Twinreaper

I finally received replies from a number of my sources. As much as I would like to post up the official response mail I got, I cannot do so legally. I will try my best to explain the situation... Now granted the nature of which I went about getting responses, I cannot use names either. As it was first thought, through my own testing, it is not a "ping" or overall communication issue, nor is a specific IP Address related issue. the issue actually resides in the way that specific ISP's in the effected regions, handle and pass-through internet data and internet information requests. Basically the issue does not lie with 343i or Microsoft's settings or API's on the servers. Certain unnamed ISP's like Telstra, have compatibility issues with all aspects of Live's communication protocols. Now I do not know if it is port blocking or bandwidth issues, or anything else, as the people I have talked to are not 100%. the ISP's are responding slowly to help on Microsoft's end despite what they might tell their individual customers. As for now, there is no date set to say whether or not the issues can be cleared up in a day, or weeks. The best bet right now is to either wait it out, or contact your ISP provider, about the issue, that your are not happy, and you expect some compensation. I realize compensation is not really gonna happen for obvious reasons, but right now this is all I know, and as far as I can tell from my sources, all they know. Again, if I hear anything further I will update you all immediately.

Actually, if you reread the post, I was explaining the mechanics act almost exactly the way the pistol from Halo 1 did. It's rate of fire and firing spread act exactly similar. Firing spread is bloom, just so you know. There is no need to create another thread for it, as there is plenty of them here, and in all of them I provide data taken from the tags themselves to explain it. At no point did I say you sucked at all, so i don't know where you are getting that. I was offering a game mechanic answer to what you posted, nothing more nothing less. You can disagree with my points all you want, but they are game data specific facts.

Hey Elusive, I dont like your tone nor attitude pal. Simpky put....the cap is high enough. Want me to do the math and show that reaching a credit cap of 150k in one day is roughly over 8 hours of game time a day? Talk about rich kid....what do u do...sit at home all day while mommy and daddy feed and change you. Grow up, grow some balls and move on.

Man that was a mouthfull. You need to seperate your statements into sections and re-read your post before posting it up. I hardly understood what you were saying. There were some things I saw that i WAS going to punch holes in...but I want to wait until you can re-post your thoughts or observations into a readable format before I knit-pick it with a full sense of understanding and clarity. A for the OP. What you are describing is more animation detail to make you feel like your in the game a lot more. The problem with those things is, if ytou extend the animations, you are also increasing the "ready weapon" time and weapon switching time, which in lamen terms.....increases the time you need to pull your weapon and it be ready to fire.

Only one comment, leave them alone about expanding Reach, and let them focus on Halo 4. Creating new armor from scratch or even improving or improvising existing models takes more than a few weeks....try months. Don't mean to be rude, just trying to spread some truth.

No, no and more no. I'll let you down easy my friend. And BTW, welcome to the forums. Weapons require a HEK to create. You can't simply just piece together weapon model segments in Forge and have it work. Constructing a good solid weapon and testing it fully can take anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks. Vehicles are a huge concept, construction, testing and compiling resource for any developer. It's not as easy as just putting them in. The vehicles have to be recreated, tested and given an insane amount of damage perms, model sections, nodes, markers, etc... Forge budgets exist to keep the end user from overloading the engine drawing of on-screen and bsp object mesh. Unlimited budgets would lead to console or game crashes. Armor is expensive in the poly department. Simple helmets consist of roughly 9,000 polies for a basic, going far beyond 15,000 at mid range detailed ones. Armor is not an easy thing to create and setting rotational markers for biped attachment points is not fun at all. Making your own firefight, by which I assume you mean making forged play areas and dropping AI in. problem is, AI require what we call "AI Pathfinding" it's raw data based on bsp and object placement, that allows the AI to navigate a map without running into walls, objects, etc... That type of data is written, then compiled by the "tool" command line, which is, you guessed it....an HEK tool. It's nice to want certain cool things in a game, but it helps to study engine design first and see what things are currently capable in the latest Blam! engine build. Only then can you properly request items that have a chance of really being conscidered for addition to a Halo game.

I think you misunderstand how the DMR really works. It is a weapon that almost to a T, ressembles the way the pistol from Halo 1 acted. If you used timed shots, you could control where the spread was limited too. With the BR, there is almost no margin for error when you have the enemy in your sights. Bloom requires more skill because it gives you a wider area of error when spamming shots, and forces you to react and lead your opponent. Most people tend to take chest shots while spamming to get your shields down. They usually then follow it up witn a couple headshots. With the Battlerifle you got the same damage modifier as the DMR has, but the trick was , you have to land all 3 shot bursts. This was a problem at liong ranges as 1 or 2 of your shots could easily miss a moving target. The main problem i hear from people regardign the DMR, Needle Rifle and so on, is basically they don't want to hactually have any real up close or mid range fighting skills...they simply want to point shoot repeat and kill. I challenge anyone to give me a clear, well thoguht out example and technical reply as to why "no bloom" is better and requires more skill to use. Using a weapon that has pin point accuracy on every shot requires far less skill than taking down an opponent with a huge error cone of firing spread. it doesn't matter how you try to dress it up and sell it. You say you can't trust your gun? Is that how you felt when weilding an SMG, or H1 Pistol, or plasma Rifle? So I take it the only weapon you are efficient in killing with is a scoped weapon? What happened to the good old days of true skill? Running around with dual needlers or plasma rifles and running down BR dogs? Why is everyone so focused on DMR and other perscision weapons anyway? You know there are other ones in the game right? To be completely honest, I think you are way overthinking things when you go into battle my friend. I don't game competative, at least not in the last 6 years. But whenever I did, I went into battle with whatever I had. There are always two sides to take into account when battling someone. The side noone ever uses, is the disadvantages a weapon gives you. It's always easier going into a battle with a DMR and trying to get the first shot, but what about using it's shortcoming to engage the enemy? If you could outlast or strafe well enough to allow him to waste at least 6 shots, you can then effectivly start to return fire and take him down. I always find it best to dodge shots while returning a shot here and there until the enemy is almost out of rounds, then returning fire. But to each his own I guess?

Thanks for that Tesseract. To touch on what Joh stated above you, he has the correct learning path of understanding how exactly AI works. Placing AI via spawns is not the problem. The problem is, Forge works by editing the scenario file. this means that we have to have all available AI tags that goe with each AI biped. On top of that, zones, squads, commands and pathfinding need to placed or created to go with each AI. squads and zones are scripted commands, which means we would either have to be given the core spawn zones and squads, or have to be given the method to create them. Creating AI tags would require a full HEK, which will not run on a console. They can however release a PC HEK that has the proper AIP and connection protocols to allow real-time editing Touching back on the Ai itself, scripts have to be written then compiled by tool, then set in the scenario file to go with the proper biped or AI characters. None of this ever likely to happen, as the last time we even got a chance to mess with full AI resources, was with Halo 1's HEK. It's been about 8 eyars since that HEK was given out, and we have had nothing since. You can't even count Halo 2's HEK, since we at H2MT had to find a dll mod to play certain content, and it took 3PO a while to re-write some of the HEK code to allow editing and creation of certain tags.

I for one will not be buying another Xbox. For the first time in my life I can honstly say I am tired of having to buy console specific games, and tie myself into a hardware investment I cannot upgrade or keep using to play next-gen games. I'll be sticking to PC...and if that means no more Halo then oh well.

The Scarab is not a vehicle for starters, it is a machine object. And, from a gameplay perspective, the Scarab would dominate anything in the game period. We all know the frustration of tangling with "dumb AI" in H3 with the Scarab.....imagine how insane the confrontation would be if they made it a useable vehicle in multiplayer?!?

The issue is not on their end.... :thumbdown: Maybe I should also forward Microsoft game Studios some interesting network data I recorded when pinging their server address via masking my IP to ressemble a 101 one. I bet that would get their attention. But yeah you got my support. I will continue to push the people I know there to get this resolved if I can.

Actually thats just you making complete sense and Microsoft failing completely. The PC market has made a huge comback and in recent turn of economic plights, it has become the one and only "game playing machine" in many households around the world. People will never buy or invest in a new hardware console every 3 to five years, when they can spend half the money and upgrade a computer that will last hardware wise, into the 5 to eight year range. Hell I still rock the dual 9800GT Nvidia cards, even though they are roughly 6 years ago....but together in SLI they beat out and even perform slightly under what newer cards out now do. Microsoft needs to wake up and start re-investing in the PC market. I am even really considering moving on from Halo altogether after H4. I really dont feel like buying yet another console for no reason at all. All my gaming and modifications to games is PC based.

This is because the amount of bsp polys has about doubled for the basic maps. Also the items used in Forge are very high poly. To be more specific, yes it is due to the engine having to render higher cost items multiple times. This is specifically why they have budgets built in.

We peeps on Monstrmoose rock at maps bro. You'll love the stuff we H2MT guys pump out! BTW I'll be testing a Crater ODST map beta soon....want in on it? Not supposed to share betas outside H2MT, but hey...I'm a head guy and it's my map...so..... yeah. Let me know if you do and I will send a link for the map when I finish it up.

I'm just picking a few from this thread that stood out and needed a comment on. No disrespect or funny business intended. just a simple explination.... 14. have destroyable bulidings and ships. That way, if I want to make an assult map that has its target in a buliding, so when the bomb goes it collapses on itself, it can happen. (Make this an OPTION, that way you can have both!) In all Halo engines, the environment is a solid mesh. Including destructable objects that are "stiched" so to speek, to the environment, would require a completely new format system as BSP's don't support destructable geometry outside typical scenery, vehicle, object spawns. It would be nice to have, but again, if they continue to use the same system formats for the core engine, it won't happen ever. And I doubt they will change the tag layout and system at all...just another "revision" of the same old tiered ones. 13. 1st Person Presentaion. Halo's stroy is the best I've yet seen. If you keep the actions the Cheif does in first person, this little touch will add a lot of epic effect to it. To bring back Halo it must blow Battlefield 3 out ofthe water. Remember, they have only Earth. Halo have an ENTIRE galaxy AND the Forerunners! With a different graphics engine and better presentaion of cinematics Halo will have returned to being the game that truly gives justice to the Halo franchise and will leavean impression on the hearts of millions. I'm right there with you dude. While yes we have an epic playground at our disposal, unfortunatly due to size restrictions and current disc format used, there is not a lot of room for super duper extras like a really long campaign or anything. I don't know about anyone else...but multi-disc games went out of style for me back in the early 90's. I like my games and content on one single easily playable disc. 12. In field weapon and vehicle customization/improvements. Also ground up vehicles in forge would be a god send. Can't happen. Doing so requires a full SDK environment. See my "Introduction to Forge" thread in the General Discussion section for more on this. 3. Have each armor piece effect you. EOD protects against explosions, but slows you down. CQB protects against shotguns and improves energy sword deflects. Make the knife an attachment that improves hand to hand (and assassinations). Also, many people want custom armor.( don't know how that would work, but it would be sweet and I'm sure that 343 can do it.) While a nice thought and feature, doing this would require the creation of a brand new handling tag. On top of that, it would require 2 seperate models, one for the armory, and one for actual in-game. besides that, I am almost 100% sure, each armor piece would also require a completely brand new and seperate Biped. Armor is a permutation attachment, and armor perms have no base value tag fields that control, add or inhibit movement, damage effects etc.... 3. High level of armor customization- Every part of the spartan and elite should be customizable. From the gauntlets, to your backpack, to the guns. The more variation, the more your spartan feels like you. Also, do not bunch up armor pieces, like how the Artificial Arm comes with other chest pieces. If you dont like the chest pieces, your forced to wear them to get the arm. A good "armor piece" would be to remove the armor itself. Also, create some form of specific weapon customization. Like different models, different camos, etchings on the gun, etc. To add even more flair. So weapons you spawn with have these personal changes to them (only ascetic). A very nice idea but not friendly to bandwidth or space. Even if it were possible to make these things happen, the amount of data syncing would be god aweful. The reason we are given a set list of things to customize our Spartans with, is because each thing is pre-loaded into the armory on all players. Adding a wildcard custom text or decal effect, would require each player to sync with eachother and exchange this data before the match begins. On top of that, during a match, everytime you spawn the host and clients would have to re-sync your starting perms and custom items. That will lag the match no matter how good or close your connection is.

Sounds like a wrong value in an "IP Range" setting on the Live incoming and outgoing server. I wonder if they even realize it yet...lmao All laughing aside I wish I could help you more. Believe me if I could, I would force my way into their Live servers and poke around settings for you.....but I would prolly get arrested for that. Keep us all updated on any action or reply Microsoft gives you mate.

That is due to the fact that the Quake Engine sucks ass in reality. Even when playing the source code myself...I found it too be not very friendly nor forgiving in the modification department. After doing this myself, I can see why they chose to go with it. It is hard to change, but also it ensures a smooth transition from title to title. If I had a say in the engine layout, I would have to suggest it to be coded from complete scratch. The tag layout and tag system in general is an old, really old way of doing things. If they hope to bring great scripting beyond Megalo into play, they really need to consider going with a format like LUA. I just hope the 360 can handle what they are putting into it. The Reach engine is almost pushing the 360 to 85% of it's gaming capacity. But there in lies the problem also. We have a basically almost what now.....7 year old console? The limitations on any new engine coming in at this point in Halo, needs a fresh system and hardware platform to base itself on. I hate to say it....but if we want what we are expecting from Halo 4...we need a fresh system to go with it. This is why I have stated before in some threads, that i think halo 4 will see a delay in release.

Supressive fire could actually be translated by using the "shots hit" and k/d. Assuming one is of a defensive or supressing nature, their shots hit should be high, as well as their kill count be low and their death count even lower. I think one of the main things that need to happen to sort people of certain style out, is maybe have a feature in the lobby, that allows you to select the right "style" you play with. For example.... Lets say you go into the lobby for some CTF. Before hitting the button to begin searching, you are given a tick box in which you can select the following... 1. Aggressor (runs and guns into enemy territory for the flag) 2. Defensive End (hangs back at mid to start of map to provide defense against oncoming enemies 3. Wheelman (Great at vehicle driving and providing mobile assists to the team. 4. Strong Silent Type (expert in long range tactical wepaons to provide support) 5. havent got anything, feel free to add. So basically, once you decide on what you want to do for the team, the system would then select players who selected the other catagories, and pair you up on a team. This way you have a full team who knows what they need to do, and have the chance to do it. Everyone wins I think?

lmao no problem bro...we're all here to help one another. If you can get on and everything goes semi-smooth, send me a friend request some time.

It's the way Live handles connections in general. Reach is the first time we were given the "forced" player host scenario. back during Halo 3, one had to glitch the system to get to be host. By being a host, your bandwidth and system is responsable for delivery in-game data the same way a dedicated server would. The problem is, the method in which a host is selected is less than perfect..in fact it just plain sucks. The TU update is causing a majority of the issues due to the fact that besides the standard host issues, the TU is using MegaloScript to edit tag values in memory to achieve the playlist changes like zero bloom, AA effect reduction, etc... All of these things come at a higher memory and cpu thread price. Even though each console does this when in matchmaking, it is still up to your console to sync the game data across all clients.

I don't play much since I can never get any servers to show in lobby...but I do quite an extensive bit of map making and tag creation.

Rather than post the lengthy process here to help you, I have provided a link to a page that shows you how...Pics included! BONUS!!! http://boards.portforward.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=108

Adding purely new ranks would mean having take down the Reach Live servers, update them, then send out a new TU patch. The ranks you speek of where Lt.Colonel was the highest...this was simply just a nulling of rank values they already had put into place, Literally, all they had to do was in real-time, was untick a certain flag checked. All the ranks we have now, have been implimented and coded from the beginning, including the haunted helmet. It was already there in the resource files, all they did was enable it as "unlockable", instead of "<hidden>". That aside, I dont think charging for some silly additional armor perms or ranks would even be close to justifiable for paying DLC. It would limit the core metrics of the game to only those who can afford it. DLC for maps is quite different. Map expansions are always put out and everyone expects them, hence why they save or find ways to save for them. Throwing new armor and ranks into the mix by effectivly saying, "Hey great you payed for it, now you still have to play twice as hard to reach them", would be a big bummer. Imagine how you would feel if they decided to make you pay for new maps, but you could only play them if you reached the rank of "Inheritor".... I don't think too many people would be jumping up in line to pay for it do you?

Aside from ranking up....I think they should introduce this nifty feature for competative players. I say we need a gambling system. We have all been in matches and people say things like, "Hey noob i could own you 1vs1 or a team of 2vs2" and so on. I say they make a custom game setting, where said people have to put up a wager, before the match begins. This would elliminate a lot of unessessary spamming of language and callouts, if one refused a private match with real consiquences. Also, I guess you could go one step further and have a betting system for othert gametypes. Like to bet on who will score the most FF points, or which team will win the CTF match. I say have a rwal time betting system. create a whole new genre of players based off those who troll the playlists and bet a whole lot. As going with this, the credit system would only be good for new armor items or effects.

Welcome supposed employee of one of the companies. If you are indeed a Bungie member...what is the name of the new proprietary engine they are working on, and what language is it being programmed in? If your really a B member...it should be easy to answer. If your a 343 guy...whuch I doubt...what is the havok physics build number that is being used for the H 4Blam engine? And btw...you cannot do or say crap about this forum as it is a fansite not a controlled entity of Microsoft nor Activision or ungie. But yeah...welcome.