The New Playlist Organisation

[RedStarRocket91]

One of the big things about Halo 4's playlist organisation that sets it apart from previous titles is the division of the traditional Objective playlist into a new set of smaller ones, each themed around a single game type. If you want to play Capture the Flag or Oddball, you no longer have to join a playlist which simply offers non-Slayer gametypes at random and hope that the rest of your lobby share your desires: if you wish to play them now, you can choose a playlist and get your favourite gametype guaranteed, with nothing left to worry about but which map to play.

 

This is a big departure from previous Halo games, where the only options for getting non-Slayer play outside the previously-mentioned Objective playlist were to either play Infection, which had its own dedicated space in Reach, or to join in with one that offered both Slayer and Objective games, such as Doubles, Multi-Team, Big Team and Lone Wolves.

 

This system of organisation also arguably has made the individual playlist populations healthier: while in the past many players would avoid the Objective playlist altogether, because they didn't want to risk being stuck playing a gametype they disliked, being guaranteed the match they want has arguably increased their chances of jumping into the playlist, instead of simply going into Slayer.

 

But despite the big advantage of always getting the game you want, this new system brings with it some pretty large disadvantages. The new Extraction game mode and SWAT weren't possible to play on release, except via Custom Games, and these gametypes also now exist exclusively within their own playlists: Big Team games are now purely Slayer-based, and free-for-all matchmaking now revolves solely around the new Regicide gametype.

 

This is particularly disappointing for those players who feel that Regicide is somewhat lacking, or prefer their large-scale games to feature the occasional Flag or Hill, as while in the past Halo games dominated the FPS-multiplayer market, with so many other popular shooters now around it can be difficult to get enough friends together at the same time to play custom games if the playlists don't match their desires.

 

So, what's your opinion on the current playlist organisation? Do you think splitting up the organisation with more emphasis on individual objective gametypes will help their population in the long-term? Would you like to see more options in Big Team and free-for-all games? Would you even like to see the return of the mixed-bag Objective playlist? Or do you think that bringing in new playlists would do more harm than good, decreasing their populations and preventing people from getting into a balanced game with a good connection?

[Apache4]

They need big team objective. They need classic slayer, they need classic ffa (with territories, and ball games mixed in), they need more 5v5 and 6v6 playlists. Throw all that in there and the complaining will be significantly reduced.

 

Still loving this game. I'd really like to see all that added in though. Good post.

[DoctorB77]

In my opinion the more options we have the better. I would like to see several playlists instead of one.

[JetEyeNight]

Many people just quit out if they don't get the gametype they want. Individual playlists are better than a hog podge.