My opinions on Halo 4 and its online.

Games Other Halo
1

After a month of playing this game I can honestly say that it is a terrible online experience for the most part at the moment. I will list off a few reasons as to why I feel that way.

1.Lag/poor hit detection.
I have never had issues with a games online like this before, outside of when servers were running poorly in Battlefield 3. Hits not registering, and lag are out of hand, they are a factor every game I play. Halo Reach ran well on this connection, and Halo 3 was even okay for the most part with its dated netcode. I pay a premium for good internet yet literally every match I play is at best yellow bar, this results in about 1/3rd of my shots not registering, and sometimes will cause people to rubber band and teleport around for an entire match. This is a huge issue for some people, it does not effect everyone but those who it does effect are hamstrung by it all the time. 343s lack of acknowledgement of this issue makes it even more frustrating as at this point, I highly doubt it will be fixed. I have tried to reach out to 343 employees about the issue and continue to be ignored.

2. Instant re-spawn.
This kills any advantage of eliminating the other players to gain map control. It is messy, it also allows players to roam in packs non stop and rush other players simply killing them with numbers over, and over, because you can rejoin the fight so quickly that there is not enough consequence to death a lot of the time.

3. Random weapon spawns.
Me and my team are up by five points, we are about to win, when suddenly a Binary rifle randomly spawns next to the enemy team. Great, we lose the match because the other team was handed the most powerful weapon in the game by chance.

4. Join in progress.
It is really quite ridiculous that for some reason this game matches you into games where your team is in the midst of getting crushed, and is out numbered. I then get a loss if I quit to find a fair match? Wow seems balanced to me…

5. DMR is too over used
As someone who gets most his kills with the BR, I am finding it harder and harder not to use the DMR every match because it is just better.

6. Bolt shot is becoming a pain
It out classes all of the other side arms and it is becoming the primary weapon for a lot of cheap players who are willing to hide between you and cover the entire game and just wait.

I think that Halo 4 at its core is a very fun game, unfortinatly because of the issues I have just listed (Mostly the lag) I have not had fun for about two weeks in this game now outside of Spartan Ops, and the campaign. Please comment if you agree, I want 343 to see this.

2

BOOOOOOOOM

you got it in one ! but 343 do nothing, no support, no answers , no nothing . unlike battlefield/dice . always reply and try to help as much as possible .

3

TO be fair at range the DMR is better, mid range the BR is better and close up the AR / Saw are better. Easy peasey. The DMR is not over powered if you know how to counter it and yes on some maps assault weapons work bestest! Keep that secret though don’t want everyone finding out!

4

Glad to hear at least one person agrees.

5

I also agree with all of your points, and they were clearly made, so well done.

6

I cannot fathom the reasons why 343 doesn’t have an official PR guy on the forums. Even the Mods and Admins are absent, or rarely posting and when they do and it is very far and in between. That’s sad because I can feel this sort of relief that some 343 voice is trying to bring the discussion back to center when I do find one of their responses.

I am just really pissed off at this game and I know I’m not alone. Half that rage would go right out the window if I saw a vocal 343 employee shutting down the concerns and saying hey we get it, no you’re wrong and hey chill out the TU is on this date and here’s what’s were doing.

I know a lot of people would flame them, but then again a lot people would defend them as well and I believe that would be the majority of this board.

7

> I cannot fathom the reasons why 343 doesn’t have an official PR guy on the forums. Even the Mods and Admins are absent, or rarely posting and when they do and it is very far and in between. That’s sad because I can feel this sort of relief that some 343 voice is trying to bring the discussion back to center when I do find one of their responses.
>
> I am just really pissed off at this game and I know I’m not alone. Half that rage would go right out the window if I saw a vocal 343 employee shutting down the concerns and saying hey we get it, no you’re wrong and hey chill out the TU is on this date and here’s what’s were doing.
>
> I know a lot of people would flame them, but then again a lot people would defend them as well and I believe that would be the majority of this board.

Exactly how I feel.

8

> I cannot fathom the reasons why 343 doesn’t have an official PR guy on the forums.

To be fair, who in their right mind would want such a job?

9

> > I cannot fathom the reasons why 343 doesn’t have an official PR guy on the forums.
>
> To be fair, who in their right mind would want such a job?

I’d do it.

10

> > > I cannot fathom the reasons why 343 doesn’t have an official PR guy on the forums.
> >
> > To be fair, who in their right mind would want such a job?
>
> I’d do it.

Nobody wants to clean toilets for a living but it has to be done sometimes, we need some bridge between community and Developer, and we’re not getting one.

11

> Nobody wants to clean toilets for a living but it has to be done sometimes, we need some bridge between community and Developer, and we’re not getting one.

Oh, I agree that they need someone on the forums; I’m just saying that I wouldn’t want to do it.

12

don’t forget that they have a monthly challenge that if completed is enough to xp cap you early in the day… turns off halo 4 ain’t playing a half-job game for no reward.

safe to say that bungie did much better single/multi player design and development not to mention actually told us what was going on.

Would also like weekly updates to fix bugs, game play issues and moronic decisions made by 343. How on earth somebody stuffs over a game so bad when they had halo reach to mess about with at the end and halo anniversary makes me wonder what exactly they’ve been doing majority of the time.

breaking game types and game mechanics for the “lulz” when we’re paying for it isn’t all that nice…

13

Lag isn’t a problem for me. The comment is subjective.

The rest of your complaints have one commonality: randomness within in the game. However, I believe 343 created the randomness by design.

From the predominance of one-shot-kill weapons, to instant respawns, to weapons that appear at random times and places, 343 has created a game that doesn’t run like clockwork. If you watched the VOD’s, you might remember that 343 promoted these choices as leveling the playing field for newcomers.

The game is more random. I’m killed quickly sometimes without a chance. I’m just saying, it’s what 343 designed. It’s not entirely random. There is still a lot of player control, but not as much as prior Halo games.

343 had years to create Halo 4, and I think they’re ignoring your complaints because 343 likes the game it shipped.

14

> Lag isn’t a problem for me. The comment is subjective.
>
> The rest of your complaints have one commonality: randomness within in the game. However, I believe 343 created the randomness by design.
>
> From the predominance of one-shot-kill weapons, to instant respawns, to weapons that appear at random times and places, 343 has created a game that doesn’t run like clockwork. If you watched the VOD’s, you might remember that 343 promoted these choices as leveling the playing field for newcomers.
>
> The game is more random. I’m killed quickly sometimes without a chance. I’m just saying, it’s what 343 designed. It’s not entirely random. There is still a lot of player control, but not as much as prior Halo games.
>
> 343 had years to create Halo 4, and I think they’re ignoring your complaints because 343 likes the game it shipped.

“Randomness” is not good for a games long term quality. These things are simple balance issues, and whether or not they are by design, most competitive players will agree with my points.

But as I said, lag is the primary issue for me, and if 343 has no plan to address that then they are a poor developer indeed.

15

> After a month of playing this game I can honestly say that it is a terrible online experience for the most part at the moment. I will list off a few reasons as to why I feel that way.
>
> 1.Lag/poor hit detection.
> I have never had issues with a games online like this before, outside of when servers were running poorly in Battlefield 3. Hits not registering, and lag are out of hand, they are a factor every game I play. Halo Reach ran well on this connection, and Halo 3 was even okay for the most part with its dated netcode. I pay a premium for good internet yet literally every match I play is at best yellow bar, this results in about 1/3rd of my shots not registering, and sometimes will cause people to rubber band and teleport around for an entire match. This is a huge issue for some people, it does not effect everyone but those who it does effect are hamstrung by it all the time. 343s lack of acknowledgement of this issue makes it even more frustrating as at this point, I highly doubt it will be fixed. I have tried to reach out to 343 employees about the issue and continue to be ignored.
>
> This can easily be fixed by adding in custom search preferences which have been present in all Halo games.
>
> 2. Instant re-spawn.
> This kills any advantage of eliminating the other players to gain map control. It is messy, it also allows players to roam in packs non stop and rush other players simply killing them with numbers over, and over, because you can rejoin the fight so quickly that there is not enough consequence to death a lot of the time.
>
> This needs to be patched out to stop this nonsense from occurring.When can you die on a double kill and then spawn and kill the same two guys to get an overkill? That is unspeakable.
>
> 3. Random weapon spawns.
> Me and my team are up by five points, we are about to win, when suddenly a Binary rifle randomly spawns next to the enemy team. Great, we lose the match because the other team was handed the most powerful weapon in the game by chance.
>
> This I have had literally happen 7 times by my count and from being the victim. Scores are locked at 950 v 950 and the other team will either get the Binary Rifle or Incineration cannon. When you allow complete luck and randomness to dictate wins and losses, you no longer have a fair game. I may as well go play the lotto or pockies.
>
> 4. Join in progress.
> It is really quite ridiculous that for some reason this game matches you into games where your team is in the midst of getting crushed, and is out numbered. I then get a loss if I quit to find a fair match? Wow seems balanced to me…
>
> Whoever added this idea needs to be fired and the bloke who implemented it needs to be beheaded. I can understand the game dropping you in 20 seconds in, but 10 seconds from finish? Please.
>
> 5. DMR is too over used
> As someone who gets most his kills with the BR, I am finding it harder and harder not to use the DMR every match because it is just better.
>
> True. You are in this game at a disadvantage if you don’t use this killing machine. Doesn’t un-scope you, destroys you in seconds from anywhere. No running out in the open ever because you are dead.
>
> 6. Bolt shot is becoming a pain
> It out classes all of the other side arms and it is becoming the primary weapon for a lot of cheap players who are willing to hide between you and cover the entire game and just wait.
>
> This is an epidemic. very cheap and whenever you are allowed to spawn with a shotgun in and game, you know you have issues. Tone it down or it can -Yoink-.
>
> I think that Halo 4 at its core is a very fun game, unfortunately because of the issues I have just listed (Mostly the lag) I have not had fun for about two weeks in this game now outside of Spartan Ops, and the campaign. Please comment if you agree, I want 343 to see this.
>
> Problem is they see this and they think that it isn’t true and it’s their game and it will be different and have no resemblance to Bungies’s. Shame really because it was so hyped and has the potential to pull back players, however 343I’s inability to admit anything and their constant silence and no action is driving away fans of over 10 years away. It’s a real shame.

16

As you said Halo 4 is a good game, but the issues you have stated is true, it ruins the fun out of me that I might even want to try play Blops 2. Also another issue is the main server, they can’t make a adequate server just to hold all the H4 gamers, and then you get kicked into the backup server. 343 should know that this is Halo 4, it going to be a big hit.

17

> > After a month of playing this game I can honestly say that it is a terrible online experience for the most part at the moment. I will list off a few reasons as to why I feel that way.
> >
> > 1.Lag/poor hit detection.
> > I have never had issues with a games online like this before, outside of when servers were running poorly in Battlefield 3. Hits not registering, and lag are out of hand, they are a factor every game I play. Halo Reach ran well on this connection, and Halo 3 was even okay for the most part with its dated netcode. I pay a premium for good internet yet literally every match I play is at best yellow bar, this results in about 1/3rd of my shots not registering, and sometimes will cause people to rubber band and teleport around for an entire match. This is a huge issue for some people, it does not effect everyone but those who it does effect are hamstrung by it all the time. 343s lack of acknowledgement of this issue makes it even more frustrating as at this point, I highly doubt it will be fixed. I have tried to reach out to 343 employees about the issue and continue to be ignored.
> >
> > This can easily be fixed by adding in custom search preferences which have been present in all Halo games.
> >
> > 2. Instant re-spawn.
> > This kills any advantage of eliminating the other players to gain map control. It is messy, it also allows players to roam in packs non stop and rush other players simply killing them with numbers over, and over, because you can rejoin the fight so quickly that there is not enough consequence to death a lot of the time.
> >
> > This needs to be patched out to stop this nonsense from occurring.When can you die on a double kill and then spawn and kill the same two guys to get an overkill? That is unspeakable.
> >
> > 3. Random weapon spawns.
> > Me and my team are up by five points, we are about to win, when suddenly a Binary rifle randomly spawns next to the enemy team. Great, we lose the match because the other team was handed the most powerful weapon in the game by chance.
> >
> > This I have had literally happen 7 times by my count and from being the victim. Scores are locked at 950 v 950 and the other team will either get the Binary Rifle or Incineration cannon. When you allow complete luck and randomness to dictate wins and losses, you no longer have a fair game. I may as well go play the lotto or pockies.
> >
> > 4. Join in progress.
> > It is really quite ridiculous that for some reason this game matches you into games where your team is in the midst of getting crushed, and is out numbered. I then get a loss if I quit to find a fair match? Wow seems balanced to me…
> >
> > Whoever added this idea needs to be fired and the bloke who implemented it needs to be beheaded. I can understand the game dropping you in 20 seconds in, but 10 seconds from finish? Please.
> >
> > 5. DMR is too over used
> > As someone who gets most his kills with the BR, I am finding it harder and harder not to use the DMR every match because it is just better.
> >
> > True. You are in this game at a disadvantage if you don’t use this killing machine. Doesn’t un-scope you, destroys you in seconds from anywhere. No running out in the open ever because you are dead.
> >
> > 6. Bolt shot is becoming a pain
> > It out classes all of the other side arms and it is becoming the primary weapon for a lot of cheap players who are willing to hide between you and cover the entire game and just wait.
> >
> > This is an epidemic. very cheap and whenever you are allowed to spawn with a shotgun in and game, you know you have issues. Tone it down or it can Yoink!.
> >
> > I think that Halo 4 at its core is a very fun game, unfortunately because of the issues I have just listed (Mostly the lag) I have not had fun for about two weeks in this game now outside of Spartan Ops, and the campaign. Please comment if you agree, I want 343 to see this.
> >
> > Problem is they see this and they think that it isn’t true and it’s their game and it will be different and have no resemblance to Bungies’s. Shame really because it was so hyped and has the potential to pull back players, however 343I’s inability to admit anything and their constant silence and no action is driving away fans of over 10 years away. It’s a real shame.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. I did not even want to PLAY matchmaking cause of all this -Yoink-. My K/D hit the negative cause of it and I just raised my arm up and gave up, lag goes for Spartan OPs Co-op. Campaign is awesome but everything else is getting more trashy by the second, good bye 343.

18

I would really love for 343 to see this thread.

19

> > I cannot fathom the reasons why 343 doesn’t have an official PR guy on the forums.
>
> To be fair, who in their right mind would want such a job?

What you don’t think 343/Ms would stand by the game that they spent $$$/time/work on?

20

I agree with everything you said. Nicely put.