Halo Infinite Discussion

[Reamis25]

6 minutes ago, Boyo said:

His buddy, that worked on Shadowrun, told him about it.  

Totally 

[Boyo]

Needler Rifle 

RT automatically fires low speed projectiles that home in on a targeted enemy.  LT semi automatically fires projectiles that count as 4 needles toward a supercombine and cause primary fire projectiles to more aggressively home in on the target, tracking his movement around objects.  

X toggles the weapon into rifle mode, extending the barrel, extending the stock, and flipping up a scope.  Now, RT fires high speed projectiles and LT activates a 2x scope.  Once the user has stopped firing, after a brief delay, the weapon quickly and automatically reloads itself, pushing out new needles. 

[Boyo]

11 hours ago, Larry Sizemore said:

Regarding CTF and flag stalemates, what about putting the flag itself on a clock once it's been pulled? When it hits zero, the flag returns to its home base regardless of whether or not it's being held. This can be in lieu of or in addition to reset timers.

I feel like this idea has potential, carrying an objective with a lit fuse but CTF isn’t the place for it.  

If the game time has ended, and overtime has ended, and both teams are still holding flags, they should link together like Harry Potter and Voldemort’s wands, damaging and pulling the carriers towards each other.  

[Boyo]

20 hours ago, MultiLockOn said:

Edit: There's probably a way you can combine slayer/obj by weighting values between both kills and captures of a single objective that would retain all these skill sets  

Not to be obtuse but isn’t that what slayer with power items already does?  Capturing the rockets creates the likelihood of your score going up by 2-4 points?  Or you mean bigger swings, like 50 point flags?  

20 hours ago, Hard Way said:

I think maps should make more of a point to place the flag in a position that allows for as many different viable flag routes and approaches as possible. In general I think this should mean moving the flags forward a bit, so teams need to worry about attackers coming in from behind. If CTF maps need to be a bit longer as a result, I think it’s worth it.

 I think that same concept should be applied vertically as well. Let attackers drop in from above or pull from below. 

Glider allows players to sail from a mountainous ledge over to the top of the enemy base.  Glider creates additional invisible routes in the air that players can use to drop down on the objective below.  

The Gravity Hammer’s alt-fire can pull an elevated objective down to the user, allowing his run to begin with a slight head start.  

 

[MultiLockOn]

34 minutes ago, Boyo said:

Not to be obtuse but isn’t that what slayer with power items already does?  Capturing the rockets creates the likelihood of your score going up by 2-4 points?  Or you mean bigger swings, like 50 point flags?  

Glider allows players to sail from a mountainous ledge over to the top of the enemy base.  Glider creates additional invisible routes in the air that players can use to drop down on the objective below.  

The Gravity Hammer’s alt-fire can pull an elevated objective down to the user, allowing his run to begin with a slight head start.  

 

Power weapons straight up make you better, there's no reason to not go for them ever. Doing an obj run like a flag cap is not something you'd want to do if you didn't have to. One of those two things requires a lot more integrity than the other. They are similar in the sense that they're incentivized like you mentioned, but the reason why they are, are complete opposites. One you don't want but you have to do it. The other you do want. This is probably what makes objectives more interesting than power weapons. 

[Griffolian]

On 5/28/2020 at 11:47 AM, Boyo said:

His buddy, that worked on Shadowrun, told him about it.  

Man I want another one of those...Valorant just does not do it for me.

[Boyo]

Equipment is activated with the B button.  

 

The Spotting Scope temporarily tags a targeted enemy with a waypoint visible to the team.  

The Missile Pod semi automatically fires explosive projectiles that can home in on tagged players or vehicles.  

The Hologram sends a duplicate of the user running forward.  Holding the B button stops the hologram a short distance away from the user.  When the user releases the B button, the hologram will remain near him, mimicking his movement and actions.  Upon release of the B button, the Body Double’s direction, relative to the user, is locked.  

The Bubble Shield creates a stationary spherical barrier around the user that blocks projectiles but not players.  

The Power Drain is a small sphere that is rolled forward a short distance.  It emits a shield-draining field for a short time before self destructing in a small explosion.  

The Flamethrower shoots a continuous stream of flames forward a short distance.  

The Token is a piece of Promethean equipment that allows the user to do three things.  B teleports the user to the map’s designated exit node if one is available and unblocked.  Left on the D-pad teleports the user to the Slider turret and Right on the D-pad teleports the user to the Rover turret.  Left and Right are auxiliary controls and may be disabled in arena matches.  

The Artifact is a piece of Promethean equipment that allows the user to do three things.  B activates a scripted event.  Left on the D-pad toggles switch 1 and Right on the D-pad toggles switch 2.  Left and Right are auxiliary controls and may be disabled in arena matches.  

 

Spotting Scope 

Missile Pod 

Hologram 

Bubble Shield 

Power Drain 

Flamethrower 

Token 

Artifact

[Boyo]

The Sand Blaster is a hybrid, part weapon and part “vehicle”.  

 

RT semi automatically fires 6sk glass projectiles.  LT sprays a flat, wide ribbon of sand forward a short distance.  RT while holding LT tightens the spread, concentrating the ribbon down to a focused jet, increasing the Sand Blaster’s range.  X transforms the player into the Sandman, a subterranean vehicle that rides below the sand and performs various transformations/attacks.  

The Sandman can ride beneath players or vehicles and create a pit to swallow them in.  It can create and send dust devils forward, damaging and tossing players or vehicles.  It can rise up from the sand as the top half of a large humanoid sandman, either spitting a stream of damaging sand forward or clapping his two arms together, damaging whatever is caught in between the colliding sand dunes.  

Throwing grenades into a sand pit or into the sandman’s open mouth will damage him, severely.  If a Chopper can spot the shimmering sand, he can nose dive beneath it for a moment, splattering the Sandman.  The Flamethrower allows infantry to counter the Sandman, torching him into glass that is easily shattered.  

The only way the user can refill the Sand Blaster’s shared ammo pool is by standing on sand.  In addition, Sandman can only be activated while the user is standing on sand.  With this in mind, a map designer could place the weapon inside a labyrinthine structure, forcing the user to fight his way back outside to get the most out of this unique pick up.

[NavG123]

2 hours ago, Boyo said:

The Sand Blaster is a hybrid, part weapon and part “vehicle”.  

 

RT semi automatically fires 6sk glass projectiles.  LT sprays a flat, wide ribbon of sand forward a short distance.  RT while holding LT tightens the spread, concentrating the ribbon down to a focused jet, increasing the Sand Blaster’s range.  X transforms the player into the Sandman, a subterranean vehicle that rides below the sand and performs various transformations/attacks.  

The Sandman can ride beneath players or vehicles and create a pit to swallow them in.  It can create and send dust devils forward, damaging and tossing players or vehicles.  It can rise up from the sand as the top half of a large humanoid sandman, either spitting a stream of damaging sand forward or clapping his two arms together, damaging whatever is caught in between the colliding sand dunes.  

Throwing grenades into a sand pit or into the sandman’s open mouth will damage him, severely.  If a Chopper can spot the shimmering sand, he can nose dive beneath it for a moment, splattering the Sandman.  The Flamethrower allows infantry to counter the Sandman, torching him into glass that is easily shattered.  

The only way the user can refill the Sand Blaster’s shared ammo pool is by standing on sand.  In addition, Sandman can only be activated while the user is standing on sand.  With this in mind, a map designer could place the weapon inside a labyrinthine structure, forcing the user to fight his way back outside to get the most out of this unique pick up.

Centuries from now when historians are trying to piece together the events that lead to the riots of 2020 they will trace the cause back to this post.

[Boyo]

Like Jaws, the Sandman swims submerged beneath the sandy surface, silently stalking its prey.   You better play the floor is lava game or you might ending up playing the quiet game.  At least with a drone strike, you have the chance to hear something coming down at you from above.  The Sandman turns the very ground you walk on into something you can’t fully trust.  

[Boyo]

Button Layout 

 

RT - Fire

LT - Scope or Alt-Fire

RB - Throw grenade 

LB - Jump and Aerial Enhancement 

 

A - Armor Ability 

B - Equipment 

X - Reload or Toggle firemode 

Y - Switch weapons, Action 

 

L3 - Crouch 

R3 - Melee 

 

Up - Cycle grenades 

Down - n/a

Left - Aux equipment controls 

Right - Aux equipment controls 

 

The game launches with 6 arena maps and 6 invasion maps.  Each invasion map is designed with two specific species in mind.  

 

Spartans vs Elites 

Spartans vs Brutes 

Spartans vs Prometheans 

Elites vs Brutes 

Elites vs Prometheans 

Brutes vs Prometheans 

 

Each species has a unique armor ability.  Spartans Thrust, Elites Evade, Brutes activate Gravity Boots (high-jump, hover, ground-stomp), and Prometheans transform into a Sphere that can roll through small spaces, jump, and bounce off walls but cannot attack.  

Each species also has a unique aerial enhancement.  Spartans Jetpack, Elites Wall-Kick, Brutes activate Gravity Gauntlet (clamber), and Prometheans Glide.  

Each invasion team has one high ranking player and two medium ranking players.  A team of Spartans has one Commander and two Fireteam Leaders.  The Commander’s equipment is the Missile Pod.  Each Fireteam Leader has a Spotting Scope.  

The Elite Field Marshall has a Bubble Shield while the two Ultras have Holograms.  The Brute Chieftain has a Flamethrower while his two Captains have Power Drains.  The Promethean Alpha has the Artifact while the two Omegas have Tokens.  These two pieces of Promethean equipment utilize the auxiliary controls, Left and Right on the D-pad.  

 

Each rank and species has a unique weapon loadout.  

 

Commander:  Sniper Rifle, Magnum 

Fireteam Leader:  Shotgun, Magnum 

Spartan:  Battle Rifle, Assault Rifle 

 

Field Marshall:  Beam Rifle, Energy Sword 

Ultra:  Needler Rifle, Plasma Repeater 

Elite Minor:  Plasma Pistol 

 

Chieftain:  Gravity Hammer, Sand Blaster 

Captain:  Spiker, Gravity Bow 

Brute Minor:  Mauler 

 

Alpha:  Focus Rifle, Scepter 

Omega:  Sentinel Beam, Light Rifle 

Knight:  Boltshot 

[NAK]

18 hours ago, Boyo said:

Like Jaws, the Sandman swims submerged beneath the sandy surface, silently stalking its prey.   You better play the floor is lava game or you might ending up playing the quiet game.  At least with a drone strike, you have the chance to hear something coming down at you from above.  The Sandman turns the very ground you walk on into something you can’t fully trust.  

At first, I read this as "Jews" instead of Jaws. I was very confused and a little concerned to say the least.  

[Aphex Twin]

Want to flag a point in this interview that starts at 22:19 - this video is about 6 years old now, but the point is still relevant. 

As Halo has progressed, the gameplay has been designed to make players powerless.

Whether it was doubling the utility weapon's kill time from CE to H2, introducing random spread/bloom in H3/Reach, letting your opponents escape a deserved death by introducing sprint, etc... 

If Halo Infinite is going to save the franchise, players need to feel powerful again. 

 

[Snipe Three]

3 hours ago, Aphex Twin said:

Want to flag a point in this interview that starts at 22:19 - this video is about 6 years old now, but the point is still relevant. 

As Halo has progressed, the gameplay has been designed to make players powerless.

Whether it was doubling the utility weapon's kill time from CE to H2, introducing random spread/bloom in H3/Reach, letting your opponents escape a deserved death by introducing sprint, etc... 

If Halo Infinite is going to save the franchise, players need to feel powerful again. 

 

I think on some level the direction from CE to 2 or even 3 was kind of okay depending on who you were catering the game to but it went from being a different style/pace to purely detrimental when sprint popped up. Before that at least with the loss of individual power it did also deliver maps/modes/a pace where team gameplay with more than one person could exhibit or emphasize different types of skills even if for some people that was less enjoyable. They kept pushing to see how far they could go until it broke and unfortunately the Halo formula surely broke with the addition of sprint in a way it hadn't before

[NavG123]

If you want to talk about how the player has gradually been made powerless, talk about how you can't drive a vehicle with the objective like you could in CE.

[Boyo]

19 minutes ago, NavG123 said:

If you want to talk about how the player has gradually been made powerless, talk about how you can't drive a vehicle with the objective like you could in CE.

I think that was more about the focus shifting from 2v2 to 4v4.  Not being able to drive while carrying an objective isn’t something I have a problem with.  If you want to cross a giant map in a matter of seconds then you need to cooperate with a teammate.  

[Hard Way]

@Aphex TwinJeez, listening to that in 2020, it’s crazy to see how much cT influenced my perception of the game/franchise. I started reading that dude’s posts in 2005, and I still find myself saying, almost verbatim, stuff I’ve seen him say 15 years ago. I wish he still came around.

[Aphex Twin]

30 minutes ago, Hard Way said:

@Aphex TwinJeez, listening to that in 2020, it’s crazy to see how much cT influenced my perception of the game/franchise. I started reading that dude’s posts in 2005, and I still find myself saying, almost verbatim, stuff I’ve seen him say 15 years ago. I wish he still came around.

Same here, hugely influential community member and sadly overlooked by Bungie/343. I would take cT as a design consultant for infinite over an entire pro team. 

He sent me a rough draft of his 'What went wrong with Halo' book a while ago, really wish he got around to finishing & releasing it. 

[Boyo]

8 minutes ago, Aphex Twin said:

He sent me a rough draft of his 'What went wrong with Halo' book a while ago, really wish he got around to finishing & releasing it. 

Post it.  

[Reamis25]

You know he’s spot on correct. His call of duty comparison was how strong you are in cod and people love that. It’s why cod hasn’t declined unlike halo. 
many in this forum consider h5 sandbox as bad but what if the pistol was 4sk and everything was the same way it had been pre weapon balance patch? Could a sandbox like h5s of been ok if we spawned  with a stronger utility? I’m a good advocate for variety in halo and I know many are as well. I think weapons on the map being strong is key but your utility should be strongest. Whatever utility we get in infinite pistol or BR, it’s ttk should be the lowest but the dmr or other guns have their niches to give reason to grab. Carbines fast ROF, the dmr high range, the LR 3 shot kill when zoomed. Let’s also hope for projectile shooting this time around. 

[Aphex Twin]

43 minutes ago, Reamis25 said:

... what if the pistol was 4sk and everything was the same way ...

I think players would still feel too powerless. 

Kill times need to be cod-style fast in a game with cod-style mechanics. Imagine the backlash if cod added halo-style shields to their game. 

3sk pistol could work in h5 with sprint turned off.

[chaosTheory]

Oh hey there Gents.I am in fact still alive!

People still have hope for the Halo franchise after Halo 5!?! You're all stronger than me.

Gandhi told me he was gonna bring me back for part 2 on that, he never did. I used to talk to GHO57 and Bravo with some regularity but they never had enough pull to make anything meaningful happen long term i dont think. I could be wrong. I dont think any of this stuff is gonna change.

I appreciate the love tho. I really did and still do care about this stuff.

I can post parts of that 60 page tome i wrote about the Reach beta but i dont want to put the whole thing out there cause theres a lot of grandstanding and ego in there that isnt really what i would write today.

 

[Boyo]

@chaosTheory What is one meaningful way in which Halo could evolve without abondoning its core principles?  

[Hard Way]

6 hours ago, Aphex Twin said:

Same here, hugely influential community member and sadly overlooked by Bungie/343. I would take cT as a design consultant for infinite over an entire pro team. 

He sent me a rough draft of his 'What went wrong with Halo' book a while ago, really wish he got around to finishing & releasing it. 

Dude, send me that shit.

[chaosTheory]

@BoyoI'd have to give this a lot more thought but a short answer off the top of my head would be additional mobility options that are not overtly defensive in nature. Something like a SHORT wall run or a brief wall kick could work. There's probably more but I'd need more time to marinate on that. I actually have to leave but I'll check back a bit later.