Halo |OT2| Forging Ahead

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Thanks. Just checked the email linked to my Microsoft account, but I did not get the survey. Though I guess they have to know what the general sentiment is LOL.

HCS weekend :slight_smile: I’ve actually been playing a bit more since I get daily points for old store stuff. Still love husky raids

Not here either; I had lost interest around that time, and operations just didn’t sound appealing. So a pretty good assessment for them.

https://x.com/klobrille/status/1796651765518963046?s=46&t=O_AGT9SEnlptKOF_2SxtqQ

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Nice! Should tidy up playlists a bit, hopefully.

Another 343 feature that’s always forgotten about (and hopefully is in day 1 next time).

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Even though I feel I haven’t been playing Halo Infinite too often, I checked to see how much time Xbox says I’ve played and I have 10 days total somehow.

I don’t think I will end up putting the 78 days(and counting cause I’m still finding games) I did into Halo 5 into Infinite, but it’s surprising to me that so much time has accumulated.

The new Sentry Defense mode is really good!

It works well with the increased player count that Infinite has for BTB.

There were moments on it that reminded me of the early online Halo days. A lot of teamwork and camaraderie between strangers. People actually using their mics and coordinating. Keeping each other up-to-date on enemy locations.

I had a match on Deadlock, a map that I’m not the biggest fan of, and it encapsulated everything I love about BTB Halo. It felt like I was in the middle of a war with vehicles flying around and soldiers pushing hard to defend or push. Not unlike how various Battlefield games have felt at their best.

The audio design is good too. Serves a gameplay purpose but also helps build the setting.

Infection on the training map (used in Firefight) is pretty good because there are 2 ways to play. One being hide and seek, and the other being to fortify the tunnel area on the second floor. I wish to see more of the latter.

I may be tainted by the Infection experience on Halo 3, that used Forged maps to create a ā€œfortressā€ style of game, but I want to see custom maps for Infection that push for that playstyle.

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The Sentry mode is really cool. The AI that defends itself makes it even more chaotic and tense. There’s a lot of back and forth. But I think the maps I played weren’t working that well, at least the converted maps. The mode needs its own maps imo and isn’t really fully developped which is a shame.

I feel like Infinite has run its course and we need new things or even a new game to push it forward and make it feel fresh and exciting again.

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First off, I agree about custom maps for these modes. I hear that I’m in the minority, though. But I’d like to see these modes come with the existing maps and fans creating something better that are quickly integrated into the playlists.

I actually don’t feel this way but it’s entirely contingent on these modes coming out regularly along with their custom maps. I played duos recently and loved it largely because of the fantastic user-created maps. Better than most maps in the game.

Husky Raid, of course, gave the game new life for me. Firefight was the same but I’m waning interest because half the maps (existing official maps repurposed) don’t do it for me.

So if they keep this up I’m perfectly fine.

I’m wondering if you’re tired of the gameplay? Fortnite changes up the gameplay nearly every season. Nevermind the new weapons and equipment, they were able to change movement and add pretty major special abilities. Because of that I can understand why people would be tired. I’m the sort that can still play Halo 3 multiplayer just fine. Nearly 20 years of the same gameplay and I’m perfectly okay with it, I just wish I had a robust Forge comparable to Infinite.

Because I understand that frustration. Infinite was supposed to fulfill the idea of an ever-expanding sandbox. We never saw anything radical with new weapons. The equipment additions were great, but few and far in between (with one being pretty much redundant). And most disappointingly we did not see any new vehicles. The Falcon alone would add so much.

I’d be right with you if a new game meant something that played similar and have all the features this game currently has but I have a feeling that a new game would mean waiting another few years for a fully featured Forge mode with scripting. I don’t want to go to a game with just a few modes and maps for years.

But I do think most gamers are with you. While I think people would like infinite if they gave it a chance now and played a mode like firefight, people simply won’t and it needs a bit of a rebrand under a new product to get people to check it out again.

I didn’t wanted to make it as negative as I wrote it I guess. I love Infinite but not as much as it needs to be in my mind.

Right now, the community is just waiting for more content but it’s not coming. We are waiting for modes like Warzone from Halo 5 but it seems like 343 is moving on, relying on Community made maps and content, which is fine, but not really exciting, let’s be honest.

Halo 5 got more modes, studio made maps and content than Infinite it feels like.

Halo Infinite feels like it is about curating content more than developping new maps and modes internally and it’s a shame. Infinite seems like it’s abandonned to its fate.

That’s my opinion 3 years later as I now look to the future, hoping for something better and bolder than what we’ve got with Infinite.

Again, I love Infinite, it’s better than most MP games, but the content looks dry and unsatisfying compared to other Halo games. I feel let down, because the game had so much potential on release.

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It is pretty wild to think about how Halo Infinite is truly a flubbed piece of software compared to the previous 343 games. The faults of 4 and 5 were rooted in decisions that didn’t line up with expectations, but they looked great and were feature complete for the most part.

Infinite going back to what people expect from Halo was great, and it feels great to play with a good sandbox, but lacked so many features, was light on maps…and that didn’t really change 4 years later…it was simply a bad piece of software.

It’s becoming more clear to me, though, that Microsoft’s reliance on contractors that can only work there for 18 months really hurt these titles. Not too long ago I saw a video from a contractor that worked on the latest Forza Motorsport, and while the FM series were able to crank out high quality titles pretty much every 2 to 3 years, this latest one was full of issues that were amplified by COVID.

But yeah I think you are right for the most part and I think I am in the minority of people that would be happy with new modes and maps created by Forgers (who should get paid through creator codes from stuff purchased in the shop). I think this will only satisfy a few people and I think most people would agree with you on moving on. I think when people see Gears E-Day people will be wishing to see a Halo with that sort of fidelity.

On a somewhat related note:

I don’t know how true this is. If it is I would have to question the logic because most of the issues with Infinite had to do so with some boneheaded decisions from the top designers. From the UI to the Battle Pass to the armor customization to the progression… It wasn’t the development team that was the issue. It was the people who conceived these systems.

So you could have Treyarch develop the next Halo But when you have people at 343 who don’t know how to design a live service game properly have them make something as nonsense cool as what infinite has, it really makes no difference who develops the game. It will suck.

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I think it’s over at this point.

A lot of people tried to spin them going from seasons to operations as a good thing but it was over after that lol.

Valiant effort from 343 to try and turn things around though but alas, it was too big of a hill to climb.

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I think you are ignoring the contractor issues, which everyone claims played a huge role in the issues.

Main issue was lack of content, not design decisions IMO. Not to say the systems were perfect, but if the content was there they would have been able to iterate on those systems without it being a big deal.

Yeah, I agree, decisions about BP and customization tied to the MP didn’t helped. It’s bad decisions all around that I feel made the game just unapeeling by having to much restrictions.

It reminds me of Forza Motorsport trying to be a CaR-PG with levels for every car tied to upgrades. CaR-PG is a cool tagline…but you have to make it work first or people will notice it’s just marketing and there’s nothing behind it… just my 2 cents. Not a rant. Halo Infinite and FM are top tier games in my mind even though they could be top tier in everyone’s mind.

Next Halo should be something really special though. If rumors are true we should get some good and innovative stuff next.

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Thats not an accurate report at all. Reality is, you’re always going to have a mixture of internal development and external development.

I feel the next Halo isn’t going to do any better than Infinite, if they don’t have a Battleroyal mode to tie into the arena mode. Or start leaning into doing IP crossover events that get people who have no interest in Halo to give it a go.

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Well, reddit has a new rumor about 343 and Halo in the GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit.

https://old.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/1e3tjs6/halo_leaker_on_the_future_of_343_and_halo/

I don’t know if its true but the overview work works well for worlds edge… And how ki worked … So i am jot to worried…

You know how much downsizing and layoffs they would have to do to just become an overseeing studio ? Highly doubt the rumour is true at all.

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