Surprised at negative feedback

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

I know it is normal for people to resist change, it occurs all the time. I am just so surprised that people want halo to be stagnant in its progression. I’m under the impression that this is why we have MCC, to relive the past. I’ve played every halo since CE so I understand when people talk about its signature multiplayer experience and gameplay. Having said that, what I experienced in the halo 5 beta were mechanics that I’ve wanted to see since Reach dropped. In the beta, a Spartan soldier finally maneuvers like a true super-soldier. I finally got a real sense of agility and raw power out of controlling my spartan. One major concern I seem to see out of this progress is that Halo is losing its identity by becoming a melting pot of gameplay mechanics of other games. This use of similar abilities and ideas should not be so closely scrutinized and it surely shouldn’t make anyone think that 343i is incompetent or lazy when developing this evolving new title. 343i has taken ideas that have worked extremely well in other titles and appended them into the game, not in some unholy and careless Frankenstein way, but crafted them in the image of the Halo franchise. There’s no need to recreate the wheel and I think that these abilities have been adjusted perfectly to fit an evolving gamplay experience unlike any other. Sure, we may find similarity with other titles but halo is still its own animal and I truly felt that in the beta.

This post is not all about praise however, I did find a few things I didn’t quite like in the implementation of some abilities. To start: I don’t like that the thrust ability does not have a cooldown timer or bar indicating how long until another thrust can be initiated. I did not like that the slide ability can only be initiated when sprint thrusters kick in. I feel like it should be available immediately after sprint. Spartan bash should knock back and disorient the recipient for a short time (just like when master chief got bashed by a Promethean Knight in H4). I don’t see the point of bashing someone only to have them melee you twice before you even finish the animation. I did feel like the AR was slightly OP, especially with ADS, but not by much. Those are my only complaints thus far.

I truly feel like we are finally getting the ultimate super soldier and am excited to see the rest of this game as it continues to evolve into the next great Halo experience (or not).

2

> 2533274804165609;1:
> I know it is normal for people to resist change, it occurs all the time. I am just so surprised that people want halo to be stagnant in its progression. I’m under the impression that this is why we have MCC, to relive the past. I’ve played every halo since CE so I understand when people talk about its signature multiplayer experience and gameplay. Having said that, what I experienced in the halo 5 beta were mechanics that I’ve wanted to see since Reach dropped. In the beta, a Spartan soldier finally maneuvers like a true super-soldier. I finally got a real sense of agility and raw power out of controlling my spartan. One major concern I seem to see out of this progress is that Halo is losing its identity by becoming a melting pot of gameplay mechanics of other games. This use of similar abilities and ideas should not be so closely scrutinized and it surely shouldn’t make anyone think that 343i is incompetent or lazy when developing this evolving new title. 343i has taken ideas that have worked extremely well in other titles and appended them into the game, not in some unholy and careless Frankenstein way, but crafted them in the image of the Halo franchise. There’s no need to recreate the wheel and I think that these abilities have been adjusted perfectly to fit an evolving gamplay experience unlike any other. Sure, we may find similarity with other titles but halo is still its own animal and I truly felt that in the beta.
>
> I truly feel like we are finally getting the ultimate super soldier and am excited to see the rest of this game as it continues to evolve into the next great Halo experience (or not).

You and be both lol. I also agree the are issues but all the issues i have can and will likely be addressed by full release

3

There is a timer for when thrust can be used again. It was to the right of the shield bar. Also it’s funny, because I’m 99% sure 343 didn’t look at AW and say “wow that’s cool, let’s copy it!” AW has been in development since 2011, and H5 has presumably been in development since H4 launched. There is no possible way 343 looked at the trailers for AW that were released in the fall and built an entire beta in a short amount of time thy plays like AW. It just happens to be a coincidence. If anything, CoD stole the thruster from H4.

4

> 2533274804165609;1:
> I know it is normal for people to resist change, it occurs all the time. I am just so surprised that people want halo to be stagnant in its progression. I’m under the impression that this is why we have MCC, to relive the past.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But your statement here kind of makes me wonder if you are missing the point about some of the criticisms.

The specific mechanisms being used in Halo are changing core elements of what Halo is. They are incompatible on a fundamental level. Halo has always been a arena/tactical hybrid. The specific mechanisms being used come from non-arena shooters that are designed around twitch-aim and spray. The mechanisms being used naturally flow much better and create a lot less complication in underlying gameplay in those style of shooters. 343 has been forced to try and go out of their way to tweak/balance things, but the issues go so deep into gameplay that there is no way to address them all without overhauling the combat system in Halo and making it into the same kind of FPS that those mechanisms come from. Example: Reduced effectiveness of strafe due to bullet magnetism and slower base movement speed.

343 has looked for inspiration in other games to help leave their stamp on Halo. You can’t blame them for doing that as they have pride as a studio. But you know where they looked? They looked towards the trendiest FPS games on consoles that are a completely different kind of shooter. This is a fundamental problem now in Halo 5. Its not a personal preference unless you are just willing to ignore it. Why not look towards games like Counter-Strike and other traditional arena PC shooters if 343 was trying to gain inspiration? Halo’s foundational principles are similar to those games than the trendy military shooters on consoles.

As WerepyreND stated in another thread, “Instead of trying to pander to a completely different audience with loadouts and killstreaks, they are pandering to a different audience with the recent ‘mobility’ craze.” Is what he is saying just a coincidence or does there seem to be some consistency in 343’s general direction? The evidence is in front of us.

Halo always provided a unique experience and filled a specific void on consoles. There were no successful games that did what Halo did. There was no real arena experience due to those kinds of FPS games mostly thriving on PC with keyboard/mouse. But Halo found a way to provide an “arena”-like experience by changing gunplay from twitch to revolving around steady aim and shot-making consistency. On a casual level, this increased the potential for tactical play as well. 1v1, 2v2, 4v4, Big Team Battle all thrived because of the variety of gameplay.

Some may like Halo 5. Some may not. Its only an opinion. But non-Halo gamers in FPS circles will now start looking at Halo as just another shooter. 343 is homogenizing Halo to the point where its identity can no longer be actually identified. 343 could have tried to take a different route. But they decided to compete in the same over-saturated marked with other similar playing FPS games. When I say similar I mean the totality of the experience.

Throughout Halo’s history, its had the potential to reach an endless amount of the gaming population. That is why it has been Microsoft’s #1 exclusive franchise up to right now. It could get PC gamers, Playstation gamers, non-XBox gamers and non-FPS gamers to take notice. And as long as someone wasn’t being a troll, if you sat them down and explained Halo’s principles and gameplay foundation…they would have a certain level of respect for Halo. I can’t tell you how many non-FPS gamers I came across in Big Team Battle that just gravitated towards Halo simply because there was something unique about the experience. The totality of the experience was not like other shooters. But now Halo’s potential reach has been reduced. It will be competing in the same over-satured FPS segment as the other trendy console shooters. And many non-Halo gamers will simply categorize it as just another shooter now.

Halo was once something more than just a shooter that conformed to the trends of the time of release date. It was a game built on principle. There are other ways to innovate than taking specific mechanisms from a different style of shooter. 343 could have found inspiration elsewhere and truly grabbed the attention of gamers all around the world. Instead they have chosen to target an over-saturated market as is. Their goal of “increased accessibility” so gamers don’t get “turned off” will actually end up backfiring and reducing Halo’s reach into the gaming population.

I hope I am wrong.

5

It’s not about halting progression. A lot of people simply don’t like the specific progression choices 343 has made.

6

> 2535416100417097;5:
> It’s not about halting progression. A lot of people simply don’t like the specific progression choices 343 has made.

That’s it. I still think AAs could have worked as map pick ups. I still think H5 sprint could work. But then 343i takes it too far. Before you add a ton of new features make the old attempts actually work. I can’t even judge how sprint tied to shields works because of how intrusive thrusters are. I like progress. I would have just liked a more natural progression. Make the core and then add and keep only what doesn’t break that core.