After viewing the E3 2019 trailer and after hearing comments from various 343 staff about the project, there are a few concerns I would like to address for any 343 staff who may be reading and for the community to discuss. First, even though 343 has said that the story will follow on from the continuity from Halo 5, what will that mean for our older characters besides Chief? The ones in question being the Arbiter and Blue Team. The reason I bring these characters up in particular is they are integral parts to Master Chief’s “family” in the story as we know it. The Arbiter, for example, has become sort of a friend to the iconic super soldier starting with his epic redemption story in Halo 2. Bungie worked so hard in only introducing this new character at the time, but also in building that emotional connection between Thel and John out of Thel’s own journey throughout the course of Halo 2 and 3. It was masterfully done, and even though we see the Arbiter in Halo 5, I felt the Arbiter and Chief bond was downplayed. It is imperative that the Arbiter continues his story with Chief as we have seen before. As for Blue Team, they have been with us in the expanded media since the very beginning. Even though they have only been seen in one game with Chief, they are still the closest thing Chief has to blood relatives in this universe. They have been training together so long that they almost seem to communicate telepathically at times. This bond is an epic timeless bond that was also downplayed and not properly done in Halo 5. 343 needs to realize that yes the story needs to focus on the Chief, but it also needs to focus on these important elements as well. Lastly, the art direction looks great so far, however, if 343 does bring back Blue Team and the Arbiter, they need to apply that classic Spartan II look to the rest of Blue team and of course bring back the classic elite design. The Halo 2 or Halo Wars 2 design of elites I feel would also fit, however, it would be a safer bet to just stick with the classic design of elites but updated for the times. Those two important points in the art direction cannot be stressed enough, and 343 needs to take it seriously into account for this next chapter.
343 Industries is focused with their noses to the grindstones. They know how big of a deal Halo Infinite is and is going to be. The E3 2019 trailer we got to see is just a mere glimpse of what’s to come. Halo Infinite is going to be a juggernaut in the gaming community and I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
> 2546678360738636;2:
> – I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
No, it won’t. There’s already plenty of us that are dissatisfied with the art direction regressing back to being a clone of “everything classic Bungie” - same goes for the music, plot, and characters. It’s already basically confirmed that 343i is shelving Blue Team again too. Which was the make/break decision for me. There’s nothing now that could ever make me, and all of my friends, “happy” about this game.
343i is working hard. We’vee still barely seen anything, the game won’t come out for more than a year.
Give them time. They’re making sure they arent dropping any previous story set up. It’s a huge responsibility for them and they intend on doing the best they can.
> 2546678360738636;2:
> 343 Industries is focused with their noses to the grindstones. They know how big of a deal Halo Infinite is and is going to be. The E3 2019 trailer we got to see is just a mere glimpse of what’s to come. Halo Infinite is going to be a juggernaut in the gaming community and I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
I absolutely agree with your statement. I can see from the glimpse we had into the Discover Hope cinematic that this title is different than what 343 has previously envisioned. After going back and watching it, I have a greater appreciation for this title and I’m extremely hopeful. However, there is still some minor warning signs in certain places that 343 might be leaning a little too much in one direction. For example, solely focusing on the Chief without any regard for other old/iconic characters that also helped shape the story what it is. Or trying to appease new fans too much. It is going to have to be a very delicate balance that 343 have to strike here. I’m not criticizing 343 at this point for anything I have seen in Infinite so far. Nor am I saying they will definitely do this or that. But I’m remaining cautious for what may come in the future.
> 2533274920039666;3:
> > 2546678360738636;2:
> > – I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
>
> No, it won’t. There’s already plenty of us that are dissatisfied with the art direction regressing back to being a clone of “everything classic Bungie” - same goes for the music, plot, and characters. It’s already basically confirmed that 343i is shelving Blue Team again too. Which was the make/break decision for me. There’s nothing now that could ever make me, and all of my friends, “happy” about this game.
I do see your issue with Blue Team possibly being a casualty from Halo 5 under performing. It is very worrisome for me that Blue Team as well as other characters, such as the Arbiter, may be pushed to one side as a result of poor decision making in Halo 5. With that being said, I’m not going to jump to conclusions about anything in Infinite right now as that would be unfair to the team at 343. However, some comments from 343 as well as what we have seen last year and this year at E3 does seem to imply that these other characters may be pushed to one side. This seems to always happen when big studios hear back from the fans about a certain criticism and go a little too overboard in one direction of fixing that criticism. Then you have a whole new problem, because you only worked to fix that one major criticism in the most thorough way possible. In this case only focusing on Chief or mostly focusing on Chief because there wasn’t enough of him in Halo 5. That’s why it’s good for the community to discuss these topics so that 343 will see there is still a demand for these elements and characters in future installments.
> 2533274920039666;3:
> > 2546678360738636;2:
> > – I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
>
> No, it won’t. There’s already plenty of us that are dissatisfied with the art direction regressing back to being a clone of “everything classic Bungie” - same goes for the music, plot, and characters. It’s already basically confirmed that 343i is shelving Blue Team again too. Which was the make/break decision for me. There’s nothing now that could ever make me, and all of my friends, “happy” about this game.
Ugh… you haven’t even played the game yet. How can you even say that after playing the entire Halo saga? Honestly this new age bs is just disgusting. You literally wrote the game off before it even had a gameplay trailer out. Whatever dude… the majority of the Halo community I’ve seen on here loves the direction Infinite is going. I’d say give it a chance before saying such things. As for me I am hoping they all get a classic style. Especially the elites! The elites used to look so cool! They need to bring back that sleek look they used to have!
> 2533274920039666;3:
> > 2546678360738636;2:
> > – I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
>
> No, it won’t. There’s already plenty of us that are dissatisfied with the art direction regressing back to being a clone of “everything classic Bungie” - same goes for the music, plot, and characters. It’s already basically confirmed that 343i is shelving Blue Team again too. Which was the make/break decision for me. There’s nothing now that could ever make me, and all of my friends, “happy” about this game.
Hahaha only 2 short promo trailers, barely any information about anything at all, and you’ve totally got the dirts that’s its not the game you wanted and your upset with the direction that its taking?
it’s really quite refreshing to see an objective opinion based on facts presented in this day and age.
Arbiter + Blue Team, in Halo Infinite would be great i hope they follow the H4 Forward Unto Dawn armour design for Blue Team and for Arbiter H2A is good enough for me, Just polish it up a bit like they did with Chief.
I’d love to see what Arby looks like in Infinite as well as Blue team.
<mark>This post has been edited by a moderator. Please refrain from making non-constructive posts.</mark>
*Original post. Click at your own discretion.
> 2533274920039666;3:
> > 2546678360738636;2:
> > – I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
>
> No, it won’t. There’s already plenty of us that are dissatisfied with the art direction regressing back to being a clone of “everything classic Bungie” - same goes for the music, plot, and characters. It’s already basically confirmed that 343i is shelving Blue Team again too. Which was the make/break decision for me. There’s nothing now that could ever make me, and all of my friends, “happy” about this game.
I feel like no matter what direction 343i goes in there will always be whiners like this.
> 2533274920039666;3:
> > 2546678360738636;2:
> > – I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
>
> No, it won’t. There’s already plenty of us that are dissatisfied with the art direction regressing back to being a clone of “everything classic Bungie” - same goes for the music, plot, and characters. It’s already basically confirmed that 343i is shelving Blue Team again too. Which was the make/break decision for me. There’s nothing now that could ever make me, and all of my friends, “happy” about this game.
343 has tried to combine everything people liked into the new artstyle (which is more classic than new but with new elements inside), and they did it right. Chief looks great, almost the best ever. If Co-OP players were multiplayer spartans It would be good, but even if it was just 3 more chiefs it wouldn’t hurt the game very much anyhow.
They didn’t need to include Blue Team in the game following you around the whole time. It failed last time. Too many main characters, too little time for character development. It’s a bit overkill to say “Three secondary characters and a weird fireteam mechanic that didn’t work out too well are gone, so this is the make or break decision I’m not going to like this game no matter what”.
343i is working hard, and the trailer shows it. If they keep it up at 100% this is going to be the best game they ever imagined, let alone made. And some might say, even more than the classics.
In H3, the Arbiter could be a monster if equipped with the right weapon, but you had to kill him to make him pick it up. I don’t see the revival mechanic working well with him (considering how he used to die a ton in normal H3 playthroughs) plus the immortality seen in H2/Reach for NPCs is somewhat lame. I liked H3’s teleport/self-resurrection feature for NPCs, although it could get annoying (he could unexpectedly steal kills, kill enemies I wanted to leave alive, etc.) and often broke immersion. With the introduction of team commands, the former issue can be averted. Another plus side of this feature is that you can basically have infinite carbines/swords to give to your teammates.
On Sierra 117 (Legendary difficulty), in the second open area where speedrunners do their pipe jump, Arby activates his cloak and waits on a ledge. I used to kill Arby at the start of this mission to make him drop his sword and carbine, juggling away the carbine, so when he got to that spot, he’d drop down on his own and massacre the sleeping grunts, jackals, and Brutes. It was overkill and a very one-sided encounter, but it felt extremely unique.
I’m worried as well about blue team specifically not making the cut in infinite but hopefully I’m worried for nothing. If the SOS are to appear in this game(which I think is likely) I have no doubt the arbiter will be there, whether as a player character or not though I’m not so sure. If they all are to appear it’ll be interesting what direction they go in as blue team has had multiple armors throughout the different mediums, but my guess would be a GEN3 version of the GEN2 armors they wore in halo 5. As for the arbiter I think it will be the classic elite phenotype with his new Kaidon armor from halo 5 which would be slick.
> 2535446427305943;12:
> > 2533274920039666;3:
> > > 2546678360738636;2:
> > > – I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
> >
> > No, it won’t. There’s already plenty of us that are dissatisfied with the art direction regressing back to being a clone of “everything classic Bungie” - same goes for the music, plot, and characters. It’s already basically confirmed that 343i is shelving Blue Team again too. Which was the make/break decision for me. There’s nothing now that could ever make me, and all of my friends, “happy” about this game.
>
> 343 has tried to combine everything people liked into the new artstyle (which is more classic than new but with new elements inside), and they did it right. Chief looks great, almost the best ever. If Co-OP players were multiplayer spartans It would be good, but even if it was just 3 more chiefs it wouldn’t hurt the game very much anyhow.
>
> They didn’t need to include Blue Team in the game following you around the whole time. It failed last time. Too many main characters, too little time for character development. It’s a bit overkill to say “Three secondary characters and a weird fireteam mechanic that didn’t work out too well are gone, so this is the make or break decision I’m not going to like this game no matter what”.
>
> 343i is working hard, and the trailer shows it. If they keep it up at 100% this is going to be the best game they ever imagined, let alone made. And some might say, even more than the classics.
Agreed. The fireteam mechanics were… well broken to say the least. Especially the DBNO thing they tried. It just delayed the inevitable most of the time.
343i is working their butts off, so giving them a chance is a given. I’m keeping my excitement contained personally, as I’ve been led astray before with trailers and what not, especially considering what Halo 5’s ad campaign was like on tv. But i’m genuinely looking forward to more info and more footage of the in progress work behind the scenes at 343i!
> 2533274920039666;3:
> > 2546678360738636;2:
> > – I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
>
> No, it won’t. There’s already plenty of us that are dissatisfied with the art direction regressing back to being a clone of “everything classic Bungie” - same goes for the music, plot, and characters. It’s already basically confirmed that 343i is shelving Blue Team again too. Which was the make/break decision for me. There’s nothing now that could ever make me, and all of my friends, “happy” about this game.
Not everyone is going to be pleased. Regardless of what 343 decides to do, there will be people who won’t like it. Nothing has been “confirmed” about Blue Team being shelved either. The E3 trailer was a tease to show off what things will look like. There was absolutely nothing else. You’re drawing conclusions from a trailer that did nothing more than introduce us a UNSC pilot and the Master Chief with his new armor design.
> 2533274964025169;11:
> > 2533274920039666;3:
> > > 2546678360738636;2:
> > > – I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
> >
> > No, it won’t. There’s already plenty of us that are dissatisfied with the art direction regressing back to being a clone of “everything classic Bungie” - same goes for the music, plot, and characters. It’s already basically confirmed that 343i is shelving Blue Team again too. Which was the make/break decision for me. There’s nothing now that could ever make me, and all of my friends, “happy” about this game.
>
> I feel like no matter what direction 343i goes in there will always be whiners like this.
Exactly. Someone somewhere, even if it’s one single person, will find a reason to complain about a decision 343 makes.
> 2533274890236820;5:
> > 2546678360738636;2:
> > 343 Industries is focused with their noses to the grindstones. They know how big of a deal Halo Infinite is and is going to be. The E3 2019 trailer we got to see is just a mere glimpse of what’s to come. Halo Infinite is going to be a juggernaut in the gaming community and I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
>
> I absolutely agree with your statement. I can see from the glimpse we had into the Discover Hope cinematic that this title is different than what 343 has previously envisioned. After going back and watching it, I have a greater appreciation for this title and I’m extremely hopeful. However, there is still some minor warning signs in certain places that 343 might be leaning a little too much in one direction. For example, solely focusing on the Chief without any regard for other old/iconic characters that also helped shape the story what it is. Or trying to appease new fans too much. It is going to have to be a very delicate balance that 343 have to strike here. I’m not criticizing 343 at this point for anything I have seen in Infinite so far. Nor am I saying they will definitely do this or that. But I’m remaining cautious for what may come in the future.
I understand what you’re saying but I don’t see any reason to be cautious. Halo Infinite is a solid year and a half away assuming there are no delays or road block before hitting that Holiday 2020 release date. Alot can happen between now and then.
> 2546678360738636;16:
> > 2533274920039666;3:
> > > 2546678360738636;2:
> > > – I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
> >
> > No, it won’t. There’s already plenty of us that are dissatisfied with the art direction regressing back to being a clone of “everything classic Bungie” - same goes for the music, plot, and characters. It’s already basically confirmed that 343i is shelving Blue Team again too. Which was the make/break decision for me. There’s nothing now that could ever make me, and all of my friends, “happy” about this game.
>
> Not everyone is going to be pleased. Regardless of what 343 decides to do, there will be people who won’t like it. Nothing has been “confirmed” about Blue Team being shelved either. The E3 trailer was a tease to show off what things will look like. There was absolutely nothing else. You’re drawing conclusions from a trailer that did nothing more than introduce us a UNSC pilot and the Master Chief with his new armor design.
>
>
>
>
> > 2533274964025169;11:
> > > 2533274920039666;3:
> > > > 2546678360738636;2:
> > > > – I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
> > >
> > > No, it won’t. There’s already plenty of us that are dissatisfied with the art direction regressing back to being a clone of “everything classic Bungie” - same goes for the music, plot, and characters. It’s already basically confirmed that 343i is shelving Blue Team again too. Which was the make/break decision for me. There’s nothing now that could ever make me, and all of my friends, “happy” about this game.
> >
> > I feel like no matter what direction 343i goes in there will always be whiners like this.
>
> Exactly. Someone somewhere, even if it’s one single person, will find a reason to complain about a decision 343 makes.
>
>
>
>
> > 2533274890236820;5:
> > > 2546678360738636;2:
> > > 343 Industries is focused with their noses to the grindstones. They know how big of a deal Halo Infinite is and is going to be. The E3 2019 trailer we got to see is just a mere glimpse of what’s to come. Halo Infinite is going to be a juggernaut in the gaming community and I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
> >
> > I absolutely agree with your statement. I can see from the glimpse we had into the Discover Hope cinematic that this title is different than what 343 has previously envisioned. After going back and watching it, I have a greater appreciation for this title and I’m extremely hopeful. However, there is still some minor warning signs in certain places that 343 might be leaning a little too much in one direction. For example, solely focusing on the Chief without any regard for other old/iconic characters that also helped shape the story what it is. Or trying to appease new fans too much. It is going to have to be a very delicate balance that 343 have to strike here. I’m not criticizing 343 at this point for anything I have seen in Infinite so far. Nor am I saying they will definitely do this or that. But I’m remaining cautious for what may come in the future.
>
> I understand what you’re saying but I don’t see any reason to be cautious. Halo Infinite is a solid year and a half away assuming there are no delays or road block before hitting that Holiday 2020 release date. Alot can happen between now and then.
Well said.
> 2535446427305943;12:
> > 2533274920039666;3:
> > > 2546678360738636;2:
> > > – I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
> >
> > No, it won’t. There’s already plenty of us that are dissatisfied with the art direction regressing back to being a clone of “everything classic Bungie” - same goes for the music, plot, and characters. It’s already basically confirmed that 343i is shelving Blue Team again too. Which was the make/break decision for me. There’s nothing now that could ever make me, and all of my friends, “happy” about this game.
>
> 343 has tried to combine everything people liked into the new artstyle (which is more classic than new but with new elements inside), and they did it right. Chief looks great, almost the best ever. If Co-OP players were multiplayer spartans It would be good, but even if it was just 3 more chiefs it wouldn’t hurt the game very much anyhow.
>
> They didn’t need to include Blue Team in the game following you around the whole time. It failed last time. Too many main characters, too little time for character development. It’s a bit overkill to say “Three secondary characters and a weird fireteam mechanic that didn’t work out too well are gone, so this is the make or break decision I’m not going to like this game no matter what”.
>
> 343i is working hard, and the trailer shows it. If they keep it up at 100% this is going to be the best game they ever imagined, let alone made. And some might say, even more than the classics.
I agree with your assessment on the art style. Sparth’s new direction is a bold new way to bring back the classic halo aesthetic and update it for the times. It’s wonderful to see. However, in regards to Blue Team, I believe 343 should integrate Blue Team into Infinite’s story as well. In Halo 5, It did feel like they were shoehorned in with little character development associated with the poor writing in that title. On the other hand, Blue team has been with us in the expanded lore dating back to the first Halo novel. There is plenty of character development already there. 343 could really tap into the largely untapped potential of Blue Team being smartly written into more games to come. It might not have worked the first time, but with Blue Team being such a big part of the universe, 343 could possibly explore more routs with that aspect in a new setting, such as infinite. I realize that having a team of sorts following the player around can be annoying, especially in a game like Halo. On the flip side, we could possibly get some great gameplay moments with the chemistry Blue Team has built in the expanded media but smartly woven into the game as to be fun and not overbearing or annoying.
As much as people don’t care, I kinda hope they also mention Fireteam Osiris simply for narrative consistency. They don’t have to appear really, just a cameo or reference in dialog. Since Infinite is a direct sequel to 5, I would prefer if the characters in it outside of chief and cortana don’t just disappear. I want the H5 characters like Lasky to come back. 343 seems to have a thing for just forgetting about characters really fast so I hope this is not the case. Granted, a lot can happen in 3 years.
> 2546678360738636;16:
> > 2533274920039666;3:
> > > 2546678360738636;2:
> > > – I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
> >
> > No, it won’t. There’s already plenty of us that are dissatisfied with the art direction regressing back to being a clone of “everything classic Bungie” - same goes for the music, plot, and characters. It’s already basically confirmed that 343i is shelving Blue Team again too. Which was the make/break decision for me. There’s nothing now that could ever make me, and all of my friends, “happy” about this game.
>
> Not everyone is going to be pleased. Regardless of what 343 decides to do, there will be people who won’t like it. Nothing has been “confirmed” about Blue Team being shelved either. The E3 trailer was a tease to show off what things will look like. There was absolutely nothing else. You’re drawing conclusions from a trailer that did nothing more than introduce us a UNSC pilot and the Master Chief with his new armor design.
>
>
>
>
> > 2533274964025169;11:
> > > 2533274920039666;3:
> > > > 2546678360738636;2:
> > > > – I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
> > >
> > > No, it won’t. There’s already plenty of us that are dissatisfied with the art direction regressing back to being a clone of “everything classic Bungie” - same goes for the music, plot, and characters. It’s already basically confirmed that 343i is shelving Blue Team again too. Which was the make/break decision for me. There’s nothing now that could ever make me, and all of my friends, “happy” about this game.
> >
> > I feel like no matter what direction 343i goes in there will always be whiners like this.
>
> Exactly. Someone somewhere, even if it’s one single person, will find a reason to complain about a decision 343 makes.
>
>
>
>
> > 2533274890236820;5:
> > > 2546678360738636;2:
> > > 343 Industries is focused with their noses to the grindstones. They know how big of a deal Halo Infinite is and is going to be. The E3 2019 trailer we got to see is just a mere glimpse of what’s to come. Halo Infinite is going to be a juggernaut in the gaming community and I have no doubt that it will make all fans happy.
> >
> > I absolutely agree with your statement. I can see from the glimpse we had into the Discover Hope cinematic that this title is different than what 343 has previously envisioned. After going back and watching it, I have a greater appreciation for this title and I’m extremely hopeful. However, there is still some minor warning signs in certain places that 343 might be leaning a little too much in one direction. For example, solely focusing on the Chief without any regard for other old/iconic characters that also helped shape the story what it is. Or trying to appease new fans too much. It is going to have to be a very delicate balance that 343 have to strike here. I’m not criticizing 343 at this point for anything I have seen in Infinite so far. Nor am I saying they will definitely do this or that. But I’m remaining cautious for what may come in the future.
>
> I understand what you’re saying but I don’t see any reason to be cautious. Halo Infinite is a solid year and a half away assuming there are no delays or road block before hitting that Holiday 2020 release date. Alot can happen between now and then.
I know what your saying in your various comments here. I understand there is plenty of time ahead for 343 to deliver n what they have promised. And again I cannot stress enough how much I marvel at the visual spectacle and the massive scale of what this game has to offer thus far. I’m not blindly bashing 343 for anything associated with Infinite’s reveal or cinematic trailer. This is a hugely ambitious project that the studio is undertaking. There’s no denying that. However, judging by my experiences with the studio in the past, I’m all too familiar with finding myself hopeful and then being disappointed again. For example, I absolutely loved the work that had gone into Halo 2 Anniversary. It was a masterful remake. Also, I loved how 343 used Halo 2 Anniversary to built up to Halo 5, while using the Arbiter as a means through which to do that in the game’s various terminals. Then Halo 5 launched and under performed in it’s narrative and ambition. It was very disappointing to see that happen. I’m not saying that will happen again or that 343 have not learned their lesson, because I believe they have. Infinite marks a course correction for their direction. Everything points to that in the trailers, and 343 have stated it directly that this is a spiritual reboot on an entirely new engine. However, there are still some concerns and questions I have voiced about the project, which of course will be answered in time. In the meantime, the community can discuss what we think is important in the Halo games and what should be considered for future installments.