Interesting to see if this will affect assassinations and such… From the community update:
RADAR LOVE
Thanks, Tashi! So now I’m sure the question on everyone’s mind is “WHAT MOTION SENSOR CHANGES!?” No worries friends, we are talking about some cool changes that are being rolled out strictly on a test-case basis to gather data and feedback. To get a better sense of what’s being tested and why, here are some additional details from the 343 multiplayer team.
WHAT’S GOING ON?
Nearly 16 months of player feedback and game data has driven some interesting internal explorations to alter the way the Motion Sensor functions in Halo 5. On Thursday, March 9, we will kick off a public test of this new Motion Sensor to gather player feedback and metrics to help determine if this has a potential place in Halo 5 going forward as well as potential learnings and implications for future Halo FPS titles.
WHY IS THE MOTION SENSOR BEING CHANGED?
First it’s important to note that this is a test – nothing is changing except for what’s being rolled out specifically in the “Proving Grounds” playlist (more on that in a bit!).
The Motion Sensor is a staple of Halo gameplay but has also been a source of some controversy, particularly amongst the more competitive multiplayer crowds. While some players argue that the Motion Sensor should be completely removed, others argue that due to the speed of the game, gameplay would become too chaotic and it’d be too difficult to track players and Spartan abilities. Instead of an either/or approach, the team has been doing some work to change the Motion Sensor’s functionality and now we’d love for players to help test it out and give us feedback!
WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS MOTION SENSOR BEING TESTED?
In a nutshell, this new Motion Sensor that’s being tested is actually a lot simpler than the default system that shipped in Halo 5. Only two types of player activities will appear on the sensor:
A (non-silenced) weapon being fired - A Spartan ability being used (Sprint, Spartan Charge, Ground Pound, Stabilize and Clamber)Additionally, the functional range has been increased from 18m to 25m.
During internal play tests, we’ve already seen some interesting player behavior changes as a result of this new Motion Sensor:
Players now have more control over when/where they choose to show up on an opponent’s Motion Sensor, providing for some more interesting tactical decisions - The slightly increased range somewhat reduces the effectiveness of Spartan Abilities like Spartan Charge as it now acts as a bit of an ‘early warning system’ - Stealth tactics are much more viable in the game than they are with the default Motion Sensor - Suppressed weapons have greater effectiveness and relevance - they don’t show up on the sensor - Players are visually scanning the 3D space more to find and identify targets and relying less on the Motion SensorHOW IS THIS MOTION SENSOR BEING TESTED?
When the season rolls over next Thursday players will notice a brand new playlist added to Halo 5. “Proving Grounds” is being deployed as a public test playlist to provide an outlet for the team to experiment in the wild, gather real-world data and feedback, and do so in a manner that doesn’t directly affect the core matchmaking offerings. Initially the Proving Grounds playlist is launching with one very specific goal: introduce and test changes to the Halo 5 Motion Sensor.
HOW LONG WILL THIS TEST LAST?
At least a month! We want players to have a chance to really put it through the paces and play a lot of games to inform well-rounded feedback. We’ll run the test as long as it takes to ensure that the team has adequate data and player feedback to make decisions.
a test, that could become reality if we support it on the forums!. sounds good to me. 25m, AND sprinting and shooting (among other ablities showing up) is all we ever wanted
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> I like the expansion of the range, but have mixed feelings about it not being able to pick up a spartan walking at standard speed.
Wait, please tell you’re not being serious and I did misread that.
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> > 2533274880633045;5:
> > I like the expansion of the range, but have mixed feelings about it not being able to pick up a spartan walking at standard speed.
>
> Wait, please tell you’re not being serious and I did misread that.
I’m not sure what you mean? The new radar will only pick up a non-silenced weapon firing or someone sprinting, clambering, etc. Standard walking speed won’t be picked up by my understanding of what was written int he update. That kind of makes crouching pointless.
> 2533274880633045;7:
> > 2535409489305717;6:
> > > 2533274880633045;5:
> > > I like the expansion of the range, but have mixed feelings about it not being able to pick up a spartan walking at standard speed.
> >
> > Wait, please tell you’re not being serious and I did misread that.
>
> I’m not sure what you mean? The new radar will only pick up a non-silenced weapon firing or someone sprinting, clambering, etc. Standard walking speed won’t be picked up by my understanding of what was written int he update. That kind of makes crouching pointless.
Crap, so basically crouching is only gonna be good for trying sneak way better or be a harder target to hit.
> 2533274880633045;7:
> > 2535409489305717;6:
> > > 2533274880633045;5:
> > > I like the expansion of the range, but have mixed feelings about it not being able to pick up a spartan walking at standard speed.
> >
> > Wait, please tell you’re not being serious and I did misread that.
>
> I’m not sure what you mean? The new radar will only pick up a non-silenced weapon firing or someone sprinting, clambering, etc. Standard walking speed won’t be picked up by my understanding of what was written int he update. That kind of makes crouching pointless.
eh, if you are looking around, a walking spartan isn’t a threat. that’s fine to not show up, crouching has always been silly when that is the only way to stay off the radar. . now you don’t have to sacrifice speed for the sake of stealth so it keeps the game fast
> 2533274880633045;7:
> > 2535409489305717;6:
> > > 2533274880633045;5:
> > > I like the expansion of the range, but have mixed feelings about it not being able to pick up a spartan walking at standard speed.
> >
> > Wait, please tell you’re not being serious and I did misread that.
>
> I’m not sure what you mean? The new radar will only pick up a non-silenced weapon firing or someone sprinting, clambering, etc. Standard walking speed won’t be picked up by my understanding of what was written int he update. That kind of makes crouching pointless.
Not totally pointless, it’s still useful for avoiding headshots in a 1v1 fight.
This is fantastic news! I am glad 343 is still willing to put the effort into testing game mechanics one year after launch. While it might be a bit late for H5, we can now make sure it will be done right from the start in H6.
What I don’t get about this test is that it completely removes the relevance of crouching. If you only show up on radar when using an ability or shooting a non-silenced weapon, then standard walk speed becomes the new crouching, and crouching becomes just slower crouching. I don’t like this idea. Before, you had to sacrifice speed for stealth in order to not appear on radar/motion tracker, and I liked that.
Ok, maybe crouching won’t be completely irrelevant, but it’s primary purpose will be gone, leaving only 2 secondary reasons to do it: quiet footsteps and bobbing while under fire (and teabagging, I guess).
Not showing a Spartan walking at base speed is bound to destroy the essential elements of Halo combat flow that’s been around since the start. This would cause far more irritation, overpowered Arena matches in games of Slayer, and a pointlessness in ever even crouching. Halo has had the same Radar since CE because it’s essential in CQC and it’s a part of the gaming experience. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
So a person walking won’t show up? I guess assassinations will be easier. Spartan charging will be impossible. Sprinting will be a death sentence. Avoid routes that require clambering. So basically just walk around and shoot stuff. How exciting lol. Can we put in spotting like battlefield lol
Man, they finally increased the motion tracker range to 25 meters, but now people who walk instead of sprinting won’t show up? That kind of defeats the purpose of increasing the range of the motion tracker.
In Social Playlists and Free-For-All, players should always appear on radar unless they’re crouched. That’s how it was for every single Halo game before Halo 5: Guardians. That’s how it should stay.
Hopefully this will be fixed by the time the test is concluded.
Interesting that tends to feel like how I play warzone with advanced sensors the Spartan movement I’m most akin to is being able to walk at full speed with still having stealth in mind.
I do worry though that people are just going to walk up behind me though cause I have never heard any one come up behind me and I rely on the radar for that. Not sure if it could have any thing to do with me having partial hearing in one ear.
This would work in playlists that shouldn’t have motion tracker like Team Arena. I don’t know if I’d like it in other playlists though like FFA for example.
This change sound great and it shows that 343 is actually listening. I think there should be a small area of your radar that will show any target moving. for example, if 25m can pick up sprinting, 10m it can pick up walking. It would make people less likely to camp.