Halo 6: Three Essential Engine Upgrades

Community General Discussion
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More-Dynamic Physics: Bodies and Weapons
While certain Halo games have better physics than others, the entirety of the Halo franchise could benefit from some major physics upgrades. Even today, new Halo releases have a physics engine in which weapons, vehicles, and bodies do not collide with each-other; while not a major problem, it could be better. Imagine ramming a warthog into someone, having their body slide across the hood of the vehicle before slumping off of the side of it, while their weapon bounces off of it.

More Destructible Armor: Solving the ‘Bullet-Sponge’ Feeling
Halo has had this for different enemies at different times. You know, where certain parts or armors of an enemy could be shot-off in-game(Usually without resulting in the enemy’s instant death.) 343 has taken a step toward this with the Promethean Knight and Crawler in Halo 5. What I propose is that 343i takes this system and heavily amps it up for Halo 6. Imagine if every single enemy could have several different pieces of armor shot off, and imagine throwing a grenade into a group of enemies and seeing tons of armor parts flying off from the explosion. This wouldn’t always be an important and necessary thing, but it would be one of those small, satisfying things that generally enhance the Halo experience. For example, I have taken every enemy in Halo 5 and explained which parts could be shot off. Some parts would simply be for show, other parts would have functional gameplay changes. This system would not only be really cool and enhance both gameplay and immersion, but it would also solve the problem of enemies simply feeling like bullet-sponges. With this system, the enemy could still have the same amount of health and damage, but it would feel like you’re actually doing damage because of the different parts falling off.

Grunt: The Grunt in Halo 5 is already pretty good, with a destroyable methane tank. Though it would be better if the tank could be destroyed without (instantly) killing the Grunt, and maybe have the helmet capable of being shot-off just like in Halo 3. Instant headshots would still be possible.

Jackal: The Jackal could have it’s leg armor shot off, and if you can disable the Jackal’s energy shield, a well-placed shot could destroy the wrist-mounted shield-generator, rendering the Jackal permanently shield-less. (I can’t remember if Jackal snipers still have helmets in Halo 5, but if they do, they could be shot off.)

Elite: The Elite could have it’s fore-arm armor, leg armor, lower-torso armor, lower-back armor, and helmet shot off, with one major change; the Elite’s integrated energy-shield generator could be destroyed, permanently disabling this Elite’s shielding. If it’s an Elite Ranger, the jetpack/jump-pack could be destroyed.

Hunter: The Hunter could have it’s shoulder-armor, foot-armor, helmet, and individual back-spikes shot off, exposing more weak-spots with the mass of worms underneath. It’s cannon could be heavily damaged, which would result in the Hunter becoming enraged and charging toward players to melee. The Hunter’s shield could be shot off as well.

Promethean Crawler: The Crawler is already pretty good. Plenty of destructible pieces, too small to go into more depth about.

Promethean Watcher: The Watcher doesn’t have much else, either. Maybe it’s large circular-bits could be shot off, which would make it fall to the ground - where it becomes a stationary enemy that still shoots at you and still helps it’s allies that are nearby.

Promethean Soldier: The Soldier can already have it’s ‘mask’ shot off, but otherwise doesn’t have enough bulk to add destructible pieces. Maybe it could have it’s limbs shot off - but it wouldn’t be too gruesome because it’s technically a robot.

Promethean Knight: The Knight is done well in Halo 5, With two weak-spots on the sides that can be shot off to reveal it’s “core” in the back(and also making the Knight go into a rage animation which temporarily reveals it’s face for instant-headshots). Maybe some smaller components could be shot off.
And of course, if the Flood return, this system would make them even more gruesome as enemies. This system could also be taken even further with greatly enhanced vehicular-destruction.

Misc - Small Thing (No, not splitscreen, I’m indifferent about that coming back or not)
One more thing. Halo 5 does everything it can to get every bit of visual and processing power it can; this includes de-spawning weapons, enemies, and destroyed vehicles in a VERY short amount of time in both campaign and multiplayer. (Bungie attempted something like this for Halo 2, but it didn’t make it in. They had planned for a Covenant alien that would fly into the area, pick up bodies, and fly out of the map with them to free up processing-power.) Remember playing the older Halo games and taking a look at the area after finishing a large battle, and seeing tons of dead Covenant and vehicle wreckage littering the area? You can’t have that with Halo 5, because even a destroyed wraith disappears very quickly, sometimes directly in front of you. Surely there’s something 343i can do to make it so that these vehicles and bodies don’t despawn until AFTER you leave the area.

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Halo 5 was fantastic (for a T-rated Halo title), but your ideas are really tickling my interests.

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I like what you said about the despawning, it’s so weird in Warzone to see a destroyed tank on the ground, and then 3 seconds later it disappears.

I don’t know how the battlefield people did it but battlefield 1 looks amazing. We need graphics like that in Halo.

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> 2535451996917591;3:
> I like what you said about the despawning, it’s so weird in Warzone to see a destroyed tank on the ground, and then 3 seconds later it disappears.
>
> I don’t know how the battlefield people did it but battlefield 1 looks amazing. We need graphics like that in Halo.

I’m not sure what 343i could do for multiplayer in this regard, since players will likely always be in line-of-sight of the destroyed vehicle. Somehow other games do make it work, though, since I rarely notice vehicles directly despawn.

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I think the despawn is good and alowys you to move freely in the map. If the maps were larger than no

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Sounds sublime

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The removal of sprinting would be a huge upgrade. Putting that mechanic in the franchise was a significant downgrade that has hurt the games that feature it. So, I would see its removal as an upgrade.

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> 2811398874529013;7:
> The removal of sprinting would be a huge upgrade. Putting that mechanic in the franchise was a significant downgrade that has hurt the games that feature it. So, I would see its removal as an upgrade.

Only discussing upgrades to the game’s engine here, thanks.

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How about an event with a severely damaged banshee, that instead of blowing up in mid-air, it plummets down, crashes and explodes. For weapons like the Spartan Laser, it still blows up in air, but for most everything else, it should just plummet down.

I could see something like this for the wasp too. If it gets damaged then one engine will shut off and then spiral down. (Spartan Lasers still blow it up, and if the pilot is shot out of the cockpit, it just shuts off and falls like normal)

Just some things that would be pretty neat to see to add some immersion. Not exactly sure if that’s an engine thing, but I do think that Halo needs an engine upgrade. I think the current one is severely limiting what Halo can be

As for your last point. I think that dead bodies should erupt in a storm of feathers, like in Angry Birds

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I still miss splitscreen. I would love for this to be able to be placed into Halo 6 somehow.

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> 2533275007059966;9:
> How about an event with a severely damaged banshee, that instead of blowing up in mid-air, it plummets down, crashes and explodes. For weapons like the Spartan Laser, it still blows up in air, but for most everything else, it should just plummet down.
>
> I could see something like this for the wasp too. If it gets damaged then one engine will shut off and then spiral down. (Spartan Lasers still blow it up, and if the pilot is shot out of the cockpit, it just shuts off and falls like normal)
>
> Just some things that would be pretty neat to see to add some immersion. Not exactly sure if that’s an engine thing, but I do think that Halo needs an engine upgrade. I think the current one is severely limiting what Halo can be
>
> As for your last point. I think that dead bodies should erupt in a storm of feathers, like in Angry Birds

That would definitely be something cool to see. Shouldn’t be that hard to get working, either.

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Halo 5 does do this to some extent. In reference to the degrading armour on the enemy, Hunters back spikes usually are the first to break off making them easier to kill and giving us the player a que that they are near death. The way their rage has been amped up when it’s opposite is killed is also quite cool and a bit terrifying.

That said I agree with what was said about other things. The rating change is one thing that must change back to a mature rating. Sure a Teen rating got a few more people on board but at a cost to story telling and the satisfaction factor. What enhanced your feeling of bad -Yoink- with the Halo CE was leaving a room or space and there was loads of bodies, wreckage, blood everywhere, bits of enemy and weapons strewn about. You felt like a minister of death.

Now we are executing hyper lethal knife kills and there isn’t even blood spray or crunching and cutting sounds that aren’t comical. Or as was said you roll through in a vehicle and before you even transition to the next part of the level almost all the wrecks have de spawned. At least for campaign this should be addressed.

Again with vehicles 343i has to an extent done some good work in showing damage. Bits of the vehicle breaking off, flames from the engine block, alarms blaring. I think the only thing that is missing is the wobbly wheels on a Hog like in H3. That said again if I had to nit pick it would ask if damage was related to control as well. A heavily damaged Banshee does a slower roll, periodic slower reloads with a burning Scorpion, flame lick coming out as it ejects it’s shell casing etc.

Relative damage as in shooting off a Wasp wing and the remaining bit falls to the ground and explodes would be great. Or blowing the front off a warthog but if the rear turrent is functional you can mount it or rip it off would be great to see in game. Let’s hope it happens. As for vehicle despawning in MP I get why it happens. Especially in H5 the maps aren’t really big enough for wrecks to remain and it not slow the pace of the game down. Longer time for wrecks to stay on the map and still remain solid so the can be used as cover or a battering ram would be a great start.

Some things I think should stay. Sprint is one. I have been playing Halo since it’s inception and I can 100% percent say that the game has lost NOTHING by adding sprint. Same for the charge, clambering, direction boosts and ground pound. You are playing as a one ton super solider encased in battle armour that allows you to flip an over turned tank. For the very least you should be able to bloody run. In MP just create custom maps where these abilities are switched off. However I believe that they are here to stay.

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> 2533274943975523;12:
> Halo 5 does do this to some extent. In reference to the degrading armour on the enemy, Hunters back spikes usually are the first to break off making them easier to kill and giving us the player a que that they are near death. The way their rage has been amped up when it’s opposite is killed is also quite cool and a bit terrifying.

I know, I meant each individual spike, and even more.

> 2533274943975523;12:
> That said I agree with what was said about other things. The rating change is one thing that must change back to a mature rating. Sure a Teen rating got a few more people on board but at a cost to story telling and the satisfaction factor. What enhanced your feeling of bad -Yoink- with the Halo CE was leaving a room or space and there was loads of bodies, wreckage, blood everywhere, bits of enemy and weapons strewn about. You felt like a minister of death.

I’ve always heard rumor that it wasn’t 343 or Microsft that decided to go for a lower rating change, but instead ESRB. I heard rumor that ESRB lowered it’s standards. As I heard it put, “compared to games with fully-rendered -Yoink!- scenes, hyper-realistic gore, constant cursing and drug references, Halo isn’t public enemy number one, and ESRB has begun to realize that.” Anything is possible, though.

> 2533274943975523;12:
> Now we are executing hyper lethal knife kills and there isn’t even blood spray or crunching and cutting sounds that aren’t comical. Or as was said you roll through in a vehicle and before you even transition to the next part of the level almost all the wrecks have de spawned. At least for campaign this should be addressed.

Definitely.

> 2533274943975523;12:
> Again with vehicles 343i has to an extent done some good work in showing damage. Bits of the vehicle breaking off, flames from the engine block, alarms blaring. I think the only thing that is missing is the wobbly wheels on a Hog like in H3. That said again if I had to nit pick it would ask if damage was related to control as well. A heavily damaged Banshee does a slower roll, periodic slower reloads with a burning Scorpion, flame lick coming out as it ejects it’s shell casing etc.

One thing that bothers me in particular is that there still aren’t enough chunks of debris after a vehicle gets destroyed. A phantom is still a good example of that. Look at Halo 3’s phantom wreckage and compare it to Halo 5’s.

> 2533274943975523;12:
> Some things I think should stay. Sprint is one. I have been playing Halo since it’s inception and I can 100% percent say that the game has lost NOTHING by adding sprint. Same for the charge, clambering, direction boosts and ground pound. You are playing as a one ton super solider encased in battle armour that allows you to flip an over turned tank. For the very least you should be able to bloody run. In MP just create custom maps where these abilities are switched off. However I believe that they are here to stay.

It kinda does lose some stuff, but nothing too troubling.