Twinreaper

Construct is by far the "Best" Halo 3 map they ever made. From what I can tell aesthetically, it is the only map that doesn't have the "Start with Hang'em High" feel. That map would be awesome if updated with clean white Forerunner shaders and added a few new geometry areas to enhance and expand gameplay. Like making a few of those surrounding protruding struts on the outside of the map, walkable. Kinda like how Sidewinder has a nice outer area that takes you around the map.

If you have Windows 8, I find that it runs better on that. And hell, for $15 you can't beat it. Just need to find you a spare legit Win8 key I don't need......gotta check my MSDN Key vault. If I find an unused one in my key vault, would you like it?

Yeah like they all said. Speaking from the levels in terms of programming, we saw huge leaps in the amount of individual bsp's they crammed into each title as they came out. Halo 3 had at most, 6 to 7 bsp's in one level alone. Knowing Halo 4, each level will likely take at walking pace, to cover from one end to the other.....something like 30 minutes. And thats just walking to one end of the levels, not including the highjinx or twists and backtracking the missions will involve.

So unless you con your parents into giving you what you want from a gift shop during your nice Bahama vacation, you aren't having fun while your there with them? That's the exact mentality and outlook you are giving off. I can tell from how your are describing yourself and what matters, that you are still far to young in your life experiences. Winning and losing isn't the only thing that matters. There are plenty of things to do in life, that don't require this, and yet they are still..."fun". With time and experiences comes the pain of enduring things you may or may not like, but also these experiences can be fun and reflected upon to be considered fun.

So a lot of people always ask me what i do with Halo 2, and what i am currently working on. For those who don't me, I have modding, decompiling and releasing content as long as Halo 2 has been around. i have worked with many people on many great modding applications. However, today is a small update on what new maps and content I am pumping out ina few weeks into the community. Please to enjoy... Arbitration. This map is a Covenant Holy Burial Chamber, that emphasizes heavily on the textures from Halo 3 and ODST, but gives the chamber a nice earie and dark feel. Most of the textures on this map have been replaced, and is still going thru another of lightmapping to bring out small details you can't find on lower light settings. Next up we have Powerhouse. Powerhouse was origonaly created by Statutory Troy from the H2MT, but imported and edited by me in order to ge things in-game. This is an early build with only prelim textures as placeholders for the ones I currently have now. I didn't want to spoil anything by showing what it looks like at this particular date in time....so I leave you with the prelims to wonder at... Next, we have a little rare gem called Windward. Windward is a desert theme variant of Sidewinder, that focuses heavily on the windy dusty atmosphere one would find in a desert dustorm. You may not notice it, but in the center of the map, right under the huge structure, there is a quicksand pool that actually draws you in, and eventually kills you near the center. This map is pretty much as good as it is going to get, as I lost interest near the end. Final textures will be done at some point, or maybe not. Moving on, we have a little map that I am most fond of, only behind one other. This map is called Icon. Icon is a Forerunner water treatment facility. Heavy use and modification of the Halo 3, ODST and Reach textures were used in order to give the map a truly unique Halo 4-esk feel. Upon playing the level, you will notice that each shader has a unique glowing feature, making each one stand out. The large pipes to the sides can be seen pumping water up and out of the facility. Final texture and lighting tweaks will be done, but it's damn sexy either way! And finally we have one my most extensive and longest to create maps.....Quandry, aka Ratrace. This map utilized again, a darker more moody undertone usage of the Covie/Forerunner mix of textures to bring it a one of a kind look. In ways, it very much look and feel like Arbitration, but with vast differences. The overall design did not deviate much from the origonal, as gameplay was something I wanted to preserve. So there you have it folks, everything I am working on....well almost. I was planning on posting some shots of Crater ODST, but lightmapping hit a snag and I need to redo a few things in order for lighting to be completed. I will add them up once they are done. Questions or comments are welcome.

Ah cool. That means I could totally participate then. Good to know for future groups. Thanks Dog.

Um crap. before I even thought about it...how is the discussion done? Over Xbox Live? Teamspeak? ventrillo? And when is it taking place? Cause I have work tomorrow from 10am to around 8pm ESt. I'm off friday though.

Greed doesn't even come into the equation. Greed is the sole reason why games are here today. Games are not free to make, and companies don't throw tons of moolah out the window without a bottom line needing to be filled. Aside from the obvious, change is good. Like it or not, games must always innovate and stimulate a player into new things and better code. Keeping a game theoretically the same, and only minorly tweaking it, can make a game stale and repetitive. This thought brings to mind, Unreal tournament. Unreal picked up where Quake left off, in creating the virtual first deathmatch experience over the internet connection. Unreal was hailed as the best FPS of it's time, and even today, Unreal is touted as the mother of all FPS, next to Quake. But, as I had said, games need to mature and evolve, and Unreal did just that. Sure they kept a few core mechanics, but the experience and way you played changed drastically with each title. Halo 4 has yet to be released and played through enough to a an extent that can merit us the chance of saying it fails, or it won't work. Once it has been out for at least 6 months, and enough playtime has been reached, then we can honestly say if it sucks of it's broken.

Again, that is where I will always fail to see the AA argument. Since I do not venture into the extreme hardcore playlists, I don't see a whole lot of AA abuse or certain situations, so I can defiantly agree and respect that for you. You have seen more things in MM in Reach than I will ever care to see, so again I respect and take that into account now. I just really hope they can knock it out of the park and finally release something that can please both sides to a degree that doesn't require the never ending patches or updates that ultimately cam with Reach. It would be nice to see a game finally play it's coarse without updates, as Halo 2 did. I never considered that minor 1.1 update to change anything really besides campaign things.

To correct you quickly Director.....Bungie made no huge amount of money off of Halo 1 or Halo 2, Microsoft did. Whether Halo 2 failed or not, Bungie had an (x amount) of games contract with Microsoft featuring the unique Halo Universe. Halo 2 didn't so much revolutionise FPS's as it is touted. As far as FPS goes, all it did was showcase how an FPS could be migrated from the PC to console with ease. The real revolution came in that is boosted the Xbox. But as a fun fact, there a great number of gamers out there, who have yet to play anything outside of Halo1. I lose count how many people I talk to over H1 today, that have never picked up Halo 2 at all. So you really need to streamline the revolutionizing part of Halo 2's impact, and limit it strictly to the console genre. All that aside, Halo 2 doesn't deserve a remake. Halo 1 was the title that started it all, and that is why it was chosen for the remake in the first place. It was all to commemerate where Halo began, where the Xbox began, and the updated look shows you where it is heading. Hell, we are even lucky if we can get anyone (Bungie, or 343i) to even utter the words Halo 2 in public. I recall the last panel they had where Frank said something like... "Ok, yeah like the modding on Halo CE and uh...." he stopped short and didn't even want to mention Halo 2. That alone tells you how much Frank himself hated how it turned out. But hey wahtever, it's only my opinion, and if the community calls for a remake and 343i listens, good for you all. But for me, there is nothing that a remake can provide that would make me personally want it, nor could any remake do the game or matchmaking expereince any true justice. Halo 2 had it's time, now we must move on.

If I am a part of that said group.....there is no mercy or help for that poor moderator..lol But seriously, yeah this is something I think that is right up my alley.

Upton....I can see your point but your post also lead to one factor that negates everything. You stated that Reach was the only title that didnt motivate players? Competitions only motivative factor should be to be better than the opponen. Competition again,.stems.from the need to.prove you are better. A rank or a number only shows that overall over the coarse of time, that you are better. Single matches prove a much a more view of who is better. Which leads again to the aa and noob thing. Just because you did something wrong against an aa user and lost, does not make.them.a noob or show the game.is.broken. It simply shows what actions you took in error that lead to your downfall. Again, admitting fault is something not.commonly shown by competative types. The usual.go.to.defense is, "your a noob", "soooo much lag", "camper!"...and so on. And dont go.telling people that they have to like a previous titles mm to get the whole."competative" thing. I was playing competative games before you were born. I understand cometely the mindset and passion that goes along with it. My view is.simply tbat of a more life.experienced individual who can look back and see things differently. You dont have to agree, its just my opinion.

I can try to explain why some of these features won't make it, but I can also shed light on how they theoretically could be done. Weather: Due to the way the compiling process works with scenario files and bsp_structures, when you place weather for a map in the sandox, the sandbox changes tag values insode the bsp tag to relate the weather and any particle contact effects. Aka... drips hitting surfaces, or weather hitting the ground. Also, there are planes placed insode the 3d app the level is created in. These planes are known as portals. Unfortunatly since it is a gemoetry item with a specific shader applied, these planes cannot be altered or added to maps that don't have them. Weather could however be added via the "trigger volume" trick they are using to pull off "player trait zones". In a nutshell, they could theoretically link the weather tag to the event script. But the catch is, you would have to make that trait zone cover the whole map, or certain sections...which would lead to massive zones, and quite possibly mess with the selection of items that are in the zone. Terrain: Map editors like farcry's utilized a completely different and very powerful engine. Blam, has never supported or implimented geometry and collision/physics updates to level mesh. Generally, anything level mesh specific has to be compiled and packaged. Changing the terrain of a level, or creating new instances of terrain, would require a full sandbox process, and a way for the 360 to compile that gemoetry and link it to the corret referrence tags. Also it would require the execution of additional individual processess...something that is locked out of the 360. the Xbox 360 only allows for one single process to be run by the processor. Now yes Forge is kind of like an additional process, but Forge is also a scripted UI that requires no dedicated processing thread from the CPU, since everything is pre compiled into the xex, and it's dependency files. That being said, it is quite possible for them to release a stand alone DLC game that is basically just a sandbox editor/compiler. This of coarse would give the community a way to edit, decompress and decrypt secure map files, something that M$ and 343i would not likely want you to do. But it does present a possability to do these things, albeit very slowly, and you would have to do the leg work of creation mostly without a visual UI to tie it all in together. In other words, you would have to do the editing work, but without any real world in-game interactions. Which means you wouldn't really know how the edits effect gameplay until you finish and the map is pumped out. Think of it like Forging, but without being able to test how the ramps, or the grav lifts work after you placd them right away. Now, none of this is solid information. The only information i can assure you is the limitations I pointed out. I cannot say for sure that the newer version of Megaloscript would be able to be used to such a degree, to afford us weather or fuurther editing, nor can I say that DLC could in theory be used to edit stuff. This is all just a guess based on previous modding and how it could potentially be done.

Prepare to be amazed!!!!! Don't have any pictures of me, so i took these real quick with the webcam. Sorry in advance for the burned cornias...

I can quote everything people say too...yah! Seriously all your bs replies dont change the fact that you uave no proof it "is" being made. As for.true Halo 2 fans...really? What contributions have you ever made to the Halo 2 community? Im.sorry,.do you run Halo 2 servers? Do you create and distribute mods and content for it for people to play over xlink,.Kai etc...? No....didnt think.so. Take your supposed "fan" bs comments elsewhere. A real fan would not only continue to play today, but creat new unique experiences for players. And just so you know....yes youcrossed a very thin line basically calling me a "non halo 2 fan".

In a nut shell the trait zones are simply just "trigger volumes" that have various pre defined scripts attached to them. You basically lay down the voume, and when a player crosses into them, it activates the scrip. Think of trait zones as " campaign checkpoints", that produce an effect rather than save progress or load additional level.data.

Noob combo os just a silly term used by people who cant avoid certain weapon sets Rocket =noob tube pp\br = noob combo sniper + camo = noob Fuel.rod + br = noob My point is that everyone seems to have a set of primary and secondary that is.conscidered noob. Quit.complaining about things like this that you cant change....instead put that fustration into effectivelt devising ways to.combat it. And no.the noob combo never presented an issue what so ever at mid to long ranges. There is an old.saying.... fool me once shame on you. fool me twice.... Dont keep.going after the people who use a "noob combo" head on.

Like I.stated before, making the game competative has nothing to do with rank.systems or noobs or whatever. Aside.from gaining, being competative boils down to you wanting to win. Back in my days of Doom 1 and Heretic, there were no.ranks, no.score system no nothing. Yet online play was competative as hell. If you want to blame something for.competative things these days, look no further than MLG and companies like them. You think they really care at all if have a good time or have good opponents to play? No...they are just another greedy bunch of arses looking to.exploit and capitalize on something you like. Competition stems from individuals looking to prove something. Those said people dont need others to provide that for them. If Halo 4 is to be competative, then that will alone be decided by the participants. PS...I didnt edit my post. I dont know who did.

Ryu, neither of us is getting heated nor causing the other harm. We are simply 2 members calmly talking and debating an issue. It is perfectly fine, and as stated by Jac, this is a peacefull debate. Jac, your thinking is spot on, but reach did have an algorithm to determine the pairings. The matchmaking system looks at your overall commendations, ones that pertain to the particular match you are heading into. Lets say it is slayer. Next the system compares your commendations like "headshots", "grenade kills", and so on. It then searches the available pool of on-line players who have the closest number of commendations that you have. Yes sometimes it might be a General facing an Inheritor, but the commendations each have for a particular match in relevance, might be the same. Now of coarse yes, there will always be a time when noone who matches your skills is available and you get stuck with lesser opponents, but that is just an annoying thing we can't get rid of. Reach had a great algorithm behind it, but sadly it did not have enough statistical data being thrown in to help it be a great factor in MM. I strongly believe if they used 2x the statistic data in matches and used the Reach algorithm with a rank class like H2, that it could in theory prove to be the best rank system yet. Of coarse we would have the social and ranked separation though...you know, to keep things in check and both sides happy.

While Hunters are great threats, I.always found them easy to.fight against. Their limited engagement style made them.easy to.trap in performing over and over again the same attack....which at that point you just widdled them down. If they were to give the Hunters a more varied combat response field....then Yes.... Halo 4 should have those.hunkering garbage cans rwturn.

I wasnt aware I was getting all heated up....I was just providing information so many others could get an idea of how things work, and what kind of improvements or limitations exists with in the Blam! engine. But if it makes everyone happier...Ill just not post anything and let everyone go on daydreaming.

Even something like name hacking is bannable for most players. Like I.said, dont use hacks at all and you will be fine. If you like, I can track down the server operator for you.

As an avid Halo 2 player, the pp noob combo fails. Even today in H2 the.chances of hitting the opponent with a charged pp.and pulling off the headshot take skill. Its not easy to.do at medium to long distances and even harder to do upclose in heated battle. Staying on pinpoint target waiting for the charge to.drain the shields is.difficult to.do.while.trying to.avoid.retaliation fire...especially when it is against a br. If Halo 4 plays anything like the previous titles, then the issue should be minimal.

As a father and experienced kid....I offer this. At no point in your life should you try to do things quickly or.for the sake of a game. Video games may seem important now, but later on life you may regret shortchanging or sacraficing things simply to play a game. I would not worry about leveling up. If you have a good amount of skill as Biggles does, then rwgardless of rank you will be able to beat many opponents. Having that high rank or unlocked armor mods doesnt mean said.person will use them.effectively or earned them. I would worry about a solid education and just leave Halo for the weekends or for when you truly have downtime.

My comment about playing mirror images is.exactly on point. As I.had stated no.rank or skill.system will pair you even.75% of the time pair you with an opponent or opponents of equal skill to a small.margine of error. The mirror image is a statement based on my own findings and not.fact, I never implied it was.