I think we can all agree that after Halo 4 it is imperative for 343 to do a public multiplayer beta for the next Halo. Do you think they will? I really hope they announce one (it would probably be at E3) for this summer.
There “beta” be one. Not taking chances on this one.
> There “beta” be one. Not taking chances on this one.
Nice. lol I agree. I wonder how different Halo 4 would have turned out if they let the fanbase get their hands on it pre-release.
> > There “beta” be one. Not taking chances on this one.
>
> Nice. lol I agree. I wonder how different Halo 4 would have turned out if they let the fanbase get their hands on it pre-release.
We may have been able to sweet talk our way into personal loadouts being fixed the way the general community sees fit. Ordnance may have gone extinct or been contained to it’s own corner, and we could possibly had the turbo update’s effects on launch.
> > > There “beta” be one. Not taking chances on this one.
> >
> > Nice. lol I agree. I wonder how different Halo 4 would have turned out if they let the fanbase get their hands on it pre-release.
>
> We may have been able to sweet talk our way into personal loadouts being fixed the way the general community sees fit. Ordnance may have gone extinct or been contained to it’s own corner, and we could possibly had the turbo update’s effects on launch.
Wouldn’t that have been nice. I just worry that due to their fast-tracked two year dev cycle they’re going too fast to make changes based on feedback. For example, Frankie said they started doing the next Halo the second Halo 4 went gold. It took a few months for people to start really seeing the problems in the game. That adds up to about a half year.
What if they’d already laid out the core of Halo 5 by the time they realized most people hated Halo 4? What if it’s too late for a beta? What if they don’t care that most people didn’t like Halo 4’s multiplayer. Hell, after saying “We hear you” for like 7 months they let people buy a perk that allows them to eject when their vehicle is blown up. Wtf is that? That doesn’t show that they listened.
I don’t know about a beta, I wouldn’t expect one from them at this point. Less than a year to launch and we barely have any information about the game, for 343i to have a beta and address any issues the community finds they would likely need to do it in the Spring.
I can see an early “demo” or beta in the late summer or early fall to test how well the servers hold up and get early feedback on glitches and gameplay.
> I don’t know about a beta, I wouldn’t expect one from them at this point. Less than a year to launch and we barely have any information about the game, for 343i to have a beta and address any issues the community finds they would likely need to do it in the Spring.
>
> I can see an early “demo” or beta in the late summer or early fall to test how well the servers hold up and get early feedback on glitches and gameplay.
This is what I expect. Although I worry by late summer it will be too late for them to make major changes to the game, just balance and glitch fixes.
Apparently the multiplayer is playable at the moment(Frankie implied it in a NeoGAF past I think). A beta is unlikely, I’m not too worried about multiplayer, I trust 343 to do the right thing. I’m more worried about the campaign than mulptiplayer, I wanna know what the hell is gonna happen!
> > I don’t know about a beta, I wouldn’t expect one from them at this point. Less than a year to launch and we barely have any information about the game, for 343i to have a beta and address any issues the community finds they would likely need to do it in the Spring.
> >
> > I can see an early “demo” or beta in the late summer or early fall to test how well the servers hold up and get early feedback on glitches and gameplay.
>
> This is what I expect. Although I worry by late summer it will be too late for them to make major changes to the game, just balance and glitch fixes.
The Halo games never changed majorly between the beta and the final product anyway. The only thing I remember changing from the Reach beta to the final was that a lot of the Covie weapons got nerfed to a point where most players wouldn’t use them. Really, that’s all the Halo betas have been for, getting a massive amount of people to play the game online in order to find as many bugs/glitches as possible, and then changing a thing or two with the gameplay.
> Apparently the multiplayer is playable at the moment(Frankie implied it in a NeoGAF past I think). A beta is unlikely, <mark>I’m not too worried about multiplayer, I trust 343 to do the right thing.</mark> I’m more worried about the campaign than mulptiplayer, I wanna know what the hell is gonna happen!
I’m really not trying to sound douchey when I say this, but why would you trust them to do the right thing with the multiplayer? Like what would make you think it’s going to be better than Halo 4?
And I am excited to see what happens in the campaign storyline, too. But I’m not worried about it at all. IMO the campaign is the one thing they nailed in Halo 4.
> > > I don’t know about a beta, I wouldn’t expect one from them at this point. Less than a year to launch and we barely have any information about the game, for 343i to have a beta and address any issues the community finds they would likely need to do it in the Spring.
> > >
> > > I can see an early “demo” or beta in the late summer or early fall to test how well the servers hold up and get early feedback on glitches and gameplay.
> >
> > This is what I expect. Although I worry by late summer it will be too late for them to make major changes to the game, just balance and glitch fixes.
>
> The Halo games never changed majorly between the beta and the final product anyway. The only thing I remember changing from the Reach beta to the final was that a lot of the Covie weapons got nerfed to a point where most players wouldn’t use them. Really, that’s all the Halo betas have been for, getting a massive amount of people to play the game online in order to find as many bugs/glitches as possible, and then changing a thing or two with the gameplay.
Still, I think there would have been a lot of balance fixes that we desperately needed if there was a beta. Maybe they would have nerfed camo and the boltshot and changed the ability to spawn with plasma pistols and plasma grenades. That seems entirely within the scope of a beta’s fixes.
> Apparently the multiplayer is playable at the moment(Frankie implied it in a NeoGAF past I think). A beta is unlikely, I’m not too worried about multiplayer, I trust 343 to do the right thing. I’m more worried about the campaign than mulptiplayer, I wanna know what the hell is gonna happen!
Chief is gonna go soul-searching trying to understand what it means to be Human, and discover his own definition of what’s right and wrong. Likely, this will put him at odds with the ONI if he discovers any of their evil deeds(The Mona Lisa, planning genocide of Elites, framing Halsey and trying to kill her, etc.). The Didact is likely to return, whether he will remain an adversary is unknown, if Jul still knows where he is, then it’s possible that Halsey will meet him. Blue team will likely be involved, along with the return of the Flood.
I’m almost willing to bet money on this, but with 343i supposedly having a full crew and being more competent twists are possible.
I wouldn’t expect one. Would it be nice yea but with the time frame that we are on now I can’t see us getting one.
> > > > I don’t know about a beta, I wouldn’t expect one from them at this point. Less than a year to launch and we barely have any information about the game, for 343i to have a beta and address any issues the community finds they would likely need to do it in the Spring.
> > > >
> > > > I can see an early “demo” or beta in the late summer or early fall to test how well the servers hold up and get early feedback on glitches and gameplay.
> > >
> > > This is what I expect. Although I worry by late summer it will be too late for them to make major changes to the game, just balance and glitch fixes.
> >
> > The Halo games never changed majorly between the beta and the final product anyway. The only thing I remember changing from the Reach beta to the final was that a lot of the Covie weapons got nerfed to a point where most players wouldn’t use them. Really, that’s all the Halo betas have been for, getting a massive amount of people to play the game online in order to find as many bugs/glitches as possible, and then changing a thing or two with the gameplay.
>
> Still, I think there would have been a lot of balance fixes that we desperately needed if there was a beta. Maybe they would have nerfed camo and the boltshot and changed the ability to spawn with plasma pistols and plasma grenades. That seems entirely within the scope of a beta’s fixes.
343i was seeking to emulate CoD and other popular modern shooters by bringing in the things they did. Combine that ideology, with the fact that post release of Halo 4 they only addressed one of those issues, and I highly doubt a beta would’ve had any major effect on that front. If Halo 4 had even had a beta, that would’ve meant they would have to have had more crew and more time, both of which they didn’t. Anyway, the ideology would’ve likely remained the same, but we might’ve had less missing features in the final product.
I don’t think there will be a beta for the next halo. Unfortunately the majority of those who would play the beta would just treat it like a demo and not give real feedback. It’s a shame because a larger public beta could weed out a lot of problems that would not be found in a closed beta. However I don’t see this happening.
Also the time frame doesn’t really indicate that a beta would be possible. If the next Halo is to release in 2014 there’s only 9 - 11 months till release. The game itself would be ready for release by July/August. So if a beta were to happen and be effective it would have to release by March/April. Seeing as how we know almost nothing about the next title the chances of a beta by that time would be almost 0.
> I don’t think there will be a beta for the next halo. Unfortunately the majority of those who would play the beta would just treat it like a demo and not give real feedback. It’s a shame because a larger public beta could weed out a lot of problems that would not be found in a closed beta. However I don’t see this happening.
>
> Also the time frame doesn’t really indicate that a beta would be possible. If the next Halo is to release in 2014 there’s only 9 - 11 months till release. The game itself would be ready for release by July/August. So if a beta were to happen and be effective it would have to release by March/April. Seeing as how we know almost nothing about the next title the chances of a beta by that time would be almost 0.
I disagree. Plenty of games have betas a month or two before the game launches. They don’t necessarily need to get and implement all of the feedback before the game goes gold. They could ship the game and then put fixes in a day one patch.
> > > > > I don’t know about a beta, I wouldn’t expect one from them at this point. Less than a year to launch and we barely have any information about the game, for 343i to have a beta and address any issues the community finds they would likely need to do it in the Spring.
> > > > >
> > > > > I can see an early “demo” or beta in the late summer or early fall to test how well the servers hold up and get early feedback on glitches and gameplay.
> > > >
> > > > This is what I expect. Although I worry by late summer it will be too late for them to make major changes to the game, just balance and glitch fixes.
> > >
> > > The Halo games never changed majorly between the beta and the final product anyway. The only thing I remember changing from the Reach beta to the final was that a lot of the Covie weapons got nerfed to a point where most players wouldn’t use them. Really, that’s all the Halo betas have been for, getting a massive amount of people to play the game online in order to find as many bugs/glitches as possible, and then changing a thing or two with the gameplay.
> >
> > Still, I think there would have been a lot of balance fixes that we desperately needed if there was a beta. Maybe they would have nerfed camo and the boltshot and changed the ability to spawn with plasma pistols and plasma grenades. That seems entirely within the scope of a beta’s fixes.
>
> 343i was seeking to emulate CoD and other popular modern shooters by bringing in the things they did. Combine that ideology, with the fact that post release of Halo 4 they only addressed one of those issues, and I highly doubt a beta would’ve had any major effect on that front. If Halo 4 had even had a beta, that would’ve meant they would have to have had more crew and more time, both of which they didn’t. Anyway, the ideology would’ve likely remained the same, but we might’ve had less missing features in the final product.
Actually, you’re probably right. Even months after the game shipped they were pretty reluctant to make changes. Even the things they did address were usually only small half-fixes. Like the boltshot and vehicles being made of paper.
> > Apparently the multiplayer is playable at the moment(Frankie implied it in a NeoGAF past I think). A beta is unlikely, <mark>I’m not too worried about multiplayer, I trust 343 to do the right thing.</mark> I’m more worried about the campaign than mulptiplayer, I wanna know what the hell is gonna happen!
>
> I’m really not trying to sound douchey when I say this, but why would you trust them to do the right thing with the multiplayer? Like what would make you think it’s going to be better than Halo 4?
>
> And I am excited to see what happens in the campaign storyline, too. But I’m not worried about it at all. IMO the campaign is the one thing they nailed in Halo 4.
They know they made mistakes. And one of those mistakes(which I hope they acknowledged) was not putting a classic Halo 2/3-ish playlist in Halo 4. I expect them to make Halo 5 better multiplayer wise by putting a classic playlist in the game. And if they didn’t acknowledge it then multiplayer will suck again.
I’m going to do a massive quote of something I more or less say in EVERY thread like this one.
> I’ve said this so many times, I’m tired of saying it, but last I must.
>
> There should be NO PUBLIC BETA. Why, because it’s a waste of time, most people, like others have already pointed out, don’t treat Betas as betas, they treat betas as early access demos. Neither betas nor Demos are meant for what YOU’RE asking OP.
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> Betas are for finding bugs, and getting them fixed, Demos is your early hype inducing, sneak peak of the game.
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> What is need is a semi public/closed PLAY TEST. Play tests are not betas, they’re not demos, they are a test used to let a small or large group of people TEST, the game, and figure out if it’s what they like, and give feedback on it. THAT’S WHAT HALO NEEDS.
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> Halo 5 should do a playtest, select people from all Halo and non Halo communities, even number of people from each communities, so no single group of people feel like they’re not equally represented. They are picked partly by random, and partly by their activity in the game, and on the forums, how much feedback they give, and how popular they are. They should be given a chance to play small snips of each game mode, and then after a set amount of games and/or hours/days, they should have to give a very detailed report giving their feedback on their gameplay. If they perform this task in a timely manner, and give FEEDBACK, not “Your game sucks, you should go screw yourself because of how bad your game is!”, they should be allowed to play more. If they don’t give feedback, they’re removed from the playtest, and then luck out on any future chances of such playtests and/or early access.
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> By no means am I saying they should only pick the popular people. But at the same time, I’m not saying they should pick the random everyday joe, who is more or less an unknown person to the community as a whole. The idea is to have people who are well known among the community, so people know that the developers are letting people “test” the game, but also so they can report to their fellow community members about their playtest, and feedback, the community can look at what they say, and have a good picture of what to expect in the game.
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> The idea behind public betas aren’t what you are thinking, and what you treat it like. These days Public betas are more of a marketing tool than a “We want our community’s opinion on our work.” tool. And because of that, I don’t agree with all of the “WE WANT A PUBLIC BETA!” BS people throw around. I don’t want a public beta, I want a Play Test where the playtesters, and their feedback are public, and maybe even their gameplay. I want REAL PEOPLE, giving REAL FEEDBACK, in a PLAYTEST. Not some random Joe playing the game early, and having the honor system based feedback, where the developers trust the players to give feedback.
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> And yes, I know there are people who are going to start pulling the “WE HATE 343I, AND YOU’RE JUST BLIND FANBOYS” card, so I’m going to say this. Good feedback isn’t feedback that’s littered with insults, and flaming of the developers. You don’t like something, GOOD! There is no reason to attack the developers just because you do not like something. You know what happens when you become a loud mouth A Hole, who does nothing but treat the developers, and everyone who doesn’t agree like crap? EVERYONE IGNORES HIM/HER. People are more willing to listen to people’s complaints, and feedback, if they’re nice about it, and give DETAILS, on what’s wrong.
I support a semi-public/semi-closed Play Test, NOT a Public beta.
Decent possibility…
Pollinating another game with the Halo 5 Beta could push some people toward the console all the sooner. It’s all about selling consoles, remember.
I kind of hope it happens, if only to speed up my argument for buying an XB1. “Sorry, dear, but I said we can wait until Halo is out, and technically…”
It’s not at all necessary, just a really good “nice to have”. The more I see the XB1 in person, the more I look at how badly Halo 4 missed some things, the better I feel about 343’s approach for this game. I give 'em the benefit of the doubt, and trust they can pull off a successful multiplayer without a Beta.