When I played Halo 4, the only Halo book I had read was Fall of Reach. Since then I have read First Strike, Ghost of Onyx, Glasslands and Thursday War and it wasn’t until finishing Thursday War that I realised how much of Halo 4’s story relied on the books. This is something that I think 343i need to change for Halo 5.
For example, when you first encounter the Covenant in Halo 4, Master Chief says something along the lines of “aren’t we allies with the covenent now?” and Cortana says “a lot can happen in 4 years”. But none of that is explained. There’s also a mention of this Covenant being more “fanatical”, again not explained. But you if you read Thursday War, it all becomes clearer. At the time I didn’t even realise this was a specific sect of the Covenant that we were fighting.
If 343i had just added another few cutscenes to the Prologue explaining what had happened in the 4 years between Halo 3 and 4, those of us who hadn’t read the books wouldn’t have been scratching our heads wondering what was going on!
Whilst playing Halo 4 MP, a friend of mine were discussing the story and he said he didn’t understand any of it. He’s not read any of the books so I think I can understand why.
Also each game has so many years in between you could forget what happened in the previous games. I think Assassins Creed does a better job of filling you in on what happened in previous games to get you started. You don’t even have to have played each one to get involved in the story. I hope they do something similar for Halo 5.
I think Cortana’s remark is one of “we’ve been away and floating in space for 4 years, everything could have changed in that time” That’s how I took it, I didn’t think I’d missed out on anything by not reading the books, it was a remark that made complete sense in the context of the beginning of the game.
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> I think Cortana’s remark is one of “we’ve been away and floating in space for 4 years, everything could have changed in that time” That’s how I took it, I didn’t think I’d missed out on anything by not reading the books, it was a remark that made complete sense in the context of the beginning of the game.
At the time I thought, okay something’s happened in those 4 years, as Cortana had said, and we’re still fighting the Covenent. But after reading the books I found our that my assumption wasn’t totally correct, it wasn’t even the whole Covenant it was just a faction, and the point is I could only assume what had happened because it wasn’t explained at all.
Cortana and MC question why are we fighting the Covenant but then just carry on, perhaps if one of them had questioned Lasky when they met him he could have filled them in on the last 4 years. Perhaps not for MC cos he’s all business and maybe Cortana just downloaded all that info when she hooked up to Infinity, still I was left wondering.
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> > 2533274906745123;4:
> > I think Cortana’s remark is one of “we’ve been away and floating in space for 4 years, everything could have changed in that time” That’s how I took it, I didn’t think I’d missed out on anything by not reading the books, it was a remark that made complete sense in the context of the beginning of the game.
>
>
>
> At the time I thought, okay something’s happened in those 4 years, as Cortana had said, and we’re still fighting the Covenent. But after reading the books I found our that my assumption wasn’t totally correct, it wasn’t even the whole Covenant it was just a faction, and the point is I could only assume what had happened because it wasn’t explained at all.
>
> Cortana and MC question why are we fighting the Covenant but then just carry on, perhaps if one of them had questioned Lasky when they met him he could have filled them in on the last 4 years. Perhaps not for MC cos he’s all business and maybe Cortana just downloaded all that info when she hooked up to Infinity, still I was left wondering.
For the full complete story, yes you need the books but for playing the game? No, not on this as it didn’t need explaining; you’d been floating in space for 4 years and the Covenant have boarded what remains of your ship and an elite tried to kill you with his sword. What else is needed? Similarly with Lasky’s comment about “never thought I’d see you again” We know in Forward Unto Dawn he met Chief, but you don’t need to have seen it to work out that Lasky had met Chief at some point. Do you need to know the full story of how/why? No. Similarly with the Spartan IV’s. Maybe its just me but I don’t need everything explained in detail to play the game, follow the narrative and enjoy it. Sometimes it’s better not having everything explained, just hinted/teased and let you do the rest.
Having said that, there’s a lot more going on in the Halo Universe then before so 343i will need to be careful in how they draw on it all, but again it just needs to be enough to take you through the game.
I’ve wanted an in-game information codex for this series since Halo 3. Something very similar to Mass Effect.
And when I say in-game, I mean you can access it with touch of a button( view- button?) at any point of the campaign. Something like launching a separate app(halo channel) in the middle of gameplay sets the effort bar too high and destroys the immersion.
You would have basic information on key characters, past major events, different factions, races and equipment. When you meet new characters during the campaign, information on them would be added to the codex.
Extra hidden codex entries would also work as a reward for exploring the levels off the beaten path. They wouldn’t contain crucial must- know information, but would for example hint toward events from the surrounding fiction or what might happen in the future.
For example, a conversation between covenant squad leader and a commander through battle-net found early in the game would give hints on covenants objective (which is still unknown at the time.)
Halo has notoriety of having a plot that won’t make any sense( or hold any deeper meaning) if you haven’t read the books or the wiki. This problem continues to escalate the longer story continues to move forward. The only solution I see is to add that information directly into the game itself. It needs immediate accessability and a sleek unified interface( maybe somehow connected to spartan hud). Preferably some of the information would be in dialogue-form(like the example above), but even a wall of text would be better than nothing.
1001 people understanding the story is still better than just 1000 people understanding the story.
> 2533274963840114;7:
> I’ve wanted an in-game information codex for this series since Halo 3. Something very similar to Mass Effect.
>
> And when I say in-game, I mean you can access it with touch of a button( view- button?) at any point of the campaign. Something like launching a separate app(halo channel) in the middle of gameplay sets the effort bar too high and destroys the immersion.
>
> You would have basic information on key characters, past major events, different factions, races and equipment. When you meet new characters during the campaign, information on them would be added to the codex.
>
> Extra hidden codex entries would also work as a reward for exploring the levels off the beaten path. They wouldn’t contain crucial must- know information, but would for example hint toward events from the surrounding fiction or what might happen in the future.
>
> For example, a conversation between covenant squad leader and a commander through battle-net found early in the game would give hints on covenants objective (which is still unknown at the time.)
>
> Halo has notoriety of having a plot that won’t make any sense( or hold any deeper meaning) if you haven’t read the books or the wiki. This problem continues to escalate the longer story continues to move forward. The only solution I see is to add that information directly into the game itself. It needs immediate accessability and a sleek unified interface( maybe somehow connected to spartan hud). Preferably some of the information would be in dialogue-form(like the example above), but even a wall of text would be better than nothing.
>
> 1001 people understanding the story is still better than just 1000 people understanding the story.
That is acctualy a brilliant idea but remember we dont want it to be like other games
> 2533274906745123;6:
> > 2684735135019522;5:
> > > 2533274906745123;4:
> > > I think Cortana’s remark is one of “we’ve been away and floating in space for 4 years, everything could have changed in that time” That’s how I took it, I didn’t think I’d missed out on anything by not reading the books, it was a remark that made complete sense in the context of the beginning of the game.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > At the time I thought, okay something’s happened in those 4 years, as Cortana had said, and we’re still fighting the Covenent. But after reading the books I found our that my assumption wasn’t totally correct, it wasn’t even the whole Covenant it was just a faction, and the point is I could only assume what had happened because it wasn’t explained at all.
> >
> > Cortana and MC question why are we fighting the Covenant but then just carry on, perhaps if one of them had questioned Lasky when they met him he could have filled them in on the last 4 years. Perhaps not for MC cos he’s all business and maybe Cortana just downloaded all that info when she hooked up to Infinity, still I was left wondering.
>
>
> For the full complete story, yes you need the books but for playing the game? No, not on this as it didn’t need explaining; you’d been floating in space for 4 years and the Covenant have boarded what remains of your ship and an elite tried to kill you with his sword. What else is needed? Similarly with Lasky’s comment about “never thought I’d see you again” We know in Forward Unto Dawn he met Chief, but you don’t need to have seen it to work out that Lasky had met Chief at some point. Do you need to know the full story of how/why? No. Similarly with the Spartan IV’s. Maybe its just me but I don’t need everything explained in detail to play the game, follow the narrative and enjoy it. Sometimes it’s better not having everything explained, just hinted/teased and let you do the rest.
>
> Having said that, there’s a lot more going on in the Halo Universe then before so 343i will need to be careful in how they draw on it all, but again it just needs to be enough to take you through the game.
I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one. For me I had a couple of burning questions during the campaign which weren’t answered by it.
> 2533274993830977;8:
> > 2533274963840114;7:
> > I’ve wanted an in-game information codex for this series since Halo 3. Something very similar to Mass Effect.
> >
> > And when I say in-game, I mean you can access it with touch of a button( view- button?) at any point of the campaign. Something like launching a separate app(halo channel) in the middle of gameplay sets the effort bar too high and destroys the immersion.
> >
> > You would have basic information on key characters, past major events, different factions, races and equipment. When you meet new characters during the campaign, information on them would be added to the codex.
> >
> > Extra hidden codex entries would also work as a reward for exploring the levels off the beaten path. They wouldn’t contain crucial must- know information, but would for example hint toward events from the surrounding fiction or what might happen in the future.
> >
> > For example, a conversation between covenant squad leader and a commander through battle-net found early in the game would give hints on covenants objective (which is still unknown at the time.)
> >
> > Halo has notoriety of having a plot that won’t make any sense( or hold any deeper meaning) if you haven’t read the books or the wiki. This problem continues to escalate the longer story continues to move forward. The only solution I see is to add that information directly into the game itself. It needs immediate accessability and a sleek unified interface( maybe somehow connected to spartan hud). Preferably some of the information would be in dialogue-form(like the example above), but even a wall of text would be better than nothing.
> >
> > 1001 people understanding the story is still better than just 1000 people understanding the story.
>
>
> That is acctualy a brilliant idea but remember we dont want it to be like other games
I don’t see how other games having a codex is relevant at all. Assassins Creed has the animus database and Mass Effect has it’s codex, and both do a brilliant job at letting people know who’s who and what’s going on. To forego a database or codex just because “other games have one”, would be a terrible decision.
I disagree on the notion that the games should rely less on the books. I was so thrilled to see that the expanded media was receiving more attention, and I think it really helped enhance the story, especially for characters like the Chief.
Also, while there are some things in Halo 4 that should have been explained better, I believe you had enough information already to understand enough of it, at least compared to past Halos.
The biggest one is the Covenant’s presence. Cortana’s remark is certainly accurate and mostly sufficient, it would have helped for it to be touched upon later, even in Spartan Ops.
One big complaint is the Didact, but personally, I don’t see the issue. We know enough from the Didact by the end of the game to know that he’s Forerunner and doesn’t like humans because of something in the past. To understand the story, that’s fine. Yet people still act like we need to sit down and have some tea with him before he is an acceptable villain.
That’s never been needed in Halo in the past. The Covenant’s intentions were never explained in game. Their leaders and their motivations came out of nowhere in Halo 2. The line introducing the Didact by name is exactly the same way the Gravemind was introduced. We actually knew less of Truth and the Gravemind in their time in game than we knew of the Didact’s in game.
I believe Halo 5 needs either a massive prologue, or a great prologue mission. A lot has happened since Halo 4, far too much to be ignored in game. I think Halo 4’s prologue was great at setting up the deeper themes and direction behind its story, but could have helped emphasis some of the key points not touched on in the time between Halo 3 and 4.
I also think that a Codex type thing would be an incredible idea. As long as it’s accessible in game, players who care enough about the story can visit a wealth of information to get up to speed and better understand what’s around them without needing the books.
I understand that the game relied on the books because the halo universe is so damn massive. With the books we are looking at 10,000 years of context and multiple points of view. If halo 4 didn’t rely just a little on the books to help you fully understand the story the game would not of been released for at least another year because now you need animators and writers to try and make a compact synapses to explain why the covenant are attacking humans and why the didact is trying to eliminate them. There are over a thousand pages of text in books telling stories about the halo universe so I believe it would not be a easy task to add a couple cut scenes just so everyone understands everything that is going on.
After everything that has happened in spartan ops and especially escalation the story feels like it’s taking off without the games. And the time jump between H4 and H5 seems to be pretty big.
H5 seems to revolve around attacks on the colonies, but the ending of H4 doesn’t even have a hint of those happening.
> 2684735135019522;1:
> (Some minor spoilers for Halo 4 here…)
>
> When I played Halo 4, the only Halo book I had read was Fall of Reach. Since then I have read First Strike, Ghost of Onyx, Glasslands and Thursday War and it wasn’t until finishing Thursday War that I realised how much of Halo 4’s story relied on the books. This is something that I think 343i need to change for Halo 5.
>
> For example, when you first encounter the Covenant in Halo 4, Master Chief says something along the lines of “aren’t we allies with the covenent now?” and Cortana says “a lot can happen in 4 years”. But none of that is explained. There’s also a mention of this Covenant being more “fanatical”, again not explained. But you if you read Thursday War, it all becomes clearer. At the time I didn’t even realise this was a specific sect of the Covenant that we were fighting.
>
> If 343i had just added another few cutscenes to the Prologue explaining what had happened in the 4 years between Halo 3 and 4, those of us who hadn’t read the books wouldn’t have been scratching our heads wondering what was going on!
>
> Whilst playing Halo 4 MP, a friend of mine were discussing the story and he said he didn’t understand any of it. He’s not read any of the books so I think I can understand why.
>
> Also each game has so many years in between you could forget what happened in the previous games. I think Assassins Creed does a better job of filling you in on what happened in previous games to get you started. You don’t even have to have played each one to get involved in the story. I hope they do something similar for Halo 5.
Totally agree. Before Halo 4 was released I read every Halo book I could find so I understood the story. But not everyone reads the books they just want to play the game and know whats happening in it. Most people who played Halo doesn’t even know the story that goes in the books. Well Halo 4 did a good job in showing the Forerunner-Human war before the Halo rings from the terminals. Other than that many were in the dark. I think it is better they add a prologue to explain what is happening and with the Blue studious Epic animations I am sure everyone would love to watch it!
They could add the next 72 hours as a prelude mission seperate from the campaign missions, or they could make it a terminal video, or they could just make it a video accessible in the menus.
We need Blur Studios to a 20 minute prologue in Halo 5 describing what happened in the next 72 Hours after Halo 4, although that would cost a ton of money. I heard somewhere that it costs $1,000,000/minute of cutscenes…
> 2533274867157068;17:
> They could add the next 72 hours as a prelude mission seperate from the campaign missions, or they could make it a terminal video, or they could just make it a video accessible in the menus.
> 2533274928710760;18:
> We need Blur Studios to a 20 minute prologue in Halo 5 describing what happened in the next 72 Hours after Halo 4, although that would cost a ton of money. I heard somewhere that it costs $1,000,000/minute of cutscenes…
I don’t see how explaining the next 72 hours would give people information that helps understanding events in Halo 5. The only new things we got at the end were:
Chief is reunited with Blue Team
In the end Didact is still out of the game, just like he was presumed to be at the end of Halo 4.
Installation 03 was moved somewhere by the monitor.
MC refuses to rest and continues to take on assignments, after which he dissapears, we still don’t know why or where.
The other stories in Escalation besides next 72 hours both
-Happen after spartan ops, offering more information on current events.
-The events are both meaningful and move the story forward. 72 hours felt like it ended at the same point where it began. Nothing changed in terms of character development or consequences, aside from the location of installation 03 and the offscreen death of Black Team.
I never truly understood who the Didact and the Librarian are supposed to be. They were just thrown into the story without any real explaination of who they are. To my understanding the Didact is some forerunner general who went awol for some unknown reason, and the Librarian is his peaceful wife. Other than that I have next to no idea how they fit in.
