As a machinima director I used to make some good things in reach but when you compare reach machinima flexibility with Halo 4 this game really falls short.
Lets start with with maps- The maps are the least of my problems since no matter what kind of maps there are you can still film a machinima. I just wish there was more variety like more urbans maps, a desert, maybe a forest or a beach too. Now Im not complaining about multiplayer but machinima in some of these maps are too similar to film different scenes in.
Forge- Forge is fine for making sets and besides there not being a HUMAN FLYING VEHICAL im ok with set creating but I just wish they simply brought back the falcon since now a huge variety of machinima ideas are gone.
Custom game options and acting- The settings are ok I guess since I haven’t run into a problem with them. One thing though that I can’t believe 343 killed was WEAPON LOWERING. Now when your character moves your weapon is raised like your going to shoot! That kills the whole point of lowering your weapon! Not even an option to get rid of that? I was very upset at first but soon you learn to ignore it.
Theater- Did you know when you kill someone in the game no matter if your hud is off in theater the text that you killed someone shows up anyway?? What a load of garbage, how can I edit that out or take it out?? Besides being very careful and extra editing you can’t do it.
Armor customizations- When filming a machinima yourself I require 4 controllers and 4 player profiles to. There is my profile with all my unlocked armor that I can use for one of my characters, but when you use a fresh profile you only have the recruit helmet! Even halo reach gave you 3-4 different helmets right off the bat…ok so now I better go beat campaign 3 times to unlock the extra helmets I should have had when the profile was made.