Mr Vociferous said:I agree with every single point you made Ghaleon. It's quite clear to me that Halo 2 has the best story out of all of them and it wasn't even executed to its greatest detail. Concepts like the suspicious attitude of Miranda to the Chief, the understanding of the Covenant story and the epic finale into the Ark against Truth would have made for a perfect conclusion to the story.
While Halo 3 is a fantastic game, clearly head-and-shoulders above any competition in terms of overall product, a lot of the high concept story is glossed over by assumption. The details, even the ones present in the bullishly depicted Halo: Combat Evolved story, are not here (save for the powerful terminals which should be somewhere buried in the cinematics instead - they're that fucking awesome). The encounters and scale of Halo 3 are certainly to write home about, but the fact that the story isn't fleshed out to any degree on a cinematic level is frustrating to the grounds-roots fans who eat, breath and drink this stuff. For the cursory fan or even the everyday Halo fan, Halo 3 probably successfully blows their doors out. For the fans who found Halo 2's complex and fascinating narrative amazing, Halo 3's story execution feels like paint by numbers.
As a joke amongst close friends, I wrote a script for Halo 3 meant to be a believable rough draft (bad spelling and cheesy lines included). It left my hands and found its way onto the internet through some tomfoolery of my crew and eventually was believed, despite the horrendous writing (my bad, Staten) to be the actual script. Although my script didn't come near to being as amazing as any of Staten's work, it did have one thing: a complex story with a complex look at the characters involved. I had one section where Keyes and the Gravemind are revealed to be one in the same, and he was brought to Delta Halo by none other than the Arbiter.
The internets were fooled and personal apologies were issued to Frank and Bungie for having to decant it (even though they were working on the real deal), I can't help but feel that they really moved quickly and recklessly over the Gravemind, Cortana's peril (was it even there?) and they pushed the Arbiter behind a glass barricade: 'Yes, you can see him, he's awesome, but we're listening to the assholes who don't like him this time around. Arbiter, sit down.'
(Yeah, and I'm not trying to peddle the script up there, trust me. I deleted it off my hard drive a long time ago and had to physically look on the web to find it (where it still exists at alarmingly high numbers even though the very different game has been released months ago). When you read it - if you do, and I don't necessarily recommend it - you'll see why it took me less than a week to write it and why I laugh whenever anyone actually 'buys' that its the real deal.)
For what it's worth, the guys at Ascendant Justice and I were talking about the Legendary ending and the music (which I agree, it also pissed me off). I won't purchase another game with the Chief and/or Coranta as the main protagonists. I just won't do it. The hushed casket ending was perfect (despite the weird aggro Chief comment to Cortana bit) and I'd rather not know if they ever were rescued. Let the Chief's story end there.
I would consider any of the below ideas however, and here's an excerpt of one of my last comments about the terminal ending and its significance from the GameTap interview:
Well then the answer to the question isn't 'AR starts,' but rather not to play with noobs.
Haha! The BR-starts saved Halo 2 for me. The BR-starts in Halo 3 are even better.
I personally don't care how matchmaking is played. When I do play online, I like to play with and against my friends.
Frenck said:This thread needs more Contact Harvest discussion guys, it's a great book not just by video game standards. Biggest gaming related surprise of the year for me, easily.
Much more in-depth than the games and quite a bit more in-depth than the other novels.
It contains some unexpected stuff regarding the Harvest incident that wasn't even hinted at in Nylund's books. I'm just about to continue reading it before I go to bed.
I'll need to track down your script; I actually remember reading about it on HBO back in the day, but me being the spoiler dodging guy I am never read it. Should be a hoot to go back to.Mr Vociferous said:I agree with every single point you made Ghaleon. It's quite clear to me that Halo 2 has the best story out of all of them and it wasn't even executed to its greatest detail. Concepts like the suspicious attitude of Miranda to the Chief, the understanding of the Covenant story and the epic finale into the Ark against Truth would have made for a perfect conclusion to the story.
While Halo 3 is a fantastic game, clearly head-and-shoulders above any competition in terms of overall product, a lot of the high concept story is glossed over by assumption. The details, even the ones present in the bullishly depicted Halo: Combat Evolved story, are not here (save for the powerful terminals which should be somewhere buried in the cinematics instead - they're that fucking awesome). The encounters and scale of Halo 3 are certainly to write home about, but the fact that the story isn't fleshed out to any degree on a cinematic level is frustrating to the grounds-roots fans who eat, breath and drink this stuff. For the cursory fan or even the everyday Halo fan, Halo 3 probably successfully blows their doors out. For the fans who found Halo 2's complex and fascinating narrative amazing, Halo 3's story execution feels like paint by numbers.
As a joke amongst close friends, I wrote a script for Halo 3 meant to be a believable rough draft (bad spelling and cheesy lines included). It left my hands and found its way onto the internet through some tomfoolery of my crew and eventually was believed, despite the horrendous writing (my bad, Staten) to be the actual script. Although my script didn't come near to being as amazing as any of Staten's work, it did have one thing: a complex story with a complex look at the characters involved. I had one section where Keyes and the Gravemind are revealed to be one in the same, and he was brought to Delta Halo by none other than the Arbiter.
The internets were fooled and personal apologies were issued to Frank and Bungie for having to decant it (even though they were working on the real deal), I can't help but feel that they really moved quickly and recklessly over the Gravemind, Cortana's peril (was it even there?) and they pushed the Arbiter behind a glass barricade: 'Yes, you can see him, he's awesome, but we're listening to the assholes who don't like him this time around. Arbiter, sit down.'
(Yeah, and I'm not trying to peddle the script up there, trust me. I deleted it off my hard drive a long time ago and had to physically look on the web to find it (where it still exists at alarmingly high numbers even though the very different game has been released months ago). When you read it - if you do, and I don't necessarily recommend it - you'll see why it took me less than a week to write it and why I laugh whenever anyone actually 'buys' that its the real deal.)
For what it's worth, the guys at Ascendant Justice and I were talking about the Legendary ending and the music (which I agree, it also pissed me off). I won't purchase another game with the Chief and/or Coranta as the main protagonists. I just won't do it. The hushed casket ending was perfect (despite the weird aggro Chief comment to Cortana bit) and I'd rather not know if they ever were rescued. Let the Chief's story end there.
Mr Vociferous said:As a joke amongst close friends, I wrote a script for Halo 3 meant to be a believable rough draft (bad spelling and cheesy lines included). It left my hands and found its way onto the internet through some tomfoolery of my crew and eventually was believed, despite the horrendous writing (my bad, Staten) to be the actual script. Although my script didn't come near to being as amazing as any of Staten's work, it did have one thing: a complex story with a complex look at the characters involved. I had one section where Keyes and the Gravemind are revealed to be one in the same, and he was brought to Delta Halo by none other than the Arbiter.
rance said:People don't want BR starts because it'll completely change how the game plays.
For a single playlist though, like say, Team Hardcore, that would be perfectly fine.
voltron said:I want Carbine starts. Carbine is generally my go-to weapon over the BR because the higher rate of fire(even though I know the BR is more powerful). I find the BR great over medium to long dist. but the Carbine is pretty good short, medium and medium-long.
Check back with me on Tuesday.armubaba said:Anybody up for a couple games (maybe a GAF one if it gets big enough)?
In a few minutes.armubaba said:Anybody up for a couple games (maybe a GAF one if it gets big enough)?
Frenck said:This thread needs more Contact Harvest discussion guys, it's a great book not just by video game standards. Biggest gaming related surprise of the year for me, easily.
Much more in-depth than the games and quite a bit more in-depth than the other novels.
It contains some unexpected stuff regarding the Harvest incident that wasn't even hinted at in Nylund's books. I'm just about to continue reading it before I go to bed.
OverHeat said:Matchmaking is broken in team objectif once you play with a party of 4, level 36-43 in objectif it can take us more then 30 min to find a game WTF
Or a horror story - depending on how you look at it. To be perfectly honest, I remember very little about it, other than the fact that it was a fun thing to write. It's actually linked in my initial response, so you don't have to do too much digging.GhaleonEB said:Should be a hoot to go back to.
Mr Vociferous said:Vociferous text
LukeSmith said:Stark contrast to the "no matter who makes Halo games, I'll buy it" of last month!
I Embraced it. And I think you know why.Mr Vociferous said:When people finished watching Luke Skywalker rescue his father from the clutches of the Emperor, they didn't exactly embrace this:
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Buttonbasher said:I'm pleased that the Terminals and possibly the ARG are tied into Contact Harvest.![]()
godhandiscen said:Hey guys, I might get banned by Teknopathetic. I cannot stand his shit and if he keeps trolling and acting like a freaking Nazi I will just call him on it. Nice knowing you.
From what I've read the Terminals are directly referenced and the glyph is brought up too (in an interesting way)DoctorWho said:What! WHAT!?
Fuck, there is so much story discussion in here right now... I don't know where to begin. I'll have to eventually sit down and right out my thoughts.
Dude, it bothers me too, but... there's nothing we can do. Don't get banned just so you can call him out. That's probably why he says those things - to get people riled up.godhandiscen said:Hey guys, I might get banned by Teknopathetic. I cannot stand his shit and if he keeps trolling and acting like a freaking Nazi I will just call him on it. Nice knowing you.
It's the smartest curse of action, but I am just in a bad mood since today I am working 9 hours because I forgot of the daylight saving and I arrived at work one hour earlier (for which I won't get paid).urk said:Eh, I'd just leave it be. Not worth it.
urk said:Eh, I'd just leave it be. Not worth it.
I thought of posting something, but it's really not going to do anything. It bothers me too, but he's done this for awhile, and the mods clearly have no interest in stopping him.godhandiscen said:Hey guys, I might get banned by Teknopathetic. I cannot stand his shit and if he keeps trolling and acting like a freaking Nazi I will just call him on it. Nice knowing you.
DoctorWho said:My theory is that Gravemind was an AI developed by the forerunners. The Flood were an extra-galactic infestation that started to spread and take over our galaxy. Gravemind, fearing rampancy, found a way to transfer his "consciousness" into The Flood and spread his knowledge, information and thought processes through their network.
Cortana, now stranded with Gravemind, may find herself tempted at the possibility of avoiding rampancy as well. She may attempt to meld with gravemind and achieve the same immortality that he did.
HALO FUCKING SOLVED!
I just blew my mind.
EDIT: I think at the end of Halo 3, Cortana will sacrifice herself for the cause and turn against Gravemind.
What if Cortana is the Sacrifice and not MASTER CHIEF? You know, I would love an ending with Master Chief living out his days and raising a family after the war is over. I know that wont happen but it would be a happy ending.
DoctorWho said:What has been bugging me since the outset of Halo is why the 7 rings were built to support all sorts of life. They aren't just installations that were meant to be manned by personnel who were strictly there to fire the weapon - they are simulations of Earth.
Why would you build a weapon like that?
Stinkles said:An excellent question.
Cortana: Interesting. The weather patterns here seem natural, not artificial.
I wonder if the ring's environment systems are malfunctioning or if the
designers wanted the installation to have inclement weather.
the disgruntled gamer said:In a few minutes.
I'm editing Snowbound and watching NFL.
godhandiscen said:Hey guys, I might get banned by Teknopathetic. I cannot stand his shit and if he keeps trolling and acting like a freaking Nazi I will just call him on it. Nice knowing you.
Ah... I can hear that phrase in my mind, crystal clear. Halo 1 FTW.DoctorWho said:Cortana: Interesting. The weather patterns here seem natural, not artificial.
I wonder if the ring's environment systems are malfunctioning or if the
designers wanted the installation to have inclement weather.
From a b.net article:The Wispy Scoundrel said:There are an equal amount of things to love and get pissed off with in Halo 3, but all I really want is a fucking rewind and 'skip chapter' feature in the Campaign Saved film mode.
y it not der?
Why can’t I go backwards in a Campaign Saved Film?
Because Campaign mode loads in a linear fashion – to skip back, you’d have to reload a previously played area. Which would take ages, suck and ruin the experience of watching the film in the first place. It also has to do with multiple checkpoints and the pseudo-determinism used in Combat Dialog, but we won’t frighten or bore you with that. In Multiplayer, the entire map is in memory, hence the ability to go back as well as forward.
I was there, you wasn't. I leveled up to Lt, and then quit. Sorry, you missed out.armubaba said:A few minutes, eh?
Speaking of pretty pictures, is anyone else experiencing a lag in getting their images uploaded to bungie.net? I took a few last night of some MP antics and they're still not up. I managed a rare, three-man stop with the Power Drain (as opposed to the ritual suicide I frequented upon myself in the Beta), which I documented for posterity.tak said:It is all information you can find online, but it is nice having a physical copy you can pull out when playing. I would recommend it since it is only $9.99, and it has a lot of pretty pictures.
the disgruntled gamer said:Man, I am SO much better at H3 than H2. My K/D is better, and just playing, I have a much better time.
I was there, you wasn't. I leveled up to Lt, and then quit. Sorry, you missed out.
"Your team" is playing well. A respectful good luck to them in the near future.
They seem to go faster when you put them in your fileshare, but it takes different time for different people.GhaleonEB said:Speaking of pretty pictures, is anyone else experiencing a lag in getting their images uploaded to bungie.net? I took a few last night of some MP antics and they're still not up. I managed a rare, three-man stop with the Power Drain (as opposed to the ritual suicide I frequented upon myself in the Beta), which I documented for posterity.
It's out there. Let me find it.GhaleonEB said:HBO has completed their Halo 3 Cutscene Library, which means one thing: someone needs to pull an MP3 of the credits music. Stat.
(Pretty please?)
It's just the audio version of a video, but who knows.Buttonbasher said:It's out there. Let me find it.
PM'd just for safety. Unless its okay to post.
I can see at least 3 pictures twice in that mural. Were they running out of texture memory or what? Kinda sad though. If they couldn't even have enough texture memory for that cinematic, I guess that asking for more polygons in the admiral's head must be too much of a stretch.Buttonbasher said:![]()
Why is that marine there twice? He even looks confused about it.:lol