The general consensus is that Halo 5 should return to its roots. These are often followed by a list of features and additions from Halo 4 that they do not want in the game. While this is good, it often misses out on what new elements can be used to innovate and improve on classic Halo’s design while maintaining its place in the Arena Shooter genre. I’m sorry if other posts have covered this same subject but, I would like to look at things from a different perspective.
Lets rewind back to 2007. Halo 3 has just been released and everyone is looking forward to the sequel. What type of additions to Halo 3’s core mechanics and gameplay would you like to see. Here are my idea:
Equipable abilities: Just like the equipment found in Halo 3 but with a slight twist. Found on the map, each ability has a set number of uses or a battery that drains. When killed the ability is dropped and can be picked up by other players. Some abilities are single use, such as the power drainer, while others drain over time like the bubble shield or active camo unit.
Additional abilities include:
- Thruster pack: boosts the player left, right, front, back, and upwards during a jump. Limited to under 5 uses.
- Tag fields: Placed by a player. When an enemy triggers it, all enemies in a small radius are painted(waypoints appear overhead) as targets. Painting lasts for 20 seconds or until killed. Painted enemies are notified by a change in hud color from blue to red. Single use.
The fact that you think implementing something as gimmicky as Tag Field in a Halo game would make for a true sequel to Halo 3 is quite scary…
> The fact that you think implementing something as gimmicky as Tag Field in a Halo game would make for a true sequel to Halo 3 is quite scary…
Albeit “tag field” may sound cheesy, it is far from a gimmick and can add some interesting gameplay opportunities.
Halo 3 has included some interesting equipment, including flares, trip mines, and regenerators. Halo 4 added promethean vision. What I intend this ability to do is fill promethean visions role, in a more balanced method. These fields could be either inactive like a trip mine, and set off by proximity or thrown at the enemy like and energy drainer. They are single use and must be collected from the map. In addition, unlike promethean vision, they require some skill(placement/aim) and benefit your entire team.
The players that have been tagged are notified of this and gameplay changes for them. Similar to last man standing in flood, players are now conscious of the fact that the opposing team knows their location, and must defend themselves until the tagging wears off. Meanwhile their teammates can move more freely while the opposing team is distracted by the painted players.
This allows for the flow of gameplay in a slayer of objective gametypes to be temporarily altered, adding additional goals for both teams, thereby enriching gameplay for everyone.
> The fact that you think implementing something as gimmicky as Tag Field in a Halo game would make for a true sequel to Halo 3 is quite scary…
I can’t see how having a feature that points out enemies is ‘gimmicky.’ I’ll even give you a list of when it’s extremely helpful.
- Locating campers or snipers
- Being able to see enemies in gametypes without radar
- Being notified of a group of enemies closing in on your position before they’re in radar range
- Allowing all of your teammates to know which enemy has the Rocket Launcher.
- It’s extremely similar to Promethean Vision expect being far less OP
What I’m getting from this is that you’re assuming that anything that can’t kill someone is a gimmick, which truly scares me…
> The fact that you think implementing something as gimmicky as Tag Field in a Halo game would make for a true sequel to Halo 3 is quite scary…
What makes a tag field any more of a gimmick than a trip mine or a grav boost or active camo? I’m not following.
personally i would rather see a sensor grenade but that’s just my 2c
> > The fact that you think implementing something as gimmicky as Tag Field in a Halo game would make for a true sequel to Halo 3 is quite scary…
>
> What makes a tag field any more of a gimmick than a trip mine or a grav boost or active camo? I’m not following.
Funny, I don’t remember those making Halo lose 80%+ of its playerbase in only a few weeks. Yet with Halo 4 on the other hand, all we have is this… You can thank custom loadouts, ordnance, tactical packages, support upgrades, etc. for that.
Also, for the record, an active camo placed on the map (that would have a long spawn time, mind you), a trip mine, grav boost, etc. never randomized the gameplay and made it all gimmicky like Halo 4 did. It wasn’t unpredictable and it had huge support from the MLG community.
> Funny, I don’t remember those making Halo lose 80%+ of its playerbase in only a few weeks. Yet with Halo 4 on the other hand, all we have is this… You can thank custom loadouts, ordnance, tactical packages, support upgrades, etc. for that.
>
> Also, for the record, an active camo placed on the map (that would have a long spawn time, mind you), a trip mine, grav boost, etc. never randomized the gameplay and made it all gimmicky like Halo 4 did. It wasn’t unpredictable and it had huge support from the MLG community.
What in the world are you babbling on about? I don’t recall saying anything about Halo 4.
> > Funny, I don’t remember those making Halo lose 80%+ of its playerbase in only a few weeks. Yet with Halo 4 on the other hand, all we have is this… You can thank custom loadouts, ordnance, tactical packages, support upgrades, etc. for that.
> >
> > Also, for the record, an active camo placed on the map (that would have a long spawn time, mind you), a trip mine, grav boost, etc. never randomized the gameplay and made it all gimmicky like Halo 4 did. It wasn’t unpredictable and it had huge support from the MLG community.
>
> What in the world are you babbling on about? I don’t recall saying anything about Halo 4.
It has to do with this vendetta you have against people who want Halo to emulate the core of the classic Halo games. You point out that the classic Halo games even have gimmicky features (e.g. land mine), so what? Are you trying to excuse the TPs, SUs, customizable loadouts, etc. in Halo 4, because if so, that is the wrong way for Halo to go? It may work for other modern shooters but it has ultimately put Halo on life support. If Halo takes another blow with the gimmicky nature of gameplay/features of Halo 4 then you can say goodbye to a healthy future with Halo.
Any gimmicky stuff that was placed in the classic Halo games had little-to-no aggravation to the rest of the community. The fact is Bungie implemented them while sticking true to the core of Halo gameplay, and even went as far as to make these gimmicks in the classic Halo games feel like they belonged.
My goodness, you really need to be more concise? What is your purpose here other than disagreeing just to disagree? Are you trying to play devil’s advocate? Do you want Halo 5 to emulate the core of the Halo 4 experience? What is it with you? On one hand you’ve shown to be in agreement with those who want less of Halo 4 and more of the classic Halos in the next Halo games, but on the other you’ll turn around and say something like oh no, that’s bad because that’s from the classic Halo and we need to be innovate and different! We can’t have a carbon copy of that game! Jeez dude, make up your bloody mind.
If I hear the phrase “return to it’s roots” or any of the other overused buzzwords and phrases again it’ll be too soon.
Sir, he was saying that those features aren’t gimmicks, and that they’re similar in nature to the tag field idea, which means that the tag field isn’t a gimmick either. Relax.
I like where OP is coming from because he understands fairness and is trying to come up with ideas that are not random.
> It has to do with this vendetta you have against people who want Halo to emulate the core of the classic Halo games. You point out that the classic Halo games even have gimmicky features (e.g. land mine), so what? Are you trying to excuse the TPs, SUs, customizable loadouts, etc. in Halo 4, because if so, that is the wrong way for Halo to go? It may work for other modern shooters but it has ultimately put Halo on life support. If Halo takes another blow with the gimmicky nature of gameplay/features of Halo 4 then you can say goodbye to a healthy future with Halo.
>
> Any gimmicky stuff that was placed in the classic Halo games had little-to-no aggravation to the rest of the community. The fact is Bungie implemented them while sticking true to the core of Halo gameplay, and even went as far as to make these gimmicks in the classic Halo games feel like they belonged.
>
> My goodness, you really need to be more concise? What is your purpose here other than disagreeing just to disagree? Are you trying to play devil’s advocate? Do you want Halo 5 to emulate the core of the Halo 4 experience? What is it with you? On one hand you’ve shown to be in agreement with those who want less of Halo 4 and more of the classic Halos in the next Halo games, but on the other you’ll turn around and say something like oh no, that’s bad because that’s from the classic Halo and we need to be innovate and different! We can’t have a carbon copy of that game! Jeez dude, make up your bloody mind.
Ah, so this is an ad hominem. Wonderful. Anyways, Erik got it right, I’m not criticizing your precious Halo 3, just your argument against OP’s ideas. Maybe if you hadn’t tried to drag your emotional baggage into a completely unrelated thread you might have understood me.
> If I hear the phrase “return to it’s roots” or any of the other overused buzzwords and phrases again it’ll be too soon.
Just adapt to it already! Like it or not, we need to bring back all the things.
> If I hear the phrase “return to it’s roots” or any of the other overused buzzwords and phrases again it’ll be too soon.
I, personally speaking, want Halo 5 to be more reminiscent of Halo 3’s / Halo CE’s style of gameplay.
Was that better?
I can’t really think of much I want added.
I can definitely make a lengthy list of things I want changed or ideas I found interesting.
Such as:
Frags capable of tipping vehicles.
A precision automatic to spice up the sandbox.
Removal of a few specific weapons, not just Halo 4.
I’d elaborate but…sooooo tired. Finish tomorrow.
> Ah, so this is an ad hominem
Let’s just stop. Not getting anywhere. Never will.
> Sir, he was saying that those features aren’t gimmicks, and that they’re similar in nature to the tag field idea, which means that the tag field isn’t a gimmick either. Relax.
>
> I like where OP is coming from because he understands fairness and is trying to come up with ideas that are not random.
He still called them gimmicks, and it stems back that he thinks if the Halo vets don’t want Halo 4 gimmicks in the newer Halos then the classic Halo gimmicks should go as well because we’d be hypocrites. I don’t know at this point, he’s been jumping all over the place so I don’t know if he’s a blind Halo 4 defender, a supporter of emulating the core of the classic Halos, wanting more of a hybrid between the classic and the modern, etc. He needs to be more concise.
I just proved him wrong saying that any of the classic Halo gimmicks > modern Halo gimmicks. Bungie made it work with the core gameplay and it went as far as it feeling like it belonged.
IMO I think the tag field doesn’t necessarily belong. It sounds like it can work in theory, but it just sounds like a nerfed version of Promethean Vision and I just don’t think it’ll belong. It sounds more like a modern gimmick than a classic.
> > If I hear the phrase “return to it’s roots” or any of the other overused buzzwords and phrases again it’ll be too soon.
>
> I, personally speaking, want Halo 5 to be more reminiscent of Halo 3’s / Halo CE’s style of gameplay.
>
> Was that better?
Yes.
It actually was.
> A precision automatic to spice up the sandbox.
Personally I think that we bite the bullet, accept that since most gunplay happens at the midrange, that having a weapon that is crippingly ineffective at this range is silly; much less three, and make all the automatics effective; when burst fired and aimed at the head, at midrange.
Either that or we adopt a three weapon system of your choice of precision, automatic and sidearm.
> > If I hear the phrase “return to it’s roots” or any of the other overused buzzwords and phrases again it’ll be too soon.
>
> I, personally speaking, want Halo 5 to be more reminiscent of Halo 3’s / Halo CE’s style of gameplay.
>
> Was that better?
>
> I can’t really think of much I want added.
> I can definitely make a lengthy list of things I want changed or ideas I found interesting.
>
> Such as:
> Frags capable of tipping vehicles.
> A precision automatic to spice up the sandbox.
> Removal of a few specific weapons, not just Halo 4.
Vehicle tipping frags like in CE was one of my favourite things. When this didn’t work in Halo 2, I was very sad.
Focus rifle from Reach kinda matches what you’re looking for. I liked it.
I also liked the grenade launcher, and the Splaser (there’s no Splaser in Halo 4, right?)
There are many weapons I’d like removed, and overall, having fewer weapons is, IMO, a better thing.
Tag fields? How can people not see this as a gimmick? I can only see this detracting from the gameplay. I can see myself already walking up to someone to get my well deserved melee kill, and then all of the sudden just getting tagged out of no where…did I do anything wrong that made me deserve to get tagged? No. Am I being punished for a stupid gimmick that makes the game easier for noobs? Yeah.
Also, I’m not against making the game more accessible for lesser skilled players, but don’t handicap the good ones. That was the major fault of Halo 4. Making the game accessible while not giving good players a way to distinguish themselves from the rest. Now every 1337 sniper kid is the best player in the game.
> Tag fields? How can people not see this as a gimmick? I can only see this detracting from the gameplay. I can see myself already walking up to someone to get my well deserved melee kill, and then all of the sudden just getting tagged out of no where…did I do anything wrong that made me deserve to get tagged? No. Am I being punished for a stupid gimmick that makes the game easier for noobs? Yeah.
>
> Also, I’m not against making the game more accessible for lesser skilled players, but don’t handicap the good ones. That was the major fault of Halo 4. Making the game accessible while not giving good players a way to distinguish themselves from the rest. Now every 1337 sniper kid is the best player in the game.
Some faith has been restored…
To be fair, if there was a Tag Field in the next Halo, it should give off a noticeable noise or sound to at least alert the poor fool who sets it off.
Trip Mines flashed and made that incredibly annoying beep, but at least i knew that if i saw the flash or heard the beep, i knew what to expect.
As long as it doesn’t tag the players for too long, maybe 2-3 seconds, it should be ok as equipment.
On to the topic though, I want to see a return to the game play of old, but with the best features of every Halo to date. You know, the simplicity of CE. The pace and intensity/competitiveness of 2 and 3. Reach’s gametypes and customisation. 4’-Yoink!- registration etc.