The anti-sprint stand from an outsider's view

I don’t like making threads to paste my opinion most of the time, but I feel that I should put my comprehension skills to the test and go in the the minds of some people.

Sprint lowers your gun and renders it unusable for the time you are engaged in it. This contrasts with previous Halos where your weapon was always at the ready, so the frequency where someone could be jumped is increased and as such the winning factor in battle has been increasingly who cleared the chamber first.

The concept of adding a speed boost to Halo’s already above average walking speed has also said to impede map design and balance, since maps have to be scaled to accommodate the new traversal speed. While such a measure has been accused of harming maps, it is considered a damage control measure since experiments conducted have concluded that older, smaller maps have been rendered unplayable by the speed introduced by sprint.

Sprint also presents an opportunity for players to retreat from an unfavourable encounter and live to fight another day. While some assert that the knowledge of knowing when you have been outmatched is a factor of a smart player, others have argued that such a mistake should be punished severely and that the unforgiving nature is key in pushing the skill gap, as the opportunity to immediately fix your error in judgment will only encourage such errors and sloppy play.

Have I synchronised with this line of thinking?

More or less.

It’s a good starting point.

I’ve heard people in favor of sprint say things like “it’s good for flanking”, while never really elaborating on what they actually mean.

Then there’s non-gameplay arguments like “A spartan should be able to do this” or “it feels faster”.

I have been recently been toying with a new angle that sprint should feel like a racing nitrous mechanic rather than a standard sprint mechanic in FPSes.

If anyone is interested, I can elaborate.

Elaborate.

When will these Sprint threads end…

A nitrous in a racing game is a simple boost in speed that does not impede functionality of the car, sans a bit of turning radius, but the car’s other functions are not impeded.

Now let’s say sprint is a meter based mechanic where the Spartan’s speed is increased. He does not lower his weapon but at the cost of accuracy at range and limited turning radius, just like a car.

Just an idea to bring to the board, I’m not a professional.

> 2533274806427910;6:
> When will these Sprint threads end…

You did say yourself it probably wouldn’t, given that the prospect of peace is still far away.

Anyway, this is not a usual sprint thread; more like a thread to understand the mindset of a certain party.

Someone activates Nitro to escape.
Someone else activates Nitro to give chase.
Unless they are close to the person they are chasing, they’re going to miss a ton of shots.
Thus, kind of the same problem remains.

Though at least unlike sprint, it has some offensive capability.
It can be used in close quarters to out-strafe opponents, where the reduction in accuracy would be irrelevant.

Not a huge fan.

> 2533274819302824;9:
> Someone activates Nitro to escape.
> Someone else activates Nitro to give chase.
> Unless they are close to the person they are chasing, they’re going to miss a ton of shots.
> Thus, kind of the same problem remains.
>
> Though at least unlike sprint, it has some offensive capability.
> It can be used in close quarters to out-strafe opponents, where the reduction in accuracy would be irrelevant.
>
> Still, not a fan.

Glad to see I got somewhere for someone more invested in the lore and having too many commitments to play competitively.

EDIT : Forgot to ask about the feasibility of a pursuit in a map with tight corners given that I suggested a limited turning radius.

I suppose it would be more difficult to run away, but if the turning is that sluggish then it probably won’t be useful for combat either.

I’ve never played much Call of Duty multiplayer, so sprinting just makes the game look extremely fast as it takes less than a second to kill someone. Counter Strike and Halo have done just fine without sprint in the past.

In Battlefield, sprinting is only used for traveling across the map, because it also makes you extremely vulnerable to any enemies you come across.

If Halo doesn’t have large maps most of the time, then what’s the point? Perhaps it should be a loadout/pickup like in Reach for BTB maps?

I’ll go on a quote-by-quote case for this one.

> 2533274873310828;1:
> Sprint lowers your gun and renders it unusable for the time you are engaged in it. This contrasts with previous Halos where your weapon was always at the ready, so the frequency where someone could be jumped is increased and as such the winning factor in battle has been increasingly who cleared the chamber first.

Which goes against the fundamental design of Halo’s gameplay. It’s not about who shot first, but who has better positioning, aiming, strafing skills, etc.

> 2533274873310828;1:
> The concept of adding a speed boost to Halo’s already above average walking speed has also said to impede map design and balance, since maps have to be scaled to accommodate the new traversal speed. While such a measure has been accused of harming maps, it is considered a damage control measure since experiments conducted have concluded that older, smaller maps have been rendered unplayable by the speed introduced by sprint.

Conversely maps made to accommodate for sprint are irreparably changed to be dependant on sprint due to how its sightlines and proportions change. Simply removing sprint for a “classic” playlist or gametype won’t work because the design of a map will be vastly different.

> 2533274873310828;1:
> Sprint also presents an opportunity for players to retreat from an unfavourable encounter and live to fight another day. While some assert that the knowledge of knowing when you have been outmatched is a factor of a smart player, others have argued that such a mistake should be punished severely and that the unforgiving nature is key in pushing the skill gap, as the opportunity to immediately fix your error in judgment will only encourage such errors and sloppy play.

It not only does this, but also extends the time of encounters - especially if an opponent decides to run away, forcing the attacker to go into a wild goose chase that is longer than necessary. Players escaping from bad decisions was always in Halo, but sprint exponentially increases that in a negative manner. Sprint is nothing more than a placebo to make Halo’s gameplay feel faster when in truth it slows it down and utterly ruins its prior pacing that was so carefully set up with the weapon’s killtimes, shields, grenade throw distances, splash damage radius of explosives, etc.

> 2533274873310828;1:
> Have I synchronised with this line of thinking?

No, you’ve been dodging the points that have been made time and time again without addressing the issues at hand.

Now, onto your comment about nitro in racing games.

> 2533274873310828;7:
> A nitrous in a racing game is a simple boost in speed that does not impede functionality of the car, sans a bit of turning radius, but the car’s other functions are not impeded.

Incorrect. A cars’ manoeuvrability is greatly impeded when using nitro to gain extra speed. A vehicle trades off its stability, grip and a whole slew of other important aspects in order to be faster. This all being said, going into nitro does not critically disable one of its base mechanics like sprint does with a Spartan that is forced to lower a weapon.

> 2533274873310828;7:
> Now let’s say sprint is a meter based mechanic where the Spartan’s speed is increased. He does not lower his weapon but at the cost of accuracy at range and limited turning radius, just like a car.

That’s a fallacious comparison because the car doesn’t have a weapon. The car (or a player driving the car) doesn’t have to worry about going out of nitro to “attack”. It can, however, continue to go forward, faster. The only trade-off with nitro is that it gets harder to control. Sprint’s trade-off is the inability to attack whatsoever. It would be more accurate to compare sprint to nitro in a car game that features vehicular combat that temporarily disables your weapons (miniguns, rockets and any countermeasure abilities like oil slicks) whenever you use nitro.

> 2533274881015020;13:
> > 2533274873310828;1:
> > Have I synchronised with this line of thinking?
>
>
>
>
> No, you’ve been dodging the points that have been made time and time again without addressing the issues at hand.

If I have been way cold this entire time, please enlighten me. Like I said, I am just someone more invested in the lore and only play multiplayer casually.

As for addressing issues, my priority now is to attempt to understand the mindset of one party of this argument. I think more qualified people on this forum, though more opiniated, can duke it out better than I can. After all, I am no guru.

So if you play casually, then what and why are you trying to argue for sprint? Casuals can play a competitive game just fine, but a game made for casual play cannot play competitively. I just want to know just as much as you want to know, that’s all.

Please note that I have no disrespect for players that are casual players. “Casual” in itself is just another way of playing the game to me (and hell without the casual community we wouldn’t have anywhere near the amount of fantastic gametypes and maps made for creative customs as we do now).

> 2533274881015020;15:
> So if you play casually and you don’t care much for its competitiveness, then what and why are you trying to argue for sprint? Casuals can play a competitive game just fine, but a game made for casual play cannot play competitively. I just want to know just as much as you want to know, that’s all.
>
> Please note that I have no disrespect for players that are casual players. “Casual” in itself is just another way of playing the game to me (and hell without the casual community we wouldn’t have anywhere near the amount of fantastic gametypes and maps made for creative customs as we do now).

I do not see myself arguing for sprint more like I am trying to find out why things work a certain way. 343 intentionally added sprint after all and studios like Ninja Theory are one of a kind. Far as I see it, 343 has not stooped down to their level and I am pretty confident the rationale for sprint lies beyond catering to the younger generation.

I just like to have the knowledge why they did it this way. The decision may feel it has been fueled by profit-driven insanity, but I doubt that is the case.

Everything about modern FPS design was done in order to cater (pander) to a wider audience, so no, I do think sprint was included for that reason. Objectively it doesn’t better the Halo formula and does everything to negatively impact on several of its fundamental mechanics.

> 2533274881015020;17:
> Everything about modern FPS design was done in order to cater (pander) to a wider audience, so no, I do think sprint was included for that reason. Objectively it doesn’t better the Halo formula and does everything to negatively impact on several of its fundamental mechanics.

If you said it so easily, then 343 must have really gone crazy to grow balls big enough to let them stick by their decision so readily.

Ultimately the decision lies with the publisher, and the publisher cares about sales.

> 2533274881015020;19:
> Ultimately the decision lies with the publisher, and the publisher cares about sales.

Will that be the final answer you will give for my quest?