My take on why Sprint ruins gameplay

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

Hey, guys ‘n’ gals.
I don’t post here very often, but for those who care, I’ve been playing Halo since the day Halo:CE was released, and I have over 12,000 matches played across CE - Reach. I even played CE over XBConnect and Gamespy Tunnel back in the day.

There are the obvious reasons as to why many feel Sprint takes away from the Halo experience. For example:
The infamous spawning and sprinting back to where you died in order to avenge yourself before the opponent’s shield has even regenerated (this is made even worse with Instant Respawn).
How about sprinting into somebody so you can beat them down? Easy and cheap.

Though these are valid points, I feel the issues with Sprint go even deeper than that:
When you sprint, you cannot fire your gun. This may seem stupid to point out, but this is what destroys so much of what made Halo 1-3 so great.
In games that have Sprint, you must use it because your movement speed will be too slow in comparison to everybody else otherwise, and you’d leave yourself at a disadvantage in most scenarios.
In pre-Reach Halo, your gun was awlays prepped for use. When you walked around, you were always scanning the map with your reticle, popping off shots at whoever you saw, even if you knew it wouldn’t kill them. This was one way to control the map and stay one step above your competition. Causing enemies to engage into battles as a 3-shot against a 4-shot was essential to winning; it created teamwork.
Now, people are sprinting everywhere, and thus always looking forward and not really shooting anything aside from direct threats.

Absence of Sprint allowed better teams to control areas of the map and keep them on lockdown by shooting and therefore putting pressure on incoming threats.
Now, players can just sprint passed any efforts to control an area, and take over relatively easily.

With Sprint, there are times when you’ll sprint into a room where there happens to be an enemy who is walking. It’s safe to say that you will probably lose this battle because he’ll get off one or two shots before you’re able to disengage Sprint and counter-shoot. As mentioned earlier, since Sprint is basically a must-use when it’s available, this situation happens pretty often, and there’s really no way to foresee it.

Also, there are issues with players who are about to lose a battle (due to being out-played) sprinting away and basically stealing a second chance.
In Halo 3, if somebody wanted to bail, they could try (and succeed if they were good enough), but the opponent would follow while continuing to fire.
In post Halo 3, in order to keep up with a retreating enemy, you have to sprint, which now means that you cannot shoot them as you chase. By the time you are able to start shooting this person again, their shield may have regenerated, thus having the battle start from square one again.

Finally, I’d like to point out that regular/walking movement speed is inherently slower when Sprint is an option. This means that actual gun battles are done with a slower moving pace, which eliminates how effective a good strafing technique is.

All of these things just reduce the skill-gap. Larger skill-gaps are what keep people playing.

What are your thoughts?

2

Um you know if there running away you can shoot them and it slow them down right?

Also that’s the players fault for sprinting into a room with a guy or two in there.

So if I’m going to lose the fight I’m suppose to stay and give the other team a point? answer: no I don’t, I want to win so I’m going to run and regroup with my team.

3

Don’t agree with most of what you are saying.

-Better teams still can control a map.
-Sprint doesn’t make everyone unaware of whats going on around them. Good players still make sure they are aware of whats happening
-not being able to fire while sprinting means you have to think about when to use sprint. We’ve all been caught sprinting around a corner to get naded and shot before we even take one shot. Be tactical with sprint.

There are some things I want changed in the next game. I want to keep sprint.

4

> When you sprint, you cannot fire your gun.

Aside all the unnecessary map design issues and hence the negative impacts on other elements of the sandbox that appear through the implementation of default Sprint in Halo’s multiplayer, this is what I dislike about the ability itself.

The ability to move and shoot independent from each other was something I’ve always liked about Halo’s gameplay.
It gives the battle a constant but nonetheless dynamic pace and flow.

Sprint interrupts that and what makes it even worse is that being able to sprint hardly adds anything significant or interesting to the overall multiplayer gameplay.
So aside causing fundamental issues in regards to map design and interrupting the flow, I think it is also a white-bread movement mechanic (especially in comparison to something like Thruster Pack, Evade or Jetpack).

Well, that are my thoughts on the topic Sprint shortly summed up.

5

> Um you know if there running away you can shoot them and it slow them down right?
>
> So if I’m going to lose the fight I’m suppose to stay and give the other team a point? answer: no I don’t, I want to win so I’m going to run and regroup with my team.

This is -Yoinking!- contradictory logic.

You say you use sprint to run and regroup, but then you claim shooting people counters sprint. The former can’t exist if the latter is the case. Obviously if you are able to run and regroup then shooting people doesn’t counter sprint.

Even if shooting people did counter sprint, it would remove the point of sprint being in the game to begin with.

No, here is what happens. Shooting someone disables sprint for a duration, while they still get a speed boost in-between your shots. Even if you do slow them down significantly they still manage to buy themselves more time than they would have just walking. That’s of course assuming a 1v1 scenario with you having perfect aim, and not their teammate engaging you as well distracting you from stopping the sprinting person.

> So if I’m going to lose the fight I’m suppose to stay and give the other team a point?

You are given a godmode button.

Oh no, I’m about to lose a 1v1? I’m going to push this godmode button because why would I give the other team a point?

Of course anyone in their sane mind would abuse sprint or abuse a godmode button, that doesn’t make them good mechanics for the game regardless.

The point is you shouldn’t be escaping death. If you -Yoink- up you die. That’s how shooters work. If there’s no possibility of death there’s no challenge.

6

I’m a strong advocate of sprint; I feel that it was long overdue in Halo. I’m actually surprised at the controversy that it has received.

7

> Um you know if there running away you can shoot them and it slow them down right?

A tiny bit, sure, but never to the point where it makes a difference. And then they turn a corner, and what do you have to do? Either let them go, or Sprint yourself to chase them. You then spend a good 10-30 seconds running across the map, and by the time you finally fight him again, the guy has his shields back up and gets the first shot on you while you’re still sprinting. He then wins the fight that you legitimately won.

> Also that’s the players fault for sprinting into a room with a guy or two in there.

It’s the player’s fault, yes, and he deserves to die for that mistake. Good, you understand the fact that people deserve to be punished for their mistakes…

> So if I’m going to lose the fight I’m suppose to stay and give the other team a point? answer: no I don’t, I want to win so I’m going to run and regroup with my team.

…or evidently not.

You’re going to lose a fight. You know what? You die. You did not win. You have not earned the right to live. The other guy won, and he earned that point. Are you saying that it’s fair that the guy shouldn’t get his well deserved point because you don’t feel like dying? Well too bad. Deal with it. If you want to win, then here’s an idea, you can practice and get better at the game. That way, you can win future engagements and win the game. The game shouldn’t give you easy buttons to escape death just because you don’t feel like it.

Sprint is an extremely frustrating and unenjoyable. It ruins map design, it gives players an easy “OMG I DON’T WANNA DIE, RUN AWAY!!!” button in a game like Halo where there are long killtimes. Honestly, the only reason they put Sprint in Halo was because other shooters have it, so they wanted to be cool like CoD and do it too. Sprint has not added anything to Halo. Not at all. People say that it allows you get around the map faster. But guess what they did? They made maps bigger in order to compensate for Sprint. So… You move faster… But maps are bigger… What’s the point then?

No, Sprint is terrible. It should go. I don’t care if all the cool games are doing it these days, Halo has always been popular by standing out from the other games and being different. Halo started to lose popularity once it started copying Call of Duty. Coincidence? Most definitely not.

8

I personally don’t mind sprint, but I can see why others dislike it. The only problem is that if they split matchmaking into “sprint” and “non-sprint” playlists, the community will be divided. I want us to be one big happy family. :frowning:

9

> You’re going to lose a fight. You know what? You die. You did not win. You have not earned the right to live. The other guy won, and he earned that point. Are you saying that it’s fair that the guy shouldn’t get his well deserved point because you don’t feel like dying? Well too bad. Deal with it. If you want to win, then here’s an idea, you can practice and get better at the game. That way, you can win future engagements and win the game. The game shouldn’t give you easy buttons to escape death just because you don’t feel like it.

Apparently you didn’t lose the engagement if you were able to escape…

Halo multiplayer is all about getting the jump on your enemy. Opponents being able to escape from your line of sight is also partially your own fault. You should’ve brought a better weapon, had better accuracy, coordinated a trap with your team, etc. I’ll admit that sprint makes escaping easier, but that should require better use of strategy and tactics on your part. You’re not entitled to a kill just because you shot first.

> People say that it allows you get around the map faster. But guess what they did? They made maps bigger in order to compensate for Sprint. So… You move faster… But maps are bigger… What’s the point then?

So with that logic sprint also doesn’t ruin map design since everything is scaled to accommodate anyway.

Sprint does in Halo what it does in every other video game; it helps you get from point A to point B faster. Would you walk to your flag when it’s about to be stolen, or would you run?

10

This topic has been around sense before the release of Halo Reach, what you have said has been said a 1000 times over by other people.

I understand its your opinion and I mean no offence to you personally but you cant possibly say anything that hasn’t already been said by someone else.

This “SPRINT” topic needs to die it has around for to long and I’m getting sick and tired of seeing it.

11

> This topic has been around sense before the release of Halo Reach, what you have said has been said a 1000 times over by other people.
>
> I understand its your opinion and I mean no offence to you personally but you cant possibly say anything that hasn’t already been said by someone else.
>
> This “SPRINT” topic needs to die it has around for to long and I’m getting sick and tired of seeing it.

As long as it stays controversial, there are going to be a thousand discussions about it. You’re not obligated to participate in any of them.

12

> > This topic has been around sense before the release of Halo Reach, what you have said has been said a 1000 times over by other people.
> >
> > I understand its your opinion and I mean no offence to you personally but you cant possibly say anything that hasn’t already been said by someone else.
> >
> > This “SPRINT” topic needs to die it has around for to long and I’m getting sick and tired of seeing it.
>
> As long as it stays controversial, there are going to be a thousand discussions about it. You’re not obligated to participate in any of them.

Well then there’s going to be a thousand more pointless discussions that I wont be apart of…good day :wink:

13

> Apparently you didn’t lose the engagement if you were able to escape…
>
> Halo multiplayer is all about getting the jump on your enemy. Opponents being able to escape from your line of sight is also partially your own fault. You should’ve brought a better weapon, had better accuracy, coordinated a trap with your team, etc. I’ll admit that sprint makes escaping easier, but that should require better use of strategy and tactics on your part. You’re not entitled to a kill just because you shot first.

No, Call of Duty multiplayer is all about getting the jump on your enemy. Halo multiplayer is about outplaying and out thinking your enemy. An enemy being able to Sprint away is not my own fault. How am I supposed to prevent some guy just running away around a corner when he decides he doesn’t want to die? I get two shots on him and strafe effectively enough to dodge his shots, and what does he do? He just runs away. In previous Halo games, he would have died, since he wouldn’t have been able to use the “Sod it, I don’t wanna die” button and live. It’s just as bad as having Armour Lock and deciding to use it right as you’re about to die, and then take out the guy with your EMP blast and a melee afterwards.

Sure, if we’re playing competitively, then the whole coordination with team thing is a valid reply, I guess. But I’m not a competitive player. I consider myself to be a very casual/social player. I usually play on my own, and I don’t have a mic. Is that a reason for me to not get a kill I’ve earned? I outplayed the guy, I earned that kill.

> Sprint does in Halo what it does in every other video game; it helps you get from point A to point B faster. Would you walk to your flag when it’s about to be stolen, or would you run?

But we never needed to have Sprint to get from point A to point B faster, since we were always running with our weapons. Let’s be hypothetical here. Imagine that, in Halo 3, the average movement speed is 2 m/s, and a typical map is 40m in length. It would take 20 seconds to cross the map. Now, in Halo 4, with sprint, the average movement speed is 4 m/s. To male up for the faster movement speed, maps are now averaged at 80m in length. Getting from one end of the map to the other doesn’t take any less time at all, you’re just given the illusion of going faster. The only thing that Sprint really does in Halo is give players a free way to cheat death. It does not add any real gameplay benefits whatsoever.

14

> So with that logic sprint also doesn’t ruin map design since everything is scaled to accommodate anyway.

Engagements are generally at longer ranges when maps are bigger making it a lot easier to duck behind cover once you feel like it.

It’s also not just map scale that changes. Jump distances are also part of that sprint-map-design for instance.

> <mark>Sprint does in Halo what it does in every other video game; it helps you get from point A to point B faster</mark>. Would you walk to your flag when it’s about to be stolen, or would you run?

No, it doesn’t. As the maps are scaled up to accomodate sprint, how in the world do you get faster from A to B than in a game and map with no sprint?

Tsassi tested Guardian and Haven, I do not recall the times but the mobility perk was used, you know the one enabling infinite sprint, Halo 3 and Halo 4 have near identical movement speeds as well, 2,25 units per second and 2,2 units per second.

Going along the longest axises on the map, while sprinting Tsassi managed to get roughly the same time on Haven with sprint and mobility as on Guardian without sprint in Halo 3. Then it was almost double that time without sprint on Haven.

So all in all, the map designers decide how much time it takes for a player to get from one place to another at top speed. Sprint is just there as an illusion, one that messes with way more things than just movement.

15

I think that default sprint has it’s ups and downs and lets be honest, the community will always be split, and it will probably always remain in the game anyway.

That being said I do think that there should be ample playlists where you can not sprint. That is the only realistic compromise that I feel could happen and should.

16

> So with that logic sprint also doesn’t ruin map design since everything is scaled to accommodate anyway.

Sprint doesn’t ruin map design itself. You can still create fantastic and interesting map layouts even with Sprint (though unfortunately that wasn’t the case in H4 in my opinion).
But it simply unnecessarily over-complicates it, what can easily result in a general drop of quality and all that for an extremely poor benefit for the gameplay.

I.e:
The issues start with finding the “perfect” scale of the map itself.
Base movement and sprint are one and the same kind of movement. They are both horizontal movement, they only differ in speed.
And that’s the issue because for which one of those will you scale the map?
You can scale it “perfectly” for the base speed but then it won’t be scaled for sprint. You can scale it “perfectly” for sprint speed but then it won’t be scaled for the base speed. You can scale it for the middle between them but then it won’t be scaled “perfectly” for neither of them.

And then there is the thing that up-scaling the maps messes with the other sandboxes like the weapon sandbox for example.
Because the maps have to be scaled up to accomodate Sprint you create longer sightlines. That has the effect that even though the close-range weapons (like AR) and mid-range weapons (like BR) are finally fairly balanced, the mid-range weapons get nonetheless favored by the maps and hence the mid-range weapons are still significant superior.
What will you do to solve that properly?

Again, it just unnecessarily over-complicates map design and all that just primarily for the reason so people can feel more “immersed”.
Though personally I do not even feel immersed in the slightest, considering that we play as Spartans that apparently cannot even keep up with the modern regular soldier in a game like Battlefield when sprinting.

I welcomed Sprint for Campaign and Co-Op because there I want to get immersed into the universe of Halo (though I have hoped for a more appropriate sprint) but I think in the multiplayer it is definitely not needed for a great gameplay experiences and messes more things up than it positively adds.

17

> I think that default sprint has it’s ups and downs and lets be honest, the community will always be split, and it will probably always remain in the game anyway.

But it’s not about pleasing everyone with their own and give both sides their version. If 343i does this then they’ll have to make a game with(out):

  • Armor Abilities
  • Loadouts
  • Sprint
  • Big Team
  • …

Just with these 4 we have 16 different preferences and that’s definitely not the way to go.

343i needs to create one Halo experience without catering to anybody.
And if there are better arguments against sprint then it must be taken out.

> That being said I do think that there should be ample playlists where you can not sprint. That is the only realistic compromise that I feel could happen and should.

And why should they make a playlist with no sprint instead of having one with sprint…?

18

With Sprint = Large maps like Solace and Complex
No Sprint = Small arena styled maps like Sanctuary, Guardian ect

I don’t like arguments for Sprint.

> “Sprint is realistic”

Halo is a video game set hundreds of years in the future. The idea of a super spartan in itself is unrealistic let alone the invading covenant, existence of the Flood and the whole concept regarding Forerunners and Precursors. Another take on the argument is that we didn’t have the ability to Sprint through Halo 1, 2 and 3. Yet Chief wakes up after years in space and can suddenly can Sprint?

> “Sprint is long over due”

The problems Sprint causes will strongly disagree with that. Why is it long over due? Something that is long overdue is something that would improve the game e.g. Dedicated Servers. Sprint does not improve the game. I see sprint as more of a feature that people convince themselves they like with little reasoning behind it.

> “Halo needs Sprint to survive”

Halo 1, 2 and 3, the most popular games in the franchise played fine without Sprint and were the biggest games on the market. A CoD player will not decide against buying Halo 5 because it lacks Sprint. Having Sprint for the sake of having Sprint is ridicules, especially if it negatively impacts the game.

> “Sprint makes games faster paced”

Wrong. A game will play as fast as the developer intended. I play competitive customs regularly with friends. Sometimes we play V5 settings but recently we have started playing the EU settings (no sprint) because it plays pretty much the same just without Sprint. The base speed is increased which makes it play just as fast as V5 or Infinity settings. The increase in base speed also makes a strafe much more fluent. With Sprint, the base speed cannot be increased or the gameplay would play horribly. Because of this the strafe is a bit more choppy.

Next time you play customs try EU settings (even if it means turning on radar ect) and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how fast the gameplay is. I feel many issues regarding how fast the gameplay is evolved from Halo 3 which frankly plays a little to slow in social playlists especially. Halo Reach also has a really low base player speed.

19

they should keep sprint, but lay its activation on the D-pad and use the halo reach layout.
for a balancing of sprint they should use a slightly bigger FoV, a short time befor
sprint is at its maximum speed, a short time to slow back down + a slightly increased time needed to pull your weapon and a drasticaly reduced aim speed while sprinting ( slightly more than in reach).
If you get shot while sprinting it behaves like you stoped pressing the sprint button.
this way sprint is only usefull if nobody is around and you are running into a empty area or you want a quick change from cover to cover.

20

> No, Call of Duty multiplayer is all about getting the jump on your enemy. Halo multiplayer is about outplaying and out thinking your enemy.

Then outthink your enemy and find a way to keep him from escaping, whether it be through teamwork, better marksmanship, superior weaponry, smart use of equipment, etc.

> I outplayed the guy, I earned that kill.

If he escaped, then you did not outplay him.

> But we never needed to have Sprint to get from point A to point B faster, since we were always running with our weapons. Let’s be hypothetical here. Imagine that, in Halo 3, the average movement speed is 2 m/s, and a typical map is 40m in length. It would take 20 seconds to cross the map. Now, in Halo 4, with sprint, the average movement speed is 4 m/s. To male up for the faster movement speed, maps are now averaged at 80m in length. Getting from one end of the map to the other doesn’t take any less time at all, you’re just given the illusion of going faster. The only thing that Sprint really does in Halo is give players a free way to cheat death. It does not add any real gameplay benefits whatsoever.

That’s false. In Pitfall (The Pit remake), I can sprint faster from one side to the other than I could just by walking in Halo 3. Same goes for Valhalla.