Halo multiplayer: Action/Arena FPS

Games Other Halo
#1

If Halo 4 is to be the best Halo game in the series it really needs to emphasize and improve on key Halo elements and define the action/Arena FPS Halo is. Halo 4 needs to be fast-paced, it needs to be explosive, it needs to be versatile in gameplay and have plenty of depth, and most importantly it needs to define and emphasize key Halo elements for the best Halo game possible. I feel with Reach, Halo fell into a little bit of an identity crysis trying to be more realistic and class-based and I would not like to see it continue down that road. 343i needs to embrace and improve key Halo elements and define the action FPS like Halo originally did for consoles.

1. Sandbox gameplay- This is a major strength of Halo multiplayer and key in what makes it so fun. The different weapons/vehicles/equipment/power-up/power weapons as pick-ups is what gives the game its variety and need for constant moving and positioning to secure these weapons/equipment. I would like to see 343i go even further with Halo’s Sandbox gameplay. Despite the obvious need for new weapons there is no limit to what could be added to the Sandbox. Putting more items on the map to secure(not necessarily weapons) such as movement enhancements, new power-ups, to new teleportation and lift devices Halos Sandbox has endless potential and there is tons you could put into the Sandbox to really enhance that great Action/Arena style gameplay and give it more diversity. Even introducing a new line of pick-up items/power-ups all together is a possibility, the evolution of Halos Sandbox is key to a great Halo game.

2. Run and Gun FPS- Halo should be a fairly fast-paced FPS, its a game that requires constant movement and constant shooting on a full shielded enemy to take down and its movement and aiming mechanics should reflect that. Now Halo CE+Halo 2 had the best movement and aiming mechanics suited for Halo gameplay, in that you could run and gun at all times and everyone moved the same speed! Ideally, Halo should have movement and aiming mechanics similar to Halo 2 in having fixed reticles, and Halo2 style movement speeds/jump heights with responsive aiming/strafing which allows the player to have complete control over his movement and aiming with no strafe acceleration or aim accleration. Halo CE+Halo 2 felt like PC shooters the aiming and movement were smooth and responsive at the right speeds, and believe me when I say this 343i they had better movement/aiming than H3+Reach and the majority of the Halo community would agree with me. Possible additions to movement should be treated as an addition to ALL players not as a loadout, or as pick-ups on the map all players have access to. They should fit in with a run and gun playstyle, which means no diving to the ground or cover-based systems players should be able to perform all movement options on the run. Players should spawn symmetrically in Halo for the most balanced and smooth Halo game possible and for its Sandbox approach to work correctly.

Understanding the style of gameplay Halo has leads us to the conclusion that the reticle bloom and sprint additions made with Reach does not work in Halo. It goes against the very basic Halo concept that your supposed to be able to run and gun at all times! Never again should I have to “time” shots in a Halo game or should I have to sprint and lose my ability to shoot for moving in a Halo game it just does not work well in Halo gameplay due to the core game mechanic of a regenerating shield and its run and gun style and I cannot emphasize this enough.
Halo IS NOT and should never begin to resemble a tactical FPS or take game mechanics from that type of shooter, it is way different and its style of gameplay is not the same. Taking Halo in a tactical direction is the worst possible direction it could go in please do not do that 343i.

3. Dueling/DM FPS- Halo gameplay features alot of individual duels and emphasis on slaying the enemy team over and over again even in objective gametypes. The medium kill times provided by the core game mechanic and need for constant accuracy/movement/different kill combinations to kill is a staple of Halo which results in many duels between players in which you CAN come back down shots if you outplay the enemy. This is where Halos individual skill in, and the more skilled player should win these individual duels over the lesser skilled player 100 percent of the time and there should be great variable in deciding these battles. Movement skill, aim skill, positioning, use of the golden triangle should all be factors in these duels and furthering those skillsets will bring more individual skill and dynamics to Halo gameplay. These skillsets have unfortunately been lowered since Halo CE, creating a less skillful and less exciting Halo game much to the dismay of the competitve/MLG community.

Furthering and expanding on the aiming, movement, and decision making aspect of Halo will bring more individual skill to Halo and make its dueling nature that much more exciting and dynamic. Even simple things, like making movement speeds faster and strafes faster again would help accomplish this, as would making hitboxes a little smaller and aiming more responsive. Adding another movement option such as a thruster pack which would in turn would enhance jumping/strafes is also possible, or building on the golden triangle as long as it fits in with Halo gameplay. Even introducing new grenades or weapons would help in this reguard it doesnt even have to be anything major sometimes just improving game mechanics is the best route.

So those are they key aspects of Halo multiplayer I feel need to be emphasized and improved for Halo 4 and future Halo games. You have to have a clear picture of the identity of the game if you are to improve the gameplay and I think I gave a pretty clear picture here of what Halo multiplayer is and should be like. Tell me what you think of Halo multiplayer and the key aspects that should be emphasized for a successful and awesome Halo 4 multiplayer =)

#2

> Adding another movement option such as a thruster pack which would in turn would enhance jumping/strafes is also possible, or building on the golden triangle as long as it fits in with Halo gameplay.

My solution for jumping in Halo 4 is this:

Keep Reach’s jump height for your primary jump. Hitting A again while in the air would active your thruster pack and make you go a tiny bit higher than H3’s jump height. This way you can choose to jump low or jump high.

About Sprint and Bloom:

They are both good but the difference is Sprint was implemented properly where as Bloom was not. I realize that too many people are soured to support Bloom in any fashion but it could work if done properly. Aim and cadence instead of just mashing the fire button as fast as possible.

#3

I certainly agree with your points to a certain extent. However, I don’t want to see thruster packs or jetpacks in Halo. They simply ruin map control, and at no cost to the player doing it. Grenade jumps and ‘tactical’ jumps are good for Halo as they can ruin map control too (and fill in the need for “jetpacks”), but they cost the player doing it. Tactical jumps usually take longer to perform and put you in a disadvantageous position whilst performing them. Grenade jumps have their obvious downfalls to the players performing them. But these two things are good and can replace the need for thruster packs or jetpacks. They take skill to perform and have a price to the player performing them. In fact, I’d like to see grenade jumping heavily emphasised in Halo 4. Perhaps they should do less damage to the player and propel you further to make them more viable options of maneuvering around the map. Right now the only time you’d do a grenade jump would be right after picking up a OS when you’re invincible. Any other time is practically suicide.

Also, there shouldn’t be too many pickups on a map as this tends to screw around with map flow and only serves to frustrate players. Also, if equipment or different kinds of powerups were to show up in Halo 4 no bloody annoying ones. Regens and bubble shields were horrible for gameplay.

#4

> />They are both good but the difference is Sprint was implemented properly where as Bloom was not. I realize that too many people are soured to support Bloom in any fashion but it could work if done properly. Aim and cadence instead of just mashing the fire button as fast as possible.

Why do you people want sprint in Halo? Tell me a pro to having it in the game and I bet I’ll be able to counter with a ton of cons. Sprint is terrible for Halo’s gameplay (so is bloom).

#5

> > />They are both good but the difference is Sprint was implemented properly where as Bloom was not. I realize that too many people are soured to support Bloom in any fashion but it could work if done properly. Aim and cadence instead of just mashing the fire button as fast as possible.
>
> Why do you people want sprint in Halo? Tell me a pro to having it in the game and I bet I’ll be able to counter with a ton of cons. Sprint is terrible for Halo’s gameplay (so is bloom).

I don’t want to dereail this thread into a “Should Sprint Be in Halo 4” debate but it does offer the player options, tools if you will, to use at their discretion.

Allows for variable movement speed on the X and Y axis. Makes it harder to predict an enemy’s movement path when he can vary his speed.

Allows for further jumps by Sprinting then Jumping.

Gives players to chance to traverse large maps without taking an eternity.

Allows smart players to hear Sprinting enemies and use that knowledge to their advantage.

Forces player to make decisions: Do I want to move fast, be noisy and unable to shoot immediately or do I want to move slow, quietly and be able to shoot immediately. Different situations call for different decisions and a player making good decisions will be rewarded.

Speeds up gameplay because Sprinting is more often used to get to a battle rather than away from it.

Allows the chance for retreat. Halo is not about who gets the first shot wins so a smart player should be able to retreat and re engage.

There are more reasons but these are the ones that stand out to me.

#6

> > Adding another movement option such as a thruster pack which would in turn would enhance jumping/strafes is also possible, or building on the golden triangle as long as it fits in with Halo gameplay.
>
> My solution for jumping in Halo 4 is this:
>
> Keep Reach’s jump height for your primary jump. Hitting A again while in the air would active your thruster pack and make you go a tiny bit higher than H3’s jump height. This way you can choose to jump low or jump high.
>
> About Sprint and Bloom:
>
> They are both good but the difference is Sprint was implemented properly where as Bloom was not. I realize that too many people are soured to support Bloom in any fashion but it could work if done properly. Aim and cadence instead of just mashing the fire button as fast as possible.

I agree that something like a thruster pack could add another aspect to Halo’s movement, but I was thinking it would be more like a short but quick burst of movement in any direction you chose which would in turn enhance all axis of movement even in correlation with jumping. I was thinking it would be about the distance of one evade on a CD if you used used all the cycle of one thruster pack movement, or you could use it in short bursts for shorter but more frequent bursts of movement. You would be able to shoot and grenade while using the thruster pack it would fit in with Halos run and gun style and wouldnt interrupt it but merely enhance your movement options. It may be a little far-fetched, but other than faster strafing/more diverse jumps I couldnt come up with anything that would work lol.

Like I said in my post, at no point should I not be able to shoot/throw grenades when moving to fit in with Halo’s run and gun playstyle and need for constant movement/shooting. And at no point should I be timing shots, or not be able to shoot accurately because of a bloom mechanic on precision weapons it does not fit into a run and gun Arena FPS like Halo it feels VERY awkward in Reach and makes gameplay choppy.

#7

> I don’t want to dereail this thread into a “Should Sprint Be in Halo 4” debate but it does offer the player options, tools if you will, to use at their discretion.
>
> Allows for variable movement speed on the X and Y axis. Makes it harder to predict an enemy’s movement path when he can vary his speed.
> You can’t be serious. A sprinting opponent is the easiest to predict, and if one was to sprint whilst already engaged he’s an incredibly easy target. Both to shoot at and predict.
>
> Allows for further jumps by Sprinting then Jumping.
> If the map designer wanted it to be a jump it’ll be jumpable regardless of there being sprint or not.
>
> Gives players to chance to traverse large maps without taking an eternity.
> Sprint actually forces the map designers to create larger maps. I would go into detail, but this isn’t the thread to do it in. I’d need to create a new one. I’ll simply say, look at Reach. How long does it take to traverse any of the maps without sprint? Too long.
>
> Allows smart players to hear Sprinting enemies and use that knowledge to their advantage.
> You can hear footsteps when they’re walking normally anyway.
>
> Forces player to make decisions: Do I want to move fast, be noisy and unable to shoot immediately or do I want to move slow, quietly and be able to shoot immediately. Different situations call for different decisions and a player making good decisions will be rewarded.
> That’s what crouch is for.
>
> Speeds up gameplay because Sprinting is more often used to get to a battle rather than away from it.
> lolno
> Sprinting is so annoying because people usually use sprint to dodge in and out of cover. This is incredibly frustrating because in the small time when they’re in the open during the ‘dodge’ there simply isn’t enough time to kill them. There was no trouble getting into the action with either of H1/2/3’s maps. Also, having the player able to ‘quickly’ sprint to the battle is just taking skill away. It reduces the need for tactical jumps and spawn knowledge. Plus it’s not actually quicker, because like I said before, maps need to be stretched out to compensate for the burst of speed. It slows gameplay down! Perhaps I will make a thread explaining this in detail…
>
> Allows the chance for retreat. Halo is not about who gets the first shot wins so a smart player should be able to retreat and re engage.
> The player was caught in a bad position. He put himself in that position, he deserves to die. Plus, being able to retreat easily just slows down gameplay.
>
> There are more reasons but these are the ones that stand out to me.

#8

> I certainly agree with your points to a certain extent. However, I don’t want to see thruster packs or jetpacks in Halo. They simply ruin map control, and at no cost to the player doing it. Grenade jumps and ‘tactical’ jumps are good for Halo as they can ruin map control too (and fill in the need for “jetpacks”), but they cost the player doing it. Tactical jumps usually take longer to perform and put you in a disadvantageous position whilst performing them. Grenade jumps have their obvious downfalls to the players performing them. But these two things are good and can replace the need for thruster packs or jetpacks. They take skill to perform and have a price to the player performing them. In fact, I’d like to see grenade jumping heavily emphasised in Halo 4. Perhaps they should do less damage to the player and propel you further to make them more viable options of maneuvering around the map. Right now the only time you’d do a grenade jump would be right after picking up a OS when you’re invincible. Any other time is practically suicide.
>
> Also, there shouldn’t be too many pickups on a map as this tends to screw around with map flow and only serves to frustrate players. Also, if equipment or different kinds of powerups were to show up in Halo 4 no bloody annoying ones. Regens and bubble shields were horrible for gameplay.

The thruster pack would not be the jetpack IMO, it would not allow players to fly but simply menuever better on the X and Y Axis of movement in short or medium bursts of movement depending on how they used it.Who knows maybe Halos movement is perfect as is, but there is always room for new ideas and improvement.
I would like to see grenade jumping return as well, as well as grenade launching/grenading power-ups those were tons of fun and skillful like you said so that would be another thing that could be implemented.

As for expanding Halo’s Sandbox, everything in Halo is pick-up so it would make since that more pick-up items be added to the maps. Whether that be a new line of power-ups, weapontry, equipment, movement ability(not an AA, but a one time use for tactical use) its clear that Halos Sandbox will evolve and I think there is great potential in adding new things to the Sandbox. I agree that bubble shields and regens were horrible for competitve gameplay, but I like the idea of equipment as long as its not game-breaking and it fits in with Halo gameplay.

#9

> > I don’t want to dereail this thread into a “Should Sprint Be in Halo 4” debate but it does offer the player options, tools if you will, to use at their discretion.
> >
> > Allows for variable movement speed on the X and Y axis. Makes it harder to predict an enemy’s movement path when he can vary his speed.
> > You can’t be serious. A sprinting opponent is the easiest to predict, and if one was to sprint whilst already engaged he’s an incredibly easy target. Both to shoot at and predict.
> >
> > Allows for further jumps by Sprinting then Jumping.
> > If the map designer wanted it to be a jump it’ll be jumpable regardless of there being sprint or not.
> >
> > Gives players to chance to traverse large maps without taking an eternity.
> > Sprint actually forces the map designers to create larger maps. I would go into detail, but this isn’t the thread to do it in. I’d need to create a new one. I’ll simply say, look at Reach. How long does it take to traverse any of the maps without sprint? Too long.
> >
> > Allows smart players to hear Sprinting enemies and use that knowledge to their advantage.
> > You can hear footsteps when they’re walking normally anyway.
> >
> > Forces player to make decisions: Do I want to move fast, be noisy and unable to shoot immediately or do I want to move slow, quietly and be able to shoot immediately. Different situations call for different decisions and a player making good decisions will be rewarded.
> > That’s what crouch is for.
> >
> > Speeds up gameplay because Sprinting is more often used to get to a battle rather than away from it.
> > lolno
> > Sprinting is so annoying because people usually use sprint to dodge in and out of cover. This is incredibly frustrating because in the small time when they’re in the open during the ‘dodge’ there simply isn’t enough time to kill them. There was no trouble getting into the action with either of H1/2/3’s maps. Also, having the player able to ‘quickly’ sprint to the battle is just taking skill away. It reduces the need for tactical jumps and spawn knowledge. Plus it’s not actually quicker, because like I said before, maps need to be stretched out to compensate for the burst of speed. It slows gameplay down! Perhaps I will make a thread explaining this in detail…
> >
> > Allows the chance for retreat. Halo is not about who gets the first shot wins so a smart player should be able to retreat and re engage.
> > The player was caught in a bad position. He put himself in that position, he deserves to die. Plus, being able to retreat easily just slows down gameplay.
> >
> > There are more reasons but these are the ones that stand out to me.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

I would try to avoid using lol[word] in the future. It makes you look foolish. I’m not attacking you, that’s just what I think every time I see lol[word].

#10

To OP:

I don’t think the “turbo strafes” you are talking about would work well. I think it would just be very frustrating. Two jump heights is one thing, two strafe speeds is another. That’s just my opinion and I have never tried playing your idea so maybe it would work.

#11

> > I certainly agree with your points to a certain extent. However, I don’t want to see thruster packs or jetpacks in Halo. They simply ruin map control, and at no cost to the player doing it. Grenade jumps and ‘tactical’ jumps are good for Halo as they can ruin map control too (and fill in the need for “jetpacks”), but they cost the player doing it. Tactical jumps usually take longer to perform and put you in a disadvantageous position whilst performing them. Grenade jumps have their obvious downfalls to the players performing them. But these two things are good and can replace the need for thruster packs or jetpacks. They take skill to perform and have a price to the player performing them. In fact, I’d like to see grenade jumping heavily emphasised in Halo 4. Perhaps they should do less damage to the player and propel you further to make them more viable options of maneuvering around the map. Right now the only time you’d do a grenade jump would be right after picking up a OS when you’re invincible. Any other time is practically suicide.
> >
> > Also, there shouldn’t be too many pickups on a map as this tends to screw around with map flow and only serves to frustrate players. Also, if equipment or different kinds of powerups were to show up in Halo 4 no bloody annoying ones. Regens and bubble shields were horrible for gameplay.
>
> The thruster pack would not be the jetpack IMO, it would not allow players to fly but simply menuever better on the X and Y Axis of movement in short or medium bursts of movement depending on how they used it.Who knows maybe Halos movement is perfect as is, but there is always room for new ideas and improvement.
> I would like to see grenade jumping return as well, as well as grenade launching/grenading power-ups those were tons of fun and skillful like you said so that would be another thing that could be implemented.
>
> As for expanding Halo’s Sandbox, everything in Halo is pick-up so it would make since that more pick-up items be added to the maps. Whether that be a new line of power-ups, weapontry, equipment, movement ability(not an AA, but a one time use for tactical use) its clear that Halos Sandbox will evolve and I think there is great potential in adding new things to the Sandbox. I agree that bubble shields and regens were horrible for competitve gameplay, but I like the idea of equipment as long as its not game-breaking and it fits in with Halo gameplay.

The problem I have with your thruster pack idea is that there’s no downfall to the player performing it, nor does it require any skill. It’s just pressing a button and you gain a burst of speed for free. Depending on how fast and how often you’re able to use it I can see it being extremely annoying. It was okay in UT (UT’s dodge is practically what you’re describing) because it didn’t matter how fast your opponent was moving because the mouse is more than efficient at tracking fast moving targets. Joysticks are not. I fear a thruster pack would be used to dodge your opponents aim, and it’ll be far too efficient.

#12

> To OP:
>
> I don’t think the “turbo strafes” you are talking about would work well. I think it would just be very frustrating. Two jump heights is one thing, two strafe speeds is another. That’s just my opinion and I have never tried playing your idea so maybe it would work.

Well I know Halo for sure needs faster and more responsive strafing, and I would like to be able to maneuver in the air more so the thruster pack was my solution. Just more control and ability to maneuever would improve Halos movement I believe. That being said, most FPS do not use very complex movement schemes and I liked Halo CE+Halo 2 movement styles especially Halo 2.

#13

If the thruster pack only allowed for increased height “Thrust Jumps” and not the turbo strafes then a good balancing factor could be this:

Sprint and Thrust Jump are default abilities.

Sprint has a meter that gets drained as you use it.

Thrust Jump would use up half of your Sprint Meter.

This forces the player to decide which ability he would rather use and keeps people from Thrust Jumping over the entire map.

#14

> The problem I have with your thruster pack idea is that there’s no downfall to the player performing it, nor does it require any skill. It’s just pressing a button and you gain a burst of speed for free. Depending on how fast and how often you’re able to use it I can see it being extremely annoying. It was okay in UT (UT’s dodge is practically what you’re describing) because it didn’t matter how fast your opponent was moving because the mouse is more than efficient at tracking fast moving targets. Joysticks are not. I fear a thruster pack would be used to dodge your opponents aim, and it’ll be far too efficient.

Well I play on Sens 8 so tracking enemies is never a problem for me lol. The whole point is increased maneuverability in all aspects of movement, and it would make players miss shots and have to readjust their reticles which is turn would require more aim skill and movement skill to win duels as well as decision making in how to use it effectively.

Like I said, I like Halos current movement scheme but there is always room for new ideas.

#15

I agree OP with your assessment of what Halo multiplayer needs to emphasize. I think Halo could even have more of a Alien and unrealistic feel to it, thats what struck me playing Halo CE again was how Alien and smooth it felt I cant really explain it but Halo Reach doesnt have it. Halo needs to be the anti-COD not try to be like it with loadouts and reticle bloom. GoW even has a unique feel to it as well like Halo once did, we need a more Halo CE like Arena style Halo game again to recapture that Halo feel. Making it run and gun again would probably help this, great FPS like CS and quake/UT never had sprint and Halo feels and plays better without it as well with high floaty jumps. We definitely need fixed reticles again as well, because like you said people are constantly moving and jumping in Halo and we need to be able to run and gun on the move without interruptions. We really need Halo 4 to be the definitive Halo game in the series and remind everyone why they love Halo,we dont need another spin-off we have had Halo:Wars, ODST, and HR now its time for a real Halo game.

#16

Thruster pack would be very good when balanced correctly and being two dimensional. It doesn’t need to give you a super fast boost, it doesn’t need to boost you far and it doesn’t need to be spammable. Thruster pack’s speed, travel distance and fuel could be made so that it’s an excellent tool for strafing when used correctly, but doesn’t help a lot if you don’t know when to use it.

It also has more applications than just strafing. If it works forward, by the time it decelerates to normal movement speed there should be a small time frame when it let’s you do a lengthened jump. This however would be required to be very well timed.

But as with every movement speed increasing ability, this also could encourage going for melee kills. That could partially be avoided with the fact that you can strafe backwards giving you a chance to evade melee attacks. I really like the idea of a thruster pack if made correctly. It wouldn’t really be a game changer except on higher levels of gameplay where it would probably be used in a very skillful manner.

> If the thruster pack only allowed for increased height “Thrust Jumps” and not the turbo strafes then a good balancing factor could be this:
>
> Sprint and Thrust Jump are default abilities.
>
> Sprint has a meter that gets drained as you use it.
>
> Thrust Jump would use up half of your Sprint Meter.
>
> This forces the player to decide which ability he would rather use and keeps people from Thrust Jumping over the entire map.

I personally don’t like the idea of a thrust jumps. In my opinion, vertical movement should be left for the map designer to decide. This is due to the fact that increasing the player’s vertical movement abilities too much may break map control which is an integral part of Halo multiplayer.

On the other hand, I don’t know how big of a jump height increase are you thinking of. Let me just make clear that I think the default jump height should already be high enough to allow good vertical movement (if appropriate jumps are present). That would mean about the Halo 2 or 3 jump height. With default jump heights as high, a drastic height increase could very easily be detrimental.

I don’t see there being rational use for thrust jump without being too easy to move. The default jump height also shouldn’t be small because this restricts the movement of the player. The good thing about a single jump height is that the map designer can easily adjust jumps for different skill levels. I could see thrust jump breaking this aspect.