The point of unlockables

Games Other Halo
1

Okay, I am going to assume that everyone is updated on current Halo 4 new so please on asking for links or proof.

In Halo 4, we will see the return of loadouts from Halo: Reach, but with an extra twist. We will now have the ability to tweak our starting weapons, abilities and grenade type of choice. 343i states that the weapon selection will only comprise of basic weapon sets so that means no power weapons. Weapons will be unlocked through the use of Spartan Points. Despite this, weapons will still be available on the map at initial spawn even if you have not unlocked that certain weapon.

In the end, loadouts do not really empower a player with any type of advantage. They only give them the choice to choose their spawn weapon. Everyone still has the choice to pick their favored weapon off the battlefield regardless of rank and or skill and since they are basic weapons, we can assume that they will be abundant in any map.

That’s all, folks. Just wanted to address people’s concern with unlockables.

2

The thing I love about this is that I never have to start with an AR again, always a DMR or BR! :smiley:

3

The only thing I want to know is if I can hedge my bets with my secondary weapon, say a Br primary and a dmr secondary

4

> The only thing I want to know is if I can hedge my bets with my secondary weapon, say a Br primary and a dmr secondary

That is a good question. Maybe the system will only permit one precision weapon per loadout.

5

> The only thing I want to know is if I can hedge my bets with my secondary weapon, say a Br primary and a dmr secondary

I doubt it. They will likely have classifications for primary and secondary weapons.

Unfortunately, people can spawn with the noob combo, seeing as how we can spawn with DMR/BR and plasma pistol.

6

As DMR/BR/Grenade/AA will still be offered on the map and via the default loadout I don’t really think this is going to have a huge impact as I’m pretty sure I will be able to find a good build with the weapon.

The feature that will most likely change things are the Modifications. But we don’t know enough on that topic so far especially what are all the Mods. But I heard a +1 grenade that look way more powerful than +1 clip for starting weapon and slightly faster health regen.

7

> > The only thing I want to know is if I can hedge my bets with my secondary weapon, say a Br primary and a dmr secondary
>
> I doubt it. They will likely have classifications for primary and secondary weapons.
>
> Unfortunately, people can spawn with the noob combo, seeing as how we can spawn with DMR/BR and plasma pistol.

We don’t know that yet for sure. In custom games, you can create the loadout with any weapon in the game. In Matchmaking, we’ll be limited to a smaller list. What’s in that list is currently unknown at this time, except for the Battle Rifle.

8

> > The only thing I want to know is if I can hedge my bets with my secondary weapon, say a Br primary and a dmr secondary
>
> I doubt it. They will likely have classifications for primary and secondary weapons.
>
> Unfortunately, people can spawn with the noob combo, seeing as how we can spawn with DMR/BR and plasma pistol.

I would like to think they have thought of things like that. Maybe a PP is an “expensive” secondary and will only allow you to use it in conjunction with maybe the pistol at best. Or maybe it will cut into your grenade count.

Think of how Perfect Dark Zero tried to balance out spawning weapons.

9

> Despite this, weapons will still be available on the map at initial spawn even if you have not unlocked that certain weapon.

No, they won’t. Unless some new info has come out I’m unaware of, no weapons are map spawned other than power weapons. Yes, I’ve listened to GI’s Halo 4 podcast and I think you’re willingly misinterpreting what’s been said, OP. Halo 4 is much like CoD in the weapons sandbox design department. Players choose what weapons they want for their custom class, and they spawn with those selected weapons. They don’t get to run around and pick map spawned standard weapons. The only time they’d be doing so is when a foe, or friendly, has been killed. In which case they’ll then be able to pick up the gun the dead player has dropped. How do I know this? No. My time machine is still broken, so I didn’t use that. Instead I’ve read what players who’ve played Halo 4 have said. I also listen to to what the authors are saying without injecting blind optimism.

Haven’t unlocked the BR yet, and you really want it? Tough luck. The only way to get your hands on it would be to kill a player who has already unlocked it, or play custom games, as it’s there you can do what you want, apparently.

> Unfortunately, people can spawn with the noob combo, seeing as how we can spawn with DMR/BR and plasma pistol.

It is unfortunate. Not because players can spawn with a “noob combo”, but because weapons have been nerfed due to the fact players can spawn with them. The tracking on the plasma pistol is the weakest incarnation yet. Instead of a weapons sandbox containing deadly, unique weapons, we’ll get a weapons sandbox full of clones. Weak ones too, for the sake of “balance”. That’s one of the pitfalls of implementing this type of system into your game: all you’re doing is superficially expanding your sandbox. Instead of one weapon serving the sniping role, you now have 12. However, they’re all still snipers, and, by design, they’re all meant to be equal for the sake of balance. Of course, this never quite works out. Look at any game that also implements a similar system. You’ll find there’s always a distinguishable “best” weapon in each category. I digress, but I want to continue.

The idea of gradually unlocking an arsenal of weapons, as with a progressive ranking system, is to keep players playing for as long as possible so they (authors or publishers) can sell you downloadable content later on down the track. Or if the game contains a subscription, it’s to keep you subscribed. The longer you’re subscribed the more money they make. Wording it like this makes it seem somewhat evil of them to do this. It paints them in a bad light, but if you think about it, it’s understandable. After all, if you’re not continually giving the authors money how are they supposed to continually update your favourite game or create new stories for your favourite characters to act in? However, I despise the idea of getting players purposefully addicted to your product in order for you to make more money. Believe it or not, that’s just what they’re doing. I can’t help but see these mechanics (progressive ranking systems and weapon unlocks), amongst others, to be in the same vein; they’re there to get you addicted. Video game addiction is real.

Perhaps I wouldn’t mind so much if the philosophy behind making a popular modern game didn’t interfere with the enjoyment I derived from the games, but it does. My enjoyment comes from competing with other players in the same game. You might be thinking, “hey! What are you talking about? How does Halo 4, or any modern player vs player game, not allow you to compete with other players in the same game?” Multiplayer games nowadays aren’t really about playing the game, or competing against each other in the game. They’re about the user and what kind of experiences the user is having. Is the user having fun? No? Change it till he/she is. Thus we get, the kinds of things I like to call “abominations”, such as multiplayer games tailored to suit your needs. Multiplayer games now cry out things like “play how you want to play!”, “it has an engrossing experience!” and “you’re in the game!”. Multiplayer games are now about the experience the user is having, and not so much about being a game. The focus of multiplayer games of yore was the game, whilst the focus of modern multiplayer games is the user.

Perhaps it’s always been this way, and games like Quake, Counter Strike, DOOM and Unreal Tournament (to name a few) were anomalies. Such games as those are “true” multiplayer games. You have clearly defined rules and play the game according to those rules, but most importantly, every player played by the same rules and the rules did not bend because a user was not having fun. These kinds of games weren’t about what sort of gun you wanted to play with, or being matched up with other like skilled players. Not about customising your characters, or upgrading them. They weren’t about roleplaying, or making sure you had fun. Like any game, whether it be a sport, card or board game, you played these kinds of multiplayer games to play the game. The game wouldn’t warp or bend to your will and desire so that you could have a “fun” experience, you played the game how it was designed. Chess doesn’t give the losing player extra king or queen pieces so that he or she could have more fun. Soccer doesn’t give every player a ball so that they all can have a chance to score. Quake doesn’t give you a rocket launcher off spawn so that you won’t be spawn killed. Modern multiplayer games do such things. They want every user to have a fun time playing in a fictional world. Such is the focus that they stop being games, and start becoming more like an experience.

If you’re looking for an experience you’re in luck. That’s what the industry wants to provide. Have fun, but if you’re looking for a game, well, that’s a bit harder to find nowadays. Will anyone be playing Halo 4 after 16 years? I doubt it very much. Quake has lasted longer than that, any sport has, many board and card games have. These are games. Halo 4 is a quick entertainment fix that’s designed to give any user a positive experience, thus maximising profits. It’s already been planned to be replaced with Halo 5, and Halo 5 is planned to be replaced with Halo 6. I support games that are meant to last, not this, quick, cheap, expendable entertainment fix that we call modern multiplayer games.

The point of unlockables? To keep you playing so you’ll buy their DLC at a later date. To keep you interested in the franchise so you’ll buy the next inevitable sequel. So the authors and publishers can squeeze more money out of you. It’s a business after all.

Just some ramblings… this isn’t the user you’re looking for. Move along.

10

Actually I think this works. Everyone can still start with the same or near same weapons. As long as there is some equality in the end gameplay wise, you can only blamed yourself for getting killed.

11

> 5-star post

love it

12

o0MrCheesy0o, I think I remember seeing a post on the weekly update with Frankie confirming the presence of weaponry on the battlefield. Then again, I could be wrong. Even if that is not the case, other weapons that a player has not unlocked will still be available for everyone. Unlocking that weapon only gives the player the ability to add it in their custom tailored loadout, but at initial spawn, everyone can still pick the loadout with the BR or DMR the only downside is they don’t get to alter the aspects of the loadout until they unlock it.

I use to play Unreal Torunament and I agree, those were real mulitplayer games with a good set of rules and you were there to compete. These were the arena or gladiator type games. You have to understand though that games at this day and age demand that creative freedom, which is the ability to tweak the rules. We always hear people say: “I wish I could change this” or do that. The gaming industry is simply following the people’s craving for “choice.” That’s why these days, there is no true multiplayer game. Instead we are seeing hybrids of multiplayer games with the addition of RPG elements. I am fond of these new takes on games, but I completely understand why someone wouldn’t.

You’re right… “nothing personal, it’s just business,” but what can we do? It is an industry who makes money after all. That is a fact for all games and there’s nothing that will change that unless the game was made for personal use.

13

Cheesy proving he’s the best poster on Waypoint by a country mile.

14

> > > The only thing I want to know is if I can hedge my bets with my secondary weapon, say a Br primary and a dmr secondary
> >
> > I doubt it. They will likely have classifications for primary and secondary weapons.
> >
> > Unfortunately, people can spawn with the noob combo, seeing as how we can spawn with DMR/BR and plasma pistol.
>
> We don’t know that yet for sure. In custom games, you can create the loadout with any weapon in the game. In Matchmaking, we’ll be limited to a smaller list. What’s in that list is currently unknown at this time, except for the Battle Rifle.

Spawn with noob combo confirmed.

15

exxactly

16

> > The only thing I want to know is if I can hedge my bets with my secondary weapon, say a Br primary and a dmr secondary
>
> I doubt it. They will likely have classifications for primary and secondary weapons.
>
> Unfortunately, people can spawn with the noob combo, seeing as how we can spawn with DMR/BR and plasma pistol.

Not exactly. Loadouts will offer you role-specific weapons in the primary variety, while secondary would have multi-purpose ones, such as pistols and SMG’s. Plasma Pistol is not confirmed to be in MM, though.

17

> > > The only thing I want to know is if I can hedge my bets with my secondary weapon, say a Br primary and a dmr secondary
> >
> > I doubt it. They will likely have classifications for primary and secondary weapons.
> >
> > Unfortunately, people can spawn with the noob combo, seeing as how we can spawn with DMR/BR and plasma pistol.
>
> I would like to think they have thought of things like that. Maybe a PP is an “expensive” secondary and will only allow you to use it in conjunction with maybe the pistol at best. Or maybe it will cut into your grenade count.
>
> Think of how Perfect Dark Zero tried to balance out spawning weapons.

Well, Killa was told while he was playtesting the game that 343 told him these loadouts aren’t indicative of what would appear in the final game, and he said that the Plasma Pistol’s tracking was still active, but far less so than Reach or CE.

18

I’m wondering though if you get to choose your primary weapon, which would be a rifle of any kind, and a sidearm. So you could choose your BR or DMR, but never both, but you could choose the pistol or the AR as the sidearm.

19

> > The only thing I want to know is if I can hedge my bets with my secondary weapon, say a Br primary and a dmr secondary
>
> That is a good question. Maybe the system will only permit one precision weapon per loadout.

Until you use your ‘kind of perk’ armour piece to carry one more primary weapon at level 26.

For very else, I sign to these man words:

> It is unfortunate. Not because players can spawn with a “noob combo”, but because weapons have been nerfed due to the fact players can spawn with them. The tracking on the plasma pistol is the weakest incarnation yet. Instead of a weapons sandbox containing deadly, unique weapons, we’ll get a weapons sandbox full of clones. Weak ones too, for the sake of “balance”. That’s one of the pitfalls of implementing this type of system into your game: all you’re doing is superficially expanding your sandbox. Instead of one weapon serving the sniping role, you now have 12. However, they’re all still snipers, and, by design, they’re all meant to be equal for the sake of balance. Of course, this never quite works out. Look at any game that also implements a similar system. You’ll find there’s always a distinguishable “best” weapon in each category. I digress, but I want to continue.
>
> The idea of gradually unlocking an arsenal of weapons, as with a progressive ranking system, is to keep players playing for as long as possible so they (authors or publishers) can sell you downloadable content later on down the track. Or if the game contains a subscription, it’s to keep you subscribed. The longer you’re subscribed the more money they make. Wording it like this makes it seem somewhat evil of them to do this. It paints them in a bad light, but if you think about it, it’s understandable. After all, if you’re not continually giving the authors money how are they supposed to continually update your favourite game or create new stories for your favourite characters to act in? However, I despise the idea of getting players purposefully addicted to your product in order for you to make more money. Believe it or not, that’s just what they’re doing. I can’t help but see these mechanics (progressive ranking systems and weapon unlocks), amongst others, to be in the same vein; they’re there to get you addicted. Video game addiction is real.
>
> Perhaps I wouldn’t mind so much if the philosophy behind making a popular modern game didn’t interfere with the enjoyment I derived from the games, but it does. My enjoyment comes from competing with other players in the same game. You might be thinking, “hey! What are you talking about? How does Halo 4, or any modern player vs player game, not allow you to compete with other players in the same game?” Multiplayer games nowadays aren’t really about about playing the game, or competing against each other in the game. They’re about the user and what kind of experiences the user is having. Is the user having fun? No? Change it till he/she is. Thus we get, the kinds of things I like to call “abominations”, such as multiplayer games tailored to suit your needs. Multiplayer games now cry out things like “play how you want to play!”, “it has an engrossing experience!” and “you’re in the game!”. Multiplayer games are now about the experience the user is having, and not so much about being a game. The focus of multiplayer games of yore was the game, whilst the focus of modern multiplayer games is the user.
>
> Perhaps it’s always been this way, and games like Quake, Counter Strike, DOOM and Unreal Tournament (to name a few) were anomalies. Such games as those are “true” multiplayer games. You have clearly defined rules and play the game according to those rules, but most importantly, every player played by the same rules and the rules did not bend because a user was not having fun. These kinds of games weren’t about what sort of gun you wanted to play with, or being matched up with other like skilled players. Not about customising your characters, or upgrading them. They weren’t about roleplaying, or making sure you had fun. Like any game, whether it be a sport, card or board game, you played these kinds of multiplayer games to play the game. The game wouldn’t warp or bend to your will and desire so that you could have a “fun” experience, you played the game how it was designed. Chess doesn’t give the losing player extra king or queen pieces so that he or she could have more fun. Soccer doesn’t give every player a ball so that they all can have a chance to score. Quake doesn’t give you a rocket launcher off spawn so that you won’t be spawn killed. Modern multiplayer games do such things. They want every user to have a fun time playing in a fictional world. Such is the focus that they stop being games, and start becoming more like an experience.
>
> If you’re looking for an experience you’re in luck. That’s what the industry wants to provide. Have fun, but if you’re looking for a game, well, that’s a bit harder to find nowadays. Will anyone be playing Halo 4 after 16 years? I doubt it very much. Quake has lasted longer than that, any sport has, many board and card games have. These are games. Halo 4 is a quick entertainment fix that’s designed to give any user a positive experience, thus maximising profits. It’s already been planned to be replaced with Halo 5, and Halo 5 is planned to be replaced with Halo 6. I support games that are meant to last, not this, quick, cheap, expendable entertainment fix that we call modern multiplayer games.
>
> The point of unlockables? To keep you playing so you’ll buy their DLC at a later date. To keep you interested in the franchise so you’ll buy the next inevitable sequel. So the authors and publishers can squeeze more money out of you. It’s a business after all.
>
> Just some ramblings… this isn’t the user you’re looking for. Move along.

20

> The thing I love about this is that I never have to start with an AR again, always a DMR or BR! :smiley:

AR is best :slight_smile: sorry bud