RedStarRocket91

That's an interesting idea, there are lots of things you could do with that, depending on what's activated when the button is held down - a small reduction in speed if Sprint is overused, the radar jammer begins to affect your own motion tracker, or your shield actually starts to drain at a geometric rate in order to support invisibility once the ability itself needs to recharge. Perhaps using a jetpack while out of power could count as it being overheated? For every second you try and fly above 'safe' heat levels, there's a one in three chance that something will go horribly wrong and the whole thing will explode, sending your flaming Spartan back to the ground wishing he'd paid attention to Timothy Dalton in flight school. The link really is worth a watch for everyone who has a bad memory about someone using the Jetpack. Which is, I think, almost everyone. Hah. I don't mind if people want to talk about which system they prefer, I just think that a thread which isn't about that question should have replies about that question. Besides, the community isn't going to agree and it's been discussed lots of times before! OT: I actually wondered about some sort of regeneration-based powerup, but I can't think of a way of balancing it properly: it'd either heal too quickly to let players die at all, or wouldn't be powerful enough. Unless it's some sort of system whereby the first mode emits a one-time burst that restores a small amount of Shield to all nearby players, and the second slowly regenerates Health at a slow but constant rate? That's relaint on using the Reach/Halo: CE/ODST health system though, instead of the one found in Halo 2 and Halo 3.

I cannot stop laughing at this...!

The fact that it could be anything is exactly why we aren't talking about the Reaper. It could be a follow-up to the Focus Rifle, a new Brute Shot, a super-powerful Spartan Laser or even just a bigger Plasma Pistol to make people feel embarrassed when they pick it up, all expectant, and then discover how ineffective it is. Maybe it fires GRD helmets. There simply isn't any point talking about it when we have so little to base speculation on. We can guess it's a power weapon from it's size and name, and that it will probably be used against us as it doesn't look like something the UNSC would create: other than that, there really is no way of telling.

Smashing your face into a blender is pointless. It's not any more effective than just inserting your head and switching it on, and only increases risk of damage to the blades, which actually weakens it. Skill-based ranking system agreed with.

Why do these things always descend into arguments about Armor Lock, even when that's not the point of the topic...? Is it really that all-pervading...? Hate to be pushy, but can we try and stay away from arguments over whether Armor Abilities in Reach are good/bad and whether or not they'll be in Halo 4? There really are more than enough other topics arguing about that, and nobody knows for sure whether they'll appear or not. But hypothetically, if Armor Abilities were to appear would you prefer them as they are now or something along the lines of what I've suggested here?

One of the most popular requests for Halo 4 is that it includes a wider variety of Forgeable sandboxes, i.e. places to design and build custom maps in Forge. Judging by the popularity of Forge World in Reach, it's almost certain that Halo 4 will have at least one or two huge levels built specially for players to create their own maps in. However, a level the size of Forge World obviously requires a lot more code and manpower to create than something the size of Zealot or Lockout. The more maps there are dedicated to Forging, the less likely it becomes that time can be spent on creating other multiplayer maps, which are designed specifically for gameplay rather than to provide Forging space. Obviously, there is only so much that can be shipped with the gameplay disc due to memory constraints. The question is therefore whether players would be willing to tolerate fewer specially built maps like High Ground, Zanzibar and Anchor 9 in order to provide more dedicated Forging canvasses such as Forge World or Sandbox. In short, would you prefer the game to ship with a large number maps, of which only one or two are huge levels made specially for Forging, or for it to be shipped with a smaller number of maps, all of which are huge Forge spaces with multiplayer being formed of levels in the style of Synapse, Asylum, and Hemmorhage, i.e. built with Forge items. There wouldn't necessarily be a difference in quality (some Forge maps, like The Cage, are awful, other like Kingdom are great: some maps built from geometry instead of Forge items, like Reflection are awful: others like Anchor 9 are great), just in the way which they are constructed.

I'm not a fan of upgradeable weapons and abilities. I would like to see new weapons though, and a better balance between precision and automatic weaponry. I would like some really, really big maps in multiplayer in the style of Sandtrap and Avalanche, as well as one or two very small-scale maps like Synapse and Rapids which are suitable for small-scale games, and don't just feel empty. Also, I want Synapse to be remade as a non-forge variant. I am actually in love with it. I also really want Forge to continue to be expanded: for all people sometimes complain that Forge World doesn't offer much variety, it really was a step in the right direction. I'd like to see even bigger forging sandboxes set across a variety of environments like deserts, islands, swamps, urban expanses and even space or low-orbit. I'd like adjustable weather conditions and day times, and possibly adjustable textures for items and structures so players can have concrete walls but purple metal floors and ceilings in a desert environment, for sheer variety's sake. I desperately want a return to truly competitive gameplay, with separate ranked and social playlists and a matchmaking system which works more on a player's skill than rank, and more importantly is obviously working that way. Accurate, powerful weaponry sets balanced properly so everything has its own effective range, and which are reliant on skill and tactics rather than luck, would also help make this more fun. I'd like to see this brilliant idea from Twinreaper being used, so people can still play custom games even if they don't have enough friends online to host their own: it sucks that there are so many great custom gametypes and maps out there that probably rarely get used because there just aren't enough players. And lastly, I want to be able to dual-wield the Rocket Launcher with the Shotgun. I know it isn't going to happen, but I think it would make the single greatest game mode in history.

Surely it can't be hard to design a system that discriminate between players lagging out/disconnecting and those who're just pushing quit? Besides, they can't create something which prevents players from just dashboarding or cutting the power, so people will still quit that way.

A three-second period after using an Armor Ability would be a bit harsh: it takes less than three seconds to kill an enemy with the DMR, after all, and bear in mind that with other AAs players can use weapons immediately afterwards - or indeed, during use if they have a Hologram or a Jetpack. It always actually bugged me that Sprinters can't use weapons but Jetpackers can. They're both about giving you more movement options and getting around quicker, but one has a weapon restriction even after use and the other doesn't have one at all. The idea of a 'Death Stalker' mightn't work so well. For a start it relies on playing badly, rather than augmenting skill and ability, and of course the motion tracker range is limited: I'd also imagine that most players in motion tracker range would be moving anyway, and thus would show up. It would also have to be based on single deaths otherwise it might not be activated in an entire game, and you'd find yourself deliberately getting killed after two or three deaths just so you could use it. We'd also need to worry about how it was implmented: does it track them until they die or until you kill them or just forever? What if they quit? What if you're killed by someone else, does it change targets or track them both? That said, it might be a good idea to have some sort of 'reconaissance' ability, which extends the range of the motion tracker or enhances it to show enemies who aren't moving. Could come in very useful on larger maps, or for teams with mics.

Thank you : ) I had the idea after getting shot in the head one too many times in SWAT: it just struck me as odd that Spartans trained from childhood to be a perfect soldier, who can control armour that breaks bones if misused, operate any weapon and drive any vehicle, human or alien, can either know how to sprint or know how to roll, but not both at the same time!

Part of the problem with the Armor Abilities in Reach is that they aren't balanced against one another. While abilities like Sprint or Hologram only have a single effect - increasing lateral movement speed and providing a distraction, respectively - Active Camouflage jams radar as well as providing near-invisibility, while Armor Lock harms vehicles, provides protection from weapons, and can even lower an enemy's shields. The problem isn't that these abilities do different things, or even that some are more useful to certain play styles than others: it is simply that some have more ways in which they can be effectively used. Obviously, it hasn't been confirmed that Armor Abilities will even be in Halo 4 yet. However, I'd like to suggest the following system, whereby instead of each loadout offering one Ability, they are instead based on play styles, combining two elements from existing Abilities: these are activated separately, using a system similar to that of Assassinations and Beatdowns, whereby a single press activates one, while holding down the button activates the other. At present, I suggest the following four loadouts: Offensive As the name implies, this loadout is tailored to players who are more aggressive, preferring to attack enemies head-on. Radar jamming helps confuse enemies, while the ability to throw enemies away from the player ensures they will be able to conduct melee combat on their own terms. A single press of the button generates Armor Lock's EMP knock-back effect: however, while the blast knocks players as far back as the current maximum level, it only deals a moderate amount of damage to shields: this also fully consumes the energy bar. Holding down the button generates Active Camouflage's radar jamming ability, slowly draining energy for as long as the ability is active. Defensive The counterpart to the 'Offensive' loadout, these Abilities favour players who prefer a more cautious strategy. Protection from damage and vehicles is available at the expense of movement and a temporary penalty to speed and jump height, while attention can be avoided with the use of active camouflage. A single press of the button actives Armor Lock's invincibility and allows the user to shed stuck plasma grenades and destroy vehicles, consuming the entire energy bar over the course of a couple of seconds: however, the movement penalties from its EMP effect are applied to the user for a few moments after exiting. Holding down the button generates Active Camouflage's cloaking ability: while movement speed affects the quality of the invisibility, it drains energy much more quickly than the current version. Mobility This loadout favours players who prefer manoeuvrability and agility over direct combat bonuses, as well as those who like to rush for power weapons and key points early in the game. Players can get around the level much faster, and have more options for movement while in combat. A single press of the button uses Evade's roll to dive quickly in whichever direction the movement stick is pressed, which also disables the lock of any homing weapons (i.e. the Needler) currently tracking the player: this consumes half of the energy bar. Holding down the button causes the player's running speed to greatly increase, although just as with Sprint they will be unable to use their weapons for the duration. Aerial This loadout provides for those whose strategies involve heavy vertical movement, rather than the horizontal provided by 'Mobility'. Players will be able to fly across otherwise impossible gaps and move between levels with ease, as well as being able to 'boost' across the level. A single press of the button causes the player to make a very fast, low-trajectory jump in whichever direction they are facing, in the same manner as ODSTs use their jetpacks in Exodus. This consumes the entire energy bar, but the effect continues until a player touches the ground: it may not be activated in the air. Self-splattering both possible and very, very funny. Holding down the button causes the jetpack to function identically to its counterpart in Reach, although while in the air even short presses continue this mode of function. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Each of these loadouts has their drawbacks: the former two can leave players slow and vulnerable to attacks beyond their effective weapon ranges, while the latter two won't stand up so well in a direct firefight. They do, however, complement certain play styles more effectively than existing Armor Abilities, and of course 'Mobility' could still be used as a successor to Sprint in Pro and MLG gametypes (only now with even more tactical options). Anyway, I'd appreciate any feedback on the idea as a whole: if people think certain loadouts seem overpowered and unbalanced and why, any other potential loadouts (I want to think of a way to use the regeneration ability of Drop Shield, for one!), and whether or not people would prefer this kind of system (i.e. playstyle-based loadouts, even if not this exact one) over the existing system of Armor Abilities. However, please don't turn this into a debate over whether Halo 4 should/will have Armor Abilities or not. That's already been done to death and the fanbase simply isn't going to agree.

Team Snipers on Hemmorhage. There really is nothing like it.

I'm not sure it would balance in multiplayer: if it was destroyed you could potentially wipe out an entire 8-person team, which is just too catastrophic to be fair. To prevent that happening it'd have to have either huge armour or lots of health, which would make it overpowered, especially if it had its own gun: if it only had the turret at the back, that wouldn't give it enough offensive power. That said, I don't see why that should prevent it from being in Campaign or as a forge item. Custom maps and gametypes aren't always built around the idea of balanced gameplay, after all, and I'm sure there could be lots done with it. But as something that could be used in matchmaking? No, it just wouldn't work.

I wouldn't worry about it so much if I were you. CoD does do lots of things well: the multiplayer is very fast-paced and frantic, it supports large number of players at the same time, and some of the game modes make for tactical, cautious approaches to play which reward thinking as much as raw reflexes. Halo can do big-team carnage better than CoD: it can be fast-paced and exciting: and it can be about how well you understand the game instead of just who has the fastest connection and can thus avoid being shot through walls.

Quitters irritate the heck out of me, especially in Doubles or Objective gametypes. But I'd much prefer to see harsher penalties for AFKers: they're just giving away kills. Today I played a game of Team Slayer with two AFKers on my team (I know only one of the players has no kills, but the other played for about three minutes and then just stopped), and while I don't like to brag, my +12 k/d spread should have been more than enough to win the game if they'd just not been there, giving away 29 deaths. Anyway, OT: I like the idea of quit bans from game one, and their getting progressively harsher if players continued to quit. Perhaps the system could be that instead of just resetting the bans at the end of the day, for every game you complete half a minute gets taken away from total ban length (so if you quit two in a row it's a ten minute ban, but if you quit one, finish two, and then quit another it's only eight minutes).

That's inspired! Replacing playlists altogether with options to choose favourite maps and games would be much better than just changing playlist weightings, which frustrate people either way. I really hope this is brought in for Halo 4!

Merry Christmas to everyone out there - I hope you all have a great day!

Out of curiosity, why doesn't this seem to be a problem with vehicles? I mean, you can tear chunks off vehicles like the wings of Ghosts, and damage sustained looks like more than just superficial markings, especially when it reveals innards - I'm also fairly certain that when pieces are removed from the sides of vehicles their hitboxes also shrink (it's saved my life a few times, or at least the collision detection was having a bad day). Is it just that there are too few vehicles on maps for it to make a difference, or are all the sections of vehicles different models to begin with?

Everyone has their favourite maps: everyone has their favourite gametypes. Most people enjoy a round of Slayer on Countdown, or Slayer DMRs on Boardwalk. When finding a match in the 'Team Slayer' playlist, for example, it's common to be offered Sword Base, Asylum or Uncaged. Likewise, players are regularly given the choice of SWAT on Countdown, One Bomb Assault on Hemorrhage, and Oddball on Treasury. For some players however, this isn't much fun. What happens when you really want to play Elite Slayer on Synapse? What if you want to play Snipers Pro on Boneyard? And for some players it's even worse. What if you really don't like Uncaged? What if just the thought of Slayer DMRs makes you want to turn off your Xbox, or you love the 'Invasion' playlist for the Invasion Slayer and the Invasion Skirmish? What, in short, if the game types and maps you love never even seem to be offered, and you're stuck playing those that you aren't particularly interested in or even outright hate because they, too often, are all that is offered? Now, it's a well-known fact that every now and then, the playlists are updated to make certain game types and maps more or less common: this is why, one year from release, we don't see nearly as many games of Slayer Pro as we used to, and why maps like Powerhouse and Zealot don't appear for selection nearly as much as those like Sword Base and Reflection. So, my question to you is this: If you were in charge of map/gametype weighting in each playlist (i.e. how likely they are to appear in a round of voting) what would you change? Do you feel 'Team Slayer' needs more Elites and Pro matches? Do you feel there aren't enough maps in 'Invasion'? Are you just sick of playing on the same maps over and over and want to change things around or sheer variety? Are there any maps or gametypes which you think should be much less common?

That's already in use for Reach - as an example, the Elite Ultras and Majors you encounter on Winter Contingency, right before you take control of the first flatbed truck, can turn into Generals if you're playing Co-Op. It happens for most of the game's set pieces. Everyone seemed happy about that, so it'll probably carry over into the next game. I would like to see enemies come in larger groups instead of just ranking up dependant on number of players. I suppose whether or not that happens is based more on engine limitations: it's easier for the game to create and control five Elite Generals than it is for twelve Elite Majors, even with reduced individual intelligence and model complexity (assuming of course that the models are indeed less complex).

Are you sure about that? Halopedian disagrees, though it really wouldn't be the first time they've been wrong as far as engines go. Also, I actually think the DMR is more powerful than the BR, at least proportionally. Halo 3's gameplay involved faster kill times, so even though the BR could kill quicker it was less likely to overpower the Assault Rifle or Plasma Rifle when they were being used effectively. Yes, the DMR may be slower to the kill, but so are all the other weapons, so it seems to be more effective in general.

The only problem I have with this is that it might be a drain on memory and cause framerate issues if the detail is too high, especially if one team is walking over the other team and they're moving as a group. I do like it, though. It's certainly original and there's no harm in it.

Don't suppose that's an open offer?

Agreed, a full TU is probably a bit much for a game with such a small population. Still, I'd quite like to see a few updates to playlists, map and game variant weightings etc. Surely that couldn't be too much to ask?

I love it every time someone claims that Spartan-IIIs make sense with bloom because they're not as good as Spartan-IIs. It's therefore logical to state that they are less effective than ODSTs, too. Anyway. You know what would work much better than Bloom in terms of forcing players to use short bursts and pacing shots? Recoil. If you haven't done so already, go and pick up an SMG in Halo 3 and start firing. You'll notice that after about a second of continuous fire, your aim starts to climb upwards. As long as you burst fire your aim stays perfect, and all you need is a single moment of not holding down the trigger in order to reset the timer on aim climb. Even then, a good player is capable of using their view stick to manually keep on target, although the chances are that they'll still be slightly less accurate. Stay in Halo 3, go and pick up the Sniper Rifle. Aim it at a far-off point on a wall, and make sure you know exactly where it is (the concrete walls of The Pit, with their coloured lines, work well for this). Notice how after you fire, your crosshair is now aimed slightly higher than before. Why not just use this system for all non-automatic weapons in Halo 4? Now you have to think about how fast you fire because you'll need to correct your aim after each shot, but whether or not you hit depends on your skill as a marksman, not on the randomness that comes into whereabouts the game thinks your shot should land in an oversized reticule, which leads to an element of luck in all encounters. It's more predictable than the randomness of Bloom, and it's possible to learn how much you need to correct your aim by after each shot/how long you can burst-fire for until your crosshair starts to climb. The 'Pro' players can take advantage of this, the 'n00b' players either get better or spend a lot of time waiting to respawn, and the outcome isn't down to luck. Better player wins, loser dies, Halo is a fair competition determined only by skill once more. Also, fix the 'Nades. They should explode a half second after they touch a surface like in Halo 3 and Halo 2, not the system in Reach, when they stop moving like the Holy Hand Grenade in Worms. At the minute, it feels far too random where they end up detonating.