FerretOfAir

The sergeant graced Steve with one of his rare, curt smiles as he quickly scanned the marksman's form. "I'm flattered, but if you want to be thanking something, you can have a chat with Brigadiers Angel or Frankie, or one of their colonels. They're the ones that engineered this initiative--and they're the ones we'll follow into hell." He laid the sheet down on top of the other two applicants' he had examined briefly and reached for the fourth, belonging to a certain sniper named Mackenzie. Barely had a few seconds passed before he placed it upon its predecessors. "You know, you fellows make me want to take a second look at my own sheet. Might as well write in my bio, this time..." He sat down with his soldiers and quickly lettered in a brief overview of his life's experience before returning it to the growing stack. "There, that ought to do it."

((A word of advice--this is a long story without any real point. Basically, this thread is Create-A-Spartan. The form's about midway through. I do hope you'll join me in expressing a little creativity though.)) The disunited murmurs and thoughts of the vast, skeptical crowd vanished as the door slides open and shut in quick succession, signalling the return of the Sergeant. All eyes were upon the man as he trotted up the the massive table, deftly removing the lid of the small crate he toted, and scattered an unruly heap of crisp, white papers upon the surface. For a while, there was no noise but the faint swishing of the forms as they settled themselves. After casting a good look about at the mass whose collective body heat made the cool room stifling, he cleared his throat and let his voice echo off the pristine white walls. "Soldiers! As you know, the Infinity has suffered greatly over the past few months. Trapped on this alien world, without an escape plan or a beacon to light for our worried brothers on the other side of the galaxy. You also know, no doubt, of the Spartan IV program aboard this vessel. What you haven't been told is that during our times of fear and worry a scouting squad, dubbed Majestic Team, has been performing reconnaissance on this world of Requiem, clearing the way for the Waypoint Coalition." Among any less of a faithful crowd, whispers would have run rampant through the ranks as each individual pondered just why the secret had been kept from them, the marine and Spartan veterans of the Human-Covenant war and the backbone of the Infinity spacecraft. They also speculated about this so-called 'Waypoint Coalition' and its purpose. However, every man and woman of discipline checked their tongues and kept the silence, so that nobody challenged the Sergeant's next words. "These forms are like opportunities, gateways, even. Fill 'em out, rack 'em up, and you might just be part of the Spartan IV army to deploy upon Requiem and show the Forerunners exactly what you're made of!" Every soldier -every one of you, my friends- fetched a form and began to write. Name: (Last name censorable) Age: (Censorable) Codename: (Censorable. Nothing asinine here. Put your gamertag if nothing else) Callsign: Emblem: Appearance: (Tell me about what face lies beneath that nice helmet of yours) Personality: (Though we are destined to kill or be killed, we are all still human) Backstory: (Censorable. What was your life before you were a Spartan IV?) Role: (What part do you play on the battlefield? Are you a medic, a sniper, or what?) Talent: (What are your Spartan's special skills?) Preferred Weapons: (Choose any two from any Halo game, from CE to 4) Preferred Equipment: (Includes powerups, equipment, and armor abilities. Helmet Permutation: (What's your favorite helmet between all the games?) Other: (Anything that doesn't fit anywhere else?) "As for me," the Sergeant remarked as the candidates scanned their forms, "I already did mine. If you think you suckers are gonna try and fight million-year-old robot-things without me, you're gonna be disappointed. Name: Revel Age: 42 Codename: FerretOfAir Callsign: Fair Emblem: Display/Valkryie, all white Appearance: A sharp nose marks Revel's layered face, marred permanently just in front of his right ear by a Carbine's radiation way back when. Dreary blue-green eyes peer out ever-solemn from beneath thick, sharp eyebrows and sandy brown-blond hair. Revel's ancestry proves itself to be decidedly Dutch, which is visible in his complexion and audible in his voice. Personality: Serious when needed, considerate when convenient, and likable when in a good mood, Revel is known for being remarkable versatile when it comes it his mindset, adapting to each situation differently. Prior to promotion, it was rumored among his peers that he was insane, but as you can see, that's hardly true. Hardly... Backstory: Revel's military career began in the final stage of the Human-Covenant war. Miraculously managing to rack up an alien body count and live to tell the tale on five different assignments, his service as a standard marine culminated in deployment on the Ark, where he was privilaged enough to both see and then fight alongside the Master Chief himself, as well as the Arbiter and the other Sangheili that had defected to join the humans. The battle was furious -the permanent radiation burn on his cheek is sign enough of how close he came to death- but Revel's squad was evacuated as the Flood became a deadly presence aboard the Ark. Years later, he signed on to the Spartan IV program in hopes of perhaps carrying on the legacy of the supposedly dead Master Chief. Role: Ranger - Marksman and designated driver Talent: Sharpshooting, operating vehicles, untimely quips Preferred Weapons: DMR, Brute Shot Preferred Equipment: Thruster Pack Helmet Permutation: Enforcer Other: His mother, a romantic and a lover of poetry, named all of her three children (Gilly, Revel, and Yorick) after lines or characters from the ancient poems of Shakespeare, much to their father's behest. "Burn bright!" "Burn Blue!"

I choose Exile. It's large, but not -too- large. Scorpion, Gauss Hog, and Banshee. Lovely look and very nice Rat's Nest-y donut feel to it. Great sightlines and (I'm guessing) excellent compatibility with virtually all game modes.

"Never fear, Tailgeese is here!" Thanks for the answer, as always. Glad to know that; now, I know that customization is ludicrous rather than ridiculous. Armor helmets, shoulders, legs, torso, arms, visors, and scads of transferrable skins? Wish every game had personalization on this level.

I do so hope that any armor skins are applicable to any piece of armor in that specific spot, like the Prime skin for the Recruit helmet can be transferred to, say, the Commando helmet. Otherwise it seems rather limited.

Chewin, that white stripe on the Mark V1 picture might have just been part of that Spartan's color scheme, seeing as other highlights of his armor are white as well. This means that, while there is still a stripe, it might correspond to your secondary or ternary color (Which you can adjust so it appears you have a solid color). I personally hope this is the case.

I would love to see a wasteland but not desert map and its foil in the form of a verdant, very watery map. For the wasteland one, an idea would be either an enormous crater with both paths spiraling down to the lava in its basin and grav lifts. This is sorta inspired by the elaborate crater bases in one of the Star Wars movies I saw forever ago, planet Utapow or something like that. Another would be lots of dark, moody tunnels connecting an underground labyrinth between two main bases, with short lines of sight and lots of corners. Alternatively there would also be a totally barren, totally open overland route between the bases, perfect for mammoths to wage war while infiltrators sweep the tunnels below. As for the watery one, lots of waterfalls, rushing water, and floating forerunner structures in a bright, steamy jungle.

I'm liking the looks of this. Asymmetrical action, nice visuals (Great lighting, eh, Ducain?). I'd say it looks like a combination of Powerhouse from Reach and Guardian from Halo 3. Something tells me this would be a great Flood map.

The gametypes, the campaign missions for those who don't care about spoilers, and which if any returning old vehicles. I'm excited for the latter.

I'm actually interested in that. However, I think back to the vidoc from the 343 devs about making the Prometheans, and I think that this weapon was a WIP concept eventually to become the Scattershot. So I wouldn't get your hopes up.

So far political beliefs haven't been said to my surprise, but you're right in that national beliefs are beginning to plague us. People -or rather, a person- is making ignorant generalizations about a nation because of its media and we're only nine posts in. Ryu, I agree with what you said. I've already given my opinion on the matter so I'll leave the thread to you fine fellows.

Though Halo 4 will be quite important to me, it is very necessary to pay attention to the election. Everyone has a right to withhold their vote but that doesn't mean they should. Many people ignore and hate politics, but considering they reign over our everyday lives, they require at least some attention. Voting for its leaders is something that defines America, and if the greater portion of the populace simply ignores it than we might as well be socialist.

It might just be me, but aren't there tons of threads just like this one?

Boogers. Hopefully It at least forcibly diverts them--if not, I might replace it with the plasma pistol.

I'll go out on a limb and include a quick explanation for my choices. >DMR - powerful at long range and not terrible in close range in good hands, I've always enjoyed long-range, semi-auto precision weapons >Binary Rifle - not every gun can boast being a one-shot-kill at all times, an immensely powerful sniper, and an almost-shotgun at point blank. Luckily its strengths are balanced by its drawbacks >SAW - this light machine gun totally dominates the close/mid-range battlefield, pumping enemies full of bullets in mere seconds >Concussion Rifle - those who don't give this gun its due credit are in for a rough time. Not only can it send vehicles flying and control space, its mortars stun and blind solitary foes giving them no room to counterattack >Incineration Cannon- a manmelting menace, this thing can disintegrate a person and a few of his closest friends with a single, napalm-laden shot.

(Minor spoiler alert) Looks like I was wrong about the Mantis after all. Seems that it is matchmaking as well--looks like fun.

If this Ragnarok is indeed in the game as a vehicle-boasting Valhalla remake, then allow me to share a small concern. Many people complained last time around that the slayer maps in Reach were too big, with the smallest being Sword Base and Zealot. From what's been revealed so far... Haven - Small - No vehicles Adrift - Small - No vehicles Longbow - Large - Vehicles Exile - Medium/large - Vehicles Solace - Small - No vehicles Complex - Most likely medium-large - Probable vehicles Ragnarok - Large - Probably vehicles Not counting whatever that Forge map was called (Ravine?) or Forge maps in general, we have six out of the ten release maps confirmed. Weeeeell...there's a chance that Ragnarok might be DLC. But I'd like to point out regardless that we have a perfect 3-3 balance of small and large/vehicle maps now, so the slayer and BTB crowds should be more than satisfied.

All of them look excellent. Of course I'm going to try Thruster Pack -fun and effective!- but due to the active camo buff I might rock invisibility as well.

Whoops, sorry mate. Didn't think it was such a big deal. I'll be far more careful in the future when saying things like... *SPOILERS* The Master Chief drives a Banshee at one or more points in the campaign optionally The Master Chief uses an assault rifle on occassion.

My strategy is to play matchmaking with three of my closest comrades and coordinate teamwork amongst all of us. I'm the designated marksman so it should be a breeze if we get it together...but when we don't feel all cohesive-like: rush the rockets and hope for the best.

The Incineration Cannon is just beastly. A rocket launcher, a shotgun, and a flamethrower all in one--these Forerunners know what they're doing, eh?

Even though your attitude has made it apparant that you obviously know what you're talking about, I'm afraid to inform you that the mech drivable in campaign is the Mantis. I'd be willing to bet that one of the two new vehicles for matchmaking is still up for grabs, though, seeing as it is campaign-only. Source: http://www.readyuplive.com/showthread.php/10830-Halo-4-News-Flood-Mode-and-Mantis!!!

I can see it now. A Promethean Chopper-like vehicle with a massive hardlight skewer on the front. If you see one heading toward you, it's already too late. And in MM, any players unfortunate enough to be impaled might remain stuck on it after expiry, though that'd be rather gory. Aside from the scooter idea mentioned earlier, I think an interesting vehicle would be a transforming turret of some sort powered by the same Forerunner gravitic energy. It could be stationary on a surface, but when boost is selected, it shoots off like a rocket and can cling to other surfaces. Some sort of fragmented flying machine could also be interesting, or a vehicle composed somehow of crawlers or the like.

I think Flood mode is a great reveal. Not only do we get to take on the lives of these gruesome creatures we've fought against for so many games, but we get to share them with our friends as well, heh heh. I think this is what the devs said when they would be adding something else to matchmaking to 'scratch that itch' when asked about the removal of Elites. An idea of mine would to give each flood an altered appearance and so-called 'Flood Ability' based on which AA its human predecessor had (If AAs are put into the Flood gametype), such as: sending out a few damaging infection forms in lieu of hologram, growing more armor if you had hardlight shield, far better jumping for jump pack, unlimited sprint for thruster pack, some sort of infectious/damaging burst upon death if you had regen field, maybe making a stationary Spitter form in place of sentry turret, even better Flood Sense (It can be visualized really beastially) for Promethean Vision, and retracting flood growth into the armor to appear like a normal player in lieu of active camoflauge.

To be completely accurate, you unlock two visor colors for every specialization. Each specialization completed unlocks a two-toned color, of which my favorite is the Stalker (Green/yellow) variant so far.