The Halo Bulletin: 1.9.13
#1
Wed, 01/09/2013 - 22:42
The Halo Bulletin: 1.9.13
I'm just starting to read it. I hope there is hope in there for those worried about the end of the world of Halo as we know it. ;)
I'm just starting to read it. I hope there is hope in there for those worried about the end of the world of Halo as we know it. ;)
I came in here to post the same thing. Frankie's apology seemed a lot more like his effort to tamp down expectations for previous stuff, what they're doing now, and in the future. Here's the kicker: I don't really care about your apology. Yes, it's mildly unfair for us to expect you to handle things at least how Bungie did. Tough. Deal with it. Just meet what they did, with regards to communication, community outreach, and working with the various communities. That shouldn't seem like too overwhelming of a task. Outside of that, are trickling specializations out two per week going to bring folks back? We wait until late February for the game to get fixed? 4 months after release, the game finally gets fixed? Doesn't that seem a smidge long? If so, shouldn't you release your games not during the holiday season? Of course, you've probably little control over that (Microsoft probably dictates that).
Just finished reading it. Trying to figure out how to evaluate it. Negatives -- quit patting yourself on the back. Positives -- admitting that there were and are real problems. What bothers me though is that they recognize communicatoin issues yet don't communicate too well:
"Take communication, for instance. I believe we need to work harder to get you information."
This was immediately preceded by:
"Late February will also bring both a Title Update and the Majestic Map Pack (which includes two small maps and one medium-sized map) to Halo 4 as well. Expect more information on all of those things next month."
That is almost an oxy-moron to me, to wit -- we are going to communicate better, but are holding off the details on this stuff for a month. Sounds like committment problems or sleight of hand again. I can understand the matchmaking info (get more stats before finalizing and the maps (since DLC is already a cluster yoink), but the Title Update? What the eff is in it 343?
I think they're still trying to figure out what is in the Title Update. They're finally awake after the holidays and are probably going to start triaging things, I assume.
343 doesn't know yet.
They will decide by random drawing.
Things like:
- Longer duration for camo
- Up damage on Boltshot
- Increase ordinance drops and include Incineration Canno with each drop
- More jumbled maps with more stuff to get stuck on or hide behind (see camo and boltshot above)
- Nerf the BR
I'm sure there are other things to be updated, but these are just a few examples.
I get tired of the whole "dangle the carrot in front of them and watch them run" idea 343 seems to enjoy. Still no mention of the possible addition of ranked playlists and/or MLG playlist.
Anyway, I'll keep on playing. Halo is a perfect example of a love/hate relationship...lol
I will bag up my crap for a week, pack in my Halo LE game with it and send it to 343 if that were to happen. As outrageous and upsurd as you are trying to make your statement, I would not be chocked if they did exactly that.
Hey Dixon, how long was it for the TU for H2 to come out? You remember that shit? It was much more than 4 months and that game was borked big time until that TU was released. Not defending how long it's taking, just putting it into perspective.
I agree though. I'm glad that you had a great year. Save that shit for your internal meetings where people need the confirmation they've done a good job. Do they really think that if their cars were not working right, they'd want to read some rant from the CEO about how they improved safety or gas mileage? Or would they just want their car fixed? And I was a little put off with the whole "you paid for the privlige to play our game." Really? Your game is so great that it's my privlige to be able to pay for it? Huh.
They've also said they don't discuss TU because there are exploits they don't want to publicize. I can at least appreciate that. But, it is a little weak.
Looking forward to double team!
See, Halo 2 was Bungie's first Live game they released. That was also many moons ago. This is a different time, and even a different console.
And this is 343's first live game as well. They could have chose to learn from the past, but the UI and other things show otherwise. They want to learn for themselves. Doest it make me happy? No, but hopefully the time will let them get it right. And maybe it's taught them to do a beta next time around.
343's first game...with Microsoft money, with many ex-Bungie employees, with Bungie making the engine before they came about. A lot of these hurdles had been jumped before 343 even existed.
Yea, I agree. But the UI is bad. Horrendously bad. With all those Bungie/MS/assets, how in the world could the team have said, "This, by far, is a better experience for the user than the old interface?" Yet, somehow, here we are.
Again, I'm not defending them, just putting into perspective what's happened in the past. And we assume they have/had alot of stuff going in. It's altogether possible that alot of what's wrong was MS trying to drive the bus, like all big corporations do (see GM/Saturn). So, with everything they had going for them, it is possible that the gorilla on their back forced them to make decisions that weren't ideal.
I think they were trying to differentiate themselves with the UI. Hell, even the UI on Waypoint is painful, at least, until you're used to how it works.
making the Trueskill rank only be on Waypoint is like not doing it at all. we need to see that number to chase every single match.