Watch this before reading anything else. Skip over 0:30-1:42 to skip the promotion he does if ya want So I watched this video and thought this would be an awesome addition to add into Halo. The only problem I saw with it though was how they could implement it into the game without just slapping it in with no real reason. So my idea was to implement this idea into Warzone. It would be a way to "re-sell" the idea of Warzone to the community and at the same time innovate upon it so that players who weren't too fond of the gamemode could see that change has been made and give it another chance. They wouldn't even have to call it Warzone and just rebrand it as well. For the sake of explanation though, I'm just going to call it Warzone. So imagine Warzone being it's own separate entity within the game and not just a gamemode. Like how there is campaign, matchmaking, and forge/custom games, Warzone would be its own thing that would include Warzone gamemodes as well as all social playlist (as it would fit nicely) which would help competitive arena stand out as it's own entity (and we've seen how comp players can get...). This is my idea of how it could be organized: You load up Warzone and it takes you to an open social space like Destiny providing different options. There's a simulation room that can take you into the normal Warzone games, but then there's actual stores where you buy your reqs separately (Yes I know MTs are bleh but they will be in the game so at least they could make it more interactive) and I feel like they include some iconic characters in this as vendors for armor, weapons, etc. A separate simulation room could be for social playlist like social slayer or infection. And for new stuff, there should be a room where you can use any req whether you have it or not and test out all the different weapons in a sort of testing range. There could be an area where you get different Warzone challenges and stuff. Of course any extra stuff they'd wanna include like easter eggs, mini games, etc. This would also give meaning again to cool armor and weapon skins since other players could see what you would be wearing. Love to hear thoughts and opinions on this.
SO counter-point. I think Social Spaces are cool in certain games but not all. They are cool in: ESO, Phantasy Star, Destiny They are not cool in: COD WWII Why? Because it's not authentic. COD literally only has the social space because FPS players liked it in Destiny. However, in CODWII it is NOT integral to your experience as a player. Everything there is so forced and soooo much of it is just reskins of what you have in Destiny. Full disclosure: I was not impressed with CODWII as a whole, so I'm not pulling punches. I think the first question to ask when talking about a social space in Halo 6 is whether or not it even makes any sense from a game experience standpoint to have one. Does it? How do lobbies for customs/forge work? So many questions.
I completely agree that it isn't made for all games, but I feel like Halo has a nice world that a social sort of space could take advantage of that and expand upon it. 343 were even considering making Halo 5 have a central hub during the campaign where the player was free to roam around before going on a next mission (similar to the non-combat missions) before it was scrapped so it isn't too far-fetched to consider having such a space in Halo. But I also feel like it's one of those situations where since someone did it first, it is now theirs and anyone else who tries to make that is just copying their idea. Of course that shouldn't be the case but as we can see in COD WWII, it would be hard to not just copy what Destiny did first and make it original somehow. And as far as lobbies for customs/forge would go, they should remain the same. Maybe not exactly like how Halo 5 has it but a better UI could easily fix that.
They should go a similar root to warframe. Instead of scrolling through screens, you go to an area in you ship were you have a vr to play custom games. You could also go to your game collection (bookmarks) and easily see which ones currently have games active by interacting with it and all the top ten active games show up on your screen, click on one and then your character takes the game, puts the game in and puts he vr headset on. And to find new games you havent bookmarked you go to your computer where it says find new games and it takes you to the old custom browser that only shows maps you havent bookmarked. Ive noticed alot of halo players dont know what bookmarking is so they should rename to Install or something and bury the save option behind another menu. When loading in you go to a virtual playspace on your own that could be anything, a playspace youve designed yourself or somebody elses playspace youve downloaded. For arena, social, warzone, you go to the cockpit and choose a destination. during loading when players join you, you see other players ships join you. You could even do where your spartan then sky dives out of your ship onto the battlefield. In the cockpit there could also be an option to go to a marketplace like destiny where everyone meets up and buys new armor and stuff. I think everything I just said would make halo feel much more alive. I also forgot about campaign, I think there should be a menu screen with the option for single player and multiplayer and when you select multiplayer you go to your ship. I hope they do something creative.
hahaah, dude, me and nga joined one of those in the public server browser... It was hilarious!! they where leading us through these scripted doors and seperating us into rooms, they even thought we were from a different clan and were conspiring against them
lol I know, 343 need to get some new blood that wont f things up. Off topic, do people want halo single player to always be a straight forward linear campaign? i havent played halo 1 or 2 and Ive always thought halos story and gameplay was ok, nothing spectacular. reaches story I thought was good but the gameplay has never really evolved and feels stale to me now. Im not saying change the core gameplay but things like the Ai, objectives and the way the story is told needs a major revamp. I didnt play most of the halo 5 campaign but Im glad everyone hated on it. Maybe we will finally get something worth playing again. Also Odst was a nice change of pace. They should expand on that idea with a story like halo reaches.
No, the campaigns do not have to be straight-forward, linear experiences: Halo 3 is a good example of not being straight-forward. I agree with you about ODST, but even then the level design of the actual missions is an extension of Halo 3 - just more condensed and adrenaline-fueled. The idea of a non-linear mission structure is interesting if there is significant gameplay/story consequence. What ODST manages to do with a hub-world is a nice distraction with some easter eggs scattered about, but the hub is not the meat of the game. Also, how do you want to revamp the AI, objectives and story? Would love to hear your thoughts!
well I havent played much of halo 5's story. But I completed halo 4's after hearing good things and it was just disappointing. all the halo campaigns are a fog in my memory now but I remember the good and bad. halo 4 had an interesting premise that got me pumped but the level design went backwards compared to reach and 3. All you did was run through small spaces killing ai to get to switches that you press over and over. I thought atleast the boss battle for the end game will make up for it but it was the most pathetic thing ive ever played. I cant believe they made it a quick time event. The worst things i hate about games are spongy enemy's. I know that you can play on easy to fix that but I would like weaker enemies that are still challenging. There are plenty others ways to increase difficulty than just giving ai tons of health as well as damage. I played the start of halo 5 and watched the cutscene and I thought If only halo inspired to be something like that where enemies dont sponge yet still make it fun and challenging. honestly that cutscene should have been its own level, how cool would that have been, sky diving dodging mountains shooting and blowing crap up. It doesnt have to be halo's core gameplay for these moments but I also dont want it to be a boring ass quicktime event. For the core gameplay they should make it feel like your in an online match and make it so elites are the same health as you, use that as a baseline. And then to increase or decrease difficulty change ai's accuarcy, how they move, amount of ai. Just dont lazily increase the health 5x for people who want a challenge. The mission designs. My favourite part of halo 3 was being able to take down a scarab and I think it was optional too. There were other cool stuff like the last mission which clearly had alot of thought and effort put into. I want more of this in halo as much as possible. Open battles, actual fun linear experiances that make you feel like a bad ass, exploration, not everything has to be a fight. I'd like to be shown through gameplay how the story unfolds using as little words as possible. I dont want cutscenes to be the only interesting part of the story, I want it to all blend together naturally. Reach did this well as you basically watch characters youve developed a relationship with die throughout the whole story and you start caring whats actually going on during the gameplay even if the gameplay can sometimes be boring. AAA games trigger me.
In general, I just don't get social spaces. I look around them the first time and think "cool" and then quickly they become pointless to me. Mostly because I can't help but feel they lack purpose. The problem with most social spaces is that you casually pop back over there like you didn't just come out of a massive battle. I think the closest I would want to get to a social space in Halo is if it was located on a UNSC Vessel that they were actually based out of in game. I would prefer it to feel more like it was connected to the story, and always moving. I would also not want the story to constantly pop me back on the ship after every mission. When I do come back to the ship I want it to be amidst battle conditions or directly integrated by the story. I want a strong linear or quasi linear story with new locals that offer me a feeling of progression, not a couple dozen one offs that some commander gives me every time I come back to the ship. Don't just make my social space a passive experience. Make it something I have to defend and interact with. Sure I could just lounge, ooor maybe I could race down to a drop pod or ship for a quick Warzone like one off if the battle cry rang out. Heck imagine if there were factions and you could choose to start out on a Covenant vessel and those Warzone like drops where where multiple factions contest key areas that earn your faction credits when holding it. Anyway all I'm saying is the basic formula bores the crap out of me. I only want a social space if it has an active purpose.
NO I'd love to be more constructive but... NO I want the GAME expanded not the menu. Social spaces get boring fast and only drag out what could be done far quicker through menus, not to mention there are other more important things to be fixed. As it has been said so many times, Halo needs to first and foremost get its identity together and have its core game play formula clearly established and refined, then expand through new modes, maps, and weapons, rather than adding features like social spaces which would ultimately add nothing to the core game. I'd like to at least get features we had in 2001 like King of the Hill and Odball first before adding the inevitable pointless crap demanded by all big modern titles.