Insider Flighting Feedback Needed!

Community Halo Insider
1

hey everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve asked for #feedbackfriday input from the community but I’ve got a top of mind topic I’d love to get some input on. This one is aimed at Halo Insiders and in particular, those of you who are opted into the program but have not participated in recent MCC flights.

If you’re a Halo Insider who hasn’t played in any of the recent MCC flights, I’m curious - why not? Have you played in prior flights but dropped off over time? Is there a particular reason? What, if anything, would inspire you to participate in future flights? What factors do you weigh when deciding if you’re going to download a build and put time into a flight?

As we look ahead I’d just love to take stock of where we are and help identify areas we could consider to drive even more interest and participation in future flights. Any and all feedback is welcome and appreciated! Thank you

2

Hi! I’ve been in the MCC Flights since the Halo 3 flight in 2020.

I’ve partaken in most flights, but I didn’t do much for the past 2.

For the Season 6 flight, I only really forced myself to play because I wanted to get into Infinite flighting. It was pretty fun but I was kinda bummed about the new armor stuff, so I was frustrated and didn’t want to do much. I’d also burnt myself out on MCC due to the challenge system getting very repetitive and frustrating. I got my group to join and play for a few hours and it was alright, but one of my friends was annoyed and was getting too frustrated so we called it off so he wouldn’t blow a fuse. We did get a few hours in though, I’d say around 3-4 if I’m remembering correctly.

For the Season 7 flight, I checked out the new content and played some Campaign, but I didn’t play any multiplayer outside of checking out the sword skins. The reason for no multiplayer is that my entire group just really didn’t want to play. I’m not much of a matchmaking guy on MCC due to the amount of sweats in casual playlists, so I avoid it now so the game doesn’t get frustrating or unenjoyable. I finally convinced them to join later, but they had to go to work last minute and the flight was already ending due to the short runtime.

Despite my group not wanting to play most of the time due to burnout or disinterest in the new content, I always make a point myself to play the flight for a few hours. This is because I always want to be included in future flights, should something really cool pop up for the next one, and I figured getting time on the flights is a good way to get a spot in the later flights, especially for Halo Infinite, which I’m really looking forward to and praying I get in.

If you want to raise flight activity, I would try and include more maps in each flight, since it gives people more spaces to play around in and take cool photos of the pre-release content. I found myself missing Cold Storage on the latest flight, where I wanted to check out my armor. I also think every armor should be unlocked by default on flights to allow players to experiment with more armor combinations.

Off-topic, but to add to features I’d like to see, I’d appreciate if we could disable new armor pieces whilst keeping skins enabled, since I know my group was pretty upset about the new armor when it first launched due to the GEN1 techsuit being changed.

When it comes to flights, I always download them, even if I don’t intend to play them right away. Like I said I do try and get at least a few hours on each flight, since I see it as a privilege and don’t want to waste the team’s time. Season 7 was a welcome surprise and I liked what I saw, so I’m happy to say I’m excited for the next flight, now!

I’m really happy you reached out to the community for feedback on the flights. It gives me high hopes for the future of the MCC and most importantly, Halo Infinite’s flights. It’s always nice to see the team taking their time to improve everyone’s experience.

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I used to participate in every flight I was invited to, but I’ve fallen off recently.

I enjoy participating in the flights, but when I receive the invitation email, it’s not always immediately clear what’s being tested, so I need to seek that information out elsewhere. It would be nice if a brief explanation of the changes were included in the invitation emails themselves – I often try to remember to check later, but forget.

Also, it seems like the changes being tested in flights are less… exciting. Like they’re testing smaller balance changes/performance improvements rather than newly added content. In my opinion, these types of flights are harder to give concrete feedback on. But, I admit this is more of a me problem.

My advice would be to include flight information in the flight invitation emails, that would go a long way in encouraging me to participate personally. I would also advise more visible announcements (but not drawn out) of upcoming flights to build interest going into the flight.

Just my two cents. Thanks for all you do!

4

Personally I have taken part in every flight from reach pc to now and I love what’s going on behind the scenes with feedback being taken seriously.
An idea me and a fellow insider had was nameplates for certain insider flights. This most recent one being elite themed could have a covenant hexatexture with the insider logo over it.
This could be for each flight participated in, have a texture corresponding to the flights or have a Roman numeral per flight/s participated in.
(E.G I, II, III, IV, V and so on each time we participate we could get the next one up to show how loyal an insider we are)

This could help keep interest in flights as there’s something to show for it. Or lock the plates to those who give feedback on the program encouraging them to tell you what they think.

5

For me I have trouble accessing the flights on Xbox meaning I can only really do them on PC. I’d consider myself more of an Xbox gamer than a PC gamer so I’m not going to have enough time to really dig deep into a flight but I still make an effort every time there is one to participate in it. However I do plan on being very active when Halo Infinite flights go live.

6

positives, what I liked
+Elite Cosmetics good and well implemented, me likey
+disabling skins and armors now restores original undersuits (please rename to ‘legacy mode’)
+CE visuals are amazing (you fixed the bump mapping!!!)
+added Champions DLC armor at last (yay)
+simple CE weapon/vehicle skins are a welcome addition :slight_smile:

bugs, issues and gripes
-Elite combat harness legs missing shoes?
-Still no fix for spartan undersuit shoulders (see previous season 5 review).
-removed the security antennae piece as a torso (would be great as a back accessory)
-CE BUG: still strange cryo pod bug with headless chief (PoA)
-CE BUG: no collision on small/medium trees on Silent Cartographer
-CE BUG:shade turret trails not working like OG

things i’d like down the road
~more faithful ‘classic’ undersuit options
~more elite undersuit + accessory options
~having heretic, arbiter or honour guard sets would be nice :wink:
~CE 4 player coop CE 4 player coop CE 4 player coop
~restoring the CE multiplayer pistol rebalance patch
~h2/3 secondary colours + emblem display for CE (disabled with new armor/skin option?)
~fix grenade throw animation
~CEA overhaul (improved lighting and bad geometry fixes)

closing overall thoughts
this may be my favorite season yet, you’ve fixed a wrong in the form of CE’s visuals, AND finally given some customisation love to the elites and even fixed some greavences I had with the armor undersuit.

ps. tested out how the ‘legacy’ mode works with the katana, very smartly done :smiley:

7

I think it simply comes down to most of the content being tested mainly focusing around cosmetics and progression. While the core gameplay loop of Halo is great, I do not see myself coming back and downloading new content again for the flight if most of what is being added revolves around cosmetics rather than core gameplay. That is not to discredit the work that 343 is putting into these updates, but a combination of disinterest on my part and me being busy with my own work means that I have spent less time playing the flights than I have before.

I believe that if I force myself to play the flights, it would become an outright negative experience for me and become counter-productive as a whole. I would happily play the flight if there was more than general improvements (I feel like new maps and perhaps additions to other games like Halo 2 beyond the realm of cosmetics would provide a whole lot of incentive), and I believe that there are a good few others who feel the same way I do.

To summarize, I would be playing the flights more if there was a bigger incentive beyond new season content to play, as I greatly enjoyed many of the previous flights which added new content to play and mess around with.

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Honestly, I feel like the flights as of late have been pretty lackluster. The main draw of the season 6 flight was CGB and that didn’t even make it into the flight. I’m not even entirely sure what the point of the one that happened over the last weekend was. No CGB, I can’t equip the new armors to wear in game because I have to unlock them (which doesn’t even carry over to the retail version). There’s no incentive to participate. I’ll stay enrolled on the off-chance there’s a really important flight in the future, but there has to be a bigger pull. It also didn’t help that the last flight was only live for a weekend when I typically work weekends (and last weekend was also the launch of Vault of Glass on Destiny 2)

9

> 2535439465255141;2:
> “If you want to raise flight activity, I would try and include more maps in each Flight, since it gives people more spaces to play around in and take cool photos of the pre-release content. I found myself missing Cold Storage on the latest flight, where I wanted to check out my armor. I also think every armor should be unlocked by default on flights to allow players to experiment with more armor combinations.”

Hello!
I am one of PyrusFusion’s pals! I try to frequently play in their group when I have the time. As quoted above, I wholeheartedly agree with Pyrus’ statement. While I do enjoy flighting on Halo, I strongly agree that it could use some spice. Doing the same missions repeatedly to get rewards such as Season Points, Armors, etc. can be a drag at times. I imagine that many other players would also agree that a new influx of maps could drastically change flights.

“I also think every armor should be unlocked by default on flights to allow players to experiment with more armor combinations.”
This is also a good point. Items such as Armors and Camouflages should be accessible in flight automatically. Outside of flight, it would obviously have to be gained through Season Points.

Aside from all of these concerns about the most recent flights, I am eagerly waiting for the flighting of Halo Infinite.
Thanks for reaching out to us!
GO BIG OR GO HOME!

10

Season 7 flight is the only one I didn’t have time to participate in as it was a shorter flight and announced pretty quick. I was busy over the weekend, but found a couple of hours to look at customization and play a couple of multiplayer matches. I didn’t get a chance to look at CE campaign fixes.

I do find the process of having to re-download the Halo Insider app on the Xbox each flight and having to go to the Xbox Insider app to opt in a little tedious. I don’t know what it takes to update the Halo Insider app as I am not a developer, but another game I do flighting for is Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds through their Test Server. Each flight is updated like the regular game, so I don’t have extra steps to make sure I have the most current flight.

The only thing that was a reason for not putting in more time on the last flight was the 4 day window to get on and test.

11

Been in flight for 2 years now used to be on Xbox moved to pc last year overall love testing the new features because it gets me excited for that season and what armor I might start to use that season. I can’t wait for infinite flighting when it happens tho because it’s my most anticipated game this year

12

Because there should be a open beta not a flight to a select few. We want to simulate what a real launch, opened with millions of players so we can stress test and not have a MCC 2.0 and all be able to play infinite without issues on day one.

13

Hi,

Let me start by saying that I am so thankful feedback for this condition is being requested. I was able to to participate in the most recent flight but I do want to chime in on some key areas that might deter myself from spending even more time participating in flighting opportunities.

Flight Time
As other user have pointed out in the posts above, with the most recent flight, a flighting window that consists of only a couple days may cause an impact when the flight is announced as it starts. For shorter flights, it may be beneficial to give insiders the ability to see when the next flight will be starting at least a few days prior so that they can allocate time and coordinate playdates easier.

Progression
I think it’s important to mention that in some previous flights I feel that my time in terms of game progression is basically wasted. Although having the opportunity to shape the future of Halo is great in every way imaginable, it sometimes irritates me that the progress that I earn flighting such as XP doesn’t carry over to the live game. Also, not having access to customization in the flight that I have already unlocked in the live game can be frustrating at times.

Impact
It may be an understatement by saying that those who are involved in flighting and submitting tickets of issues ideally want what is best for Halo and the success of the future of Halo. With every ticket or even feedback that I submit my goal is to impact Halo in a positive direction forward. Sometimes I feel as though I can’t see the journey of this impact as it’s tumbling down the path and I sometimes question how much impact my input really has. Being able to directly see the path to the impact from contributions would continue to drive me to contribute more. One thing that may be helpful is for insiders to have the ability to see others users tickets that have been screened by support staff looking for more information on a particular issue. This way users can contribute to a specific task (i.e. gathering additional evidence of a particular issue) and maybe even vote on how important they think that particular issue is which can then change the priority of the issue.

Thank you again for the time spent gathering this feedback. I truly believe that Halo has if not the best, then one of the best flighting programs out there and I am hopeful that it will continue to flourish.

14

Hello!

I’ve been a part or fighting since Halo: Reach and Halo: 3’s flights.

My fighting availability is pretty flexible. I’m usually available all day at anytime of the day, as my day job allows me flexible hours. The reason why I may miss a flight or may choose not to participate in a flight could be multiple reasons. One of the more recent flights I missed was due to me being out of town and not near my console. The most recent flight I missed was due to me being unsure and a bit nervous as to what I should be mainly focusing on. Also, the short time that they’re up is also a bit of a factor. The content that’s being flighted is never an issue for me, as I understand you need as much play testing and feedback as possible when it comes to these flights. However, I do understand that there are time windows that can restrict the amount of time they’re live. My experience may be a bit more of a personal one, but from my understanding, this is the type of feedback you guys are looking for. Hopefully my information and my experience is of somewhat help.

Looking forward to future flights, and Halo Infinite! :slight_smile:

15

I have played in prior flights, but most recent ones have made me drop off over time. Why? Well, I feel that there should be updates beyond cosmetics; more so focusing on core gameplay mechanics. While my flighting availability has been consistent for the most part, this recent flight feels… lacking in the core gameplay / general improvements department. I will say that 343’s work put into these updates should not go discredited, but if more general improvements past additional cosmetics and skins were thrown into another flight, it would be a much bigger incentive for me to get playing. I do hope everyone’s feedback and comments on the flights are taken into consideration, and I thank the team for deciding to reach out to the community for their thoughts. Looking forward to future flights & Halo Infinite.

16

I still play the flights when they get announced, but I don’t play PVP anymore, not even on retail, you can’t find IBM mouse games anymore so I just gave up playing

17

I’m still hoping to see the focuses on accessibility very soon especially the subtitles which the Halo MCC lacked of (More specifically Halo 2, 3, ODST and Reach) in campaign where we only have the subtitle for the cutscenes but absolutely zero subtitle during the gameplay

It’s really heartbreaking and very frustrated as a deaf person and I have seen a lot of forums, feedbacks and posts regarding that issue over the years with nothing changed

More accessiblity focused for Halo MCC please

18

Hello, I have participated in all the insiders and I liked both the seasons and the game configurations that they add, they are very useful but I think the point where most of them agree is that they add new content not only for halo 3, but for the rest of the games (mainly halo 2 and halo 2 anniversary) since basically the last 3 seasons have been for halo 3.
In particular, I would like you to add the ranger, minor, zealot, commander and general armor to halo 2 anniversary and the adviser, honor guard and ranger armor to halo 2 if possible.

19

Hello, thanks a lot for your work; I loved this flight content, especially the Halo 4 DLC armor and the Halo CE visual effect (and I hope geometry) improvements, keep it up!

20

I have participated in many flights and submitted many bugs, but I did not participate in the most recent one at all because I am not really going to interact with any of the content contained within when it reaches retail.

I almost never play Halo 4 on retail MCC, and I don’t care much about the new elite armor and the only feedback I would really give is that I think the new tech suit doesn’t look very good and the toe armor should not have been removed, but it seems like my visual feedback gets redirected to a forum anyway.

I appreciate the fixes for Halo CE, but I was never really well versed on the differences besides a few of the glaring ones and they all seemed to be fixed, and it definitely looks better so I don’t really have much to offer in terms of feedback on that.

I also feel like, the majority of bugs I report are small visual errors, and occasionally other less noticeable bugs, but they almost never get fixed anyway so it doesn’t feel very rewarding to participate and go through the effort of finding and reporting these issues.