Halo 4 perspective from a casual competive player

[aminal dr]

I’m just a casual player that likes and enjoys playing competitive settings. I started playing Halo MLG playlist on 2007 then found  MLG site on 2008 and just loved watching all those intense matches and competition that MLG tournaments offered. I lurked a lot in the MLG forums trying to learn and understand some of the meta game. Because my age  (I’m pretty old just look at my profile), because I have a heavy English accent and I’m just an average player with limited time to practice, I’ve been shy to join or ask to be included on customs games, all my playing has been done as a random. :wacko:

 

Why do I love competitive settings? Because IMHO these are the most fair settings. I played as a random all of the time and I got my ass handed to me pretty often but it didn’t matter because I was having fun and learning. The reason for getting beaten was simple, the other players or team was better. I know that sometimes the net code and spread would affect the fairness but as general rule if you lost it was because  the other players/team was superior on their skills.

We all agree that Halo 4 flunked and have a huge list of things that need to change to make  into a decent game. My perspective is about what makes a game enjoyable and addictive.

 

Fairness/Impartiality: Any type of competition absolutely should  be based on this principle, with a set of rules/equipment that apply to every single player. The oldest sport that is played at this time is golf because the same rules apply to amateurs and pros. Golf started on 1297 so this sport is 700 years old and  still going strong. Halo Reach and Halo 4 are not impartial due to the extreme randomness that was included on purpose trying to level the skill gap.
 

Standings:  The current psychological fad that everyone has to be a “winner” and don’t hurt  incompetent peoples feelings adopted by 343 created a clusterfuck on matchmaking, pairing peoples and teams randomly,  the result is skilled gamers/team obliterating  random players like me which produces frustration and unpleasant MM experiences.

 

The solution is simple, go back to the extremely successful playlist system of halo 2-3. The divisions were simple, gamers could choose what to play. Wanted just to mess around play social, wanted to have a semi competitive experience play ranked slayer, wanted to try the hardcore play MLG. Having so many playlist dilutes further the number of players on each list, condensating playlists will be ideal.

 

Ranks are absolutely necessary to create even matches. I know that with low player numbers it would be hard to pair matches evenly but I would rather wait 2 minutes and get on a fun match rather that quitting after 2-3 minutes of play.

Playground:  I don’t have to elaborate, current sprint and humongous maps eliminated one of the most important aspect of the meta game: creating team/player Strategies.

I believe that if 343 went back to the previous system this game would still have a little chance of bringing back a some players and hope that they bring back the real Halo for Halo 5.

 

 

 

 

 

[Obnokshus]

The community as a whole gradually needs to push for goals at a time. We can't expect to be handed everything at once.

 

To address your topic, this has been stated many times before: player randomness = good, game randomness = bad. Those who take the time to learn mechanics and maneuvers should absolutely be compensated for their pursuits in the form of a higher degree of performance against their competitors.

[Savagearbiter]

Infection

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That is all

[Ghostapple]

competitive settings are the most fair settings. i tottally agree with that.

[makeitstop]

The community as a whole gradually needs to push for goals at a time. We can't expect to be handed everything at once.

 

To address your topic, this has been stated many times before: player randomness = good, game randomness = bad. Those who take the time to learn mechanics and maneuvers should absolutely be compensated for their pursuits in the form of a higher degree of performance against their competitors.

I refuse to massacre the English language in such a way.  What you are calling "player randomness" is not randomness at all but rather "controlled" mechanics.  It may not be controlled by you personally but that does not make it random.  Examples include enemy strafing, aiming, etc.

 

 

Keep it simple and true- randomness = bad, controllable = good.

[Hitman]

Really great post, its so cool to see an OG like yourself able to appreciate and enjoy playing comp Halo 

 

In an ideal Halo game that would unite the casual and comp audience, the only difference in the game balance and settings should be player skill and social/ranked divide so players can choose their experience that particular night. Halo should not have intentional random mechanics like POD's and flinch mechanics you cannot master or predict.

 

When Bungie made Halo CE MP they made a quality comp shooter where every mechanic could be mastered and predicted but the core game was diverse enough to allow for a limitless number of combat situations depending on shield/health amount, weapon, elevation, map, grenade angles, movement ect.. the game was diverse enough to make it re-playable and fun enough to master the mechanics and finer points of the game. If players are having fun learning the game and the game is diverse enough to allow the player to breathe, then why do you need intentional randomness ruining the meta and wrecking havoc on the entire MP experience?