The following is my opinion but I’m open to discussion and would like to hear your opinions
When I heard the news that 343 is switching to UE5 for future Halo games it really was the death of Halo for me. Not because I think switching engines is the problem but specifically that 343/Microsoft are picking UE5
The problem with UE5 is that it will not feel like Halo period, no matter what they do. On top of that it is one of the worst and most uninspired engines available for them to switch to, and to prove it the top 100 games of all time have utterly unique engines and the games that have the most replayability/last the longest for the players are games with esoteric engines (doom, titanfall, CD project red, crytec, call of duty, Far Cry, Destiny, battlefield, quake, and many other examples) a lot of these older games are popular to this day the reason not because they add content but because their engines and gameplay make them fun to play.
I seriously can’t think of a single UE5 game that will stand the test of time in terms of people playing them for years to come. The only thing that UE5 has going for it is graphics which will always get better regardless of the engine you use. A perfect example is Halo 4 to Halo 5 improvements using the same engine.
I don’t believe that slipspace is a problem for Halo Infinite and switching engines won’t fix the problems it has. The problems halo infinite have don’t come from the engine but from its live service model. Eg not being able to quickly update the UI due to the engine is not a problem for Halo 1-5 but now it is, because of the live service model. And the same issues with the desync/netcode are only a problem for competitive players not for the casual players which the majority of us are, so their really wouldnt be any problems if they stayed with slipspace and just made normal Halo games like ODST, or Halo Reach.
I understand though Microsoft won’t want to switch from the live service model in that case they have options other than UE5 to fix there future games
The first 2 options that come to mind are:
Run the campaign in slipspace to maintain the Halo DNA and won’t need updates like the live service multiplayer, then run multiplayer in any other engine or even UE5. (343 already has experience running multiple engines in one game with MCC)
Use any FPS based engine or a RTS engine! other than a jack of all trades engine like UE5. The problem with UE5 is that it has no DNA like many other engines do. It’s too generalized compared to other engines.
So that’s my rant of UE5, what is everyone else opinion on UE5? I just feel like it’s a stupid choice to “fix” the “technical debt” Microsoft created by forcing it to be live service and not permanently hiring subject matter experts on the Blam/slipspace engine. Which is the true cause for the slipspace engine problem and not the fault of the engine itselfs. All UE5 is going to do is allow Microsoft continue with its bad practices of live service and temp workers
I totally agree with you. Every UE5 game. has that same feel no matter how different the mechanics are. That is why having a unique engine is so important.
Have you ever modded a blam based game or used unreal?
No?
I suggest you do so.
Educated yourself.
Because what you have stated is factually erroneous.
I never once stated that blam is an easy engine to work with and I do agree that it’s probably for the best to switch to a more modern engine that isn’t so difficult to work with.
My main issue is that this switch shouldn’t be seen as good news, Microsoft is only doing it so they can continue with there bad policy of live service and temporary workers.
My recommendation was simply to pick a more unique engine to develop in or to not use UE5 in the campaign, so we can at least keep the Halo feel in single player, but they would get all the benefits of UE5 in multiplayer (easier to develop in/quick to update with the live service model)
*also I never once stated a “fact” in my original post. I only stated my opinion on the feel of Blam vs UE5 and what I believe Microsofts intentions are for switching to UE5, which I believe are disingenuous
No but you did present your uniformed sweeping assertions as fact. Pwrhaps not intentionally but you did so none the less.
You made multiple points withiut any real basis outside of gut feeling that can be proven false or reductive.
Hence my response.
Blam isnt a prerequisite for feel, in the same way its usages has not replicated feel in over a decade.
Yeah doing it mid game would hurt 343 because you essentially need to make the game from the ground up. So unless they just end infinite and make another halo game with a new engine they should not quit on slipspace.
I have Hogwarts Legacy installed. Don’t play it but too late to refund. The opening has you chasing a dragon I ain’t really seen again. Keep going back to Infinite campaign actually and am slowly 100% it
Little bit. It’s feels like I’m playing a watered down version of the red engine with the style they went for. Like a Witcher 3 clone. They’d have to do a lot of tweaking to get everything right for halo
I give you that, I definitely could have worded it better!
I understand that blam has issues, but I keep seeing people say they think the switch to UE5 for future halo games is a “good thing” I fail to see that. One of the things Halo infinite got right was the feel of the game! I see all the time despite all of Infinites short comings, feel and gameplay is not one of them. I think the switch to UE5 will remove the one good thing 343 has done for Halo (give us back that classic feel)
Also I’m a sucker for old school games and older game engines. Honestly I should just go back to playing doom mods lol
I truly didn’t mean for my original post to come off as fact. I was intending to share my viewpoint on how I felt about the change is all
All g amigo, I didnt intend to sound confrontational either so apologies if I did.
I u derstand you reasoning and appreciate your opinion. Personally I dont see a switch to ue or a commitment to blam as being an issue in themselves ultimately it come down to the team, their goals, budget and time.
Slipspace is probably a bad time sink unless 343i are restructuring in a big way, although the same argument applies to ue.
Ultimately the loss in game feel is predicsted on the team and applies to either eng8je. H5G and infinite for example lack much of what i consider hallmark features of halos feel.
My only real worry with ue is how havok plays with it but again budget and time can solve that.
The point that all unreal engine games feel homogeneous though I do emphatically reject that notion. And ill die on that hill.
You are entitled to believe that though 100%.
I’ll believe the engine switch when the engine switch actually happens.
Until a 343 employee comes out saying that they are 100% switching engines, please stop floating this propaganda for now. The same Bloomberg type of rumors were happening when 343 was supposedly being “switched” from developing Halo. So please, calm down and wait for proof before you start lighting your torches and forming a mob.
I’ve searched on Google and several other websites but there is no tweet or official statement about the engine switch. It is all speculation by Jason S. over at Bloomberg for the moment.
Could the switch happen? Sure but please take this with a grain of salt until it becomes solid, official information.
