In Response To: Schooly D's PAX 2012 Rap-up (Schooly D)
: Executive summary: Halo 4's core gameplay (guns and movement) is extremely
: solid and feels like Halo 2, but more time needs to be spent with the
: armor abilities and specializations before I can tell if we're in for more
: wackiness ala Reach circa Fall 2010.
So pretty much everything that everyone else has told me up to this point:
Fun to play, feels like Halo, totally screwed up mechanics and way too much going on all over the maps (from far too many weapons and choices to indicators to you already know).
: The player's movement is much much much quicker than in Reach. Strafing,
: jumping, and shooting have been rolled back to the Halo 2/3 days and the
: core experience feels more like Arena in that Arena/Tactical spectrum Halo
: has balanced over the years.
This confuses me considering what you say below about how it's like they're doing everything they can to make it easier for the more casual solo player by lessening the necessity for team play.
: The DMR and BR seem to be the new... BR. I think they'll be the new go-to
: weapons for skilled players, but they really have adjusted them to make
: them better suited for different ranges. The BR has some inherent
: inaccuracy that makes it difficult to kill at long range, but the stream
: of bullets makes it easier to use in close range. The DMR does have bloom,
: but it's small enough to only be an issue at long range. In close-mid
: range, the limiting factor is always going to be your ability to land
: every shot on point, and you will need to land all your shots because
: weapons, in general, are more powerful in Halo 4 than they were in Reach.
: Kill times are quicker across the board, so every shot counts. I really
: can't stress enough how happy this makes me if it plays out how I expect.
Weren't the BR and DMR already the go-to weapons for skilled players? :P
And kill times being quicker across the board isn't necessarily a good thing. They upped the weapon damage and I'm sure if they used TU as their model, the rate of fire is as obnoxious as it's shown to be from the E3 vids and on, which makes it far more likely that you're screwed it they land that first shot (and good luck if they land the first two). Any chance to out-DMR/BR anyone who got that edge on you? And if so, were they your general randoms who most likely weren't all that great, or were you up against someone of similar skill?
: But you knew this post wouldn't be all sunshine and rainbows: - For those who
: haven't watched much gameplay, let me prepare you: whenever you do
: anything (not an exaggeration) in-game, you will be seeing text pop up
: above your crosshairs telling you exactly what you did and how many points
: it was worth. And in case you were too busy playing the game to read the
: text, the announcer will inform you verbally for anything rarer than a
: headshot. I was honestly taken aback by how prevalent this system is -- I
: thought it would be reserved for events that are actually rare or
: important. Not the case. Headshot, assist, distraction, fuel rod kill,
: grenade kill, vehicle kill, wheelman, revenge, etc etc.
God forbid they put it near the bottom of the screen below your hud if they have to stick it in the middle. Or to the left or right. Or not have it be about everything and everywhere.
: - Indicators are everywhere. Some of them I have issue with: power weapons
: and grenades are now permanently listed as waypoints on your HUD. If
: you're playing CTF, both flags are permanently visible to you (including
: accompanying text specifying how that waypoint concerns you:
: "CAPTURE" "RETRIEVE" "DEFEND" etc). So if
: you want to capture the enemy's flag and sneak it out of their base,
: you're out of luck: the enemy team will always be able to see you on their
: HUD no matter how many times you say "sneaksneaksneak" during
: the attempt.
Wait for real? Even if you grab the flag they'll always know where you're going with it? Was that just for PAX based on custom settings, or is that the real deal now no matter what even for Matchmaking? Because if so, damn, someone should get fired over there.
: - When you walk over the enemy flag, you will automatically pick it up, no
: ifs, ands, or buts. And when you do pick it up, it's impossible to drop it
: without dying. You do automatically spawn a special magnum though (the
: magnum, I'm told, has unlimited ammo, but disappears when you drop the
: flag).
Fired over there.
: - I think there might be other reasons the flag system has been changed the
: way it has (concerns about griefing and such), but I think the overall
: thinking behind the above two bullet points it obvious: the game needs to
: be made easier for casual, solo matchmakers. You no longer have to learn
: the weapon spots on a map, and you're no longer as reliant on your
: teammates to capture a flag (since you now have a way to defend yourself).
Because when I choose CTF, I choose the 1v1 version where teamwork doesn't matter and the glory can always be my own! Someone should get fired, you should get hired, and Epic CTF should be put into place for H4 ASAP.
: - The weapons that appear as options on Ordnance Drops are random, and this
: randomness will present a problem later on down the line.
Bingo.
: - I'm not a fan of the grenade indicators. There were a couple of times when
: I was saved by them, and a couple of times when I stealthily planted one
: at an enemy's feet, only to have the game ruin the surprise by telling him
: "HEY, CHAMP, GRENADE AT YOUR FEET" so he could hit the jets
: (thrusters) and escape. In general, though, I would prefer to err on the
: side of preserving the level of skill required to learn to keep track of
: little clanks and burning fuses that could betray a potentially explosive
: situation right under your balls.
Why would they care about preserving skill? H4 looks like carebear hand holding central currently.
: - I didn't get to spend enough time with Armor Abilities and Specializations
: to figure out all the little things
I'm sure they're just as exciting as they look.
Did you get to play any Spartan Ops at all? It was there and apparently a really short demo and such, but no one I know seems to have played it or told me anything about it and it looks awesome. Thoughts? :D
: She has already been contacted by the TSD Litigation Crew.
That's never fun.
: If you haven't already, you should sign up for their closed beta in which
: you will surely be destroyed by myself and the rest of the TSD Robotics
: Crew.
I'd rather play ULTRA MLG because at least there I know I have a chance. :P
: Leviathan and myself are now best friends. He's a really really cool guy, and
: his girlfriend is probably even cooler since she put up with all of us and
: our shared idiocy. It was a moment to remember when he bid us farewell at
: the pub on Sunday and the room erupted into a thunderous chant of
: "Le-vi! Le-vi! Le-vi!"
The truth has been spoken here!
: In related news, Leviathan now thinks I'm the coolest person on the planet.
Not sure about here. :P
: When we were walking down the street Sunday night after ingesting far too
: much ice cream we ran into RvB's Gus and his crew. Then this happened:
: Gus: What's up guys? *shakes Schooly's hand* Who might you be?
: Schooly: I'm Schooly D
: G: Schooly D! Dude, what's up?! You might not remember it but we used to play
: a lot of Halo together
: S: Of course I remember!
Though this is admittedly very cool.
: As long as I'm talking about myself, it occurred to me one night during
: conversation with padraig, Levi, and postmortem that most of the videos
: put out by the TSD Whatever Crew have been ignored. So I said I would do a
: forum post where I bascially dump them. This is that post.
: TSD= (produced by NartFOpc)
: Ducks Can't Drive
: Nak3d Eli Banshee Parody * (parody of this video )(see note below)
: TSD / Sunset Riders
: Classic Customs 4 Montage
: Halo 3 Goodbye Vid (homage to this ending )
: You idiots need to watch and love these because we put some moderate effort
: into them.
Seen all, watched again, would watch again more!
: About that Nak3d Eli video. I met him on Friday and he's a really chill and
: amiable guy. I didn't know if he knew who I was or if I had done that
: parody video, so I got it out of the way in our first meeting. He laughed
: and said he didn't know about it but that I should tweet it to him later.
: I did, but I don't know how he took it. It's possible he really resented
: it. To make up for it, here are links to his internet presences so you can
: go to them: http://www.youtube.com/user/Nak3dHalo
: http://twitter.com/nak3dhalo
: http://www.facebook.com/Nak3dHalo
If he resents it, you can 1v1 him on Lockout and battle for the roflcopters. I put my money on you.
: Every meetup I go to, one person pulls me aside to say "I thought you
: were a huge douche online. Really huge. But now I think you're pretty
: cool."
Disclaimer: No sarcasm. I've found you to be pretty cool online, and I assume you're just as cool or cooler in person
Disclaimer: Sarcasm, but still truth. It's not your fault that you're better than everyone else at Halo and that everyone else sucks at Halo and they have to deal with it.
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