Default Movement Capabilities

Games Other Halo
1

How can you move in Halo? You can jog forward, backward, left or right on the X and Y axis. Jump on the Z axis. You can combine the two to do a parabola shaped jump if you jog first then jump. You can crouch on the Z axis. You can combine crouch with the parabola jump to increase the distance you can jump.

Each element of movement interacts with each other. Each capability, running, jumping, crouching, has its own purpose but can also be combined for different effects.

What additional movement capabilities would add diversity to the game on their own but also be able to interact with the existing movement capabilities?

Sprinting in Reach interacts with the X, Y and Z axis in different ways. At the most basic function it allows increased speed in the X and Y axis. Instead of jogging, jumping then crouching to achieve the farthest horizontal jump, like in previous Halo titles, the introduction of Sprint allowed you to Sprint, jump then crouch to achieve an even further jump. It functions on its own but also provides new effects when combined with jumping.

My idea for an additional movement capability is the double jump. By tapping the jump button again while you are in the air you gain more height. This would help bring some vertical mobility into your movement. A permanent high jump would not work because there are many instances when you do not want to expose yourself for the duration of the high, floaty jump and would prefer a lower jump. A permanent high jump would also not work because it is too predictable. Once you learn the single jump height, which never changes, you can follow a target very easily even if he is jumping. The double jump would allow you to choose when to employ a low, single jump or a high, double jump. This will allow you to “juke” your enemies in the Z axis as well as the X and Y by traditional strafing.

The double jump would incorporate well into the existing movement capabilities. Sprinting before jumping will allow you to travel further horizontally. Double jump would add to that. Sprint then jump then double jump then crouch for the furthest possible horizontal jump.

Jump then double jump then crouch for the highest vertical jump.

The reason why double jump is good for gameplay and the Jetpack is not is because the double jump gives you some vertical mobility without allowing you to negate map control by flying high above everyone, rendering their cover useless. It makes your movement in the vertical plane somewhat unpredictable. You have the choice to strafe left or right on the ground. Why not have the choice to jump low or high in the air.

2

To be honest I just say press and hold for a big jump, tap for a little jump. Think Mario:P
SOOO much more err physics friendly :wink:

3

> To be honest I just say press and hold for a big jump, tap for a little jump. Think Mario:P
> SOOO much more err physics friendly :wink:

The reason I suggested tapping the jump button two separate times is because sometimes the game will mistake a button tap for being held down and vice versa. Double tapping the button also takes skill, like a crouch jump, to hit the jump button right at the apex of your first jump for maximum height. It also allows you to vary your double jump height. There could be a situation where you need to jump higher than a single jump but lower than a perfect double jump. What you do is tap the jump button quickly after jumping (the opposite of hitting it at the apex of your first jump for max height) to perform an lower double jump.

Another thing the two separate button presses allows is for negating fall damage / fall cooldown*. If you jump from a great height you can wait until you are about to land then activate your double jump to offset your downward momentum.

*Fall cooldown - When you fall from a great height and your characters knees buckle for a moment. It causes a delay in between landing and being able to move, melee, or fire.

About being phyics friendly just imagine the double jump as a small jetpack with a very small amount of fuel. You are not defying physics, merely jumping then activating a thruster to boost you higher into the air than a normal jump would allow.

4

I would like to invite anyone who has any movement capability ideas to share them.

Would double jump introduce problems to multiplayer gameplay that I have overlooked (Please no “it’s just not Halo” comments)?

What are the possible benefits of double jump? How would you use it in CQC situations?

5

> How can you move in Halo? You can jog forward, backward, left or right on the X and Y axis. Jump on the Z axis. You can combine the two to do a parabola shaped jump if you jog first then jump. You can crouch on the Z axis. You can combine that with the parabola jump to increase the distance you can jump.
>
> Each element of movement interacts with each other. Each capability, running, jumping, crouching, has its own purpose but can also be combined for different effects.
>
> What additional movement capabilities would add diversity to the game on their own but also be able to interact with the existing movement capabilities?
>
> Sprinting in Reach interacts with the X, Y and Z axis in different ways. At the most basic function it allows increased speed in the X and Y axis. Instead of jogging, jumping then crouching to achieve the farthest horizontal jump, like in previous Halo titles, the introduction of Sprint allowed you to Sprint, jump then crouch to achieve an even further jump. It functions on its own but also provides new effects when combined with jumping.
>
> My idea for an additional movement capability is the double jump. By tapping the jump button again while you are in the air you gain more height. This would help bring some vertical mobility into your movement. A permanent high jump would not work because there are many instances when you do not want to expose yourself for the duration of the high, floaty jump and would prefer a lower jump. A permanent high jump would also not work because it is too predictable. Once you learn the single jump height, which never changes, you can follow a target very easily even if he is jumping. The double jump would allow you to choose when to employ a low, single jump or a high, double jump. This will allow you to “juke” your enemies in the Z axis as well as the X and Y by traditional strafing.
>
> The double jump would incorporate well into the existing movement capabilities. Sprinting before jumping will allow you to travel further horizontally. Double jump would add to that. Sprint then jump then double jump then crouch for the furthest possible horizontal jump.
>
> Jump then double jump then crouch for the highest vertical jump.
>
> The reason why double jump is good for gameplay and the Jetpack is not is because the double jump gives you some vertical mobility without allowing you to negate map control by flying high above everyone, rendering their cover useless. It makes your movement in the vertical plane somewhat unpredictable. You have the choice to strafe left or right on the ground. Why not have the choice to jump low or high in the air.

i’d rather see a double jump AA to replace jet pack than have to deal with jet pack all the time.

6

As an individual AA, I think double jump may be a little underpowered. I do not really want AAs, as they are in Reach, to return in Halo 4. That is why the default movement capabilities are so important. Without Jetpack, the vertical mobility from Reach to Halo 4 will take a huge step backwards. Yes, we all know Jetpack is not perfect but it did bring a good idea to the table.

Imagine a Jetpack that everyone spawned with, that could only be activated for one second, that could only be activated after you jumped and could only be activated once per jump. It could aide long jumps, aide high jumps, allow you to jump over your enemy’s head in CQC, avoid an enemy rushing with Shotgun by getting in the air, open new paths of movement through out the map (if maps were designed with double jump in mind), and so much more.

Let’s say down with AAs, up with new movement capabilities. The setup I am suggesting does not use any more buttons than a Reach button configuration with Sprint as the AA. Sprint has it’s own button while double jump is the same button as jump. Now we just have to figure out what button the Halo 3 style equipment is going to be deployed with…

7

Double jump sounds tacky as all hell, but maybe a big jump when holding down the button…

8

> >
>
> i’d rather see a double jump AA to replace jet pack than have to deal with jet pack all the time.

I will propose the idea I have been throwing around lately. Urza, I know you like button combos too and know that they add more skill. Wouldn’t double jump be perfect for something like this? When you think about it, having it as an armor ability doesn’t put everybody on even ground, although in this case that wouldn’t matter that much, but wouldn’t it be better if everyone had the same chances to use it, it would just be about your skill how effectively you use it?

It could be relatively easy combination to pull of, but to be able to consistently do it and perform some hard jumps, you would need to be very skilled. When perfected in this fashion, it could guarantee good gameplay on every level. I don’t know about you, but to me it sounds like an awesome concept.

9

The problem with button combos is modded controllers. You can program a difficult button combo and do it every time. Maybe something along the lines of Active Reload from Gears of War. A small, randomized window that you must press a single button in to perform the task. Still takes skill but can’t be programmed and performed with a macro.

10

There could be a powerup that extends the duration of the thruster to give you a temporary Jetpack.

11

> i’d rather see a double jump AA to replace jet pack than have to deal with jet pack all the time.

^^This. But, I am then afraid of the effect it would have on gameplay everyone would be double-jumping ALL THE TIME to get the best positioning and angles on enemies and 1v1s would alot of time be in the air I am not sure it would be good for gameplay. People could abuse the crap of it just like jetpack, you would just double jump everywhere on the map ignoring map layout and when an enemy came around the corner the common tactic would be to always doublejump to give yourself the superior positioning right off the battle in the encounter. I think one high jump is the best for gameplay, if I learned anything from Reach it is more diverse movements doesnt always mean better gameplay.

12

> > i’d rather see a double jump AA to replace jet pack than have to deal with jet pack all the time.
>
> ^^This. But, I am then afraid of the effect it would have on gameplay everyone would be double-jumping ALL THE TIME to get the best positioning and angles on enemies and 1v1s would alot of time be in the air I am not sure it would be good for gameplay. People could abuse the crap of it just like jetpack, you would just double jump everywhere on the map ignoring map layout and when an enemy came around the corner the common tactic would be to always doublejump to give yourself the superior positioning right off the battle in the encounter. I think one high jump is the best for gameplay, if I learned anything from Reach it is more diverse movements doesnt always mean better gameplay.

My idea for Sprint and Double Jump to be default movement capabilities has a balancing factor. As you Sprint, you drain the AA meter and must wait for it to recharge to be able to Sprint again. The Double Jump would drain the same meter. I am thinking two Double Jumps should drain the meter completely. This way it forces you to choose between Sprint and Double Jump or a combination of the two.

(Just so everyone knows what I mean about the meter: it’s the circle above your radar that goes down as you Sprint)

Let’s look at these scenarios:

You hear gunfire and Sprint over to get into the fight fast. Since you have now drained your Sprint meter you can not Double Jump until it recharges. The choice you made was to get to the fight faster in exchange for your ability to Double Jump during the fight.

You are fighting an enemy and use two Double Jumps to throw him off during your gun fight. You win your gunfight but now cannot Sprint to safety because the Sprint meter is drained from using two Double Jumps.

Causing Double Jump to drain the Sprint meter will not allow people to constantly Double Jump around the whole map. You get two and then it must recharge.

So to conclude, Sprint and Double Jump would drain the same meter. This would help prevent people from abusing / overusing them.

13

Do you think two Double Jumps should equal a full Sprint meter? Is three Double Jumps per meter better?

14

> There could be a powerup that extends the duration of the thruster to give you a temporary Jetpack.

Or they could just make jetpack an ability you can pick up. Before you say AA’s are overpowered, think about thinks like overshield and camo in Halo3. They gave a HUGE adcantage but you had to fight for them. So placing AA’s on the map, and maybe everyone starts with a default AA, it wouldn’t be overpowered. I like this jetpack idea, as long as it isn’t too high. Maybe 1/3 - 1/2 the height now.

It’s REALLY annoying when some butterfly goes 10 miles into the sky and it gets harder and harder to headshot, then they start lobbing mini nukes at you. There’s my rant of the day :slight_smile:

15

Remember how the Halo 2 Sniper left smoke trails in the air for a few seconds after your shot? The thrusters used for the Double Jump could leave smoke trails as well. This would allow you to see where an enemy was headed even if he is out of sight when you get there. Similar to the panting sound of Sprint, smoke trails are a small price to pay for an extended jump but a smart enemy can use that information to their advantage.

16

Jumping then pressing the jump button and the melee button at the same time could cause an extended melee lunge in the direction you are facing. The thrusters on your back would even switch from facing down to facing back to explain your minor forward propulsion.

17

Wait, so when you double tap, is it an actual double jump, or just a higher than normal one? Just asking, because a higher than normal jump would actually work out well.

18

> Wait, so when you double tap, is it an actual double jump, or just a higher than normal one? Just asking, because a higher than normal jump would actually work out well.

You can tap A once to perform a single jump. You tap A, you go up and come down.

It would be your choice if you wanted to tap A a second time, once you were already in the air, to perform a Double Jump. You tap A, you go up, you tap A again, you go up even higher.

It’s not like you rapidly tap AA for a high jump., You time the second tap of A like you would a crouch jump, so it is at the apex of your first jump.

19

Double Jump is unrealistic and impractical. To be defeated by a double jump is like being defeated by Reach’s dubious jump animation (so sharp that it’s overly effective, in my opinion).

It would be much more unnerving than a smoother jump, and that’s why I’d prefer a naturally higher jump.

Plus, honestly, exactly how destructive is H3’s ‘high, floaty jump’?

20

> Double Jump is unrealistic and impractical. To be defeated by a double jump is like being defeated by Reach’s dubious jump animation (so sharp that it’s overly effective, in my opinion).
>
> It would be much more unnerving than a smoother jump, and that’s why I’d prefer a naturally higher jump.
>
> Plus, honestly, exactly how destructive is H3’s ‘high, floaty jump’?

It a little hard to understand what you are trying to say.

Unrealistic: The princicples of a jet engine are understood even now. Activating one during a jump to propel you higher is not unrealistic.

Impractical: You can choose to low jump when the situation calls for or high jump when a different situation calls for it. That’s seems like the opposite of impractical.

Defeated by a Double Jump: You mean if someone jukes you with the Double Jump you would feel cheated? Do you feel cheated when someone strafes? There are the same thing, just occurring on different axis.

A smooth, high jump is not practical for all situations. Sometimes a low jump would serve you better than a high jump. A smooth high jump is also too predictable. The Double Jump allows you to throw your enemies aim off by strafing on the Z axis.

The high, floaty jump is destructive in that, even to go up a 6 inch step, you must jump 8 feet into the air.

Any jump mechanic that only has one jump height suffers from the ease in which a player can follow a jumping enemy.