SatanicBagels

I agree that they should make all necessary arrangements to remove loadouts (as well as many new features) come Halo 5. Right now, however, with the game mechanics so entrenched and built around loadouts I think that they should stay. This isn't to say that they shouldn't provide the option for more competitive gameplay through another unique playlist. I believe that they have stated that such a playlist was in the works. Let me see if I can go grab a link for you... EDIT: Oh yes... here you go: http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/24792-upcoming-competitive-playlist/

Congratulations Doc. Can't think of a better choice for moderator.

Well I think one of the main problems with this is that the maps that worked in previous Halos don't play well in the later games. Let's look at the map Lockout as an example. In Halo 2 Lockout was arguably golden. It was a very fun map ranging on anything from free for all to SWAT. They noticed the success of this map and then decided to bring it in to Halo 3 in the form of Blackout. Arguably it didn't play nearly as well. Given the game mechanic changes weren't overly drastic, but they were drastic enough to have a serious impact on how fun the map was. Now they bring Lockout to Halo 4 in the form of Shutout. It doesn't play the same way at all and you could easily make the argument that sprint, instant respawning, loadouts, and ordinance destroyed the map. Maps are designed around game mechanics not game mechanics around maps. Trying to revamp old Halo maps in the new Halo 4 atmosphere wouldn't work.

If anybody here has played and watched the new episode of Spartan Ops then you have undoubtedly noticed that Chief is being brought into the picture. Just watching this episode I can sort of tell where it's heading. Though I am not always right, I'd say that Halsey is going to go find Chief and the result is going to be a long storyline ending in Chief recovering Cortana. I imagine they'll save the actually recovery of Cortana until Halo 5 but that certainly looks to be what Spartan Ops is leading up to. ~ Thoughts ~

This was one of those posts where I knew what I had to do and it was just a matter of persevering despite the odds and doing what had to be done. In all seriousness this is actually a pretty interesting idea. I presume it would work the same way as whatever the Didact has that allows him to manipulate Chief with such ease. Of course this would have to be balanced pretty harshly to stop it from becoming too OP.

I actually saw this idea presented quite a while ago and I supported it strongly. I'll support it now as well. Though, I'd certainly prefer 343i to focus the vast majority of their attention on future Halo trilogy games and not fun little spin off stories.

Continuing along my theme of using pictures to express my opinions to situations:

The first flood encounter level. Not the garbage swamp theme that resulted in the map that was Backwash though...

This thread is... omg... All games tend to receive harsh criticism from the player base. Everybody has opinions and are not likely to agree on everything. Your not knowing that the boltshot needed a nerf until you came to these forums does not speak about the quality of these forums... it speaks about a mistake that was made in the game and someone being unobservant.

Agreed. I liked the Halo 3 system better. Plus being able to throw it adds a certain sense of skill to the game.

Very cool and interesting ideas. Though I don't support the idea of having a H2A I must say that some of these would be pretty fun and nostalgic to "achieve". The Scarab Gun, Specter in Tarturus Battle, and Skull ones stick out at me. Some other possibilities that I think would be cool would be... ~ Superbounce related ones ~ Banshee in Tarturus Battle ~ Hide more super weapons to find

They haven't so to speak. The elites encountered in Halo 4 are a seperate faction of the covenant that opposed the Arbiter and all of the other elites in continuation of their pursuit of the Great Journey. (Religious nut-heads if you will) They never accepted the Arbiter's truce with the humans and still seek to eradicate them. It's also worth noting that they are a very dark and cruel gang of elites. Their armor is darker and more ancient, they act more like brutes, and they are often depicted as terrorists throughout Spartan Ops. Not sure why 343i didn't seek to explain this in the game though.

I can't imagine a fixed loadout with the boltshot in it. So I'd say you're probably right.

They're either: 1. Trolling you 2. Very misinformed 3. Really Unobservant Weapon commendations cannot be advanced in Spartan Ops.

Once this is released this will be the ONLY playlist that I ever play in Halo 4 xD Sounds like they have figured out what is needed to improve the gameplay and provide a base of operations for the countless disappointed fans. This playlist has a chance at being a very popular one. I also imagine that the population for this playlist would likely dwarf the infinity slayer population and send a very big message to 343i about what the community wants.

Obviously time would matter Unless Halo 4 sold the exact same number of copies in every single time zone around the world, you are going to see a population that rises and declines accordingly. As for the first video in the OP... It seems like that happens to me every other game xD

You were the inspiration for this quote xD

After getting a good few games in on the new map shutout in the Forge Test Playlist (A fair few in both SWAT and Infinity Slayer) I feel that I am well versed enough in the map to voice my opinions... as well as pick up some other peoples opinions as well. -------------------------------------------------------- I have never really understood the implementation of remake maps like Shutout (Lockout remake) to a game that has completely different game mechanics. While Lockout played very well in Halo 2 it may not play well in a game where ordinance drop pods, instant respawns, armor abilities, and sprinting is present. The many games I have played of infinity slayer on Shutout have seemed almost like an insult to the great map of Lockout. PS: I don't blame the forger. The map is actually very well forged and serves its purpose as an incredibly accurate remake of Lockout. I am simply against it's addition as a competitive map when I find that it doesn't play that well with the added game mechanics of Halo 4. -------------------------------------------------------- The maps I have played of SWAT on Shutout have actually been quite nice however. I find it far more enjoyable and well-flowing when not bogged down by the newer mechanics. Would it be better without sprint? Yes. Would it be better without Instant Respawns Yes. But with all things considered, I think that it is good enough to be included in the SWAT playlist. The varying different levels of elevation and unique lines of sight still work quite well for SWAT gameplay and I find that when played using the SWAT gametype this map plays fairly close to the original. When it comes down to it I have far more fun playing SWAT on this map than on any other map in the SWAT playlist so far. --------------------------------------------------------- SWAT: Yes Slayer: No

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This is actually a very good question. I've always placed different maps into groups but haven't ever really considered why they belong where they belong. For example, I considered maps like Guardian, the Pit, and Lockout highly competitive maps... while I considered maps like High Ground, Zanzibar, and Headlong more casual maps. I guess perhaps I have always considered the arena like styles and pure balance of maps like lockout and pit to be a more highly competitive atmosphere than the casual competitive ones. Maps like Lockout feel as though they are designed specifically to hold battle upon. All of the structures are seemingly built around LoS, Risk vs. Reward, and Weapon Placement. While, on the other hand, if you look at maps like High Ground it seems less like an arena and more like it wasn't meant to have battles fought upon it.

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