We never got to know what happened to the majority of the Gamma Company.
15 members were left on Onyx (i suspect they were going to be drafted for Noble-like teams, considering they were competing for highest scores or some such). But after that, we haven't heard anything about the majority of the Gamma.
I have never agreed with TV Tropes scale even though i'm a heavy user (reader) of the site. It isn't accurate enough, a lot of gets lumped under 3 even though there's a ridiculous variance within that group.
The problem with Physics Plus category it often includes stuff that should be 2 or even 1 but looks visually realistic or such. Perhaps the thing just doesn't have enough oversight and discussion... Of course, this depends on personal definitions too.
And then there's the nebulous realm what is plausible and what is possible.
Halo's high performance (torch) fusion drives are not really impossible, but they are not really plausible either.
EDIT i'll grant you Halo's better than Star Trek when it comes this, much better. Which is really a 1 IMO, not two as TV tropes thinks.
Interesting point. You're right that the scale isn't particulars well put together; the grading seems to be based on both consistency and degree of normalcy, which makes it a bit messy. Splitting it up into two separate lists would be a good start. Halo would rate fairly highly on the "consistency" scale, but you're right in that it does take a large number of liberties with the science, so it'd be lower on the other one.
In terms of science fiction hardness, Halo actually rates pretty well; probably a 3 on the scale. Yes, they take numerous liberties with reality, but those are always attempted be couched in some sort of physical law (barring occasional messups stuff like the Autumn's thermodynamics breaking fusion core), whether real or fictional. Compared to something like Star Trek, it's actually fairly hard. The one persistent exception would be the lack of major societal change, but that can be chalked up to it being more military sci-fi than anything else, and those settings kind of require a familiar reference frame.
And besides. Sociology's not a "real" science anyway
The lack of societal change over the course of 500 years always seemed weird to me but I think that was hand waved awhile go with something about war having a huge impact on humanity's cultural growth. I may be talking out of my ass though.
I have never agreed with TV Tropes scale even though i'm a heavy user (reader) of the site. It isn't accurate enough, a lot of gets lumped under 3 even though there's a ridiculous variance within that group.
The problem with Physics Plus category it often includes stuff that should be 2 or even 1 but looks visually realistic or such. Perhaps the thing just doesn't have enough oversight and discussion... Of course, this depends on personal definitions too.
And then there's the nebulous realm what is plausible and what is possible.
Halo's high performance (torch) fusion drives are not really impossible, but they are not really plausible either.
EDIT i'll grant you Halo's better than Star Trek when it comes this, much better. Which is really a 1 IMO, not two as TV tropes thinks.
I checked out that page you linked earlier and GREAT SCOTT that was a good read. While it had points at which I started to have a bit trouble understanding I managed to get through most of it without too much trouble. It's crazy to think about the distances between star systems and the various problems in traveling them. So yeah thanks man. Is this kind of stuff like a passion of yours?
Why are we arguing about the science of the 26th century? We went from horse-drawn carriages to the moon in less than a century. It's not implausible to think that the "laws" we hold as immutable will change, just like Newton's "laws".
Internal consistency is really the only thing that makes sense to complain about in a sci-fi setting. Everything else is just gravy to make the story flow.
I do t see much problem with wanting to analyze it though. It's cool to try and work out how something could potentially work within our own universe (or at least our current understanding of it).
If you're donging destiny MP is fun. In a weird way. I still can't get over the movement, or lack thereof. That being said, the different times of day on any given map is REALLY cool. Other than that...bring on some MCC. My friend and I were just talking some 2v2 hang 'em high rockets customs. Sounds like heaven.
Edit: also lack of precision in Destiny. I have never been good at ADS though, so maybe it is just that.
MCC has the best water in the series so far, on an unannounced mp map that you don't typically associate with water. Flowing, static, waterfall and wetness on rock.
MCC has the best water in the series so far, on an unannounced mp map that you don't typically associate with water. Flowing, static, waterfall and wetness on rock.
I'm starting to think that CGI is going to get so good that eventually things like Predators and the Master Chief will just look like dudes in suits, and then they will have to dial it back again so it doesn't look bad haha
Cortana is straddling the uncanny valley at this point, she looks like a real person who they added some effects to (which I suppose with the capture technology they is basically exactly what they did...).
Miranda looks a bit too old for my liking, looks like a totally different person, and Johnson's eyes are a little too wide/big I think, he looks a bit like someone who suffers from down syndrome (no offense intended..). Hopefully they fix it up a bit.
Overall it look amazing though, can't wait to see the final versions!
I agree that Zanzibar looks a bit washed out, it certainly doesn't look as visually impressive as Ascension - especially with that new Halo Ring skybox. I'm guessing they will add some crazy visual stuff to the ocean though, out in the distance possibly.
After watching that video again... I'm actually really digging Miranda's new look.
I think the only thing that bothers me is the lack of continuity in regards to Halo 3... It's a bit of a shame that they didn't just redo all the cutscenes over the original trilogy. But I do realise how much of a task that would have been haha
Whatever the case, I feel like I'll be watching these a fair bit. Do we know if there's an option to watch the cinematics by themselves? What about all of them over the four games?
After watching that video again... I'm actually really digging Miranda's new look.
I think the only thing that bothers me is the lack of continuity in regards to Halo 3... It's a bit of a shame that they didn't just redo all the cutscenes over the original trilogy. But I do realise how much of a task that would have been haha
Whatever the case, I feel like I'll be watching these a fair bit. Do we know if there's an option to watch the cinematics by themselves? What about all of them over the four games?
I think we'll just have an in game model of CGI Miranda in H2 anniversary mode but Halo 3 will keep the same assets it had. Same with Johnson (who also seems to change in every game haha). A bit jarring when playing back to back, I would think
We never got to know what happened to the majority of the Gamma Company.
15 members were left on Onyx (i suspect they were going to be drafted for Noble-like teams, considering they were competing for highest scores or some such). But after that, we haven't heard anything about the majority of the Gamma.
How long do you guys realistically expect the MCC to last? This is the one game that is making me want to get an Xbone but I'm too afraid that a) the game's lifespan won't be that long and b) the online player base will be so split up due to the high number of maps.
How long do you guys realistically expect the MCC to last? This is the one game that is making me want to get an Xbone but I'm too afraid that a) the game's lifespan won't be that long and b) the online player base will be so split up due to the high number of maps.
It will probably pull an Orange Box but to a bigger extent, I mean that in there will always be people buying and playing it due to the value of all the games under one price tag.
How long do you guys realistically expect the MCC to last? This is the one game that is making me want to get an Xbone but I'm too afraid that a) the game's lifespan won't be that long and b) the online player base will be so split up due to the high number of maps.
I can see it lasting a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if it manages to survive pretty healthily for the rest of the generation. It's the type of game everyone is going to pick up with their Xbox one and so I don't think it's going to slump in sales quite as much as most titles do. That and its ridiculously good value for money.
The lack of societal change over the course of 500 years always seemed weird to me but I think that was hand waved awhile go with something about war having a huge impact on humanity's cultural growth. I may be talking out of my ass though.
Yet one could argue that the war itself would cause a massive change in the culture. World War 2 cause a lot of changes, cultural and otherwise.
Honestly, i think the UNSC having the culture it has is okay, imagining a future culture is perhaps the hardest possible thing in science fiction.
I just wish they'd talk a bit more about the pre-war UNSC.
The Interplanetary war "freezing" the culture works as a handwave to an extent. Until you ask how come it specifically froze things. And why?
I checked out that page you linked earlier and GREAT SCOTT that was a good read. While it had points at which I started to have a bit trouble understanding I managed to get through most of it without too much trouble. It's crazy to think about the distances between star systems and the various problems in traveling them. So yeah thanks man. Is this kind of stuff like a passion of yours?
Kind off. I like realism, hard science fiction. Though that doesn't stop my favorite science fiction things being rather soft: Dune, Star Wars (which is arguably purely space fantasy), Halo, others.
That site (it talks about rockets and such in general a lot, a lot of math too though it is optional really) is a big influence on my perception of science fiction and real life space flight, perhaps even too much so at times. Very influential to my homebrew RPG campaign/writing plans (and yes, they're just plans, never getting anywhere. I plan too much). Blending softer and harder science fiction is not easy.
It isn't about having realistic gameplay, it is about having internally consistent-world that doesn't make one bothered about it. Solid enough handwaves are needed when other explanations can't be done.
Halo's gameplay is hilariously unrealistic from physics to weapon ranges to tactics to... well, you name it, it is likely unrealistic. Doesn't matter though, they're fun games mostly.
I don't actually care too much for realism in video games, games like ARMA never clicked for me. But when it comes to worldbuilding, especially in a science fiction game, yes, it matters. Halo's not bad in this regard mostly, it just has some glaring errors and idiotic stuff.
Speaking of realistic elements in Halo games, the moment when the space elevator "collapses" in ODST. Very realistic actually: you cut the anchor point and the counterweight lifts the whole thing up, and possibly even escapes Earth's gravity.
EDIT right. Twice now something ate my edits. Whatever, not trying again. Wonder if this one will work.
How long do you guys realistically expect the MCC to last? This is the one game that is making me want to get an Xbone but I'm too afraid that a) the game's lifespan won't be that long and b) the online player base will be so split up due to the high number of maps.
You're going to see a natural drop off of players within a year. The one thing about Halo is that, even as much as people liked the preceding game, they always left to play the newer one (though that's not to say they didn't play the newer ones as long as the old).
I think the fact it has a unified interface, all one disc, and seamless transition between games, you'll still see a healthy lifespan well into the future of the console. I mean think about it, look how many still get the urge to play CE, 2, Halo 3 or Reach even with Halo 4 out. If Halo 5: Guardians is shit and everyone hates it, you'll probably see players go back to the MCC. Look how many kept playing Halo 3 even with Reach out.
As for the maps, didn't Frankie say there might be one or two somewhat lesser known Halo 2 maps, but they'll most likely remake the crowd favorites
How long do you guys realistically expect the MCC to last? This is the one game that is making me want to get an Xbone but I'm too afraid that a) the game's lifespan won't be that long and b) the online player base will be so split up due to the high number of maps.
I can see it lasting for quite some time while keeping a decently healthy population. If 343 decides to put out DLC for it that might give it a little boost. The biggest advantage the MCC has is tons of content for only $60 (well that and it's Halo). Seriously it may be the best value for a collection ever.
On top of bringing back a lot of old players it will probably bring in a lot of new ones.
Isn't Turf one of HaloGAF's dream maps when it comes to remakes?
But seriously, imagine the map partially flooded, wet, rainy, and best of all set during night, ODST-style (the map needs retexturing of course, darker buildings and such. Basically move it to New Mombasa from Old Mombasa). Blade-Runnerish feel perhaps?
Yet one could argue that the war itself would cause a massive change in the culture. World War 2 cause a lot of changes, cultural and otherwise.
Honestly, i think the UNSC having the culture it has is okay, imagining a future culture is perhaps the hardest possible thing in science fiction.
I just wish they'd talk a bit more about the pre-war UNSC.
The Interplanetary war "freezing" the culture works as a handwave to an extent. Until you ask how come it specifically froze things. And why?
I'd be really interested in reading a series that expanded on Humanity and its changes over the course of those 500 years and the major events throughout. Obviously there would have to be a lot of skipping forward but some kind of timeline with a bunch of stories I between would be cool. They'd certainly need someone that knew what they were doing. I'm not familiar with that author you proposed earlier. What series has he done?
Kind off. I like realism, hard science fiction. Though that doesn't stop my favorite science fiction things being rather soft: Dune, Star Wars (which is arguably purely space fantasy), Halo, others.
That site (it talks about rockets and such in general a lot, a lot of math too though it is optional really) is a big influence on my perception of science fiction and real life space flight, perhaps even too much so at times. Very influential to my homebrew RPG campaign/writing plans (and yes, they're just plans, never getting anywhere. I plan too much). Blending softer and harder science fiction is not easy.
Nope. That's cool you do that dude. I know what you mean about planning too much though lol
I love a lot of soft sci-fi (is the mecha genre soft by default?) but I think that hard sci-fi is really cool to watch if the writers can make it fun and/or engaging. When it comes down to it hard science in sci-fi is more of a really cool bonus that I like to analyze and learn about but I don't look for it specifically. My main concern with a sci-fi is internal consistency. Even if it's soft though I love speculating about how it could work. I'm working on writing a few different series and some of them I want to incorporate some actual real theories and concepts into so learning about this stuff is awesome.
Speaking of realistic elements in Halo games, the moment when the space elevator "collapses" in ODST. Very realistic actually: you cut the anchor point and the counterweight lifts the whole thing up, and possibly even escapes Earth's gravity.
EDIT right. Twice now something ate my edits. Whatever, not trying again. Wonder if this one will work.
Isn't Turf one of HaloGAF's dream maps when it comes to remakes?
But seriously, imagine the map partially flooded, wet, rainy, and best of all set during night, ODST-style (the map needs retexturing of course, darker buildings and such. Basically move it to New Mombasa from Old Mombasa). Blade-Runnerish feel perhaps?
If 343 makes a map with weather effects like rain I would be so happy. If they put it into Forge I will lose it. That kind of stuff just really appeals to me as I think it adds an atmosphere. Hopefully Halo 5 has something like that.
Blade Runner Turf would be gud. Do we have any confiration that DLC maps are getting the H2AMP experience in the run of the initial six? Seems weird that it hasn't come up yet.
Timothy Zahn. Star Wars' Thrawn Trilogy, generally held as the best Star Wars expanded universe work. And he has a bunch of his own series, the Cobra trilogy (well, a trilogy of trilogies now), the Conqueror's trilogy, Blackcollar trilogy, others. I haven't read anything but his Star Wars books and the Cobra trilogy but i would read everything else from him if i could get my hands on those.
He doesn't actually write hard SF, his books are often rather soft tech-wise but he does think everything through really.
I love a lot of soft sci-fi (is the mecha genre soft by default?) but I think that hard sci-fi is really cool to watch if the writers can make it fun and/or engaging. When it comes down to it hard science in my sci-fi is more of a really cool bonus that allows me to learn more but my main concern is internal consistency. Even if it's soft though I love speculating about how it could work. I'm working on writing a few different series and some of them I want to incorporate some actual real theories and concepts into so learning about this stuff is awesome.
Mechs are definitely soft, tech-wise. A walking machine in itself is not an impossible thing, it is just that they run to various issues so fast... Pressure is the principal issue. You set up any weight balanced on two (or even four) relatively small surface areas, that thing is going to sink into ground sooner rather than later. Also, the square-cube law. The same reason you can't have King Kong or really big ants.
Doesn't stop me from enjoying Battletech (which has, ironically enough, odd amount of realism, tech-wise) though, my rule about mechas is that they must be confined to universes created purely for mechas. This is why i really don't like Halo's Mantis.
I will note here that there are two definitions for hard and soft scifi: One of realism, and one of focus. Realism one is simple, the more realistic it is, the harder it is. The focus one is different, hard scifi focuses on hard sciences and details, soft is about characters, sociology, and psychology.
I prefer the former definition. Also pretty sure the latter one is the older definition.
If 343 makes a map with weather effects like rain I would be so happy. If they put it into Forge I will lose it. That kind of stuff just really appeals to me as I think it adds an atmosphere. Hopefully Halo 5 has something like that.
Blade Runner Turf would be gud. Do we have any confiration that DLC maps are getting the H2AMP experience in the run of the initial six? Seems weird that it hasn't come up yet.
No confirmation AFAIK. I would assume there's a possibility if the thing is well enough received. Of course it is possible they're focusing their attention on Halo 5, making more maps for it and such.
I can see it lasting a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if it manages to survive pretty healthily for the rest of the generation. It's the type of game everyone is going to pick up with their Xbox one and so I don't think it's going to slump in sales quite as much as most titles do. That and its ridiculously good value for money.
Isn't Turf one of HaloGAF's dream maps when it comes to remakes?
But seriously, imagine the map partially flooded, wet, rainy, and best of all set during night, ODST-style (the map needs retexturing of course, darker buildings and such. Basically move it to New Mombasa from Old Mombasa). Blade-Runnerish feel perhaps?
I didn't play a lot of Halo 2s multiplayer. I was only about 7 or 8 when it came out. All I remember of Turf is hiding in one of those UNSC medic / barracks bunker things whilst my brother tried to kill me with a turret or a rocket launcher...
Hence why I only remember disliking it
The reason I'm most excited for the MCC is actually the chance to play Halo 2 MP properly rather than as a 9 year old who was shit at Halo. Absolutely loved the campaign though. I must have played that thing 10 times over.
So can someone from HaloGAF who knows about the lore explain what Frank was talking about regarding the Halo ring trying to go into slipspace and failing? I assume after it was partially destroyed it just kind of ... laid there. Frank seemed to suggest there is some kind of recovery mechanism, though there seems to be a lack of oxygen and weird issues with gravity?
No confirmation AFAIK. I would assume there's a possibility if the thing is well enough received. Of course it is possible they're focusing their attention on Halo 5, making more maps for it and such.
No, no, I don't mean DLC for H2AMP, I mean maps from Halo 2 that were DLC (such as Turf or Relic, in contrast to Burial Mounds or Waterworks at launch, for example) being eligible for Anniversary treatment as part of the 6 maps are being remastered. For example, an all-launch lineup could look like:
So can someone from HaloGAF who knows about the lore explain what Frank was talking about regarding the Halo ring trying to go into slipspace and failing? I assume after it was partially destroyed it just kind of ... laid there. Frank seemed to suggest there is some kind of recovery mechanism, though there seems to be a lack of oxygen and weird issues with gravity?
Forerunner tech puts a lot of emphasis on compartmentalization. For example, 343 Guilty Spark's knowledge of Forerunner information was heavily limited to only his Halo, so that if he were captured by the Flood, they couldn't find out how to get to the Ark and destroy it, otherwise reverse-engineer Promethean tech, etc.
Halo rings operate on a similar principle: it's divided into pizza-cutter sectors or "slices" every so often so that if a part of the ring got heavily damaged or overrun with Flood, for example, it could separate from the larger portion of the ring and the remaining uncontaminated portion could reassemble. To a degree, anyway.
However, the destruction of the Pillar of Autumn was a more anomalous case, given it critically damaged the entire ring. With Guilty Spark fleeing Alpha Halo, there wasn't a proper caretaker to oversee the systemic recovery of the salvageable parts of the ring, if any. Given the sheer size of the Halo Array, the rings can also enter Slipspace on their own accord, though the degree of which they can compared to, say, the Ark Portal or Forerunner Keyships is unknown. Presumably, what happened was that the portions of Alpha Halo that were still Slipspace-functional tried retreating to the Ark for repair, with varying degrees of success - one of those fragments either failed to fully reach the Ark or didn't make a jump at all, eventually crash-landing on an unspecified human world.
This unknown world that was just bombarded with pieces of Alpha Halo is where Halo: Nightfall takes place, and presumably this human world is big enough that its own gravity is keeping the Halo grounded, rather than search teams staying gravitationally aligned with the remaining ring portion of the Halo.
So can someone from HaloGAF who knows about the lore explain what Frank was talking about regarding the Halo ring trying to go into slipspace and failing? I assume after it was partially destroyed it just kind of ... laid there. Frank seemed to suggest there is some kind of recovery mechanism, though there seems to be a lack of oxygen and weird issues with gravity?
As far as I know, we have yet to learn that even a chunk of a ring has slipspace capabilities. A complete ring can use slipspace, that we know from Origins, but this bit is new. The oxygen and gravity is probably a result of being so close to this new planet.
So can someone from HaloGAF who knows about the lore explain what Frank was talking about regarding the Halo ring trying to go into slipspace and failing? I assume after it was partially destroyed it just kind of ... laid there. Frank seemed to suggest there is some kind of recovery mechanism, though there seems to be a lack of oxygen and weird issues with gravity?
I'm not that great at the lore however IIRC each segment of the ring has its own life support systems so each segment could potentially have its own slip space drives. Maybe the ring attempted to jump but only some of the segments managed to?
This could be completely false btw. I'm guessing it'll be explained to us in Nightfall anyway.
No, no, I don't mean DLC for H2AMP, I mean maps from Halo 2 that were DLC (such as Turf or Relic, in contrast to Burial Mounds or Waterworks at launch, for example) being eligible for Anniversary treatment as part of the 6 maps are being remastered. For example, an all-launch lineup could look like:
Oh. All we know there will be six maps, right? I don't recall them being limited to Halo 2 maps, though so far everyone has been. EDIT apparently they all will be from Halo 2. Don't think DLC maps are ruled out though. Perhaps the last two...
MCC has the best water in the series so far, on an unannounced mp map that you don't typically associate with water. Flowing, static, waterfall and wetness on rock.
