In Response To: Podcast Summary (CaneCutter)
Thank you u4iX at The Halo Council for this.
PTS
-Points
-Projectile Tracking System
Halo April Sparkcast
-Brad Welsch, lead multiplayer designer
-Kevin Franklin, lead competitive multiplayer designer
"Random Weapon Drops"
Tradition power weapons magically appeared ~90 seconds
H4
-Ground up new spawning system
-Context of Infinity, accessible to new and classic players
-Initial weapon drops at start of match, control openings, team game strategy
-Timers set for when they pop in, communicate to player, no need for stopwatch
-Each map/mode specific weapons and drops for different maps
-Weapons will make sense, sniper for bigger maps
-Random seems to lean towards different weapons themselves, not different times/areas
-Can see which weapons have dropped where, takes away knowledge advantage
-Information not distracting, subtle UI elements
-Drops from space into the map
-Drop ins can kill you
-Weapon indicators disappear, you'll know a player has them
Respawns
-Control timing
-Lots of debate about 4v4 or 5v5 experience
-Can customize loadout during play
-In premier slayer experience
-Can customize spawn system
-"Premier experience" particular play style on particular maps
-Ultimate experience in every mode
-Maps can support any gametype, but each map is tailored to a certain gametype
Customs/LAN
-Turn off instant spawns
-Will support unlocking of weapons and unlocking AAs for tournaments
-"Career" mode in the game for grinding, no Warrant Officer 3 (l0l)
-Tournaments!
-Choice, concept, give players choices, what loadouts are for
-Empowering individual play styles
-"Preferences" favorite weapons, starting weapon discussion
-Once you put in the work and effort to unlock that BR, then you can use it
-Base weapons balanced for no "god tier" weapons
-All about how you play, sneaky, distance, etc
-Why have the BR and DMR? Different purpose, subtle differences, mechanical
-Each have their own distinct role
-BR better for jumping and fanning up, DMR for lateral movement
-DMR set RoF, DMR fires at a slower rate, balanced against BR
-BR has recoil, 3 bullet more upwards, distance between bullets will spread out
-BR not as effective at longer ranges, BR will lose to DMR
-Outer range of encounter space, DMR built to win
-Closer, BR will win
-AR also a beast, each gun has effective range
-Not every weapon can go in loadouts
AAs balanced
-Learned lessons for Reach
-How they're implemented in 4
-Similar, but different
-Changed because everyone has sprint
-Sprint by far most popular AA in Reach
-More interesting combinations
-Can't use sprint to flee combat
-Levels designed for faster mobility
-Sprint meter
-Slow down mechanic if getting shot, can't run up and double melee
-Can't run away as fast
-Base movement isn't slow, jumping higher, running/walking faster in H4 than Reach
-Looked at Halo 1 for specific weapons
-Looked at Halo 3 for movement benchmarks
Forerunner Vision
-Visor mode from ODST, situational awareness
-More like Sonar, won't go forever, specific distance, delay on knowledge
-Players within range of vision can hear you using it
-Counter each other, some can be used to counter (Rock, Paper, Scissors)
-More tradeoffs and the way they interact with each other
-Armor Lock didn't make the cut, ruined the flow and balance
-Every armor ability from Reach has been altered and changed in some way
-Assault Carbine, renamed
-Love using the gun
-Sound is terrifying
-Style has been in the game before
-Shield mangle, not head mangler
-Feels like a finisher, not a [deplet-er]
Can unlock items for competitive in Spartan Ops
-Take your character from PvP games is meaningful going into Spartan Ops
-Building a character you feel attached to
-Planning, being strategic in Spartan Ops
Small number of players given the chance to play the game
-Willy Wonka style
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