That is probably the most disrespectful thing I’ve read from a studio in a very long time.
A lot of us have dedicated decades of our lives to this franchise from LAN parties, tournaments, countless episodes of user created content, maps, modes, and events. There is no other franchise on the planet that has had the influence on its player base, and hopefully on its developers, like Halo has had on the industry.
It’s honestly a punch to the gut that after all these years for the studio that we’ve entrusted this incredible franchise to to come out and say that they don’t owe us a word of why they made their decisions, or that they’re a business so just deal with the microtransactions.
I love these games with all my heart, I’ve made so many friends and had so much fun going to parties and events and being part of this community, but it feels like we’re just sheep to you (343i) that you’re funneling down carefully crafted lanes to fill your wallets. You made an immensely fun game, it’s just everything on outside of that feels predatory.
Hopefully you’ll start treating your players like people like you asked us to treat your devs, because so far you haven’t offered us that kindness yet.
They owed us to give us the best Halo possible with perfect gameplay, and they’ve done it. I understand what you mean when you say that you don’t have to explain anything that happened in the last 6 years.
On the other hand, these statements only give rise to the idea that all these bad decisions have not been made since 343i, but from someone higher up. Which I would understand the frustration of the devs to see how they are taking all this tide of toxicity when surely they are not to blame.
Whatever the answer, 343i is listening to us and they are working on it. So I really think that all this fire that has been unleashed has to be put out a bit, the debate is over a long time ago and in its place it has only given way to simple toxicity as has happened in reddit, and as it has begun to happen in this subforum.
Gameplay wise, besides some rough edges, gameplay is spot on. The progression system obviously needs some work though I am hesitant to say the current system was due to a “higher up” at MS. Another MS heavy weight, Forza Horizon 5, is basically giving players rewards/unlocks for just driving in circles.
Well, it could be someone from MS with too many aspirations or someone from 343i with a promise in a high position if things go well. The point is, all this hatred and toxicity that has been poured into 343i and its employees must stop.
But 343 built all of this from scratch and yet ske7ch just admitted they built a UI that is so badly intertwined that they basically need an overhaul. The “suits” didn’t come in and sabotage their systems development code.
If they want it to stop. They need to be honest. Screw the corporate niceness big business fronts, they’re big money sucking vacuums run by sociopaths. And tell us who made all the bad decisions. Then we’ll shut up. But only after putting all our complains squarely on the shoulders of those responsible for ruining it. Not those who were forced to go along with it.
I would like Ske7ch to explain that part in depth. I understand that it is because the engine is made from 0 and that you have long-term plans to modify it for the next 10 years.
I think they “owe” the community a finished, good, complete game. This unfinished “game as a service” garbage almost NEVER results in good games with very few exceptions. Not a soul asked for free multiplayer or seasonal campaign content. I get that it’s a business but geez I can’t help but feel disrespected by the expectation that people would want to log in daily to grind FOMO cosmetics or wait months and months on what is sure to be cliffhanger campaign elements/content. People are making such a ruckus about this because it just keeps happening and these companies never seem to learn. Just looking at the player-count graphs it looks like they have about 3 months to win over the community before it’s R.I.P. Halo:infinite, people are already giving up on the free multiplayer portion of the game and co-op/forge/custom game browser won’t be available for what is most likely going to be a year or more.
But needing lots of work on it at the time of full release? Something went wrong badly somewhere unfortunately. And we can’t just hold the suits responsible. People in 343 wrote bad code. Let me repeat, obligatory this does not excuse toxicity blah blah blah. I write bad code every day and I take full responsibility. I’m getting better every day though. But this is a AAA studio nearing a full release, not some new grad newbie like me.
But we have already reached that point, everything that could be criticized has been criticized. The fact is that the debate has already lost its meaning, it is no longer a debate where to expose the problems and talk about ways to correct it, right now what permeates the air is a wave of hatred without focus or use of any kind, attacking to attack , a huge ball has been created that is going downhill, growing more and more, and there is no way to stop it unless we are the ones who take a step back, breathe and reconsider to redirect the discourse to a more constructive goal.
And just as we are very critical of 343i, we must also be critical of ourselves and leave this whole idea of being on the defensive all the time.
Relaxing the tone and tensions does not make us wrong with our criticism.
Okay? I guess? I’m just pointing out you and others are solely putting blame on the suits. Aren’t they humans too? It’s both the suits and 343 to blame, let’s just be real and leave it at that. Yes, going in circles never leads to anything constructive, but also forgiving one entity entirely and saying they are human while also blaming another is just hypocritical. Mistakes were made all the way down the line.
It is not my intention at any time to forgive anyone, whoever they may be, justifying that the fault lies with a man in a suit. What I mean is that everyone in 343i has received the same punishment and I think that at this point to continue looking for culprits is useless, surely within 343i they are cutting heads for all this, or at least I want to believe that.
I just fully disagree with this. There could be all kinds of reasons why the game had issues during development. Firstly, even if it is incompetence among management, it would be extremely unprofessional for a company to come out and publicly throw anyone under the bus. There’s a level of respect I expect out of my workplace, and that’s not to publicly air my dirty laundry if I mess up (provided its not criminal activity).
But it could also be personal reasons. What if some key members of the team suffered with long covid, or worse had to take time off because a family member passed away?
They don’t need to put out a list of issues they’ve dealt with over the last 6 years, exposing all the small and large things that may have impeded development during that time. They’re a company, a business, and they have a responsibility to their staff.