I see Minecraft is climbing the charts again. In the FPS genre, the only conclusion that can be drawn is, no change in position. Of course alarmists will say, "See Halo 4 is dying". Without numbers, we don't know the whole story.
It's not proving there is magnetism, it's proving the severity of it. Anyone with attached thumbs can 5-shot people now. In previous halo titles, the hitboxes were smaller and the bullet magnetism wasn't as strong. As far as the sweep sniping, maybe you're talking cod where it is easily done? Because I rarely encountered it in past halo titles and it took me quite amount of time to even get decent at it.
It's not proving there is magnetism, it's proving the severity of it. Anyone with attached thumbs can 5-shot people now. In previous halo titles, the hitboxes were smaller and the bullet magnetism wasn't as strong. As far as the sweep sniping, maybe you're talking cod where it is easily done? Because I rarely encountered it in past halo titles and it took me quite amount of time to even get decent at it.
People say things like the bolded but don't have the evidence in hand and so heated discussions ensue.
Yes, there is magnetism in Halo 4. More for some weapons than others in Halo 4. That's all it proves but it is still interesting to see and I'm glad you linked it.
Doodirock points out quite correctly bullet magnetism and all of the fancy netcode are required compensation for peer to peer connections of vastly differing latency and potential joystick inaccuracy. Apparently it has to be there or we'd probably all give up on trying to kill anyone. The game industry believes these compensatory effects are required to garner the largest possible population.
It's not proving there is magnetism, it's proving the severity of it. Anyone with attached thumbs can 5-shot people now. In previous halo titles, the hitboxes were smaller and the bullet magnetism wasn't as strong. As far as the sweep sniping, maybe you're talking cod where it is easily done? Because I rarely encountered it in past halo titles and it took me quite amount of time to even get decent at it.
People say things like the bolded but don't have the evidence in hand and so heated discussions ensue.
Yes, there is magnetism in Halo 4. More for some weapons than others in Halo 4. That's all it proves but it is still interesting to see and I'm glad you linked it.
Doodirock points out quite correctly bullet magnetism and all of the fancy netcode are required compensation for peer to peer connections of vastly differing latency and potential joystick inaccuracy. Apparently it has to be there or we'd probably all give up on trying to kill anyone. The game industry believes these compensatory effects are required to garner the largest possible population.
This. However I don't want to agree too much and be called out for any sort of favoritism so instead I'll just tell deep to fuck off. Keep the status quo.
P.S. I think this thread is really kick ass so as to not sully it with my name I'll bow out.
so here is the weekly up date. I pulled the important info out of it. Which was only like 30% of the update:
As far as Halo 4 goes, we have some fun stuff planned for late January and beyond. After the Infinity Challenge concludes, regular Matchmaking updates will start up again (and that includes the return of the second half of Spartan Ops Season 1, which features brand new stories, missions and locations). It’s important to note the below scheduled is not finalized and could very well change, but as of right now, here is what we’re tentatively planning:
Week of 1/21 Spartan Ops Episode 6: Five new missions and an accompanying new CG cinematic. "Forge Test" playlist (name not final): A rotational hopper featuring small Forge maps such as Relay. Help us test these maps by providing feedback and reporting bugs that will assist us in getting them ready for Matchmaking! Specializations: Pioneer and Pathfinder Specializations unlocked for all players.
Week of 1/28 Spartan Ops Episode 7: Five new missions and an accompanying new CG cinematic. Grifball playlist: A rotational hopper featuring everybody’s favorite virtual sport. Catch the disease! Specializations: Engineer and Stalker Specializations unlocked for all players.
Week of 2/4 Spartan Ops Episode 8: Five new missions and an accompanying new CG cinematic. Team Doubles playlist: A rotational hopper for those of you that like action of the 2 vs 2 variety. Specializations: Rogue and Tracker Specializations unlocked for all players.
Matchmaking updates go live every Monday, and potential playlists for the month of February include both FFA and a new and improved version of Team Snipers. Late February will also bring both a Title Update and the Majestic Map Pack (which includes two small maps and one medium-sized map) to Halo 4 as well. Expect more information on all of those things next month.
So looks like the end of Feb. it is. That TU better be hefty.
*sigh* If no one believes me then boot up Reach and perform the same test. I did it this morning (didn't have the hdpvr set up) and withholding the swaying motion of the enemy (apparently spartans are always slightly inebriated), if the reticule is not touching the enemy, it rarely connects (1 in 8 shots landed). But apparently there's no evidence and I make shit up. I'm done. There are sensible people here giving great input to why Halo is no longer as popular as it once was (dixon, lanierb, ghost, etc). But I'll let the ultra casuals who want a new halo every year like cod, who believes 343/bungie does no wrong, and believes anything slightly competitive creating skill gaps ruins the game, continue to run the halo forums while constantly asking for evidence that even if provided, won't change their preconceived notion(s) of the game. Have a great day gentlemen. I'll see you on the battlefield.
*sigh* If no one believes me then boot up Reach and perform the same test. I did it this morning (didn't have the hdpvr set up) and withholding the swaying motion of the enemy (apparently spartans are always slightly inebriated), if the reticule is not touching the enemy, it rarely connects (1 in 8 shots landed). But apparently there's no evidence and I make shit up. I'm done. There are sensible people here giving great input to why Halo is no longer as popular as it once was (dixon, lanierb, ghost, etc). But I'll let the ultra casuals who want a new halo every year like cod, who believes 343/bungie does no wrong, and believes anything slightly competitive creating skill gaps ruins the game, continue to run the halo forums while constantly asking for evidence that even if provided, won't change their preconceived notion(s) of the game. Have a great day gentlemen. I'll see you on the battlefield.
Believe it or not, I am not the enemy. We all have our opinions but we have to be careful that we state them as such.
We also have to be careful when presenting evidence that we draw no conclusion beyond what the evidence provides. You didn't provide an exacting set of videos to prove your point for comparing to other Halo games. You claimed the video show the severity of DMR's magnetism. Severity is a relative term and I'm sure we will have differing opinions on what is severe or not. If I go to any forum today, be it here, Waypoint, Bnet, HBO, NeoGAF or THC I'll find wildly differing points of view on weapons, weapon attributes, netcode, sandbox, AA, maps and etc from the most competitive players. Nobody completely agrees on anything or everything in Halo. Any person who plays Halo has a reasonable right to express an opinion no matter their skill level.
I hope the fact that I am a (ultra?)casual Halo player has not truly been a negative experience in this forum. I've tried to bring competitive news and discussions here. I also have strong opinions on the competitiveness of Halo and often they grate against those of the more competitive players. That's not going to change. Does that make me unfit to mod a bit, post links, initiate discussion, have opinions and pin topics?
I hope I do see you on the battlefield one of these nights. It was a welcome experience to finally get in some games with Dixon after so much forum sparring. I don't doubt being on the same team will help us too. Christ, I never knew Dixon never shuts up. It's still fun playing with him even if it is on the same map (Haven) over and over and over again.
*sigh* If no one believes me then boot up Reach and perform the same test. I did it this morning (didn't have the hdpvr set up) and withholding the swaying motion of the enemy (apparently spartans are always slightly inebriated), if the reticule is not touching the enemy, it rarely connects (1 in 8 shots landed). But apparently there's no evidence and I make shit up. I'm done. There are sensible people here giving great input to why Halo is no longer as popular as it once was (dixon, lanierb, ghost, etc). But I'll let the ultra casuals who want a new halo every year like cod, who believes 343/bungie does no wrong, and believes anything slightly competitive creating skill gaps ruins the game, continue to run the halo forums while constantly asking for evidence that even if provided, won't change their preconceived notion(s) of the game. Have a great day gentlemen. I'll see you on the battlefield.
Believe it or not, I am not the enemy. We all have our opinions but we have to be careful that we state them as such.
We also have to be careful when presenting evidence that we draw no conclusion beyond what the evidence provides. You didn't provide an exacting set of videos to prove your point for comparing to other Halo games. You claimed the video show the severity of DMR's magnetism. Severity is a relative term and I'm sure we will have differing opinions on what is severe or not. If I go to any forum today, be it here, Waypoint, Bnet, HBO, NeoGAF or THC I'll find wildly differing points of view on weapons, weapon attributes, netcode, sandbox, AA, maps and etc from the most competitive players. Nobody completely agrees on anything or everything in Halo. Any person who plays Halo has a reasonable right to express an opinion no matter their skill level.
I hope the fact that I am a (ultra?)casual Halo player has not truly been a negative experience in this forum. I've tried to bring competitive news and discussions here. I also have strong opinions on the competitiveness of Halo and often they grate against those of the more competitive players. That's not going to change. Does that make me unfit to mod a bit, post links, initiate discussion, have opinions and pin topics?
I hope I do see you on the battlefield one of these nights. It was a welcome experience to finally get in some games with Dixon after so much forum sparring. I don't doubt being on the same team will help us too. Christ, I never knew Dixon never shuts up. It's still fun playing with him even if it is on the same map (Haven) over and over and over again.
We're all part of the same community, and you're good people. It's not my fault there's only one good map. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
Believe it or not, I am not the enemy. We all have our opinions but we have to be careful that we state them as such.
We also have to be careful when presenting evidence that we draw no conclusion beyond what the evidence provides. You didn't provide an exacting set of videos to prove your point for comparing to other Halo games. You claimed the video show the severity of DMR's magnetism. Severity is a relative term and I'm sure we will have differing opinions on what is severe or not. If I go to any forum today, be it here, Waypoint, Bnet, HBO, NeoGAF or THC I'll find wildly differing points of view on weapons, weapon attributes, netcode, sandbox, AA, maps and etc from the most competitive players. Nobody completely agrees on anything or everything in Halo. Any person who plays Halo has a reasonable right to express an opinion no matter their skill level.
I hope the fact that I am a (ultra?)casual Halo player has not truly been a negative experience in this forum. I've tried to bring competitive news and discussions here. I also have strong opinions on the competitiveness of Halo and often they grate against those of the more competitive players. That's not going to change. Does that make me unfit to mod a bit, post links, initiate discussion, have opinions and pin topics?
I hope I do see you on the battlefield one of these nights. It was a welcome experience to finally get in some games with Dixon after so much forum sparring. I don't doubt being on the same team will help us too. Christ, I never knew Dixon never shuts up. It's still fun playing with him even if it is on the same map (Haven) over and over and over again.
Very well said. No reason for anyone to get pissy about an opinion. It's an internet forum. That's it. I love seeing this type of heat anyway. It's my thing to bring counter points to the table for almost anything.
As I said in my previous posts, I think there is a lot wrong with H4. I just don't have the passion for it to give any fucks. It's just a game for me at this point and not one that I wish to analyze until I get angry about it. I will say, its better to have posts about why we all disagree then not posting at all. That's really the sign that Halo is dying.
Clearly people care enough to want it to succeed. Now we just need to see if 343 agrees it needs saving.
oh yeah. my take on it...M$ doesn't understand the concept of a finished product.
everything they do is always a work in progress.
argument: that's become a standard in the industry due to the fast pace of a games life cycle.
WRONG! I'm not saying that isn't a problem, but M$ has made it a way of life in everything they do.
H4 is H5's beta...H5 will be H6's beta...
ever used windows?
oh yeah. my take on it...M$ doesn't understand the concept of a finished product. everything they do is always a work in progress. argument: that's become a standard in the industry due to the fast pace of a games life cycle. WRONG! I'm not saying that isn't a problem, but M$ has made it a way of life in everything they do. H4 is H5's beta...H5 will be H6's beta... ever used windows?
Come on, that's not quite fair. In Microsoft's favor, Windows is run on, what 95% of all computers in the world, with hackers and nefarious folks trying to find and exploit tiny things inside the operating system to get information. That's a constant threat that Microsoft has to combat, which doesn't even go into the fact that you can grab roughly any periferal ever made, and with an adapter, if necessary, you can run it on your current computer. Also, you can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. You can go after Microsoft for a LOT of things, but I don't think that's quite one of them.
oh yeah. my take on it...M$ doesn't understand the concept of a finished product. everything they do is always a work in progress. argument: that's become a standard in the industry due to the fast pace of a games life cycle. WRONG! I'm not saying that isn't a problem, but M$ has made it a way of life in everything they do. H4 is H5's beta...H5 will be H6's beta... ever used windows?
Come on, that's not quite fair. In Microsoft's favor, Windows is run on, what 95% of all computers in the world, with hackers and nefarious folks trying to find and exploit tiny things inside the operating system to get information. That's a constant threat that Microsoft has to combat, which doesn't even go into the fact that you can grab roughly any periferal ever made, and with an adapter, if necessary, you can run it on your current computer. Also, you can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. You can go after Microsoft for a LOT of things, but I don't think that's quite one of them.
well I'm a little salty today and it honestly has nothing to with the game, so...
/rant
Laser was making an observation, if it is bullet mag, bigger hitbox or both. Lets just just agree H4 is more forgiving when it comes to shooting people and overall game play.
Being labled as casual/competitive/ whatever is neither good nor bad, it is just a prefered playstyle, so lets not use those terms as a positive or negative and agree that this game CAN and SHOULD be able to co exist at the same time. Our frustrations should not be projected on each other but rather with 343, which is obvious based on the most recent weekly update and a sort of appology.
Now we have polar opposites of our persceptions for H4 from a slightly rosy colored view from Deep, to my rage enduced tiraid, to Dixons I hate everything unless it is customs on small maps all the time. It does not mean any of us love or hate the game anymore then anyone else. But I think it is safe to assume H4 is not without SIGNIFICANT issues that are effecting its long term outlook. We see declines in MM pop (based on HaloCharts), we see a decline in Top 25 ranking based on UU (which I still do not understand what a f'ing UU is even after reading the Wiki page. If someone could break it down into Lb'ese I would be greatly appreciated) and we even have acknowledgement of issues from 343. Now we have to HOPE (since there is little to Zero that we can actually do) that 343 pulls their head out of their ass and gets things done in a timely manner, finally getting things right 4 months after release (that is assuming they DO role out all the fixes AND quality updates). It does not matter if other titles or even other Halo titles had issues many months into the game cycle. We have been bombarted with unfinished products for years in our games and we have just come to except it as the norm and it angers me that staunch supporters like Deep are not rewarded for their support with the most basic of things from a game that should be there, working as intended and not need to overhauled months after the release of a product that have been in developement from anywhere from 3-4 years.
Anways, lets roll back the Nerdrage (or perceived Nerdrage) at each other and keep focused on the topic.
How does 343i save it? They don't... At this point there isn't much 343i can do to stop players from leaving the game and I honestly doubt they care. They have already made their money and all the DLC sales are just gravy on top. Some of you will say "OMGZORZ they care and here is why RAWR!!!!!!!". So what if they do or don't, they control the Halo title. They will release the DLC, make MM changes, and or change things with a TU as they see fit. It doesn't matter anymore if you are unhappy about XYZ, you will either play or won't, you bought the game already.
The people who says OMG HALO2 WAS AWESOME, remember Halo 2 had an SMG start and didn't have a team slayer playlist when it launched. Also, Halo 2 had no real competition when it came to XBL, which is why so many people played it all the time. We had nothing else to play. Each Halo game has its own problems that people Boo hoo about, Halo 5 and 6 will have the same problems. What 343i needs to understand, and understand quickly, players want a good mix of maps and gametypes. Their Map DLC should reflect that. DLC 1 had 3 BIG maps for BTB. Had DLC 1 had 2 Big maps and 1 arena map I would have been happier and their MM hopper would already have more content to choose from. I suggest they go back and look at Halo 1 2 3 and Reach, Look at the maps that people liked (big and small) and create NEW maps that work with their new game. Recreating Beaver creek, midship, sanctuary, or any other map will not work. Sprint can break any of the older maps because they were not created for a sprint option.
in any case, Halo 4 will continue to hemorrhage players unless 343i makes drastic and quick changes to attract players back, but I doubt that will happen.
Say a website is visited 3 times in one day, but the UU is 2 for that day. Since you only have 2 unique users, that means one user visited the website twice that day. So, the number of UU is often a lot less than the total number of visits.
I have to agree with Laser on the aim assist severity. My K/D is much higher in H4 than it was in previous Halo games. I am not a super-accurate player. I believe that the H4 aim assist is helping me a lot. I honestly feel like I get some kills that I don't deserve. Watching that video I think that when your DMR aim is off by that much then those hits should not register. But it helps me get more kills, so I can't complain too much.
Say a website is visited 3 times in one day, but the UU is 2 for that day. Since you only have 2 unique users, that means one user visited the website twice that day. So, the number of UU is often a lot less than the total number of visits.
So in theory if I log onto to play H4 at 11 am, then again at 4pm and then again at 8pm (only playing an hour each time), that would be 1 UU for the day, correct? But if someone where to log in either on multiple xbox's or use multiple tags, the UU would increase, right?
I mean we do not know how MS specifically determines what counts as a UU. it could be a combo of ip and gt. I would assume they do not use a MAC address and GT just to make sure they capture more UU. For example if you had roomates living in the same appartment but sharing the internet.
So in theory if I log onto to play H4 at 11 am, then again at 4pm and then again at 8pm (only playing an hour each time), that would be 1 UU for the day, correct? But if someone where to log in either on multiple xbox's or use multiple tags, the UU would increase, right?
I mean we do not know how MS specifically determines what counts as a UU. it could be a combo of ip and gt. I would assume they do not use a MAC address and GT just to make sure they capture more UU. For example if you had roomates living in the same appartment but sharing the internet.
Correct.
I don't know for sure how Microsoft defines a unique user, but they make money by the gamertag so that's what is important to them.
I think the main reason H4 populations are declining is the small number of maps. It doesn't take long to get bored with playing the same 5 Team Slayer maps over and over. Compare that to BO2 which has 14 TDM maps right out of the box. So, H4 could definitely use more maps. I think that Forge Test playlist with new user-created maps may help somewhat. I really hope they have some good ones that are worth playing.
A fellow gamer recently pointed out in another forum, that while many of us veterans of Halo disliked the direction the series went with Reach - we have to consider all of the new players to Halo that loved Reach. The players that Reach was their first Halo title. The players that enjoyed "vanilla" Reach and did not want or see the need in a TU.
Remember the TU in Reach that was applied to basically all the playlists except Team Slayer? Yet Team Slayer was always the most popular non-BTB playlist (aside from Flood). The TU playlists (and anniversary) always suffered from low population. Meaning, while the minority of players were whining in the forums (or proclaiming the superiority of the TU settings), the majority were letting their voice be heard by populating their favorite playlists.
Such will probably be the case with Halo 4. Unless the TU changes are substantial, which is doubtful, and sweep across ALL playlists. I do belive 343 may have learned their lesson with "vanilla" vs. TU settings, so I do hope TU changes will be blanket changes. However, the game is what it is, and if you are expecting big changes, I feel you will be disappointed.
The population has taken a somewhat drastic dive since launch. Plus the fact Minecraft is beating it on XBL should be embarrassing to 343 (I mean, Minecraft. Really?). However, look at all of the COD games that are in the top 20. MW2 is STILL on the list - even ahead of Reach and H3 is nowhere to be found. This, to me, points simply to the fact that Halo is not as popular as the COD franchise. Not much of a revelation on my part, I know...
However, all of this griping about population and settings does nothing but hurt the series. If you are of the attitude of "I'll just take my ball and go home" and not play, then YOU are part of the problem and not the solution. Especially if you frequent various forums and complain about a game you do not play. If you have already written off Halo 4 after only 2 months, then I feel bad you could not find enjoyment in the game.
Would I like some things changed? Certainly and without a doubt!
Do I plan to continue to support the series by actually playing the game? Yes.
Obviously this is the internet and whether you played one hour or one thousand hours, you have a voice. We are all entitled to post our opinions. However, I would think developers would much prefer to talk to the people that actually play and not forum warriors that just want to complain.
People give DEEP shit for his "casual" attitude, but at least he still supports the series by playing the game. If you quit on Halo 4 because of maps, settings, weapons, etc - that is fine and certainly this game is not for everybody. This game is not for all of the old and new Halo players, it's just another Halo game. Take it or leave it. Play it or do not play it. Simple as that once all is said and done.
Also, to keep from ruffling any feathers (assuming this is post is read), I am not directing this post at any person(s) in particular. This is more directed toward the Halo community as a whole on ALL sites, not just 2O2P.
I applaud your efforts if you made it this far. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.
I get where you are coming from Clops, but if that were the case, then everybody's K/D would be closer to 1. In a perfect world, where the game had all aim assist, then everyone should have a 1.0 KD. There are some kills I get that I know I don't deserve. There are also kills that people get against me that they don't deserve either. My DMR K/D is 1.17, which is a little lower than it was in Reach. Shogun's, who I use a comparison because he is the best slayer that I normally play with, is at 1.93 with his DMR, significantly higher than in Reach. If the aim magnitism is that much stronger and much more forgiving and noob friendly, then there is no reason his stats would be that much higher.
I get where you are coming from Clops, but if that were the case, then everybody's K/D would be closer to 1. In a perfect world, where the game had all aim assist, then everyone should have a 1.0 KD. There are some kills I get that I know I don't deserve. There are also kills that people get against me that they don't deserve either. My DMR K/D is 1.17, which is a little lower than it was in Reach. Shogun's, who I use a comparison because he is the best slayer that I normally play with, is at 1.93 with his DMR, significantly higher than in Reach. If the aim magnitism is that much stronger and much more forgiving and noob friendly, then there is no reason his stats would be that much higher.
this I agree with. Maybe the game doesn't work the same as it used to, but any benefits are given to everyone, which levels the playing field.
As for the population - it'll never be the size of H2 or H3 because gaming is more and more splintered all the time. There are just so many games and platforms now, and many that are online FPS with the same style as Halo.
In fact, it'll probably always be going down, and not much you can do about that. People have short attention spans, and the lack of certain hardcore functions that make people stay (like a good stats site with file sharing and video capping) are just making people feel like there's no point.
Here is a pretty good video on the newest updates coming soon and the future. I made a thread with more in depth explanation on whats coming up and the link to the 343 thread on waypoint.
Find it at the top of the thread here in the Halo forum.
I thought 343 had a good blue print of how to make a great Halo game and what not to do, but I guess I forgot that this is 343 first game and they did do a good job on it. If they can get TU out and good maps this game will be really good. As gamers we just want more, we want that feeling we had when we first played HaloCE at a LAN or Halo2 online with friends and thats not ever going to happen again its like your first kiss there is only one.
I thought 343 had a good blue print of how to make a great Halo game and what not to do, but I guess I forgot that this is 343 first game and they did do a good job on it. If they can get TU out and good maps this game will be really good. As gamers we just want more, we want that feeling we had when we first played HaloCE at a LAN or Halo2 online with friends and thats not ever going to happen again its like your first kiss there is only one.
So, it's acceptable to not demand what a previous developer has done with a game made previously in the series, and sometimes, is on the previous console? That's a floor, not a ceiling. It's a damned video game crime that the lobby system from Halo 2 isn't standard in every game's online offering. You'll always get disappointed if you set yourself up for it. Instead, demand better, or at least demand consistency.
I see Minecraft is climbing the charts again. In the FPS genre, the only conclusion that can be drawn is, no change in position. Of course alarmists will say, "See Halo 4 is dying". Without numbers, we don't know the whole story.
LIVE Activity for week of December 31st
Xbox 360 Top LIVE Titles (based on UU’s)
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
Halo 4
EA Sports FIFA Soccer 13
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
NBA 2K13
Skyrim
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Assassin’s Creed III
Madden NFL 13
Far Cry 3
Battlefield 3
Modern Warfare 2
GTA IV
Borderlands 2
Gears of War 3
Halo: Reach
Forza Motorsport 4
Forza Horizon
EA SPORTS NHL 13
It's not proving there is magnetism, it's proving the severity of it. Anyone with attached thumbs can 5-shot people now. In previous halo titles, the hitboxes were smaller and the bullet magnetism wasn't as strong. As far as the sweep sniping, maybe you're talking cod where it is easily done? Because I rarely encountered it in past halo titles and it took me quite amount of time to even get decent at it.
Yes, there is magnetism in Halo 4. More for some weapons than others in Halo 4. That's all it proves but it is still interesting to see and I'm glad you linked it.
Doodirock points out quite correctly bullet magnetism and all of the fancy netcode are required compensation for peer to peer connections of vastly differing latency and potential joystick inaccuracy. Apparently it has to be there or we'd probably all give up on trying to kill anyone. The game industry believes these compensatory effects are required to garner the largest possible population.
This. However I don't want to agree too much and be called out for any sort of favoritism so instead I'll just tell deep to fuck off. Keep the status quo.
P.S. I think this thread is really kick ass so as to not sully it with my name I'll bow out.
so here is the weekly up date. I pulled the important info out of it. Which was only like 30% of the update:
As far as Halo 4 goes, we have some fun stuff planned for late January and beyond. After the Infinity Challenge concludes, regular Matchmaking updates will start up again (and that includes the return of the second half of Spartan Ops Season 1, which features brand new stories, missions and locations). It’s important to note the below scheduled is not finalized and could very well change, but as of right now, here is what we’re tentatively planning:
Week of 1/21
Spartan Ops Episode 6: Five new missions and an accompanying new CG cinematic.
"Forge Test" playlist (name not final): A rotational hopper featuring small Forge maps such as Relay. Help us test these maps by providing feedback and reporting bugs that will assist us in getting them ready for Matchmaking!
Specializations: Pioneer and Pathfinder Specializations unlocked for all players.
Week of 1/28
Spartan Ops Episode 7: Five new missions and an accompanying new CG cinematic.
Grifball playlist: A rotational hopper featuring everybody’s favorite virtual sport. Catch the disease!
Specializations: Engineer and Stalker Specializations unlocked for all players.
Week of 2/4
Spartan Ops Episode 8: Five new missions and an accompanying new CG cinematic.
Team Doubles playlist: A rotational hopper for those of you that like action of the 2 vs 2 variety.
Specializations: Rogue and Tracker Specializations unlocked for all players.
Matchmaking updates go live every Monday, and potential playlists for the month of February include both FFA and a new and improved version of Team Snipers. Late February will also bring both a Title Update and the Majestic Map Pack (which includes two small maps and one medium-sized map) to Halo 4 as well. Expect more information on all of those things next month.
So looks like the end of Feb. it is. That TU better be hefty.
Well, reading that, it sounds like 343 IS indeed listening. I see smaller maps, doubles, ffa, grifball, snipers, and forge maps.
Apparently Halo 4 may not need saving of any kind.
*sigh* If no one believes me then boot up Reach and perform the same test. I did it this morning (didn't have the hdpvr set up) and withholding the swaying motion of the enemy (apparently spartans are always slightly inebriated), if the reticule is not touching the enemy, it rarely connects (1 in 8 shots landed). But apparently there's no evidence and I make shit up. I'm done. There are sensible people here giving great input to why Halo is no longer as popular as it once was (dixon, lanierb, ghost, etc). But I'll let the ultra casuals who want a new halo every year like cod, who believes 343/bungie does no wrong, and believes anything slightly competitive creating skill gaps ruins the game, continue to run the halo forums while constantly asking for evidence that even if provided, won't change their preconceived notion(s) of the game. Have a great day gentlemen. I'll see you on the battlefield.
We also have to be careful when presenting evidence that we draw no conclusion beyond what the evidence provides. You didn't provide an exacting set of videos to prove your point for comparing to other Halo games. You claimed the video show the severity of DMR's magnetism. Severity is a relative term and I'm sure we will have differing opinions on what is severe or not. If I go to any forum today, be it here, Waypoint, Bnet, HBO, NeoGAF or THC I'll find wildly differing points of view on weapons, weapon attributes, netcode, sandbox, AA, maps and etc from the most competitive players. Nobody completely agrees on anything or everything in Halo. Any person who plays Halo has a reasonable right to express an opinion no matter their skill level.
I hope the fact that I am a (ultra?)casual Halo player has not truly been a negative experience in this forum. I've tried to bring competitive news and discussions here. I also have strong opinions on the competitiveness of Halo and often they grate against those of the more competitive players. That's not going to change. Does that make me unfit to mod a bit, post links, initiate discussion, have opinions and pin topics?
I hope I do see you on the battlefield one of these nights. It was a welcome experience to finally get in some games with Dixon after so much forum sparring. I don't doubt being on the same team will help us too. Christ, I never knew Dixon never shuts up. It's still fun playing with him even if it is on the same map (Haven) over and over and over again.
We're all part of the same community, and you're good people. It's not my fault there's only one good map. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
Very well said. No reason for anyone to get pissy about an opinion. It's an internet forum. That's it. I love seeing this type of heat anyway. It's my thing to bring counter points to the table for almost anything.
As I said in my previous posts, I think there is a lot wrong with H4. I just don't have the passion for it to give any fucks. It's just a game for me at this point and not one that I wish to analyze until I get angry about it. I will say, its better to have posts about why we all disagree then not posting at all. That's really the sign that Halo is dying.
Clearly people care enough to want it to succeed. Now we just need to see if 343 agrees it needs saving.
P.S. Fuck you LB
take a DEEP breath NNN relax.
oh yeah. my take on it...M$ doesn't understand the concept of a finished product. everything they do is always a work in progress. argument: that's become a standard in the industry due to the fast pace of a games life cycle. WRONG! I'm not saying that isn't a problem, but M$ has made it a way of life in everything they do. H4 is H5's beta...H5 will be H6's beta... ever used windows?
Come on, that's not quite fair. In Microsoft's favor, Windows is run on, what 95% of all computers in the world, with hackers and nefarious folks trying to find and exploit tiny things inside the operating system to get information. That's a constant threat that Microsoft has to combat, which doesn't even go into the fact that you can grab roughly any periferal ever made, and with an adapter, if necessary, you can run it on your current computer. Also, you can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. You can go after Microsoft for a LOT of things, but I don't think that's quite one of them.
Hey Laser, clearly UFO's exist. The video proves it.
And yes, I'm just giving you shit. LOL.
Ok everybody, lets take a step back a bit.
Laser was making an observation, if it is bullet mag, bigger hitbox or both. Lets just just agree H4 is more forgiving when it comes to shooting people and overall game play.
Being labled as casual/competitive/ whatever is neither good nor bad, it is just a prefered playstyle, so lets not use those terms as a positive or negative and agree that this game CAN and SHOULD be able to co exist at the same time. Our frustrations should not be projected on each other but rather with 343, which is obvious based on the most recent weekly update and a sort of appology.
Now we have polar opposites of our persceptions for H4 from a slightly rosy colored view from Deep, to my rage enduced tiraid, to Dixons I hate everything unless it is customs on small maps all the time. It does not mean any of us love or hate the game anymore then anyone else. But I think it is safe to assume H4 is not without SIGNIFICANT issues that are effecting its long term outlook. We see declines in MM pop (based on HaloCharts), we see a decline in Top 25 ranking based on UU (which I still do not understand what a f'ing UU is even after reading the Wiki page. If someone could break it down into Lb'ese I would be greatly appreciated) and we even have acknowledgement of issues from 343. Now we have to HOPE (since there is little to Zero that we can actually do) that 343 pulls their head out of their ass and gets things done in a timely manner, finally getting things right 4 months after release (that is assuming they DO role out all the fixes AND quality updates). It does not matter if other titles or even other Halo titles had issues many months into the game cycle. We have been bombarted with unfinished products for years in our games and we have just come to except it as the norm and it angers me that staunch supporters like Deep are not rewarded for their support with the most basic of things from a game that should be there, working as intended and not need to overhauled months after the release of a product that have been in developement from anywhere from 3-4 years.
Anways, lets roll back the Nerdrage (or perceived Nerdrage) at each other and keep focused on the topic.
How do we save Halo? We play the game.....
How does 343i save it? They don't... At this point there isn't much 343i can do to stop players from leaving the game and I honestly doubt they care. They have already made their money and all the DLC sales are just gravy on top. Some of you will say "OMGZORZ they care and here is why RAWR!!!!!!!". So what if they do or don't, they control the Halo title. They will release the DLC, make MM changes, and or change things with a TU as they see fit. It doesn't matter anymore if you are unhappy about XYZ, you will either play or won't, you bought the game already.
The people who says OMG HALO2 WAS AWESOME, remember Halo 2 had an SMG start and didn't have a team slayer playlist when it launched. Also, Halo 2 had no real competition when it came to XBL, which is why so many people played it all the time. We had nothing else to play. Each Halo game has its own problems that people Boo hoo about, Halo 5 and 6 will have the same problems. What 343i needs to understand, and understand quickly, players want a good mix of maps and gametypes. Their Map DLC should reflect that. DLC 1 had 3 BIG maps for BTB. Had DLC 1 had 2 Big maps and 1 arena map I would have been happier and their MM hopper would already have more content to choose from. I suggest they go back and look at Halo 1 2 3 and Reach, Look at the maps that people liked (big and small) and create NEW maps that work with their new game. Recreating Beaver creek, midship, sanctuary, or any other map will not work. Sprint can break any of the older maps because they were not created for a sprint option.
in any case, Halo 4 will continue to hemorrhage players unless 343i makes drastic and quick changes to attract players back, but I doubt that will happen.
UU = unique users
Here's a very simple example -
Say a website is visited 3 times in one day, but the UU is 2 for that day. Since you only have 2 unique users, that means one user visited the website twice that day. So, the number of UU is often a lot less than the total number of visits.
I have to agree with Laser on the aim assist severity. My K/D is much higher in H4 than it was in previous Halo games. I am not a super-accurate player. I believe that the H4 aim assist is helping me a lot. I honestly feel like I get some kills that I don't deserve. Watching that video I think that when your DMR aim is off by that much then those hits should not register. But it helps me get more kills, so I can't complain too much.
So in theory if I log onto to play H4 at 11 am, then again at 4pm and then again at 8pm (only playing an hour each time), that would be 1 UU for the day, correct? But if someone where to log in either on multiple xbox's or use multiple tags, the UU would increase, right?
I mean we do not know how MS specifically determines what counts as a UU. it could be a combo of ip and gt. I would assume they do not use a MAC address and GT just to make sure they capture more UU. For example if you had roomates living in the same appartment but sharing the internet.
Correct.
I don't know for sure how Microsoft defines a unique user, but they make money by the gamertag so that's what is important to them.
I think the main reason H4 populations are declining is the small number of maps. It doesn't take long to get bored with playing the same 5 Team Slayer maps over and over. Compare that to BO2 which has 14 TDM maps right out of the box. So, H4 could definitely use more maps. I think that Forge Test playlist with new user-created maps may help somewhat. I really hope they have some good ones that are worth playing.
Food for thought...
A fellow gamer recently pointed out in another forum, that while many of us veterans of Halo disliked the direction the series went with Reach - we have to consider all of the new players to Halo that loved Reach. The players that Reach was their first Halo title. The players that enjoyed "vanilla" Reach and did not want or see the need in a TU.
Remember the TU in Reach that was applied to basically all the playlists except Team Slayer? Yet Team Slayer was always the most popular non-BTB playlist (aside from Flood). The TU playlists (and anniversary) always suffered from low population. Meaning, while the minority of players were whining in the forums (or proclaiming the superiority of the TU settings), the majority were letting their voice be heard by populating their favorite playlists.
Such will probably be the case with Halo 4. Unless the TU changes are substantial, which is doubtful, and sweep across ALL playlists. I do belive 343 may have learned their lesson with "vanilla" vs. TU settings, so I do hope TU changes will be blanket changes. However, the game is what it is, and if you are expecting big changes, I feel you will be disappointed.
The population has taken a somewhat drastic dive since launch. Plus the fact Minecraft is beating it on XBL should be embarrassing to 343 (I mean, Minecraft. Really?). However, look at all of the COD games that are in the top 20. MW2 is STILL on the list - even ahead of Reach and H3 is nowhere to be found. This, to me, points simply to the fact that Halo is not as popular as the COD franchise. Not much of a revelation on my part, I know...
However, all of this griping about population and settings does nothing but hurt the series. If you are of the attitude of "I'll just take my ball and go home" and not play, then YOU are part of the problem and not the solution. Especially if you frequent various forums and complain about a game you do not play. If you have already written off Halo 4 after only 2 months, then I feel bad you could not find enjoyment in the game.
Would I like some things changed? Certainly and without a doubt!
Do I plan to continue to support the series by actually playing the game? Yes.
Obviously this is the internet and whether you played one hour or one thousand hours, you have a voice. We are all entitled to post our opinions. However, I would think developers would much prefer to talk to the people that actually play and not forum warriors that just want to complain.
People give DEEP shit for his "casual" attitude, but at least he still supports the series by playing the game. If you quit on Halo 4 because of maps, settings, weapons, etc - that is fine and certainly this game is not for everybody. This game is not for all of the old and new Halo players, it's just another Halo game. Take it or leave it. Play it or do not play it. Simple as that once all is said and done.
Also, to keep from ruffling any feathers (assuming this is post is read), I am not directing this post at any person(s) in particular. This is more directed toward the Halo community as a whole on ALL sites, not just 2O2P.
I applaud your efforts if you made it this far. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.
I get where you are coming from Clops, but if that were the case, then everybody's K/D would be closer to 1. In a perfect world, where the game had all aim assist, then everyone should have a 1.0 KD. There are some kills I get that I know I don't deserve. There are also kills that people get against me that they don't deserve either. My DMR K/D is 1.17, which is a little lower than it was in Reach. Shogun's, who I use a comparison because he is the best slayer that I normally play with, is at 1.93 with his DMR, significantly higher than in Reach. If the aim magnitism is that much stronger and much more forgiving and noob friendly, then there is no reason his stats would be that much higher.
this I agree with. Maybe the game doesn't work the same as it used to, but any benefits are given to everyone, which levels the playing field.
As for the population - it'll never be the size of H2 or H3 because gaming is more and more splintered all the time. There are just so many games and platforms now, and many that are online FPS with the same style as Halo.
In fact, it'll probably always be going down, and not much you can do about that. People have short attention spans, and the lack of certain hardcore functions that make people stay (like a good stats site with file sharing and video capping) are just making people feel like there's no point.
Here is a pretty good video on the newest updates coming soon and the future. I made a thread with more in depth explanation on whats coming up and the link to the 343 thread on waypoint.
Find it at the top of the thread here in the Halo forum.
Here is the video for the newest news!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZKb9BuvUWUI thought 343 had a good blue print of how to make a great Halo game and what not to do, but I guess I forgot that this is 343 first game and they did do a good job on it. If they can get TU out and good maps this game will be really good. As gamers we just want more, we want that feeling we had when we first played HaloCE at a LAN or Halo2 online with friends and thats not ever going to happen again its like your first kiss there is only one.
So, it's acceptable to not demand what a previous developer has done with a game made previously in the series, and sometimes, is on the previous console? That's a floor, not a ceiling. It's a damned video game crime that the lobby system from Halo 2 isn't standard in every game's online offering. You'll always get disappointed if you set yourself up for it. Instead, demand better, or at least demand consistency.