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The Official Halo 3 Thread

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Shake Appeal said:
Firing up Far Cry 2's map editor is the most intimidated I have ever been by a console game.

Never expected to see something so fully-featured that doesn't require a keyboard and mouse.
Click to expand...

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing though, right?

I mean Forge is cool, but I don't use it. I have barely any intention of ever making a map on it. The coolest Forge stuff comes from hardcore creators, who've basically, by using stuff like Geo-modding and all those other tricks, made in significantly more complicated anyway. Those same creators will still happily tinker away with something more intimidating to deliver the visions they have.

Also: Shake, you're a UK GAF'r right? Still playing with Eurogamer regularly? I can't seem to find the Halo group to join!
 
Shake Appeal said:
Firing up Far Cry 2's map editor is the most intimidated I have ever been by a console game.

Never expected to see something so fully-featured that doesn't require a keyboard and mouse.
Click to expand...
The thing is though, while it took me about 15 hours to learn the tools and recreate Valhalla, it took me even more than that to manipulate forge's limitations to recreate Beaver Creek to the best of my abilities (one could argue my Valhalla is a better recreation).

So while forge may pride itself in its ease of use, it's only has an easier first hour. But after you've made your Two Boxes and moved onto something more ambitious, you'll find the "ease" actually makes it quite harder. You then have to go to Forgehub 101 and learn a bunch of tricks and work-arounds to get Forge to do what you want to do. Floating, interlocking, geomerging, etc.

In this time, one with enough patience could learn Far Cry 2's tools and have been on their way. Yes, if Bungie puts an in-depth level editor without a striped down beginner's mode/interface it'll scare the shit out of them. But those aren't the people that'd produce quality maps anyways. Give users as many tools as possible. Keep them under advanced options or something if need be.

Edit: What Shafto said.
 
No, no, I'm glad it exists, and I hope more developers put the effort in to provide that level of sophistication even on a console. As the youtubes above show, some amazing things could be done in Halo: Reach/4/whatever if its creation tools had the functionality Far Cry 2 aspires to.

And Shafto, yeah, I play with Eurogamer. We play Halo 3 on Monday nights, usually for a few hours from 8pm. There is a Group somewhere, but no one really uses it. Just look for the 'Organise Halo 3 games' thread or whatever it's called in the Xbox 360 forum.
 
EazyB said:
The thing is though, while it took me about 15 hours to learn the tools and recreate Valhalla, it took me even more than that to manipulate forge's limitations to recreate Beaver Creek to the best of my abilities (one could argue my Valhalla is a better recreation).

So while forge may pride itself in its ease of use, it's only has an easier first hour. But after you've made your Two Boxes and moved onto something more ambitious, you'll find the "ease" actually makes it quite harder. You then have to go to Forgehub 101 and learn a bunch of tricks and work-arounds to get Forge to do what you want to do. Floating, interlocking, geomerging, etc.

In this time, one with enough patience could learn Far Cry 2's tools and have been on their way. Yes, if Bungie puts an in-depth level editor without a striped down beginner's mode/interface it'll scare the shit out of them. But those aren't the people that'd produce quality maps anyways. Give users as many tools as possible. Keep them under advanced options or something if need be.

Edit: What Shafto said.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure if you or any other regular forger here have seen this, but a wonderful young lady by the name of WhtButterflyLiz created a Sandbox sketchup to help flesh out ideas without having to bust your balls in forge trying to get everything in place, hoping that your ideas will work out as planned. I forge more than I actually play the game, and this has become an invaluable resource to me (especially while at work, lol). All the components are there and fully textured, and she's even reconstructed all three of Sandbox's levels. The filefront link's here if anyone's interested. Sketchup's incredibly easy to use once you get the hang of it. There's a bigger writeup about it and Liz gives out some pointer's here if you want to check it out.


Sandbox_Environs.jpg


P.S. - Louis Wu is awesome. :D
 
Making maps and messing around in the map editor in Far Cry 2 is one of the best times I've had on a 360. If only the game mechanics were better and there was a player base to support it, I'd probably still be playing the game right now! Such wasted potential is criminal
 
Popeck said:
BTW EazyB, you should change your avatar back, because I almost started ignoring your walls of text.
Click to expand...
Plus, bungie.net is blocked for me at work, so I can't see anyone who uses an avatar from there. Or from the xbox.com website. So I see a lot of red X's where pretty little avatars should be. I also don't understand why there is a checkbox in my User CP to display/not display avatars, yet it does nothing when I uncheck it.

I haven't played Halo3 in a few days - am I a bad person? Am I going to go to hell now?
 
Popeck said:
BTW EazyB, you should change your avatar back, because I almost started ignoring your walls of text.
Click to expand...
Whoa. I totally missed that - I didn't even LOOK at the name! I thought all the posts on this page were from BerserkerBarage - and that he'd decided to drop the .sig after all.

:lol :lol

I gotta be more careful in the future!
 
Louis Wu said:
Whoa. I totally missed that - I didn't even LOOK at the name! I thought all the posts on this page were from BerserkerBarage - and that he'd decided to drop the .sig after all.

:lol :lol

I gotta be more careful in the future!
Click to expand...

Yep, good thing I still have it so I could tell which posts were mine! :lol :D

Striker said:
It wasn't impossible to rank up in Halo 2.

Who knows how far many of us would have gone legitimately hadn't it been for modders/cheaters (problem within the code, not the rank system). A Halo game with Halo 2's rank system without cheating? Sign me up.
Click to expand...

Both systems have their problems. Especially in regards to second/multiple accounts. In Halo 2's ELO system, you gained experience towards a higher rank if you won regardless of the ranks of your opponents. If a level 30 beat a level 1, you still gained experience from it even though it might have been minute. When people learned of this, the rise of what's called "mixed party boosting" began. You'd have 1 guy on his regular account at say a level 30, and then his 3 friends would start new accounts and be 3 level 1s. They'd go into Team Slayer and get matched against a team of maybe 25s or so (because they system tried to find a group that would be the average rank of the team). Typically the team of "Boosters" would win, and the player on his 30 account would gradually increase towards 31. You could typically do this till about half way through the 30s and maybe even to a 40 if your "backpacks" were good. However, from my experience and from what others have said, at 40+ it's like playing Squad Battle in Halo 3 now at 45+. Pretty much every other game is against a team that's cheating, which makes it rather hard to rank up further.

One thing that made ELO definitely more "fan-friendly" is that since it was a linear progress rank system, you could pretty much always tell where you were in regards to ranking up or ranking down. Which might not be the best system, but definitely made some things easier!

~B.B.
 
lazytonberry said:
Plus, bungie.net is blocked for me at work, so I can't see anyone who uses an avatar from there. Or from the xbox.com website. So I see a lot of red X's where pretty little avatars should be. I also don't understand why there is a checkbox in my User CP to display/not display avatars, yet it does nothing when I uncheck it.

I haven't played Halo3 in a few days - am I a bad person? Am I going to go to hell now?
Click to expand...


I think it has been explained by the mods previously that the option solely refers to avatars hosted on the neogaf server.

And Easy, change it back. I've been ignoring your posts as well.
 
Louis Wu said:
I didn't even LOOK at the name!
Click to expand...

wow me too. :-/ says a lot for B.B.

back to the topic at hand though, unless Bungie can put out a fully featured map editor, that is capable of producing the same visual fidelity/quality textures
i know, i know
as what you would see in a DLC or on-disc map, it'll probably never happen.

i can't imagine that the "original" far cry 2 textures look that terrible, right?
 
In regards to a map editor for Reach, Bungie is all about improving and building upon what was in their previous game. If a map editor is in Reach, I expect to see something much better than Forge.
 
Hello , I'm one of the new juniors and have been lurking for 4 years. I have eagerly waited the day that I could post in the halo 3 thread. I'm a great fan of the universe and enjoy all things halo. I'm looking forward to playing some of you online. My gamertag is georgc.
 
A quick note to all joonyas: I am much nicer on XBL than I am on this board
except maybe to Dax
. There's just something about free speech, the written word and the internet that gets my blood a-boiling and my hatred for all things AR, dinosaur and Shishka a-stirring.
 
backflip10019 said:
A quick note to all joonyas: I am much nicer on XBL than I am on this board
except maybe to Dax
. There's just something about free speech, the written word and the internet that gets my blood a-boiling and my hatred for all things AR, dinosaur and Shishka a-stirring.
Click to expand...

This. He's only a bit of a dick in person :lol
 
backflip10019 said:
A quick note to all joonyas: I am much nicer on XBL than I am on this board
except maybe to Dax
. There's just something about free speech, the written word and the internet that gets my blood a-boiling and my hatred for all things AR, dinosaur and Shishka a-stirring.
Click to expand...


Only because I am that bored at work:

A loving work for Backflip

2dkcqkn.jpg

:D

(Look, He is smiling!)
 
squidhands said:
I'm not sure if you or any other regular forger here have seen this, but a wonderful young lady by the name of WhtButterflyLiz created a Sandbox sketchup to help flesh out ideas without having to bust your balls in forge trying to get everything in place, hoping that your ideas will work out as planned
Click to expand...

hey! i have one of those applications

mine is built in, runs slightly faster and i can play games in it before and during the build

here is the link:

Sandbox_Hippocampus.skp

:D

actually, that program chokes my 3 month old computer because i only had 1 gig of ram installed at purchase and have not yet upgraded
 
georgc said:
Hello , I'm one of the new juniors and have been lurking for 4 years. I have eagerly waited the day that I could post in the halo 3 thread. I'm a great fan of the universe and enjoy all things halo. I'm looking forward to playing some of you online. My gamertag is georgc.
Click to expand...


GREAT STORY BRO
 
NOKYARD said:
hey! i have one of those applications

mine is built in, runs slightly faster and i can play games in it before and during the build

here is the link:

Sandbox_Hippocampus.skp

:D

actually, that program chokes my 3 month old computer because i only had 1 gig of ram installed at purchase and have not yet upgraded
Click to expand...
Oh yeah? Well...does your hippocampus have snap-to and preset rotational values? Can you use your hippocampus at work while pretending to do what your paid to? Hmm? HMM?! :D


best thing to do is delete the superfluous levels when you decide where to start your project. Cuts down on the lag. Hide/delete the background image, too.
 
squidhands said:
Oh yeah? Well...does your hippocampus have snap-to and preset rotational values? Can you use your hippocampus at work while pretending to do what your paid to? Hmm? HMM?! :D
Click to expand...
all that and more - the players are all body-painted Cortana cos-players

see, mine is much better
 
kylej said:
Ya I was expecting him to say Halo Reach would look worse than games released before it.
Click to expand...
The guy didn't specifically name a game. He asked him Aaron if we would see anything that looked as good as those games, and Aaron replied "Wait until you see Halo Reach". Sure it doesn't mean much, just thought I'd post it since we aren't getting much on this game.
 
I wonder how much of the game will be based off of the book or if Bungie will inject a fair amount of original material. No doubt there will be some, just wondering on the weighting. Far too early to I suppose but never too early to speculate. I finally started reading the novels myself and am onto the final one which is First Strike as I've been reading them in chronological order. Suppose we shouldn't go overboard on Reach until we've already satisfied our pallet with ODST ha
 
is anybody besides me optimistic for reach bc of this?:

halo-reach-20090601091000075-copy.jpg


that logo and the planet with the silhoettes is probably the most stylish image ive seen from any halo game so far
 
Kibbles said:
Halo: Reach to have Killzone 2/Uncharted 2 quality graphics? - http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=932263
Click to expand...
While I'd like to believe that, I don't think it'll be true.

I was impressed with Uncharted, blown away by Killzone's presentation, and enjoyed both games immensely (only 2 PS3 games I own.) But, ignoring a console power debate, I don't think Reach can, or should match their level of graphics. Both games balance enemy count, interactivity, scale and progression in a way much more similar to Gears 2 than Halo 3. And as opposed to the aforementioned linear, corridor style shooting galleries with confined or on-rails vehicle segments, I'm hoping Reach continues expanding the Halo-style sandbox: huge arenas with multiple approaches, tons of enemies, multiple vehicles, giant scalable vehicles, physics chaos. And all of these things, along with their trademark awesome AI, online, co-op, and theater features, really work against attaining the highest end visuals a console can push. And I'm totally cool with that.
 
blazinglazers said:
And as opposed to the aforementioned linear, corridor style shooting galleries with confined or on-rails vehicle segments, I'm hoping Reach continues expanding the Halo-style sandbox: huge arenas with multiple approaches, tons of enemies, multiple vehicles, giant scalable vehicles, physics chaos. And all of these things, along with their trademark awesome AI, online, co-op, and theater features, really work against attaining the highest end visuals a console can push.
Click to expand...

You need to get a job writing press releases.
 
georgc said:
Hello , I'm one of the new juniors and have been lurking for 4 years. I have eagerly waited the day that I could post in the halo 3 thread. I'm a great fan of the universe and enjoy all things halo. I'm looking forward to playing some of you online. My gamertag is georgc.
Click to expand...
Send a Friend Request to SometimesImEpic. He loves playing with the new players. Especially if you enjoy AR starts in Social Slayer. All juniors that want to see the friendlier side of GAF, shoot SometimesImEpic a Friend Request. Trust me, he'll play Squad Battle and Action Sack with you to your heart's content.


Whoa at the EazyB avatar. I was totally just skimming over those posts. I was surprised at the lack of a signature. I never look at names to identify people, only their avatar.

If Halo Reach is anything like the book, then there will be massive amounts of enemies on-screan at once. If that is the case, I don't know if I want rediculously awesome graphics. I want my framerate to be smooth as butter.
 
SquallASF said:
I wonder how much of the game will be based off of the book or if Bungie will inject a fair amount of original material.
Click to expand...

For a long time, Bungie has steered clear of using the novel's fiction in any more than a tangential manner in order to not alienate those who haven't read the books. Now that we are out of the Master Chief arc however, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bungie allow themselves to source their story from a wider range of the fiction. How that might look(tangential, setting or main arc) is anybody's guess.

Regardless, I'm sure that Bungie will be carving out their own slice of the Reach story.

No matter what, PLEASE TELL YOUR STORY BETTER!!!! I don't care if that means more or less exposition, just do it better. thanks.
 
minasodaboy said:
For a long time, Bungie has steered clear of using the novel's fiction in any more than a tangential manner in order to not alienate those who haven't read the books. Now that we are out of the Master Chief arc however, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bungie allow themselves to source their story from a wider range of the fiction. How that might look(tangential, setting or main arc) is anybody's guess.

Regardless, I'm sure that Bungie will be carving out their own slice of the Reach story.

No matter what, PLEASE TELL YOUR STORY BETTER!!!! I don't care if that means more or less exposition, just do it better. thanks.
Click to expand...

I wonder if they will flirt with jumping between spartans as we will somewhat do in ODST between the hell jumpers? If it is similar to the book, we know about the division during the battle and that would allow for leaping between segments ala Arbitor to MC. It would be neat if they found a way to differentiate the gameplay a little between spartans if that's the case. One idea would be faster run speed if you are Kelly.
 
SquallASF said:
I wonder if they will flirt with jumping between spartans as we will somewhat do in ODST between the hell jumpers? If it is similar to the book, we know about the division during the battle and that would allow for leaping between segments ala Arbitor to MC. It would be neat if they found a way to differentiate the gameplay a little between spartans if that's the case. One idea would be faster run speed if you are Kelly.
Click to expand...
I remember early speculation of people saying it might be different class structure in the vein of Team Fortress or Shadowrun, with each spartan having there own benefits and weaknesses.
 
Plywood said:
I remember early speculation of people saying it might be different class structure in the vein of Team Fortress or Shadowrun, with each spartan having there own benefits and weaknesses.
Click to expand...

That makes sense looking at the promo image.

btw, hi HaloGAF - long time browser of this thread here. If anyone's ever up for customs or matchmaking or whatever, my Gamertag is Will J D.
 
FooFighter said:
That makes sense looking at the promo image.

btw, hi HaloGAF - long time browser of this thread here. If anyone's ever up for customs or matchmaking or whatever, my Gamertag is Will J D.
Click to expand...

You like RB and Halo ... good man! I'll shoot you a FR later this evening when I get home.
 
I took out my capture card to put in my newer computer and I realized it also has a cable that connects to the motherboard or something (I don't know a whole lot about the insides of a computer). I was wondering, do I have to use this in my new computer, or is this just for the TV tuner? The TV Tuner doesn't even work, I just use the video inputs. If anyone knows what the hell is going on, please let me know. :p
 
Kibbles said:
I took out my capture card to put in my newer computer and I realized it also has a cable that connects to the motherboard or something (I don't know a whole lot about the insides of a computer). I was wondering, do I have to use this in my new computer, or is this just for the TV tuner? The TV Tuner doesn't even work, I just use the video inputs. If anyone knows what the hell is going on, please let me know. :p
Click to expand...
Could be a little more specific on the card in question. Plugging in the cable is a good bet though.
 
pet said:
is anybody besides me optimistic for reach bc of this?:

halo-reach-20090601091000075-copy.jpg


that logo and the planet with the silhoettes is probably the most stylish image ive seen from any halo game so far
Click to expand...


I just noticed that you can see Covenant cruisers glassing the planet. It's sort of a strange panaramic view blended into the planet's surface. Cool.
 
blazinglazers said:
While I'd like to believe that, I don't think it'll be true.

I was impressed with Uncharted, blown away by Killzone's presentation, and enjoyed both games immensely (only 2 PS3 games I own.) But, ignoring a console power debate, I don't think Reach can, or should match their level of graphics. Both games balance enemy count, interactivity, scale and progression in a way much more similar to Gears 2 than Halo 3. And as opposed to the aforementioned linear, corridor style shooting galleries with confined or on-rails vehicle segments, I'm hoping Reach continues expanding the Halo-style sandbox: huge arenas with multiple approaches, tons of enemies, multiple vehicles, giant scalable vehicles, physics chaos. And all of these things, along with their trademark awesome AI, online, co-op, and theater features, really work against attaining the highest end visuals a console can push. And I'm totally cool with that.
Click to expand...
This.

The only things I really wanna see in Reach are less jaggies (using a res bump or AA) and dymanic lighting. If they can add that while maintaining (or improving) the scale and 2 player splitscreen I'll be satisfied.
 
minasodaboy said:
No matter what, PLEASE TELL YOUR STORY BETTER!!!! I don't care if that means more or less exposition, just do it better. thanks.
Click to expand...

it definitely means less imo, like halo 1 or half-life
 
EazyB said:
This.

The only things I really wanna see in Reach are less jaggies (using a res bump or AA) and dymanic lighting. If they can add that while maintaining (or improving) the scale and 2 player splitscreen I'll be satisfied.
Click to expand...

You forgot about drop-in/drop-out co-op along with co-op matchmaking/server lists. ;)
 
pet said:
it definitely means less imo, like halo 1 or half-life
Click to expand...
I like this guy

LunaticPuma said:
You forgot about drop-in/drop-out co-op along with co-op matchmaking/server lists. ;)
Click to expand...
Drop-in/out is a must
Matchmaking co-op is probably the least attractive thing I coiuld possibly imagine. I sure as hell wouldn't use it but I guess it wouldn't hurt to include for those that wanna try to play cooperatively with the general Halo fanbase.
 
pet said:
it definitely means less imo, like halo 1 or half-life
Click to expand...

If you mean less cinematic cut-scenes then yes, I would agree. But looking at half-life2 as a great example, bungie could improve on in-game story telling techniques where you interact with NPC's. That is why I am looking forward to O.D.S.T. and how bungie incorporates the plot and updates information through your team instead of through cortana.
 
KevinRo said:
If you mean less cinematic cut-scenes then yes, I would agree. But looking at half-life2 as a great example, bungie could improve on in-game story telling techniques where you interact with NPC's. That is why I am looking forward to O.D.S.T. and how bungie incorporates the plot and updates information through your team instead of through cortana.
Click to expand...

I hope so. The drop pod scene is taking it in the right direction.
 
Stormtrooper30 said:
Send a Friend Request to SometimesImEpic. He loves playing with the new players. Especially if you enjoy AR starts in Social Slayer. All juniors that want to see the friendlier side of GAF, shoot SometimesImEpic a Friend Request. Trust me, he'll play Squad Battle and Action Sack with you to your heart's content.
Click to expand...
I'm sure you're joking, but juices is actually way nicer and pretty cool to play with on XBL.
 
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