Note: As Halo 5 is not yet released, I am writing this under the assumption that DLC will, at some point, be released for this game.
Alright then, I hope that this will come off as constructive criticism and not as some sort of rant/whine. I usually don’t post my opinions on game development decisions, since my overall philosophy is that the creators of a given product (be it a video game or something else) are the ones dedicating their time, effort and resources to realize it, and thus I consider it their authority to shape it as they see fit; not mine. However, what follows below is merely a suggestion or perhaps a potential topic for further discussion.
Maybe someone has already posted a topic for this particular issue before, so feel free to redirect me. But for now, I’m going to act on the presumption that such a thread do not yet exist.
Anyway, I was among those who were late for the matchmaking DLC developed for both Reach and 4. By the time I got around to obtaining it, all playlists, save for the Anniversary one in Reach, were gone, which has made it relatively laborious to 1) find the maps in matchmaking, and 2) get the achievements associated with them. I know that one might object that I should have simply acquired the DLC at an earlier time in order to not miss out, but I would guess I’m not alone in this predicament. People have jobs and studies (among other things) to attend to and therefore doesn’t have unlimited time on their hands to spend on any one game.
That said, I would argue there are ways to remedy this issue in Halo 5. Back in Halo 3 Bungie divided their playlists between Ranked non-DLC playlists and Social playlists with DLC-requirements. Perhaps not an optimal solution, as it restricts what game types people without DLC get access to, but it did ensure that players with DLC in their possession could play on these maps and acquire the related achievements for quite a substantial amount of time.
But perhaps consider this instead. The game could have a playlist which, at launch, was off-limits for all players until the first batch of DLC arrives. A playlist which could potentially accommodate all DLC maps and a highly randomized amount of game types, and which then could be kept there indefinitely. However, I’m aware that there might be technical obstacles which could prevent the feasibility of this, and thus I would gladly like to hear from someone with experience of game development whether such a feature can even be implemented in the first place.
Another option could be some sort of search filter, which one could tailor to prioritize DLC-matches (well, among other criteria). But then again, there’s the technical aspect of it all, and I must leave it to others to assess the feasibility of such a feature.
In conclusion, I’d like to stress that in an overall perspective I’ve had a blast with the games in this series over the last decade and a half or so. This DLC related issue is the sole major gripe I have with these games and therefore I’ve posted these suggestions in order to advise 343 Industries against repeating the measures taken with matchmaking DLC in Reach and 4. Other than that, I wish 343 the best of luck with what’s left of their development of H5 and the upcoming release.
I’d also be interested in what others think. And let’s keep it civil; I did not post here with the intent of starting a flame war.