I'm an original Halo player, here's my feedback...

Games Halo Infinite
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Hi! I’ve been playing Halo since the first Halo on the original Xbox. My friends and I used to have hours of fun playing both Halo 1 & 2. We’d often have LAN parties at my home with friends and family. I spent a lot of time playing Halo 2 and was inspired by other female pro gamers like Xena and Smiley. Halo 3 was the game that I spent the most time playing. About 5 years after Halo 3 my friends and I became quite busy with our lives and eventually stopped playing altogether. We did try Halo 4 & 5 but it didn’t interest us. There was something about those 2 games that threw me off and I remember saying to myself, “This just doesn’t feel like Halo at all”. It was really depressing every time I thought about it. I know it sounds harsh and I know a lot of time and effort was put into those games and I appreciate and respect all the hard work from the devs but sadly that’s just how I felt, and so I haven’t really played Halo 4 & 5 multiplayer. During this past decade I’ve been feeling really empty and depressed because of what happened to the franchise. I’d keep reminiscing on the good old days of Halo and would at times feel like crying because I miss those days so much like many of you do.

The last time I gave my feedback on a game was during Halo 2 over at Bungie. I never thought I’d be doing this again especially because I had seen so many people complaining that 343 ruined the franchise and don’t listen to fans and so I was lead to believe that providing feedback would not really mean much. But after seeing the Halo Infinite reveal and E3 demo I was taken aback.

When I first saw the teaser and heard the original shield recharge sound I literally teared up with a big smile on my face. The campaign demo was so beautiful and looked like Halo, though I was greatly concerned about the graphics. The shields of the Jackals were so colorful and lovely, my god, it threw me into the world of Halo I once knew and loved. It was at that point that I felt 343 seems to be going in the right direction and must be listening to the fans.

I played the Halo Infinite tech preview on PC at Ultra settings with both controller and MK and I’m very happy so far, however, I am also deeply worried about a few things that I believe, if corrected, would make Halo Infinite a near-perfect Halo experience.

I have actually been panicking and my stomach has been feeling uneasy over the current state of Infinite. I want Halo to be Halo and I strongly believe Infinite needs to be delayed again. The main concerns about Infinite that make me feel this way will be addressed further below, and if you want to jump straight to it, it’s the Outline System.

This will be the last Halo game for about a decade or longer, and since Halo means so much to me, I’ve decided to write a long and detailed post with my thoughts and feedback, and, because I’m an original Halo player who has been part of the community since the beginning, I’m hoping 343 and other Halo fans will read it all and that other fans will also share their opinions. I’m eager to know what you agree and disagree with as well as hearing your thoughts about the game.

Anyway, here are my thoughts and feedback on the Halo Infinite tech preview. Due to the 7500 post character limit I will split my feedback into several posts, sorry about that guys.

Weapons

  1. I like all the weapons in Infinite so far, the sound design and animations are great, but I’m really worried that some classical Covenant weapons will not be in Infinite. I know the game is centered around the Banished but I’m hoping not all the weapons in this game will be based on their technology and their versions of the Covenant weapons. I’m particularly worried that the Beam Rifle will not make a comeback. It’s a weapon that is feared and even looked at with reverence because of the ways it was used against us by the Jackals on Legendary. Everything about this weapon screams “Covenant”. It’s a beautifully crafted, sleek and -Yoink!- weapon that’s extremely powerful and its piercing sound makes one run in fear. I also hope the original Carbine makes a comeback too. In fact I hope a lot of Covenant weapons will be available in Infinite. I really don’t want to be stuck with weapons and vehicles that are always orange/red/yellow themed because of the Banished. The Covenant designs and colors are so beautiful and bring Halo to life. Please 343, bring back the Covenant weapons in their original colors.

  2. Sniper Rifle. Something feels off with the Sniper Rifle. I’m not quite sure what it is but it just feels really difficult to use and this is especially true for no scopes. I thought I may just be rusty and needed to get used to it but then I noticed that many others are also complaining about the same thing. It really is harder to use the Sniper in Infinite compared to the previous Halo games. I played with it for a few hours and eventually started getting decent kills and no scopes, but something strange kept happening. I would be good with the Sniper for a while and then absolutely bad with it for a while. I kept switching between being good and bad and I can’t understand why. Is it me or is it the game?

Something definitely seems wrong and I don’t think it’s to do with the removal of aim assist. It seems to be a deeper underlying problem with the general gunplay in Infinite that’s affecting almost every weapon to some degree. In the first three Halo games including Reach, if you were really close to getting a sniper kill but missed the shot you would know you didn’t get the kill because you missed, and when you got a kill you would know you got the kill because you hit the target, you would also know if it was skill related or pure luck, but with Infinite I just can’t determine whether I sometimes hit the target or miss and whether my kills are due to skill or luck. I can’t tell if I’m improving or not. I’ve never felt this kind of confusion in any of the first four Halo games. There’s something very different about the gunplay in Infinite and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. I’ve never felt this kind of problem in MCC and other non-Halo shooters.

The only other issue with the Sniper is that it doesn’t emit any smoke unlike in Halo 3 and so it makes the Sniper look sterile and less powerful which is a shame since the sound design is so good.

  1. Plasma Pistol. I’m seeing a lot of people complain that this weapon no longer has an EMP effect on vehicles and doesn’t do as much damage to shields like it did in Halo 3. The few who support this change make the point that since the Shock Rifle has an EMP effect it justifies removing it from the Plasma Pistol. But I disagree. When the EMP effect was first introduced in Halo 3 the Plasma Pistol started being used strategically. Before Halo 3 I’d see a large number of players completely ignore it or use it only as a last resort weapon.
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The EMP effect has brought so many creative, surprising, skillful and hilarious moments in Halo 3 and I’m sure many of you have seen and even experienced them. It’s happened a number of times that someone shot a charged Plasma Pistol that missed an enemy and unintentionally ended up hitting a Banshee at some distant location which then fell and splattered an unsuspecting victim. I’ve seen this happen before. It’s moments like these that can only happen in a Halo game and it’s what makes Halo so unique and fun. The Plasma Pistol requires more skill than the Shock Rifle as well. And so I really hope, 343, that you take this into consideration, because if you do choose to keep the EMP effect for the Plasma Pistol out of the final game then you’ll be killing off the endless possibilities that lead to moments like these, moments that make Halo Halo. Please think about this.

  1. Needler. It’s great that you updated the sound of the Needler in the second flight to sound more glassy, however I as well as many others personally feel the glassy sound needs to be more audible because it still doesn’t really stand out. As soon as the Needler begins shooting rapidly it sounds like a generic rapid-firing plasma weapon. The Needler’s sound design was so good in the first four games that other players from across the map would immediately recognize from the sound alone that a Needler was being used. The glassy sound perfectly complements its sharp and deadly shard-like projectiles. All Covenant weapons and equipment had a very distinct not-of-this-earth feel and sound design in the first four games. An excellent example of this is the sound the doors make in High Charity in Halo 2. It’s so mystical and majestic. I also feel the Needler projectiles aren’t as visible as the previous games and that the pink mist emitted upon explosion disappears too quickly. There isn’t much smoke left behind either. In Halo 3 I was able to walk through the smoke left behind when a person was killed by the Needler at close range.

  2. Gravity Hammer. The Gravity Hammer feels great but it definitely needs improvement in its physics and visuals. In Halo 3 it actually sounded and looked like it was affecting the gravity in some way and it deserved to be called the Gravity Hammer. In Infinite it just drops enemies dead like flies in one spot without really blasting anyone or anything away. Its blast effect is far too weak, making it look more like a giant hammer made by humans rather than something that’s of alien origin. It should powerfully blast people away including the bodies of the players it kills as well as environmental objects like in Halo 3.

  3. Skewer. This weapon is incredible and is exactly something the Brutes would come up with, but it’s missing an effect that would make it so much more exciting and fun to use, and that is the ability to pin people to walls. This is an absolute must. Just imagine seeing another teammate next to you suddenly being dragged across the map by the projectile and pinned to the wall. It would be hilarious and would even make people jump out of fear. Unfortunately though, there aren’t many things in Infinite that can feel “surprising” since the outline system makes everyone aware of each other at all times and has greatly limited stealth play.

  4. Grenade explosions and explosions in general feel as though they don’t have much impact. Their blasts are weak, they don’t leave any damage behind on the terrain and structures, it lacks explosion decals. The explosion doesn’t shake the player’s vision giving that ground shaking effect either. The smoke also dissipates too quickly. In general they just look lackluster. Also the actual physical impact of the grenades before explosion makes the same hard-hitting sound when it’s thrown on sand as when it’s thrown on solid terrain. The sound should be different and dampened when thrown against soft terrain.

The Plasma Grenade is pretty good and I love the plasma-goo effect after explosion but I think it’s trail is a little too short and thin. It should look a little more thick and fuzzy. That beautiful plasma-hissing sound that makes it so recognizable in the first four games is not very audible and I think the volume needs to be increased. It’s very satisfying throwing Plasma Grenades in the first four games but I don’t quite feel that sense of satisfaction in Infinite.

  1. In the Halo Infinite Multiplayer Overview video Sara Stern said she wants to feel like John Wick. Well, the only way she’ll ever be able to feel like John Wick is if you bring back Halo CE’s Magnum. I just don’t understand why this gun is not making a comeback. It’s the perfect Halo Pistol, it’s a perfect weapon. It’s being requested by literally almost every Halo fan and yet it still isn’t back in Halo. Please bring it back 343. It’s iconic and will make the gameplay a lot more fun.

HUD & UI

  1. The medals are far too small and no longer feel rewarding when receiving them. This is a serious problem and needs to be fixed. Receiving medals in Halo 3 felt euphoric but that feeling is completely lost in Infinite. By having made them so small it’s left them feeling unimportant. Not only that but you can’t even see the beauty of their designs. The animations for the medals in Infinite are also very uninteresting. If you look at the animation of the medals in Halo 3 it truly fits the nature of reward. Its animation is perfect, the medals jump out and rotate and then jump again and it makes the moment feel really special and rewarding.

Medals are supposed to feel rewarding and play an enormous role in the entire gaming experience, and a rewarding experience is what gamers live for, but that sense of reward in Infinite is not there. Please make the medals larger and move them back to the left side of the screen like Halo 3. Placing them near the center of the screen is also at times distracting and can make a player miss important details especially those at a distance. They should not be placed in such a vital part of a player’s field of view. It’s not right. When medals appear on the left side of the screen it truly feels as if we’re being awarded medals and that we’re collecting them but when they’re near the middle of the screen for some reason that feeling and sense of reward is lost and it just seems like medals appear and then vanish into nothingness.

  1. I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks this but the post-match scoreboard seems too cluttered and time consuming to use. Halo 3’s scoreboard was so direct and straightforward and provided all the important match stats of both teams on first view and was much more intuitive to use. In Infinite it actually took me some time to go through the stats to find what I was looking for. It was really annoying. The UI in Infinite in general seems large and blocky with too much empty space and the font size is really small.

I find the in-game scoreboard too small as well. I also don’t understand why there’s a need to have the total score of both teams displayed on the left separately from the main red and blue scoreboard on the right which contains the list of players. The total score for both teams should be placed back on top the red and blue team player list like Halo 3. This would allow Infinite’s scoreboard to have a larger font size and will also make it easier and quicker for players to see and take in.

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  1. Halo Infinite should remove or at least needs an option to disable the kill/assist confirmation sound effect. It’s unnecessary and sometimes makes other important sound details unheard. It’s too loud. The game should not be cluttered with unnecessary sounds and graphical elements, which I talk about further below.

  2. I think the rapid beeping sound effect that we can hear when we stand over a weapon that’s waiting to respawn should be removed. Does anyone else think so too?

  3. Okies, now it’s time to talk about the most important and experience-altering part of this game and something I’m really worried about, it’s the Outline System. This is a hot topic in the community and from what I can see almost everyone strongly dislikes it, I also strongly dislike it. I personally feel the neon outlines are too distracting and make the gaming experience feel less realistic and immersive. It makes the game feel too mechanical and robot-like. I no longer feel like a human in Spartan armor but more like a half-human half-machine character from a Cyberpunk universe that’s had her body parts upgraded. A person may counter this criticism by the argument that Halo is a futuristic game, but Halo isn’t THAT kind of futuristic game. Halo’s futuristic style has always gone in its own unique direction with its own style than other futuristic games and it should remain like that.

Player outlines has also massively reduced, if not eliminated, stealth play (hiding, sneaking up and killing). In the first four games you could crouch and sneak up on people and quickly hide behind architecture and objects if the enemy turned around but if you try it in Infinite you’ll just be outlined when the enemy turns around. You can’t even peek out from behind a rock or a tree anymore. It’s ruined stealth play. That exciting and fearful feeling when sneaking up behind an enemy is pretty much gone now. The element of surprise in Halo Infinite is no longer there. It has died. I can see player outlines from across the map and it’s horrible. The excitement of killing unsuspecting enemies is pretty much gone in Infinite. We’re always aware of each other and it’s an awful experience.

Because of the outline system our brains are now being rewired to see and focus on the outlines as the enemy rather than the actual Spartan. We are constantly scanning the environment for a neon outline whether we’re aware of it or not and it detracts from an immersive gaming experience. The outlines also do not clearly distinguish enemies and teammates. I have seen my teammates shooting at other teammates by mistake because they were trying to second guess which side the player was on. It’s even happened to me a few times. Lots of people are complaining about the same thing.

I think this outline system is awful and is the worst thing that could’ve happened to a Halo game. There’s far too much stimuli in Infinite, it’s as if we’re being forcefully spoon-fed every bit of unnecessary information. We get alerts for so many things, our AI voices speak after almost every minor action, there’s a sound effect for every kill/assist etc. There’s so much going on within Infinite and it all feels like it’s being crammed into our faces. My argument is further reinforced by the fact that the small medals and names of who you kill now appear near the middle of the screen as if 343 is saying, “Hey since you’re so busy and poor at multitasking that you can’t look to the left of the screen here are some tiny medals for you which we’ve placed in the most vital part of your field of view”. It’s just not necessary. There’s too much being put in our faces. It’s far too much stimuli for a Halo game and this is one of the main things that makes Halo not feel like Halo. The medals and the names of the players you kill should be placed on the left side of the screen or at least just the medals.

343, you must understand this. Please. This is the biggest difference between yourselves and Bungie. Bungie was able to design and deliver all the important information in a very easy and simplistic manner. They truly understood the meaning of “less is more”. Halo Infinite is a little over stimulating because you’re trying to provide too much information to the player that just simply isn’t needed and this is seen in almost every part of the game, from alerts, sounds, UI/HUD elements and so on. Please go back to the simplicity of Halo 3. Infinite should not be cluttered with unnecessary sounds and graphical elements.

The outlines have also made armor customization pretty much useless now since we’re always focused on the neon outline and shooting at whatever is within it. We barely have time to observe a person’s armor. With the original Red vs Blue system we were able to clearly observe the beauty of armor customization in Halo 3 and because of this we were able to deliberately target certain individuals on the other team because we’d recognize them instantly from their armor, but now all the focus is on just the neon outline.

The Red vs Blue system has always been a massive and crucial part of Halo’s gameplay and identity and it should remain that way. Please 343, bring back the Red vs Blue system. I sometimes wonder what you guys talk about in discussions surrounding the outline system. So many players find it awful, not just me! Just take a look at the other topics in the Halo Waypoint forums, on Reddit, on YouTube and everywhere else on the web and you’ll see most people dislike it and want it removed. And then think of the amount of people who dislike it but do not post about it because they don’t engage in community discussions. I think you should start a survey and ask the fans whether they’d like it to remain or have the old Red vs Blue system back. If the outline system is being forced upon us because you think it encourages players to customize their armor and thus promotes microtransactions, you can always instead incorporate dancing-like taunts like we see in UT2004 and Fortnite.

I’ll now talk about Teammate Outlines. I’m also strongly against the idea of being able to see exactly what your teammates are doing. In the first four Halo games we could only hear our teammates in battle and would be able to determine their location thanks to the pointer above their heads. We would try to reach them as quickly as possible, walking into the unknown, unaware of what’s actually taking place there and this would force us to be more intuitive and alert. But now that we’re able to see our teammates through walls it has, once again, reduced the element of surprise in Halo Infinite.

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Humans have a natural desire and tendency to explore the unknown. It’s in fact at the core of all our desires and this becomes evident when one reflects over this aspect of life with attention. The teammate outline system basically points out not only the location of our teammates and exactly what they’re doing but also the general location of our enemies. We’re able to determine that very easily by looking at which way our teammates are facing. There’s nothing exciting about walking into a war zone in which you already know what may lie there. It all comes back down to the same one thing; the element of surprise, our desire to explore the unknown, to encounter the unexpected, but this isn’t really felt in Infinite. We just run to areas where our teammates are fighting and already have a general idea of where the enemies are and what’s going on as if we have a see-through-walls cheat enabled. It makes Infinite feel like one big random brawl. I don’t find it fun and think it completely ruins the gameplay. That doesn’t mean I’m not having fun in Infinite because I am and I love it but you get my point.

343, I’m absolutely certain that you yourselves know and understand that this entire outline system doesn’t belong in a Halo game which is why you didn’t include it in the campaign demo, because you know it takes away from an immersive gaming experience and you know people would’ve been very disappointed and upset if they saw it in the demo. If the outline system doesn’t belong in campaign, then it doesn’t belong in multiplayer! Not only that but you also didn’t include it in the Halo Infinite Multiplayer Reveal Trailer and it’s obvious why, because it takes away from an immersive gaming experience, it makes it feel less realistic and fun.

Just take a look at how many people dislike the outline system! Please 343, please scrap this outline system on enemies, teammates, weapons and vehicles and bring back the original Red vs Blue system. I strongly believe that this outline system is the main reason why people say Halo no longer feels like Halo, it just doesn’t belong in the Halo universe and as explained above, it has ruined the gaming experience in a lot of ways. There are many big gamers on YouTube who also dislike it and have made videos about it, like Late Night Gaming.

If you need to delay Halo Infinite’s launch then by all means do it. I’d rather have a game that is fully functional, polished and fun to play. It’s clear to us all that Halo Infinite is not finished which is why there’s no co-op play and Forge at launch. I personally love co-op and so many others do too. To launch a game without such a huge part of it is not a good idea and I really hope you guys don’t make the same mistake CD Projekt Red did. I was really hoping to play co-op with my friends but now I’ll have to wait and there’s a strong chance of coming across spoilers.

Once again 343, please bring back the Red vs Blue system or at least do a survey before releasing the game. This was the most important part of the game that I wanted to talk about and I’m interested in the views of everyone else reading this.

Equipment & Game Mechanics

  1. There’s a small delay when trying to slide after sprinting and it just doesn’t feel right. There should be no delay at all, the player should slide instantly upon pressing the crouch button.

  2. The game should recognize when a player achieves a certain degree of momentum and allow the player to slide. Right now you can only slide when sprinting. I jumped out of vehicles and flew across the terrain which was much faster than sprinting but couldn’t perform a slide. I also tried it using the Grapple Hook but it wouldn’t work. The only way to make it work is to sprint first and then use the Grapple Hook. This is an important detail that needs to be added. Imagine being launched out of a fast moving vehicle and then sliding as soon as you land and getting a kill or performing some other rewarding action. It gives potential to perform creative kills.

  3. The Drop Shield feels absolutely useless. It pretty much breaks apart after being shot at only once. People are asking for the one shown in the campaign demo to be brought into multiplayer but I don’t see how this item enhances gameplay. As soon as you drop a shield the enemy knows he can’t hit you but that you can hit him, so he’ll go away and you are left alone with a shield serving no purpose. It only seems to be beneficial in campaign. At least with a Bubble Shield you could come face to face with your enemy and just stare at each other as the tension between you builds up whilst the timer for it to end is ticking away. I’m really hoping the Bubble Shield makes a comeback. It has brought so many funny, creative, strategic, skillful and exciting moments in Halo 3. I’m sure it would also look incredible with the new graphics.

Options

  1. I find AI voices absolutely annoying and spent a good 2 minutes trying to find a way to disable it but you can’t. This isn’t good. I want to feel as though I’m the player but the AI voices take that away. Players should be allowed to disable AI voices but players should also be provided with an option that allows them to be notified only for when weapons and equipment are available either by the AI voice or a text based alert on the side of the screen.

  2. This isn’t too important but a blood effects option would be cool.

Graphics & Design

  1. The flight paths for the Pelicans and Phantoms need smoothing, they sometimes make sudden and unrealistic movements, this shouldn’t be happening in a next-gen game.

  2. The vehicles all have the same sound when exploding and this needs to change, also, Halo 3’s explosion of vehicles appears more organic, the vehicles explode and catch fire unlike Infinite.

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The End

And that’s it, that’s all I have to say after playing the Halo Infinite tech preview, I’m really sorry for the long post.

Out of all the things I’ve mentioned, the most important to me is to bring back Covenant weapons and vehicles with original colors, and to bring back the Red vs Blue system and scrap the outline system entirely.

I thank everyone for reading and I’m really interested in your thoughts, please let me know what you agree or disagree with. The only way things will change is if people make noise, 343 are closely monitoring feedback for Infinite and I’m really hoping they are carefully taking everything we are all saying into consideration.

And some final words… I really like Halo Infinite a lot, it feels like Halo again and I congratulate everyone at 343. I think the reason why some people are still upset with Infinite is because they really miss Halo 3, but I believe their reason for feeling this way is more complex.

Just like hundreds of thousands of others, I also miss Halo 3 greatly, which for me was the perfect Halo. We miss Halo 3 so much because of all the friends and relationships we built along the way and all the memories we created together, even since Halo CE. I think we’re subconsciously craving to have the same experience we did during the olden days of Halo, to feel that atmosphere again, the connections we made, the relationships we formed and the memories we created. But deep down we’re afraid that it won’t happen, and I strongly believe the reason for this is because the world has become so divided and everyone is always arguing with each other and hating each other.

When human relationships begin to fail then everything else begins to crumble. It starts to negatively impact every aspect of our lives and we can never truly be happy. The restless condition of the world is deeply affecting all of us whether we’re aware of it or not, and unfortunately things seem to keep getting worse day by day, and it’s now becoming more and more obvious that there are forces behind the scenes working together that are deliberately causing disorder and division amongst the people, and they are using the media to do it.

I just hope things return to normal and that people will put their differences aside and not allow themselves to be influenced by the media and Hollywood. Don’t let anyone think for you or form your opinions. Be yourself. Stay true to yourself and adopt humility and good morals, because that’s the only way that peace can be established in the world. I greatly miss the olden days of Halo like many of you and I’m hoping we can all one day get along and experience those times again…

Thanks again and God bless! ^^

~ hailey

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I’m glad Halo Infinite has managed to reignite your passion for the series, but the game will never appease everyone in every way.

I briefly played both H:CE and H2, but my love for the series definitely bloomed during H3. Despite us having similar experiences with the series, I disagree with most of your feedback and changes.

While I have my own thoughts on changes or inclusions I would like to see, I will play the game regardless. The flight was very fun for me, I am planning on playing a lot of Halo Infinite. But if it evolves into something I don’t like then I will stop playing.

It’s easy to say don’t focus on the past, a lot harder to actually do it. I’ve found my friends who think too often about the past are very sad a lot of the time. I have always looked to the present to enjoy myself, prepare for the future within reason and enjoy yourself with what is, not what was or what could be.

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-Yoink- Hailey, what an amazing piece of writing. I entirely sympathise with your worries regarding the game, particularly around how the outlines cheaping the game experience and how overall information is just too spoon-fed to us.

Generally, I like being able to use my own colours but I agree that outlines need to be changed or removed at least. I think all you need to tell friend from foe is a lack of their service tag and a red reticle.

We won’t get RvB back, far too much has been invested in armour coatings.

All the same, was a pleasure to read this passionate appraisal of Infinite.

Seeya on the battlefield. :slight_smile:

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Am I the only one who played more Halo 2 than Halo 3 and didn’t think Halo 3 was that good?

I think I agree with most of this, and really, I could write 10x more about problems I have with how Infinite was presented in its pre-release build. I do find it interesting how old players are saying how great Infinite is then directly follow it with an essay of its problems, lol. To me, the BR could save the game; I found myself just playing hours of Training with BR starts during the flight. (and I have always been a bigger Magnum fan of the M6D or even M6G)

Additionally, the “curb-sliding” which is possible off small ledges could add an interesting dynamic to movement. All in all, the sprint+slide is not that devastating to gameplay as it was in previous Halos, even though I think Infinite would play better without it. Though, maps being designed specifically around using Clamber is still horrible for Halo.

> … the world has become so divided and everyone is always arguing with each other and hating each other. …

Halo is our only hope to bring balance and peace back to our communities!

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Halo Infinite definitely had some flaws for me (especially the lack of content at launch) but the overall sound, feel, art direction and so forth actually gives you Halo vibes for a change, which is far more than I can say for 4/5.

releasing an unfinished game after a year delay is insane, if not for the delay would they have taken 1 year and 3 months to put Co-op campaign in? 1 year 6 months for forge? its insane to me that Microsoft didn’t hire enough people to get Infinite up to par in that year timeframe, makes you seriously question whether they care or not about the franchise.

Infinite has tons of potential, the question really is whether or not 343i will ever reach that potential. Mark my words if Infinite doesn’t succeed 343i are getting the boot, or at least they’re moving them onto other projects.

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<mark>This post has been edited by a moderator. Please refrain from making non-constructive posts.</mark>
*Original post. Click at your own discretion.

halo has evolved, get with it or get lost

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> 2535462446480124;10:
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What a way to bring in the community

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That’s what the H4 players said just before and during release…then it died. Later MCC released and stayed broken for 4 years, then the catch cry became get lost or play MCC. Then just before Halo 5 the criticism came in and the same was said, get lost or play MCC…then it died. Do we really want to go 3 for 3?

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<mark>This post has been edited by a moderator. Please refrain from making non-constructive posts.</mark>
*Original post. Click at your own discretion.

I agree with most of your points, but I feel I got to inform you that the people working at 343 aren’t culture bearers but grave diggers. They are incompetent, indignant and irresponsible. Halo ended with Reach, and I say that as a person who played a lot of 4 and 5. 343 industries are just not great game designers and they will continue to disappoint you, if you expect logical decisions and reasonable design choices. Best temper your expectations

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> 2535417918579648;3:
> 3. Halo Infinite should remove or at least needs an option to disable the kill/assist confirmation sound effect. It’s unnecessary and sometimes makes other important sound details unheard. It’s too loud. The game should not be cluttered with unnecessary sounds and graphical elements, which I talk about further below.
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> 5. Okies, now it’s time to talk about the most important and experience-altering part of this game and something I’m really worried about, it’s the Outline System. This is a hot topic in the community and from what I can see almost everyone strongly dislikes it, I also strongly dislike it. I personally feel the neon outlines are too distracting and make the gaming experience feel less realistic and immersive. It makes the game feel too mechanical and robot-like. I no longer feel like a human in Spartan armor but more like a half-human half-machine character from a Cyberpunk universe that’s had her body parts upgraded.
>
> Player outlines has also massively reduced, if not eliminated, stealth play (hiding, sneaking up and killing). In the first four games you could crouch and sneak up on people and quickly hide behind architecture and objects if the enemy turned around but if you try it in Infinite you’ll just be outlined when the enemy turns around. You can’t even peek out from behind a rock or a tree anymore. It’s ruined stealth play.
>
> Because of the outline system our brains are now being rewired to see and focus on the outlines as the enemy rather than the actual Spartan. We are constantly scanning the environment for a neon outline whether we’re aware of it or not and it detracts from an immersive gaming experience. The outlines also do not clearly distinguish enemies and teammates. I have seen my teammates shooting at other teammates by mistake because they were trying to second guess which side the player was on. It’s even happened to me a few times. Lots of people are complaining about the same thing.
>
> I think this outline system is awful and is the worst thing that could’ve happened to a Halo game. There’s far too much stimuli in Infinite, it’s as if we’re being forcefully spoon-fed every bit of unnecessary information. We get alerts for so many things, our AI voices speak after almost every minor action, there’s a sound effect for every kill/assist etc. There’s so much going on within Infinite and it all feels like it’s being crammed into our faces. My argument is further reinforced by the fact that the small medals and names of who you kill now appear near the middle of the screen as if 343 is saying, “Hey since you’re so busy and poor at multitasking that you can’t look to the left of the screen here are some tiny medals for you which we’ve placed in the most vital part of your field of view”. It’s just not necessary. There’s too much being put in our faces. It’s far too much stimuli for a Halo game and this is one of the main things that makes Halo not feel like Halo. The medals and the names of the players you kill should be placed on the left side of the screen or at least just the medals.
>
> The outlines have also made armor customization pretty much useless now since we’re always focused on the neon outline and shooting at whatever is within it.

I totally agree with you about the kill confirmation/assist sound effects, outline system and AI voices. Hopefully 343 Industries will kindly provide us a toggle in the settings menu so everyone can be happy :+1:

I too started a thread requesting these options earlier. If you feel like checking it out and maybe commenting here’s the link :slight_smile:

:hear_no_evil:Options for a Stripped-Down Experience Please​:see_no_evil:

15

Great post with a lot of great points… SO much to agree with here.

I do think weapons will slowly come back but I think 343 is doing a good job of not making guns redundant or just putting in guns for the sake of having more guns. there are guns we didn’t get to use in the flight unless your games glitched. and we can see through custom games that nade physics can be turned up which would be great to see overall in the game.

the outlines I agree are in a weird place, I get 343’s intentions and purpose of it but I think the execution is a miss. maybe a compromise is when you use the UI Scan tool (it was down on the D-pad on the controller) maybe this not only highlights weapons and brings up map intel that should be hidden normally, but maybe it highlights enemies and teammates, THAT ARE NOT IN COVER OR BEHIND WALLS. that’s the key. this shouldn’t be a walls hack. If the enemy or teammate isn’t in direct sight we shouldn’t be able to see them. Also, there should be a distance cap on it. Also rather than having these vibrant bold colours which I tested all of them and yellow is definitely the OP enemy color. The outlines should be 90% transparent making them far more subtle.

I think this would be the ideal compromise. Again I’m not saying I’m a fan of the outlines… but clearly 343 has put thought into it, and if they feel strongly about having it in the game still maybe it can be done in a more subtle, clean, and simple way to make the game feel more halo. Give the power to the player don’t just make it automatic.

Overall I think 343 has struggled in the past to really figure out the identity of halo. Halo 4 was an attempt to bring in hit-scan and made the came far too the arcade and easy and noncompetitive. Halo 5 went on the complete flip and only focused on competitive but failed to make the sandbox useful (which is why it became a magnum and movement fest). With infinite, it feels like 343 has really been walking on a wire of classic halo and new halo. They look to move halo forward but still respect and bring classic H3 to the modern gaming world. I can tell there have been lots and lots of conversations about so many different elements in the game, elements that if tweaked one way or another could destroy that halo feel. So I applaud 343 for really taking the time and really figuring things out. With that said it’s not perfect… and it might not ever be perfect. They cater to causals (and by casuals, I mean ppl who don’t even know the flights existed or what halowaypoint is.) with the AR and outlines. It’s clear because competitive won’t have ARs which shows they know it’s too powerful and this might be on purpose.

Hailey to your point halo does feel like a random brawl all the time the majority of the time and halo should always feel like a chess match, sometimes one-sided but still a chess match. Thanks for sharing your post and agree with so many factors. I could write so much but just want to acknowledge your time and effort put in and let’s hope 343 is doing the same.

Let’s hope infinite continues to progress & see you on the battlefield in dec!

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Your posts are so thorough wow! I’m an OG halo player too. I’m crossing my fingers that at least some of your requests get picked up by the developers Hailey. Just a few simple toggles in the menu settings would without any shadow of a doubt make thousands of more OG fans feel more included in the upcoming Halo Infinite experience.

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I’m shocked at how much I agree with your feedback. I may have to add you online lol. I think some of what you said may be chalked up to being a beta. Like the nades not shaking the screen. But nades not bouncing differently according to their surfaces I 100% agree with. I don’t mind the new banished skins but I understand your love for covenant weapons. I’d imagine the game will have multiple skins for guns like they do in MCC now. Halo CE pistol skin and sound would be nice. But the pistol itself was way overpowered. I agree with the medals part. I 1000% agree with the Outline system. Something I disliked right from the beginning. Forgot to talk about this in my review.
I think the excuse for the outline system is keeping original armor and color mods, but they could just keep outlines on friendlies and not have outlines on enemies and then go back to red vs blue. Personally, I think that’s what lone wolves and rumble pit are for.
Hopefully they can make halo halo again for us OG fans. They can’t listen to everyone. They should listen to anyone in terms of making the game. Just in terms of understand what halo is.

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Well you basically stole the words out of my mouth in terms of what I would criticize…. The only things I disagree with myself is bringing back the CE pistol (it’s kind of broken) and I quite enjoy the sniper. Otherwise yeah I completely agree.

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> 2533274876991706;7:
> -Yoink- Hailey, what an amazing piece of writing. I entirely sympathise with your worries regarding the game, particularly around how the outlines cheaping the game experience and how overall information is just too spoon-fed to us. I think all you need to tell friend from foe is a lack of their service tag and a red reticle.

Thank you so much! ^^ And I completely agree with your last sentence. I don’t mind if RvB isn’t back as long as they remove enemy outlines, it’s just not needed.

> 2760465307323250;8:
> Halo is our only hope to bring balance and peace back to our communities!

It’s kinda true if you think about it haha, the first three games affected millions of lives and so many friendships and relationships formed because of them. Halo brought millions of people together. It can truly be said that the Halo franchise affected a large part of the world.

> 2533274845983347;9:
> Halo Infinite definitely had some flaws for me (especially the lack of content at launch) but the overall sound, feel, art direction and so forth actually gives you Halo vibes for a change, which is far more than I can say for 4/5.

The lack of content at launch is definitely a negative. I’m really happy that Infinite gives me Halo vibes. I have missed this feeling so much and it feels great to see Halo look like Halo again.

> 2629110318197767;14:
> I totally agree with you about the kill confirmation/assist sound effects, outline system and AI voices. Hopefully 343 Industries will kindly provide us a toggle in the settings menu so everyone can be happy :+1:
>
> I too started a thread requesting these options earlier. If you feel like checking it out and maybe commenting here’s the link :slight_smile:

Heyyy, sure thing! I’ll reply to your topic soon, anything that increases the chance of 343 seeing our feedback is always good!

> 2533274801235916;15:
> Hailey to your point halo does feel like a random brawl all the time the majority of the time and halo should always feel like a chess match, sometimes one-sided but still a chess match. Thanks for sharing your post and agree with so many factors. I could write so much but just want to acknowledge your time and effort put in and let’s hope 343 is doing the same.
>
> Let’s hope infinite continues to progress & see you on the battlefield in dec!

Whoa! I love the way you describe it!

See you on the battlefield!

> 2629110318197767;16:
> Your posts are so thorough wow! I’m an OG halo player too. I’m crossing my fingers that at least some of your requests get picked up by the developers Hailey. Just a few simple toggles in the menu settings would without any shadow of a doubt make thousands of more OG fans feel more included in the upcoming Halo Infinite experience.

I wanted to talk about a lot more but the post was already kinda long so I left it… I might create a new topic with some of the things I left out of this topic. But like I mentioned, this is going to be the last Halo game for about a decade or longer and so I’m really hoping it ends up being a great Halo experience. I’m also hoping 343 is paying careful attention to the feedback being posted in the forum. I’m sure some of the dev team are always reading the posts here and take notes which they then bring up in their discussions with all the others at 343.

> 2535447887837444;18:
> Well you basically stole the words out of my mouth in terms of what I would criticize…. The only things I disagree with myself is bringing back the CE pistol (it’s kind of broken) and I quite enjoy the sniper. Otherwise yeah I completely agree.

I honestly don’t mind if the CE Pistol isn’t included in official gametypes but it’d be great bringing back such an iconic weapon that can be used in custom games. Maybe 343 will bring it back in a future update for Forge. I hope so.

Anyway, thanks for responding everyone! I love hearing what other people think regardless of whether they agree or not. It’s always interesting to read your thoughts!

20

> 2535417918579648;19:
> > 2533274876991706;7:
> >
>
>
>
> > 2535447887837444;18:
> >
>
> I honestly don’t mind if the CE Pistol isn’t included in official gametypes but it’d be great bringing back such an iconic weapon that can be used in custom games. Maybe 343 will bring it back in a future update for Forge. I hope so.

They brought it back in Halo 5, but it didn’t see much game time. I’m not sure how much it was used though, cause I only briefly played the game and I never saw streamers using it.