How do you preserve core essence while continuing to evolve?

[Planet Etrius]

Disclaimer-TL/DR: Read underlined and bolded parts.

 

 

I originally made another thread regarding how changes can break Halo and how we should be careful about that, but I didn't get much real feedback or attention besides a lot of views. I'm remaking it now because I believe the points I discussed in it were legit and thoughtful. I made my last thread discussing the commonly agreed upon core aspects of Halo:

 

Weapons (Include Grenades)

Equipment (May usually branch into the other core elements)

Gameplay Aesthetics / Bonuses

 

And later on I suggested some other branch aspects. These 3 however I think are usually seen as the absolute core of Halo. And you can see how equipment in Halo 3 did branch off in the aesthetics department in the sense that some of them were weapons, but aesthetically different. They were also a bonus gameplay element. Dual wielding in Halo 2 also flowed into aesthetics and weapons department as well without contradicting them. And the man cannon added a new dimension to map control and transportation. These can and were considered big changes, but admittedly the changes in Reach were not just big. They were drastic additions that did not really flow from the natural core of Halo and ended up upsetting many fans. Though I wish the community were more tolerant I can see the value in all perspectives. We need to be careful about how we change Halo.

 

Now I say these 3 are the ultimate core because many people believe weapons, grenades, and map control are the core of Halo. I just put grenades in with weapons and replaced it with a new layer, "Gameplay Aesthetics",. Gameplay aesthetics / bonuses often play into either weapons or map control and so do equipment. For example equipment in Halo 3 played a bit into the weapons category with the trip mine, and energy drain. They could also be used for map control like the gravity lift. They were also bonuses in their own category like the regenerator and bubble shield. Dual wielding in Halo 2 also played into the weapons category. Now I'm going to add an outer core and I will now call the three that I just talked about the "gameplay layer".

 

The outer core is composed of items on map, consistent enviroment, and "equal" initial player palette. Now let's look at Reach. At first I had absolutely no problem with the title gameplay wise, and I still really don't except I will admit armor-lock does get pretty annoying sometimes. That's about it though. I wish the campaign were more impressive like in H2 and CE, and I still don't completely understand if my connection or the game is responsible for my lag in games at times (upstream bandwith?). I'm only going to focus on gameplay though. So why was the community in such a uproar with Reach? Let's look at my "Ultimate Core's" gameplay layer. Where do armor abilities fit in? They're not intended to be directly used as weapons, most of the time. One of them fits into map control, but let's just call a rule here. Anything that is useable by the player as some kind of equipment or acts in loadout form is considered a gameplay aesthetic or bonus. Now how does this play into the other two gameplay layers? Sprint, evade, active-camo,.... let's throw in armor lock, and hologram are bonuses. That makes jetpack the only one that really plays into any of the other two categories, map control,. Now back to weapons and the armor abilities. Sprint and evade are designed to do 2 things which are to increase speed, and increase capability to close distances with ease and quickness. Any other factors come from the players use of it. Many people may not have a problem with this, but according to my attempt to articulate the hardcore fanbase we have a huge prblem and it's in "equal" initial player palette, and items on map. If a product in one branch of Halo contradicts another then is it a failure?. It seemed so with Reach to much of the community. Now let's look at jet pack, armor-lock, and active camo:

 

Jet Pack

This is seen to play into map control in a negative way, and it includes issues of sprint and evade.

 

Armor Lock

"Kills"-Weapons, and includes issues of sprint and evade

 

Active Camo

"Kills"-same issues as evade and sprint

 

Hologram

I'm gonna say it's a harmless bonus

 

Now Loadouts?

"Kills"-equal initial player palette, items on map, and part of the point of map control

-Halo players do not tolerate asymmetric balancing gameplay-wise very well.

 

Armor abilities just are not the same as equipment. They are entirely new bonuses and only contradict the other branches without making up for it in popularity or favorable traits that many people can cling to with faith. And the same with loadouts also. Maybe loadouts can be tweaked more easily though to please more of the fans. I think what I'm getting at is that it's not impossible for Halo to evolve, but we should be careful about how we do it. And change should almost always build off of these 6 core aspects and not directly contradict each other. My personal view and disappointment in Reach to an extent was that what happened with Reach wasn't enough. And at the same time maybe the changes in Reach were misguided.

[highplainsdrifter]

That was way too coherent for me. I totally agree with you, and I like the way you categorized it although what I'm going to say might sound like I think you missed the point I don't. Halo is exactly the type of game that changes and really deserves to because it's sort of chasing perfection and it's essence is so tied to the original. I think throughout the series there was a misguided slide into an unbalancing when equipment became separate from the map control and offset the equality of initial player palette but I feel like it was maybe due to pickups being overlooked at large.

Equipment should really be used to balance the areas of the map in a way that makes them objectives and also makes them weaknesses once their obtained. In Reach it's more like nothing is really earned and once something is taken effectively it can be hard to tip the scales.

 

Blood Gulch for example is not symmetrical at all save for the fundamental starting fortifications, utilities, and immediate defensive landscape. The balance comes from that and the position of the advantageous equipment making you vulnerable to the advantageous ground which is hard to hold if any of these are taken. Finally respawning to an overrun base is not something you can usually afford either.

 

I'm all for new weapons, equipment (that isn't a killstreak or a cheap kill machine), vehicles, pretty much anything. But first I would like to earn them and of course have a hard time keeping them. I'm not completely sure but if bloom is what I can gather it is, I think it's always been similar and perhaps throwing in a relatively simple calculation of vector and perspective with an additional small inaccuracy factor could cut down on the 'randomness' of inaccurate fire while moving. I would like to think I'm a little like you, valuing all opinions, when it comes down to it I personally want it old school with the map and item locations being what tips the scales (having perks inside the start spawn is fine and for some reason I love fighting in prisoner/solitary? against a million holographic radar blips but the balance just isn't there for every level).

 

By the way have you read halo and philosophy intellect evolved?

[Planet Etrius]

Yeah, I was actually one of the people spamming on the forums about change and adding a whole bunch of stuff when Reach was still being made. I still don't believe in "keeping Halo 'stagnant'".

[highplainsdrifter]

Do you agree with equipment coming with loadouts, I don't really have a problem with different weapons loadouts or having the option to take different grenades but equipment for some reason seems to upset me if you already have it.

[Planet Etrius]

I don't have a problem with equipment loadouts or loadouts in general really. The only thing that kind of annoys me now is bloom because it seems like the shots always go to the very edge of it most of the time.

[Mr Biggles]

I don't have a problem with equipment loadouts or loadouts in general really. The only thing that kind of annoys me now is bloom because it seems like the shots always go to the very edge of it most of the time.

 

 

Do you still feel that way with 85% bloom? because for me, it feels fine, it definitely feels that luck element has been taken out of it.

[Adrenaline]

Guess what game was the biggest release in entertainment history? MW3..... You wanna know why? Because its another Modern Warfare. Another game in an ongoing series. A game that stayed to the original. The game that all their fans loved.

 

You add better graphics, a lot of new maps, a NEW ******* RANKING SYSTEM, a couple new weapons, and a new story mode. Thats all you gotta do.

[Planet Etrius]

Do you still feel that way with 85% bloom? because for me, it feels fine, it definitely feels that luck element has been taken out of it.

 

I haven't played those playlists yet, but honestly now I'm ok if they just take bloom off of precision weapons. That makes sense.

[highplainsdrifter]

That's the reason i hate MW#, they're always exactly the same. I don't want Halo CE but i would like some semblance to the original in the ways that affect the gameplay, sorry if i sound bitchy

[Mr Biggles]

Guess what game was the biggest release in entertainment history? MW3..... You wanna know why? Because its another Modern Warfare. Another game in an ongoing series. A game that stayed to the original. The game that all their fans loved.

 

You add better graphics, a lot of new maps, a NEW ******* RANKING SYSTEM, a couple new weapons, and a new story mode. Thats all you gotta do.

 

 

 

Plus have a a big fanbase as them...of millions and millions.......Cod > Halo fanbase wise.