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[Azar]

fixed

You underestimate his power.

 

[Ramirez]

Is it just me, or is matchmaking slower since this update? 80K people in Social Slayer, yet it's taking like 5 minutes to get a full match...

 

[backflip10019]

Is it just me, or is matchmaking slower since this update? 80K people in Social Slayer, yet it's taking like 5 minutes to get a full match...

Yeah, I've noticed the same thing. It takes us anywhere around 1-5 mins to find a match sometimes.

 

[Ramirez]

Amplified is a joke post of a map, I just got my butt pounded and there was at least 7-8 times where I was immediately spawned into BR fire/a nade/ or their team right beside me.

 

[EazyB]

 

[Nutter]

This old bean is everywhere these days isnt he.

 

[EazyB]

This old bean is everywhere these days isnt he.

:lol
I guess you could say he gets around.

 

[Thermite]

AWESOME.

 

[SpudBud]

So awesome.

 

[Striker]

LOL Team Hardcore was SHIT.

3v3 Isolation 2Flag. Yea just BRILLIANT!

Seriously STFU about Team Hardcore being good. It was the beta MLG and it had so many things wrong with it.

The players all sucked and it only had a higher population because it never reached the phase past NEW playlist.

:lol

Isolation is shit, period. Not even Team Hardcore saved that. Construct was actually playable for Team Hardcore though, which is saying something. It's basically Team Slayer there without a radar. True buttsecks at its finest.

As for calling it MLG Beta, correct me if I'm wrong, but MLG's population in Matchmaking isn't exactly superior compared to what Team Hardcore brought in Halo 2 & 3.

Both playlists are fun. I, and many others like Puma, enjoyed Team Hardcore more. Maybe because we like weapons lying on the map for certain situations than a Battle Rifle -- I guess that's a crime to believe.

MLG in MM does have better maps (The Pit for starters), but everything else I liked more in Team Hardcore. Oh noes, different tastes!

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

Is it so shocking that I would prefer to play with equipment since the game was designed to use it?

Also, Team Skirmish/Objective is my preferred game type, but you wouldn't know that since I only play with a full team assembled. You obviously haven't seen my K/D ratio. :lol

Dude, you're wrong. Equipment and many weapons on the map other than a BR and Mauler is truly lacking. Shame on yourself!

 

[Slightly Live]

Jumping into Rumble pit, with a party, all in party chat, is fun. No cheating, no co-operation, but shitloads of fucking win.

 

[Merguson]

Awesome, Lost is such a sweet show.

Spoiler

Jack Bauer plz.

 

[INTERNET]

I miss the friendly, enthusiastic DLC big team. Social is full of quitters and team killers now

 

[EazyB]

I miss the friendly, enthusiastic DLC big team. Social is full of quitters and team killers now

:lol Whatchu talkin about?

The only difference between DLC BTB and this "new" SBT is a greater weighting of non-DLC maps. The same maps are required thus the same people that played DLC BTB are those playing SBT. DLC BTB had the same quitters and TKers.

 

[Trasher]

Is it just me, or is matchmaking slower since this update? 80K people in Social Slayer, yet it's taking like 5 minutes to get a full match...

Is it just me, or do you HATE me now?

 

[EazyB]

Is it just me, or do you HATE me now?

You come and you go and you expect him to continually welcome you back with open arms. He needs time, Trasher.

 

[INTERNET]

:lol Whatchu talkin about?

The only difference between DLC BTB and this "new" SBT is a greater weighting of non-DLC maps. The same maps are required thus the same people that played DLC BTB are those playing SBT. DLC BTB had the same quitters and TKers.

I know exactly what the difference is between the old playlist and the new. I also know that there is a new influx of retards into a new playlist that I hope will shake out over time. Literally half my games tonight began with grenades immediately thrown under our warthogs , and several were long, dumb, stubborn 8-on-2 slogs after most of one team quit. It's really bad and unfun regardless of which side you are on.

 

[EazyB]

I know exactly what the difference is between the old playlist and the new. I also know that there is a new influx of retards into a new playlist that I hope will shake out over time. Literally half my games tonight began with grenades immediately thrown under our warthogs , and several were long, dumb, stubborn 8-on-2 slogs after most of one team quit. It's really bad and unfun regardless of which side you are on.

Send a FR to "GAF Halo 3" or "NutterStillAFK". There's no reason anyone should have to play with randoms.

 

[alisdair]

I really like Social DLC Team, except 4v4 MultiFlag on Avalanche with 5--7s respawn times. Good playlist! 5v5 seems like a good number of players now there's no PTT voice problem.

 

[alisdair]

I'm still hoping that Bungie doesn't put playlists up for Mythic until the maps are available for everyone.

Too late! Rumble Pit is that playlist. The others (SWAT, Snipers, Social Team, Social BTB) all require Heroic + Legendary, but Rumble Pit requires All DLC. If you want to play the Mythic maps in matchmaking, you'll be playing Rumble Pit.

 

[The Librarian]

I'm still hoping that Bungie doesn't put playlists up for Mythic until the maps are available for everyone.

"That's not going to happen." It would be unfair to the people who bought the Halo Wars LE and not be able to play the new maps in matchmaking.

 

[fin]

I'll be too busy taking screenshots and posting then on HaloGAF. Or describing how Assembly plays in FFA, TS, oddball and CTF. Then I'll search out all the skull locations and post their locations without spoiler tags.

Seriously though, I'd like to see a playlist requiring Mythic Map Pack on March 3rd...something team-based, not just FFA.

 

[Kuroyume]

It would totally be fair not to have a playlist up for the release of Halo Wars. Halo Wars is a different game that has nothing to do with Halo 3.

 

[xxjuicesxx]

Of course theres going to be a playlist up for the Mythic Maps.

Of course its going to be before the general public can buy the maps.

Of course Bungie is going to be 3 days late releasing it.



STFU with your anti-exclusive timed content. If kids want to buy Halo Wars LE and get the Maps then they have a right to. Stop being such girls. You sound whinier than ...Me!

 

[The Librarian]

I'll be too busy taking screenshots and posting then on HaloGAF. Or describing how Assembly plays in FFA, TS, oddball and CTF. Then I'll search out all the skull locations and post their locations without spoiler tags.

Seriously though, I'd like to see a playlist requiring Mythic Map Pack on March 3rd...something team-based, not just FFA.

I would love to do all of those with you, Fin. :lol

Spoiler

If you don't mind.

So are the skulls going to be on the maps themselves?

 

[Merguson]

Another Voc article up on the AJ blog... check it out.

 

[LunaticPuma]

"That's not going to happen." It would be unfair to the people who bought the Halo Wars LE and not be able to play the new maps in matchmaking.

I recall buying the Heroic and Legendary DLC without any playlists available to play them initially. It's hard for me to say it would be unfair if there wasn't a playlist that used them right away. It's pointless to argue though since the population of a playlist being dependent on sales of a different video game seems like a tenuous way to distribute the maps.

With the way the previous map packs have been splintered across playlists, it's hard for me to justify paying money via an LE game or through DLC purchase until I have a definite means to get value out of the maps.

 

[Blueblur1]

I would love to do all of those with you, Fin. :lol

Spoiler

If you don't mind.

So are the skulls going to be on the maps themselves?

I'll probably buy Halo Wars LE, use the map codes and resell it on Amazon for like $65. I'm so damn tired of the current batch of maps.

 

[Captain Blood]

I'll probably buy Halo Wars LE, use the map codes and resell it on Amazon for like $65. I'm so damn tired of the current batch of maps.

Then the emperor has already won

 

[fin]

I would love to do all of those with you, Fin. :lol

Spoiler

If you don't mind.

So are the skulls going to be on the maps themselves?

Yeah, I already have my preorder done. So we'll have to do some scavaging. Lets not forget, we should also do some Halo Wars co-op multiplayer.

But I'm wondering how the achevments will unlock. Will you have to collect the skulls during matchmaking? Or can we get them in custom games? Will the skulls show up in forge? It would be a little easy to just look for them in monitor mode, find it, then switch to player mode and pick it up. I'm hoping some of the skulls may require some interesting, platforming-like/puzzle-solving/team work to get them. Like placing the skulls in an area that is impossible to get without adding some forge objects and some clever jumps. Placing a skull so far out side the map that you couldn't create a floating bridge across. So you could have a friend carry you on an object in monitor mode, then require some crazy jumps from a object that the monitor is carrying.

Here's an idea:

It would be cool to add a 'skull mode' in multiplayer. Players could add skulls throughout the map in forge. The winning conditions would be to collect all the skulls. It could be single player, co-op or competitive. hmmmm....ODST?

 

[sc0la]

I'm hoping some of the skulls may require some interesting, platforming-like/puzzle-solving/ream work to get them.

If that's the case it looks like I will pass on the skulls

 

[Blueblur1]

Then the emperor has already won

That would the case if I bought Halo Wars and kept it because of the maps even if I hated the game.

That's not going to happen. I'll make my money back and you'll never see HWars on my gamercard.

 

[kylej]

I'm so damn tired of the current batch of maps.

uh use the revolutionary Tony Hawk Park Creator Forge feature to make a whole new experience? I put a brown crate in the middle of Valhalla yesterday. It's incredible now.

 

[TDG]

Who isn't tired of the current maps. I mean holy shit, the original maps were fairly mediocre, and we've only had three maps fully added to matchmaking in the 16 MONTHS since then.

It would totally be fair not to have a playlist up for the release of Halo Wars. Halo Wars is a different game that has nothing to do with Halo 3.

Yep, that sounds fair to me.

 

[Blueblur1]

uh use the revolutionary Tony Hawk Park Creator Forge feature to make a whole new experience? I put a brown crate in the middle of Valhalla yesterday. It's incredible now.

:lol

 

[FourDoor]

Send a FR to "GAF Halo 3" or "NutterStillAFK". There's no reason anyone should have to play with randoms.

Pro Tip: If sending game invites through the GAF Halo 3 list, send a message along with the invite noting you are sending the game invite from GAF. If not, you may be perceived as another random sending out even more random invites.

 

[Ramirez]

Is it just me, or do you HATE me now?

I'm never home brah!

I put a brown crate in the middle of Valhalla yesterday. It's incredible now.

Put 20 fusion coils around every power weapon for full effect.

 

[Mr Vociferous]

I know I should probably be slapped for this, but I hadn't gotten around to picking up "The Art of Halo 3" book and went to the mall this morning with the better half. Waldenbooks was going out of business and they had a pretty decent sale. Picked up both the book and a 4-piece Kubrick Spartan, Better Rifles included!

Total cost: $18.

Flipping through the pages though, I've gotta admit, I feel like someone got cheated. This is easily the best supplemental product for Halo I've ever purchased. My hat goes off to all of the folks who had a hand in this product. Superb and brilliant, every single page. Even the credit index layout is a work of genius. There might be some amazing fodder in this puppy for a blog article or something...

 

[EazyB]

I'm never home brah!

Avoiding Mrs. Ramirez, eh?

uh use the revolutionary Tony Hawk Park Creator Forge feature to make a whole new experience? I put a brown crate in the middle of Valhalla yesterday. It's incredible now.

Valhalla has always been incredible.

Spoiler

Still patiently waiting for my chopper, Bungie.

 

[The Librarian]

I recall buying the Heroic and Legendary DLC without any playlists available to play them initially.

You are wrong on both accounts.

Heroic Map Pack FAQ: 12/10/2007

Q: How do I play them?

A: You can choose the new maps from the Custom Games map selection menu – they should simply appear in the stack. NOTE: If the maps are not appearing the first time you look, try backing out and then choosing the Map selection screen again. The system may need to be “prompted” to look for new content. In Matchmaking, a new playlist “Heroic DLC” should be visible that contains ONLY the new maps. The new maps will also be sprinkled throughout the other playlists and may be selected when the system sees that everyone in a lobby has installed the new content.

My gaming history confirms this. On page 101, you can clearly see several games in "DLC Slayer" on the day the maps were released.

Bungie Weekly Update: 4/11/08

With the release of the Legendary Map Pack next week, a lot of players are going to be hoping to get their matchmaking on with their three new maps. For April, the best way to do this will be using DLC category playlists, which focus almost entirely on the Legendary map pack, with some heroic maps sprinkled in for good measure. The maps will also be integrated into regular matchmaking. However, as people discovered with the Heroic map pack, matchmaking into DLC maps when the maps are optional is very rare. The reason for this is that Halo queries users to see if everyone has the map pack after they’ve been matched, rather than before. There’s no easy fix for this, I’m afraid, though we’re looking at the best way to remedy it. In the meanwhile, we don’t want people downloading the Legendary map pack to feel alienated. As such, Team SWAT will be Legendary required, as will weekend hoppers (save Grifball). Legendary will be integrated into standard matchmaking as well, but will not be a requirement.

My gaming history also confirms this one. On page 83 you can clearly see games "DLC Slayer" and "DLC Objective" on Avalanche, Blackout, and Ghost Town.

I am reasonably sure that Bungie will have a playlist for the Mythic Map Pack by the time I get it (most likely the day it is released, but it will be released in Europe and Japan earlier).

It would totally be fair not to have a playlist up for the release of Halo Wars. Halo Wars is a different game that has nothing to do with Halo 3.

No, it wouldn't. Halo Wars may be a different game, but the maps are for Halo 3, and Bungie is that kind of developer that would have a playlist for players to play the new maps the day you get it.

Lets not forget, we should also do some Halo Wars co-op multiplayer.

Oh, definitely.

But I'm wondering how the achievements will unlock. Will you have to collect the skulls during matchmaking? Or can we get them in custom games? Will the skulls show up in forge? It would be a little easy to just look for them in monitor mode, find it, then switch to player mode and pick it up. I'm hoping some of the skulls may require some interesting, platforming-like/puzzle-solving/team work to get them. Like placing the skulls in an area that is impossible to get without adding some forge objects and some clever jumps. Placing a skull so far out side the map that you couldn't create a floating bridge across. So you could have a friend carry you on an object in monitor mode, then require some crazy jumps from a object that the monitor is carrying.

I am wondering about this as well. Are we even sure they can be found on the maps? Or will there be a mini-update that puts them within the campaign of Halo 3? I don't see how it would be as fun to put the skulls in the multiplayer maps rather than putting them in campaign, so who knows.

 

[GhaleonEB]

At launch, I thought Bungie did a better job at making the Legendary maps available and playable in a wide range of gametypes than with Heroic. And given that Bungie isn't allowed to make them free (and thus required) they're integrated about as well as they can be.

If they don't go free when Halo Wars launches, Matchmaking is going to turn into mess though. But my confidence is not high, as Microsoft clearly doesn't give a shit about those issues. (See: Cold Storage.)

 

[GM Bullfrog]

At launch, I thought Bungie did a better job at making the Legendary maps available and playable in a wide range of gametypes than with Heroic. And given that Bungie isn't allowed to make them free (and thus required) they're integrated about as well as they can be.

If they don't go free when Halo Wars launches, Matchmaking is going to turn into mess though. But my confidence is not high, as Microsoft clearly doesn't give a shit about those issues. (See: Cold Storage.)

If we look at the changes to the playlists they do seem to be setting up for a specific playlist for the new DLC, but until the new maps hit the XBLMP the population in those playlists is going to be abysimal.

 

[LunaticPuma]

Glad to see I was incorrect about the playlists updates with map pack releases. I must be blurring my Halo 2 map pack releases with Halo 3.

Regardless of the maps, my Halo Wars purchase will depend mostly on the demo in early Feb. After that, I'll take a closer look at the LE vs. standard edition. I'll be curious to see the depth of the story in HW.

 

[GhaleonEB]

If we look at the changes to the playlists they do seem to be setting up for a specific playlist for the new DLC, but until the new maps hit the XBLMP the population in those playlists is going to be abysimal.

Yup. Which feeds into my point - MS is not considering what kind of experience people have playing the game, they are just leveraging the maps for marketing purposes. The utility of the Halo Wars bundle is limited by the nature of the bundle itself.

 

[PedroLumpy]

With the recent playlist cleanup, it seems likely they'll do something like DLC Slayer and DLC Objective. I don't really know the maps as well as some here, so they're might be DLC Big Team or something instead, depending on the style of the maps.

 

[The Librarian]

Regardless of the maps, my Halo Wars purchase will depend mostly on the demo in early Feb.

Can't wait for the demo.

I'll be curious to see the depth of the story in HW.

I want it to be good. Hopefully it's not as bad as the one cutscene they released.

Edit:

If we look at the changes to the playlists they do seem to be setting up for a specific playlist for the new DLC, but until the new maps hit the XBLMP the population in those playlists is going to be abysimal.

Not necessarily. Look at the population of each playlist (on average): the most is usually found in Team Slayer with a population of ~44,000. I expect the population for the Mythic Map Pack playlist to be at least the same as the MLG playlist's population.

 

[soldat7]

Yup. Which feeds into my point - MS is not considering what kind of experience people have playing the game, they are just leveraging the maps for marketing purposes.

This is why they fail. I'm sure it's driving Bungie nuts not having these maps free already.

And until Halo 3 takes a dip in weekly population, I don't see these going free (ie these maps might NEVER be free).

 

[GM Bullfrog]

Not necessarily. Look at the population of each playlist (on average): the most is usually found in Team Slayer with a population of ~44,000. I expect the population for the Mythic Map Pack playlist to be at least the same as the MLG playlist's population.

I don't think so. Talk to me in March when I am right.

Yup. Which feeds into my point - MS is not considering what kind of experience people have playing the game, they are just leveraging the maps for marketing purposes. The utility of the Halo Wars bundle is limited by the nature of the bundle itself.

Agreed.

 

[kylej]

Put 20 fusion coils around every power weapon for full effect.

The funniest thing is Standoff snipes. I mean we all know Shishka has no idea how to play Halo but sweet god consult somebody before working on the maps. Placing an enormous mesh fence in the middle of Standoff and a blue shield door in a corner doesn't make the map more fun to play. I have to imagine there are hundreds of kids around Washington who would come to the studio and test new gametypes all day for free if you guys wrote something on Bnet. Everybody would benefit.

 

[GM Bullfrog]

The funniest thing is Standoff snipes. I mean we all know Shishka has no idea how to play Halo but sweet god consult somebody before working on the maps. Placing an enormous mesh fence in the middle of Standoff and a blue shield door in a corner doesn't make the map more fun to play. I have to imagine there are hundreds of kids around Washington who would come to the studio and test new gametypes all day for free if you guys wrote something on Bnet. Everybody would benefit.

I think he reduced the frequency of it 0.4%. TRUE STORY!