Game Informer Leak (Your Opinion + My Opinion) POLL!

[DoctorB77]

This is basically my direct response towards FIREN4's post and Halo4Follower's video about the GameInformer Leak. Overall I can say that even though there are some returns that I do enjoy, I am astonished and slightly outraged (if possible) about some of these new ideas 343 has put out. Some of these things just don't seem to me like they should be in halo, I will explain what I mean later. I am happy that 343 has taken over the responsibility of creating Halo games and I am anxious to see their final product. But my anxiety is overtaken by my nervousness. 343 I think shouldn't really move too many new ideas into Halo but instead improve what we have so far. I have been very quiet about talking in posts where some people are complaining about halo 4 and demanding that 343 put this in and take this out. I say this...343 do whatever you may want. But the opinion of the community will come out, which can really be a hit on 343 when they are trying to get a trilogy going.

 

The following topics were discussed in the thread created by FIREN4 and Donut:

Link: :right: http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/7527-halo-4-news-campaign-and-multiplayer-details/

I give them credit for all of the information. I suggest that you go to that link and watch the video posted.

 

 

 

My Opinions:

 

Confirmed Weapons:

 

This is one of the things that I saw in which I got excited about. I focused mainly on the Carbines that have been listed. If I had to guess I would say that the Covenant carbine will probably be an enhanced version of the Carbine from Halo 3. I would be really excited to see those green streaks flying through the air again. I cannot tell however what the Assault Carbine will be. But after I thought it through, it seems to me that it could be forerunner technology. Since the DMR and BR are already confirmed as precision weapons for the UNSC and the Covenant carbine is obviously from Covenant technologies then I assume that the Forerunners should have a rifle as well. If I could imagine what it would be like I would guess that it would shoot lasers.

I also wonder if with the return of these "Carbines" will influence the SWAT gametype. If you remember that in Halo 3 SWAT that some maps featured one or two carbines which could be used in place of your BR or Magnum.

 

Along with these confirmed weapons are the Assault Rifle, Battle Rifle, and Designated Marksman Rifle. I really want to see how these weapons are balanced throughout gameplay. I am also interested in finding out how the DMR and BR will be issued in SWAT lobbies. Will you be able to use one or the other? However I do think that in a game the person with a BR and a DMR combo will rule both short range and long range. So the AR should get some beef. (There has been reports of the AR being strengthened.)

 

Weapon Spawning:

 

The first thing mentioned in the video about weapon spawns is that there will not be any weapon camping. Weapons will spawn randomly around the map and not in the same spot repeatedly. I must say that I do not agree with this idea. Halo matchmaking highly revolves around power weapon spawns because they change gameplay. If you control that weapon you have a great advantage to winning the game. One of the best parts for me when playing Halo is the rush to the power weapon off of the initial spawn. It's like going to get the bomb at the beginning of a round of Grifball. Taking this feeling out of the game makes matchmaking lose a lot of the thrill. Also, weapon spawns create points of interest or these invisible "hills" which we have all noticed when playing games such as Team Slayer. A good example of these "Hills" is the top of the green lift on Sword Base. (Even though that specific hill doesn't have a power weapon, it's just a good example.) These hills are where many of the exciting moments happen in a matchmaking game.

The second thing mentioned in the video regarding spawning is weapon drop pods that will appear throughout the game. Now I think that these drop pods can be be either a good thing or bad thing depending on how they are used. What I wouldn't want is for these pods to be falling down onto the map in the middle of a game and then drawing everyone's attention. It would also not be good if these pods did not display what weapon it is holding. On the other hand I do believe that there could be some good ways to use these drop pods. If 343 does decide to use these random weapon spawns then I would hope that instead of being completely unaware of where these weapons are that instead these drop pods fall down at the beginning of the game and show the weapon in that it carries. In this case the player would have to go through the following thoughts

 

-What weapon do I want

-Where is it

-How should I get there

 

This I think would keep more of the thrill in the game and keep the players sharp. Furthermore if drop pods do happen to come in matchmaking I want to suggest that our buddy Jeff Steitzer gives us a little one minute warning that these pods are coming in.

My last concern about these changes in weapon placement is how we will be able to use these effects in our custom games and how we will be able to edit them in forge if it is at all possible. In reach's forge we were not able to do anything close to that and for this to work there would be major changes in the properties of objects while forging.

 

Instant Respawn:

 

This to me is a factor that will definitely be quite of a change in the multiplayer feeling. Even though it seems really small in comparison to other changes it will make Halo feel a lot different. In my past experience instant respawns cause me stress. Such as call of duty for example. I think that without this little "thinking time" that players will get more angry at the game. Haha...this is what happens to me at least. I will just have to see how this feels to me when the game comes out.

 

Joining In-Game:

 

This can either be good or bad. I will be ok with 343 just making it so you don't have to wait in a lobby while your friend gets murdered in a matchmaking game. I hope that this means that you can join your friends game while it is still in session and save his or her a**. It will make both of their lives a lot easier and possibly make the opposing teams game a little more interesting.

Now. If this becomes one of those set-ups where if your searching for a match by yourself in team slayer and then you are put into a game against your will where your new team is getting steaked. This feature is what really irritates me the most about COD and other games. I really don't feel like going into a game and playing for one and a half minutes before losing. I prefer that the outcome of a game for me is effected by me for all of the game. This is different from joining your friends game where you know the risks if there are any.

If 343 does decide (hopefully not) to make this mistake, then I would at least plead that they make this so that you may chose if the servers can put you into a game which has already been started or not.

 

Regicide and Spartan Ops:

 

Regicide - sounds cool, I probably won't play it from how it sounds though. I don't enjoy FFA objective very much. I get too campy.

 

Spartan Ops: I am really interested in what this is and I want to try it out. It could be cool if it could give some more information from the Halo books and possibly more info about the campaign. I also hope that we don't get any idiots who read that and instantly say that they copied off of Black Ops.

 

Distraction Medal: Why not? More stuff for me then

 

Armor Abilities:

 

Sprint as Default - I think this is okay. I think that a spartan should have the right to haul a** out of a situation in order to save his fanny. Even though many games have a sprint feature I think that it would be ok for halo to do as long as it is equal for all players.

 

Return of Others - Wheres my armor lock confirmation...they just left that out in the leak on accident right?...RIGHT?!?

 

Forerunner Vision - I really don't think this is a good idea. Even though many hate it and many do it, camping is still a part of halo. I don't want to be all sneaky just for somebody to know what corner I am hiding on. If this armor ability is true I really hope that this idea of an x-ray is not as it seems. It would be better for me if instead of seeing a silhouette on your visor that you use your armor ability and for 5 to 10 seconds your radar shows all hiding enemies regardless if they are crouching, standing still, or just being sneaky. Maybe this forerunner vision idea that I have given can pick out where someone is with active camo if that ability still has a scrambling effect.

If none of this radar stuff happens then I hope that there will definitely be a set range on how far you can "see" with this new armor ability.

 

Earning Weapons/Armor Abilities/Modifications:

 

I am really scared of what this means. I do not want all of these higher levels getting a BR while I get a magnum off the spawn. Halo's difference to me from game like COD and Battlefield have been that every player gets the same chance as others in the beginning of a match. Not the higher destroying the lowers because they got to use their awesome overpowered gun and their extra bullet penetration perks. Also halo has never had weapon modifications unless you happened to run over some custom power-up in a custom game. I cannot make a great discussion towards this because I really don't have enough information about these modifications and earnings. But I do ask 343 to really be careful with what they are doing.

 

What do you guys think about these "earnings" and "modifications"

 

I also think the Spartan Points sounds really stupid.

 

 

The Campaign:

 

I can't tell what my feelings are towards this but I can say that I am confused. After this encounter with Aurora I really thought that we would be focusing on flood and that the covies would be the least of our problems.

But...I trust 343 to tell us an amazing story\

 

 

"343 also states, the game is really about the return of the Chief"

 

Can't wait to meet you John.

[DerpWithAGun]

I agree with everything you have said. I have actualy lost a lot of faith in 343i. Seriously, what is that customization of everything? This isn't CoD! And the random weapon respawn, and the Forunner Vision..... it's all pure BS! If the game turns out to be exaclty how the leak said, then F you 343i!

[VivaLebowski]

Im definitely concerned more than I am happy about this leak...its not that the changes are automatically bad its just that they have a high chance of being bad. Seems like allot of changes too far, too fast, with allot of chances to f things up...not what 343 should be doing when they have to prove their chops as stewards of Halo.

 

Point is, they shouldn't be trying to reinvent the wheel when they haven't even shown they know how to make a wheel yet.

[DoctorB77]

I havnt given up faith yet. They have plenty of time to fix this

[DoctorB77]

Well. Does this site really have an impact on 343 at all?

[Azaxx]

I like the covey carbine, and sprint, thats it

[punk]

i think everyone needs to just calm down and wait until we see some gameplay footage regarding these changes. i'm very nostalgic when i think of halo but the series does need to evolve from the H2 / 3 days....i still want it to be halo though.......i have no doubt that the customisation will enable gametypes and playlists such as mlg etc to control what they want in, and what they would prefer to leave out.......i'm also sure there will be a vast array of playlists that cater for all types of gamers.

 

spartan points...........lame name but this could be ok......it's obvious after the first look vid that the scoring isn't just kill based.....this isn't a bad thing as it promotes team work and gives you points for assists etc.......

 

spartan ops........lame name again.......concept sounds good and the updates to this are free......this is obviously what is replacing firefight which is fine with me.....the majority of reach's players only played firefight to get daily challenge credits.....

 

Loadouts...........not sold on this but........they have stated that no power weapons will be avaiable from spawn.....i'm sure this might be your choice of an AR, BR or perhaps DMR primary start weapon, secondary weapon choice is also in ?.....hopefully grenades are standard......and armor ability would also be able to change....the positive is that i can hopefully start with a BR and not have to continually have to look for one.....especially on a map like zealot where there were 2 DMR's!!!!

 

sprint..............i'm actually fine with this......some say it wrecks the game but i actually think it's a good thing......if the br is a 4 shot kill again then this should keep people from getting away like they can in reach......where sprint is great is in BTB......having no sprint in that makes map movement far to slow IMO.

 

Forerunner vision, hologram, inviz and jet pack................we'll have to see what forerunner visioin is like but look on the bright side......at least armor lock seems to be gone....yay..... what i don't like or at least hope they balance is something like a sprinting inviz guy flying at you without being very visible etc......

 

Elites Not Returning to Multiplayer...........i'm stoked about this news......elite slayer in reach was a waste of time IMO.......can't stand it......best news to come out so far.......sorry to all the elite lovers out there.....

 

Instant spawn.................lots of hate regarding this but give 343 a go......i'm sure they're making sure this is balanced with regards to spawn point areas etc.......they have said that H4 will be faster paced......as long as it's not flawed then i'm fine with this........

 

No fixed weapon spawn locations...........not sure how this'll work but once again lets see how it plays out.......perhaps the location of the rockets for instance willl move around and have for example 3 spawn locations. it may be in sequence and spawn every 3 min as usual but go from initial spawn 1, then to spawn point 2, then 3 for example.....what this would create that is positive is that teams cant just hold down one location of the map and also gives the other team a chance....take reflection from reach.....the main hall way is where 80-90% of the game is played......having moving spawns for power weapons would hopefully see some of the other areas of the map used more etc........

 

Joining In-Progress Games...........this is great but is still getting some hate.........i cant understand this??? i understand that joining a game half way through or near the end isn't ideal, but, it's far better than being stuck in a 1 vs 4 or 2 vs 4 because the other members of your team have left..... out of around a dozen games the other day, players dropped out in at least half of the games.....this will also be good for friends joining sooner.......someone drops out, pause, invite a friend who can join instantly.......sounds great to me......

 

The other most exciting thing mentioned for me was the spartan training facility or ship.........it's apparently a training ground for spartans and apparently the arenas can emulate any kind of enviroment through it's virtual reality training space....this is where multiplayer takes place........hopefully this means a greater array in maps, forge creation tools etc.......the 2 maps they have shown (briefly) look good.......lets hope that all maps are built with competitive play in mind as this usually means balance maps.........no more maps like reflection where 10% of the map is used.....and bring back guardian too.....

[RoosterTeethFan]

i just want a trailer explaining this stuff this is to much of a bomb shell to just leave us hanging.

[FIREN4]

Nice idea Doc. I could've just added a poll TO the actual thread , but I can understand you put a lot of effort into this! I support your poll

 

Also, I agree with practically everything you said, this is so true.

[Narcadia]

Screw the armor abilities, except default sprint, that is a good idea

 

Earning weapons!? WTF is this, Call of Duty?

 

The others Ideas seem pretty interesting though

[DoctorB77]

Thanks FIREN. And I also am looking forward to what kind of story line multiplayer gives. It's something they have never done before. Once again. How do you think this ship will effect forge

[Zuko 'Zarhamee]

A lot of it sounds different , but I'm sure that 343 will make it great! Except, they should keep credits from Reach. It makes more sense because credits are the actual currency of the UNSC. Plus, Spartan Points is a lame name, as is Spartan Ops.

[TEO R]

A lot of the names are placeholders I guess... Spartan Ops and Spartan points is just silly.

 

As far as the rest goes I think this game is turning out to be a Call of Duty: Space-marines...

[DoctorB77]

 

A lot of the names are placeholders I guess... Spartan Ops and Spartan points is just silly.

 

As far as the rest goes I think this game is turning out to be a Call of Duty: Space-marines...

 

I hope so. I would like to keep the credits idea.

[DoctorB77]

Everyone be sure to read firen4s thread

[Archangel Tyrael]

I agree with "spartan ops", "assault carbine", and "random drop pods of random power weapons", maybe "double x to spawn quicker" but this can be bad (double tap x to spawn). What i do not agree with this the purchasing and upgrades of guns/abilities, and i hate the idea/fact of forerunner vision, it sounds so cheap and annoying, anyone who has played blacklight tango down, you know what i mean.

[DoctorB77]

What happens in that game?

[VivaLebowski]

You'd think 343 would have came up with the final names before these things came out...having in game currency is fine (though I hope they bring back skill based ranking as well) as is having separate campaign-esque episodes...is it like CoD? Yeah, but not in bad ways.

 

But Spartan points just sounds clunky, and Spartan Ops just sounds like Spec Ops...I don't know if game companies change the name of announced features that much, but I really hope 343 does. That definitely contributes to my doubts here...if 343 doesnt have the basic sense not to name their features these things, how will they have sense to do more complicated things right?

[DoctorB77]

Like others have said. Credits are the actually currency for the UNSC and I would think that 343 would keep that tie. I also agree with you on the skill based ranking system. But instead of having to be amazing at halo to be the top rank you can be decent but it would just take you a lot longer. But it wouldn't be impossible.

[OhChristoph]

Why dont we just got back to the Halo 2 & 3 formula that made the consistant online players wanna play. I hate COD because its so damn easy, no skill involved what so ever. Im very skeptical of Halo 4 and have a good feeling 343i is going to make something that a ton of people will like (COD) but is just a kids game with no challenging aspects.

[Darth Poder]

I feel like 343 should do an open multiplayer beta for 1 week to get player’s reactions to the new system; then do another week of open beta with teaks to the beta from the fans reaction to the multiplayer and depending on what the reaction is to both weeks make adjustments to the game.

[jwhude]

I'm sorry to say that if most of these rumors are true, I probably won't even bother with the multiplayer of this game. Maybe not even buy it at all. I mean for the love of god, most fans have asked them to go back to the halo 2 and 3 feel for quite some time now and so far they're proving that they can't even manage that.

[Stealth Pilot]

Spartan ops should just be something called "Missions". Not many games use that term.

[DoctorB77]

They are really doubting a open beta

[VivaLebowski]

Heres the bottom line: 343 is not going back to the past. They aren't being conservative. They are trying to totally reinvent Halo. We are quite justified in being concerned because they run a high risk of failing. But they do not HAVE to fail. Its not set in stone. Who knows...they might be visionaries in their own right...

 

I was initially upset by the GI leak...to a certain extent, I still am...I'm very anxious about Halo now, as opposed to before when I was cautiously optimistic. But its not because I know its going to suck...its because I know 343 is taking a gamble. They might succeed or they might not. All that said, I have to give 343 props. They've got balls. The combination of classic Halo elements (arena map design, shields, power weapons) with modern FPS design (Custom classes, Sprint, SpecOps-esque stuff) is going to make for an interesting and innovative game which may or may not succeed. Unlike Reach, which was a failed effort to introduce a bit of the class system while keeping every element of the classical Halo gameplay intact.

 

With Halo 4, 343 could have done two things and make a good game; keep everything the same and make a classic Halo game but probably lose sales in the modern market OR aggressively move the game forward in an effort to reinvigorate the series and gain sales. 343 has chosen the latter option and that is riskier BUT we can hope.