This sounds like something I'd here in 2 in 3 posts on Waypoint. Nothing against you Cluck, I like you. I just get a little irritated on this point because myself and countless others addressed this issue, and other issues people had with the complainers, over and over. Frankly, I got tired of having to retort to the same remark over and over. I also ran out of different ways to say it. So I left the Waypoint forums. This crowd seems a bit more...intelligent than Waypoint, on average. I'll give my spiel here, once: 1) Changing the absolute core of the game is huge, and I personally think it warrants a new series, not a sequel. Halo has always featured same starts, pickup-based gameplay across the board, map control-focused play, team-focused play and the ability for any player to stand a chance, with the ultimate deciding factor being skill. About half, or more of these traits are gone in Halo 4, while they've all been present (except same starts in Reach, but that was a huge complaint) in every previous title. It's huge, and frankly, I think changing this makes it something else, not Halo. These are as vital to me as shields in Halo multiplayer. 2) I don't need to play this particular version of loadouts to know how loadouts function. I have countless other loadout-based shooters I can play. I come to Halo to avoid that. No version of this change will appease me, as the very idea of dissimilar starts is sacrilege, in my eyes. I've also played with Sprint (in another Halo game AND other games), I've played with killcams, I've played with perks. I have a good idea for how they will work. Do you think a Star Wars reboot featuring the director/cast/crew of Twilight would be good? No. I don't need to watch it to tell you that. These changes aren't something new to the genre, AND they go against what made Halo stand apart for the last 11 years. Not all change is to be accepted. I've also listed examples of things I wouldn't mind, to counter the "You just hate change" argument. For example, secondary firing modes on all weapons (Marathon, anyone?), more platform driven gameplay (maybe double jump for all?), acrobatic additions (think wall jump), space battles/zero-g mode and anything else that doesn't stray too far while preserving what makes Halo stand apart. I came up with that list in like 2 minutes. I'm sure their creative department could do better, but I actually really like the first one to be honest. So, that being said, I think classic/customs will probably be my main hideout in Halo 4. I say probably because I will play regular, but I'm seriously skeptical for the above reasons.
Hell if you guys want, since I will be getting my copy of the game many hours before most of the rest of you, (benefits of living in the future) I could join the shoutbox chat as soon as I get home from he midnight release to answer any questions y'all have. Should leave you with enough time to decide to keep on with preorders or cancel them and merely rent for the campaign. I plan on goofing around on the maps to see what they offer forge wise and everything else, looking at custom game settings and then playing a few matchmaking games first. Campaign play through will wait till later on in the day when I can use the theater room without anyone else being around.
On a seperate note, this is the second time that I can remember where Pegasi got someone to say "I actually meant something completely different from what I typed". On a short non-Halo tangent (next time I will send something like this in a PM) In response to Pegasi, "change" was not a talking point, it was a catchword, a word that people could chant when they were enthusiastic. A talking point is supposed to spark a debate (but the term is used pejoratively appropriately because it can be blurted out to avoid a different debate and only talk on your terms). Chanting or creating a catchword may be juvenile, pointless and almost meaningless, but it's not meant to be an argument. Both sides use it regardless of what their arguments are.
Jetpack has been significantly nerfed/changed. It now works a lot like a jump-pack. Skip to 1:50 HALO 4 MULTIPLAYER HANDS ON GAMEPLAY @ EuroGamer 2012 - YouTube
Good nerf. Also, that Boltshot looks like it might be a fantastic little tool. Looking forward to playing with that.
It looks like it functions the same, except just with less fuel. Now I see it being used more often to gain a height advantage every 10 seconds instead of some super-mobile map breaker.
Does it make you a little sad that like, the worst Halo players in the world are playing this, leaving feedback and writing articles on it. Thank the gods that some of the MLG guys have been out there.
boltshot is gonna be so pro. really happy with that nerf on the jetpack. i still think im gonna be all about the thrusters instead though.
It's easier to build a game balanced around play at the top and get lower players to like it than balancing around the bottom and attracting a higher crowd. Balance gets more sensitive the higher you go. Sure, fun is obviously top priority, but fun should also be balanced and fair. The higher leveled players can leave better feedback on the latter, whereas lower players might suggest/comment on things that really aren't going to play well because they don't know better, but think it will be fun. Look at the 'Pelicans in Multiplayer'. It sounds fun, but with 8 on a team, you literally could not even fill it up. Not to mention it wouldn't serve much of a purpose unless it had door guns, and if it did, that would be a giant uber-Falcon. Sounds fun, but I'd trust the upper tier over the lower tier when it comes to suggestions.
yeah, that makes sense. I just don't like it when people go around criticizing the casuals. We're here to have fun, too.
That's the problem with 90% of their design choices. They made them to appease the fickle casual audience who'll stick with the game for two weeks.
i dont have stats for this, but i'd imagine that with a game as massively popular as halo, the casual players do make up the majority. so while it may be frustrating that they make a decision to appeal to that crowd, it does make some sense. edit- additionally, that crowd is easier to please than the impossible-to-please hardcore crowd.
There is a difference between players who play for fun and don't play MLG and players who don't play Halo and they're trying to hook in. It's the latter I have a problem with. Be happy with the best selling xbox exclusives of all time, seriously.
It's not at all impossible to develop a mechanic that will appeal to all gamers. But customizable loadouts and perks just isn't one of them.
^ Precisely. They're going for wide appeal and working off principles that proved successful for the most wide appeal console shooter of this generation. And mazdak, how exactly would you propose designing a mechanic which appeals to all quarters?