I recently read an article on level design that points out how environmental interactivity in a multiplayer map can increase the longevity and fun factor of that environment. It made me think that this is something Halo has slowly lost over the years.
I remember the simple things, like shooting the explosive barrel on lockout to bring the sniper down to mid so I could grab it faster. The more I thought about it I realized that I hadn’t shot a single explosive barrel on any of the launch maps. There was no purpose to them. Look at Countdown. It’s a simple mechanic, not only does the barrel on lockout balance out a location but it also interacts with the environment by throwing the sniper into the middle.
The other point I considered was turrets. Turrets used to be a part of the environment and couldn’t be picked up. They functioned as part of the design, while now they are just another tool to pick up.
I feel like this is a bit of a loss for Halo, and with the new weapon drops, the barrel trick on lockout may not be even possible. Who knows if the weapons drops have normal physics?
While the importance of map knowledge is still there in Halo, I feel like the loss of these environmental interactions have made it less to enjoy. We are only counting down weapon spawns and learning trick jumps, while the maps used to have that and more.
Even the new loadouts and armor abilities give more tools to the spartan but add nothing to the environment.
So the question I want to ask is this, are you happy with the changes to Halo that have detracted from environmental interactivity? Or do you wish that would return?
I miss environmental interactivity in maps. Despite how beautiful the skybox on Vortex, Haven, Adrift, Solace, etc. are, the maps are basically static. Dead.
What happened to the cores on The Pit that you could shoot? Or the explosives on Blackout/Lockout? The bridge on Last Resort? I miss that stuff.
> I miss environmental interactivity in maps. Despite how beautiful the skybox on Vortex, Haven, Adrift, Solace, etc. are, the maps are basically static. Dead.
>
> What happened to the cores on The Pit that you could shoot? Or the explosives on Blackout/Lockout? The bridge on Last Resort? I miss that stuff.
I wasn’t thinking about the bride on Last Resort, but that map in general had a ton of environmental interactivity. What a great example! Hopefully we’ll see this kind of environments seep back into the Halo franchise.
> Agreed completely, though there must be some reason that elements like the gate in Zanzibar weren’t added in Reach’s or Halo 4’s maps.
The only thing I can think of is that environmental interactivity promotes an asymmetric quality to the design, but I don’t view that as a bad thing. Hopefully it’s just something that has been overlooked in recent years and maybe will be something that is considered for the future.
If anything I’m hoping weapon drops still have normal physics.
> > I miss environmental interactivity in maps. Despite how beautiful the skybox on Vortex, Haven, Adrift, Solace, etc. are, the maps are basically static. Dead.
> >
> > What happened to the cores on The Pit that you could shoot? Or the explosives on Blackout/Lockout? The bridge on Last Resort? I miss that stuff.
>
> I wasn’t thinking about the bride on Last Resort, but that map in general had a ton of environmental interactivity. What a great example! Hopefully we’ll see this kind of environments seep back into the Halo franchise.
Longshore also had a bridge thingy too. Made the map very dynamic
> This is definitely something that I’d like to see them implement in DLC/future Halo games. I’ve missed it.
It’s good to see I’m not the only player that agrees this sort of interactivity should see a return. The only way we’ve really seen this in recent years is low gravity areas. And it’s never really felt the same, even though it’s a dynamic part of the environment.
> I recently read an article on level design that points out how environmental interactivity in a multiplayer map can increase the longevity and fun factor of that environment. It made me think that this is something Halo has slowly lost over the years.
>
> I remember the simple things, like shooting the explosive barrel on lockout to bring the sniper down to mid so I could grab it faster. The more I thought about it I realized that I hadn’t shot a single explosive barrel on any of the launch maps. There was no purpose to them. Look at Countdown. It’s a simple mechanic, not only does the barrel on lockout balance out a location but it also interacts with the environment by throwing the sniper into the middle.
>
> The other point I considered was turrets. <mark>Turrets used to be a part of the environment and couldn’t be picked up. They functioned as part of the design, while now they are just another tool to pick up.</mark>
>
> I feel like this is a bit of a loss for Halo, and with the new weapon drops, the barrel trick on lockout may not be even possible. Who knows if the weapons drops have normal physics?
>
> While the importance of map knowledge is still there in Halo, I feel like the loss of these environmental interactions have made it less to enjoy. We are only counting down weapon spawns and learning trick jumps, while the maps used to have that and more.
>
> Even the new loadouts and armor abilities give more tools to the spartan but add nothing to the environment.
>
> So the question I want to ask is this, are you happy with the changes to Halo that have detracted from environmental interactivity? Or do you wish that would return?
You had the ability to pick up turrets since Halo 3.
> > I recently read an article on level design that points out how environmental interactivity in a multiplayer map can increase the longevity and fun factor of that environment. It made me think that this is something Halo has slowly lost over the years.
> >
> > I remember the simple things, like shooting the explosive barrel on lockout to bring the sniper down to mid so I could grab it faster. The more I thought about it I realized that I hadn’t shot a single explosive barrel on any of the launch maps. There was no purpose to them. Look at Countdown. It’s a simple mechanic, not only does the barrel on lockout balance out a location but it also interacts with the environment by throwing the sniper into the middle.
> >
> > The other point I considered was turrets. <mark>Turrets used to be a part of the environment and couldn’t be picked up. They functioned as part of the design, while now they are just another tool to pick up.</mark>
> >
> > I feel like this is a bit of a loss for Halo, and with the new weapon drops, the barrel trick on lockout may not be even possible. Who knows if the weapons drops have normal physics?
> >
> > While the importance of map knowledge is still there in Halo, I feel like the loss of these environmental interactions have made it less to enjoy. We are only counting down weapon spawns and learning trick jumps, while the maps used to have that and more.
> >
> > Even the new loadouts and armor abilities give more tools to the spartan but add nothing to the environment.
> >
> > So the question I want to ask is this, are you happy with the changes to Halo that have detracted from environmental interactivity? Or do you wish that would return?
>
> You had the ability to pick up turrets since Halo 3.
Yes, and I played Halo since the launch day of Halo CE I’m an older member of the community haha, so I’ve spent more time in Halo 1 and 2 than Halo 3 and Reach. Mostly because with the release of Halo 3 I stuck with Halo 2 for awhile.
> > This is definitely something that I’d like to see them implement in DLC/future Halo games. I’ve missed it.
>
> It’s good to see I’m not the only player that agrees this sort of interactivity should see a return. The only way we’ve really seen this in recent years is low gravity areas. And it’s never really felt the same, even though it’s a dynamic part of the environment.
There’s still some room for interactivity in Forge, even more so with the new gravity volumes. We could make low-gravity sections with floating debris, and opening gates could be built on a small scale in Reach. In this sense, I haven’t seen enough of this from the community in their forged maps.
> > I think its pretty shocking that the most interactive of all Halo maps were the maps from Halo 2, from 8 years ago.
>
> dat Terminal train.
>
> Fun times…
Zanzibar - opening gate, fusion coil drop down bridge
water works - falling stalagtites,
midship - hovering platform, destructible panels
Terminal - moving train
Containment - opening and closing base gates, mines.
Ascension - spinning antenna
Colossus - Conveyor belts with explosives
Elongation - Conveyor belts with moving cover
Headlong - Huge suspended brige part and I-beam that moved when stepped on (taken out in the Reach remake)
Relic - switch that opens a teleporter
This is just all the things I could list off the top of my head. I know there’s more. The fact is: the little things in games have a bigger effect than most people think. Me and my brothers had countless hours of fun just on Halo 2 split screen because the maps were interactive.
Don’t attack me for saying this, but Modern Warfare has done a pretty good job at this in their recent games. I’m sorry, but I love being able to break through windows and blow up propane tanks. I love the look of a damaged environment after a viscious battle. It just adds to the experience and I hope 343 brings these classic details back in future games because I can’t imagine there are a whole lot in Halo 4.
Halo 4 will still be great, but it won’t have that classic feel we’re used to.
> Halo 2 did this perfectly.
>
> Zanzibar - opening gate, fusion coil drop down bridge
> water works - falling stalagtites,
> midship - hovering platform, destructible panels
> Terminal - moving train
> Containment - opening and closing base gates, mines.
> Ascension - spinning antenna
> Colossus - Conveyor belts with explosives
> Elongation - Conveyor belts with moving cover
> Headlong - Huge suspended brige part and I-beam that moved when stepped on (taken out in the Reach remake)
> Relic - switch that opens a teleporter
>
> This is just all the things I could list off the top of my head. I know there’s more. The fact is: the little things in games have a bigger effect than most people think. Me and my brothers had countless hours of fun just on Halo 2 split screen because the maps were interactive.
>
> Don’t attack me for saying this, but Modern Warfare has done a pretty good job at this in their recent games. I’m sorry, but I love being able to break through windows and blow up propane tanks. I love the look of a damaged environment after a viscious battle. It just adds to the experience and I hope 343 brings these classic details back in future games because I can’t imagine there are a whole lot in Halo 4.
>
> Halo 4 will still be great, but it won’t have that classic feel we’re used to.
Great list of examples! Good to see I’m not the only one who wants to see some of Halo 2 designs trends move back into the newer games
I hope we see more interactive maps as DLC. It adds much more replayability to maps, in addition to how elements like Elongation’s conveyor belts and Ascension’s radio tower sped up gameplay by reducing the amount that players relied on them for cover.
> I hope we see more interactive maps as DLC. It adds much more replayability to maps, in addition to how elements like Elongation’s conveyor belts and Ascension’s radio tower sped up gameplay by reducing the amount that players relied on them for cover.
Right! When the Anniversary map pack came out, I was so excited to be able to play on headlong again, then I realized the entire map was stiff. and I couldn’t even fly up to the rooftops or the giant ring statue by the water. It sucked.
> I hope we see more interactive maps as DLC. It adds much more replayability to maps, in addition to how elements like Elongation’s conveyor belts and Ascension’s radio tower sped up gameplay by reducing the amount that players relied on them for cover.
Agreed! Hopefully forge does also afford us possibilities for this. After reading the article I couldn’t help but think of how I would have added some of these interactive elements to both Midas and Unconquered. Something had been missing from the current level designs in Halo and after reading the article I can finally put my finger on it.
Hopefully we have the tools in forge, but I really would love to see this implemented into DLC as well.
I’m an older member of the community haha, so I’ve spent more time in Halo 1 and 2 than Halo 3 and Reach. Mostly because with the release of Halo 3 I stuck with Halo 2 for awhile.