Maybe it isn’t that Infinite has a bad release schedule for new content. Maybe Infinite actually has a sane, reasonable and responsible content release schedule, and the release schedule we’ve come to expect from other games has been driven not by realistic goals and realistic work but by driving dev teams into the ground, working ridiculous crunch and throwing multiple studios at one game instead of letting them do their own thing?
Because last I checked, making sure devs weren’t crunched, over pressured and ground into dust trying to make these games in such a short time frame and keep releasing content for them at such a breakneck pace was kind of a thing we were supposed to be supporting and rooting for devs. Especially since every time we hear about those “other” live service games, it’s constantly in the context of how devs are basically put through the Crunch Squisher in order to get out that level of content constantly (including games like Fortnite, APEX, Rainbow Six Siege and even Halo 5).
But 343 releases a roadmap, for a game that still needs some good amount of work, that represents a more reasonable workload and expectations (especially if they intend to have this new Forge ready any time soon) and suddenly people forget all that and lose their minds.
We (you mostly. Not me) complain that " Infinite doesn’t have enough content " or " isn’t getting enough new content " and constantly compare it to other games, forgetting the human cost for getting that content in other games. A popular example is CoD - yet have we all forgotten that Activision only achieves that by having three dedicated studios for one series, crunching ALL three of them AND THROWING LITERALLY EVERY DEV THEY CAN AT IT? Even devs completely unrelated to any sort of shooter or competitive game (RIP Devs behind THPSR and CB4)?
I know someone is going to bring up "But the old ways! ", and need I remind you; back then you just dropped a game and let it sit other than bug fixes until the first major DLC. And the first major DLC was planned basically in the middle of development (most of the time). And that you worked on nothing but that DLC (and future ones) and not worrying about events or new game types or new cosmetics. And that they got paid $$$ for the new DLC?
And that the old ways had a major flaw in that they massively divided the community anytime new DLC came out?
It’s hard to say they fumbled the game, I’m talking Microsoft and 343.
Realistically Halo is one of the powerhouses of the console, but arena shooters have been on the decline for years. They’ve built a great and fun arena shooter.
I think the number one thing Halo needs is accessibility. They somewhat aimed for this with the reworking of BTB and the AR, but needs to be on a larger scale.
I personally thought a battle royale mode was the way to go. They are insanely popular right now and it’s easy to see why. It’s important to capture the love of the game for the 20+ year Halo fans, but also important to capture the current market.
Alternatively I would have loved to see a massive multiplayer gametype. Even a 50 Vs 50 mode like call of duty had. It’s a way for players to have far less at stake and be able to enjoy the game at all ability levels. Casual streamers avoid this game because the point of entry is too high. That’s what’s needed to make Halo popular in today’s market. It doesn’t need to be popular though in which case we have a solid game well built with a more dedicated community, which is also fine in my book as I like Halo 4v4 and I think this is one of the best.
343i have admitted that their game, Halo Infinite, does not meet their own expectations and completely understands why it doesn’t meet ours. The simple answer to your thread is “no”.
I tend to believe that if Halo 3 launched today the reception would be similar to Infinite. Yes, 100%, Halo 3 had functional (but limited) Forge and fully realized Customs (Infinite’s Customs having the issues they have currently is tragic), and this is better than Infinite’s current state, but I fully expect that with the way gamers play games today it would have met with similar criticisms regarding content. Gamers today, for whatever odd reason, expect a constant stream of content to keep games fresh enough to play like it’s their job. Halo 3 would have been declared stale within a month by crazies on Twitter.
As someone who works an 8-5, has a family and social life, and touches grass frequently - Infinite’s problem isn’t content. With a normal, balanced life - the content’s fine, IMO. Infinite’s issues, again IMO, lie in design and technical issues that have created an experience that was not as good as it could, and should, have been. I absolutely have had a blast with the campaign, enjoying it from both a gameplay and story perspective - but the lack of mission select and coop reduce the overall enjoyment. The MP maps and modes I find are a good variety and play well enough to enjoy, but the lack of playlists due to UI design decisions and the desync issues suck the fun out of what is very solid and fun gameplay.
So I guess, overall, I agree OP - the community’s wailing and gnashing of teeth over content seems misguided to me. Infinite’s problems aren’t so much content related, but rather systems and designs related, and it befuddles me greatly to see all of these people going off about content, while ignoring the fact of where the underlying issues truly are, and seeing that 343 basically has a 6 month plan to address the underlying issues. Based on my reading, those “drop pods” they talk about are basically deploying fixes identified as needing to happen in the Outcomes report. Hopefully they live up to that assertion.
To me as a new player of Halo, Infinite offers a lot of content in terms of playable modes and maps. I have often found myself wondering why so many are complaining about lack of maps and other modes. I know from playing a small studio FPS that having too many casual modes divides a playerbase. I think content expectations are based on previous iterations and it being a flagship title. Like it or not the industry has changed a lot from last century; games often ship in a beta state with DLCs and live service updates down the line. I can’t really speak on Halo cosmetics front because they don’t really appeal to me.
Yeah doesn’t need to be a BR just something that is far more palatable for streamers and content creators for that free advertisment and engagement.
Thing with BR games is players can go a while without bumping into anyone. Even if people have a bad game it’s over there and then. Watching a streamer go 4-15 isn’t going to keep anyone’s attention.
I’m asking for a good Halo game. I’m not going to pretend that the community or 343 are complete saints. I’ve heard some pretty ugly things from both sides. Things I do not like. However, they’re human and I should treat them like such.
In spite of all of that, I have the expectation that get a good product that is worth the cash I’m paying for it. At the end of the day, this game is not free by any stretch of the imagination. If you want me to paying such and such amount, what do you have to show that’s worth said amount?
I never understood why BRs have come to be considered a whole separate game category in recent years. Seems to me they’re just big team FFA with limited lives, power weapon scavenging, and a shrinking arena - I always viewed this as a gametype or playlist, and not something to base a whole game on. Maybe I’m just old and crazy.
I agree, options are great, I just think people pigeonhole games into being about one mode and one mode only when they have BR. This is why I’m glad, even though I think Infinite can and should expand its modes to include this type of gameplay if people want it, that Infinite launched with a focus on arena and BTB.
Absouletly not, It’s offensive to even support 343i at this point.
The expectations were reasonable.
The community didn’t decide to make the game Free to play, 343 did.
The community didn’t decide to go for a live service model, 343 did.
The community didn’t call this Halo infinite, 343 did.
Litterally not a single person asked for this. 343i & Microsoft wrote a check that they couldn’t cash at the expense of the fans. No amount of gaslighting will ever change these facts.
I’ve been playing these games since the launch of HCE. And by that, I mean I’ve played each title as my main game through/past it’s EoL support, not just at launch.
Halo’s large hardcore fanbase is going to prevent this game from ever reaching the larger audience it had in the past. No matter what action 343 has ever taken, the only thing that happens is a ton of negative fan outcry that overwhelms any news on the topic.
Reading Waypoint, the Halo subreddit, and online articles makes it seem like Infinite right now is not even worth throwing in the garbage. And yet it’s the first Halo game in 10 years that any of my friends will play with me, and they all love it.
There’s too many people still living in the early 2000’s, who barely even play Halo anymore, but are more than willing to trash on whatever new Halo is out even though they have <20 hours play time.
Probably an unpopular opinion, but that’s where I’ve come to. Between 343’s current state of being unable to develop enough content and Halo having an impossible fanbase, I’d be surprised if Halo still around in 15 years
343i are the ones who created this problem when they went with a live service route knowing there wasn’t enough content to sustain the model, the consumer can only compare this experience to that of other live service models out there and Infinite is shockingly shallow at best
This is not even taking into account the legacy features that we’ve lost at launch (or indefinitely) such as Forge, CGB, progression-based rankings, Infection & much more.
What’s funny is that arena shooters started their decline when Halo 4 released. That or you’d have to argue that Halo Reach, a widely successful arena shooter that millions of people played, was in fact not an arena shooter. So either Halo Reach isn’t an arena shooter, or it’s a coincidence that arena shooters “became unpopular” the exact same time Halo 4 was released. Pick your poison.