New Ability: The Crow (not an armor ability) EDIT: picture

Games Other Halo
1

Basically your spartan can call in a crow that flies over the map, giving you an birds eye view of the map, so you can see the position of all your enemies and if weapons have spawned.Also the crow could have x-ray vision too, as many maps have buildings where the enemies may be hiding

What do you think?

EDIT: I got my friend to make me a picture of what I meant here it is

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2zdwtfm&s=7Link to picture

2

Sounds like something from Bioshock Infinite.

3

Sounds pretty interesting. So what is this a pick-up , a weapon??

4

yes it will be pick up, perhaps you pick up some sort of calling device to coo in the crow, also you see what the crow sees on screen somewhere, im not sure how big though. sorry if this was not clear.

5

Wiat, is it an actual crow or some sort of a vehical? Can it highlight enemys for your teammates?

6

To be more sci fi like how about we change the crow in to a UNSC device that hovers over head so high you can’t see it. The spartan would simply throw it in front of him and the thing will float up.

7

No it must be a crow, or else how could it be the crow ability? That is the one thing I don’t want to change about this ability. And yes its the animal crow

8

This does not sound very “Halo” to me, I think it would suit other games much better.

9

> No it must be a crow, or else how could it be the crow ability? That is the one thing I don’t want to change about this ability. And yes its the animal crow

Maybe if we were playing with ancient Indian warriors lol. The UNSC device could still be called the Crow. Maybe full name could be: UNSC UAV Crow? But I think its Hawks that Indians used for this stuff. UNSC UAV Hawk? lol

10

But a crow is my favourite animal :frowning:

actually ive just thought, if there was any maps like zealot,
with space in them how would a crow fly and breathe in space lol

11

hmm. maybe like equipment from halo 3. only its a UAV. Interesting, hope it turns out good :smiley:

12

Thank you epic murph.

Also I think I have solved the crow/space problem. If it is a space map then the crow would either be in some sort of mini space craft OR in armor like spartans are. This way it could breathe in space.

13

This is a terrible idea. This would mess up Halo’s superb balance between grenades, weapons, and melee. H3 had good equipment, if one killed someone in a bubble shield, they could then take control of it. This idea takes that one, and gives it a big middle finger. It would be good in CoD or BF, but certainly not Halo.

14

> Thank you epic murph.
>
> Also I think I have solved the crow/space problem. If it is a space map then the crow would either be in some sort of mini space craft OR in armor like spartans are. This way it could breathe in space.

Lol. Space bird. I really like the idea of a UAV peace of equipment but with a crow in a space ship or suit I would never be able to take it seriously.

15

> This is a terrible idea. This would mess up Halo’s superb balance between grenades, weapons, and melee. H3 had good equipment, if one killed someone in a bubble shield, they could then take control of it. This idea takes that one, and gives it a big middle finger. It would be good in CoD or BF, but certainly not Halo.

Maybe there could be a counter UAV that switches the other UAV’s team? Getting more like COD but I don’t see any other way.

16

> Thank you epic murph.
>
> Also I think I have solved the crow/space problem. If it is a space map then the crow would either be in some sort of mini space craft OR in armor like spartans are. This way it could breathe in space.

I see a master at work. I actually lold, nice one.

17

> Basically your spartan can call in a crow that flies over the map, giving you an birds eye view of the map, so you can see the position of all your enemies and if weapons have spawned.Also the crow could have x-ray vision too, as many maps have buildings where the enemies may be hiding
>
> What do you think?

Rather see a smoke bomb

18

> Thank you epic murph.
>
> Also I think I have solved the crow/space problem. If it is a space map then the crow would either be in some sort of mini space craft OR in armor like spartans are. This way it could breathe in space.

id say instead of using it on maps like, for example zelot and reflection, make it usable on maps like sandtrap and sidewinder. thats my own opinion though

19

Neat idea, but it wouldn’t be a bird or creature of any kind. I know you like crows, but a borderline fantasy genre element like that wouldn’t fit within the established Halo universe. However, that gameplay mechanic has potential to work if properly balanced. I imagine it being some kind of small, UNSC-made “flying-camera reconnaissance device.” It could even be a floating Forerunner A.I. in the vein of Guilty Spark or Penitent Tangent.

Here is a list of things that might make a in-game device like this fun and balanced:

  • The device should be player-controlled, not an automatic bird’s eye view.
  • It would need to be a one-time-use pick-up or a have a really long refresh time if it was akin to an AA. I would make it a pick-up item with a lengthy respawn time or perhaps place some sort of station on the map that the player can control it from.
  • Risk vs. reward. The player would have to leave themselves open to potential attack while using it. If the player is attacked while remotely controlling the device, the game would immediately take you back to your original FP perspective and the device would fall to the ground and break. The obvious strategy there would be to hide yourself in a room to activate it and get a teammate to cover you.
  • Don’t make the thing too easy to control. Skill should play a huge factor in navigating it. It should constantly be moving forward (like a Banshee when it’s thrusters aren’t being used.) If it hits a wall, a rock, a vehicle, another player, or any type of surface it should break and the game should immediately take you back to your original FP perspective.
  • Other players should have the ability to destroy it. For example, you’re flying the device towards the other side of a map in an Assault game to see which path the offensive team is taking the bomb and their sniper is skilled enough to shoot it out of the air before you get a good look. Perhaps power weapons could destroy it quickly, while weapons like the pistol or BR/DMR would take a few shots.
  • It would need to be small enough for the enemy to potentially not see right away. A Guilty Spark-sized object would be ideal.
  • Obviously it shouldn’t be equipped with any sort of weapon and shouldn’t do any impact or splash damage to players, vehicles, and destructible objects upon it’s destruction. It’s sole purpose should be reconnaissance. It could be interesting if it was also able to push buttons and activate switches (think Zanzibar.) However, that would be colossal challenge to balance.
  • It should only be available for use in certain maps and gametypes. Objective games on bigger maps would make the most sense.
  • Finally, you should be able to back out of using it at any point and it would just fall to the ground.

My apologies for the length of this reply (yikes.) I’m not entirely convinced this is a good idea, but it’s an interesting one to think about nonetheless.

20

You know what this may be a good idea but for a game where you want to be silent. Mainly a loss of shields and week shields.

Also there are many other ideas that could be used maybe a weapon drop could be called for every now and again.

Also if its sandbox style what if there is an allowance for you to call backup to control different parts of the huge map. Ex. as missions go on, you could call a group of ODST to drop and watch over an important zone until UNSC forces can land a bigger force to watch over it.

This would allow you to go further ahead and faster so that you can move on. Also allow enemy forces to be able to smartly take back places you have taken. This could force friendly forces to call for help every now and again.

Example. You have captured an important base or factory, and UNSC forces have already droped in millitary groups you have already gone further, the moment you have gone 5 minutes to the east you suddenly get a distress call that the base is being attacked. N

ow you are stuck between going back and saving them, giving you more resources but allowing the enemy to bump up their defences or going forward finish the mission but have your friends die, and you stuck with less resources like you cant activate certain other abilities.

Although i hope this thread could be used to brainstorm ideas for things that 343 could use for future games especially for the new xbox rumoured to be coming out in 2013