I really want that sky to be placeholder...

Games Other Halo
1

Hey Waypointers. When I’m talking about a sky and bring placeholder, I am of course talking about The Silent Cartographer. After watching the new video showing a demonstration of The Silent Cartographer and the flashback feature being used while looking out to the sea, I noticed a few major differences, and realized a few things about Combat Evolved.

The first thing I saw was that Anniversary looks amazingly beautiful - but something about its visual style seems different. As I’m watching and Dan Ayoub is talking about the flashback feature, whoever is playing the demo uses the feature, and suddenly whatever was off in my head just clicked. Seeing both versions of the game in motion, it became apparent to me that Combat Evolved is much more vibrant and simplistic than Anniversary. With the click of a button, the clouds in the sky suddenly disappeared, yielding the way for stars to dot the sky in a mystical fashion. The sea, when looked at from the beach, just went on and on without a visible stop; no islands or anything to stop it being absolute, save the one you stand on.

This changed in Anniversary. Clouds went from being just on the very edges of the sky; far away enough to see, but so that most of the sky directly above you was bright blue and dotted by stars to being well…pretty all over the place. The sky is now a dark blue and the stars have disappeared. The beautiful, mystifying, spotless horizon is suddenly dotted with odd islands; one resembling a column of rock jutting straight up.

I just want to say, this stark, seamless comparison tool has made me realize that - and I feel just as weird saying this as you will reading it - Anniversary seems too detailed. I’ve never really realized it until Anniversary, but Halo: Combat Evolved is probably one of the most beautiful Halo games, because it’s simple, vibrant, and colorful. With Anniversary, the clear, bright blue, spotless sky is replaced by dark blue and clouds, making it less noticeable.

There are things besides the sky that I’ve noticed, but the sky suddenly being so much less remarkable was the one I wanted to highlight with this thread. So I really hope that that sky is placeholder, and the one we see in the final product isn’t so different from the original. I love staring out at the Combat Evolved skyboxes. With each Halo game, this interest has faded. Halo 2 had really pixelated, uninteresting skyboxes. Halo 3’s skyboxes were first blocked off by urban environments, then marred by much the same problem as Anniversary. Reach’s skyboxes are pretty good, though. But none of them even come close to the strikingness of the Combat Evolved skyboxes. So please, 343 Industries, put a little more work into retaining that. I know - unfinished game is unfinished - but I don’t know for sure what’s placeholder and what’s not, so if this wasn’t brought to your attention, I wanted to make sure it is.

2

Thats something that you have to kinda accept. Games are evolving and if you dont have graphical features that are detailed, it’s not going to appeal to alot of players. I know what you are saying though. Then again, it was still an early build so we will never know what it will look like till HaloFest or when it is released. To be honest though, I have to agree of what everyone else has said after me. The old CE’s skybox looks horrid. Im glad they are changing everything visually in this game.

3

That was your nostalgia that clicked on.
And about the skyboxes in CE, they were bland as could be (except for the second level’s skybox, that was gorgeous). The stars you’re referring to barely add anything to the sky, and are barely visible.
:frowning:
The simplicity of Halo CE’s look was mainly due to the graphical limitations.

And I just have to bring this up, with the new detailed graphics, the weapons shown in the Grunt Funeral trailer look horrible out of place COMPARED to the Reach AR and Magnum (turn your hate for Reach or your love for the canon off when I say this).

4

I have to disagree. Firstly, the best skyboxes are obviously in Reach, even though it doesn’t have the iconic Halo ring. After that it’s parts of Halo 2, then Halo 3, Halo 1, and then the other parts of Halo 2.

ODST has good skyboxes at times, others are average. New Mombasa is rocking though.

Halo 1 remake’s skyboxes are done very well.

I mean honestly, the skyboxes in Halo 1 kind of suck, the only thing that makes them anything more than special are the iconicness of the Halo ring. Hell, Assault in the Control Room’s skybox is literally nonexistant (it gets nastier upwards and then just becomes total whiteness)

Halo Anniversary looks very pretty. They kept the artstyle but modernized it. They don’t seem afraid to change detailing -sand is in parts of old grass and vice versa and there’s more details such as the rooty trees and more griddy forerunner detailing in 343 as opposed to the grayness, but i mean, they’re doing a very good faithful job.

They’re upgrading it and detailing it. They’re adding details that would be there if it were made today. However, they aren’t really changing things or making it different than its original intention.

5

I always liked Halo 1’s visual style. But when he changed from the new graphics to the old ones, my eyes cringed. And plus, if sometimes the new graphics are bothering you, you can always go back to the old ones.

6

Jesus, you people complain about everything.

7

Actually if you look at the video in HD fullscreen, you can still see all the stars and more. I love that skybox now! :3

8

I personally dislike everything about the graphics in Halo: Combat Evolved… and I personally think the graphics in Anniversary to be extremely beautiful. A bit cluttered, yes, but beautiful.

9

I’m the only one with this opinion? I guess fair is fair, but the simplicity and (as someone else put it) “blandness” of the Combat Evolved skyboxes always mystified me (except Assault On the Control Room, of course). In fact, I thought the skybox in The Silent Cartographer looked bland, with the typical dark colors and the clouds. I loved not seeing clouds on Halo in most levels. The cloudless sky really gave the feeling of unnaturalness. At least that was my take on the matter.

10

> Jesus, you people complain about everything.

I’m not complaining. I never even said I would be disappointed if that skybox was final. I was simply expressing my opinion that the clear Combat Evolved skyboxes are more effective.

11

CEA has a completely different art style from the original, and I found this the moment I saw the trailer. the forerunner architecture did not look like it did in CE, and that’s the major thing also, but that doesn’t mean that CEA will be bad.

12

After reading the OP’s responses, I can conclude we are being Grade A trolled.

13

> After reading the OP’s responses, I can conclude we are being Grade A trolled.

I’m flattered you think I’m such a good troll, but I assure you I’m not trolling. In fact, I came here from Bungie.net last year seeking shelter from the trolls. I don’t try to do anything but contribute to the community. Part of that, to me, is making threads like this one to see other people’s opinions and compare them with my own (I must say I’m shocked with the opinions in this thread, but I guess I was mistaken, which isn’t impossible).

I also make threads like this to help the community out. That doesn’t seem much like trolling, does it? My opinion on this particular matter simply differs, but I was being completely serious in everything I said, and that’s not trolling.

14

> After reading the OP’s responses, I can conclude we are being Grade A trolled.

I don’t think he’s trolling.
But still, OP, go take a good look at Halo CE, and try to leave your nostalgia behind. Then look at CEA again.
Seriously, your opinion is wrong.
I mean, how are you “mystified” by a plain old sky with a few barely visible white dots?

You have to be critical about things like this.

15

> > After reading the OP’s responses, I can conclude we are being Grade A trolled.
>
> I don’t think he’s trolling.
> But still, OP, go take a good look at Halo CE, and try to leave your nostalgia behind. Then look at CEA again.
> Seriously, your opinion is wrong.
> I mean, how are you “mystified” by a plain old sky with a few barely visible white dots?
>
> You have to be critical about things like this.

My opinion isn’t wrong; please don’t be like that. I’ve actually played Combat Evolved plenty in the past year, and years before that. I just did today, actually. It’s a game whose campaign I go back to at least annually; typically more than that. I’m a player of the multiplayer on Halo PC too. I’ve never had any gripes about Combat Evolved’s graphics, simply because I’ve found its simplistic art style to be great, and skybox has always been a big part of that to me. It’s not nostalgia, because I still play Combat Evolved regularly and still hold this opinion. I think we’ll both just have to face the fact that my opinion legitimately differs in this case. I acknowledge Anniversary’s skyboxes (including The Silent Cartographer) will be technically superior, but I’ll still always enjoy the original simplicity more.

16

> > > After reading the OP’s responses, I can conclude we are being Grade A trolled.
> >
> > I don’t think he’s trolling.
> > But still, OP, go take a good look at Halo CE, and try to leave your nostalgia behind. Then look at CEA again.
> > Seriously, your opinion is wrong.
> > I mean, how are you “mystified” by a plain old sky with a few barely visible white dots?
> >
> > You have to be critical about things like this.
>
> My opinion isn’t wrong; please don’t be like that. I’ve actually played Combat Evolved plenty in the past year, and years before that. I just did today, actually. It’s a game whose campaign I go back to at least annually; typically more than that. I’m a player of the multiplayer on Halo PC too. I’ve never had any gripes about Combat Evolved’s graphics, simply because I’ve found its simplistic art style to be great, and skybox has always been a big part of that to me. It’s not nostalgia, because I still play Combat Evolved regularly and still hold this opinion. I think we’ll both just have to face the fact that my opinion legitimately differs in this case. I acknowledge Anniversary’s skyboxes (including The Silent Cartographer) will be technically superior, but I’ll still always enjoy the original simplicity more.

In that case, would you mind explaining why you think that? Let’s have a psychiatric discussion. XD
And I believe you with what you just said, and I’m trying to look at it from different perspectives in my mind to try and see why you would think that.

I myself have been playing CE like crazy this summer, but our views differ greatly.

17

The sky is fine, if you look closely you can still see the stars everywhere. I just don’t like those random islands in the middle of the ocean. They just seem… unnecessary, like they were added for the sake of making the horizon more interesting, but they seem out of place. I dunno, maybe it’s just me.

18

I feel that CEA is is a little too…blue, you can barely tell when the sky ends and the sea begins. Even the Halo ring is just one big blue/white line jutting up into the air

19

A few less clouds and the removal of most of the islands at sea would definitely make things look clearer. Which to me, would be a good thing. Right now it seems too cluttered.

20

> A few less clouds and the removal of most of the islands at sea would definitely make things look clearer. Which to me, would be a good thing. Right now it seems too cluttered.

Agreed. I can’t even see Threshold, honestly.