The crazy talk was that Sprint overpowers the old medium sized maps of yesteryear. Maps getting a little bigger to facilitate everyone having Sprint is fine, but, again, seems unnecessary. We get a revamped controller scheme and bigger maps where we could have kept the old templates and just increased the base movement speed.
yep
See? As this goes on, you'll all end up agreeing with me more and more.
Except, in the end it won't matter. All future Halos will be what the developer/marketing think the majority of potential customers want and not what existing customers want. If the two jive, it doesn't really matter. It's just a happy coincidence.
It certainly will matter if Halo 5 undersells Reach. You've certainly been advocating for making the game more casual for the past two titles.
True, even developers and marketers make big mistakes.
I am more in your camp of thinking than you realize. I just see that making concessions to earn and keep a population is more important than making a game more in line with ultra competition. Ultra competitiveness wears thin on people like me. Forgetting age, I still think I am a member of the majority when it comes to likes and dislikes in Halo. I believe if Halo loses people like me, it will truly be dead.
Remembering that Campaign is any Halo game's most successful and important sales feature, I am willing to accept change to the multiplayer sandbox in order to get a new Halo every two or three years, even if that means widening the skill gap a bit.
Halo 4 multiplayer is not all that I would want it to be either. For example, I wish we still had equipment objects and longer kill times but those two things are not happening.
I realize a lot of this. We'll eradicate that last bit of casual gaming out of you. Longer kill times mean that the gulf betwee good and bad gets further embiggened. Like I said before, if you suck at getting a three shot kill, you're not magically going to pull off a five shot kill.
The crazy talk was that Sprint overpowers the old medium sized maps of yesteryear. Maps getting a little bigger to facilitate everyone having Sprint is fine, but, again, seems unnecessary. We get a revamped controller scheme and bigger maps where we could have kept the old templates and just increased the base movement speed.
I really like sprint, but the other AAs they could of kept out. With perks and trait boosts or whatever there called is enough. I can see battles going like this.
The crazy talk was that Sprint overpowers the old medium sized maps of yesteryear. Maps getting a little bigger to facilitate everyone having Sprint is fine, but, again, seems unnecessary. We get a revamped controller scheme and bigger maps where we could have kept the old templates and just increased the base movement speed.
I really like sprint, but the other AAs they could of kept out. With perks and trait boosts or whatever there called is enough. I can see battles going like this.
Red guy - I'm killing you blue guy
Blue guy- Regen bitch now I'm killing you
Red guy- fucking shield what now you blue turd
Blue guy-Ordinace drop! epic power weapon
Red guy-See ya I'm sprinting away
Blue guy- I'm bored I quite
Red guy- I win
Yeah, it's that regen shield that fucks things up. That's the one Armor Ability I don't think has any place in, for sure. The ordnance drop is only in "Infinity Slayer". In any case, as always, we can strip out the extra stuff and figure out what works,
The crazy talk was that Sprint overpowers the old medium sized maps of yesteryear. Maps getting a little bigger to facilitate everyone having Sprint is fine, but, again, seems unnecessary. We get a revamped controller scheme and bigger maps where we could have kept the old templates and just increased the base movement speed.
I really like sprint, but the other AAs they could of kept out. With perks and trait boosts or whatever there called is enough. I can see battles going like this.
Red guy - I'm killing you blue guy
Blue guy- Regen bitch now I'm killing you
Red guy- fucking shield what now you blue turd
Blue guy-Ordinace drop! epic power weapon
Red guy-See ya I'm sprinting away
Blue guy- I'm bored I quite
Red guy- I win
Yeah, it's that regen shield that fucks things up. That's the one Armor Ability I don't think has any place in, for sure. The ordnance drop is only in "Infinity Slayer". In any case, as always, we can strip out the extra stuff and figure out what works,
It's been said and the videos show proof, invoking Regen after you are being shot is worse than not invoking it in the first place.
Definitely a thing to drop before you look around a corner to shoot.
I just had a thought. A whole string of regens throbbing from flag spawn to flag cap. Wub, wub, wub, WIN.
well to play devils advocate.. Now imagine playing Midship, Warlock or any other small map with sprint. They will not play the same. Movement speed played into how well those small maps played and sprint is not going away anytime soon.
Yeah you can forge it out but then movement speed is just kicked up by MLG to a "somewhere inbetween deal".
It is not going to happen people.
Personally I think the new 4x4 is going to be 5x5 due to movement speed and map size and the new "small map feel" is going to be on what we consider medium sized maps now.
Come on now, False Prophet Jr. You know that's crazy talk.
Nope. Just trying to save you from wasting 60 or more bucks and from having to hear the same complaints that this game is not H2 or H3.
This game will never be those games. Plain and simple, it is going to be Reach 1.5 with slight tweaks. If you hated Reach or were hoping for some throw back to H2/H3 cancel your preorder now and save yourself the money/time/energy.
Most people use sprint anyways. It doesn't make the maps feel that small. I've played Pro and Arena enough to know that sprint works fine on small maps.
I agree Jim... I know a lot of people who use sprint no matter what size the map is, and they (you lol) kick ass. Some of the "community" maps are small, and there is a remake of warlock 2o2ph plays sometimes, and I think most people use sprint, and use it effectively.
Im just gonna hope there are smaller maps, and for some reason they are just showing us their big stuff.
@ silent hunter ...me too! I'm sending you a friend request lol
Worst case scenario, we all stay in customs because customs can be whatever you want. I love MM, but if it's unplayable by Halo standards and is, in fact, CoD with red and blue, there will be custom maps and game types to keep us playing.
Please note: I'm not saying it IS going to be red v blue CoD, I'm saying that's the worst case scenario.
Worst case scenario, we all stay in customs because customs can be whatever you want. I love MM, but if it's unplayable by Halo standards and is, in fact, CoD with red and blue, there will be custom maps and game types to keep us playing.
Please note: I'm not saying it IS going to be red v blue CoD, I'm saying that's the worst case scenario.
Agree. REACH MM is something I only do rarely and never on a scheduled Customs night. Customs are the best experience for me. I don't know for sure if that is more true now than the Halo 2 and 3 days. Seems like it.
I do hope Halo 4 MM presents a more acceptable option for me.
Worst case scenario, we all stay in customs because customs can be whatever you want. I love MM, but if it's unplayable by Halo standards and is, in fact, CoD with red and blue, there will be custom maps and game types to keep us playing.
Please note: I'm not saying it IS going to be red v blue CoD, I'm saying that's the worst case scenario.
Agree. REACH MM is something I only do rarely and never on a scheduled Customs night. Customs are the best experience for me. I don't know for sure if that is more true now than the Halo 2 and 3 days. Seems like it.
I do hope Halo 4 MM presents a more acceptable option for me.
This ^^^ I played MM mostly with clannies unless I was going for challenges during the day. Didn't know which was worse: the maps and games or the knucklehead Timmies I would get matched up with. Most MM with randoms was either Runble Pit (who gives a crap about the rage quitters) or Team Swat which seemed the one option that drew reasonable peeps in. Once max rank was achieved all motivation to play outside of clan activities basically ceased. There was nothing to hold my interest. I really hope H4 provides more of a draw to me over a longer period of time.
Worst case scenario, we all stay in customs because customs can be whatever you want. I love MM, but if it's unplayable by Halo standards and is, in fact, CoD with red and blue, there will be custom maps and game types to keep us playing.
Please note: I'm not saying it IS going to be red v blue CoD, I'm saying that's the worst case scenario.
Agree. REACH MM is something I only do rarely and never on a scheduled Customs night. Customs are the best experience for me. I don't know for sure if that is more true now than the Halo 2 and 3 days. Seems like it.
I do hope Halo 4 MM presents a more acceptable option for me.
This ^^^ I played MM mostly with clannies unless I was going for challenges during the day. Didn't know which was worse: the maps and games or the knucklehead Timmies I would get matched up with. Most MM with randoms was either Runble Pit (who gives a crap about the rage quitters) or Team Swat which seemed the one option that drew reasonable peeps in. Once max rank was achieved all motivation to play outside of clan activities basically ceased. There was nothing to hold my interest. I really hope H4 provides more of a draw to me over a longer period of time.
Speaking of rage quitters, what was Bungie's rationale for not allowing players to drop in when someone quits? That is one of my biggest problems with Halo games (yes, I know there are other issues but this one really pisses me off).
I do understand that 343i has remidied this which, IMO, is a great thing. I hated playing 2 v 4 or 4 v 1 when everyone is going after the only enemy that remains and all they do is hide.
Speaking of rage quitters, what was Bungie's rationale for not allowing players to drop in when someone quits? That is one of my biggest problems with Halo games (yes, I know there are other issues but this one really pisses me off).
I do understand that 343i has remidied this which, IMO, is a great thing. I hated playing 2 v 4 or 4 v 1 when everyone is going after the only enemy that remains and all they do is hide.
I still haven't read which Halo 4 playlists will include Join In Progress.
Speaking of rage quitters, what was Bungie's rationale for not allowing players to drop in when someone quits? That is one of my biggest problems with Halo games (yes, I know there are other issues but this one really pisses me off).
I do understand that 343i has remidied this which, IMO, is a great thing. I hated playing 2 v 4 or 4 v 1 when everyone is going after the only enemy that remains and all they do is hide.
I still haven't read which Halo 4 playlists will include Join In Progress.
I'm sure I'm THE ONLY person who feels this way, but I don't like the JIP. I'd rather go 2 v 4 or whatever than have new people drop in during a game.
Speaking of rage quitters, what was Bungie's rationale for not allowing players to drop in when someone quits? That is one of my biggest problems with Halo games (yes, I know there are other issues but this one really pisses me off).
I do understand that 343i has remidied this which, IMO, is a great thing. I hated playing 2 v 4 or 4 v 1 when everyone is going after the only enemy that remains and all they do is hide.
I still haven't read which Halo 4 playlists will include Join In Progress.
I'm sure I'm THE ONLY person who feels this way, but I don't like the JIP. I'd rather go 2 v 4 or whatever than have new people drop in during a game.
I agree with zomb here, join in progress is something I would absolutely hate in Halo, especially if it's done carelessly.
I would hate to join a match in progress just to take two steps and have the game end with a loss for the team I got thrown onto.
I would also hate if my teammates got disconnected for some reason, and some betraying fools took their place.
It reminds me of one of the COD games where they tracked your best win streak, but you had no control of if you joined a game in progress or before it started, nor control over at what point in the game you joined. So your win streak could end because you joined one second before your team lost.
There are plenty of times in Halo where I love being on the team that's down a player. Less targets for the enemy to shoot at, more targets for me to shoot at.
I can't think of a reason why you'd want join in progress, especially when Halo 4 is supposed to be ranked on invisible true skill. It could add a whole new way to grief people. Join their match in progress, throw their game by suiciding repeatedly.
It's not competitive, it's not fun, it's not Halo.
It could add a whole new way to grief people. Join their match in progress, throw their game by suiciding repeatedly.
It's not competitive, it's not fun, it's not Halo.
Well playing with randoms is just that...random. We already have to deal with people that betray, suicide, weaken sheilds, etc. Sometimes they quit or are booted, but other times they stay and cause trouble.
I do agree that sometimes being a player down can be an advantage, but other times it just ends up being frustrating or leads to more quitting.
I want to play full games. Playing on or against teams down players is usually not fun or competitive. If JIP can keep the action going, I'm all for giving it a shot and I really don't see the big deal. Sure you might get a griefer, but you might also get a helpful player.
Speaking of rage quitters, what was Bungie's rationale for not allowing players to drop in when someone quits? That is one of my biggest problems with Halo games (yes, I know there are other issues but this one really pisses me off).
I do understand that 343i has remidied this which, IMO, is a great thing. I hated playing 2 v 4 or 4 v 1 when everyone is going after the only enemy that remains and all they do is hide.
I still haven't read which Halo 4 playlists will include Join In Progress.
I'm sure I'm THE ONLY person who feels this way, but I don't like the JIP. I'd rather go 2 v 4 or whatever than have new people drop in during a game.
You rang? No, I don't like it either, but I think it's only certain playlists.
I'm just wondering how much they are going to alienate the people who helped build the success of the franchise to try to steal players from CoD/BF/GoW.
I am seeing elements of all three games here, and I am pessimistic about whether I will like it. I really like bloom. It actually makes sense from a networking and "recoil" standpoint. It brings a bit of balance to DMR battles if there happens to be lag.
I really, really hope that I will like this game like I did Reach very early on, and now. I still think H3 was the best iteration so far (because it had the best MP on XBL...otherwise it would be CE); but I think it is detrimental to not bring back ranked playlists. How hard is it to have ranked objective REALLY?
Last night, there were 26k people on. THAT is sad, especially 1 month prior to release.
I shouldn't bitch because I really excited about Halo4 for the simple fact that the gameplay seem to be really good and bloom won't be a problem like it was in Reach. As a fan who has stuck with every Halo game I'm very critical and I know I will not like some things, but just like H2, H3 and Reach it takes a couple months for me to really figure things out.
I like they are giving us more customization as that is what I enjoy about COD. I like I can make my own character and loadout and have "perks" that compliment how I play. However, I have always enjoyed the gameplay of Halo over COD, so I'm hoping H4 will be the best of both worlds. There is room for Halo to grow, but people have to be open to change and quit looking at the older games with rose colored glasses. Yes, the older games were good, but they had their problems too.
You know, it's easy for us to be keyboard warriors (notice I'm including myself) and criticize or be pessimistic. This is especially true when you consider this is 343's first game and since there was no public beta, the only real taste of Halo 4 we get is from videos. What I look to in this case are the people that have played the game and I've seen a lot of positive comments about Halo 4.
The maps look promising. Yes, the maps are bigger, but you have to expect that to happen with the inclusion of everybody having Sprint.
I'm still waiting for 343 to discuss their ranked or "skill based" playlists. They have been extremely quiet on how matchmaking will actually work and match opponents. Obviously EXP-based ranks are back, but I seem to remember there has been some type of skill based rank hinted at in the past. I'm not sure if their not talking about it is good or bad. I mean, the game is done, so it's time to give us the details. The game will be in our hands in 4 weeks - spill it 343!
I just find it frustrating they are so quiet on how the game will actually work with the release date right around the corner.
I'm still waiting for 343 to discuss their ranked or "skill based" playlists. They have been extremely quiet on how matchmaking will actually work and match opponents. Obviously EXP-based ranks are back, but I seem to remember there has been some type of skill based rank hinted at in the past. I'm not sure if their not talking about it is good or bad. I mean, the game is done, so it's time to give us the details. The game will be in our hands in 4 weeks - spill it 343!
I just find it frustrating they are so quiet on how the game will actually work with the release date right around the corner.
I am pretty sure all playlists will be True Skill based. The only thing confirmed is True Skill will be used with a modified MM application over what REACH had.
No visible rankings have been confirmed and all answers from 343i have been that it will be discussed closer to release. How much do you want to bet they say they are still looking into it but want to give their initial system a good trial first.
Since I have never read one solution for the problems associated with visible ranks, I expect there will be none. It only matters to me if its existence encourages anti-social behavior, as it did in the past.
I am pretty sure all playlists will be True Skill based. The only thing confirmed is True Skill will be used with a modified MM application over what REACH had.
No visible rankings have been confirmed and all answers from 343i have been that it will be discussed closer to release. How much do you want to bet they say they are still looking into it but want to give their initial system a good trial first.
Since I have never read one solution for the problems associated with visible ranks, I expect there will be none. It only matters to me if its existence encourages anti-social behavior, as it did in the past.
As a mediocre player, I was initially excited Reach would not have ranked and social playlists. I got tired of being trounced by the restart 50s and people boosting. I thought The Arena sounded great and it would be an excellent alternative to the 1-50 system.
Then I saw these ideas in action and found The Arena was a flop as Bungie tweaked the forumula to try and get people interested - but it never took off because the incentive to play was not there.
I don't get what is wrong with a Division based 1-50 system - like this small game you may have heard of uses - utilized by StarCraft II.
While I hated all that came along with the 1-50 ranks in previous titles. I now realize we need more than just exp and unlocks. Even us mediocre players enjoy ranking up and improving our skill. I may not have been a 50, but we sure had a lot of fun watching our ranks increase in H3. Rank increase in Reach means nothing to me or anybody else and it tells you nothing about me as a player.
We can only be truly entertained for so long with unlocks and exp. I really hope some form of skill-based ranking returns to Halo 4. A statement I never thought I would utter, but even us bad players, to an extent, benefit from skill-based ranks.
As I read this stuff, I wonder if people started play CE or if most everyone started with H2. The most playable 4v4 map that was most enjoyed in CE was Blood Gulch (or Hemmorage, or whatever you want to call it). There's a reason it was remade 3 times in 4 games. It is big with vehicles (that were indestructable).
The thing in CE was you had a weapon you could duel with someone from large distances (and they put power weapons and pick-ups in the middle so you had to move, but that's a different story....). That went away in H2 with the BR. Then it got a little worse in H3. Then it changed in Reach (won't say worse because you can shoot far across Hemmorage with the DMR. The trigger pulls are very slow because bloom has to reset).
Point is, small maps aren't necessarily the problem. The map size has to be appropriate for the weapons and general game speed.
I also say no to JIP. However, I would make an exception if you could only join a game with someone on your friend's list AND were invited to join. Say my team is down a man and xbox live notifies me that FriendX just started playing Halo 4. I can send out a 'join in progress' invite which FriendX can either accept or reject. Maybe it will even display some details, like if my team is winning, who my opponents are, time remaining, etc. I don't see that happening so I would rather have no JIP over a generic JIP where you can join any game down a player.
I also say no to JIP. However, I would make an exception if you could only join a game with someone on your friend's list AND were invited to join. Say my team is down a man and xbox live notifies me that FriendX just started playing Halo 4. I can send out a 'join in progress' invite which FriendX can either accept or reject. Maybe it will even display some details, like if my team is winning, who my opponents are, time remaining, etc. I don't see that happening so I would rather have no JIP over a generic JIP where you can join any game down a player.
I liked the Halo 3 skill display. You could tell if someone boosted their 50' or got it legitimately. Now in reach, I have to go through 3 menus to see someone's K/D...which in and of itself is not a proper indicator of a players skill level.
You also can't truly say that this is 343i's first game. they have done other games, and have programmers and designers from the previous halo iterations...and Bungie rushed reach to meet the deadlines and end a contract with M$. Not too happy with it all, but it is what it is.
I am a consumer, and if this game is absolutely a reskinned Reach/MW variant, I'm selling everything.
There are some good points about reasons for not having JIP but I'm still for having even teams. As for greifers joining and suiciding, etc, they can do that now. I would say that any game joined in progress would not count towards your stats. Just my .02.
I wasn't taking TrueSkill into consideration though. Thats is a big factor in machmaking and really wouldn't work with JIP.
I realize a lot of this. We'll eradicate that last bit of casual gaming out of you. Longer kill times mean that the gulf betwee good and bad gets further embiggened. Like I said before, if you suck at getting a three shot kill, you're not magically going to pull off a five shot kill.
I really like sprint, but the other AAs they could of kept out. With perks and trait boosts or whatever there called is enough. I can see battles going like this.
Red guy - I'm killing you blue guy
Blue guy- Regen bitch now I'm killing you
Red guy- fucking shield what now you blue turd
Blue guy-Ordinace drop! epic power weapon
Red guy-See ya I'm sprinting away
Blue guy- I'm bored I quite
Red guy- I win
Yeah, it's that regen shield that fucks things up. That's the one Armor Ability I don't think has any place in, for sure. The ordnance drop is only in "Infinity Slayer". In any case, as always, we can strip out the extra stuff and figure out what works,
Definitely a thing to drop before you look around a corner to shoot.
I just had a thought. A whole string of regens throbbing from flag spawn to flag cap. Wub, wub, wub, WIN.
Nope. Just trying to save you from wasting 60 or more bucks and from having to hear the same complaints that this game is not H2 or H3.
This game will never be those games. Plain and simple, it is going to be Reach 1.5 with slight tweaks. If you hated Reach or were hoping for some throw back to H2/H3 cancel your preorder now and save yourself the money/time/energy.
Hell there is always Minecraft, right?
Oh...there's gonna be a Halo 4?
Most people use sprint anyways. It doesn't make the maps feel that small. I've played Pro and Arena enough to know that sprint works fine on small maps.
It's all good Deep :)
I agree Jim... I know a lot of people who use sprint no matter what size the map is, and they (you lol) kick ass. Some of the "community" maps are small, and there is a remake of warlock 2o2ph plays sometimes, and I think most people use sprint, and use it effectively.
Im just gonna hope there are smaller maps, and for some reason they are just showing us their big stuff.
@ silent hunter ...me too! I'm sending you a friend request lol
Cool! Looking forward to gaming with you.
Worst case scenario, we all stay in customs because customs can be whatever you want. I love MM, but if it's unplayable by Halo standards and is, in fact, CoD with red and blue, there will be custom maps and game types to keep us playing.
Please note: I'm not saying it IS going to be red v blue CoD, I'm saying that's the worst case scenario.
I do hope Halo 4 MM presents a more acceptable option for me.
This ^^^ I played MM mostly with clannies unless I was going for challenges during the day. Didn't know which was worse: the maps and games or the knucklehead Timmies I would get matched up with. Most MM with randoms was either Runble Pit (who gives a crap about the rage quitters) or Team Swat which seemed the one option that drew reasonable peeps in. Once max rank was achieved all motivation to play outside of clan activities basically ceased. There was nothing to hold my interest. I really hope H4 provides more of a draw to me over a longer period of time.
Speaking of rage quitters, what was Bungie's rationale for not allowing players to drop in when someone quits? That is one of my biggest problems with Halo games (yes, I know there are other issues but this one really pisses me off).
I do understand that 343i has remidied this which, IMO, is a great thing. I hated playing 2 v 4 or 4 v 1 when everyone is going after the only enemy that remains and all they do is hide.
I agree with zomb here, join in progress is something I would absolutely hate in Halo, especially if it's done carelessly.
I would hate to join a match in progress just to take two steps and have the game end with a loss for the team I got thrown onto.
I would also hate if my teammates got disconnected for some reason, and some betraying fools took their place.
It reminds me of one of the COD games where they tracked your best win streak, but you had no control of if you joined a game in progress or before it started, nor control over at what point in the game you joined. So your win streak could end because you joined one second before your team lost.
There are plenty of times in Halo where I love being on the team that's down a player. Less targets for the enemy to shoot at, more targets for me to shoot at.
I can't think of a reason why you'd want join in progress, especially when Halo 4 is supposed to be ranked on invisible true skill. It could add a whole new way to grief people. Join their match in progress, throw their game by suiciding repeatedly.
It's not competitive, it's not fun, it's not Halo.
Well playing with randoms is just that...random. We already have to deal with people that betray, suicide, weaken sheilds, etc. Sometimes they quit or are booted, but other times they stay and cause trouble.
I do agree that sometimes being a player down can be an advantage, but other times it just ends up being frustrating or leads to more quitting.
I want to play full games. Playing on or against teams down players is usually not fun or competitive. If JIP can keep the action going, I'm all for giving it a shot and I really don't see the big deal. Sure you might get a griefer, but you might also get a helpful player.
You rang? No, I don't like it either, but I think it's only certain playlists.
I'll be the guy at the LAN walking behind Dixon and covering his eyes.
I'll pretty much be opening up my copy of Halo 4 at the LAN, too.
I'm just wondering how much they are going to alienate the people who helped build the success of the franchise to try to steal players from CoD/BF/GoW.
I am seeing elements of all three games here, and I am pessimistic about whether I will like it. I really like bloom. It actually makes sense from a networking and "recoil" standpoint. It brings a bit of balance to DMR battles if there happens to be lag.
I really, really hope that I will like this game like I did Reach very early on, and now. I still think H3 was the best iteration so far (because it had the best MP on XBL...otherwise it would be CE); but I think it is detrimental to not bring back ranked playlists. How hard is it to have ranked objective REALLY?
Last night, there were 26k people on. THAT is sad, especially 1 month prior to release.
I shouldn't bitch because I really excited about Halo4 for the simple fact that the gameplay seem to be really good and bloom won't be a problem like it was in Reach. As a fan who has stuck with every Halo game I'm very critical and I know I will not like some things, but just like H2, H3 and Reach it takes a couple months for me to really figure things out.
I like they are giving us more customization as that is what I enjoy about COD. I like I can make my own character and loadout and have "perks" that compliment how I play. However, I have always enjoyed the gameplay of Halo over COD, so I'm hoping H4 will be the best of both worlds. There is room for Halo to grow, but people have to be open to change and quit looking at the older games with rose colored glasses. Yes, the older games were good, but they had their problems too.
You know, it's easy for us to be keyboard warriors (notice I'm including myself) and criticize or be pessimistic. This is especially true when you consider this is 343's first game and since there was no public beta, the only real taste of Halo 4 we get is from videos. What I look to in this case are the people that have played the game and I've seen a lot of positive comments about Halo 4.
The maps look promising. Yes, the maps are bigger, but you have to expect that to happen with the inclusion of everybody having Sprint.
I'm still waiting for 343 to discuss their ranked or "skill based" playlists. They have been extremely quiet on how matchmaking will actually work and match opponents. Obviously EXP-based ranks are back, but I seem to remember there has been some type of skill based rank hinted at in the past. I'm not sure if their not talking about it is good or bad. I mean, the game is done, so it's time to give us the details. The game will be in our hands in 4 weeks - spill it 343!
I just find it frustrating they are so quiet on how the game will actually work with the release date right around the corner.
No visible rankings have been confirmed and all answers from 343i have been that it will be discussed closer to release. How much do you want to bet they say they are still looking into it but want to give their initial system a good trial first.
Since I have never read one solution for the problems associated with visible ranks, I expect there will be none. It only matters to me if its existence encourages anti-social behavior, as it did in the past.
As a mediocre player, I was initially excited Reach would not have ranked and social playlists. I got tired of being trounced by the restart 50s and people boosting. I thought The Arena sounded great and it would be an excellent alternative to the 1-50 system.
Then I saw these ideas in action and found The Arena was a flop as Bungie tweaked the forumula to try and get people interested - but it never took off because the incentive to play was not there.
I don't get what is wrong with a Division based 1-50 system - like this small game you may have heard of uses - utilized by StarCraft II.
While I hated all that came along with the 1-50 ranks in previous titles. I now realize we need more than just exp and unlocks. Even us mediocre players enjoy ranking up and improving our skill. I may not have been a 50, but we sure had a lot of fun watching our ranks increase in H3. Rank increase in Reach means nothing to me or anybody else and it tells you nothing about me as a player.
We can only be truly entertained for so long with unlocks and exp. I really hope some form of skill-based ranking returns to Halo 4. A statement I never thought I would utter, but even us bad players, to an extent, benefit from skill-based ranks.
As I read this stuff, I wonder if people started play CE or if most everyone started with H2. The most playable 4v4 map that was most enjoyed in CE was Blood Gulch (or Hemmorage, or whatever you want to call it). There's a reason it was remade 3 times in 4 games. It is big with vehicles (that were indestructable).
The thing in CE was you had a weapon you could duel with someone from large distances (and they put power weapons and pick-ups in the middle so you had to move, but that's a different story....). That went away in H2 with the BR. Then it got a little worse in H3. Then it changed in Reach (won't say worse because you can shoot far across Hemmorage with the DMR. The trigger pulls are very slow because bloom has to reset).
Point is, small maps aren't necessarily the problem. The map size has to be appropriate for the weapons and general game speed.
I also say no to JIP. However, I would make an exception if you could only join a game with someone on your friend's list AND were invited to join. Say my team is down a man and xbox live notifies me that FriendX just started playing Halo 4. I can send out a 'join in progress' invite which FriendX can either accept or reject. Maybe it will even display some details, like if my team is winning, who my opponents are, time remaining, etc. I don't see that happening so I would rather have no JIP over a generic JIP where you can join any game down a player.
I liked the Halo 3 skill display. You could tell if someone boosted their 50' or got it legitimately. Now in reach, I have to go through 3 menus to see someone's K/D...which in and of itself is not a proper indicator of a players skill level.
You also can't truly say that this is 343i's first game. they have done other games, and have programmers and designers from the previous halo iterations...and Bungie rushed reach to meet the deadlines and end a contract with M$. Not too happy with it all, but it is what it is.
I am a consumer, and if this game is absolutely a reskinned Reach/MW variant, I'm selling everything.
There are some good points about reasons for not having JIP but I'm still for having even teams. As for greifers joining and suiciding, etc, they can do that now. I would say that any game joined in progress would not count towards your stats. Just my .02.
I wasn't taking TrueSkill into consideration though. Thats is a big factor in machmaking and really wouldn't work with JIP.
I stand corrected!