Crafting the ultimate Halo 4 experience ( A community discussion)

EDIT: I am overjoyed by the participation from the community in this thread. It has become so much larger than I ever thought it would. I hope it continues to grow and produce new ideas. I am posting now because I have recently compiled all of my ideas in to a single thread on my personal website. I must say, I have grown weary of explaining things to people which I have already discussed throughout the thread. On the site you will find a near complete documentation of my thoughts on both Halo 4’s multiplayer and the Ranking system to be used in game. The link is below. But please continue to post here to keep the thread alive so other people can find it.

( P.S.= The site currently requires a sign up, but I understand if you don’t want to in which case you can simply use the Facebook option to leave comments.)

http://www.progfxteam.com/apps/forums/topics/show/5180495-halo-4-multiplayer-community-discussion-continued-from-waypoint-

343 has a daunting task ahead of them. They must somehow create a game that lives up to the standard set by previous Halo’s in the trilogy, and even more importantly, create a multiplayer experience that caters to the hardcore without completely shunning the casual gamer.

343 could spend hours thinking of ways to do it, but don’t you think it would best come from the community itself. This thread will be a discussion how Halo 4 should play, what features can be added, and what should be taken out. I will say a few things that are my opinion and you guys can discuss your own or agree with me.

First of all we need to take a step back from Reach and build off in a different direction starting at Halo 3. Halo Reach had a lot of innovations and changes, but most of them affected the core gameplay that made Halo so great in the first place.

Halo 4’s core offering should be more simliar to Halo 3.

No armor abilities

Everyone must start equal with same weapons and armor

Powerups return ( OS, AC)

Dualwielding returns

Dynamic reticule to help with your timing ( not bloom, bloom must be removed)

Things like Jetpack and hologram can be in the game, but they are items that are picked up on map. Only one or two players can have them at a time and when holding equipment you lose the ability to dualwield. The button to activate your equipment is the left bumper. You can switch out your equipment for a second weapon. ( I would be perfectly happy if there was a Team Tactical mode where you spawned with equipment as long as it was not the core playlists like TS)

Sprinting removed, but player speed increased along with jump height.

A lot of new weapons and vehicles.

Good maps are crucial

Exciting and unique new gamemodes are necessary.

More interactivity in maps. Operational bridges, doors, and other things.

Do not become COD. Nothing like gun attachments or perks. Halo 4 must maintain a balanced gameplay or it will fail. It’s balace is what makes it great.

Maps need to capture the universe of Halo. Maps like Tempest and Valhalla. Not maps like Powerhouse and Sword Base. You need to be able to look at every map and instantly recognize it as a Halo map.

A 1-50 ranking system. Credits are not the way to handle Halo. We want to earn our rank through skill and competitive play. We don’t care about rank if all it shows is how much more you have played. Armor can be unlocked through completing challenges. 10 headshots in a game= challenge. Complete it and you unlock a sniper helmet or something.

Clan support. Nuff said

The controls must be perfect

Assassinations are cool, they can stay in game.

Less remakes please

Do not worry about mainstream press they are not the people you are making Halo 4 for.

Whatever you do 343, the core gameplay must remain the same. Controls are perfect, map control is key, and weapons are balanced to perfection.

But even I realize innovations must be made. So I suggest create a completely different gamemode to put all your crazy experiments in. My idea is not unlike SW Battlefront 2. It is class based. UNSC vs Covenant ( if they are in game, this is just example anyway)

It features large scale combat, with pelicans and phantoms and sabres and seraphs and all that crazy stuff or whatever. Every spree of 5 earns you an unlock which can be used to purchase special units in game like a Heavy Spartan, or Honor gaurd Elite. Anyway I don’t really want to get in to detail about it. The point is is that 343 can innovate and do something different, as long as they keep the core Halo gameplay the same.

I’m done. You guys take it away.

P.S. BR returns along with DMR. They will compliment each other. DMR loses bloom, increases the fire rate and becomes a 6-7 shot kill.

Everybody is complaining about AA. I dont understand why people dont like them. Sure they are sometime annoying. But why people want to go backwards when bungie evolved the halo experience.

Ok they got too many AA. They shout leave at least Jetpack, Sprint. AT LEAST. (Maybe they could include cloack but need a lot to fix. What im trying to say is that people should play the way they want. In halo reach you can play classis playlist. Play it!
I think we should go backward with this.

Another thing getting out of the main topic.
I would want to experience all the game in first person.

What makes a game succesful is just one thing. The fact that you feel to be in the game. COD series make this well in campaign. (just in campaign). YOu can feel your in there. Halo reach make a great improvement with this.

I would like to have the option to ride a warthog in first person. I know all people wont like this. Why not making it an option.
I want to have fun and feeling im in the game. I dont know how you want to play.

Just dont go backwards, dont eliminate AA, try to think ways to make them better and less annoying.

well. i do not agree completely. Sprint is necessary. Its crucial to run faster than usual. It can save you from some things.

AA are harmless but they need to fix them. Why not leaving just sprint and jetpack. And for more casual cloak.

<a>I would like to request that there are minimal online stats for Halo 4. I feel the thing that has ruined online gaming is stats. It created an environment that is less fun for the player.

Reasons:

  • AFKs in Firefight who boost rank.
  • AFKs in Living Dead since they have become a zombie.
  • Full party boosting.
  • Full team boosting (observed mainly in Big Team Battle).
  • Less complaints on forums for things that are “broken”.

Those are the reasons I can think of at the moment.

Of course, still have the post game reports and keep a game history for each player. Also have a set of playlists with a ranking system like the 1-50 in Halo 2 and Halo 3.

In short, keep the amount of stats to about the same level as Halo 2.

I like the credit system. Because it doesnt matter your level, it matters your skill. A brigadier can suck, and a recruit can rock. I like that nothing depends on the other.

> well. i do not agree completely. Sprint is necessary. Its crucial to run faster than usual. It can save you from some things.
>
> AA are harmless but they need to fix them. Why not leaving just sprint and jetpack. And for more casual cloak.

Notice he said faster movement speed

> well. i do not agree completely. Sprint is necessary. Its crucial to run faster than usual. It can save you from some things.
>
> AA are harmless but they need to fix them. Why not leaving just sprint and jetpack. And for more casual cloak.

Sprint is only effective in tatical shooters where it i used only for map movement, in Halo Reach its used as a crutch to escape when you are dying or to make up for poor decision making. The Shield regeneration system in Halo makes sprint not make any since, and it ends up just being used as a crutch. Leave sprint in tactical shooters, Halo is an Arena style FPS.

Of course, I am cool with AA’s if they are included in a special social playlist , like MLG is seperate from default matchmaking. Forcing AA’s on players again with Halo 4 AGAIN would be a travesty, and the game would suffer the consequences.

> Everybody is complaining about AA. I dont understand why people dont like them. Sure they are sometime annoying. But why people want to go backwards when bungie evolved the halo experience.
>
> Ok they got too many AA. They shout leave at least Jetpack, Sprint. AT LEAST. (Maybe they could include cloack but need a lot to fix. What im trying to say is that people should play the way they want. In halo reach you can play classis playlist. Play it!
> I think we should go backward with this.
>
> Another thing getting out of the main topic.
> I would want to experience all the game in first person.
>
> What makes a game succesful is just one thing. The fact that you feel to be in the game. COD series make this well in campaign. (just in campaign). YOu can feel your in there. Halo reach make a great improvement with this.
>
> I would like to have the option to ride a warthog in first person. I know all people wont like this. Why not making it an option.
> I want to have fun and feeling im in the game. I dont know how you want to play.
>
> Just dont go backwards, dont eliminate AA, try to think ways to make them better and less annoying.

The reason no one likes AAs and the reason that there should be ABSOLUTELY NO AAs in Halo 4 is that it makes people start off unequally. For example, How is it fair at all that someone should be able to go completely invisible on a map like Hemorrhage with the sniper? No, it isn’t. People that did this we’re just garbage at sniping and needed the training wheels of camo to be invisible as they lined up their shot. Another example is team doubles on the Cage. Me and my partner being honorable halo players always choose sprint as we would get dominated by skill-less players that like to break map control with jetpack. No way at all should Halo 4 have armor abilities. I hope your listening 343.

> > Everybody is complaining about AA. I dont understand why people dont like them. Sure they are sometime annoying. But why people want to go backwards when bungie evolved the halo experience.
> >
> > Ok they got too many AA. They shout leave at least Jetpack, Sprint. AT LEAST. (Maybe they could include cloack but need a lot to fix. What im trying to say is that people should play the way they want. In halo reach you can play classis playlist. Play it!
> > I think we should go backward with this.
> >
> > Another thing getting out of the main topic.
> > I would want to experience all the game in first person.
> >
> > What makes a game succesful is just one thing. The fact that you feel to be in the game. COD series make this well in campaign. (just in campaign). YOu can feel your in there. Halo reach make a great improvement with this.
> >
> > I would like to have the option to ride a warthog in first person. I know all people wont like this. Why not making it an option.
> > I want to have fun and feeling im in the game. I dont know how you want to play.
> >
> > Just dont go backwards, dont eliminate AA, try to think ways to make them better and less annoying.
>
> The reason no one likes AAs and the reason that there should be ABSOLUTELY NO AAs in Halo 4 is that it makes people start off unequally. For example, How is it fair at all that someone should be able to go completely invisible on a map like Hemorrhage with the sniper? No, it isn’t. People that did this we’re just garbage at sniping and needed the training wheels of camo to be invisible as they lined up their shot. Another example is team doubles on the Cage. Me and my partner being honorable halo players always choose sprint as we would get dominated by skill-less players that like to break map control with jetpack. No way at all should Halo 4 have armor abilities. I hope your listening 343.

I’ve always maintained the same viewpoint on AA’s. If everyone has the chance to start with them, there’s nothing wrong with them. The examples you gave about them being unequal are awful. What’s stopping you from going completely invisible with the sniper, or using jetpack on the Cage? AAs bring a different dynamic to the Halo franchise, a dynamic that many people enjoy. They add a new depth to the game, bringing out peoples preferred play styles. Quite frankly, in my opinion they need to stay. They are much better than the equipment in Halo 3. Sprint should be implemented as a universal ability though.

And about bloom. How can people say it should be removed? Halo 3 had bloom, it was just hidden from view. Go spam your godly BRs into a wall and your shots will spread out. Bungie just made it visible in Reach. Bloom focuses more on the skill of the player. A good player that paces their shots will win any encounter against a spammy player.

Halo 4 multiplayer needs to improve on the core Reach gameplay. How 343 do this, I am not to say, but I trust that they will make the best multiplayer we have to date.

Halo 4 needs to improve on the core gameplay of Halo 3. Also, there was no bloom in Halo 3. It was called BR spread, and many people complained about this as well. And don’t tell me how to play Reach. Even though it is a bad game, I am still amazing at it.

> Halo 4 needs to improve on the core gameplay of Halo 3. Also, there was no bloom in Halo 3. It was called BR spread, and many people complained about this as well. And don’t tell me how to play Reach. Even though it is a bad game, I am still amazing at it.

BR spread is just a different name for Bloom. Don’t like it? Deal with it, it’s a key factor of shooters.

And I think you should reread my post. I never told you how to play Reach. I was merely pointing out the huge flaw in your argument about AA’s. Everyone has access to them, so you cant complain. If they were situated around the map like people have suggested, then complaining would be more appropriate, but as starting abilities, there is no reason to complain about them being ‘unfair’.

> well. i do not agree completely. Sprint is necessary. Its crucial to run faster than usual. It can save you from some things.
>
> AA are harmless but they need to fix them. Why not leaving just sprint and jetpack. And for more casual cloak.

No, sprint isnt necessary. Running faster? This isn’t call of duty, go play that if you want to run faster. You’re probably one of those kids who just sprint + beat down someone and you can finally kill someone in a Halo game that doesn’t take skill. 343i should make Halo 4 without including anything introduced in Reach into it. This isn’t Reach 1.5.

343i’s example should be Halo 2.

No AAs

No Bloom

Classic Halo aspects ONLY, since EVERYONE was satisfied with this years ago.

> > well. i do not agree completely. Sprint is necessary. Its crucial to run faster than usual. It can save you from some things.
> >
> > AA are harmless but they need to fix them. Why not leaving just sprint and jetpack. And for more casual cloak.
>
> No, sprint isnt necessary. Running faster? This isn’t call of duty, go play that if you want to run faster. You’re probably one of those kids who just sprint + beat down someone and you can finally kill someone in a Halo game that doesn’t take skill. 343i should make Halo 4 without including anything introduced in Reach into it. This isn’t Reach 1.5.
>
> 343i’s example should be Halo 2.
>
> No AAs
>
> No Bloom
>
> Classic Halo aspects ONLY, since EVERYONE was satisfied with this years ago.

Exactly.

> > Halo 4 needs to improve on the core gameplay of Halo 3. Also, there was no bloom in Halo 3. It was called BR spread, and many people complained about this as well. And don’t tell me how to play Reach. Even though it is a bad game, I am still amazing at it.
>
> BR spread is just a different name for Bloom. Don’t like it? Deal with it, it’s a key factor of shooters.
>
> And I think you should reread my post. I never told you how to play Reach. I was merely pointing out the huge flaw in your argument about AA’s. Everyone has access to them, so you cant complain. If they were situated around the map like people have suggested, then complaining would be more appropriate, but as starting abilities, there is no reason to complain about them being ‘unfair’.

I really don’t care what you have to say. If you think that Halo needs AAs then you are clearly not a true Halo fan. If you think that each player should have the choice to start off a match differently than everyone else then go play CoD.

> > > Halo 4 needs to improve on the core gameplay of Halo 3. Also, there was no bloom in Halo 3. It was called BR spread, and many people complained about this as well. And don’t tell me how to play Reach. Even though it is a bad game, I am still amazing at it.
> >
> > BR spread is just a different name for Bloom. Don’t like it? Deal with it, it’s a key factor of shooters.
> >
> > And I think you should reread my post. I never told you how to play Reach. I was merely pointing out the huge flaw in your argument about AA’s. Everyone has access to them, so you cant complain. If they were situated around the map like people have suggested, then complaining would be more appropriate, but as starting abilities, there is no reason to complain about them being ‘unfair’.
>
> I really don’t care what you have to say. If you think that Halo needs AAs then you are clearly not a true Halo fan. If you think that each player should have the choice to start off a match differently than everyone else then go play CoD.

Thats not what I said. I was saying they dont have the choice. Everyone has the same options, open to them at all times. Tell me how AA’s detract from the gameplay. If anything, they enhance the gameplay.

The only way for AAs to be fair would be if everyone was only allowed to use the same AA in each game. For example, in mlg everyone starts off with sprint and the only other armor abilities on the map are pick ups. This is fair just like everyone only starts with a dmr (or needle rifle :confused: ) and can pick up the guns on the map.

> The only way for AAs to be fair would be if everyone was only allowed to use the same AA in each game. For example, in mlg everyone starts off with sprint and the only other armor abilities on the map are pick ups. This is fair just like everyone only starts with a dmr (or needle rifle :confused: ) and can pick up the guns on the map.

Rubbish. Everyone has the option to pick the AA. I presume you think the different weapon loadouts in invasion are unfair too?

A lot of your post does make sense, but your asking 343i to remake a 7 year old online experience. In this day and age thats just commercial suicide. What they need to do is look at what works and what doesn’t work and refine the core halo multiplayer experience. They have 3 online games to pool resources and come up with the definitive halo online multiplayer game. Also don’t forget, Reach was based on spartan 3’s not spartan 2’s with H4 it’s the chief so changes to movement and jump height should be a certainty. I found one of the things that really dissapointed me about Reach was the lack of maps so more maps deffo.

There should be custom game searching in Halo 4

Yes. Yes there should be. :slight_smile: