Halo 5: Guardians Discussion

[VinnyMendoza]

I don't see why its so insane then that Halo 5 could have a better retention than Reach. It had significantly more sales (8 or 9 million?), gotta think of the ratios.

Halo 5 had more sales than Reach? Am I reading this correctly? Because you're dead wrong if so.

[cookies4you]

Money talks, why would the pros want to bite the hand that feeds them? If the pros honestly cared about Halo 5 being fully optimized for competitive play wouldn't you think that they would be more vocal about it?

 

I feel like @@Batchford is one of the very few Halo 5 pros that actually cares about Halo 5 being fully optimized for competitive play. 

• http://teambeyond.net/forum/topic/10991-how-to-improve-h5-arena/?do=findComment&comment=611021

Then again he made that thread months ago so his opinion on Halo 5 could have changed since then.

Batch is green now?

[xSociety]

Batch is green now?

Well, when nobody plays the game anymore how hard can it be? 

[valaea]

I'm going to sound super contrarian here, but I honestly just cannot get into the Witcher 3, no matter how hard I try. Across both the PC and Xbox One version, I've accumulated about 21 hours of gametime, but honestly, what kept me playing for so long was the simple fact that I sunk nearly a hundred dollars into it.  

 

Of course, every time I bring this up, there's always someone who assures me that if I keep playing for ANOTHER twenty hours, then I'll surely like the game. Problem is, my main issues with the game are pretty fundamental, like the combat system in its entirety (what with how unsatisfying Geralt's sword and magical arts feel) and how janky Geralt just feels to control overall. I just don't think any of these issues are going to be resolved when I start getting higher leveled gear with more rune slots

 

I also just don't feel anything but resentment for Geralt. You know how Emile seems like he was created to appeal to every 14 year old edgelord, what with the black and red color scheme, the big ass knife, and the skull on his helmet? Yeah, that's what Geralt seems like to me. His status as a pure wish fulfillment character is also supported when you start reading up on him. Like, apparently, not only is Geralt essentially a medieval super soldier bounty hunter who conveniently doesn't have to answer to the entity that created the Witchers in the first place, he's also Witcherier than most Witchers, so he also had even more alterations, which turned his hair white so he could stand out even more. He's also super cool, sarcastic, the object of everyone's fear and or admiration, and he can bang all the grills he wants.

 

Excuse me if this doesn't all sound like "Coldsteel the Hedgeheg: Medieval Fantasy Edition".

 

 

Combat + menus are easily the weakest part of W3, so I understand ... to me (and I think to many others), these are literally the least important aspects of an RPG.  It's not that they're meaningless; after 20 hours, I remember thinking, "eh, combat is too simple, and sort of clunky," and then "seriously, is this how I have to organize my potions / oils?"  But the writing (!), the uniqueness of each quest, the graphics (!), the world-building, the immersion, Gwent, the motion-capture, the acting ... I guess I ended up seeing it as an interactive 100-hour movie, but with way more engrossing atmosphere/gameplay than other "movie-games" like Uncharted (seriously, how do people enjoy playing those games? Quick-time events and solving stupid puzzles? Just watch the movie on Youtube)

[SweetNSavery]

Aaaaah yesterday I was able to win two games of strongholds when it was pretty much cemented that we would lose. I had to get off after but I've never had such an adrenaline rush playing Halo.

[cookies4you]

Aaaaah yesterday I was able to win two games of strongholds when it was pretty much cemented that we would lose. I had to get off after but I've never had such an adrenaline rush playing Halo.

I got a game where we nearly won but then our fourth guy left and the enemy team got a 60 point run.

[SweetNSavery]

I got a game where we nearly won but then our fourth guy left and the enemy team got a 60 point run.

The other team was at 98 and we were at 60-70. Ah the joy I had when we won. And there was a shit ton of lag.

[arglactable]

Halo 5 had more sales than Reach? Am I reading this correctly? Because you're dead wrong if so.

I think he's saying that because Reach sold more, getting equivalent "player retention" would require a larger number of people to continue playing the game. If, hypothetically, Halo 6 sold 100k copies and all of those people continued to play the game, the player retention would be incredibly high, but the sales and population overall would be terrible.

[Cooper]

I jumped over to Waypoint and saw 5 threads about sprint. 1 had like 1000 replies.

 

Good to see some people are still fighting the good fight.

[arglactable]

I don't know why I continue to post in those threads. I can almost feel my brain cells dying off as I read the responses.

[FollowTheWind]

Halo 5 had more sales than Reach? Am I reading this correctly? Because you're dead wrong if so.

 

You misread, I was talking about Reach (it sold around 8 or 9 million). Halo 5 is believed to be around 5.

 

It wouldn't be too wild for halo 5 to have better retention even if it sold less. Because its all about the ratio. Reach may have had more players, but in comparison to it's sales, thats what we gotta look at.

[BigShow36]

To be fair, Saucey made a poll in which the majority of pros who responded were in favor of radar. It was the same with autos, if you can believe it. It's possible that not every pro responded but it still indicates a big split in opinion. 343 was willing to take out breakout when the overwhelming majority of pros said they hated it.

 

I think I need to take a shower after defending 343.

 

There will be "pros" in any Halo game; that doesn't mean they have any idea what they are talking about. I could make a Halo game that's all automatics and there will be pros who will then say, "I like the automatics." Am I supposed to care what Halo 5 pros think about Halo 5? They play a shitload of Halo 5, of course they like how it currently plays. 

 

I can evaluate the competitive merit of a game independent of the opinions of others.

[Basu]

You misread, I was talking about Reach (it sold around 8 or 9 million). Halo 5 is believed to be around 5.

 

It wouldn't be too wild for halo 5 to have better retention even if it sold less. Because its all about the ratio. Reach may have had more players, but in comparison to it's sales, thats what we gotta look at.

Well in that case sorry for the rage neg.

 

Sounds just like a 343 tactic: scare away all the fans of OG Halo and have a shitty launch playlist lineup. Barely anyone plays MP on launch day compared to H2-Reach. Half a year later they can claim "highest player retention since H3! We did it!"

 

Well no shit when barely anyone played your game to begin with

[FollowTheWind]

Well in that case sorry for the rage neg.

 

Sounds just like a 343 tactic: scare away all the fans of OG Halo and have a shitty launch playlist lineup. Barely anyone plays MP on launch day compared to H2-Reach. Half a year later they can claim "highest player retention since H3! We did it!"

 

Well no shit when barely anyone played your game to begin with

 

Haha no worries

 

I don't really have a comment on why it would have a better retention. Comparing to Halo 4 or Reach aren't stuff to be proud of anyways. I'd say always strive for the best, aim for Halo 3 numbers.

[Ugug]

There will be "pros" in any Halo game; that doesn't mean they have any idea what they are talking about. I could make a Halo game that's all automatics and there will be pros who will then say, "I like the automatics." Am I supposed to care what Halo 5 pros think about Halo 5? They play a shitload of Halo 5, of course they like how it currently plays. 

 

I can evaluate the competitive merit of a game independent of the opinions of others.

Agreed. I'm just pointing out that a lot of the pros share the blame for the sorry state of competitive settings.

[Ugug]

I believe the reasoning behind those poll results was due to none of the Pro's wanting the meta of the game to change mid season. We might get very different results if they're polled after the end of major tournaments.

I've seen pros defend radar and at least be neutral towards autos since the game came out to now

[MultiLockOn]

Let's be honest here.

 

No console game will ever have the success of Halo 3, EVER. It's not possible. The hype leading up to it. The sales. The massive player retention throughout 3 years. The competitive community around it, the campaign speed runners, the massive forge scene that came from it, the machinima and screenshot scene (which died without halo 3), the custom game warriors, the game was just the full package. It's not going to happen again. Ever. Unless Halo leaves these fucking baboons and goes to a new studio.

[Gazorpazorp]

Let's be honest here.

 

No console game will ever have the success of Halo 3, EVER. It's not possible. The hype leading up to it. The sales. The massive player retention throughout 3 years. The competitive community around it, the campaign speed runners, the massive forge scene that came from it, the machinima and screenshot scene (which died without halo 3), the custom game warriors, the game was just the full package. It's not going to happen again. Ever. Unless Halo leaves these fucking baboons and goes to a new studio.

I feel as if I could give the Halo franchise to just about any TeamBeyond users and go "here you go, you now have control over the next game in the Halo series and you have full creative control, however you need to address problems with the past 3 Halos and balance both the casual and competitive communties and unify Halo as a whole." And I bet 90% that we would get a good Halo game.

 

Executive control and stupid input is what is dumbing this game down as a whole, its the same problem with Call of Duty and its the same problem with any other media company in any field such as film, tv, art, video-games, etc. Executives have little to no gaming background and lack perspective and force their creative vision on their staff and their underlings. They rub their hands together and wonder "what are the kiddies going to buy this year???", they throw in the latest and greatest trends and memes into their game/show/movie then call it a day. Then once the piece of entertainment comes out with a low-score, the customers bitch at the underlings while the blame should be placed on the higher-ups that are shrouded in mystery. 

 

This is the reason why Overwatch was a resounding success, a team of dedicated gamers with ethos came together to create a well balanced FPS with their vision in their mind, and they executed it flawlessly. They added a diverse and interesting roster of characters with different backstories, it is well balanced and fun for casuals while still having a competitive edge due to how this game is designed, and the higher-ups kept their hands off the gameplay while they just forced them to put in comestic microtransactions and called it a day. Not to mention it has a well informed united community with a bunch of artists, commentators, and streamers who love the game with a burning passion. There is a reason why the game is going to be the GOTY. 

 

Meanwhile my favorite franchise is flailing like a fish outta water trying to implement more mobility options, microtransactions, and WONT FUCKING FIX THE SHIT AIMING.

[AlphaBenson]

Combat + menus are easily the weakest part of W3, so I understand ... to me (and I think to many others), these are literally the least important aspects of an RPG.

Problem is, its an action RPG.

 

I also just felt like I could see the "twist" from each quest coming from a mile away, at least in the 20 hours I played. Like when you talk to that Hunter in Velen who's looking for his missing wife, it only took about two minutes before I guessed that the Hunter himself was somehow responsible. And for some reason, they end up repeating this again in the main quest, with the Bloody Baron in the same area. He also asks you to find his missing family members, but you quickly learn that he was the one who drove them away in the first place.

 

I also just don't give a shit about how many pixels are used to show off Geralt's stubble. The Witcher 3, and other games that try and have the most realistic visuals possible, simply do not have aesthetics that will age well. The Wind Waker, for example, is still visually pleasing to this day, nearly 13 years after the fact.

[Zeezbruh]

I really dont get radar, the reason 343/people want it is because people fly around the map sprinting, thrusting and clambering. If you make radar not show people who are just walk it will slow the game down a tad and make it manageable, aka you wont need to see everything around you because people are just plain walking. I would also be 100% fine making it 25m in arena with the aforementioned changes.

[SweetNSavery]

Problem is, its an action RPG.

 

I also just felt like I could see the "twist" from each quest coming from a mile away, at least in the 20 hours I played. Like when you talk to that Hunter in Velen who's looking for his missing wife, it only took about two minutes before I guessed that the Hunter himself was somehow responsible. And for some reason, they end up repeating this again in the main quest, with the Bloody Baron in the same area. He also asks you to find his missing family members, but you quickly learn that he was the one who drove them away in the first place.

What about the one where Precilla gets fucking wrecked?

[Basu]

I find it so hilarious that Titanfall 2 has the fucking grappling hook. The game that supposedly "revolutionized the FPS genre" with it's mobility options (while still being a modern military ADS game lol) now did a complete 180° and copied AW's grappling hook. Just how gimmick-focused can this genre get? I have extremely low expectation for H6.

[SweetNSavery]

I find it so hilarious that Titanfall 2 has the fucking grappling hook. The game that supposedly "revolutionized the FPS genre" with it's mobility options (while still being a modern military ADS game lol) now did a complete 180° and copied AW's grappling hook. Just how gimmick-focused can this genre get? I have extremely low expectation for H6.

Except the grappling hook adds to the game (from what I've heard about from people who play the game). Just because something was in another game doesn't mean it was added to be gimmicky.

[MultiLockOn]

Tf2 and IW were just revealed at the same exact time how can you say they copied each other lol. Regardless it looks like the implementation in Titanfall looks much better.

[FLuFFy]

Tf2 and IW were just revealed at the same exact time how can you say they copied each other lol. Regardless it looks like the implementation in Titanfall looks much better.

 

He said AW (Advanced Warfare), but I agree it does look better in TF2