Alright everyone! Thanks for contributing to this thread. It looks like people are pretty happy with the OP now, but is it ready for me to submit to 343i? If you think anything below needs work, say why, and I will try to add it the OP. Also comment if you think these are good ideas so 343i will get an idea for how much support this thread has. Thanks!
Ranking: This part of the game is just as important as the gameplay. This is one of the things that contribute to the addictiveness and the way the game is played. I think Rank should be broken into two things: Base Rank, and tier.
Base Rank would be similar to Reach’s ranking system. You would get credits, and rank up. You could use credits to buy stuff from the armory etc. This would indicate a player’s amount of time spent playing the game. However, you would earn credits faster if you played in a ranked playlist with a high tier. (See below)
Tier: This would only apply to ranked playlists. In every ranked playlist, a player would go through the ranks of Bronze-Onyx depending on their true skill. The tier is positively impacted by wins, and negatively by losses. (Basically 1-50 running in the background) To prevent boosting, there would be stage after you go up in tier where you have to secure your title. You would have to play at least 3 games a week for a month, while performing at the level of your new tier. Only after you secured your tier would you have the benefits of the new tier.
Display of Rank: These are the things that would motivate a player to play more and improve at the game. Unlike Reach’s Armory, you will not unlock more armor as you complete more games. To unlock armor pieces, you would need to just need have need to certain a Cr payment. However, some armor pieces could have specific, hard to boost requirements. Example: The Mark V Helmet requirement is securing Gold in the 3 playlists. The Recon Helmet unlock requirement is to secure Onyx in 3 playlists. This would mean a player’s armor would symbolize in game achievements, and would give other players an idea of what they are up against in the pre-game lobby. The helmets you unlock with hard Ranked requirements should be the ones that would other wise be overused. This would make it so the helmets symbolize something, and don’t get trash talked for being overused.
Also, there could be an Armor Effect for every tier above bronze. For example, while you have Onyx in at least one playlist; you would be able to use the “Nocturnal Armor Effect.” However, when you lose your Onyx, you also lose the armor effect. In general, Armor effects could be cheap/free, but have harder requirements. Also make these requirements hard to boost.
Pregame lobby profile: Players should also have the option to show player’s top tier, the playlists they have their top tier in, base rank, a screenshot, or even a short text blurb about themselves. This would give players a cool way to represent themselves, and add to the pride of having a high rank/tier. This would also be nice cause players who had unimpressive stats would have the option to hide them. Also there is an option to rate their behavior next to names in the pregame and post game lobby (In game, not using the XBL thing). Depending on their behavior, you can give them a negative rating from -5 through -5 in the postgame lobby (have their gamer tag up even after they leave).
This rating is hid from everyone but the player. If their rating is below -30 a warning shows up that they will be given much less Cr per match if there rating hits -50. This will encourage them to stop betraying, being a jerk, or quit playing Halo 4. This would also force a Nameplate that says Jerk. Also, If a players rating is above 50, give them a credit boost for every game they complete. They would be given the option of using an All Star nameplate. This would reward the nice, and punish the annoying.
To keep people from abusing ratings, have a warning that says if your behavior ratings are consistently vastly different from others, than you will automatically get a rating of -80. This can easily be set up using Z scores, and checking the standard deviation of their ratings.
