Starting to enjoy some of the game mechanics a bit more. Hard as hell to aim at stuff.
Couldn't get and keep a party of 4 together for even one game.
It's very difficult to see things because of lighting and colour saturation.
Noticed in-game chat doesn't activate until well after the teams are in the MM silo. That does not help friends play together. Eventually we went to Live party chat but that is no fun for the poor sod who just got turfed.
Arena maps and arena style game play are shit and are not what most of my older friends want. We want medium to BTB maps and vehicles.
Empire is a closed bunch of blocks with no sense of side or direction. It's like a rabbit warren. Total shit.
The Midship remake is mostly enjoyable except for the lighting and colour flair. Very difficult to see enemies across the map.
Deep not liking Halo. I'm pretty sure this is a sign of the apocalypse.
Seriously if Deep doesn't like it I'm worried I'll hate it!
I'll find out this weekend after my family vacates my premises.
I'm very disappointed there isn't a new home for our large Halo groups to move into. Concensous has been difficult to find and then 343 has dropped two rotten eggs on us.
It's a bummer for people who just got an XB1 to be wondering why they ever left the 360.
It's a different game. Closer to Halo than H4 was, but still not Halo of old. It's actually quite fun right now, but I thought the same aboot Halo 4 when it was released, and y'all know my feelings regarding that game.
Empire is hit or miss. On the 'hits', action is scattered throughout the map. On the 'misses', the action is confined to outside sniper spawn. Midship is great except as Deep pointed out, the coloring gives an unfair advantage to blue team. Flinch will be removed, thankfully, and hopefully the AR will be nerfed slightly. Sniper needs to be fixed too.
Over 50 night on H5 Beta was a bust: Deep managed to set up a party with Vaht and me. Yountdog (sp?) and Krulll failed to get in. Deep and Vaht, at opposite ends of the continent, managed to get into all of their matches. I never got into a single one. I was able to "spectate" but that was about it. We ditched the Beta after about an hour.
My XB1 lists my NAT as open. I've verified this after every hard restart, and I frequently check on the XBox Live portforward settings in my Frontier Communications Westell 7500 modem/router. I suppose Halo 5 needs something more, and I suppose I could spend many hours at Portforward.com troubleshooting this (except that my exact modem/router model appears not to be listed), or I could spend those hours playing Destiny where I don't have these problems. (I got a MarionBerry Destiny error once, found out that my XB1 IP had switched -- and fixed that in a few short minutes in my Modem PortForward settings).
Over 50 night on H5 Beta was a bust: Deep managed to set up a party with Vaht and me. Yountdog (sp?) and Krulll failed to get in. Deep and Vaht, at opposite ends of the continent, managed to get into all of their matches. I never got into a single one. I was able to "spectate" but that was about it. We ditched the Beta after about an hour.
My XB1 lists my NAT as open. I've verified this after every hard restart, and I frequently check on the XBox Live portforward settings in my Frontier Communications Westell 7500 modem/router. I suppose Halo 5 needs something more, and I suppose I could spend many hours at Portforward.com troubleshooting this (except that my exact modem/router model appears not to be listed), or I could spend those hours playing Destiny where I don't have these problems. (I got a MarionBerry Destiny error once, found out that my XB1 IP had switched -- and fixed that in a few short minutes in my Modem PortForward settings).
I'm really disappointed in 343 Industries.
I'm wondering if 343 is secretly working for Bungie & fucking this all up on purpose to get people upset so they'll go play Destiny instead. If that's the case then they're doing an EXCELLENT job. Most of the Halo community seems to have switched to Destiny.
I sat in an empty MM lobby over the course of 4 tries without being matched w/ a soul. The error message when pulling me back 2 the lobby after 4 minutes said I should try another playlist. You mean like a destiny playlist because there's only one so far in the H5 beta!
We've got NFL coaches with winning records losing their jobs and yet I still see the same names at the top of 343 even after their second mammoth fuck up!! Wow!! 12 years of fandom and we get crap on a stick.
BTW, while wondering the Halo Waypoint forums I read about a neat method for verifying your NAT in more detail on XB1:
Gautyer wrote in response to someone asking about how to view their NAT on XB1:
"Select Test Multiplayer Connection. When your connection results are presented, before pushing A for Continue, press and hold LB + LT + RB + RT on your controller, and this will take you to the super secret Detailed Network Statistics screen with a Detailed NAT status. The Detailed NAT status will initially have “….” Wait 60-90 seconds, and it will update with one of NAT types mentioned above. The goal is to be behind a cone NAT, which should give an OPEN NAT type."
I followed this procedure and verified that my NAT is open and that my "network is behind a cone NAT."
BTW, while wondering the Halo Waypoint forums I read about a neat method for verifying your NAT in more detail on XB1:
Gautyer wrote in response to someone asking about how to view their NAT on XB1:
"Select Test Multiplayer Connection. When your connection results are presented, before pushing A for Continue, press and hold LB + LT + RB + RT on your controller, and this will take you to the super secret Detailed Network Statistics screen with a Detailed NAT status. The Detailed NAT status will initially have “….” Wait 60-90 seconds, and it will update with one of NAT types mentioned above. The goal is to be behind a cone NAT, which should give an OPEN NAT type."
I followed this procedure and verified that my NAT is open and that my "network is behind a cone NAT."
Yes, doing this allows me to switch between XB1 and 360 without having to mess with settings on my router.
If you get the message that says you are behind a port-restricted NAT, just back out and repeat. I usually get to 'cone' in 1-3 attempts.
Here are some thoughts that I posted on halowaypoint.com After reading Deeps assessment I also think its hard to see spartans because of color saturation--so much so in fact that I believe blue team has a camoflauge advantage because its hard as hell to see blue on that map.
Here is my feedback after only playing a few games. I figure its good to give out first impressions to the developer team. Background on me: I'm early 30s, married and with a child. I started playing CE in college, skipped Halo 2 but played Halo 3 for awhile. My main gaming time is in Halo Reach which I liked but had limitations. I did play Halo 4 but only for about a month after release. I play to have a good time with friends in matchmaking. I'm not a professional player and I don't inspire to be a professional player. I inspire to have fun with a multiplayer shooter.
1. The first thing that I noticed as a was configuring my spartan is that the screen seemed too dark. I don't know if this is because the main color combination is blue and black but I would like to see the screen brightened up a bit. Right now it feels like most websites circa 1997 when everything was very dark and weighty.
2. Service tags have to be 4 letters now but I believe in previous iterations you could use 3 letters. I would like to see the ability to use 3 or 4 letters as a service tag back. Also, at first I thought the service tag was broke because I was using MOO (3 letters) which I have used since Halo Reach but it wouldn't register (no error message that it needed to be 4 letters). If you do continue to make it 4 letters only please put in a small message saying that so people aren't confused.
3. I had a relatively easy experience matching up with other people. I only got 1 error message after the game easily found 6 players for me to play with but couldn't find the 7th player.
4. I think it would be nice to play Halo music while the game is matching you up with other players. I also thought it would be nice to maybe include some factoids about the Halo lore for people to read while they wait. Its a good way to get people immersed into the world of Halo. The point is I think there is a lot of dead space while the screen is "Setting up Slayer" that could be used.
5. There should be a way to back out of a match once it starts matching you up.
6. The beginning of a slayer match has a nice "esports" feel. Would be cool if our service tag was over our Spartan team intro or something to show that we are different yet a team. Maybe have our individualized spartan colors be on the screen first then it shades down to either red or blue. That would be a cool effect if that makes sense.
7. Grenades seem to float too much, especially the frag grenades.
8. Maybe its because I haven't played Halo in awhile but it seems like all the guns are pretty floaty without any real weight to them.
9. Is there something you can do during the intermission between games? Maybe show kill cams of previous matches or something to help pass the time? It would be pretty cool to show replays of the previous games, especially if alot are people are sticking around for another game instead of backing out.
10. Speaking of backing out, would it be possible to backout to the matchmaking lobby and not the title screen?
11. ADS isn't that big of a deal. I wish it was tied to the other trigger button though to make it easier. I play bumper jumper and having to click the right thumbstick seems weird. Games in which they have ADS is usually tied to the left trigger button while the right trigger button is fire. I think it would make ADS more seemless.
12. Clamber seems fun so far and allows for people to get better map position and make navigation across maps better. Nagivating maps and gaining map position is what Halo is all about so I like this inclusion.
13. I haven't really used the thruster pack that much to be honest. Thruster seems more like a thing to market in the game but isn't really needed and doesn't offer enough to be included to gameplay. It just feels like another button to press.
14. I'm ok with sprint in Halo. After playing a few matches on MCC I found the biggest thing I missed was sprint. Yes I know this screws up maps and believe use it too defensively but I think not recharging shields helps balance it overall. The main thing will be to make sure maps are set up to have sprint.
15. Sprint plus Thruster plus Clamber just seems to be too much. I think one of these options for Spartan movement should be eliminated and I think it should be Thruster. It just isn't needed in a world with Spring and Clamber.
That's all I have so far. I'm going to have to play a lot more games to not only get down the new button configuration but to also give proper feedback on weapon strengths and maps.
It really feels like Halo 3 to me. I know I'm crazy, but to me it closest resembles H3.
Love the new Midship map, really well done. Empire is also in enjoyable. In both maps sight lines and jumps are well thought out.
New SMG(P90). Nice pick up weapon. I like pick up weapons worth going out of your way for. It really help with map movement.
Pistol is perfect secondary not OP, but can get the job done. It's not just a last resort weapon, but can start and finish a gun fight.
I'm a stat nerd, so I love that hit % is back.
The main thing I like is that I really care about winning. In Halo 4 and Reach because of the loadouts the game never felt balanced. The skill level of a player is going to be important again.
Things I on the fence about:
Chatter. It can help, but when playing with people who make callouts it can be a bit much. Hopfully we can turn it off.
AR seems overpowered, mainly the range needs to be nerfed. I do like the fact that it is a functional weapon, but with the pistol as a secondary you really don't need the range on the AR.
Sprint, clamber, ground pound, etc. I've never been a big fan of gameplay mechanics that take control of you character. I like to be in control at all times. Although if your a fan of these mechanics I think they did a very good job with them.
Kill times. There are times where kill times feel just right and others where I'm dead CoD fast. Mainly the times I die really fast are because of team fire from the AR. You just don't stand a chance.
Things that need changed: (none of these are game breakers for me though)
Flinch needs to go. I heard they are already getting rid of it. This may really help the BR and DMR to win fights against the SMG and AR.
Scoping needs to be faster for BR and DMR. This will also help in those AR vs BR/DMR battles.
Sniper needs to shot faster and scope faster.
Music and noise. The death screen music is really annoying to me and the goofy shield sounds are right out of a 80's arcade.
After playing about 10 games I enjoy the game. I stil think that one of either spring, clamber or thruster needs to go to slow down gameplay a bit and just streamline movement in this game. I am really liking clamber just for the simple fact that it opens up options to get to turtle players and it make nagivating the maps extremely fun. Sprint to me is a must in this game now whether I like it or not...maps just need to be adjusted to this. The no recharge of shields when sprint is one is a nice balance of it I believe.
I agree with Jim in that the AR range needs to be toned down. On these maps I see little to no reason to pull our my pistol when a ADS AR will get the job done just as good if not better.
Read somewhere that friendly fire is turned off for the beta as to stress test main components of the game and will be turned on upon release. Which is great because blindly firing and launching grenades without repercussions diminishes teamwork and skill factors.
I really hope they don't ruin btb. Keep it like halo 3 where everything was the same as the smaller maps aside from vehicles and a few anti-vehicle weapons. Maybe later in Halo 5's life they can put in heavy variants if that's what gamers request.
Like I said though, just wait until you see the other maps and other weapons. There's nothing stopping you from setting up your own custom games however you want, too.
But honestly Halo 4 flopped MP-wise. A lot of people bought the game but the community just died after and it was largely due to no MLG support or good maps for arena games. If you want Halo to live on, you need to embrace the competitive - maybe not for YOU to play, but to exist. Otherwise it'll die.
We haven't even seen vehicles, Covenant weapons, or Forerunner weapons yet but I feel the game is going to be exactly what I want. They still have plenty of time to fuck it up, but having a beta practically a year before the game's release is making me feel more assured that 343 knows what's at stake. If Halo 5 is along the lines of the beta, I am happy. If the campaign is as epic as Halo 4's, then this has the potential to be my favorite Halo. Even with physical Spartan changes and their abilities, the game feels like Halo 3 to me, and that makes me very happy.
My first game of Regret, wasn't a fan really. It's too cluttered. Hard to tell where you are. Deep might like it ;) Has Promethean weapons on the map. BR starts. Hydra launcher.
I have a 10Gb monthly data cap, and I pay extra for anything beyond that. So, I took my X1 to daughter's apt for the 10+ Gb H5 beta download and any/all MCC update(s) on New Year's Eve (haven't had MCC in the console for weeks). Did all the downloads, then did the New Year's Eve stuff with family, while looking forward to the next day at home where I could see what H5 MM was all about....
So, early the next day, I launch H5 Beta. Immediately, it says I need a 105Mb update. WTF! I go back to Destiny...
I have a 10Gb monthly data cap, and I pay extra for anything beyond that. So, I took my X1 to daughter's apt for the 10+ Gb H5 beta download and any/all MCC update(s) on New Year's Eve (haven't had MCC in the console for weeks). Did all the downloads, then did the New Year's Eve stuff with family, while looking forward to the next day at home where I could see what H5 MM was all about....
So, early the next day, I launch H5 Beta. Immediately, it says I need a 105Mb update. WTF! I go back to Destiny...
10GB cap? What wired service do you have, AOL from 1997?
Yeah seriously. I don't know how you could even play games with a limit like that since games probably use up a lot of bandwidth.
The more I play this game, the more I like it. Everything seems to play really well. The magnum has decent range but is hard as fuck to aim with at long range, so I could see it being hard to break a setup against a team that has BRs if you're spawning with the AR + Pistol.
The spartan abilities like clamber and thrusting are growing on me. Here's a great video with some tips on different ways to use the thruster. I think it really adds a lot of depth to the game without breaking the maps like the jet pack did.
The remixed maps Regret and Eden are pretty cool ideas as long as they don't count them as brand new maps and use them as an excuse to make half as many maps.
Voice chat was still screwed up for me and my friend tonight so we had to use party chat instead. Also, the search seemed to consistently get frozen after intermission. We had better luck backing out and re-entering the playlist. Also, one time we were searching together and got split into completely different games. Fun times.
Skill matching seemed to work pretty well tonight as well. Maybe it was a coincidence, but none of our games were blowouts in either direction. All were about 50-40 or closer.
I'm eager to see what they do with BTB. That was my favorite playlist in Halo 3.
I like what they did to the LightRifle, its like a three shot Beam Rifle. I'll miss starting the game with it in my loadout, but I'm very happy to see the weapon return.
Genuinely glad for those of you who can actually play H5 Beta on a regular basis. As for myself, tried H5 Beta 3 times 1-3-15. Failed to get into a match each of those 3 times (2 slayer. 1 Clash). Tried MCC. Got into a Big Team Battle first try. Played entire game with no connection problems. MCC appears to be better. Got into Destiny on one try thereafter. Assessment: still disappointed in the H5 Beta.
Finally had time to play a few games. Here's my (worthless lol) opinion:
1. Can't shut off vibrate. Unless I've missed the thingy to turn it off? I've NEVER played with it on, so I feel like the controller is jumping out of my hand. It's distracting to the point that I just stop moving in game, trying to figure out wtf is going on. Sometimes it goes off when I'm walking, but there's no one around, no grenades, and I don't die so I'm assuming I'm not getting shot. It goes off if a team mate uses thruster near me.
2. Can you die just because a guy on the other team uses thruster near you? Because I'm suddenly dead (after having full shields), and in the kill cam all I see is a guy from the other team comes flying around the corner at me. I don't see him touch me or even use a weapon. Just me, dude uses thruster to fly over to me, I'm dead.
3. It' seems too easy to get head shots. I'm barely able to hold my jumping controller and yet I'm getting headshots.
4. I've played I think 3 games. I get out on a team with other people who have only played 3 games. The other team is four guys who have fancy pants emblem rank thingies already. I know it's just the beta, but having such uneven matches makes it a bit disheartening. Makes us crappy players want to give up after two games.
5. I'd pay more for the game if they removed thruster. Do not like.
6. The chatter thing is nice in games alone, but I'm betting once I can play with friends who are doing call outs, it will annoy the piss out of me. Hopefully it's something you can turn off.
1. Can't turn it off in the beta unfortunately, but will have that option in the official release.
2. There's an ability called charge, which if you're running full speed towards someone, you can charge into them. I've never used it or had it used on me, but you might be able to kill someone instantly with it. Someone that has used it might chime in on this.
3. Magnetism and hit boxes are slightly greater than previous Halos. Also, you can now headshot someone with their back turned at you. This was difficult in precious halos, especially if they put their head down while running away.
4. Since you aren't ranked yet, it's going to throw you against varying skills to determine your placement. It should get better. Although, Friday was real bad as they kept matching me with golds and silvers against full teams of semipros and an occasional pro. Four random against a full team shouldn't happen. Match teams with teams.
5. I'd rather have them remove sprint and keep thruster lol.
6. Agreed.
Give it time. The game is growing on me, which Reach and H4 never did. It's a lot more enjoyable if you play with a party.
Did you check out the video on using the thruster pack that I posted a few posts above? I was on the fence about the thruster, but seeing all the things you can do with it made me a lot more on board with the idea.
The first night I played, most of the games were blowouts, most ending about 50-15 or 50-20. By the second day it seemed to have an accurate idea of my skill level and pretty much every game was much closer (50-40 or closer). I think skill mismatches are hopefully a one-time hurdle to jump over and then you'll be good to go with more even matches.
@ Tristan I need to use it more I guess. In the few games I played I just kind of slid around like a drunk girl wearing slippery shoes on a tile floor. A sort of "um...okay...now I'm over here I guess.." thing. My main complaint is everyone else is so damn good with it lol!
Starting to enjoy some of the game mechanics a bit more. Hard as hell to aim at stuff.
Couldn't get and keep a party of 4 together for even one game.
It's very difficult to see things because of lighting and colour saturation.
Noticed in-game chat doesn't activate until well after the teams are in the MM silo. That does not help friends play together. Eventually we went to Live party chat but that is no fun for the poor sod who just got turfed.
Arena maps and arena style game play are shit and are not what most of my older friends want. We want medium to BTB maps and vehicles.
Empire is a closed bunch of blocks with no sense of side or direction. It's like a rabbit warren. Total shit.
The Midship remake is mostly enjoyable except for the lighting and colour flair. Very difficult to see enemies across the map.
Deep not liking Halo. I'm pretty sure this is a sign of the apocalypse.
Seriously if Deep doesn't like it I'm worried I'll hate it!
I'll find out this weekend after my family vacates my premises.
It's a bummer for people who just got an XB1 to be wondering why they ever left the 360.
Over 50 night on H5 Beta was a bust: Deep managed to set up a party with Vaht and me. Yountdog (sp?) and Krulll failed to get in. Deep and Vaht, at opposite ends of the continent, managed to get into all of their matches. I never got into a single one. I was able to "spectate" but that was about it. We ditched the Beta after about an hour.
My XB1 lists my NAT as open. I've verified this after every hard restart, and I frequently check on the XBox Live portforward settings in my Frontier Communications Westell 7500 modem/router. I suppose Halo 5 needs something more, and I suppose I could spend many hours at Portforward.com troubleshooting this (except that my exact modem/router model appears not to be listed), or I could spend those hours playing Destiny where I don't have these problems. (I got a MarionBerry Destiny error once, found out that my XB1 IP had switched -- and fixed that in a few short minutes in my Modem PortForward settings).
I'm really disappointed in 343 Industries.
I'm wondering if 343 is secretly working for Bungie & fucking this all up on purpose to get people upset so they'll go play Destiny instead. If that's the case then they're doing an EXCELLENT job. Most of the Halo community seems to have switched to Destiny.
I sat in an empty MM lobby over the course of 4 tries without being matched w/ a soul. The error message when pulling me back 2 the lobby after 4 minutes said I should try another playlist. You mean like a destiny playlist because there's only one so far in the H5 beta!
We've got NFL coaches with winning records losing their jobs and yet I still see the same names at the top of 343 even after their second mammoth fuck up!! Wow!! 12 years of fandom and we get crap on a stick.
I am also really disappointed in 343 industries!
BTW, while wondering the Halo Waypoint forums I read about a neat method for verifying your NAT in more detail on XB1:
Gautyer wrote in response to someone asking about how to view their NAT on XB1:
"Select Test Multiplayer Connection. When your connection results are presented, before pushing A for Continue, press and hold LB + LT + RB + RT on your controller, and this will take you to the super secret Detailed Network Statistics screen with a Detailed NAT status. The Detailed NAT status will initially have “….” Wait 60-90 seconds, and it will update with one of NAT types mentioned above. The goal is to be behind a cone NAT, which should give an OPEN NAT type."
I followed this procedure and verified that my NAT is open and that my "network is behind a cone NAT."
Yes, doing this allows me to switch between XB1 and 360 without having to mess with settings on my router.
If you get the message that says you are behind a port-restricted NAT, just back out and repeat. I usually get to 'cone' in 1-3 attempts.
Here are some thoughts that I posted on halowaypoint.com After reading Deeps assessment I also think its hard to see spartans because of color saturation--so much so in fact that I believe blue team has a camoflauge advantage because its hard as hell to see blue on that map.
Here is my feedback after only playing a few games. I figure its good to give out first impressions to the developer team. Background on me: I'm early 30s, married and with a child. I started playing CE in college, skipped Halo 2 but played Halo 3 for awhile. My main gaming time is in Halo Reach which I liked but had limitations. I did play Halo 4 but only for about a month after release. I play to have a good time with friends in matchmaking. I'm not a professional player and I don't inspire to be a professional player. I inspire to have fun with a multiplayer shooter.
1. The first thing that I noticed as a was configuring my spartan is that the screen seemed too dark. I don't know if this is because the main color combination is blue and black but I would like to see the screen brightened up a bit. Right now it feels like most websites circa 1997 when everything was very dark and weighty.
2. Service tags have to be 4 letters now but I believe in previous iterations you could use 3 letters. I would like to see the ability to use 3 or 4 letters as a service tag back. Also, at first I thought the service tag was broke because I was using MOO (3 letters) which I have used since Halo Reach but it wouldn't register (no error message that it needed to be 4 letters). If you do continue to make it 4 letters only please put in a small message saying that so people aren't confused.
3. I had a relatively easy experience matching up with other people. I only got 1 error message after the game easily found 6 players for me to play with but couldn't find the 7th player.
4. I think it would be nice to play Halo music while the game is matching you up with other players. I also thought it would be nice to maybe include some factoids about the Halo lore for people to read while they wait. Its a good way to get people immersed into the world of Halo. The point is I think there is a lot of dead space while the screen is "Setting up Slayer" that could be used.
5. There should be a way to back out of a match once it starts matching you up.
6. The beginning of a slayer match has a nice "esports" feel. Would be cool if our service tag was over our Spartan team intro or something to show that we are different yet a team. Maybe have our individualized spartan colors be on the screen first then it shades down to either red or blue. That would be a cool effect if that makes sense.
7. Grenades seem to float too much, especially the frag grenades.
8. Maybe its because I haven't played Halo in awhile but it seems like all the guns are pretty floaty without any real weight to them.
9. Is there something you can do during the intermission between games? Maybe show kill cams of previous matches or something to help pass the time? It would be pretty cool to show replays of the previous games, especially if alot are people are sticking around for another game instead of backing out.
10. Speaking of backing out, would it be possible to backout to the matchmaking lobby and not the title screen?
11. ADS isn't that big of a deal. I wish it was tied to the other trigger button though to make it easier. I play bumper jumper and having to click the right thumbstick seems weird. Games in which they have ADS is usually tied to the left trigger button while the right trigger button is fire. I think it would make ADS more seemless.
12. Clamber seems fun so far and allows for people to get better map position and make navigation across maps better. Nagivating maps and gaining map position is what Halo is all about so I like this inclusion.
13. I haven't really used the thruster pack that much to be honest. Thruster seems more like a thing to market in the game but isn't really needed and doesn't offer enough to be included to gameplay. It just feels like another button to press.
14. I'm ok with sprint in Halo. After playing a few matches on MCC I found the biggest thing I missed was sprint. Yes I know this screws up maps and believe use it too defensively but I think not recharging shields helps balance it overall. The main thing will be to make sure maps are set up to have sprint.
15. Sprint plus Thruster plus Clamber just seems to be too much. I think one of these options for Spartan movement should be eliminated and I think it should be Thruster. It just isn't needed in a world with Spring and Clamber.
That's all I have so far. I'm going to have to play a lot more games to not only get down the new button configuration but to also give proper feedback on weapon strengths and maps.
I'm loving the beta. I don't get the hate for it. They do need to fix some stuff, but overall I think it's got a lot of promise.
Here are my thoughts so far.
Things I like:
It really feels like Halo 3 to me. I know I'm crazy, but to me it closest resembles H3.
Love the new Midship map, really well done. Empire is also in enjoyable. In both maps sight lines and jumps are well thought out.
New SMG(P90). Nice pick up weapon. I like pick up weapons worth going out of your way for. It really help with map movement.
Pistol is perfect secondary not OP, but can get the job done. It's not just a last resort weapon, but can start and finish a gun fight.
I'm a stat nerd, so I love that hit % is back.
The main thing I like is that I really care about winning. In Halo 4 and Reach because of the loadouts the game never felt balanced. The skill level of a player is going to be important again.
Things I on the fence about:
Chatter. It can help, but when playing with people who make callouts it can be a bit much. Hopfully we can turn it off.
AR seems overpowered, mainly the range needs to be nerfed. I do like the fact that it is a functional weapon, but with the pistol as a secondary you really don't need the range on the AR.
Sprint, clamber, ground pound, etc. I've never been a big fan of gameplay mechanics that take control of you character. I like to be in control at all times. Although if your a fan of these mechanics I think they did a very good job with them.
Kill times. There are times where kill times feel just right and others where I'm dead CoD fast. Mainly the times I die really fast are because of team fire from the AR. You just don't stand a chance.
Things that need changed: (none of these are game breakers for me though)
Flinch needs to go. I heard they are already getting rid of it. This may really help the BR and DMR to win fights against the SMG and AR.
Scoping needs to be faster for BR and DMR. This will also help in those AR vs BR/DMR battles.
Sniper needs to shot faster and scope faster.
Music and noise. The death screen music is really annoying to me and the goofy shield sounds are right out of a 80's arcade.
I think friendly fire needs to be on for the simple fact of grenade spam. Also with that I would love to see a stat for team kills.
After playing about 10 games I enjoy the game. I stil think that one of either spring, clamber or thruster needs to go to slow down gameplay a bit and just streamline movement in this game. I am really liking clamber just for the simple fact that it opens up options to get to turtle players and it make nagivating the maps extremely fun. Sprint to me is a must in this game now whether I like it or not...maps just need to be adjusted to this. The no recharge of shields when sprint is one is a nice balance of it I believe.
I agree with Jim in that the AR range needs to be toned down. On these maps I see little to no reason to pull our my pistol when a ADS AR will get the job done just as good if not better.
Read somewhere that friendly fire is turned off for the beta as to stress test main components of the game and will be turned on upon release. Which is great because blindly firing and launching grenades without repercussions diminishes teamwork and skill factors.
I really hope they don't ruin btb. Keep it like halo 3 where everything was the same as the smaller maps aside from vehicles and a few anti-vehicle weapons. Maybe later in Halo 5's life they can put in heavy variants if that's what gamers request.
Like I said though, just wait until you see the other maps and other weapons. There's nothing stopping you from setting up your own custom games however you want, too.
But honestly Halo 4 flopped MP-wise. A lot of people bought the game but the community just died after and it was largely due to no MLG support or good maps for arena games. If you want Halo to live on, you need to embrace the competitive - maybe not for YOU to play, but to exist. Otherwise it'll die.
We haven't even seen vehicles, Covenant weapons, or Forerunner weapons yet but I feel the game is going to be exactly what I want. They still have plenty of time to fuck it up, but having a beta practically a year before the game's release is making me feel more assured that 343 knows what's at stake. If Halo 5 is along the lines of the beta, I am happy. If the campaign is as epic as Halo 4's, then this has the potential to be my favorite Halo. Even with physical Spartan changes and their abilities, the game feels like Halo 3 to me, and that makes me very happy.
^^^ this
Just played and won a close game of Breakout. Very competitive, very fun. On to Regret
My first game of Regret, wasn't a fan really. It's too cluttered. Hard to tell where you are. Deep might like it ;) Has Promethean weapons on the map. BR starts. Hydra launcher.
I have a 10Gb monthly data cap, and I pay extra for anything beyond that. So, I took my X1 to daughter's apt for the 10+ Gb H5 beta download and any/all MCC update(s) on New Year's Eve (haven't had MCC in the console for weeks). Did all the downloads, then did the New Year's Eve stuff with family, while looking forward to the next day at home where I could see what H5 MM was all about....
So, early the next day, I launch H5 Beta. Immediately, it says I need a 105Mb update. WTF! I go back to Destiny...
10GB cap? What wired service do you have, AOL from 1997?
Yeah seriously. I don't know how you could even play games with a limit like that since games probably use up a lot of bandwidth.
The more I play this game, the more I like it. Everything seems to play really well. The magnum has decent range but is hard as fuck to aim with at long range, so I could see it being hard to break a setup against a team that has BRs if you're spawning with the AR + Pistol.
The spartan abilities like clamber and thrusting are growing on me. Here's a great video with some tips on different ways to use the thruster. I think it really adds a lot of depth to the game without breaking the maps like the jet pack did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqEHkT5LYgY
The remixed maps Regret and Eden are pretty cool ideas as long as they don't count them as brand new maps and use them as an excuse to make half as many maps.
Voice chat was still screwed up for me and my friend tonight so we had to use party chat instead. Also, the search seemed to consistently get frozen after intermission. We had better luck backing out and re-entering the playlist. Also, one time we were searching together and got split into completely different games. Fun times.
Skill matching seemed to work pretty well tonight as well. Maybe it was a coincidence, but none of our games were blowouts in either direction. All were about 50-40 or closer.
I'm eager to see what they do with BTB. That was my favorite playlist in Halo 3.
I like what they did to the LightRifle, its like a three shot Beam Rifle. I'll miss starting the game with it in my loadout, but I'm very happy to see the weapon return.
Genuinely glad for those of you who can actually play H5 Beta on a regular basis. As for myself, tried H5 Beta 3 times 1-3-15. Failed to get into a match each of those 3 times (2 slayer. 1 Clash). Tried MCC. Got into a Big Team Battle first try. Played entire game with no connection problems. MCC appears to be better. Got into Destiny on one try thereafter. Assessment: still disappointed in the H5 Beta.
Finally had time to play a few games. Here's my (worthless lol) opinion:
1. Can't shut off vibrate. Unless I've missed the thingy to turn it off? I've NEVER played with it on, so I feel like the controller is jumping out of my hand. It's distracting to the point that I just stop moving in game, trying to figure out wtf is going on. Sometimes it goes off when I'm walking, but there's no one around, no grenades, and I don't die so I'm assuming I'm not getting shot. It goes off if a team mate uses thruster near me.
2. Can you die just because a guy on the other team uses thruster near you? Because I'm suddenly dead (after having full shields), and in the kill cam all I see is a guy from the other team comes flying around the corner at me. I don't see him touch me or even use a weapon. Just me, dude uses thruster to fly over to me, I'm dead.
3. It' seems too easy to get head shots. I'm barely able to hold my jumping controller and yet I'm getting headshots.
4. I've played I think 3 games. I get out on a team with other people who have only played 3 games. The other team is four guys who have fancy pants emblem rank thingies already. I know it's just the beta, but having such uneven matches makes it a bit disheartening. Makes us crappy players want to give up after two games.
5. I'd pay more for the game if they removed thruster. Do not like.
6. The chatter thing is nice in games alone, but I'm betting once I can play with friends who are doing call outs, it will annoy the piss out of me. Hopefully it's something you can turn off.
thats all I got. For now anyway.
1. Can't turn it off in the beta unfortunately, but will have that option in the official release.
2. There's an ability called charge, which if you're running full speed towards someone, you can charge into them. I've never used it or had it used on me, but you might be able to kill someone instantly with it. Someone that has used it might chime in on this.
3. Magnetism and hit boxes are slightly greater than previous Halos. Also, you can now headshot someone with their back turned at you. This was difficult in precious halos, especially if they put their head down while running away.
4. Since you aren't ranked yet, it's going to throw you against varying skills to determine your placement. It should get better. Although, Friday was real bad as they kept matching me with golds and silvers against full teams of semipros and an occasional pro. Four random against a full team shouldn't happen. Match teams with teams.
5. I'd rather have them remove sprint and keep thruster lol.
6. Agreed.
Give it time. The game is growing on me, which Reach and H4 never did. It's a lot more enjoyable if you play with a party.
Did you check out the video on using the thruster pack that I posted a few posts above? I was on the fence about the thruster, but seeing all the things you can do with it made me a lot more on board with the idea.
The first night I played, most of the games were blowouts, most ending about 50-15 or 50-20. By the second day it seemed to have an accurate idea of my skill level and pretty much every game was much closer (50-40 or closer). I think skill mismatches are hopefully a one-time hurdle to jump over and then you'll be good to go with more even matches.
Thanks, as always, for the info Laser! :)
@ Tristan I need to use it more I guess. In the few games I played I just kind of slid around like a drunk girl wearing slippery shoes on a tile floor. A sort of "um...okay...now I'm over here I guess.." thing. My main complaint is everyone else is so damn good with it lol!