How to Evolve Halo without Killing its Essence
The Zoom button would become an Alternate Firemode button on weapons without scopes. Whether it be passively toggling the weapon between two distinct firemodes or actively firing a secondary projectile type, the possibilities for a more generalized “Alt Fire” button are vast. The Sword’s situational modifier could activate a forward Sprint if the player’s feet are on the ground while the Gravity Hammer’s situational modifier could activate a downward Ground Pound if the player is off the ground. The hitscan AR could toggle between Suppression and Precision modes, the former acting like the traditional AR, large reticle, short range, full auto, while the latter could act like a scopless BR with a smaller reticle, longer range, and burst firing. This change would allow the projectile CE Pistol to return, albeit in a slightly nerfed 4-shot-kill state, to fill the role of the utility weapon.
Some of Halo’s alien weaponry could have HookShot or Translocator style Alt Firemodes. A game focused on map movement could certainly benefit from weapons that help facilitate that.
Why should the Plasma Rifle and the Brute Plasma Rifle be two separate weapons? Use the Alternate Firemode button to toggle between a weapon that fires blue, fast moving, low damage, low battery draw, low heat generated projectiles and a weapon that fires red, slow moving, high damage, high battery draw, high heat generated projectiles.
Something akin to a Hardlight Shield or Hologram could be activated with a weapon’s Alt Fire button. The possibilities are endless.
That is the update to weapon mechanics. A new tool is added to the player’s arsenal of movement mechanics as well.
A first person view, attack not disabled, single use before 7 second recharge, Thruster Pack whose meter instantly recharges if the player gets a kill. Thruster Pack can also give a minor upward boost, like a second crouch jump, if the player presses the Jump button while airborne but this vertical thrust fully depletes the meter just as a horizontal thrust would.
Now imagine playing with these evolved weapon and movement mechanics on these classic maps remastered in full high-definition glory:
Midship
Lockout
Sanctuary
Beaver Creek
Ivory Tower
Turf
Warlock
Colossus
Damnation
Chill out
Hang em high
Pit
Narrows
Guardian
That’s a new Halo game I would want to play.
Halo Reach’s amazing selection of gametypes and customization options would be nice too.
These are some good ideas dude. Why don’t you get into game design? If you aren’t already. Lol.
Im not sure about some of your specific alt fire ideas but the general idea of alt fire modes is a good one.
I think you’re onto something, OP!
Having AAs tied to your weapon seems like it would streamline gameplay and make it more interesting/balanced.
With this idea, oft-neglected weapons can still be relevant in the sandbox (H3 Needler, etc.)
Just don’t put Active Camo with the Shotgun like in Murder Miners 
Should there be an alt-fire cooldown after switching weapons? Would this concept restrict the Jetpack to only one gun? Could we ‘fuse’ alt-fires if we’re dual-wielding? Which weapons would have combat alt-fires and which weapons would have alt-fires for movement? Could we map alt-fires to different guns in Forge/custom games?
This is a really exciting idea, I’m glad the OP came up with a way to evolve Halo in a way that doesn’t modernize or homogenize it.
I would certainly play it, but I also like the direction halo 5 is taking.
343 if you are smart enough to be reading these forums then be smart enough to listen to fans like this. The idea of alt fire would greatly advance Halo 5. Dr. Stomp MD you sir are a saint and a scollar.
I’d say 343i is already implementing something similar to this, considering the differences in how the AR and Light Rifle behave when zoomed/un-zoomed. Could it be taken further? Possibly, but I’d rather not go to the extreme of AAs tied to weapons in place of universal abilities, especially if it means that the weapon you have equipped dictates how you can/cannot traverse the map.
I’m certainly curious to see how many Covenant weapons will behave when Smart Scoping. I have had similar thoughts about the possibilities with the Plasma Rifle iteration (offering different projectile speeds, damage-per-shot, etc.) and I can’t help but wonder about the Needler.
Also, your idea on a BR/AR hybrid reminded me of the not-yet-explained weapon in the H5 Beta announcement trailer (scope-less BR with a 72-round magazine).
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> Halo Reach’s amazing selection of gametypes and customization options would be nice too.
You mean 3’s ?
I personal think your idea is bad -Yoink- primarily because i played a -Yoink- tone of N64 turok growing up! I can’t stop think about weird this comunity is tho. This forum is filled negativity about Spartan abilities breaking our triangle. But this tread is getting nothing but positive vibes? Lol not complaining at all just pointing it out.
i feel if 343 would have implanted this over abilities ppl would have lost their sh*t even more.
Not gonna lie, I’ve been working on a game for about a week that uses stuff like this. Every item, weapon, and pickup has primary, alternate and upgraded firing modes. Nothing crazy (just a little 2D platformin’ shooter - think Contra if it was 32v32)
If you want to get in touch and bounce ideas off each other, feel free to! It’s strangely pleasant seeing other people getting the same ideas.
I remember playing Timesplitters 2 when I was a lot younger, every weapon had alternate firing modes - grenade launchers, shield projectors, flamethrowers. There was even a Brick you could use as a weapon, and you could throw it in a straight line with the primary fire and lob it straight into the air with the alternate…if it came back down and hit someone it was an instant kill.
Actually, now that I think about it, I’d love getting the Halo community’s advice on my game (I’ve been watching this community complain about balance and sandboxes since 2008) but I feel like it’d either get lost or deleted.
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> I personal think your idea is bad -Yoink- primarily because i played a -Yoink- tone of N64 turok growing up! I can’t stop think about weird this comunity is tho. This forum is filled negativity about Spartan abilities breaking our triangle. But this tread is getting nothing but positive vibes? Lol not complaining at all just pointing it out.
>
> i feel if 343 would have implanted this over abilities ppl would have lost their sh*t even more.
The triangle is guns, grenades, melees. Adding more to guns doesnt break the triangle.
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> The triangle is guns, grenades, melees. Adding more to guns doesnt break the triangle.
Exactly. My only concern (that was already brought up) is the fact that weapons could dictate map movement.
I feel like everyone should have every mobility option open at the outset (parkour, jumping, vehicles, whatever). There’d be a kind of metagame where people hunt down the weapons that give them position/tactical advantages. And while that’d be fun it’d add in a whole other level of balancing work.
I’d love for everyone to have hookshots, portable bridges/gravity lifts/teleporter gates, etc. but you’d have to either put them out like Equipment in H3 or have them available on the offset.
If you kept adding that kind of stuff you’d end up with something not entirely Halo - it’d just be complete madness. Beautiful, -Yoink!- madness.
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> > 2535458654857735;12:
> > The triangle is guns, grenades, melees. Adding more to guns doesnt break the triangle.
>
>
> Exactly. My only concern (that was already brought up) is the fact that weapons could dictate map movement.
> I feel like everyone should have every mobility option open at the outset (parkour, jumping, vehicles, whatever). There’d be a kind of metagame where people hunt down the weapons that give them position/tactical advantages. And while that’d be fun it’d add in a whole other level of balancing work.
> I’d love for everyone to have hookshots, portable bridges/gravity lifts/teleporter gates, etc. but you’d have to either put them out like Equipment in H3 or have them available on the offset.
> If you kept adding that kind of stuff you’d end up with something not entirely Halo - it’d just be complete madness. Beautiful, -Yoink!- madness.
Alt fire shouldn’t be some kind of player ability. that’s just dumb.
Alt fires such as what the reach Nade launcher had is good.
> 2535458654857735;12:
> > 2533274835305187;10:
> > I personal think your idea is bad -Yoink- primarily because i played a -Yoink- tone of N64 turok growing up! I can’t stop think about weird this comunity is tho. This forum is filled negativity about Spartan abilities breaking our triangle. But this tread is getting nothing but positive vibes? Lol not complaining at all just pointing it out.
> >
> > i feel if 343 would have implanted this over abilities ppl would have lost their sh*t even more.
>
>
> The triangle is guns, grenades, melees. Adding more to guns doesnt break the triangle.
Did you read the OP? Adding ground and pound like behavious to a gun doesn’t make it much different. Changing how my gun fires is one thing but a gun that allows me to possibilyyy go active camo?? Lol
lets scrap Spartan abilities for Gun abilities
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> > 2533274852113990;13:
> > > 2535458654857735;12:
> > > The triangle is guns, grenades, melees. Adding more to guns doesnt break the triangle.
> >
> >
> >
> > Exactly. My only concern (that was already brought up) is the fact that weapons could dictate map movement.
> > I feel like everyone should have every mobility option open at the outset (parkour, jumping, vehicles, whatever). There’d be a kind of metagame where people hunt down the weapons that give them position/tactical advantages. And while that’d be fun it’d add in a whole other level of balancing work.
> > I’d love for everyone to have hookshots, portable bridges/gravity lifts/teleporter gates, etc. but you’d have to either put them out like Equipment in H3 or have them available on the offset.
> > If you kept adding that kind of stuff you’d end up with something not entirely Halo - it’d just be complete madness. Beautiful, -Yoink!- madness.
>
>
> Alt fire shouldn’t be some kind of player ability. that’s just dumb.
>
> Alt fires such as what the reach Nade launcher had is good.
My thoughts exactlyyy. Lol mad bad we on the same page. Turok type alt fires