Spartan Ops: Unleash Its Potential+Story Idea

Games Other Halo
1

Spartan Ops is a beautiful addition to Halo. In my opinion Spartan Ops lacks very key details. I think it has enormous potential, and I really want to show off that potential. So I have a few simple thoughts to spice things up.

First and foremost, I have no bond with any of the characters. Heck, the only name I can remember is Palmer. The more I get to know them the more I hate them too. Here are the main reasons why this is what it is. The Episodes are sweet and to the point. They are quick and nobody gets to know the characters. Another main reason is Crimson is us. We ARE Crimson, the players. Those are the main reasons, I will explain in greater detail in later paragraphs, right now, it’s these two.

Halo is 50% Action/Epicness, 25% Drama, and a 25% Comedy. You can only show so much in 5 minutes of video. You can’t build a bond between the characters and you when you only have a small amount of time at your disposal. I suggest make each episode about 25-45 minutes long. with a long episode you can build character, share bonds with characters, and tell a story. With this small time it seems like they’re trying to make it dramatic but it just isn’t right. A longer time should fix this.

Another thing that breaks bonds and character development, is the fact that you are Crimson. Why isn’t Crimson in an episode? Well, because it’s you and since the cinematics are not script, (don’t quote me on that) They can’t put your spartan in an episode. There are 2 ways to fix this. Either make a video with each individual armor piece edited to your spartan, or force us to be a specific person.

In this third paragraph I will explain all the small details that could make Spartan Ops a surplus amount of fun, Co-op and solo. Of course this all means nothing unless you’re not lagging. Anyways, here is the list.

Time Vehicle Runs
Boss Battles
Frightening Events
Different enemies (I’m not sure this is possible)
Deaths and/or dramatic scenes in game.
Dramatic Cliff-Hangers/Twists
Inspect then Escape events (Metroid Prime 1st Boss-esque)
Survival Events (FireFight-esque)
Add a huge amount of quick-time events
Do not use Personal Loadouts. Use weapons given to you
Once you die, you must be revived,(Co-op) [Borderlands-esque]
Once you die, re-spawn like normal (Solo)
*Feel free to add to the list!

On a side note, Episodes are watched then you play. I think that disrupts the point to play Spartan Ops. Once you watch the episode, there isn’t really anything left to do. It should be where you play the episode, instead of watch it and then play the chapters. Like you watch the beginning of the episode, then you play, then you watch the ending of the episode.

Addition: Story Idea. For Season 2? 3? Halo 5: Spartan Ops?
This is a little extra story idea I thought of while writing this post.

You are an ONI Agent, a deadly Spartan. Come to think of it, you bear a close resemblance to James Bond! Actually, you pretty much are him!

Background:
Your past is a mystery, You were “killed” in the devastating shockwave caused by the Covenant Ship going into slip space on New Mombasa. (Halo 2) You survived miraculously, only to find out you can’t remember anything. Friends, Family, anybody who knew you thinks you are dead. ONI took you in and trained to be the soldier they needed you to be. You are the best secret agent ONI has to offer. Although you are currently a great agent, you still look up to John, and have many respect for him. Your dream is to meet him one day. Nobody knows you are alive except for ONI.

Personality:
You follow any order ONI tells you to do. You usually think ahead, and do not rely on intel. You are not emotionally attached to any of your teammates, and you always put them first. ONI forces you to put them first, because you are very valuable to them and they do not want you to die.

If you want to capture him perfectly, just think of James Bond. They are pretty similar.

That’s it and I hope 343 can implement something in this post. Good-bye!

2

I enjoy Spartan Ops a lot, however I’ve been watching the trailers of each Episode and observed the Spartan-IVs.

And to be honest I’m beginning to dislike the Spartan-IVs, Palmer in particular.

3

> I enjoy Spartan Ops a lot, however I’ve been watching the trailers of each Episode and observed the Spartan-IVs.
>
> And to be honest I’m beginning to dislike the Spartan-IVs, Palmer in particular.

Yes this is true. Commander Palmer isn’t nice at all

4

The choice of never seeing Crimson EVER anywhere is a horrible one.

Crimson should at least appear in the background walking around or when Majestic is looking at the “Scores” there is a picture of Crimson on the screen showing them on top… SOMETHING!!!

A couple of mentions isnt enough.
I’ve said this a few times and ill continue to say it, a silent protagonist isnt that much fun but a silent protagonist that is NEVER SEEN makes the silent protagonist seem awesome.

5

Couldn’t have said it any better OP. I doubt they’d visualize over 20 minutes for every Episode but I’d definitely start throwing money at the screen if they’re going to do it in the next Season. In fact, I hope they let us pay for it but I want something far bigger than we’ve got right now: New scenery, possibly even new enemies like you already mentioned and more dramatic stuff. SO has so much potential, why not use it? :smiley:

6

> The choice of never seeing Crimson EVER anywhere is a horrible one.
>
> Crimson should at least appear in the background walking around or when Majestic is looking at the “Scores” there is a picture of Crimson on the screen showing them on top… SOMETHING!!!
>
> A couple of mentions isnt enough.
> I’ve said this a few times and ill continue to say it, a silent protagonist isnt that much fun but a silent protagonist that is NEVER SEEN makes the silent protagonist seem awesome.

I don’t completely understand your post. Are you saying Crimson should never be seen? Or are you agreeing with me?

7

If Spartan Ops had missions that actually fit with the cinematics story, I think it would would be so much better.

8

> > <mark>The choice of never seeing Crimson EVER anywhere is a horrible one.</mark>
> >
> > Crimson should at least appear in the background walking around or when Majestic is looking at the “Scores” there is a picture of Crimson on the screen showing them on top… SOMETHING!!!
> >
> > A couple of mentions isnt enough.
> > I’ve said this a few times and ill continue to say it, a silent protagonist isnt that much fun but a silent protagonist that is NEVER SEEN makes the silent protagonist seem awesome.
>
> I don’t completely understand your post. Are you saying Crimson should never be seen? Or are you agreeing with me?

They SHOULD be seen in some way.

9

> > > <mark>The choice of never seeing Crimson EVER anywhere is a horrible one.</mark>
> > >
> > > Crimson should at least appear in the background walking around or when Majestic is looking at the “Scores” there is a picture of Crimson on the screen showing them on top… SOMETHING!!!
> > >
> > > A couple of mentions isnt enough.
> > > I’ve said this a few times and ill continue to say it, a silent protagonist isnt that much fun but a silent protagonist that is NEVER SEEN makes the silent protagonist seem awesome.
> >
> > I don’t completely understand your post. Are you saying Crimson should never be seen? Or are you agreeing with me?
>
> They SHOULD be seen in some way.

Ah, thanks it just at the end you said a silent protagonist who is NEVER SEEN makes the protagonist seem awesome. Kind of lost me there.

10

> The choice of never seeing Crimson EVER anywhere is a horrible one.
>
> Crimson should at least appear in the background walking around or when Majestic is looking at the “Scores” there is a picture of Crimson on the screen showing them on top… SOMETHING!!!
>
> A couple of mentions isnt enough.
> I’ve said this a few times and ill continue to say it, a silent protagonist isnt that much fun but a silent protagonist that is NEVER SEEN makes the silent protagonist seem awesome.

I’m pretty sure 343 wanted us to think of ourselves as Fireteam Crimson as they’re the only group of Spartan IV’s we currently get to play as in Spartan Ops.

11

> > The choice of never seeing Crimson EVER anywhere is a horrible one.
> >
> > Crimson should at least appear in the background walking around or when Majestic is looking at the “Scores” there is a picture of Crimson on the screen showing them on top… SOMETHING!!!
> >
> > A couple of mentions isnt enough.
> > I’ve said this a few times and ill continue to say it, a silent protagonist isnt that much fun but a silent protagonist that is NEVER SEEN makes the silent protagonist seem awesome.
>
> I’m pretty sure 343 wanted us to think of ourselves as Fireteam Crimson as they’re the only group of Spartan IV’s we currently get to play as in Spartan Ops.

Yes, we are Fire-Team Crimson. According to the episodes, we don’t exist.

12

Hey, I remember you from that difficulty topic you made months ago. I’m guessing I’m going to be reading something engaging then eh?

> Halo is 50% Action/Epicness, 25% Drama, and a 25% Comedy.
>
> You can only show so much in 5 minutes of video. You can’t build a bond between the characters and you when you only have a small amount of time at your disposal. I suggest make each episode about 25-45 minutes long. with a long episode you can build character, share bonds with characters, and tell a story. With this small time it seems like they’re trying to make it dramatic but it just isn’t right. A longer time should fix this.

I 100% agree. I felt Halo 4 focused too much on Chief and Cortana than what should have dwarfed them.

I agree. The episodes accompanying the missions should have been longer (at least as long as FuD).

> Vehicle Runs
> Boss Battles
> Frightening Events
> Different enemies (I’m not sure this is possible)
> Deaths and/or dramatic scenes in game.
> Dramatic Cliff-Hangers/Twists
> Inspect then Escape events (Metroid Prime 1st Boss-esque)
> Survival Events (FireFight-esque)
> Add a huge amount of quick-time events
> Do not use Personal Loadouts. Use weapons given to you

*Timed vehicle runs
Agreed
Sure why not? The Covies are suitable for horror.
They could take existing AI and change up the teams.
We have yet to see any major NPC in-game. And I’d rather not die in a first person cutscene.
I’d rather have closure.
I couldn’t be bothered to watch that but it sounds interesting.

I’d love to fight in an ancient derelict city than on rugged terrain or in a lively Forerunner structure. A lot of the Forerunner areas in Halo 4 were active, maintained, etc. I found myself missing the seemingly abandoned structures seen in the trilogy. Especially the ones on AotCR.

Are you insane? QTEs are inferior to even first person cutscenes. I’ll only accept them if they keep all difficulties in mind (on Legendary, they should be completely absent. Do I need to bring up how on Legendary, CE PoA skipped the cryotube cutscene and didn’t redirect you to the room where you have to melee a door?).

Agreed. Loadouts make it really easy to get past some encounters. I couldn’t be bothered using the plasma pistol for much of my SO playthrough but after making 50+ attempts to get in a Wraith’s turret, I gave up and used it. And I hated it because I loved tricking Wraith pilots in the trilogy. Now the only reliable way is to sneak up on it with camo or EMP it.

> On a side note, Episodes are watched then you play. I think that disrupts the point to play Spartan Ops. Once you watch the episode, there isn’t really anything left to do. It should be where you play the episode, instead of watch it and then play the chapters. Like you watch the beginning of the episode, then you play, then you watch the ending of the episode.

Agreed.

> Background:
> Your past is a mystery, You were “killed” in the devastating shockwave caused by the Covenant Ship going into slip space on New Mombasa. (Halo 2) You survived miraculously, only to find out you can’t remember anything. Friends, Family, anybody who knew you thinks you are dead. ONI took you in and trained to be the soldier they needed you to be. You are the best secret agent ONI has to offer. Although you are currently a great agent, you still look up to John, and have many respect for him. Your dream is to meet him one day. Nobody knows you are alive except for ONI.

Sounds more like Jason Bourne.

13

> Hey, I remember you from that difficulty topic you made months ago. I’m guessing I’m going to be reading something engaging then eh?
>
>
>
> > Halo is 50% Action/Epicness, 25% Drama, and a 25% Comedy.
> >
> > You can only show so much in 5 minutes of video. You can’t build a bond between the characters and you when you only have a small amount of time at your disposal. I suggest make each episode about 25-45 minutes long. with a long episode you can build character, share bonds with characters, and tell a story. With this small time it seems like they’re trying to make it dramatic but it just isn’t right. A longer time should fix this.
>
> I 100% agree. I felt Halo 4 focused too much on Chief and Cortana than what should have dwarfed them.
>
> I agree. The episodes accompanying the missions should have been longer (at least as long as FuD).
>
>
>
> > Vehicle Runs
> > Boss Battles
> > Frightening Events
> > Different enemies (I’m not sure this is possible)
> > Deaths and/or dramatic scenes in game.
> > Dramatic Cliff-Hangers/Twists
> > Inspect then Escape events (Metroid Prime 1st Boss-esque)
> > Survival Events (FireFight-esque)
> > Add a huge amount of quick-time events
> > Do not use Personal Loadouts. Use weapons given to you
>
> *Timed vehicle runs
> Agreed
> Sure why not? The Covies are suitable for horror.
> They could take existing AI and change up the teams.
> We have yet to see any major NPC in-game. And I’d rather not die in a first person cutscene.
> I’d rather have closure.
> I couldn’t be bothered to watch that but it sounds interesting.
>
> I’d love to fight in an ancient derelict city than on rugged terrain or in a lively Forerunner structure. A lot of the Forerunner areas in Halo 4 were active, maintained, etc. I found myself missing the seemingly abandoned structures seen in the trilogy. Especially the ones on AotCR.
>
> Are you insane? QTEs are inferior to even first person cutscenes. I’ll only accept them if they keep all difficulties in mind (on Legendary, they should be completely absent. Do I need to bring up how on Legendary, CE PoA skipped the cryotube cutscene and didn’t redirect you to the room where you have to melee a door?).
>
> Agreed. Loadouts make it really easy to get past some encounters. I couldn’t be bothered using the plasma pistol for much of my SO playthrough but after making 50+ attempts to get in a Wraith’s turret, I gave up and used it. And I hated it because I loved tricking Wraith pilots in the trilogy. Now the only reliable way is to sneak up on it with camo or EMP it.
>
>
>
> > On a side note, Episodes are watched then you play. I think that disrupts the point to play Spartan Ops. Once you watch the episode, there isn’t really anything left to do. It should be where you play the episode, instead of watch it and then play the chapters. Like you watch the beginning of the episode, then you play, then you watch the ending of the episode.
>
> Agreed.
>
>
>
> > Background:
> > Your past is a mystery, You were “killed” in the devastating shockwave caused by the Covenant Ship going into slip space on New Mombasa. (Halo 2) You survived miraculously, only to find out you can’t remember anything. Friends, Family, anybody who knew you thinks you are dead. ONI took you in and trained to be the soldier they needed you to be. You are the best secret agent ONI has to offer. Although you are currently a great agent, you still look up to John, and have many respect for him. Your dream is to meet him one day. Nobody knows you are alive except for ONI.
>
> Sounds more like Jason Bourne.

Thanks for the feedback! Somethings I don’t think i explained it correctly so let me explain a bit. When I said Deaths, I meant dramatic deaths of close characters. Also QTE’s are quite annoying when you are trying to complete it quick. Your idea actually sounds quite good. Or maybe a menu option to disable QTE’s? Also it does sound like Jason Bourne, but James Bond’s personality is perfectly suited for this character. Y’know like playing an Ultimate FPS version of Clank: Secret Agent.

14

> >
>
> Thanks for the feedback! Somethings I don’t think i explained it correctly so let me explain a bit. When I said Deaths, I meant dramatic deaths of close characters. Also QTE’s are quite annoying when you are trying to complete it quick. Your idea actually sounds quite good. Or maybe a menu option to disable QTE’s? Also it does sound like Jason Bourne, but James Bond’s personality is perfectly suited for this character. Y’know like playing an Ultimate FPS version of Clank: Secret Agent.

Well then, we have to wait for the other Crimson members, if any, to show up.

QTEs should only be used for introductions, never in the middle or end. Thanks!

Suave and mysterious sounds quite badass.

15

> > >
> >
> > Thanks for the feedback! Somethings I don’t think i explained it correctly so let me explain a bit. When I said Deaths, I meant dramatic deaths of close characters. Also QTE’s are quite annoying when you are trying to complete it quick. Your idea actually sounds quite good. Or maybe a menu option to disable QTE’s? Also it does sound like Jason Bourne, but James Bond’s personality is perfectly suited for this character. Y’know like playing an Ultimate FPS version of Clank: Secret Agent.
>
> Well then, we have to wait for the other Crimson members, if any, to show up.
>
> QTEs should only be used for introductions, never in the middle or end. Thanks!
>
> Suave and mysterious sounds quite badass.

Thanks, and you’re welcome. Also The Inspect and Escape Events are where you are sent to a location, and you inspect/destroy/set off something/etc. If you don’t run or drive out in time you’ll die. There is epic music running in the background and explosions/etc, also.

16

I was thinking a assassination kind of deal if you get hit with a killing melee attack.

Also, make it so each player gets three lives at most. They will have to fight to stay alive and to keep their allies alive.

You should start each level in a pelican (unless story dictates otherwise), where in which case you get your orders survey the area and can move in as you like from the pelican.

17

> I was thinking a assassination kind of deal if you get hit with a killing melee attack.

?

> Also, make it so each player gets three lives at most. They will have to fight to stay alive and to keep their allies alive.

There could be options to change it. In FireFight you could add custom skulls, and other stuff. I think there could be an option to choose your amount of lives or if the game should be based on revives. Although the only problem with that is the ODST Effect. When ODST Firefight was fun because you couldn’t change the options. Everybody hated Reach’s Firefight because of that, lag, etc… I think Revival seems most team oriented.

> You should start each level in a pelican (unless story dictates otherwise), where in which case you get your orders survey the area and can move in as you like from the pelican.

It might get a bit repetitive.

18

I thinks it’s gonna be about M`dama and his vengence on the arbiter. He’s gonna use get the Promethean’s to attack sanghililos

19

Here’s a cheap (ie. reasonable) way of incorporating player characters into the SOps story line, don’t use their armor. Have our Spartans interacting (one male, one female to cover the primary bases plus miscellaneous team members to fill out the ranks) with the ship’s company and crew in the “off duty” suits majestic was introduced in. Off-ship assignments (ie. cut scene action requiring suited Spartans) can be handled by Majestic. In game you can have a similar situation as you do with 4 chief’s in the campaign, everyone hears first person dialog as if it was theirs. Or you could just tie that all in to a randomly designated “player one” with the rest hearing it as com traffic.

The danger is character overflow. You already have to keep track of all those -Yoinks!- on blue team plus the main crew of the infinity (it took me a couple of missions this episode to remember that Roland was our ship AI.) Filling out crimson could be too much for most people to handle. So you play it conservatively. You stick to two new Spartans, one male and one female to go along with whatever your Spartan’s gender is set at. And you pick from a list of past characters that most people are already familiar with so they don’t effectively add to Halo’s fast-growing character list. Hmmm…two members of the UNSC, preferably battle hardened veterans that haven’t been killed off yet, that we’ve already spent a game with.

Sounds like a job for Nathan Fillion and the lady chin (Ie. Buck and Dare. Who better to feed into the SIV program than an oni-operative and one of the ODST’s who actually made it?) Make it happen 343!

20

> > > > <mark>The choice of never seeing Crimson EVER anywhere is a horrible one.</mark>
> > > >
> > > > Crimson should at least appear in the background walking around or when Majestic is looking at the “Scores” there is a picture of Crimson on the screen showing them on top… SOMETHING!!!
> > > >
> > > > A couple of mentions isnt enough.
> > > > I’ve said this a few times and ill continue to say it, a silent protagonist isnt that much fun but a silent protagonist that is NEVER SEEN makes the silent protagonist seem awesome.
> > >
> > > I don’t completely understand your post. Are you saying Crimson should never be seen? Or are you agreeing with me?
> >
> > They SHOULD be seen in some way.
>
> Ah, thanks it just at the end you said a silent protagonist who is NEVER SEEN makes the protagonist seem awesome. Kind of lost me there.

I guess i wrote is in a funny way.
What im saying is that a silent protagonist is bad but Crimson Team are silent protagonists plus they are never seen which is two times as bad. And that makes the concept of a silent protagonist not as bad because at least they are shown.