How to make MCC popular again - 'MCC 2.0'

Games Halo: The Master Chief Collection
1

I, and I am sure a fair many of us here was astounded to find out that MCC will be receiving additional patches and fixes on top of the already known 4K update for the Xbox One X. From reading this forum, one of the major concerns appears to be due to the population count, which likely dropped due to lack of interest as a result of the buggy performance of MCC.

I believe there is a way that if done correctly, 343 can effectively ‘relaunch’ MCC and market it as ‘Master Chief Collection 2.0’ in order to make both old fans who owned the game aware that this is a major difference compared to the current MCC build and will allow them to re-market the game, possibly enticing would be consumers to purchase the game after alleviating their concerns regarding the MCC’s performance. It’s similar in a way to how Bungie ‘relaunched’ Destiny with The Taken King expansion pack although in this scenario, there are differences.

So what would an ‘MCC 2.0’ look like? Apart from the obvious game-breaking glitches, bugs and network issues, I believe the game could use a face lift and rework of a few key areas in order to help make the game feel ‘fresh’. The following is a list of recommendations I think MCC could benefit from, which could help to achieve these goals. Keep in mind these are just my opinions and if you disagree, that is perfectly fine. I would love to hear your reasons too:

  1. Re-work the UI.

The Master Chief Collection aimed to offer a seamless transition between the different Halo games in the MCC through features such as the ‘cross-game playlists’ (more on that later). In order to do so, 343 came up with a menu system that sadly, is somewhat cumbersome and not aesthetically nice to look at and finding some options is somewhat frustrating. Compared to previous games such as the original trilogy, which had a nice, simple, clean UI to look at, the MCC feels crowded and messy. My suggestion would be to introduce a new UI by separating the games and re-introducing their old UI’s. In order to allow seamless transitioning between games, an option at the bottom of the games original UI’s could be added saying ‘change game’, which would then give you a list of the 4 games you are currently not playing and seamless switch to that game and its UI. This will help to make the game look and feel fresh, with H2A possibly receiving an updated Halo 2 UI, much like CEA did.

  1. Removal of cross-game playlists

To accompany the re-worked UI and separation of games, the removal of cross-game playlists is recommended. Currently, some users are finding it frustrating that in some cross-game playlists, the same version is always voted (an example is I often see Halo 3 or 4 voted on these forums). By removing cross game playlists in conjunction with the separation of the games with a new UI, this will allow gamers to revisit whichever game they feel like and play whichever playlist they like. If a player wants to play Halo 2, they can play Halo 2 multiplayer or if they want to play Halo 4, they can switch to Halo 4 and launch Halo 4’s multiplayer. Nevertheless, cross-game playlists was an ambitious attempt by 343 to try to improve our experience with the MCC although I feel it is unnecessary in a 2.0 version.

  1. Update the MCC’s current Xbox logo

Whenever a game is installed, a picture of the game can be seen under ‘My games and apps’. In order to help convey the message that the MCC has been significantly updated and entice users back to or purchase the MCC, a reworked, updated MCC picture should be implemented to replace the current one in both the Xbox Store, Website and ‘My games and apps’. This will help to show users that something major has changed to the MCC and at the very least, it should spark their interest to investigate or look into the MCC, ultimately coming across the 2.0 update.

  1. Improve the network performance

Alot of people picked up the MCC for its multiplayer, particularly the chance to play Halo CE online for the first time on a console as well as being able to play Halo 2 online again. Currently, the matchmaking system whilst improved, could use some work and some users have indicated there are still some issues with lag and dropouts. Ensuring stability should MCC regain its popularity as a result of the 2.0 update in order to avoid a repeat of the MCC launch should be made a priority.

  1. Re-create Halo 2’s multiplayer matchmaking

As mentioned, many people picked up MCC just to play Halo 2 online again. With the separation of games and the introduction of new UI’s or use of the old ones from previous games, 343 should seek to capitalise on the fact that alot of people just want to be able to play Halo 2 again. By re-creating the matchmaking system, ranking system, playlists and map pool, 343 should be able to get a close copy of the old Halo 2 experience. Whilst it won’t be 100% identical in feel due to H2 MCC using the Halo 2 PC engine, a Halo 2 in all its glory could help to encourage people to take another look at MCC just for Halo 2.

  1. Bug fixes

I’m not going into detail as there are countless threads regarding the bugs in the game and 343 are well aware of this.

Well, these are just some of my suggestions for how to relaunch MCC as MCC 2.0 in an effort to encourage people to give the MCC another go. Of course, these are just recommendations based on my opinion and alot of this may require significant time to implement and as such may not be viable outside of the already confirmed bug fixes.

I am curious to see what you all think 343 can do to ‘relaunch’ MCC. Do you have a list of improvements/changes that should be made outside of bug fixes?

2

I think expanding the file share space and extra allowable hd file space would help relaunch the game as well. Halo 2A through 4 have multiple versions of each map including updated variants to the standard versions as well as unique versions to support different gemetypes. For example, most maps have an Infection version, a sniper version, and a pro/mlg version. On top of that, you have many many game types out there that are not on disc either.

For me to grab every map and game type from matchmaking, I would have to fill my entire file space including fileshare to the max. That would leave me 0 room for Forge maps and custom game types and that sucks.

We need at the very least double the space we already have. That would also double the chances of me coming back to this game, because I love to forge, but I’m completely out of space.

3

> 2574155679901782;1:
> I, and I am sure a fair many of us here was astounded to find out that MCC will be receiving additional patches and fixes on top of the already known 4K update for the Xbox One X. From reading this forum, one of the major concerns appears to be due to the population count, which likely dropped due to lack of interest as a result of the buggy performance of MCC.
>
> I believe there is a way that if done correctly, 343 can effectively ‘relaunch’ MCC and market it as ‘Master Chief Collection 2.0’ in order to make both old fans who owned the game aware that this is a major difference compared to the current MCC build and will allow them to re-market the game, possibly enticing would be consumers to purchase the game after alleviating their concerns regarding the MCC’s performance. It’s similar in a way to how Bungie ‘relaunched’ Destiny with The Taken King expansion pack although in this scenario, there are differences.
>
> So what would an ‘MCC 2.0’ look like? Apart from the obvious game-breaking glitches, bugs and network issues, I believe the game could use a face lift and rework of a few key areas in order to help make the game feel ‘fresh’. The following is a list of recommendations I think MCC could benefit from, which could help to achieve these goals. Keep in mind these are just my opinions and if you disagree, that is perfectly fine. I would love to hear your reasons too:
>
> 1) Re-work the UI.
>
> The Master Chief Collection aimed to offer a seamless transition between the different Halo games in the MCC through features such as the ‘cross-game playlists’ (more on that later). In order to do so, 343 came up with a menu system that sadly, is somewhat cumbersome and not aesthetically nice to look at and finding some options is somewhat frustrating. Compared to previous games such as the original trilogy, which had a nice, simple, clean UI to look at, the MCC feels crowded and messy. My suggestion would be to introduce a new UI by separating the games and re-introducing their old UI’s. In order to allow seamless transitioning between games, an option at the bottom of the games original UI’s could be added saying ‘change game’, which would then give you a list of the 4 games you are currently not playing and seamless switch to that game and its UI. This will help to make the game look and feel fresh, with H2A possibly receiving an updated Halo 2 UI, much like CEA did.
>
> 2) Removal of cross-game playlists
>
> To accompany the re-worked UI and separation of games, the removal of cross-game playlists is recommended. Currently, some users are finding it frustrating that in some cross-game playlists, the same version is always voted (an example is I often see Halo 3 or 4 voted on these forums). By removing cross game playlists in conjunction with the separation of the games with a new UI, this will allow gamers to revisit whichever game they feel like and play whichever playlist they like. If a player wants to play Halo 2, they can play Halo 2 multiplayer or if they want to play Halo 4, they can switch to Halo 4 and launch Halo 4’s multiplayer. Nevertheless, cross-game playlists was an ambitious attempt by 343 to try to improve our experience with the MCC although I feel it is unnecessary in a 2.0 version.
>
> 3) Update the MCC’s current Xbox logo
>
> Whenever a game is installed, a picture of the game can be seen under ‘My games and apps’. In order to help convey the message that the MCC has been significantly updated and entice users back to or purchase the MCC, a reworked, updated MCC picture should be implemented to replace the current one in both the Xbox Store, Website and ‘My games and apps’. This will help to show users that something major has changed to the MCC and at the very least, it should spark their interest to investigate or look into the MCC, ultimately coming across the 2.0 update.
>
> 4) Improve the network performance
>
> Alot of people picked up the MCC for its multiplayer, particularly the chance to play Halo CE online for the first time on a console as well as being able to play Halo 2 online again. Currently, the matchmaking system whilst improved, could use some work and some users have indicated there are still some issues with lag and dropouts. Ensuring stability should MCC regain its popularity as a result of the 2.0 update in order to avoid a repeat of the MCC launch should be made a priority.
>
> 5) Re-create Halo 2’s multiplayer matchmaking
>
> As mentioned, many people picked up MCC just to play Halo 2 online again. With the separation of games and the introduction of new UI’s or use of the old ones from previous games, 343 should seek to capitalise on the fact that alot of people just want to be able to play Halo 2 again. By re-creating the matchmaking system, ranking system, playlists and map pool, 343 should be able to get a close copy of the old Halo 2 experience. Whilst it won’t be 100% identical in feel due to H2 MCC using the Halo 2 PC engine, a Halo 2 in all its glory could help to encourage people to take another look at MCC just for Halo 2.
>
> 6) Bug fixes
>
> I’m not going into detail as there are countless threads regarding the bugs in the game and 343 are well aware of this.
>
> Well, these are just some of my suggestions for how to relaunch MCC as MCC 2.0 in an effort to encourage people to give the MCC another go. Of course, these are just recommendations based on my opinion and alot of this may require significant time to implement and as such may not be viable outside of the already confirmed bug fixes.
>
> I am curious to see what you all think 343 can do to ‘relaunch’ MCC. Do you have a list of improvements/changes that should be made outside of bug fixes?

I think a removal of all cross games play lists wouldn’t be a good idea,team snipers,swat,and doubles could stay cross game while btb,slayer,and objective could be individual game playlists

4

What if we got the option to make our own crossgame playlists? We choose a gamemode, let’s say btb, then before searching you can enable and disable which halo you can search for.

5

Probably wishful thinking on my end, but I would be over the moon if they decided to make it a play anywhere title and put it on the PC. They could add to the population via that playerbase and add crossplay for campaign at minimum.

Depending on whether they see merit in it, this could also justify a customs browser in lieu of the one we have in 5 with crossplay as well.

6

> 2533274826920712;5:
> if they decided to make it a play anywhere title and put it on the PC.

That would be nice and help keep the game alive and more accessible.

I really hope -Yoink!-/343 puts more work into treating this game like a timeless relic that needs periodic maintenance updates to keep it’s performance up. MCC is like -Yoink!-/343’s Skyrim. They should treat it like their best work, because despite the mess, it is. It’s a collection of bests.

7

The only difficult issue would be cross-plaform play. A PC release is sought after by the community but it wouldn’t benefit Xbox users without cross platform play and it would be difficult to implement without forcing PC users to use an Xbox One controller for certain cross platform playlists.

I do see cross-platform co-op as a unique opportunity should MCC 2.0 appear on PC. Co-op with one user being on an Xbox and the other on PC will be fine as M+K is not being used to gain an advantage against another player but rather both players are working towards the same goal.

As for cross game playlists, which playlists do you think should be kept? Do you think it would still be fine if the games were separated into their own individual games and UI’s? Opinions on the other points in the OP?

8

I’m not astounded in any way about them “saying” they’ll fix mcc. I want action, I want to see it before being hyped. Being hyped before mcc was out was why so many people were disappointed when reality hit, I won’t let that happen to me again.

as for remarketimg the mcc, I wouldn’t expect much in terms of sales. Most people that wanted mcc already has it, furthermore these games have been brought back as back wards compatible as well so that further detracts from the sales. I’d seriously bet you won’t see another million in sales from mcc if they remarketed it. Remasters don’t sell much to begin with either. I think they could get some ads to show “hey it’s fixed” (if it really does get fixed anyways) to get some attention to it but I think mcc is way past getting much more money out of it. Get the people back to playing it should be priority over sales.

as for your fixes/changes: I can agree to them however like another poster said, I’d keep cross play depending on what it is. FFA is one that should have it as FFA has never had a huge population to it, removing cross play shrinks it considerably. Personally I think 343 should keep the cross play as is and once the fixes come in pay attention to the player numbers, if certain modes are lacking in population keep it, if others are having a decent number count then sure, try to experiment with removing some of the crossay options. I think cross play is just something they can only work on once the fixes come out as that’s when you’ll have a more active playerbase to get data off of.

edit: another thing I’d do is scrap the ranks. Unless you have a good amount of players there is just no point to it. It extends search times considerably and in a game with such low pop numbers simply getting into a game should be more prioritized over a competitive game that takes 30 minutes to find. This could also be something 343 has to monitor once the fixes come out. Keep ranks at first but if the numbers aren’t there then start dropping it.

9

I would have never played halo 2 and 3 obsessively if it wasn’t for ranks, gotta have em. They should cross play all social playlist, have ranked h2 and h3 snipers combined and a ranked slayer and objective playlist in each halo gametype. They could even keep the hardcore playlist as is. I think people would go bonkers for that. Plus after you get your desired slayer 50 you can keep on playing that same halo game to get that objective 50. That would add to the games long term playability.