Will Infinite still deliver hope? I have questions

Games Halo Infinite
1

A new Community Update has been posted as of Thursday, 07/30/2020 (one week to the day from the Infinite premiere) (see here), and I’m still…kind of optimistic? Disappointed? Overall, I still have very mixed emotions with Infinite. I guess I’m not sure how else to feel. There’s still some things that haven’t been talked about and I sincerely want some answers on this.

1: Will Infinite be rated M? I ask because there was a lot of blood in the OG Combat Evolved (aka Halo 1), which with the newer games it was overall more toned down. In Halo 5, it was almost non-existent and that really disappointed me. I still would like for there to be blood splatters, maybe not like the excess from Halo 1 but still.

2: In the new Community Update, they mentioned including further additions to the sandbox. Will those additions be just for multiplayer-only like Halo 5 was for its various updates over time? Or, will those additions apply to both campaign and multiplayer?

3: Is Craig going to be an Easter egg in this game? I haven’t laughed so hard in such a long time after seeing those hilarious memes.

4: What’s with the Minecraft/Mega Blox art style for the Brutes/Phantom? Seriously? I know in the Community Update, they “stand by this decision” but come on…this is Halo. If I wanted to play Minecraft or a Mega Blox game, I would have done that already.

5: Not a question, but the music sounds very awesome so far. Looking forward to hearing more!

6: Will the Warthog’s sound be changed? The community is very mixed on how it sounds. Personally, I strongly dislike it from the Infinite demo. If you want to make a “spiritual reboot” of the game, at least make some of the sounds familiar from prior titles to give back that nostalgia. A Warthog sounds…well, like a Warthog. Whether you like the older Warthog’s sounds or not, you can still instantly recognize it.

7: Will enemies have different animations to enhance ‘realism’ in the game? For example, in the Infinite demo I noticed the Brutes throwing their grenades under-handed. Can they also throw over-handed too like from prior titles?

8: Will skulls/terminals make a return? Also, what about dual-wielding weapons and boarding/hijacking enemy vehicles?

9: What about Marines/other allies? Will they appear in the game too?

10: What about the rumors for free-to-play multiplayer? Will it be “pay-to-win”?

11: Will the gold hexagonal shield recharge effects be removed or toned-down?

12: Will there be a Limited and/or Legendary edition of Infinite? Physical disc? Pre-order bonuses?

I’m hoping that…well, 343 will still deliver hope. 5 years of development, and a rumored $500 million dollar (USD) budget, I’m really having high expectations for this game. I really would greatly appreciate if my questions can be addressed, even in a future Community Update or something.

Edit #1: added questions #9 and #10.

Edit #2: added question #11.

Edit #3: added question #12.

2

Simple answer:

No.

Long answer:

Game will release in a poor state both technically and most definitely visually. Will feel like an early access title for the best part of a year or more after release. This until eventually enough patches bring it up to an acceptable standard of quality for a AAA Halo game that is supposed to be a launch title for next gen gaming.

I’m actually curious to see how much they can improve the game in only 3-4 months before release. Reportedly there may be something like 1200 people working on Halo: Infinite. Due in part to the fact that Microsoft are sending in extra hands to help out 343 for development of Halo: Infinite. Because the core 343 team is just not up to the task.

3

> 2533274925473364;2:
> Simple answer:
>
> No.
>
> Long answer:
>
> Game will release in a poor state both technically and most definitely visually. Will feel like an early access title for the best part of a year or more after release. This until eventually enough patches bring it up to an acceptable standard of quality for a AAA Halo game that is supposed to be a launch title for next gen gaming.
>
> I’m actually curious to see how much they can improve the game in only 3-4 months before release. Reportedly there may be something like 1200 people working on Halo: Infinite. Due in part to the fact that Microsoft are sending in extra hands to help out 343 for development of Halo: Infinite. Because the core 343 team is just not up to the task.

I hope you’re right about improving the game further. 2020 has been an overall terrible year for many people. I just want this game to deliver hope, as cliche as it sounds.

4

> 2533274925473364;2:
> Simple answer:
>
> No.
>
> Long answer:
>
> Game will release in a poor state both technically and most definitely visually. Will feel like an early access title for the best part of a year or more after release. This until eventually enough patches bring it up to an acceptable standard of quality for a AAA Halo game that is supposed to be a launch title for next gen gaming.
>
> I’m actually curious to see how much they can improve the game in only 3-4 months before release. Reportedly there may be something like 1200 people working on Halo: Infinite. Due in part to the fact that Microsoft are sending in extra hands to help out 343 for development of Halo: Infinite. Because the core 343 team is just not up to the task.

It’s the same old 'launch broken and incomplete, have players beta test with their money in our pocket, skimp on updates ‘cause that’s how you make money’- tactic. The response to complaints will be 'Hey we told you that it was going to be a 10 year plan, live service game right?"

I haven’t got much hope for something else to be honest.

5

I appreciated 343i’s response in the community update, it made me less pessimistic about the game. Also, watching Digital Foundry’s assessment of why the graphics looked bad (mainly because the entire demo was in twilight lighting with most of the objects/chatacters in shadows, which dynamically lit games struggle with) gave me hope that other sections of the game will look solid or at least acceptable.

I’m happy they addressed the fact that Infinite seems to ignore the last two games in the saga. I’m not sure I believe them that all these characters and storylines will really be addressed properly, it does look like the game will focus on Chief and the Pilot (who I don’t like, personally) with Escharum as the villain (who I also dislike at the moment). I’m not optimistic, since 343i have disappointed before, but I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that the next time we see Infinite, it’ll be more impressive.

6

> 2533274846978810;5:
> I appreciated 343i’s response in the community update, it made me less pessimistic about the game. Also, watching Digital Foundry’s assessment of why the graphics looked bad (mainly because the entire demo was in twilight lighting with most of the objects/chatacters in shadows, which dynamically lit games struggle with) gave me hope that other sections of the game will look solid or at least acceptable.
>
> I’m happy they addressed the fact that Infinite seems to ignore the last two games in the saga. I’m not sure I believe them that all these characters and storylines will really be addressed properly, it does look like the game will focus on Chief and the Pilot (who I don’t like, personally) with Escharum as the villain (who I also dislike at the moment). I’m not optimistic, since 343i have disappointed before, but I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that the next time we see Infinite, it’ll be more impressive.

Personally I like the Pilot, but for Escharum I’m not too sure yet.

7

> 2533274846978810;5:
> I appreciated 343i’s response in the community update, it made me less pessimistic about the game. Also, watching Digital Foundry’s assessment of why the graphics looked bad (mainly because the entire demo was in twilight lighting with most of the objects/chatacters in shadows, which dynamically lit games struggle with) gave me hope that other sections of the game will look solid or at least acceptable.
>
> I’m happy they addressed the fact that Infinite seems to ignore the last two games in the saga. I’m not sure I believe them that all these characters and storylines will really be addressed properly, it does look like the game will focus on Chief and the Pilot (who I don’t like, personally) with Escharum as the villain (who I also dislike at the moment). I’m not optimistic, since 343i have disappointed before, but I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that the next time we see Infinite, it’ll be more impressive.

the response was ok, until they said the shotgun and magnum are not in the game. these weapons need to be there at launch. and the other main stay sandbox weapons too.
halo should not be a looter-shooter with 20 versions of one gun.

8

[deleted]

9

> 2533274945422049;7:
> > 2533274846978810;5:
> > I appreciated 343i’s response in the community update, it made me less pessimistic about the game. Also, watching Digital Foundry’s assessment of why the graphics looked bad (mainly because the entire demo was in twilight lighting with most of the objects/chatacters in shadows, which dynamically lit games struggle with) gave me hope that other sections of the game will look solid or at least acceptable.
> >
> > I’m happy they addressed the fact that Infinite seems to ignore the last two games in the saga. I’m not sure I believe them that all these characters and storylines will really be addressed properly, it does look like the game will focus on Chief and the Pilot (who I don’t like, personally) with Escharum as the villain (who I also dislike at the moment). I’m not optimistic, since 343i have disappointed before, but I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that the next time we see Infinite, it’ll be more impressive.
>
> the response was ok, until they said the shotgun and magnum are not in the game. these weapons need to be there at launch. and the other main stay sandbox weapons too.
> halo should not be a looter-shooter with 20 versions of one gun.

I’ve been playing the full Halo series for about 2/3’s of my entire life. I remember the “classic” days of playing ODST and Reach, the OG versions on the 360. When I heard that the BR was not going to be present in either of those games, I was maybe just a tad bit disappointed but I still fondly remember those games. I still agree some classic weapons should return. According to the article, the BR 75 (not exactly the same as the BR 55 from Halo 2 or the BR 55 HB/SR from Halo 3) will make an appearance.

The gameplay still does look good, I will admit that. I strongly prefer gameplay over graphics, but the graphics should definitely be updated.

10

> 2533274945422049;7:
> the response was ok, until they said the shotgun and magnum are not in the game. these weapons need to be there at launch. and the other main stay sandbox weapons too.
> halo should not be a looter-shooter with 20 versions of one gun.

Honestly for campaign I’m fine with there being a ton of weapon varients. One of the many things that were great about CE"s campaign was the sutble randomness in enemy classes and placement. Sleeping grunts werent always in the same places, an elite’s rank wasn’t always the same. Kept you on your toes. Having different weapon varients (provided they aren’t some literal power tier system) i’m fine with.

Now for multiplayer, there I agree weapon types should be reliable and consistant.

11

> 2533274964189700;10:
> > 2533274945422049;7:
> > the response was ok, until they said the shotgun and magnum are not in the game. these weapons need to be there at launch. and the other main stay sandbox weapons too.
> > halo should not be a looter-shooter with 20 versions of one gun.
>
> Honestly for campaign I’m fine with there being a ton of weapon varients. One of the many things that were great about CE"s campaign was the sutble randomness in enemy classes and placement. Sleeping grunts werent always in the same places, an elite’s rank wasn’t always the same. Kept you on your toes. Having different weapon varients (provided they aren’t some literal power tier system) i’m fine with.
>
> Now for multiplayer, there I agree weapon types should be reliable and consistant.

I agree with you about CE’s “randomness” about enemy ranks and spawning points. I’m okay with multiple variants existing for the same weapon, but like Fractal Echo wrote I don’t want a dozen or two variants. Consistency is still needed while delivering a solid and exciting gameplay experience.