I got my box on DAY 1!!! Waited outside Best Buy like a foooooool!!! lol damn this sucks...
pay 100 for repair and miss the beta? or go buy a new one?
Or you could try the Meijer switch! Doesn't have to be Meijer, but any place that sells 360's. What you do is you buy a new 360 from wherever, take it home, switch the new xbox with your RROD one and then return it to the store saying it's a broken piece of shit. If you're lucky, they'll fully repay you. A few of my friends have done this before at Meijer.
Or you could not be sneaky and just spend the $250 or whatever on a new Arcade version.
mmm cant wait for the new maps and new players...The only major problem I've had for the past few days is that everyone is too damn good at the game already...
At first it was all fun n games, and then saturday and sunday I couldn't even count the number of times I got shot in the head from 300 feet by a guy in the air crouch jumping for no discernible reason.
Not having a keyboard and mouse has always been a pretty big handicap for me, but shot in the head by a guy that's crouch jumping? It's hard not to take that poorly
Yeah I played again last night and my god when did the back flipping sniper headshots become available? I swear some people that play this game are robots and are actually controlling the reticule with their cybernetically enhanced brains and memory chips.
mmm cant wait for the new maps and new players...The only major problem I've had for the past few days is that everyone is too damn good at the game already...
At first it was all fun n games, and then saturday and sunday I couldn't even count the number of times I got shot in the head from 300 feet by a guy in the air crouch jumping for no discernible reason.
Not having a keyboard and mouse has always been a pretty big handicap for me, but shot in the head by a guy that's crouch jumping? It's hard not to take that poorly
Things should get better once the public beta goes live, since the population should be significantly larger and the skill levels should be spread out more. Also, the Arena mode will go live today and should, in theory, migrate the super hard corp players away from the rest of the playlists.
Like they're prisoners or something....wierd :P
Seems like the server is not able to keep up.
That or it just doesnt like me.
Guess ill write a bit more on my findings, maybe i can finaly finish it.
I am sad to say, but a lot has to be tweaked to make the gameplay more interesting and aggressive.
It was funny by not even the end of the friends and family public beta I was already getting my ass roflstopped by a bunch of 12 year olds who defiantly were not shy about the homo erotic comments about how they owned me. It was great, lots of fun and laughs. Just like the good old days of CE, although I wasnt as bad back then ha.
I should be on random times if anyone wants to hit it up.
Played a bit yesterday, very cool. On a sidenote, does anyone know why my monitor fucks up when I try to play Reach? Main menu seems to be ok but when I jump ingame it crops the sides and outputs - what looks like - a 1990-esque resolution, bloody horrible. It's a 16:10 1920x1200 25.5" Samsung (Hooked up through HDMI -> 360 Elite).
Not a fan so far so I'll get the bad points out of the way...
1) The motion blur, its TURRIBAL. In fact often the view weapon looks more like its being rendered at 5 frames a second than the smooth 30 they said it should. Most of the time I find it hard on my eyes, very over done.
2) The perks system. Maybe its just me, but it feels like it will take years to unlock everything. Maybe that’s how its supposed to be? But the games are far too long and you don’t get anywhere near enough credits, even on an impressive win with a load of ingame awards...?
3) The graphics. Very poor. I wasn't expecting a huge leap, this is Bungie after all... But what I got was Halo 3 with a couple of additions. The AO was a nice touch, but why are all the textures compressed to shit? Why is the water not even zFeathered? How come decals on walls are not actual decals, but badly placed sections of texture with terrible seams? Maybe to the average guy it wont bother him but to my eyes, this is stuff that kids should know better... Was seriously not impressed with how bland, muddy and boring everything looked. That Sword Factory level was a complete chore to look at. And what’s with the Energy sword having a solid outline? Christ, use an alpha mask and blur it a bit, even a kid artist knows better. And those blood decals... They MUST be using the wrong blend, because they looked awful... And why would they be bleeding anyway with what they wear?
4 ) Powers. So they give you a few choices, the sprint, the jetpack etc... But they are so pointless it begs the question "why?". Sprint should be there by default anyway, and the others are just pointless one off items. Its like they saw MW2 and thought "Holy shit we need to do this lets get some quick ideas".
5) The gameplay and speed. Could... Not... Be... Arsed. Games have matured a lot since Halo 3, yet here we are playing as super soldiers, running at 3 miles an hour, taking 5mins shooting to take down one person... Christ, it was so dull, I think I gave up shooting people a few times and just went in for the melee... Nice to see the totally unbalanced melee lunge is still there... Not...
But there are a few good points amazingly...
1) The UI work is spot on, top dog. Love it. The whole UI screamed detail and pro, the layout, the way it all worked, very very classy. Was impressed.
2) The number of stuff you can actually unlock is impressive. After beating Splinter Cell and unlocking all, what, 5 items, its a nice change to see so many options.
3) The resolution jump to 720p made a nice change, could see things at a distance now.
4) Erm...................... Did I mention the UI work was nice?
Its not that its a bad game/beta... Its that its a totally average beta. If this didn't carry the Halo brand I bet it wouldn't even be played. The graphics are average for 2007. The gameplay is average for 2002. The game in itself, is a bit of a letdown at this point for me. I hope the single player has some balls to be honest, and part of me thinks it will. But there just in'st anything interesting here. I'll get flamed to hell and back for saying these things, granted... But I just can't be the Halo sheep I once was. The first game amazed me. Totally amazed me. I still have my xbox copy. One of my all time faves. The second was ok, but that was it... Just ok. It wasn't anything like the first and for that, I disliked it. So I waited on the third and it had its moments, it was ok, but for the generation it was in, it was just... There. And I’ve played them all a LOT. Check out my gamertag. Halo 2 has all the SP chevos and a few MP ones (Because it came out far too late on PC) and Halo 3 has all but one chevo done (Because that was one of those rare crappy ones that was no fun).
And that’s the issue with Halo. It has so many rabid fans that Bungie 100% CAN NOT change a damn thing. They did Reach to try and update it with some new ideas and gameplay, to try and compete, but they know they can't do much without causing a huge fanboy nerd war. The honest truth is that Halo was an amazing game... 10 years ago. Now, its just an overhyped bland game with nothing fresh, no new ideas, and nothing to be excited about. I hope the Reach SP game proves me wrong, I really do... After ODST failing so hard, I'll give anything a shot...
You can see why Bungie want to make something new. I can't say I blame them at all.
Odium, why did you bother playing the beta if you hate the fundamental halo gameplay so much, I mean that wasn't really going to change that much was it?
boy that be some serrius trollin' of the 'not worth a real reply' order....
Was playing last night, had a much better experience with the larger pool of players (didn't even see any bunny hopping!) And actually felt like I was kicking ass again, so that was nice...but where are the new maps?
Did they shut them down because of all of the server issues? I was playing around 10-12pm CST and I didn't see an option for Invasion anywhere. I be dyin for some invasions
Managed to get a few rounds in last night, and I've come away pretty impressed. It's changed the gameplay a lot more than the other sequels -- the pacing is definitely faster. There seem to be some balancing issues here and there, but it's hard to say with it being so unfamiliar. The armor abilities seem to make a few old Halo tactics fundamentally obsolete. I'm very appreciative of the increased framerate and visually it's pretty nice. You can definitely see there is a particular art direction stylization in terms of how things are textured and lit, it has nice clean readable textures without feeling quite as sterile as previous games. Particular props go to whoever decided it would be a good idea to unify the player's current game lobby with the friend-invite system. I despise the 360 guide friend invite system for how clunky and slow it is.
I played liked two games yesterday so take what i say with a grain of salt.
Pros:
- Loved the responsiveness of the weapons really reminded me of Halo 1.
- New game play modes were really fun to play and required a lot of team work.
- Player and gun models are 100% better than previous halo games.
- Customizable Armor! This will keep players playing halo even if they don't want to.
- UI Work is amazing! whoever made it should get a bonus!
Cons:
- Scout sprint ability should be a normal ability every player can use, seems stupid that its a perk.
- Some of the level art is bland/boring not as detailed as other recent games.
- I can see alot of PAID armor DLC coming out of bungie
So far this beta gets a B- from me, hopefully with a few tweaks to the ability features and a little but more work on the level art itself this game can be very fun.
I think some people quickly forget what a BETA is. Its not a "suck my cock Gary" fan service. Its not a product released with everything perfectly tuned to everybodies tastes. Its not something that the devs want to get out there only to hear "Good work this is amazing!". Its there for one purpose... To find flaws. If you want to preach about its good points and ignore its bad points, go for it, more power to you. But thats exactly the same thing you hate newb artists coming here doing when they post work and ignore crits... So don't be all high and mighty.
Odium, why did you bother playing the beta if you hate the fundamental halo gameplay so much, I mean that wasn't really going to change that much was it?
What a toally insane and backward thought process. Don't play something new, because it will 100% be like the old ones, right? Not a chance of change at all, is there? Theres nothing wrong with Halos gameplay. The first is amazing. The third had some half decent MP. This one feels a step backward, and whats worse, it feels outdated. Its not just me, I suggest you check out the bungie forums. You think what I said was harsh, try there. Theres people posting death threats and all sorts because of how bad this is.
boy that be some serrius trollin' of the 'not worth a real reply' order....
Take your elitist attitude and shove it where the sun don't shine, kthx. Trolling is blatent crap that is there for one reason; to fuel an argument. Trolling is something you do just for the hell of it. If I was "trolling" I would be saying stuff like "360 sux" "Halo sux" "newb game". I wouldn't spend some of my time writing a post that dicusses pro's cons and feedback of a BETA product, would I?
For the Slayer gametypes I played through, there's still a lot of weapon control gameplay. The classes mostly change how you move through the map and what kinds of tactics you use, but you still definitely want to know where the shotgun, rockets, and sniper rifle are on the map.
I think it could be a concern that the combo of wide weapon variety and class abilities might be overwhelming to new players. With the beta you're dealing with a generally more core and experienced player base, but someone relatively inexperienced with the series could be punished in so many different ways that it becomes even harder for the new player to understand why they're getting crushed. It might take longer than the previous games for players to get their footing. Something like this might already be planned, but maybe for the full release have players start out in playlists where they progress through the different armor abilities one at a time, with everyone in the match using the same ability, and after logging some time with that open up the real Slayer Arena so they can really mix it up. And make the progression win-based so that experienced players get booted out more quickly.
What a toally insane and backward thought process. Don't play something new, because it will 100% be like the old ones, right? Not a chance of change at all, is there?
That's not at all what I was suggesting, you said:
The gameplay and speed. Could... Not... Be... Arsed. Games have matured a lot since Halo 3, yet here we are playing as super soldiers, running at 3 miles an hour, taking 5mins shooting to take down one person... Christ, it was so dull, I think I gave up shooting people a few times and just went in for the melee... Nice to see the totally unbalanced melee lunge is still there... Not...
If they made the player run faster, take down enemies quicker and weakened the melee it would be like every other fps out there, unless I'm missing something. The strong melee and extended gun fights are integral to halo's gameplay.
I suggest you check out the bungie forums. You think what I said was harsh, try there. Theres people posting death threats and all sorts because of how bad this is.
Well it must be true if they say so on the Bungie forums...:poly131:
Personally, I don't know what everyone's so upset about. It's just a beta. The point is to fix the flaws, not complain about them.
"You're beta testing! Have a t-shit. Litte avatar t-shirt. I'll be wearing one."
I'm not sure what you're getting at.
To fix the flaws, Bungie needs to know they're there. To know they're there, the testers have to point them out.
That said - I hope Bungie's new IP is not related to Halo.
Heh, getting a little heated in here :P
We appreciate all feedback, good, bad, "we suck". Its all good. Some things we can react to. And some we cant, whether for technical reasons, time or sometimes because we just see things a little differently.
In any case, please keep the feedback coming. We read everything and we greatly appreciate people taking the time to jot down their thoughts.
Now back to the fun stuff:
Invasion should be rolling out Friday morning. Crazy fun !
And Generator Defense (Network Test 1) should be up a week later. That mode is even crazier fun :P
Aww, no invasion 'till friday? Why you gotta be doing that to me Bungie
One actual art problem I do have though is that it is really hard for me to tell the difference between Red and Blue Covenant armor on a quick glance or from any kind of distance. Red is so "nearly blue but a little purple" that it's really hard for me to read quickly.
I would be a lot easier on my brain if they went as far red and far blue with the Cov ans they did with Spartan team colors.
Odium - not understanding how you're being a troll is a real "kid artist" mindset. "Even Kids should know better."
5) The gameplay and speed. Could... Not... Be... Arsed. Games have matured a lot since Halo 3, yet here we are playing as super soldiers, running at 3 miles an hour, taking 5mins shooting to take down one person... Christ, it was so dull, I think I gave up shooting people a few times and just went in for the melee... Nice to see the totally unbalanced melee lunge is still there... Not...
Saying something like this indicates to me that you don't "get" Halo, and you want it to be un-Halo. It's like a comment on Kotaku I saw by another guy who claimed he "liked the first Halo" but was totally bored about Reach because of the fundamental design decision of focusing on small teams compared to other MP games. You can't like Halo without liking the things that make it Halo, guys.
Sometimes stuff is a matter of preference, and what you really want is simply a different game, not a more different version of something established. I have a strong personal distaste for God of War and Metal Gear Solid, but I recognize that's due to fundamental design decisions that don't appeal to my preferences rather than a quality issue. No matter how much feedback I offered during a new GoW or MGS beta (if they offered one for some reason), the devs wouldn't be able to appeal to both me and the people who already enjoy the series.
That, to me, is the crux: recognizing when something is a flaw, and when it's just a matter of preference. I like the smaller teams (encourages teamwork) and slower pacing (encourages more tactical approach) of the Halo series, so if you don't like those fundamental design decisions, maybe just consider playing something else instead of saying that the things I personally enjoy are flaws.
Played it over at my buddys house last night for a few hours. overall we had a good time, but it really kinda felt like halo 3.5
personally I thought it looked alright graphically, not amazing by any means but a couple minutes into it my bud said "wow it looks just like halo 3" which the more I played the more I started to agree with him. the textures look a bit crisper and the art direction seems to be a bit more realistic but overall it looks pretty similar.
the main thing that bugs me about halo environments is how propless and sterile they are. it feels as if the space was built stricly for gameplay and not an imersive environment. there is nothing that makes the levels feel lived in or like it existed before that match. having some dynamic objects/clutter that fly around when grenades go off would be nice.
gameplay seems to be standard halo, the modes other than standard slayer were far more fun, and im interested in the 2 coming modes for sure. I would have preferred a sprint option for all classes and something more interesting for the scout class. not being able to sprint/iron sights kinda feels a bit dated nowdays to me anyways. although I disagree with Odium on the fact that the powerups/equipment doesn't change the game at all, using the right item at a key moment totally shifted the game in my favor, mainly sheild and jet pack at the right moment/situation. dont really like the run at each other and shoot then who presses melee 1st wins gameplay, especialyl when some other guy just picks off the winner of each battle, pretty much forces you into an agressive playstyle which i can see/hear appeals to 12 year olds everywhere.
overall it was a fun time with my bud on the couch and hopefully singleplayer is way better than ODST's which almost everyone i know just hated. firefight was the reason to own that game. Ill probably grab it when it comes out for a month or so of fun online with my buds and hopefully a cool campaign. I just wish it had some awesome graphics to go along with that and ofcourse not being called a faggot/n-bomb by kids every 10 seconds.
*edit: while the lighting looks nice in areas, the levels are so evenly lit it kinda adds to the meh factor, having some deep shadows would be nice.
Yo rens, seeing as you're a hardcore halo player and had an awesome write up there, i want to ask your opinion:
Does the combat model in reach seem more suited to 'tactical' teamplay, squads moving together, than the previous halo games? That's the impression i got from the videos, and hearing your comments/complaints it looks to further enforce that -- between grenade damage and health tweaks and weapon tweaks and powerups it looks like playing lone wolf got a whole hell of a lot more random/unfair, and playing within firing range of a few teammates is more favorable.
Also guys odium is the guy who posted a 3000x4000 eye texture in waywo once. He makes cool stuff and all but he's a wacko, dont get worked up over his left field opinions on games.
I've had a bit of fun with it. It's still Halo enough but with some MW2 (for lack of other comparison) aspects that I enjoy added on (speed, loadouts, upgrades). I would like to see more button configs. I'm too used to Borderlands and MW2 having melee on R.Stick press and aiming with L trigger. That's bad for someone who plays Boxer style. :S
I had read the ghosting of frames will be addressed but I kinda like it. A more controlled version would be cool.. though I guess that would be motion blur. lol
Losing credits and dropping rank SUCKS. I came in second in an Oddball game and lost half a rank.
My roommate went from Corporal all the way back down to Private after coming in second or third in a game.
Oh and a lot of these noobs need to learn what BETA means... sheesh.
Wish I hadn't sold my Xbox 360 for a PS3.. ugh, worst switch I've ever done
Oh well, the game will be out when I get a 360 again. How do the visuals hold up in comparison to Halo 3?
Well.
Halo can be played in various ways.
Lonewolfing vs a compleet team can be done easely if the skill level is far appart.
But say i play vs a pro team aswell, you would run into a high speed chess game.
Since every little brain sparks that power the actions are needed in those incounters, playing it right, with having your chess pieces backing eachother up, teamplay becomes key to winning a game.
Now in reach it indeed does feel more like you need someone within close range. Even for the simple things. Because with the balance now, it becomes hard to outskill someone.
Lonewolf style you will be close to the edge on every encounter, and with the things going on that i explained, you need someone to snatch that kill for when you dont make it, or to outgun him.
How i roll in most cases is that i stick close to someone.
Most new people playing do not pay too much attention to how this goes, but if you wingman someone, you do stand a lot stronger. Though still, you get the same things as discribed, but on a larger scale.
Maps also play a big roll in this.
In halo, you need to set up position and keep things in check. So you play the chess game so no one can sneak up behind your lines. With reach's maps being different, it also asks a team to function different.
What i will add tomorrow besides alot of other points, is the use of a map. Now i only know two, too little to say what will go down in general. but how we do things is to sneak, jump and abuse every corner of the map and turn it into our favour. With tricks like these, you outskill a player.
Though, yeah, there is less room to do this and ill explain why.
To take in account here, is that you have a skilled player vs new comers that are focused on hill time and the fight they put themselfs into. (look how often he actualy becomes a target)
He camps out the spawns, runs when it gets too hot and let other people fight it out while he picks people off one by one.
A clever way of playing i suppose..
Looks like he adapted fast to the game, fighting this out king kong style would have gotten him no where.
Yay a friend of mine lent me his Xbawx. Hopefully Ill have a review to add to this thread once i get a few games in. That video is insane, it really illustrates how much the game changes once you learn not to chase after battles you might not win.
Replies
I just got RROD....
I got my box on DAY 1!!! Waited outside Best Buy like a foooooool!!! lol damn this sucks...
pay 100 for repair and miss the beta? or go buy a new one?
Glad to hear everyone is enjoying it so much though!
I'll be online Monday for a few games.
My gamertag: ENODMI
Add ME!
Or you could try the Meijer switch! Doesn't have to be Meijer, but any place that sells 360's. What you do is you buy a new 360 from wherever, take it home, switch the new xbox with your RROD one and then return it to the store saying it's a broken piece of shit. If you're lucky, they'll fully repay you. A few of my friends have done this before at Meijer.
Or you could not be sneaky and just spend the $250 or whatever on a new Arcade version.
Are you talking about when they are flipping the switch for ODST owners? Don't bother staying up, its not going live till late Monday morning.
DEEhunter1
At first it was all fun n games, and then saturday and sunday I couldn't even count the number of times I got shot in the head from 300 feet by a guy in the air crouch jumping for no discernible reason.
Not having a keyboard and mouse has always been a pretty big handicap for me, but shot in the head by a guy that's crouch jumping? It's hard not to take that poorly
You can add me so you dont get teamed against me. "Magicalant"
Things should get better once the public beta goes live, since the population should be significantly larger and the skill levels should be spread out more. Also, the Arena mode will go live today and should, in theory, migrate the super hard corp players away from the rest of the playlists.
Like they're prisoners or something....wierd :P
Rens - Haet u.
That or it just doesnt like me.
Guess ill write a bit more on my findings, maybe i can finaly finish it.
I am sad to say, but a lot has to be tweaked to make the gameplay more interesting and aggressive.
I keep going at the tv like ...
I should be on random times if anyone wants to hit it up.
GT: Autocon Xbox
GT: nrek
1) The motion blur, its TURRIBAL. In fact often the view weapon looks more like its being rendered at 5 frames a second than the smooth 30 they said it should. Most of the time I find it hard on my eyes, very over done.
2) The perks system. Maybe its just me, but it feels like it will take years to unlock everything. Maybe that’s how its supposed to be? But the games are far too long and you don’t get anywhere near enough credits, even on an impressive win with a load of ingame awards...?
3) The graphics. Very poor. I wasn't expecting a huge leap, this is Bungie after all... But what I got was Halo 3 with a couple of additions. The AO was a nice touch, but why are all the textures compressed to shit? Why is the water not even zFeathered? How come decals on walls are not actual decals, but badly placed sections of texture with terrible seams? Maybe to the average guy it wont bother him but to my eyes, this is stuff that kids should know better... Was seriously not impressed with how bland, muddy and boring everything looked. That Sword Factory level was a complete chore to look at. And what’s with the Energy sword having a solid outline? Christ, use an alpha mask and blur it a bit, even a kid artist knows better. And those blood decals... They MUST be using the wrong blend, because they looked awful... And why would they be bleeding anyway with what they wear?
4 ) Powers. So they give you a few choices, the sprint, the jetpack etc... But they are so pointless it begs the question "why?". Sprint should be there by default anyway, and the others are just pointless one off items. Its like they saw MW2 and thought "Holy shit we need to do this lets get some quick ideas".
5) The gameplay and speed. Could... Not... Be... Arsed. Games have matured a lot since Halo 3, yet here we are playing as super soldiers, running at 3 miles an hour, taking 5mins shooting to take down one person... Christ, it was so dull, I think I gave up shooting people a few times and just went in for the melee... Nice to see the totally unbalanced melee lunge is still there... Not...
But there are a few good points amazingly...
1) The UI work is spot on, top dog. Love it. The whole UI screamed detail and pro, the layout, the way it all worked, very very classy. Was impressed.
2) The number of stuff you can actually unlock is impressive. After beating Splinter Cell and unlocking all, what, 5 items, its a nice change to see so many options.
3) The resolution jump to 720p made a nice change, could see things at a distance now.
4) Erm...................... Did I mention the UI work was nice?
Its not that its a bad game/beta... Its that its a totally average beta. If this didn't carry the Halo brand I bet it wouldn't even be played. The graphics are average for 2007. The gameplay is average for 2002. The game in itself, is a bit of a letdown at this point for me. I hope the single player has some balls to be honest, and part of me thinks it will. But there just in'st anything interesting here. I'll get flamed to hell and back for saying these things, granted... But I just can't be the Halo sheep I once was. The first game amazed me. Totally amazed me. I still have my xbox copy. One of my all time faves. The second was ok, but that was it... Just ok. It wasn't anything like the first and for that, I disliked it. So I waited on the third and it had its moments, it was ok, but for the generation it was in, it was just... There. And I’ve played them all a LOT. Check out my gamertag. Halo 2 has all the SP chevos and a few MP ones (Because it came out far too late on PC) and Halo 3 has all but one chevo done (Because that was one of those rare crappy ones that was no fun).
And that’s the issue with Halo. It has so many rabid fans that Bungie 100% CAN NOT change a damn thing. They did Reach to try and update it with some new ideas and gameplay, to try and compete, but they know they can't do much without causing a huge fanboy nerd war. The honest truth is that Halo was an amazing game... 10 years ago. Now, its just an overhyped bland game with nothing fresh, no new ideas, and nothing to be excited about. I hope the Reach SP game proves me wrong, I really do... After ODST failing so hard, I'll give anything a shot...
You can see why Bungie want to make something new. I can't say I blame them at all.
Haha, why am I not surprised.
Was playing last night, had a much better experience with the larger pool of players (didn't even see any bunny hopping!) And actually felt like I was kicking ass again, so that was nice...but where are the new maps?
Did they shut them down because of all of the server issues? I was playing around 10-12pm CST and I didn't see an option for Invasion anywhere. I be dyin for some invasions
Pros:
- Loved the responsiveness of the weapons really reminded me of Halo 1.
- New game play modes were really fun to play and required a lot of team work.
- Player and gun models are 100% better than previous halo games.
- Customizable Armor! This will keep players playing halo even if they don't want to.
- UI Work is amazing! whoever made it should get a bonus!
Cons:
- Scout sprint ability should be a normal ability every player can use, seems stupid that its a perk.
- Some of the level art is bland/boring not as detailed as other recent games.
- I can see alot of PAID armor DLC coming out of bungie
So far this beta gets a B- from me, hopefully with a few tweaks to the ability features and a little but more work on the level art itself this game can be very fun.
Cheers,
Arman
What a toally insane and backward thought process. Don't play something new, because it will 100% be like the old ones, right? Not a chance of change at all, is there? Theres nothing wrong with Halos gameplay. The first is amazing. The third had some half decent MP. This one feels a step backward, and whats worse, it feels outdated. Its not just me, I suggest you check out the bungie forums. You think what I said was harsh, try there. Theres people posting death threats and all sorts because of how bad this is.
Take your elitist attitude and shove it where the sun don't shine, kthx. Trolling is blatent crap that is there for one reason; to fuel an argument. Trolling is something you do just for the hell of it. If I was "trolling" I would be saying stuff like "360 sux" "Halo sux" "newb game". I wouldn't spend some of my time writing a post that dicusses pro's cons and feedback of a BETA product, would I?
I'm not sure how much I like the idea of classes, part of halo was fighting over weapons, between the enemies and team mates.
I think it could be a concern that the combo of wide weapon variety and class abilities might be overwhelming to new players. With the beta you're dealing with a generally more core and experienced player base, but someone relatively inexperienced with the series could be punished in so many different ways that it becomes even harder for the new player to understand why they're getting crushed. It might take longer than the previous games for players to get their footing. Something like this might already be planned, but maybe for the full release have players start out in playlists where they progress through the different armor abilities one at a time, with everyone in the match using the same ability, and after logging some time with that open up the real Slayer Arena so they can really mix it up. And make the progression win-based so that experienced players get booted out more quickly.
That's not at all what I was suggesting, you said:
If they made the player run faster, take down enemies quicker and weakened the melee it would be like every other fps out there, unless I'm missing something. The strong melee and extended gun fights are integral to halo's gameplay.
Well it must be true if they say so on the Bungie forums...:poly131:
I'm not sure what you're getting at.
To fix the flaws, Bungie needs to know they're there. To know they're there, the testers have to point them out.
That said - I hope Bungie's new IP is not related to Halo.
We appreciate all feedback, good, bad, "we suck". Its all good. Some things we can react to. And some we cant, whether for technical reasons, time or sometimes because we just see things a little differently.
In any case, please keep the feedback coming. We read everything and we greatly appreciate people taking the time to jot down their thoughts.
Now back to the fun stuff:
Invasion should be rolling out Friday morning. Crazy fun !
And Generator Defense (Network Test 1) should be up a week later. That mode is even crazier fun :P
Why dont i show you a bit of story i wrote for now.
It is far from done, and i still need to tweak it and make some areas sound better and more acurate
http://www.elitesincemarathon.com/
One actual art problem I do have though is that it is really hard for me to tell the difference between Red and Blue Covenant armor on a quick glance or from any kind of distance. Red is so "nearly blue but a little purple" that it's really hard for me to read quickly.
I would be a lot easier on my brain if they went as far red and far blue with the Cov ans they did with Spartan team colors.
Odium - not understanding how you're being a troll is a real "kid artist" mindset. "Even Kids should know better."
Saying something like this indicates to me that you don't "get" Halo, and you want it to be un-Halo. It's like a comment on Kotaku I saw by another guy who claimed he "liked the first Halo" but was totally bored about Reach because of the fundamental design decision of focusing on small teams compared to other MP games. You can't like Halo without liking the things that make it Halo, guys.
Sometimes stuff is a matter of preference, and what you really want is simply a different game, not a more different version of something established. I have a strong personal distaste for God of War and Metal Gear Solid, but I recognize that's due to fundamental design decisions that don't appeal to my preferences rather than a quality issue. No matter how much feedback I offered during a new GoW or MGS beta (if they offered one for some reason), the devs wouldn't be able to appeal to both me and the people who already enjoy the series.
That, to me, is the crux: recognizing when something is a flaw, and when it's just a matter of preference. I like the smaller teams (encourages teamwork) and slower pacing (encourages more tactical approach) of the Halo series, so if you don't like those fundamental design decisions, maybe just consider playing something else instead of saying that the things I personally enjoy are flaws.
personally I thought it looked alright graphically, not amazing by any means but a couple minutes into it my bud said "wow it looks just like halo 3" which the more I played the more I started to agree with him. the textures look a bit crisper and the art direction seems to be a bit more realistic but overall it looks pretty similar.
the main thing that bugs me about halo environments is how propless and sterile they are. it feels as if the space was built stricly for gameplay and not an imersive environment. there is nothing that makes the levels feel lived in or like it existed before that match. having some dynamic objects/clutter that fly around when grenades go off would be nice.
gameplay seems to be standard halo, the modes other than standard slayer were far more fun, and im interested in the 2 coming modes for sure. I would have preferred a sprint option for all classes and something more interesting for the scout class. not being able to sprint/iron sights kinda feels a bit dated nowdays to me anyways. although I disagree with Odium on the fact that the powerups/equipment doesn't change the game at all, using the right item at a key moment totally shifted the game in my favor, mainly sheild and jet pack at the right moment/situation. dont really like the run at each other and shoot then who presses melee 1st wins gameplay, especialyl when some other guy just picks off the winner of each battle, pretty much forces you into an agressive playstyle which i can see/hear appeals to 12 year olds everywhere.
overall it was a fun time with my bud on the couch and hopefully singleplayer is way better than ODST's which almost everyone i know just hated. firefight was the reason to own that game. Ill probably grab it when it comes out for a month or so of fun online with my buds and hopefully a cool campaign. I just wish it had some awesome graphics to go along with that and ofcourse not being called a faggot/n-bomb by kids every 10 seconds.
*edit: while the lighting looks nice in areas, the levels are so evenly lit it kinda adds to the meh factor, having some deep shadows would be nice.
This makes you sound like a troll.
Ah gawd please don't quote that guy.
Does the combat model in reach seem more suited to 'tactical' teamplay, squads moving together, than the previous halo games? That's the impression i got from the videos, and hearing your comments/complaints it looks to further enforce that -- between grenade damage and health tweaks and weapon tweaks and powerups it looks like playing lone wolf got a whole hell of a lot more random/unfair, and playing within firing range of a few teammates is more favorable.
Also guys odium is the guy who posted a 3000x4000 eye texture in waywo once. He makes cool stuff and all but he's a wacko, dont get worked up over his left field opinions on games.
I had read the ghosting of frames will be addressed but I kinda like it. A more controlled version would be cool.. though I guess that would be motion blur. lol
Losing credits and dropping rank SUCKS. I came in second in an Oddball game and lost half a rank.
My roommate went from Corporal all the way back down to Private after coming in second or third in a game.
Oh and a lot of these noobs need to learn what BETA means... sheesh.
Oh well, the game will be out when I get a 360 again. How do the visuals hold up in comparison to Halo 3?
Well.
Halo can be played in various ways.
Lonewolfing vs a compleet team can be done easely if the skill level is far appart.
But say i play vs a pro team aswell, you would run into a high speed chess game.
Since every little brain sparks that power the actions are needed in those incounters, playing it right, with having your chess pieces backing eachother up, teamplay becomes key to winning a game.
Now in reach it indeed does feel more like you need someone within close range. Even for the simple things. Because with the balance now, it becomes hard to outskill someone.
Lonewolf style you will be close to the edge on every encounter, and with the things going on that i explained, you need someone to snatch that kill for when you dont make it, or to outgun him.
How i roll in most cases is that i stick close to someone.
Most new people playing do not pay too much attention to how this goes, but if you wingman someone, you do stand a lot stronger. Though still, you get the same things as discribed, but on a larger scale.
Maps also play a big roll in this.
In halo, you need to set up position and keep things in check. So you play the chess game so no one can sneak up behind your lines. With reach's maps being different, it also asks a team to function different.
What i will add tomorrow besides alot of other points, is the use of a map. Now i only know two, too little to say what will go down in general. but how we do things is to sneak, jump and abuse every corner of the map and turn it into our favour. With tricks like these, you outskill a player.
Though, yeah, there is less room to do this and ill explain why.
Flat out frakkin insane:
http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Reach/FileDetails.aspx?fid=19536
To take in account here, is that you have a skilled player vs new comers that are focused on hill time and the fight they put themselfs into. (look how often he actualy becomes a target)
He camps out the spawns, runs when it gets too hot and let other people fight it out while he picks people off one by one.
A clever way of playing i suppose..
Looks like he adapted fast to the game, fighting this out king kong style would have gotten him no where.
???