Thoughts on the direction of movement mechanics

Games Halo Infinite
1

One of the hottest topics concerning Infinite right now is the direction the movement mechanics will take, either leaning towards “classic” movement (no sprint, ADS, or Spartan Abilities), or advanced movement (sprint, ADS, Spartan Abilities). Those who enjoyed Halos 1-3 and disliked Reach-5 would say that classic is the way to go so Halo can bring back its identity and in term have a shot at being the king at FPS games again. On the other hand, Reach-5 fans often say that the classic games are too slow, not fun, etc. They want advanced movement in the new game.

However, neither of these sides are wrong. It isn’t the fault of the people for liking which games they like, nor the fault of Bungie/343i for taking a developmental change into the franchise.

Observing discussion amongst both the Halo Waypoint forums and Installation 01 development talk has led me to believe that there is a compromise that can be made. Include both styles of play, but separate them.

If Infinite sticks to the matchmaking system we’ve had since Halo 2, with Social and Ranked playlists co-existing, former for casuals and latter for competitive players, advanced movement can be split up into those playlists. Have Social game modes where advanced movement is enabled, but restrict it in Ranked modes.

Halo: Reach is a good example of this division, albeit not the same kind. Loadouts with varying Armor Abilities were provided to every player in Matchmaking, however in a few playlists and Custom Games, the feature was sometimes restricted or removed entirely to promote a more classic style of play with the same gameplay sandbox.

Halo 5 is a new experience to me, as I just got it this weekend for free and played it practically the whole time. The Spartan Abilities, sprint, and overall faster gameplay have made modes like Super Fiesta and Castle Wars CTF the most Halo fun I’ve had since I first got Reach in 2014. However, I don’t find it to be a game with a huge competitive nature, as far as Halo competitive history itself is concerned. Halo 2 and 3 are where that changes, and that’s why they’re the favored games of most of the competitive players.

I do believe that a compromise can be met with these movement mechanics so that everyone will be happy. Be it splitting them into Social and Ranked, Matchmaking and Custom Games, and so forth, both sides of the debate could take something away. Compeititve players can get sweaty with a classic style of play in their own section, while more relaxed casuals can enjoy moving around like crazy and having sloppy, untamed fun in theirs. Both sides win.

I really think that if one route is taken, Halo’s fanbase is in jeopardy. Most minds aren’t easy to change. If Infinite goes classic, many advanced supporters will drop off Infinite and continue playing Halo 5. If Infinite goes advanced, classic supporters will stay in MCC.

With all of that said, I obviously do not prefer one side of the argument to the other. Both sides want what they want, and there’s nothing anyone can do to change that. That’s why I feel like compromising is definitely the way to keep everyone aboard Infinite.

2

If we look at the movement from a design perspective I feel that new movement mechanics don’t add much beyond an illusion of new abilities.

Clamber lowers to skill ceiling and floor but encourages a player to become reliant on a miss the jump button over engaging in the core mechanics and becoming fluent in their understanding of map design and jumping mechanics. I agree we can reach a compromise that also creates a new facet of play instead of simply removing freeform movement in skill jumps. This would require maps to use environmental cues on ledges, EG; jagged glass, rotating cylinders, hardlight, Moss, Slime, barbed wire, electrified surfaces, vents etc. to denote non-clamberable ledges. increase the accuracy needed to clamber and use, chains, ropes, and cloth as notifiers of less obvious route leaving some more ambiguous for a learning curve. Have it be an option for obstacles slightly above jump height at the expense of mobility, to speed up weaker players while skilled use advanced jumping techniques like crouch jumping to gain an advantage. Allow for clambering players to maintain a forward fire in the right hand at reduced accuracy. The left hand is in use delaying grenade, equipment use and dropping left-hand weapons. Additionally, make it possible to hang on ledges for a short period with the player being able to clamber over or bounce off of the ledge adding a new avenue of verticle movement. Note clamber should always be less advantageous than standard jumps and limited by map design as to reduce its utility as a crutch yet allowing a faster pace of play.
Sprint was implemented well in Halo 5 but has an undeniable effect on map design. I believe it is fine in campaign but multiplayer maps should be designed around it being excluded or a pickup.
Thrust capitalized on the advanced movement trend and added nothing to the sandbox beside cannibalizing strafe jumping. It should be treated as a pickup/weapon-utility or toggle option, reason being is the impact it has on weapon design having to accommodate a dodge button. The thruster could be a pickup on a map that also features a hydra.
I see the ground pound being tied to a jet/t-pack pick up as a good middle ground. The spartan charge perhaps being replaced by a melee momentum bonus from a speed boost pickup.
These encompass a faster more modern feeling take on classic movement. Now, these would be your standard game settings, an infinity playlist would provide an ability centric spin on the classic game types for those so inclined. Also, a larger scale game mode may benefit sprint as a standard option.

As for stabilize and Promethean vision, I have taken these from a design doc I wrote years ago and updated after 5 released.

“Lancer Knight; New Light rifle, uses Halo 4’s ammo system but allows a player to stabilize as it’s special utility along with doing burn damage. once the shot hits the damage is calculated over an extended period of time instead of instantly. this is not the same as the spiker’s bleed out mechanic mentioned in the brute breakdown. This gives the option for the weapon to create very small burning patches of ground giving a chance of inflicting small damage if the shot is over lead. It is now more distinct from the DMR/BR/NR/CCNR/ falling between the dmr and carbine with br style bursts unscoped. Like the other Forerunner Weapons, it has a unique utility and is a jack of trades. useful in mid to long weak in close. Lancers have a grenade launcher arm and no melee attack. The grenade is telegraphed as it is now. Can glow blue to show a retreat warp that goads players into the fray to close the gap, to make sure shields don’t recharge.”

"
Sniper soldier.
bright red “cyclops eye” on the head and red lights from the binary rifle. after each shot the sniper will telegraph the next location it plans to shoot from. Has less health than other soldiers but can use holographs. (Holding the holograph button down allows players to create a short animation reel for holographs EG one could fire reload and jump forward and the hologram would perform said actions before stopping still.) It carries a new binary rifle. In single player, a sniper can whistle to summon a small crawler pack on tagged players this is designed to force players out from cover and take on the sniper.
The binary rifle can now tag the player or enemy Ai. if the (red) reticule is placed on them. Allowing teammates to see the tagged individual for a short time with a Promethean vision outline through geometry. The binary rifle increases the height of jumps and reduces the rate of fall. (This is to encourage skill shots and create a higher skill gap on the rifle). Its increased utility as a tool for marking enemy units is offset by smaller max ammo and a slower rate of fire. The beam can be manually ended early by releasing the trigger. Holding the trigger allows the second beam to fire faster after use, BUT the weapon descopes after each extended shot and players must release the trigger to engage the scope again. The red lens flare remains on targetted players. The TTK is closer to that of the H4 variant. When unscoped, the Binary Rifle’s reticle is grossly enlarged making it harder to aim effectively. Once fired the gun has a slight recoil and a random recoil direction after the trigger is released. Zoom 5x/10x. A skilled player should be able to get a hattrick on a close together group of players/enemies from a single two round shot(when the trigger is held) but should be vulnerable after taking said shot. Creating a risk-reward mentality when used, a missed shot could likely result in death due to the weapons recharging reload as opposed to the standard. once reload is pressed to ammo counter regenerates over a short period. Forgetting to press reload and switching weapons means players can miss headshot opportunities."

Open to feedback. I was pretty green in design when I wrote thequoted stuff.

3

Let’s keep the movement mechanics discussion here for now.

4

Best place to discuss this right now is in this thread:
https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/29568daf8cd14083bd1b70a810bf3581/topics/the-return-of-classic-movement-mechanics/dbb9e311-d2f8-48b5-9826-259bffe75cac/posts