The game feels inconsistent

Games Halo Infinite
1

I’ll first start by saying I love Halo - all things Halo. And I’ve put hours into every game. I don’t like pointless hate but I equally don’t like constant praise without a clear open dialog for constructive criticism - so here it is.

Halo Infinite is oddly inconsistent to me. I’ll break it down by animations, graphics, “feel” and first person POV, physics and effects. Strange categories I know but it works for what I want to convey.

Animations - some of the ones in the game are the best in the series. Commando is awesome, sidekick, AR, etc. But it also has something like the BR, which used to have some the cleanest animations in the game. I won’t be the first to say it’s clunky and just strange looking - choppy at best and definitely not smooth or satisfying. Same with shooting after a reload with some weapons, just feels very out of date. Not to mention how jarring the melee is, almost as if there need to be more animation frames. It’s hard for me to put my finger on it but these types of animations take me out of the game.

Graphics - i know I’ll get hate for this but I personally think the game ranges from fantastic / beautiful to pretty bad. Arena maps like Bazaar look amazing - true next gen experience that look up to snuff with games made in the last few years, solid baked lighting, good texture detail and geometry, and great player blending into the environment (something halo 4 really had to compromise to run on the 360). However, I was seriously disappointed with the BTB map fragmentation. Man, I know this sounds terrible and I’m trying so hard to not be negative but I’ll be frank - it looks bad. It really does, and I just don’t understand why. I feel like they weren’t able to put the same time and attention that they did for the arena maps. Back in 3 and Reach and even 4 I felt the BTB maps held the same consistency as the arena ones, but here this map has some terribly looking trees and rocks with strange looking textures. Unfinished at best. The map has the same tree downsized all over which is pretty funny, the rocks look forged in, and I don’t know the lighting just hits in a way that looks very Xbox 360 era. However, the corridors and the inside areas look great. And from a distance the forerunner structure looks amazing - huge props for the classic forerunner vibes really nailed the art direction. Just not the graphical execution.

”Feel” and POV - the game just feels really choppy sometimes. And I don’t mean slow, i just mean choppy. Halo 3 felt smooth, 5 felt very buttery, 4 was a little choppy, but this one just ranges from smooth encounters to very jagged engagements. Again, it’s hard to put my finger on it but things like lunge distance + animations, delay in hitting a wall while grappling, vehicle collision, vehicle handling, melee satisfaction, zoom, shield effects and shield pop. Just doesn’t feel like a cohesive experience. You can disagree and that’s ok, but I know I’m not the only one on this. And one big gripe is how bad the BR looks in hand. I know they upped the detail since the 2020 reveal but something just doesn’t look right. It still has this plastic-like look that frankly still doesn’t look finished. And something about the hand positioning and feel while shooting feels off - this doesn’t apply to all other guns of course. I know we have time til launch and it’s an old build so I hope this is addressed.

Physics and effects - this one is pretty straightforward. A lot of the effects feel extremely flat. The explosion effects have this 2D look that have been introduced since 4. Like when a vehicle explodes I hate to say that last looked best in Halo Reach. The particle effects seem inconsistent and just toy-like, the same feeling that pushed me away from Halo 5 Warzone. This isn’t super applicable to arena as those small-scale effects are superb, more regarding BTP/vehicles here. Still, some of the physics seems odd. We all know about the gravity hammer, there’s a known fix for changing grenade jumps etc. Good example: things like the man cannon - it always had this soft and nostalgic feel to it that cuddled you and squished up and shot you. This awesome use of the physics engine that felt like building kinetic energy from potential. Since Halo 4 it’s felt like a flat shot out with no attention to that feeling. That exact principle can be applied to vehicular consistency, and other feelings of lackluster cohesiveness here.

Conclusion: I know this is a scattered thoughts thread. I love halo and I know it’s been really tough for 343 to pull this off during COVID, it’s the best halo arena gameplay for me since 3 and in terms of actual FUN I think it’s amazing. Friends love playing it together and I’m having a blast. Huge props for what the team there has been able to accomplish since then - working with a massive cross functional team to address individual team passions with competitive play with high community asks and expectations is really hard I’m sure. And what we’ve been delivered on has been hitting the mark for many people. I have high hopes for the future of halo and I love seeing all the community feedback and content. I’m not trying to hate on the game so please don’t make this a negative and cynical thread or attack other people for their beliefs. We all love halo for different reasons and came into the franchise at different games / points in our life. This is just my thought pattern and am open to see if there are those who agree or kindly disagree. Thanks y’all:)

note: Xbox Series X

2

I posted this in another thread. But it kinda fits here too.

I thought about making a post on this but mostly likely many would say to just get better at the game. For me it seems that weapons, and possibly everything else, are inconsistent. In 1 match they preform a certain way, the next match they preform differently. I have experienced this both positively and negatively. Example-Gravity Hammer: In one match I can kill 2 people with a close hit. In another match it doesn’t even seem to affect them. I see the same happening with many weapons and even melee. You can go into weapon drills and see it takes 4 shots to the head to kill. Get in a game and this is not the case. It’s as if the game chooses at the beginning of a match, a team to apply buffs and/or debuffs to. It changes every match. And it doesn’t seem as I just suck because I’ve had it work for me as well as against me. This would also likely explain all the different opinions how the game works or doesn’t work that keep being posted. Something is off. Idk what it is but it’s there. It reminds me of the articles I read where some game studios were going to use technology to adaptively alter players abilities. This could be what’s happening. Again I don’t know, but something is causing all these irregular views on the forums.
Just to note: I am on Xbox One.

3

I agree with basically everything here, I’d like to say you’re the first person pointing out how lame the explosive effects are. The explosions look very cartoony and 2d, with the vehicles just having their wheels blown off compared to being engulfed in flame and bursting apart, throwing metal and leaving a corpse of a machine behind. Now it glows red, pops up in the air, and the wheels fly off…

4

> 2535460795017716;2:
> I posted this in another thread. But it kinda fits here too.
>
> I thought about making a post on this but mostly likely many would say to just get better at the game. For me it seems that weapons, and possibly everything else, are inconsistent. In 1 match they preform a certain way, the next match they preform differently. I have experienced this both positively and negatively. Example-Gravity Hammer: In one match I can kill 2 people with a close hit. In another match it doesn’t even seem to affect them. I see the same happening with many weapons and even melee. You can go into weapon drills and see it takes 4 shots to the head to kill. Get in a game and this is not the case. It’s as if the game chooses at the beginning of a match, a team to apply buffs and/or debuffs to. It changes every match. And it doesn’t seem as I just suck because I’ve had it work for me as well as against me. This would also likely explain all the different opinions how the game works or doesn’t work that keep being posted. Something is off. Idk what it is but it’s there. It reminds me of the articles I read where some game studios were going to use technology to adaptively alter players abilities. This could be what’s happening. Again I don’t know, but something is causing all these irregular views on the forums.
> Just to note: I am on Xbox One.

This is a category I missed but also wanted to track - Weapon inconsistency. I totally agree here and am a little weary on this as Halo has always been the king of weapon consistency and predictability. Hopefully it’s addressed post technical preview - I think it’s totally possible it will be

5

> 2533274949369837;3:
> I agree with basically everything here, I’d like to say you’re the first person pointing out how lame the explosive effects are. The explosions look very cartoony and 2d, with the vehicles just having their wheels blown off compared to being engulfed in flame and bursting apart, throwing metal and leaving a corpse of a machine behind. Now it glows red, pops up in the air, and the wheels fly off…

Yeah I feel like they are trying to appeal to a wider audience with the cartoony effects (shields, explosions, etc) but that’s not reflected in other places (chief’s armor, forerunner structures, etc). Together it seems hard to piece together, just causes loops in my head. Def making assumptions but almost like some people on the team wanted to game to go diff directions so they made compromise some places but not others. I think the way you put it is 1:1 with what I’m thinking here

6

> 2533274847657643;5:
> > 2533274949369837;3:
> > I agree with basically everything here, I’d like to say you’re the first person pointing out how lame the explosive effects are. The explosions look very cartoony and 2d, with the vehicles just having their wheels blown off compared to being engulfed in flame and bursting apart, throwing metal and leaving a corpse of a machine behind. Now it glows red, pops up in the air, and the wheels fly off…
>
> Yeah I feel like they are trying to appeal to a wider audience with the cartoony effects (shields, explosions, etc) but that’s not reflected in other places (chief’s armor, forerunner structures, etc). Together it seems hard to piece together, just causes loops in my head. Def making assumptions but almost like some people on the team wanted to game to go diff directions so they made compromise some places but not others. I think the way you put it is 1:1 with what I’m thinking here

Now that I think about it, the frag grenade explosion effect looks identical to Fortnite’s, so that’s definitely the case. You’re right its definitely a weird clash. It’s the only reason I don’t want the flood to return, being rated T with lots of cartoony effects would ruin their horror IMHO. Not to mention it already seems weird having the most brutal covenant species as the main enemy.

7

> 2533274949369837;6:
> > 2533274847657643;5:
> > > 2533274949369837;3:
> > > I agree with basically everything here, I’d like to say you’re the first person pointing out how lame the explosive effects are. The explosions look very cartoony and 2d, with the vehicles just having their wheels blown off compared to being engulfed in flame and bursting apart, throwing metal and leaving a corpse of a machine behind. Now it glows red, pops up in the air, and the wheels fly off…
> >
> > Yeah I feel like they are trying to appeal to a wider audience with the cartoony effects (shields, explosions, etc) but that’s not reflected in other places (chief’s armor, forerunner structures, etc). Together it seems hard to piece together, just causes loops in my head. Def making assumptions but almost like some people on the team wanted to game to go diff directions so they made compromise some places but not others. I think the way you put it is 1:1 with what I’m thinking here
>
> Now that I think about it, the frag grenade explosion effect looks identical to Fortnite’s, so that’s definitely the case. You’re right its definitely a weird clash. It’s the only reason I don’t want the flood to return, being rated T with lots of cartoony effects would ruin their horror IMHO. Not to mention it already seems weird having the most brutal covenant species as the main enemy.

Didn’t even think about the similarities with Fortnite but you’re right. On the flood note - yeah I’d probably agree. I think you can still pull off scary horror like enemies with a T rating (destiny/d2 hive come to mind) so it’s more of an art style direction thing to me. Can’t have flood without limbs flying off.

interesting point on the banished. I remember halo 3 had some violent marine-captain interactions that were brutally spectacular but also rare. They cut out some of the limb cutting with the energy sword tho. 343 had a real opportunity to go even grittier than any halo with the the banished & their origin story, but sadly that’s not the case. I can understand why tho - but it’s not like 13 year old kids are straying away from playing CoD either so maybe it’s an internal thing idk

8

First & last bump, looking for thoughts on this thanks!

9

I know it’s just a pre-release version with features rushed together for testing, but there are tons of things that make you scratch your head. I just don’t know how much is gonna change before final release. One thing is for sure, this game will be the most patched Halo game of all time!

and nobody will be happy

They’ll patch grenades and explosions, and people will complain that they die more from nades or explosions too much.

They’ll patch AR, then people will complain that it’s too weak.

They’ll add BR starts (finally), and people will be “there’s no variety”, you know the usual

They’ll tone down recoil on some weapons like Commando; people will complain that it’s too easy.

They’ll buff Vehicles and have more dropped, then people will complain that it’s all about Vehicles.

They’ll fix Hammer, then someone is gonna be why did you make it so OP?!

They’ll improve PP tracking, and people will be it’s now too easy.

They’ll patch aiming bugs, and people will say Controller players are too OP.

and that’s just the beginning. HAHA.
The game is not gonna be what many people want, and neither will the patches. But that’s Halo!

10

I actually thought it was one of the most consistent betas I’ve EVER played :c

11

> 2533274892378642;10:
> I actually thought it was one of the most consistent betas I’ve EVER played :c

I think this proves the point. (At least on these forums) there is so many different experiences from what people played really shows the inconsistency.

12

The complaints about the game are the most inconsistent ever.

13

I’m trying to figure out if the inconsistencies are accidental or on purpose.
Like, is it a connection thing? Every time I’ve tested my personal connection, it’s great. But maybe it’s a connection to the servers?
Or did they make certain changes at certain times, for certain games, or even certain people? I saw someone post about how they tested Xbox One vs Xbox Series X and the person on X1 had no autoaim but XSX did… But I played on XSX and felt like I had no autoaim or bullet magnetism.
The experiences are all over the place and I have genuinely been trying to figure out if it’s me, or the game. I don’t see any feasible way that 343 could gather data properly if the game wasnt the exact same for everyone.
I’ve played since the original Halo where my friends and I used to lug around the bulky Xbox and the even bulkier tvs so we could set up the LAN and have fun. So either my nostalgia is failing me, or my reaction time is as I’m getting “gamer old” being a few years away from 40 lol… But at the same time I play Splitgate and it feels like a Halo vibe and I’m constantly dominating. So makes me feel like it’s not me?

14

I believe that’s the biggest problem across the game as it is now. I’ve played plenty my fair share of the flights and found many inconsistencies.

To start; the AoE damage of the rocket. I have a clip of hitting someone’s toe with the rocket and it doesn’t kill them and in other situations it’ll kill them when it’s further away.

We also see complaints of vehicles being too weak yet the Hog in particular can take 2 rockets without blowing up. This probably is because 343 wants each vehicle to have specific damage points which leads to inconsistent damage across the weapons and where they hit.

Now AR headshots. I didn’t like getting into AR fights and whoever’s bloom had the best luck ended up getting the kill. I’d personally prefer they get rid of headshot damage with the AR.

Not sure if this is real or not but with the Commando and what little aim assist there is, I felt that it has more auto aim at range and less close range.

I also must just suck with the Ravager. I either get kills with or I simply don’t. I don’t know if I’m a bad aim or the AoE is inconsistent of the primary fire.

15

This post makes me feel like I am happy with the bare minimum but I had no issues with any of these concerns. The animation felt smoother than all the other halos besides H5 and tbh H3 felt really slow compared to now which I enjoy. Melee feels the same as always so I don’t have an issue other than all the quick melee bugs. Graphics felt amazing and bring me back to the previous halos in my mind. Btb map was beautiful in my opinion the hex pillars and a cool nature meets tech feel and I wasn’t really looking to closely at the rocks or trees but it never caught my eye that they were not that detailed. Everything looked nice from a player who just played the objective most of time. As for POV it didnt feel choppy to me and the grapple was very smooth. I thought that everything meshed well but ill admit the BR looks plain compared to the other weapons but it looks exactly like the previous iterations so I don’t know what to change about it. The physics/effects were fine but you mentioned that they look toylike and that was the case for HCE, H2, and H3 but 4 and reach had more realistic effects. Im just curious if you prefer the reach style or classic halo because 343 is going for classic. Moving on to the physics…I love them. The grapple hook is super fun and the repulsor has so many different uses that it feels like you aren’t limited by anything. Ive seen clips of people of people launching the flag across the map and grabbing weapons midair with it as well. The gravity hammer is cool too but needs some work i think. Overall i think this has the potential to be the best halo besides CE & 2 for nostalgic reasons.

16

343 seems to struggle a bit with graphical fidelity when it comes to large scale maps.

anyone remember halo 5’s raid on apex 7? crysis 1 genuinely looked better and that was released in 2007.

17

> 2760465307323250;9:
> I know it’s just a pre-release version with features rushed together for testing, but there are tons of things that make you scratch your head. I just don’t know how much is gonna change before final release. One thing is for sure, this game will be the most patched Halo game of all time!
>
> and nobody will be happy
>
> They’ll patch grenades and explosions, and people will complain that they die more from nades or explosions too much.
>
> They’ll patch AR, then people will complain that it’s too weak.
>
> They’ll add BR starts (finally), and people will be “there’s no variety”, you know the usual
>
> They’ll tone down recoil on some weapons like Commando; people will complain that it’s too easy.
>
> They’ll buff Vehicles and have more dropped, then people will complain that it’s all about Vehicles.
>
> They’ll fix Hammer, then someone is gonna be why did you make it so OP?!
>
> They’ll improve PP tracking, and people will be it’s now too easy.
>
> They’ll patch aiming bugs, and people will say Controller players are too OP.
>
> and that’s just the beginning. HAHA.
> The game is not gonna be what many people want, and neither will the patches. But that’s Halo!

A lot of games do have the notion of utterly destroying a weapon or vehicle when nerfing it so I hope they will be very careful with balance changes upcoming year. Still remember the H5 balance update that put the BR and AR in the trash can (yes the BR needed a nerf now it’s a weapon only used to humiliate players with).

I agree that hit registration and weapon handling was inconsistent in the flights but I assume those are mostly due to it being an old build and probably US West hosted servers. As an H5 EU player those issues are a lifestyle lol. Although I must say the lag spikes felt a lot less then in the first two weekends.