> I would be open to seeing formations, but I wouldnât like them to feel overly scripted (it seems pretty clear that the jackal formation in the Halo 2 E3 demo was nothing but scripting).
>
> Would love to see when grunts panic they cling to elitesâ legs or the elites kick them back towards the fight.
>
> It seems like the covenant have lost some of their personality from previous games (certainly nothing to match some of the brute pre combat behaviors.
Agreed.
Ha, the Halo 4 E3 demo had that. Despite being scripted, itâd be funny to see it again.
I think that the jackal idea would be good for a scripted moment. personally I think that scripted moments in halo games such as in Tayari Plaza add to the game. I donât believe that there should be a lot of scripted moments or even fully scripted moments. The best scripted moments are dynamic at the same time. Some will argue that the halo 3 scarab sections were scripted but they were still unpredictable in some ways and offered many different ways to defeat the scarab. I believe that something such as a jackal formation could be dealt in a similar manner, maybe make the formations actions unscripted.
> I think that the jackal idea would be good for a scripted moment. personally I think that scripted moments in halo games such as in Tayari Plaza add to the game. I donât believe that there should be a lot of scripted moments or even fully scripted moments. The best scripted moments are dynamic at the same time. Some will argue that the halo 3 scarab sections were scripted but they were still unpredictable in some ways and offered many different ways to defeat the scarab. I believe that something such as a jackal formation could be dealt in a similar manner, maybe make the formations actions unscripted.
Agreed.
The Scarabs were unique. You could lead them out of maps and to areas theyâre not supposed to be.
The Lich, on the other hand, requires a combination of disruption (the Mammothâs rockets) and a Ghost, or an extremely heavy object (i.e. Wraith) inside it, to be effectively released from itâs scripting.
What I would love to see is AI behaviour changing depending on the difficulty. enemies on advanced difficulties will set up patrol formations and stronger defensive strategies as well as use cover more effectively⌠things like that.
As an example, MC could be tasked with ambushing a covenant patrol, on normal this is simple because the group would just be walking almost casually as a group but on legendary the elite leader will have set up jackal scouting packs and lookouts and a group formation that would make it difficult to ambush.
A meta game could also evolve from Sniping elite commanders, as to disorganise a group to make it easier to take out.
It would add replay value for higher difficulties because you would be having a different experience depending on which difficulty you are playing on and I would much prefer changes like this to weapon damage increases and health buffs.
Elites switching between weapons would be awesome as well. It would be funny if you could get noob comboed.
Unfortunately, all this does is disrupt the Lichâs scripting so you can take it high into the air and possibly deload it. You canât really drive it anywhere because it tries to go back to itâs resting spot.
Let me know if you have any trouble with it.
Btw, thereâs a way to get a Wraith inside the Lich, but it hasnât been documented yet afaik. If youâre interested, I can make a tut for that as well.
> Elites switching between weapons would be awesome as well. It would be funny if you could get noob comboed.
This, Iâve been asking for this ever since Halo 3.
Bungieâs response: âhere weâll give you allied Elites that carry two weapons in Firefight Versus. Just donât expect them to do anything special, they merely have two weapons so you can have more ammo!â
343iâs response: âweâve included several unique Elites in Spartan Ops⌠watch out, some may come with swords! But we didnât do anything with them, youâll only see it happen when you strip their shielding, at which point they will probably be deadâŚâ
Seriously, they need to adapt instead of resorting to grenade spam.
> Grunts are supposed to be great climbers so should 343 maybe give them some climbing abilities incase if crawlers dont make a return?
> What I would love to see is AI behaviour changing depending on the difficulty. enemies on advanced difficulties will set up patrol formations and stronger defensive strategies as well as use cover more effectively⌠things like that.
>
> As an example, MC could be tasked with ambushing a covenant patrol, on normal this is simple because the group would just be walking almost casually as a group but on legendary the elite leader will have set up jackal scouting packs and lookouts and a group formation that would make it difficult to ambush.
>
> A meta game could also evolve from Sniping elite commanders, as to disorganise a group to make it easier to take out.
>
> It would add replay value for higher difficulties because you would be having a different experience depending on which difficulty you are playing on and I would much prefer changes like this to weapon damage increases and health buffs.
>
> Elites switching between weapons would be awesome as well. It would be funny if you could get noob comboed.
Instead of giving the AI different positions and ways of acting with change of difficulty I think that the change of difficulty should just change the frequency of AI behavior or outright not affect behavior at all. your covenant patrol example seems a bit too scripted with placing snipers on specific places depending on difficulty. I believe it should be more random.
i once made a thread about Marine AI
it needs to be improved, Marines are there to help you, not to be cannon Fodder
a shortened version of my thread:
Marines should behave differently when wielding different weapons
-Marines with Automatics will stay mid-range and target hostiles with shields more frequently
-Marines with Precision weapons will stay at longer ranges, and will frequently target weak, un-shielded targets, or will assist other marines.
-Marines will power weapons will announce when they are firing
etc.
i shouldnât see a Marine trying to snipe with a shotgun, or trying to give hugs with a Sniper rifle.
Marines should also support the player. Instead of following a scripted path, Marines should follow the Player and assist him/her with his/her target, or help to suppress enemies.
Marines should stay in squads of 4 or 5 and target the same hostile from different angles, and should evade VERY frequently to avoid getting hit.
i get that the Covenant is better than the UNSC in terms of Armor and weaponry, but look at modern USMC Marines, are they pushovers?
I want to see Jackals slowly push up on your position while Grunts follow behind and/or to the side providing fire support. I want to see Hunters acting like shock troopers, working in pairs and enraging when one dies. I want to see enemy units use tactics more, aim better, fire faster, when Elites/Knights are around and degrade when they are not. I want to see Crawlers swarming in packs like actual dogs.
I also want this to apply to allied AI.
I also want stealth to be a part of this.
I also want the AI to react appropriately so that stealth aspects can play a bigger role. I want them to investigate last known positions, not to magically know where you are at all times (goddam echolocating Wraiths.) I want them to patrol relaxed when first encountered, to make routine checks so you have a limited amount of time after your first kill before they react. And after you do and disappear, I want them to be on high alert.
Should the UNSC have more types of units instead of just plain soldiers and spartans with different weapons? I think that they could add some sort of special heavy spartans like Jorge or even Soldiers with special traits added to them. ODSTâs could be stealthy and hard for the covenant to find. Maybe drones? We briefly saw flying drones in ODST. Maybe there are some land based ones. Even though I am not the most fond of the drone idea I think it is good to think about.
