Support NeoGAF

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

I'm hoping firefight in Infinite is a thing. There are so many ways they could expand on it.

Yeah, something I didn't realize at first was that Steitzer didn't announce Firefight in H5, instead they had Palmer doing it (ugh...) and Firefight flat out didn't exist in H4. So unless it's leftover from ODST or Reach or something, I guess it kinda has to be new?

 

[Cutty Flam]

Played a couple of CTF games and the indicator pops when flag guy is spotted or shot at etc, it turns off again if you get away pretty quick. It's good to get noobs to follow what is going on but not ideal if you ask me. For example you can be crossing an open area and an enemy just looks generally that way and an instant highlight. You cannot hide away, it's far better than previous games but a far cry from Halo 2/3 peak objective.

At least it will go away for some period of time if you're well hidden. I'm hoping that they mastered the art of map making by now and can bring the community something as great as H2 and H3 map-wise

 

[stickkidsam]

At least it will go away for some period of time if you're well hidden. I'm hoping that they mastered the art of map making by now and can bring the community something as great as H2 and H3 map-wise

I’ve played a few CTF rounds and I’d say they’ve really nailed it. The new equipment/power ups really shine in CTF too. With camo for example you can sneak into the base, pop the camo on, and get halfway back to base before they can even see you lol

The maps also have a bunch of paths to take and you are revealed as the carrier for a pretty short time. You are revealed by being shot, sprinting, or by using a man cannon. That last one leaves me wondering if it’s the speed you’re going causing you to be revealed though. Gonna have to experiment this weekend.

I also wonder if you can be revealed if someone uses the marking system. Guess we’ll see.

 

[Cutty Flam]

I’ve played a few CTF rounds and I’d say they’ve really nailed it. The new equipment/power ups really shine in CTF too. With camo for example you can sneak into the base, pop the camo on, and get halfway back to base before they can even see you lol

The maps also have a bunch of paths to take and you are revealed as the carrier for a pretty short time. You are revealed by being shot, sprinting, or by using a man cannon. That last one leaves me wondering if it’s the speed you’re going causing you to be revealed though. Gonna have to experiment this weekend.

I also wonder if you can be revealed if someone uses the marking system. Guess we’ll see.

Thanks for reporting on this, the CTF is like the centerpiece of Halo imo. Team Slayer is great, but there's nothing like an all out battle eight versus eight where every player isn't giving an inch and it comes down to the wire. There is nothing like that in gaming, Halo BTB CTF

If the maps are created with CTF in mind then the gametype should be a winner. In the past, they dropped the ball with BTB so fans of the gametype are probably curious to see if they've stepped their game up

 

[Bernkastel]

 

[Deputy Moonman]

Should be fun!

Halo Championship Series - Kickoff Major Raleigh 2021

Today, we’re excited to announce the HCS Kickoff Major taking place in Raleigh, North Carolina on December 17-19, 2021 with a starting prize pool of $250,000. Once again, the Halo community will be united under one roof, and this time with an entirely new Halo game to play and watch. In...

www.halowaypoint.com

This is kind of cool but I don't think it's really necessary now. I think everyone that is interested in the beta is finally in. Would have been much better if they had done the friend invite with the first 2 previews

 

[Deputy Moonman]

More recent Halo art from Marcus Lehto:




Also cool. Definitely give this video a watch (it's only ~6 minutes):

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

More recent Halo art from Marcus Lehto:

So cool. I really want a game on it's own with Marcus, imagine a small tight team with nothing but reworking assets under this vision but a new game of old stories from the Chief. Give the dude some funds Xbox.

Also interesting bit about Infinite's sentinel beam, it can disintegrate objects.



Now I wanna try shooting just one wheel on a hog and watch them lose control. Kinda want a thing where you can shoot/delete a mongoose or hog and the passenger still has the momentum carry through. Hilarious.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

Saw this on twitter. Doesn't appear to be a fair AR comparison as the distances are not the same and the Infinite example is a head shot while the other two are body shots. If CE and H3 were spaced farther apart, however, their TTK's would sky rocket compared to Infinite's AR. I'm in agreement with those that feel the AR should not be effective at range and right now it appears that Infinite's AR is a tad on the too good side at distance. While I would like to see the AR go back to Halo 3 levels of bad, that's not gonna happen haha. But 343 could still reduce the range on Infinite's AR by a little bit.


Uploaded some more clips. The first is a pair of double melee's to finish out a game on Chillout. The 2nd clip is just a 2 minute video of a game on Derelict with several multi kills (much easier to do when a player is afk

 

[Deputy Moonman]

I support this. All the custom stuff you can unlock in TMCC is neat, but rarely seen outside of post-game menus (nameplates, emblems, etc). I'd really like to see Infinite bring back personal emblems on your spartans and other ways to show personality. It doesn't look like it's going to happen, but it would be nice if 343 went away from the spartan armor schemes and let us the players color each part of our armor to our own liking. Also video of the flag carrier being invisible.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

 

[Deputy Moonman]

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

Yeah I know there's a big argument going on about this, but I do think the AR needs to be toned down a little. Even in training mode on ODST difficulty or above I feel like I'm just constantly getting lasered down from across the map by AR bots team-shotting me before I can even get 2 BR shots off. Dunno if this is just a quirk with bots or what because I've noticed they sometimes have freakish accuracy with the sidekick as well.

Conversely, I think the pulse carbine needs a buff, because at least to me it is virtually useless right now and there is zero reason to swap an AR out for it, as it's basically inferior in every way. I THINK it might drain shields faster if you can actually manage to connect the shots, but with how fast the AR kills anyway I feel like it doesn't even matter.

 

[Naked Lunch]

Yeah I know there's a big argument going on about this, but I do think the AR needs to be toned down a little. Even in training mode on ODST difficulty or above I feel like I'm just constantly getting lasered down from across the map by AR bots team-shotting me before I can even get 2 BR shots off. Dunno if this is just a quirk with bots or what because I've noticed they sometimes have freakish accuracy with the sidekick as well.

Conversely, I think the pulse carbine needs a buff, because at least to me it is virtually useless right now and there is zero reason to swap an AR out for it, as it's basically inferior in every way. I THINK it might drain shields faster if you can actually manage to connect the shots, but with how fast the AR kills anyway I feel like it doesn't even matter.

ARs range needs toned down for sure - its a glaring problem. The Carbine needs reworked completely - bullet velocity is too slow.
Other than that - im pretty cool with the balance. Love that the pistol isnt the be all end all (like Halo 5 and of course 1) - but its still good.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

Ok, this is fucking lame. I don't give a shit about the AI, or Spartan chatter, or Agryna or whatever her name is. Just give me Steitzer FFS.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

I finally got to play some Infinite yesterday. I had a lot of trouble with my aim. Perhaps I'm just not used to the game yet but I have seen a lot of players complain about the aiming in Infinite. I've been playing so poorly though I don't know if it is the game or just me.

Ok, this is fucking lame. I don't give a shit about the AI, or Spartan chatter, or Agryna or whatever her name is. Just give me Steitzer FFS.

That's lame If he isn't part of Infinite. What possible reason would there be to leave him out?

ARs range needs toned down for sure - its a glaring problem. The Carbine needs reworked completely - bullet velocity is too slow.
Other than that - im pretty cool with the balance. Love that the pistol isnt the be all end all (like Halo 5 and of course 1) - but its still good.

I'm watching you!

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

I finally got to play some Infinite yesterday. I had a lot of trouble with my aim. Perhaps I'm just not used to the game yet but I have seen a lot of players complain about the aiming in Infinite. I've been playing so poorly though I don't know if it is the game or just me.


That's lame If he isn't part of Infinite. What possible reason would there be to leave him out?

I'm watching you!

It's the game, aiming is fucked up just like H5, a lot of people have been complaining about it.

And Steitzer is in the game, just not BTB. Which sucks because BTB has always been one of my favorite modes.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

It's the game, aiming is fucked up just like H5, a lot of people have been complaining about it.

And Steitzer is in the game, just not BTB. Which sucks because BTB has always been one of my favorite modes.

So random though Steitzer being in everything but BTB. Maybe he is an unlock

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

So no overtime in BTB CTF? Perhaps you have to be holding it to get overtime rather than right next to it? Not how previous titles have worked.

Skip to 2:45 -

 

[Deputy Moonman]

So no overtime in BTB CTF? Perhaps you have to be holding it to get overtime rather than right next to it? Not how previous titles have worked.

Skip to 2:45 -

I don't know about CTF but I was in a tie-game of Strongholds. Which I thought was a bit ridiculous as it should just be the next point to win wins the game problem solved. How does the door hack work? Do you just let your AI work on it for a bit until it unlocks?

Also, is everyone enjoying the preview this go around? I think I need more time with the game to improve my aim and familiarity with the weapons. I went back to tmcc social ce haha.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

I don't know about CTF but I was in a tie-game of Strongholds. Which I thought was a bit ridiculous as it should just be the next point to win wins the game problem solved. How does the door hack work? Do you just let your AI work on it for a bit until it unlocks?

Also, is everyone enjoying the preview this go around? I think I need more time with the game to improve my aim and familiarity with the weapons. I went back to tmcc social ce haha.

Yep, the door hack is opened by your AI in the terminal next to the door, takes a little while to open. The loot was basically a sniper and overshield, not sure it's worth the time investment but I'm sure that loot will change over time/be random. Cool little thing though.

The are a lot of little things not giving you focus on the core gameplay elements easily and more where I think to myself..."man this new engine really has started from the ground up, it's missing a ton of simple but essential things" -

1. Server selection.
2. Lacking the above, even displaying what server a game is loading into, showing ping with a setting toggle is one thing but knowing where your game is hosted is something that should always be shown.
3. Scoreboard sorting of players/ordering, it's totally nonsensical and does not sort alphabetically nor best performance nor most kills etc. I think it might actually be in the order where players loaded into the game. Other things such as the winning team should be at the top of the scoreboard post game.
4. Overtime does not kick in at all CTF or strongholds.
5. Scoreboard details not showing the overall scores as the highlight post game report, you have to click X to get there and even then it's unclear who won and what game or map you played etc.
6. The grenades and equipment are blue on a blue background, it just does not stand out at a quick glance during gameplay. The old games it was clear and simple, this UI with blue everything isn't anywhere near as utilitarian IMO.
7. When you have a premade squad and the little intro GT/character plays out you're not even with your 4 man team, it's randomly split and randies show up in that intro/outro. Why would you not just stick a premade squad together throughout the whole experience? Also those little team intros don't flow into the game at all e.g. issue voice commands or markers or group spawns together so you can buddy up during the game.
8. Friendlies don't collide.
9. The granular aim is unpredictable and broken.
10. Network connection heavily affects weapons and shot registrations, I think many weapons are no longer hitscan.
11. The timers on regular weapon spawns, you generally see they're taken and waiting to spawn again but have really no idea when that's going to happen e.g. do I run off or wait for a respawning weapon.
12. Rematch button, party up options etc?
13. Yellow teammate markers when they’re shooting and orange when they’re being hit.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

Yep, the door hack is opened by your AI in the terminal next to the door, takes a little while to open. The loot was basically a sniper and overshield, not sure it's worth the time investment but I'm sure that loot will change over time/be random. Cool little thing though.

The are a lot of little things not giving you focus on the core gameplay elements easily and more where I think to myself..."man this new engine really has started from the ground up, it's missing a ton of simple but essential things" -

1. Server selection.
2. Lacking the above, even displaying what server a game is loading into, showing ping with a setting toggle is one thing but knowing where your game is hosted is something that should always be shown.
3. Scoreboard sorting of players/ordering, it's totally nonsensical and does not sort alphabetically nor best performance nor most kills etc. I think it might actually be in the order where players loaded into the game. Other things such as the winning team should be at the top of the scoreboard post game.
4. Overtime does not kick in at all CTF or strongholds.
5. Scoreboard details not showing the overall scores as the highlight post game report, you have to click X to get there and even then it's unclear who won and what game or map you played etc.
6. The grenades and equipment are blue on a blue background, it just does not stand out at a quick glance during gameplay. The old games it was clear and simple, this UI with blue everything isn't anywhere near as utilitarian IMO.
7. When you have a premade squad and the little intro GT/character plays out you're not even with your 4 man team, it's randomly split and randies show up in that intro/outro. Why would you not just stick a premade squad together throughout the whole experience? Also those little team intros don't flow into the game at all e.g. issue voice commands or markers or group spawns together so you can buddy up during the game.
8. Friendlies don't collide.
9. The granular aim is unpredictable and broken.
10. Network connection heavily affects weapons and shot registrations, I think many weapons are no longer hitscan.
11. The timers on regular weapon spawns, you generally see they're taken and waiting to spawn again but have really no idea when that's going to happen e.g. do I run off or wait for a respawning weapon.
12. Rematch button, party up options etc?

The post-game stats screen is underwhelming. I'm not sure if I just don't understand how to show all the players, but all it ever shows me is my own stats. Which gives me nothing to compare my performance. Like I can't even see my teammates' stats. #8 bothers me too. Feels wrong running through teammates and not posing a risk with grenades or weapons. #9 & #10 will hopefully be improved by launch but yeah I don't know what is so hard about making an aiming system that feels normal. #11 is something i've run into many times as well. Generally, I think if you see the hologram of a weapon it means it will spawn in 30 seconds or less. I've waited around before for the weapons to return and it's never been longer than that. If no hologram is visible than i move on. #12 needs to be a thing.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

The post-game stats screen is underwhelming. I'm not sure if I just don't understand how to show all the players, but all it ever shows me is my own stats. Which gives me nothing to compare my performance. Like I can't even see my teammates' stats.

You have to hit X a second time to go from your personal stats to the full game stats with teammates and enemies. Stupid it's just not auto-displayed right after the match end/victory or defeat animation.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

Possible story spoilers for campaign below, I guess, via a new round of toy leaks.

Spoiler

Notably a very Reach looking Ultra Elite, Fred, and Escharum who seems to have gotten a bit of a redesign?

 

[Deputy Moonman]

This is cooll

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

Well now that it's over I thought I'd give my thoughts.

The game is pretty damn close to being what I'd want out of a modern Halo game, but like Ozzy Onya A2Z said there's just so many little things preventing it from being quite there. Ones that come to mind immediately -

>Weapon balance is kinda screwy. Example, like I said before the AR is a laserbeam while the pulse carbine is just bad. Sniper feels inconsistent. Etc.
>Physics are bizarre. They work in some cases but don't in others. I don't like just phasing through teammates and that all of the hammer's actual gravity abilities are basically gone.
>Friendly fire needs to come back.
>Weird performance issues. Not being able to see your legs at high FOV. Weapon animations being low framerate sometimes.
>No Steitzer in BTB, literally nobody was asking for his removal in any way. And getting multikill medals to dead silence makes it feel unfinished.
>Not gonna mince words here - The UI is fucking atrocious, maybe even worse than Halo 5 and that's really disappointing to say. Extremely cluttered, unintuitive and glitchy.
>Aiming is still off.
>Dropwall feels like it's made out of tissue paper and is basically useless.
>I don't like the randomness of weapon/vehicle spawns, prefer them being static.
>Plasma Pistol vehicle stunning getting taken out in favor of the shock rifle. Bad 343. Bad!

Overall it's my favorite Halo MP since Reach, but Jesus does it feel like it could use more time in the oven and I really don't know if they're gonna be able to fix all this by launch.

 

[Havoc2049]

Well now that it's over I thought I'd give my thoughts.

The game is pretty damn close to being what I'd want out of a modern Halo game, but like Ozzy Onya A2Z said there's just so many little things preventing it from being quite there. Ones that come to mind immediately -

>Weapon balance is kinda screwy. Example, like I said before the AR is a laserbeam while the pulse carbine is just bad. Sniper feels inconsistent. Etc.
>Physics are bizarre. They work in some cases but don't in others. I don't like just phasing through teammates and that all of the hammer's actual gravity abilities are basically gone.
>Friendly fire needs to come back.
>Weird performance issues. Not being able to see your legs at high FOV. Weapon animations being low framerate sometimes.
>No Steitzer in BTB, literally nobody was asking for his removal in any way. And getting multikill medals to dead silence makes it feel unfinished.
>Not gonna mince words here - The UI is fucking atrocious, maybe even worse than Halo 5 and that's really disappointing to say. Extremely cluttered, unintuitive and glitchy.
>Aiming is still off.
>Dropwall feels like it's made out of tissue paper and is basically useless.
>I don't like the randomness of weapon/vehicle spawns, prefer them being static.
>Plasma Pistol vehicle stunning getting taken out in favor of the shock rifle. Bad 343. Bad!

Overall it's my favorite Halo MP since Reach, but Jesus does it feel like it could use more time in the oven and I really don't know if they're gonna be able to fix all this by launch.

What? You don't like looking at four layers of menus at the same time?

 

[Deputy Moonman]

So the wording seems to imply there will be more previews. Or is that perhaps for new content beyond release?


Unfortunately I don't do energy drinks. If this was for regular soft drinks like Pepsi or Dr. Pepper I'd probably get a few packs.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

They're probably just getting sign ups for future flights post launch. Similar to what MCC does still and often.

 

[stickkidsam]

So the wording seems to imply there will be more previews. Or is that perhaps for new content beyond release?


Unfortunately I don't do energy drinks. If this was for regular soft drinks like Pepsi or Dr. Pepper I'd probably get a few packs.

Are they implying there will be ANOTHER tech preview? Color me surprised if so.

Unfortunately I don’t like Rockstar that much. Feels less like being one than it does drinking one. Still, I’ll be a groupie for a Halo release.

 

[h00ters]

One thing that irks me is that the in-game scoreboard (when you press select/back) is a toggle rather than a push to show. I check the scoreboard every time I die, and it's so annoying respawning and having the scoreboard stuck on my screen.

 

[Havoc2049]

One thing that irks me is that the in-game scoreboard (when you press select/back) is a toggle rather than a push to show. I check the scoreboard every time I die, and it's so annoying respawning and having the scoreboard stuck on my screen.

That annoyed me as well. No other Halo game is like that, so hopefully they fix it.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

One thing that irks me is that the in-game scoreboard (when you press select/back) is a toggle rather than a push to show. I check the scoreboard every time I die, and it's so annoying respawning and having the scoreboard stuck on my screen.

Haha yes in the previous preview I was running trying to figure out why the scoreboard wouldnt go away.

 

[Naked Lunch]

>Friendly fire needs to come back.

Being that Infinite is Free to Play now - people wont give 2 shits about getting banned or kicked off for a set amount of time. Its a good move having friendly fire off for Social games at least.
The team killing for your sniper/rockets would be off the charts - as would kids just pissing around betraying everyone.
It would be a nightmare with FF on in my opinion.

 

[stickkidsam]

Being that Infinite is Free to Play now - people wont give 2 shits about getting banned or kicked off for a set amount of time. Its a good move having friendly fire off for Social games at least.
The team killing for your sniper/rockets would be off the charts - as would kids just pissing around betraying everyone.
It would be a nightmare with FF on in my opinion.

I don’t really see how it’s any different than it was before. If people is gonna pull that shit they’ll do it regardless of the consequences. Most people just don’t do it otherwise any free to play game would be a crapshoot full of people refusing to play right. Removing friendly fire and collision is just a shitty solution to what is generally a non issue. If anything, add a vote system to kick people I guess.

 

[The Real Napsta]

TOXIC AF

 

[ResilientBanana]

Being that Infinite is Free to Play now - people wont give 2 shits about getting banned or kicked off for a set amount of time. Its a good move having friendly fire off for Social games at least.
The team killing for your sniper/rockets would be off the charts - as would kids just pissing around betraying everyone.
It would be a nightmare with FF on in my opinion.

To be fair people that TK will most likely filter themselves to only play against each other.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

Would really like to see a list of stuff they're changing from the second tech test soon.

That and maybe some details on that campaign demo? December is gonna be here before you know it...

 

[Deputy Moonman]

I spoilered this leak just to be courteous. Not sure if anyone really cares about non gameplay/story stuff in Infinite or not. Some form of new collectibles in the game.

New collectibles called charms in Halo Infinite?

Spoiler

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

I spoilered this leak just to be courteous. Not sure if anyone really cares about non gameplay/story stuff in Infinite or not. Some form of new collectibles in the game.

New collectibles called charms in Halo Infinite?

Spoiler

I saw those and assumed they were things you could attach to guns. But could be wrong?

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

I saw those and assumed they were things you could attach to guns. But could be wrong?

That's my guess too, like Apex Legends charms.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

I saw those and assumed they were things you could attach to guns. But could be wrong?

That's my guess too, like Apex Legends charms.

Ha shows what I know

 

[Deputy Moonman]

 

[MikeM]

I can’t stop watching the Halo Series X console videos and wonder if I should keep it or my OG Series X.
Anyone else land a Halo console?

 

[Deputy Moonman]

I can’t stop watching the Halo Series X console videos and wonder if I should keep it or my OG Series X.
Anyone else land a Halo console?

Oh if I had the money I'd buy a series x in a flash. Alas, I don't have the money rofl.

I like the sound of this

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

Oh if I had the money I'd buy a series x in a flash. Alas, I don't have the money rofl.

I like the sound of this

If you've seen the Forge leaks... yeah, it's is crazy, maybe even more so than 5's. People are saying you may even be able to make full-on campaign style missions in it but I'm not sure about that because I still haven't really seen any AI options yet.

 

[h00ters]

Nice. Looks like you can't just throw the ball from one end of the map to the other. I like it.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

If you've seen the Forge leaks... yeah, it's is crazy, maybe even more so than 5's. People are saying you may even be able to make full-on campaign style missions in it but I'm not sure about that because I still haven't really seen any AI options yet.

I have not but I like the ambitious approach. 343 may take longer than anyone wanted, but I believe they'll get it done in the end. Hopefully it is worth the wait.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

I have not but I like the ambitious approach. 343 may take longer than anyone wanted, but I believe they'll get it done in the end. Hopefully it is worth the wait.

I hope they have PvE on the roadmap for the first 12-24 months after launch.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

I'd be pretty stunned if Forge doesn't get AI options eventually, some of the shit in there is practically tailor-made for it.

Firefight too, but I think that'd come later on.