar position. It was the follow up to the premiere shooter on xbox. There simply weren't as many shooters that could compete with its features. The online play was unmatched. Forge, theatre and Campaign co-op brought something fresh since Halo 2. Halo 3 piggybacked off the success of Halo 2 and was again one of the most played games as there were few alternatives or substitutes with comparable features/quality. Cod4 dropped around this time, doing soemething different with their perks system and people took notice.
Fast forward to Reach and the landscape is completely different. Other games have similar if not better features. Halo was no longer the innovator. Also the Cod juggernaut was in full effect. Cod was now the premiere shooter on consoles. Gamers no longer went to Halo for the best features and online play as there were many substitutes available (Not just Cod). And developers werent looking at Halo for ideas to imitate. All eyes were on Cod. The hardcore Halo fans didnt like some of the changes and stopped playing. Sales were still great, but with so many options available, it meant gamers no longer played one game and one game only for a long period of time because there was so many options. Shooters were the dominant genre and so the pop. count dropped from that as well as other factors.
Halo 4 sold a shit ton. Thats a fact. 2 months in and the hardcore fans are disowning it in droves (Ex: HaloGAF). The casuals have a new Cod to play as well as a number of other games with again, comparable features and quality. The AAA shooter market has more than just Halo nowadays so of course the numbers are lower. Cods the reigning king right now. And in the mind of the more casual fans (Large number of my friends in college) Halo plays second fiddle to Cod, whereas Halo was the King before.
These arent the Halo 2 days where its number 1 for years on end. Thats Cods spot right now. Will Halo ever be number 1 again? Doubtful without something drastic, its a different time now for games. Halo dominated at a time where there were little to no games that could compete because Halo was the innovator. For Halo 5 343 need to just go balls to the wall and do something radical. Catering to the overall shooter market (Perks, AAs etc) didnt work too well. Lets be honest here, it didnt. The Cod fans still play cod, imitating some of their features (Which have now become shooter mainstays, in the same way Halos online systems did) didnt attract masses of new players.
Innovations will though, just like they did before and always will. Innovation isnt about being the first, but being the best at doing something. For Halo 5, we need to see something big. Similar to Halo 2s lobby and party system. It wasnt entirely new, but it was the best system consoles ever seen. Cod 4s perk system wasnt something new, but they did it the better than anyone else at the time.
I hope 343 doesnt play it safe again in Halo 5. We need some innovation. I believe the 343 team is capable of this. They have the resources. They obviously played it a little safer with their first game and thats okay. Now they have their footing they need to kick it up a notch.
TLR = Halo needs to innovate the shooter market instead of playing catchup.
Back when Halo 2 came out, it was the premiere online shooter for consoles. Nothing compared in terms of features and online systems. The lobby system that bungie pioneered, the friends list accessibility, the matchmaking, the playlists infrastructure etc was all new to console players and was a huge deal. People never seen anything like it. I know i hadn't seen anything like it before. This was reflected through its constant dominance of the Live activity charts. Solid gameplay, brilliant online mutiplayer and the best features made Halo the console shooter king.
Halo 3 was in a similar position. It was the follow up to the premiere shooter on xbox. There simply weren't as many shooters that could compete with its features. The online play was unmatched. Forge, theatre and Campaign co-op brought something fresh since Halo 2. Halo 3 piggybacked off the success of Halo 2 and was again one of the most played games as there were few alternatives or substitutes with comparable features/quality. Cod4 dropped around this time, doing soemething different with their perks system and people took notice.
Fast forward to Reach and the landscape is completely different. Other games have similar if not better features. Halo was no longer the innovator. Also the Cod juggernaut was in full effect. Cod was now the premiere shooter on consoles. Gamers no longer went to Halo for the best features and online play as there were many substitutes available (Not just Cod). And developers werent looking at Halo for ideas to imitate. All eyes were on Cod. The hardcore Halo fans didnt like some of the changes and stopped playing. Sales were still great, but with so many options available, it meant gamers no longer played one game and one game only for a long period of time because there was so many options. Shooters were the dominant genre and so the pop. count dropped from that as well as other factors.
Halo 4 sold a shit ton. Thats a fact. 2 months in and the hardcore fans are disowning it in droves (Ex: HaloGAF). The casuals have a new Cod to play as well as a number of other games with again, comparable features and quality. The AAA shooter market has more than just Halo nowadays so of course the numbers are lower. Cods the reigning king right now. And in the mind of the more casual fans (Large number of my friends in college) Halo plays second fiddle to Cod, whereas Halo was the King before.
These arent the Halo 2 days where its number 1 for years on end. Thats Cods spot right now. Will Halo ever be number 1 again? Doubtful without something drastic, its a different time now for games. Halo dominated at a time where there were little to no games that could compete because Halo was the innovator. For Halo 5 343 need to just go balls to the wall and do something radical. Catering to the overall shooter market (Perks, AAs etc) didnt work too well. Lets be honest here, it didnt. The Cod fans still play cod, imitating some of their features (Which have now become shooter mainstays, in the same way Halos online systems did) didnt attract masses of new players.
Innovations will though, just like they did before and always will. Innovation isnt about being the first, but being the best at doing something. For Halo 5, we need to see something big. Similar to Halo 2s lobby and party system. It wasnt entirely new, but it was the best system consoles ever seen. Cod 4s perk system wasnt something new, but they did it the better than anyone else at the time.
I hope 343 doesnt play it safe again in Halo 5. We need some innovation. I believe the 343 team is capable of this. They have the resources. They obviously played it a little safer with their first game and thats okay. Now they have their footing they need to kick it up a notch.
TL
R = Halo needs to innovate the shooter market instead of playing catchup.- Status