March Playlist Update Discussion

Games Other Halo
142

> > > I’m disappointed in the March update but “makes me sick”? Some of you posters need to stop with the theatrics. Make your opinions heard but remember that it is just a game.
> >
> > it is more than just a game to a lot of us. some of us have been playing Halo habitually for 10 years and seeing whats happening to it is indeed sickening.
>
> And some of us have been playing it for ten years and see it for what it is. A game. A digital entertainment experience. Changes, for good or bad, happen in games. You live, you learn, you move on. You could have dropped Reach the moment you realized it wasn’t to your liking, and played something else. And these changes shouldn’t be a surprise, either. From the get go 343 said the TU settings were still subject to change, that they have the right to shuffle playlists as they see fit. The TU is still applied to most of the game. And for most of you, having played Vanilla Reach and adapted, it shouldn’t be a problem to do it again, right?

So even though the game started getting better we should be just fine with it getting rolled backed to a worse version?

Yeah and if I fix your car after an accident it should be just fine if I come back in a few months and start breaking it, right?

143

343i, you have 6 days to get rid of this, or you’re going to lose a lot of respect from dedicated Halo fans. I was so freaking excited about Halo yesterday, hoping to get a glimpse of Halo 4 with the Xbox spring showcase. Now I’m having to worry about Halo again. I don’t like worrying about Halo. I haven’t had to worry about it since you guys took over. Please fix this.

144

Goodbye and good riddance bleedthrough!! It didn’t work well with Reach’s gameplay at all (and cause a glitch).

145

Wow, that’s a bit of a step backwards. Guess you can’t win 'em all…

Anybody have any idea if Anniversary Classic might escape the TU bleedthrough removal? It technically doesn’t say “TU Updated” on it like the rest of the playlists do, and bleedthrough is somewhat necessary for the 3sk Magnum to work right.

Well, here’s hoping they leave bleedthrough in at least one playlist, so there’s somewhere to go when everybody gets sick of waiting for shields to pop.

I really hope the future of Halo isn’t dictated by the forums like this. I like changes, but flip-flopping is just frustrating for everybody.

146

> Can we agree that the removal of bleedthrough has generally been met with negative reactions?

In this thread, yes. But outside of that, adding Bleedthrough was the most contested, and controversial changes made to Halo Reach. I’m glad it’s gone.

On the other hand, I want my 5v5 slayer back, but I can deal with playing TEAM ARENA for my no Armor Lock gametypes.

147

Terrible update. A clear step in the wrong direction and the ignorance of Arena is oh so awesome. Loving the ignorance of Reach’s only ranked playlist…

A monkey with no hands could make better changes to Reach’s Matchmaking System than 343 ever could.

Since there are no changes to Arena I’ll see you guys again in 3 months… Such a shame…

148

> > > > I’m disappointed in the March update but “makes me sick”? Some of you posters need to stop with the theatrics. Make your opinions heard but remember that it is just a game.
> > >
> > > it is more than just a game to a lot of us. some of us have been playing Halo habitually for 10 years and seeing whats happening to it is indeed sickening.
> >
> > And some of us have been playing it for ten years and see it for what it is. A game. A digital entertainment experience. Changes, for good or bad, happen in games. You live, you learn, you move on. You could have dropped Reach the moment you realized it wasn’t to your liking, and played something else. And these changes shouldn’t be a surprise, either. From the get go 343 said the TU settings were still subject to change, that they have the right to shuffle playlists as they see fit. The TU is still applied to most of the game. And for most of you, having played Vanilla Reach and adapted, it shouldn’t be a problem to do it again, right?
>
> So even though the game started getting better we should be just fine with it getting rolled backed to a worse version?
>
> Yeah and if I fix your car after an accident it should be just fine if I come back in a few months and start breaking it, right?

Oh! Oh! Then can I tell you how much of a horrible failure you are for fixing my car in the first place? And then can I go to your boss and pitch a hissy about how I am never going to use the service again?

How about this. You work at a McDonalds. I sit through a meal of chicken nuggets, fries, and a drink. I eat everything. I bring you the empty tray at the counter, and demand a full and immediate refund, because even though I ate it all with no complaint at the time, I think it was garbage from the first mouthful. Are you going to give me a full refund with out question, just because I decided to be loud and complain? Are you going to cave to my demands, and hand me back my cash strictly because I say it’s the best thing for you to do, as well as the McDonalds as a whole?

149

Now the difference between your analogy and mine is that mine actually analogous to the current situation.

Bungie made the broken car.

343 is the mechanic that fixed it somewhat and is now trying to break it.

A video game isn’t like food that can be consumed and no one here is posting on the forum saying they will return the game, which would a dumb move anyway considering you wouldn’t even get 5 dollars for it.

If you had actually responded with an analogous analogy I would have responded directly to it rather than just point out the problems with the one you made.

Point is. 343 started to make Reach better and now they are making it worse. If you don’t see what is wrong with that then there is no point for me to be talking to you.

150

> Now the difference between your analogy and mine is that mine actually analogous to the current situation.
>
> Bungie made the broken car.
>
> 343 is the mechanic that fixed it somewhat and is now trying to break it.
>
> A video game isn’t like food that can be consumed and no one here is posting on the forum saying they will return the game, which would a dumb move anyway considering you wouldn’t even get 5 dollars for it.
>
> If you had actually responded with an analogous analogy I would have responded directly to it rather than just point out the problems with the one you made.
>
> Point is. 343 started to make Reach better and now they are making it worse. If you don’t see what is wrong with that then there is no point for me to be talking to you.

It applies nicely, I think. You sat there, played Reach for this long, had issues with it the entire time, until the TU came out, and now that something has changed that you don’t like, the world is ending. You yourself said you were done with Reach on the 6th, as if that is going to make 343 take pause and change their minds.

There have been plenty of posts entailing “343 sucks now, I’m selling the game.”, “I hope you go bankrupt.”, “If I had the money I’d throw a rock through your window with the game attached.”, “I’m never going to play Halo 4 now.” et all. I don’t know what forums you have been reading. Just look at the angst in this thread alone. It’s laughable.

And if you need more explained to you, 343 is McDonalds, the food is Reach, and you are the guy eating it. You’ve sat there and happily shovelled Reach down your throat until lo, 343 does something you don’t like, and now you’re being vocal. 343 changed things the way people wanted. And it seems it’s STILL not what people want. The settings were always subject to change. They could have done what every other dev out there does with complaints. That is, not a damn thing.

151

343 have no fn idea at all its hopeless for Halo now.
Look at the op. 1 thank then look at the 2nd post, 33 thanks. 343 YOU ARE F’ING UP THIS GREAT FRANCHISE.

Do they even play this game?

Yes I am mad

152

> > Now the difference between your analogy and mine is that mine actually analogous to the current situation.
> >
> > Bungie made the broken car.
> >
> > 343 is the mechanic that fixed it somewhat and is now trying to break it.
> >
> > A video game isn’t like food that can be consumed and no one here is posting on the forum saying they will return the game, which would a dumb move anyway considering you wouldn’t even get 5 dollars for it.
> >
> > If you had actually responded with an analogous analogy I would have responded directly to it rather than just point out the problems with the one you made.
> >
> > Point is. 343 started to make Reach better and now they are making it worse. If you don’t see what is wrong with that then there is no point for me to be talking to you.
>
> It applies nicely, I think. You sat there, played Reach for this long, had issues with it the entire time, until the TU came out, and now that something has changed that you don’t like, the world is ending. You yourself said you were done with Reach on the 6th, as if that is going to make 343 take pause and change their minds.
>
> There have been plenty of posts entailing “343 sucks now, I’m selling the game.”, “I hope you go bankrupt.”, “If I had the money I’d throw a rock through your window with the game attached.”, “I’m never going to play Halo 4 now.” et all. I don’t know what forums you have been reading. Just look at the angst in this thread alone. It’s laughable.
>
> And if you need more explained to you, 343 is McDonalds, the food is Reach, and you are the guy eating it. You’ve sat there and happily shovelled Reach down your throat until lo, 343 does something you don’t like, and now you’re being vocal. 343 changed things the way people wanted. And it seems it’s STILL not what people want. The settings were always subject to change. They could have done what every other dev out there does with complaints. That is, not a damn thing.

Yeah. My average of around less than 10 games a week since the game came out shows how I was just scarfing this bad game right?

It doesn’t apply because 343 didn’t make Reach. Bungie did.

And guess what. I complained about it there too. Ever since the TU was released I have been plating this game more and when I did have the misfortune of getting stuck playing the default settings I thought it was terrible and stopped playing immediately.

I don’t see how this game being terrible when it was released excusing the guys who were trying to make it better to undo the improvements they added.

If this gains support from the main community, which it undoubtedly will since I and others only come here if something massively peeves me, then they will probably ride they momentum and turn everything back to the the terrible default Reach that I have consistently refused to play when there are much better options available.

153

Congrats 343 I’ve never gotten legitimately angry over a playlist update before. Bleedthrough/evade removal is epicly moronic.

154

> If this gains support from the main community, which it undoubtedly will since I and others only come here if something massively peeves me, then they will probably ride they momentum and turn everything back to the the terrible default Reach that I have consistently refused to play when there are much better options available.

Good. If all you’re going to do is leave Reach the moment something more competitive or better comes along, I’d rather have default Reach. That way, people can play the game they want, if they want. If they don’t, there are gasp other games!

155

> > > I’m disappointed in the March update but “makes me sick”? Some of you posters need to stop with the theatrics. Make your opinions heard but remember that it is just a game.
> >
> > it is more than just a game to a lot of us. some of us have been playing Halo habitually for 10 years and seeing whats happening to it is indeed sickening.
>
> And some of us have been playing it for ten years and see it for what it is. A game. A digital entertainment experience. Changes, for good or bad, happen in games. You live, you learn, you move on. You could have dropped Reach the moment you realized it wasn’t to your liking, and played something else. And these changes shouldn’t be a surprise, either. From the get go 343 said the TU settings were still subject to change, that they have the right to shuffle playlists as they see fit. The TU is still applied to most of the game. And for most of you, having played Vanilla Reach and adapted, it shouldn’t be a problem to do it again, right?

I have adapted, better than almost everyone here. There’s nothing wrong with us giving our feedback to make the game better. when the change is for the bad, we will speak up to try and make it good. I don’t see your point, it’s like you’re saying if its bad, who cares leave it be and stop playing?

156

The March update is a joke.
Want to know why?
Read on.

The March update outlines this:

-Grifball updated
-Infection updated
-Evade removed from Spartan loadout - IN ALL PLAYLISTS (excluding Grifball)
-Anniversary Squad and Squad Slayer removed
-Super Slayer playlist added
-Bleedthrough is removed from TU gametypes
-Team Hotshot updated
-Team Objective goes to 5v5
-BTB finally gets “Heavies” added to playlist.

What is the good?:
The good in this update is that Team Objective will bring more players in with 5 people. This proves good so this way, it brings in those who like Objective games and so they can get off of other playlists to play a fun game of Objective. I, personally, don’t play Objective, so this could actually be a bad thing.

BTB will get a new spice of life. A new "Heavies playlist which is, for those who don’t know:

Heavies, for the uninitiated amongst us, is a game type perfect for those who love vehicular action. Not only are there more Warthogs, Scorpions, Banshees, Falcons, Revenants, and Ghosts than you could ever ask for, but there are also a higher-than-average amount of power and anti-vehicle weapons, just waiting to cause mass destruction.

We have also taken some steps to give foot soldiers a better experience; slight changes to geometry provide more cover, speed has been upped to 110 percent (which is not a huge difference but it’s enough to make you slightly more resistant to the impending chaos going on around you), and many standard Infantry kills are rewarded with a bonus point.

This game type has a score limit of 200 with bonus points awarded for headshots, beat downs, assassinations, splatters, and sticks.

This playlist is a massacre of vehices, along with lots of resistance. Which is what Halo is about. Halo promotes fun gameplay, which brings me to the bad things in the March update.

What is the bad?:
There are multiple steps down from this update, which proves 343 is very new and tends to listen to casuals. I do not believe 343 checks other forums for feedback as people can not all go onto Waypoint forums.

Squad Slayer and Anniversary Slayer, the two gametypes where the TU is implemented right and bring out your competitive side of gameplay, are being removed no reason. 343 gives no reason to tell us why, and they just go on and think everybody is all puppies and children with the removal. News flash 343: WE AREN’T. The two most fun gametypes are being removed and being replaced with a replica of Team Slayer, which is a whole different playlist from the two. With better maps and forcing players to have superior coordination, it gave a ray of hope to the once-forsaken darkness that is Halo: Reach. But now that it is being removed, Halo: Reach becomes a nuclear wasteland full of nothingness.

Super Slayer will NOT help gameplay. 343 has tried playlists like this before, and failed. No doubt that only 400-600 players will play this playlist. Squad had triple that, and Anniversary double that. 343 will not even try to spice it up on this playlist, just take Team Slayer, put TU on it, then call it a whole new gaming experience. 343 probably wouldn’t see a gaming experience if they saw one.

BLEEDTHROUGH IS BEING REMOVED. Why? You take a perfectly good feature, that is working well, and crush it because the idiots on your forum are casuals, and do not even TRY to have a competitive experience. We will have to revert to the lesser skilled PUMMEL plus PUMMEL equals KILL experience, instead of the better man giving a 3-4 SHOT AT BODY plus PUMMEL equals KILL experience. “Why is that bad?” you ask. It is bad because even though Reach’s sandbox was not designed for Bleedthrough, it gave a challenge to the player before they entered a CQC fight. Should I try the first equation or the second? It hurts the game very, very badly.

Evade is being removed. This will force you to only one loadout if you want to move from place to place: Sprint. But Sprint only helps you in a run situation. Evade was good for any situation, except a tank of course, and did not deserve to be removed. What was bad about it? You tell me.

So is there anything neutral in this new update?

The Team Hotshot and Infection/Grifball updates will just update maps, and Team Hotshot will give you flames when you have Heat 3/3

343, the bad outweighs the good. You need to stop the update before it gets out, or fix it to what it needs to be. Please, you have to. You need to look at other forums. If you don’t, Matchmaking will soon get a huge drop in players.

157

> > If this gains support from the main community, which it undoubtedly will since I and others only come here if something massively peeves me, then they will probably ride they momentum and turn everything back to the the terrible default Reach that I have consistently refused to play when there are much better options available.
>
> Good. If all you’re going to do is leave Reach the moment something more competitive or better comes along, I’d rather have default Reach. That way, people can play the game they want, if they want. If they don’t, there are gasp other games!

So as long as it isn’t terrible to you then it isn’t terrible at all?

Try explaining that to everyone thatbleft after this terrible game was released.

158

> > > If this gains support from the main community, which it undoubtedly will since I and others only come here if something massively peeves me, then they will probably ride they momentum and turn everything back to the the terrible default Reach that I have consistently refused to play when there are much better options available.
> >
> > Good. If all you’re going to do is leave Reach the moment something more competitive or better comes along, I’d rather have default Reach. That way, people can play the game they want, if they want. If they don’t, there are gasp other games!
>
> So as long as it isn’t terrible to you then it isn’t terrible at all?
>
> Try explaining that to everyone thatbleft after this terrible game was released.

And you try telling the hundreds of thousands that still play they are wrong.

Deal?

159

Compared to the at least million that dropped the game?

Yes. Yes I am.

160

> I have adapted, better than almost everyone here. There’s nothing wrong with us giving our feedback to make the game better. when the change is for the bad, we will speak up to try and make it good. I don’t see your point, it’s like you’re saying if its bad, who cares leave it be and stop playing?

> Compared to the at least million that dropped the game?
>
> Yes. Yes I am.

See. A million people dropped the game. Apparently “It’s bad, I don’t want to play it” isn’t that foreign of a concept.

161

I couldn’t load the bulletin on my phone today, and I was excited to find out about the March update. Now, I’m quite upset at the Bleedthrough removal, the one thing that is going to make this update unbearable.

I wonder just what criticism 343 listened to about bleedthrough. In the feedback thread, I often saw one-sentence complaints that did not explain why bleedthrough was bad. Some people did not even want to listen when users, myself included, tried to explain the benefits.

All 343 had to do was implement 110% damage resistance and 75% melee to make bleedthrough work as desired. Removing Sprint would prevent the double beat downs and Sword/Hammer abuse, but most Reach players would hate that.

I still don’t see why Infection and Grifball are permanent playlists. That should never have happened and should have been weekend rotation playlists instead. Arena still hasn’t gotten attention, Invasion (though I don’t play it) is in the same boat, Asylum/Pinnacle need to be replaced, etc…

Based on bleedthrough alone, I might have to suck up staying in the MLG playlist, where I will probably get slaughtered as a random, but all for the right reasons. SWAT and Snipers might still appeal to me.