Support NeoGAF

[CreateNowSleepLater]

My only issue with unlocks is if they charge real money to unlock them and make it a grind for everyone else. Season passes are bad enough, I want to entire game and the goal posts keep moving in regards to that.

 

[The Baron Count]

My only issue with unlocks is if they charge real money to unlock them and make it a grind for everyone else. Season passes are bad enough, I want to entire game and the goal posts keep moving in regards to that.

Yeah, execution is everything with this stuff. If it is done properly then I am fine with it personally.

 

[KAL2006]

Both Halo 5 and Gears 4 had terrible showings at E3. None of the games look exciting. Sony had the same issue with Killzone Shadow Fall. Luckily Sony has done a better job with Uncharted 4 with their E3 showing. Microsoft need to up their game with their old IPs or make a new exciting looking IP like Sony are doing with Horizon.

 

[A.D. Skinner]

That's not true at all. Most AAA games these days have XP systems with stuff to unlock. It's part of AAA checklist/comittee design, which is why some of us finds it boring, wasteful and woefully inappropriate for many different gameplay types. It makes everything seem like the same crappy grind.

Want me to be stuck for hours at your game? How about designing it so well that you don't need a grinding system to keep people occupied. In the old days it was about great level design, these days it's about grinding, drops and loot.. It's a horrible trend that needs to stop.

I see what you mean, but this is entirely cosmetic. It doesn't change the gameplay at any point.

 

[The Baron Count]

Both Halo 5 and Gears 4 had terrible showings at E3. None of the games look exciting. Sony had the same issue with Killzone Shadow Fall. Luckily Sony has done a better job with Uncharted 4 with their E3 showing. Microsoft need to up their game with their old IPs or make a new exciting looking IP like Sony are doing with Horizon.

Halo 5's demo wasn't very good, but I have no doubt the game will be fine.

Gears...

Man, I never thought I would see a weak Gears showing at E3. They are normally incredibly strong in that regard. Who knows how the game will turn out but that demo was just not very interesting.

 

[Surface of Me]

Both Halo 5 and Gears 4 had terrible showings at E3. None of the games look exciting. Sony had the same issue with Killzone Shadow Fall. Luckily Sony has done a better job with Uncharted 4 with their E3 showing. Microsoft need to up their game with their old IPs or make a new exciting looking IP like Sony are doing with Horizon.

Halo campaign demo was disappointing, but Warzone has me hyped. I thought Gears was good for how far out it is. Showed it's retaining the series roots, horror and ghastly monsters, without having to rehash the same characters and Locust.

 

[KAL2006]

Halo 5's demo wasn't very good, but I have no doubt the game will be fine.

Gears...

Man, I never thought I would see a weak Gears showing at E3. They are normally incredibly strong in that regard. Who knows how the game will turn out but that demo was just not very interesting.

Yeah the demonstration for both games were not great however the final release could be great. Hopefully Microsoft do something at Gamescom to get fans excited.

 

[Madness]

My only issue with unlocks is if they charge real money to unlock them and make it a grind for everyone else. Season passes are bad enough, I want to entire game and the goal posts keep moving in regards to that.

But it's the money they get from this which is why they're making all the dlc and maps free. I mean don't you think it's better that moving forward all arena/btb maps will be free, rather than the fact you can't have so and so gun in Warzone?

This way, not only do you have carrot/stick mechanics to keep the Warzone players hooked in, but you're literally funding free maps for Arena and breakout, even using some of the money to pay for HCS payouts etc.

 

[tiredheadcrab]

But it's the money they get from this which is why they're making all the dlc and maps free. I mean don't you think it's better that moving forward all arena/btb maps will be free, rather than the fact you can't have so and so gun in Warzone?

This way, not only do you have carrot/stick mechanics to keep the Warzone players hooked in, but you're literally funding free maps for Arena and breakout, even using some of the money to pay for HCS payouts etc.

Its kind of a win win for players and 343i. Plus they will be releasing newer ones as time goes on. Like new armor visors weapon skins ect.

 

[wesleyshark]

My only issue with unlocks is if they charge real money to unlock them and make it a grind for everyone else. Season passes are bad enough, I want to entire game and the goal posts keep moving in regards to that.

But it's the money they get from this which is why they're making all the dlc and maps free. I mean don't you think it's better that moving forward all arena/btb maps will be free, rather than the fact you can't have so and so gun in Warzone?

This way, not only do you have carrot/stick mechanics to keep the Warzone players hooked in, but you're literally funding free maps for Arena and breakout, even using some of the money to pay for HCS payouts etc.

Its kind of a win win for players and 343i. Plus they will be releasing newer ones as time goes on. Like new armor visors weapon skins ect.

It benefits everyone in the end because we get a ton of free maps and no segregated player bases. Everyone will be on the same playing field. The req packs aren't p2w either, as you can't know what will be in them as you either purchase or unlock, and their uses are limited to Warzone anyway; cosmetic stuff across the board.

 

[Michael Armbrust]

It benefits everyone in the end because we get a ton of free maps and no segregated player bases. Everyone will be on the same playing field. The req packs aren't p2w either, as you can't know what will be in them as you either purchase or unlock, and their uses are limited to Warzone anyway; cosmetic stuff across the board.

Has 343i directly stated the free maps are only possible because of microtransactions?


On the splitscreen side of things, that's a huge bummer to me. Hopefully it's patched in soon after launch.

 

[Gaf-Didact]

Reading the DF article, I wonder if this game could use a delay. Spring has become a huge release window these days. I would gladly wait with all the shooters coming out this fall for an optimized H5 with SS.

 

[Distresssss]

Reading the DF article, I wonder if this game could use a delay. Spring has become a huge release window these days. I would gladly wait with all the shooters coming out this fall for an optimized H5 with SS.

Maybe but I would rather them release it and try to patch split screen later.


I don't think Microsoft is cool with missing out on Fall though. That's the biggest money making time in the games business.

 

[BokehKing]

Maybe but I would rather them release it and try to patch split screen later.


I don't think Microsoft is cool with missing out on Fall though. That's the biggest money making time in the games business.

Kind of like they just rushed out MCC and fix it later?

If the game can be improved over the course of the next few months until March, they should let them do it

 

[Distresssss]

Kind of like they just rushed out MCC and fix it later?

If the game can be improved over the course of the next few months until March, they should let them do it

Games can always be improved with time. Should Battlefront be delayed when it's clearly being rushed out to meet a deadline and launch before the movie? Nah.


I mean Halo 5 is missing split screen but I don't even know if a delay would allow them to add it in. Who knows. We aren't 343i.


Also 343i aren't the ones who put MCC together so basing Halo 5 off of that isn't very smart to do.

 

[NullPointer]

It benefits everyone in the end because we get a ton of free maps and no segregated player bases. Everyone will be on the same playing field. The req packs aren't p2w either, as you can't know what will be in them as you either purchase or unlock, and their uses are limited to Warzone anyway; cosmetic stuff across the board.

Its not purely cosmetic stuff. There will be buffed/legendary versions of weapons.

"Players earn REQ Points after each multiplayer match in Arena and Warzone and redeem the points to acquire REQ Packs. There are 3 tiers of base REQ packs that can be purchased: Gold, Silver and Bronze, and requisition cards are categorized into five tiers of rarity: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Super Rare and Legendary.

Each level of REQ Pack determines the quality of the REQs inside; for example, a Gold REQ Pack has a chance of including Legendary requisitions, while a Bronze REQ Pack does not. Higher leveled REQ Packs require more REQ Points.

Regarding the rarity of REQs themselves, players will receive Common REQs the most often and Legendary REQs the least often. One example of what players will earn are weapons – the Needler is considered an Uncommon weapon, whereas the Sniper Rifle is considered a Rare weapon. An upgraded Sniper Rifle variant would be considered Super Rare, and a Mythic Weapon, such as the Prophet’s Bane, is considered a Legendary REQ."

Has 343i directly stated the free maps are only possible because of microtransactions?

I'vew wondered the same thing. I haven't seen 343 say that in particular, only that some proceeds of those Req Pack purchases go towards the prize pools in Halo e-sports events.

 

[The Baron Count]

Has 343i directly stated the free maps are only possible because of microtransactions?


On the splitscreen side of things, that's a huge bummer to me. Hopefully it's patched in soon after launch.

Do they really need to?

The entire reason the maps always cost money is because they cost money to make. That hasn't changed, it's just that now they can get that extra money from elsewhere.

 

[BokehKing]

But it's the money they get from this which is why they're making all the dlc and maps free. I mean don't you think it's better that moving forward all arena/btb maps will be free, rather than the fact you can't have so and so gun in Warzone?

This way, not only do you have carrot/stick mechanics to keep the Warzone players hooked in, but you're literally funding free maps for Arena and breakout, even using some of the money to pay for HCS payouts etc.

Well doesn't matter if they sell a million dollars worth of D
Micro-transactions or $5 worth of m.t, it's too late for them to go back on their word now they will have to cover the difference

 

[wesleyshark]

Its not purely cosmetic stuff. There will be buffed/legendary versions of weapons.

For Warzone. Not arena.

 

[op_ivy]

For Warzone. Not arena.

this.

the legendary weapons, the prophet's bane sword, spnkr rocket launcher, etc, will be in arena, but as a map spawned weapon drop. you won't be able to use req weapons (aside from skins) in anything but arena.

 

[NullPointer]

For Warzone. Not arena.

True. Never meant to suggest otherwise.

 

[Golicz]

Halo campaign demo was disappointing

This.

Even from a narrative viewpoint I don't find their

Spoiler

"hunt down Master Chief as Spartan Locke"

story interesting, at all.

IMO they did a terrible job selling their game. I'm someone who loved the campaign for Halo 4 as well, I just think none of the leaked story elements or gameplay reveal screamed "buy an Xbox One!", which I'm on the fence about at this point.

 

[The Baron Count]

This.

Even from a narrative viewpoint I don't find their

Spoiler

"hunt down Master Chief as Spartan Locke"

story interesting, at all.

IMO they did a terrible job selling their game. I'm someone who loved the campaign for Halo 4 as well, I just think none of the leaked story elements or gameplay reveal screamed "buy an Xbox One!", which I'm on the fence about at this point.

The fact that they are making a mainline game where you play as someone other than the Chief after the negative reaction that got in Halo 2 is weird enough, but the fact that they demoed a Locke section instead of a Chief section at E3 is just straight bizarre.

 

[Princess Carl]

Play the game and youll earn everything on the disc.

I'm going to pretend I didn't read that
Nope, can't..

Cause
Why not just give me all the Pokémon from the start of the game
Why not just unlock all the abilities in mass effect 3 as soon as I take the disc out.

Don't ever play battlefield, you'll feel like you wasted your $60

'Why can't I just play the final boss level right at the start of the game, I paid for the disc, the content is mine'.

How did the thread shift from split screen discussion to complaining about customization and unlocking system? Since Halo 3 you've had to unlock stuff in Halo regarding player customization. The new REQ system is part of the Warzone experience. This is the carrot/stick game play mechanic that millions love and it's what has kept Destiny going. It wasn't the best in ME3 since you barely unlocked the stuff you wanted.

By keeping such unlocks behind progression and time spent, they are essentially guaranteeing you'd play the game to unlock it.

How willfully ignorant are you three exactly?

Having to unlock MP assets through meaningless "play this much" locked gates, is not only what Halo has NEVER been about, but shouldn't be anywhere near a MP game to begin with.

 

[wesleyshark]

How willfully ignorant are you three exactly?

Having to unlock MP assets through meaningless "play this much" locked gates, is not only what Halo has NEVER been about, but shouldn't be anywhere near a MP game to begin with.

Halo 3, Reach and Halo 4 would beg to differ.

 

[Princess Carl]

Halo 3, Reach and Halo 4 would beg to differ.

If I remember correctly, they were purely cosmetic, so my point still stands.

And sorry, I meant Bungie's Halo.

 

[BuggeryBugz]

This thread isn't even about split screen anymore.

Halo threads are the best threads.

 

[BokehKing]

How willfully ignorant are you three exactly?

Having to unlock MP assets through meaningless "play this much" locked gates, is not only what Halo has NEVER been about, but shouldn't be anywhere near a MP game to begin with.

What you call 'play this much' I call 'be good at this particular skill/class/or gun enough to prove you earned the right to use the next one'

Anyway, splitscreen, we want it

 

[wesleyshark]

This thread isn't even about split screen anymore.

Halo threads are the best threads.

Hahaha it's the truth. Happens in every Halo thread.

 

[Razlo]

If 343 hadn't fucked up so bad with 4 and made me lose faith in the series, this would be hugely depressing for me.

 

[JaggedSac]

How willfully ignorant are you three exactly?

Having to unlock MP assets through meaningless "play this much" locked gates, is not only what Halo has NEVER been about, but shouldn't be anywhere near a MP game to begin with.

PvZ GW is fun as hell.

 

[Gaf-Didact]

For Warzone. Not arena.

This is acceptable to you, their big new game mode coming before BTB has weapons with buffs behind paywalls?

 

[Michael Armbrust]

Do they really need to?

The entire reason the maps always cost money is because they cost money to make. That hasn't changed, it's just that now they can get that extra money from elsewhere.

They don't need to do anything. I just see many posters taking it as a fact and was wondering if 343i has said anything about it.

As far as speculation goes, no it's not something we can just assume. Free maps are somewhat common in modern shooters, and Halo 4's Spartan Ops showed that Microsoft is ok with releasing big and free content post launch.

 

[Madness]

How willfully ignorant are you three exactly?

Having to unlock MP assets through meaningless "play this much" locked gates, is not only what Halo has NEVER been about, but shouldn't be anywhere near a MP game to begin with.

There is no set standard to what Halo has been about and I say that as someone who disliked Halo 4 and Reach and absolutely hates ADS in Halo 5. Mass Effect 3 pretty much showed it can work. It wasn't perfect, but there you go. Destiny and the fact it's players have played hundreds of hours pretty much guaranteed this is the norm going forward. If you feel that way though, vote with your wallet and don't buy the game. Halo 3, Reach and Halo 4 all had this same stuff, with game altering unlocks starting in H4. This time, it's only limited to warzone, a game built around this unlock mechanic. They didn't add game altering unlocks to Arena/BTB or Breakout, so I don't know what your issue is? It's cosmetic only like it has been for the past 3 games in those modes.

Edit: plus free maps till June of next year. It's literally win/win here.

 

[Bsigg12]

This is acceptable to you, their big new game mode coming before BTB has weapons with buffs behind paywalls?

There's nothing behind a paywall, everything is unlockable through normal means of play. If you feel the need for REQ packs because you're either not very good at the game or just like spending money frivolously, you can buy some. There is nothing there that says you have to purchase a single one.

 

[n0razi]

Sick of all the "Rare!", "Legendary!" loot grinding... its a terrible trend in AAA games

 

[Freiya]

There's nothing behind a paywall, everything is unlockable through normal means of play. If you feel the need for REQ packs because you're either not very good at the game or just like spending money frivolously, you can buy some. There is nothing there that says you have to purchase a single one.

Unless they make it extremely lame to unlock stuff.

 

[Madness]

Unless they make it extremely lame to unlock stuff.

As long as it's better than ME3 and we actually have a decent shot at unlocking I'm happy. I think even with hundreds+ hours, tons of money, I unlocked less than 30% of the stuff I actually wanted.

 

[wesleyshark]

this.

the legendary weapons, the prophet's bane sword, spnkr rocket launcher, etc, will be in arena, but as a map spawned weapon drop. you won't be able to use req weapons (aside from skins) in anything but arena.

Yep.

This is acceptable to you, their big new game mode coming before BTB has weapons with buffs behind paywalls?

It's not a paywall- it's entirely optional and you still unlock the same types of req packs through playing Warzone and Arena. Buying packs is still subject to RNG, same as unlocking them. You may buy a few packs to increase your chances of good items, but there's no guarantee you'll get what you want or will find useful to your playstyle in Warzone.

And yeah I'm fine with their release plans. A few weeks post launch will give me plenty of time to chew through the campaign on normal and then on legendary, and also time to dig into Warzone and some arena. There's going to be a lot of things to do as it is...

 

[PooBone]

Sick of all the "Rare!", "Legendary!" loot grinding... its a terrible trend in AAA games

Yep. I couldn't be less interested in this new mode. The more I read and watch the less I want to play it. I hope arena isn't just a Halo 4 rehash. But to be perfectly honest, I come to Halo for the campaign.

 

[BokehKing]

Yep.



It's not a paywall- it's entirely optional and you still unlock the same types of req packs through playing Warzone and Arena. Buying packs is still subject to RNG, same as unlocking them. You may buy a few packs to increase your chances of good items, but there's no guarantee you'll get what you want or will find useful to your playstyle in Warzone.

And yeah I'm fine with their release plans. A few weeks post launch will give me plenty of time to chew through the campaign on normal and then on legendary, and also time to dig into Warzone and some arena. There's going to be a lot of things to do as it is...

That doesn't sound like a good investment at all..
A) chances increased to get better items if you spend money
B) no garuntee

That means your chances when not paying money is super rare, and that sucks to hear for a new interesting game mode

 

[tiredheadcrab]

That doesn't sound like a good investment at all..
A) chances increased to get better items if you spend money
B) no garuntee

That means your chances when not paying money is super rare, and that sucks to hear for a new interesting game mode

You probably wont get everything that you need but you will get something in there that you can find useful at certain points. Halo is really a game were you need to be a jack of all trades sometimes.

Anyway its a good idea because

1: it gets you free maps meaning that the population wont be splintered down and everyone can remain equal in arena
2: payouts go towards esports players which is important as i think Halo 5 can be the esports darling for consoles similar to DOTA2 and LOL if they work hard enough at it.
3: goes towards more future content of the game like new armor and skins that they plan to release.

REQ packs are an instant win for everyone involved.

 

[Samurai G0SU]

....from SplitScreen Blues to Req Blues.

Next thread will be about Resoution Blues that will transistion into HUD blues or something about SmartLink.

I just can't wait till the OT gets created and when i can talk with people who are actually playing the game and share common interest and expereinces. Oh man... lol

 

[Golicz]

The fact that they are making a mainline game where you play as someone other than the Chief after the negative reaction that got in Halo 2 is weird enough, but the fact that they demoed a Locke section instead of a Chief section at E3 is just straight bizarre.

Yes; I honestly get the impression they released footage & awaited the usual "hyped!" comments to ensue... yet the silence, even indifference, from fans (online) was somewhat deafening.

It's like the developers sat in a room during pre-production & agreed upon the following course of action:

Spoiler

"yeah, fans want to play as Chief, but let's give them Locke & make them hunt down Chief instead, great idea!"

As I said, I'm not particularly excited by the prospect of playing through that storyline.

 

[The Jackdog]

This is acceptable to you, their big new game mode coming before BTB has weapons with buffs behind paywalls?

they arent behind paywalls.

 

[wesleyshark]

The fact that they are making a mainline game where you play as someone other than the Chief after the negative reaction that got in Halo 2 is weird enough, but the fact that they demoed a Locke section instead of a Chief section at E3 is just straight bizarre.

Playing as the Arbiter was one of the best things about Halo 2... This is considered bad as well?

 

[PooBone]

Playing as the Arbiter was one of the best things about Halo 2... This is considered bad as well?

At the time there was a huge backlash regarding "being forced to play some stupid alien."

I think now, over 10 years later, people are generally cool with it. And I like Locke's character so I don't see a problem with it either.

 

[Trup1aya]

Yes; I honestly get the impression they released footage & awaited the usual "hyped!" comments to ensue... yet the silence, even indifference, from fans (online) was somewhat deafening.

It's like the developers sat in a room during pre-production & agreed upon the following course of action:

Spoiler

"yeah, fans want to play as Chief, but let's give them Locke & make them hunt down Chief instead, great idea!"

As I said, I'm not particularly excited by the prospect of playing through that storyline.

I'm still looking forward to playing through the campaign, but mainly because of the story beats presented in the excellent 'Hunt the truth' audio campaign...

But the E3 demonstration certainly took the wind out of the sales for the reasons you mentioned, but also because of the focus on new gameplay elements that aren't actually exciting...

Showcasing reviving, squad commands, scanning and scripted setpeices paled in comparison to dual welding, boarding, vehicular mayhem in the H2 reveal.

They've truly forgotten how to excite people...

 

[JayWood2010]

Both Halo 5 and Gears 4 had terrible showings at E3. None of the games look exciting. Sony had the same issue with Killzone Shadow Fall. Luckily Sony has done a better job with Uncharted 4 with their E3 showing. Microsoft need to up their game with their old IPs or make a new exciting looking IP like Sony are doing with Horizon.

Speak for yourself, I thought the Gears4 trailer was one of the best of the entire day. Going back tot he roots of Gears of War.

 

[PooBone]

I'm still looking forward to playing through the campaign, but mainly because of the story beats presented in the excellent 'Hunt the truth' audio campaign...

But the E3 demonstration certainly took the wind out of the sales for the reasons you mentioned, but also because of the focus on new gameplay that aren't actually exciting...

Showcasing reviving, squad commands, scanning and scripted setpeices paled in comparison to dual welding, boarding, vehicular mayhem in the H2 reveal.

They've truly forgotten how to excite people...

They didn't make Halo 2, they made Halo 4. And I was properly hyped for that game. Playing through it is the biggest reason to be un-hyped for Halo 5, however.