Halo MCC in 2018

Games Halo: The Master Chief Collection
1

This was one of the most disappointing games i have ever played.

When it was announced all those years ago, i was so looking forward to it, its the reason i bought and Xbox One, all the media and hype surrounding it was so good and it looked incredible.

Playing it however was another story and turned out to be FUBAR and was such a massive let down.

What are peoples thoughts about the upcoming update?

From what i have read it sounds like they are really trying to right all the wrongs and bring us a stable and working game, however we have been tricked before.

Ive got it in my mind that this is a new game coming out, i keep having to remind myself that i can go and buy MCC now if i wanted to haha, anyone treating it like that?

Isn’t it insane that were treating this upcoming update on a 4 year old game as a new release!?

2

I don’t see any one treating this upcoming update as a new release. Also MCC in 2018 generally is a working game IMO. I have been playing without issue for like a week now. Sure there are bugs as there seems to be with just about every game now a days. The update is going to bring some nice features but the question is will it work first time out or will it break other stuff and require patching. I can’t wait for voting to be removed in btb so I can finally get some variety in it besides playing H3 in like 90%of the time.

3

> 2533274816788253;2:
> I don’t see any one treating this upcoming update as a new release. Also MCC in 2018 generally is a working game IMO. I have been playing without issue for like a week now. Sure there are bugs as there seems to be with just about every game now a days. The update is going to bring some nice features but the question is will it work first time out or will it break other stuff and require patching. I can’t wait for voting to be removed in btb so I can finally get some variety in it besides playing H3 in like 90%of the time.

The update should fix all major bugs right? Why would it break other stuff? This isn’t a regular patch. You can see how big of a deal it is. 343’s aiming into fixing all the major bugs as well as minor ones. Not like the other patches where a fixed bug is replaced with more bugs. They may release additional patches to fix some other minor bugs, but after the update, as said, all major bugs should disappear completely.

The new features will be added in another update. This coming one is to fix bugs. If they we’re adding stuff while fixing bugs, more bugs could be made which would consequently increase development time… and maybe more bugs.

PS: This is a buggy post.

4

let’s be honest, the biggest problem of the MCC is not how or when these Halo games are presented.

It’s the player base. It’s shrinking and who’s left by now are people who are either killing a teammate to get their sniper rifle or are swearing at people calling you a -Yoink!- and a -Yoink- and people quitting and everybody seems to know that they’re stuck with 20 year old games, stuck in the past and there’s nothing on the horizon to look forward to anymore, no game that’s like Halo.

So Halo is dead, basically. And it will never be as popular again as it once was. But a lot of people are in denial about that fact. The people who stuck around have formed a little toxic cult following and there’s something deeply wrong with most of them (myself included) and that’s the MCC’s problem, not the game itself.

So no amount of “fixing” will ever remedy the toxicity that is rampant among the MCC’s community. That’s a fact you better embrace.

5

> 2533274820171137;4:
> let’s be honest, the biggest problem of the MCC is not how or when these Halo games are presented.
>
> It’s the player base. It’s shrinking and who’s left by now are people who are either killing a teammate to get their sniper rifle or are swearing at people calling you a -Yoink!- and a -Yoink- and people quitting and everybody seems to know that they’re stuck with 20 year old games, stuck in the past and there’s nothing on the horizon to look forward to anymore, no game that’s like Halo.
>
> So Halo is dead, basically. And it will never be as popular again as it once was. But a lot of people are in denial about that fact. The people who stuck around have formed a little toxic cult following and there’s something deeply wrong with most of them (myself included) and that’s the MCC’s problem, not the game itself.
>
> So no amount of “fixing” will ever remedy the toxicity that is rampant among the MCC’s community. That’s a fact you better embrace.

Halo just turned 16. Not 20. (nitpicky lol)
343 said they would keep supporting MCC after Halo 5’s release and they’ve tried fixing it a lot of times until it got in a playable state and decided not to touch it anymore. Now, they’re ending what they started.

Just because it’s not as popular as Halo 3 was doesn’t mean the series is dead.

> 2533274820171137;4:
> everybody seems to know that they’re stuck with 20 year old games, stuck in the past and there’s nothing on the horizon to look forward to anymore, no game that’s like Halo.

Well, then what’s the point of MCC? It’s to relieve Halo, to “simulate” it’s glory. To relieve memories, as well as creating more. The games are nostalgic and it’s not because it’s 16 or less years old that people will stop playing. Look at Sven-Coop. It’s almost EXACTLY like Half-Life, the difference being that it’s changed to accommodate for co-op. And Half-Life is older than Halo. Not to mention that while Halo keeps getting new stuff, Half-Life STOPPED in Half-Life 2 Episode 2 IN A CLIFFHANGER. Did it ever got a continuation in any other form? Yes, in Portal.
The Half-Life and Portal universes are the same. But is Portal tied to Half-Life? Even tho they’re in the same Universe, no it’s not, because it takes place in an absolutely different location with an absolutely different playstyle, story, goals and characters.
Halo is still supported. Half-Life is not.

6

> 2533275010817669;3:
> > 2533274816788253;2:
> > I don’t see any one treating this upcoming update as a new release. Also MCC in 2018 generally is a working game IMO. I have been playing without issue for like a week now. Sure there are bugs as there seems to be with just about every game now a days. The update is going to bring some nice features but the question is will it work first time out or will it break other stuff and require patching. I can’t wait for voting to be removed in btb so I can finally get some variety in it besides playing H3 in like 90%of the time.
>
> The update should fix all major bugs right? Why would it break other stuff? This isn’t a regular patch. You can see how big of a deal it is. 343’s aiming into fixing all the major bugs as well as minor ones. Not like the other patches where a fixed bug is replaced with more bugs. They may release additional patches to fix some other minor bugs, but after the update, as said, all major bugs should disappear completely.
>
> The new features will be added in another update. This coming one is to fix bugs. If they we’re adding stuff while fixing bugs, more bugs could be made which would consequently increase development time… and maybe more bugs.
>
> PS: This is a buggy post.

Naturally when you mess with coding, you’re going to effect other codes even if it’s unintentional. In a collection this big, I think it’d be hard for anyone to guarantee everything major would be fixed. They had this issue when it first came, fix one thing and another thing broke. It’s a wait and see approach really.

@ I’m not seeing it as a “new release”, it’s a game collection that’s been out for 4 years that I’ve played for hundreds of hours. Fixing things doesn’t make it new to me.

7

Good points MineStarCraft. I never thought about it this way, Halo as nostalgia. But don’t you ever need something that’s genuinely new?

I do give 343 some credit though that they got the “glory simulator” just about right. I mean I had moments while playing Halo 2 Anniversary where I experienced gushes of pure happiness at how up-to-date it looks and feels. Halo 2 remade? In such a big way? OH yeah.

About Half-Life: it’s arguably the best shooter ever made on the PC platform, so of course it still has a faithful community, even though Valve is on a sabbatical from making shooters since quite a while. And having the Episode 2 Cliffhanger experienced myself, yes, you’re right, it’s really a shame it never got the sequel it deserved. But with that said, we all know how long Half-Life 2 had been in development and it’s thus reasonable to assume that a Half-Life 3 is maybe already in the making at Valve. So the implicit promise of a sequel plus the sheer endless replay value and modability of the Half-Life games sort of keep the fire alive.

This “hope” is something the Halo community lacks.

I mean, 343 saying that they are now focusing on MCC at a time when it has been 3-4 years since the last major Halo game (which also flopped) was released, to me is very close to a declaration of bankruptcy.

343 is like “we’re broke on new ideas, let’s milk the f out of this thing here we already got made”.

There hasn’t been a whisper about Halo 6 or whether or not a sequel will get made at all.

So the support you’re talking about is all nice and well, but there isn’t a promise of anything new.

8

> 2533274843280400;1:
> This was one of the most disappointing games i have ever played.
>
> When it was announced all those years ago, i was so looking forward to it, its the reason i bought and Xbox One, all the media and hype surrounding it was so good and it looked incredible.
>
> Playing it however was another story and turned out to be FUBAR and was such a massive let down.
>
> What are peoples thoughts about the upcoming update?
>
> From what i have read it sounds like they are really trying to right all the wrongs and bring us a stable and working game, however we have been tricked before.
>
> Ive got it in my mind that this is a new game coming out, i keep having to remind myself that i can go and buy MCC now if i wanted to haha, anyone treating it like that?
>
> Isn’t it insane that were treating this upcoming update on a 4 year old game as a new release!?

I see it as a new game because if the update is as advertised (it probably won’t be) then I can finally pick which big team battle game I want to play. I won’t have to wait half a billion years to find one match. I won’t have to be paired against full teams of rank 50 people when no one on my team is greater than rank 18. The MCC is still broken beyond belief and playing it is a chore. After this update, if 343 doesn’t lie to us like they have since the day the company was formed, then I can finally play REAL Halo normally.

9

> 2533274820171137;7:
> Good points MineStarCraft. I never thought about it this way, Halo as nostalgia. But don’t you ever need something that’s genuinely new?
>
> I do give 343 some credit though that they got the “glory simulator” just about right. I mean I had moments while playing Halo 2 Anniversary where I experienced gushes of pure happiness at how up-to-date it looks and feels. Halo 2 remade? In such a big way? OH yeah.
>
> About Half-Life: it’s arguably the best shooter ever made on the PC platform, so of course it still has a faithful community, even though Valve is on a sabbatical from making shooters since quite a while. And having the Episode 2 Cliffhanger experienced myself, yes, you’re right, it’s really a shame it never got the sequel it deserved. But with that said, we all know how long Half-Life 2 had been in development and it’s thus reasonable to assume that a Half-Life 3 is maybe already in the making at Valve. So the implicit promise of a sequel plus the sheer endless replay value and modability of the Half-Life games sort of keep the fire alive.
>
> This “hope” is something the Halo community lacks.
>
> I mean, 343 saying that they are now focusing on MCC at a time when it has been 3-4 years since the last major Halo game (which also flopped) was released, to me is very close to a declaration of bankruptcy.
>
> 343 is like “we’re broke on new ideas, let’s milk the f out of this thing here we already got made”.
>
> There hasn’t been a whisper about Halo 6 or whether or not a sequel will get made at all.
>
> So the support you’re talking about is all nice and well, but there isn’t a promise of anything new.

Well… got bad news about Half-Life 3… It’s been officially cancelled, right after the post titled “Epistle 3” made by Half-Life’s writer Marc Laidlaw (who had quit Valve quite some time ago). However, a good title made by a person in his free time, made a Half-Life game titled “Transmissions: Element 120”. It’s very short, but it’s really well made with new interesting mechanics. However… the game is poorly optimized, so you may have trouble running it at full 60 FPS at max settings. It’s completely free on Steam, definitely recommend it.
Another thing is that there’s someone who’s “remaking” Half-Life 2’s campaign. Check it out here.
Another thing is that Valve may actually be developing new real games, including single player games. Check it out here.

That part is undeniable. Hope is something that Halo really needs.

Why do you think it’s a declaration of bankruptcy?

How can you be sure that 343 is milking the series because they lack new ideas? They may have some up they’re sleeve.

Halo 6 was confirmed a long time ago. Why do you doubt they’re not making it? They’re probably playing it save and deciding what’s good and what’s not before showing stuff to the public, where they’ll then be unable to change what’s been seen already. I’m sure they don’t want to advertise false footage or information like Halo 5 again.

10

Maybe I’ll give “Transmissions: Element 120” a try, thanks for the tip. Too bad Half-Life 3 got cancelled, I didn’t even know about that…

That focusing on MCC is a declaration of bankruptcy is just my opinion. I don’t know, there was something about Halo 5… You could feel that 343 is uncomfortable making this. I wouldn’t be surprised if the studio now had a distaste for touching the series again.

Yeah, I can’t be sure that 343 doesn’t have new ideas up their sleeves, but judging from what I’ve seen in Halo 5: All those “new” ideas that were in that game, I’ve already seen them executed in a better way somewhere else. Halo 5 was extremely stagnant in so many ways it really couldn’t figure out what the hell it wanted to be. A squad shooter? Some poor Destiny rival? A COD light? Something else? I don’t know!

The people at 343 need to completely rinse Halo 5’s campaign out of their creative minds and start fresh, if you ask me.

The problem is that 343 never really identified with the master chief. Halo 4 was Cortana’s story and showed that the Chief in many way depends on the strength and health of Cortana. Without her direction, he’s just a heap of muscle with nowhere to go. And Halo 5 was supposed to be Locke’s story and this time 343 even went so far as to set their protagonist on a journey to retire Chief. Buck said to Locke something like this: “you know they will hate you for this”
And yeah, that statement sort of gives a voice to 343’s fear of taking their own direction, a direction away from the Master Chief as the main character. But fans would hate them if they got rid of the Chief completely, so they can’t. It’s kind of a dilemma.

At this point, I think 343 should hand over the franchise to someone else. A studio that can reinvent the Chief and bring him back in a big way, not what 343 did. But yeah, that’s probably not gonna happen.

As you can see, I’m extremely skeptical about Halo 6. I just hope to god it will not continue to go into the direction Halo 5’s campaign did, because they’ve certainly written that thing into corner.

11

> 2533274820171137;10:
> Maybe I’ll give “Transmissions: Element 120” a try, thanks for the tip. Too bad Half-Life 3 got cancelled, I didn’t even know about that…
>
> That focusing on MCC is a declaration of bankruptcy is just my opinion. I don’t know, there was something about Halo 5… You could feel that 343 is uncomfortable making this. I wouldn’t be surprised if the studio now had a distaste for touching the series again.
>
> Yeah, I can’t be sure that 343 doesn’t have new ideas up their sleeves, but judging from what I’ve seen in Halo 5: All those “new” ideas that were in that game, I’ve already seen them executed in a better way somewhere else. Halo 5 was extremely stagnant in so many ways it really couldn’t figure out what the hell it wanted to be. A squad shooter? Some poor Destiny rival? A COD light? Something else? I don’t know!
>
> The people at 343 need to completely rinse Halo 5’s campaign out of their creative minds and start fresh, if you ask me.
>
> The problem is that 343 never really identified with the master chief. Halo 4 was Cortana’s story and showed that the Chief in many way depends on the strength and health of Cortana. Without her direction, he’s just a heap of muscle with nowhere to go. And Halo 5 was supposed to be Locke’s story and this time 343 even went so far as to set their protagonist on a journey to retire Chief. Buck said to Locke something like this: “you know they will hate you for this”
> And yeah, that statement sort of gives a voice to 343’s fear of taking their own direction, a direction away from the Master Chief as the main character. But fans would hate them if they got rid of the Chief completely, so they can’t. It’s kind of a dilemma.
>
> At this point, I think 343 should hand over the franchise to someone else. A studio that can reinvent the Chief and bring him back in a big way, not what 343 did. But yeah, that’s probably not gonna happen.
>
> As you can see, I’m extremely skeptical about Halo 6. I just hope to god it will not continue to go into the direction Halo 5’s campaign did, because they’ve certainly written that thing into corner.

343 isn’t completely focused on the MCC update. Only a small part of the team because the whole studio is developing Halo 6.

And they really should. Halo 5’s campaign focused too much on outsourced media which the average player won’t read. They really can’t start fresh. Sure, they can make the Halo 6 campaign like if Halo 5’s didn’t existed, but they now have to pick it up from it’s setting.

343 tried to give character to Chief, which he, more or less, lacked in Bungie’s Halos. He was just a simple bad-Yoink-, mindless killing machine. Now, he’s more… human.

Handing Halo over to another company is like wishing for another Battlefront II fiasco IMO.

As said, they could make the campaign like if Halo 5 didn’t happen, but they’ll have to pick it up from it’s setting. That, or a reboot, but we’re expecting a sequel, not a reboot.

12

Yes, exactly, 343 tried to give character to Chief, which I liked. He felt pretty dated, something you could do and get away with in 2001.

Halo 5 saw a weird return of Cortana, who was thought to be dead after the events of Halo 4. And by the end of the story, she has become more of an antagonist than a relatable character, as she embraced her superiority as an AI and turns against humanity. And there was Spartan Locke, who just showed up, said very little and nobody quite got why he was there or what his motives were. And of course Buck, because Nathan Fillion needed the buck to buy a sports car. And Chief supposedly was long time friends with the members in his squad, which really didn’t show and was only intelligible via books and whatnot.

All I’m saying is that the setting is in a difficult place and it will be difficult to make this work.

I mean it’s no shame to cut loose from a setting you’ve created rather than trying to tie together this mess. Not one single character pulled its weight in Halo 5 and there was a total lack of focus.

I’m still curious to see in what direction the Master Chief saga will go and if this sequel takes off, i’ll at least give it a chance.

What I meant by handing the franchise over was not a pay to win debacle as BF 2. But I think that 343 has left their mark on the franchise in a good way and could now hand it over to some company who is still eager to do just that and give us their own take on Halo. Because I think whatever fresh wind 343 could bring to this franchise, has been exhausted.

13

> 2533274820171137;12:
> Yes, exactly, 343 tried to give character to Chief, which I liked. He felt pretty dated, something you could do and get away with in 2001.
>
> Halo 5 saw a weird return of Cortana, who was thought to be dead after the events of Halo 4. And by the end of the story, she has become more of an antagonist than a relatable character, as she embraced her superiority as an AI and turns against humanity. And there was Spartan Locke, who just showed up, said very little and nobody quite got why he was there or what his motives were. And of course Buck, because Nathan Fillion needed the buck to buy a sports car. And Chief supposedly was long time friends with the members in his squad, which really didn’t show and was only intelligible via books and whatnot.
>
> All I’m saying is that the setting is in a difficult place and it will be difficult to make this work.
>
> I mean it’s no shame to cut loose from a setting you’ve created rather than trying to tie together this mess. Not one single character pulled its weight in Halo 5 and there was a total lack of focus.
>
> I’m still curious to see in what direction the Master Chief saga will go and if this sequel takes off, i’ll at least give it a chance.
>
> What I meant by handing the franchise over was not a pay to win debacle as BF 2. But I think that 343 has left their mark on the franchise in a good way and could now hand it over to some company who is still eager to do just that and give us their own take on Halo. Because I think whatever fresh wind 343 could bring to this franchise, has been exhausted.

I want to believe that Cortana’s behaviour in the game is due to the Logic Plague. I really, really wish it’s true.

Yes… it is… but what other setting will 343 use?
One of the reasons the story failed is because there we’re too many characters. Chief, Kelly, Fred, Linda, Locke, Tanaka, Buck, Vale, Thomas Lasky, Palmer, Thel 'Vadam, Jul 'Mdama (minor), Roland, Cortana, Warden Eternal, Exuberant Witness… is there anyone I missed?

I honestly want Halo 6 to be the end of Chief’s story. Why not give this Legend a rest? Look for how long he has fought and all his achievements. He’s basically, the most experienced war-veteran in the UNSC. But giving him a good ending won’t be easy. Halo 6 could later have campaign expansions where you use Fireteam Osiris, for example. Maybe Fireteam Crimson too (Your fireteam in Spartan Ops), as well as Thel 'Vadam with some other Elites with a different playstyle (like classic but with Active Camo, like in Halo 2). That way, you get to expand the campaign more than having them all mashed into the main story, from different points of view and different objectives.

Ok, but I think handing it over to another company is a really bad idea. Think of Metal Gear for example. Because it’s not develop by… that company (don’t remember the name), Konami literally screwed the franchise with a totally different style of what the series’s known for. Metal Gear Survive looks more action-based rather than stealth-based, which is one of the reasons why it wasn’t received as well. When your handing over your IP to another company, chances are that they will change what the series’s known for. 343 was made by dedicated Halo fans, which later expanded to become what it is now. Even it’s name was inspired by a character of the franchise.
Even if 343’s out of ideas, handing the IP over to another company wouldn’t make things better.

14

I am looking forward to the mcc update. I hope that it fixes the game to the point were I will be able to have halo 3 or H2A LAN tournaments again! Love getting 20+ people together and playing halo! Bringing people together was the best part about this game! I miss halo LANs!!! Absolutely loved that about halo!

15

The game is functional for the most part for me. The biggest thing I can ask for is Xbox One X support and some big fixes. Maybe an UI overhaul. And it’s certainly not being presented like a whole new release.

16

> 2533274843280400;1:
> This was one of the most disappointing games i have ever played.
>
> When it was announced all those years ago, i was so looking forward to it, its the reason i bought and Xbox One, all the media and hype surrounding it was so good and it looked incredible.
>
> Playing it however was another story and turned out to be FUBAR and was such a massive let down.
>
> What are peoples thoughts about the upcoming update?
>
> From what i have read it sounds like they are really trying to right all the wrongs and bring us a stable and working game, however we have been tricked before.
>
> Ive got it in my mind that this is a new game coming out, i keep having to remind myself that i can go and buy MCC now if i wanted to haha, anyone treating it like that?
>
> Isn’t it insane that were treating this upcoming update on a 4 year old game as a new release!?

Sure was looking forward to it too, even got the book with the maps since was hyped as soon as it was announced, was looking forward to being able to play Halo 2 like the good old days but sadly all I ever see is H3 plus the collection was pretty broken too so I guess I was disappointed but for me it still feels a gd place to play since has all the maps from the classic Halo’s, mainly hoping the new update will bring life to the collection. I don’t want to over-hype the update so going to wait for the beta update to see where it’s going…don’t think I could handle anymore disappointment since had enough that with H5 so hopefully 343 sorts MCC out with the new update since it’s long overdue. I know it’s been about 4 years but it’s nice to know there continuing to support their games instead of abandoning them like some dev’s do too often these days.

17

Hopefully they continue to bring updates until all the problems and bugs are ironed out. It’s a long shot, but if they managed this… The game(s) would be so much better.

A better UI would be nice as well, but I fear that a complete rehash of the UI will make it slower and even more clunky than it already is.

18

I’m hoping things change so that I can play H2 or H3 only and separately in numerous ranked playlists.

19

Unless Europe servers are populated again, there is no hope for me to ever be satisfied with the mp part of MCC.

20

Finally decided to jump into the waypoint forum just for this: it is now August 2018, Halo MCC online campaign coop still broken :confused: