Author Topic: Halo: Reach (Read 82677 times)

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #120 on:** January 11, 2010, 01:57:29 PM »

Quote from: swaggaz on January 11, 2010, 01:53:20 PM

Still, Halo 1 blew me away when I first played it. My first experience of playing Halo 1 was on a gamestop demo unit and I played it for three hours until the store closed. I spend maybe 30 minutes talking with a friend about how good that grass and flashlight effect looked.

I think everybody has that nostalgia feeling of the first Halo and landing on the planet and such because it was the showcase game graphically for the original Xbox.

The series never really graphically held that torch (which I'm fine with) as better looking original Xbox games came along and certainly Halo 3 and ODST weren't graphical showpieces. In the long run what matters is the gameplay. The original Halo (outside of shitty level design) is still a pretty fun game to pick up and play even now because the gameplay is right.

cool breeze · « **Reply #121 on:** January 11, 2010, 02:08:49 PM »

You're kinda acting like it's one or the other. It's kinda like how when people talk about Crysis they only consider the graphics while I thought it was a really fun game that happened to look pretty (I know some people don't like the game, so w/e). Or Far Cry 2, which is another great looking game that was also amazing. Or Uncharted 2, Bad Company, RE5, GoW, Batman AA, AC2, Splinter Cell CT, etc etc. I'd say it's more rare to see a great game that doesn't also have great graphics because it's almost expected that some developers have gotten to the point where they put as much polish into the tech as they do into the actual game. Not to say there aren't cases where graphics overshadow gameplay like Killzone 2, which I enjoyed and no one else seemed to, or games that don't look good but are really fun. It's just weird with Halo since it is the biggest Xbox exclusive series. Not that it actually matters since they are popular despite looking so underwhelming, but with considering how much support they much get, you'd think they would put out a prettier game. Maybe Reach is that.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #122 on:** January 11, 2010, 02:17:01 PM »

Its not that they are mutually exclusive. It's that one is for me about 10X more important than the other. And that on a console with closed architecture I'll take FPS over graphics where in that case it is much more mutually exclusive as a general statement.

Of course somebody else may have a completely different calculation on what is important to them graphically.

duckman2000 · « **Reply #123 on:** January 11, 2010, 02:20:34 PM »

I understand if fans in the end don't care about the graphics, I really do. Kneedeep in covenant corpses, the aliasing or the shit ugly weapon models didn't bother me all that much, but then that's true for any fast paced game with a battle focus.

What I don't understand is why critics are suddenly so forgiving of flaws when Halo is on the block. These are dudes who are typically oh so happy to rip on even the slightest of transgressions and even outright mock developers that fail the seemingly arbitrary tests of the critics, but not here. And if this is questioned, it suddenly sends the fans who supposedly don't care about graphics into frothy fits of rage.

And that's not really just about the graphics, but it's the easiest one to home in on for now. Is it because of the catered and cozy review sessions?

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #124 on:** January 11, 2010, 02:24:01 PM »

I think reviewers in general are garbage so I won't defend that. As a game when Halo 3 came out personally I was blown away by it as a package. I would probably have given it an incredibly high score myself.

It had co-op.
It had the forge.
It had improved multiplayer.
It had saving clips.

etc.

There was a lot to the package. Now as it turned out I ended up playing some other series more, but I understand why Halo 3 was impressive at the time and received the scores it got. Not for graphics of course but for the whole package which is the way a game should be scored. For the whole package.

duckman2000 · « **Reply #125 on:** January 11, 2010, 02:25:23 PM »

I'd say the most important thing for me is that they increase the player cap in multiplayer. That would probably make fans angry and what not (if nothing else, it would disprove their "it wouldn't work" mantra), but I want Halo on a much larger scale. And there is a serious lack of games with "high" player count on the 360.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #126 on:** January 11, 2010, 02:30:50 PM »

I'm not necessarily a fan of "epic" MP battles or big player counts. Once a game reaches a certain threshold number it becomes more about chaos to me than the actual gameplay style I enjoy.

Without trying to put them into a box, the one thing I want like I mentioned earlier is true class based play and have the game balanced on that principle. I'm tired of doing map runs in Halo MP to grab the "good" weapons. It felt like Halo 3 was increasingly a game made for snipers and battle rifles only. I want to be able to start with the weapon class I chose and adopt the playstyle I want based on the situation or the map.

Imo that's pretty different than what Halo is currently and would upset the fanboys but I'd like the see some changes on that order to shake up the MP. Of course there are a lot of Halo fans who play the MP in that series a lot more than me who Bungie owes their success to so I'm sure that is the base they are trying to please rather than me necessarily which is fine.

brawndolicious · « **Reply #127 on:** January 11, 2010, 07:25:53 PM »

Quote from: mojovonio on January 11, 2010, 12:48:48 PM

Ugh, it still looks like 3. Great job on the "new" engine guys.

Keep in mind that a true 720P shot would take up the whole page so you can't really tell anything from these. BTW, Halo 3 had the best/most accurate lighting and HDR of any game yet and that was because it used two framebuffers for the lighting which was very, very costly. Apparently Reach was able to get the same effect without doing that so obviously it's going to look a lot better.

Quote from: duckman2000 on January 11, 2010, 01:34:45 PM

Quote from: swaggaz on January 11, 2010, 01:27:56 PM
it's just hard to trust Bungie, or really any dev, to show pictures of what the game actually looks like.
Especially Bungie, yeah. The screenshot thing was genius, too; millions of fans sharing touched up images from the game, that's clever.

I'm pretty sure that just added AA.

MCD · « **Reply #128 on:** January 20, 2010, 04:25:26 AM »

http://kotaku.com/5452517/these-are-leaked-halo-reach-screen-shots/gallery/

looks...ok.

brawndolicious · « **Reply #129 on:** January 20, 2010, 04:39:36 AM »

The characters look a lot better but the environments are kind of barren, also no shadows. Hopefully it's just early.

MCD · « **Reply #130 on:** January 20, 2010, 04:41:22 AM »

characters + guns are better but the rest is the same halo with a shade of grey.

TripleA · « **Reply #131 on:** January 20, 2010, 04:45:15 AM »

A lot of bump mapping(?) on the armor, other than that it looks like ODST. Have they announced the native resolution of the game yet?

demi · « **Reply #132 on:** January 20, 2010, 04:45:58 AM »

Quote from: TripleA on January 20, 2010, 04:45:15 AM

A lot of bump mapping(?) on the armor, other than that it looks like ODST. Have they announced the native resolution of the game yet?

540p

MCD · « **Reply #133 on:** January 20, 2010, 04:57:45 AM »

40 enemies on screen isn't cheap.

Third · « **Reply #134 on:** January 20, 2010, 09:25:07 AM »

Is that form the unannounced N64 version?

Bebpo · « **Reply #135 on:** January 20, 2010, 10:58:16 AM »

Not happy that they're going with a Gears of War gritty texture-ish style. I liked the soft cartoon artstyle the other games had. I wonder if that means the tone of the game will be more serious and "adult". Hope not.

archie4208 · « **Reply #136 on:** January 20, 2010, 10:59:51 AM »

Look at those ground textures.

cool breeze · « **Reply #137 on:** January 20, 2010, 11:10:09 AM »

That looks less appealing than Halo 3. From the screen shots I thought the desaturated look and "gritty" style was because of poor scans/shots, but these direct feed ones...ew. Halo 3 was at least colorful and unique compared to the trend of gritty shooters.

This looks like Borderlands before Borderlands had the style change.

duckman2000 · « **Reply #138 on:** January 20, 2010, 12:39:06 PM »

Great art, 9/10

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #139 on:** January 20, 2010, 12:50:45 PM »

Meh.

Those shots aren't great but none of those are through an actual gameplay cam and they are fairly low resolution at that. I'll wait for real media and real gameplay impressios.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #140 on:** January 20, 2010, 01:07:00 PM »

Quote from: mojovonio on January 20, 2010, 01:04:29 PM

Quote from: Stoney Mason on January 20, 2010, 12:50:45 PM
Meh.

Those shots aren't great but none of those are through an actual gameplay cam and they are fairly low resolution at that. I'll wait for real media and real gameplay impressios.

Higher resolution shots add geometry

No however it's not like the game is coming out tomorrow or something (although I'm not delusional that the final product will look radically different.)

I just prefer to hold my personal take until I see real deal screens and video. People are of course free to judge using whatever criteria they personally choose.

duckman2000 · « **Reply #141 on:** January 20, 2010, 01:08:54 PM »

Uh oh, it's the Halobot pre-alpha argument!

TripleA · « **Reply #142 on:** January 20, 2010, 01:14:18 PM »

Quote from: demi on January 20, 2010, 04:45:58 AM

Quote from: TripleA on January 20, 2010, 04:45:15 AM
A lot of bump mapping(?) on the armor, other than that it looks like ODST. Have they announced the native resolution of the game yet?

540p

If this is true then I wonder if they are indeed using a completely new engine.

demi · « **Reply #143 on:** January 20, 2010, 01:17:06 PM »

Should be fun co-op

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #144 on:** January 20, 2010, 01:18:43 PM »

Certainly the last thing I could be considered is a Halo defender. If anything I would be labeled an IW fanboy.

Like I said those screens aren't great. I agree.

I'll make another call or opinion when I see the real deal stuff and video.

And then I'll make another call when I actually get to experience the gameplay. (Although I didn't buy ODST so I won't be able to do the beta)

MCD · « **Reply #145 on:** January 20, 2010, 01:22:13 PM »

Quote from: demi on January 20, 2010, 01:17:06 PM

Should be fun co-op

the only reason halo is still relevant.

TripleA · « **Reply #146 on:** January 20, 2010, 01:30:21 PM »

Quote from: Kosma on January 20, 2010, 01:12:06 PM

Exactly mojo.

Once Halo was a showpiece. I dont know what happened after that.

It's the same argument with God of War; On the Ps2, it was the king of graphics. Now on the Ps3, it's facing much stiffer competition in the graphics department due to games such as Killzone 2 and Uncharted having come out.

On the 360 you have Gears of war, a game which pretty much defined the look of 'next-gen' after it came out. Well that's probably due to almost every major multi-platform game using the Unreal engine, but you get the point.

And I don't think it's fair and accurate to say only Ps3 owners care about graphics, because as soon as a Multiplat-form game has an extra Leaf in the 360 version then that's all you hear about the game

duckman2000 · « **Reply #147 on:** January 20, 2010, 02:14:48 PM »

Got my GI today. That new creature type is a new high, or low, for the Halo bestiary. Looks like some blend of a jackal and Marty Feldman.

I'm having a hard time resisting that Halo Reach thread. I bet I could post "looks nice, but I don't know about the design of the skirmishers" and spawn pages of hellfire and brimstone trollspotting.

brawndolicious · « **Reply #148 on:** January 20, 2010, 02:35:56 PM »

The only real problem I saw in the shots were a couple spots with iffy texture filtering. Everything looks better than H3 but the engine wasn't designed to just have higher detail environments. Th new engine is designed to show MORE light sources, more enemies, and a larger draw distance. It's meant to have the large scale battles that H3 didn't really deliver on. It would have been a lot better if released screens of the scenes with dozens of enemies and vehicles but those parts are probably not far enough along.

It's kind of jarring when you see the new high detail Spartan models against the barren environment tho, but at least it shows they have their priorities right.

cool breeze · « **Reply #149 on:** January 20, 2010, 02:42:40 PM »

Quote from: Kosma on January 20, 2010, 01:12:06 PM

Exactly mojo.

Once Halo was a showpiece. I dont know what happened after that.

Last time Halo was a showpiece was in 2001. Halo 2 was outclassed by other games, and this is without considering all the visual glitches like pop-in. Looking back at the Xbox, none of the Halo games were exactly the shining examples of why it was more powerful than the PS2, Gamecube, or Wii. Even now, it's games like Ninja Gaiden, Chaos Theory, Riddick, Conker, PDO, etc. that looked amazing on the Xbox. I almost want to say that Halo 1 looked as good as Halo 2, but really it was just more aesthetically consistent.

Raban · « **Reply #150 on:** January 20, 2010, 03:16:22 PM »

I can't believe they're doing a rat pack thing with the cast of this game by pulling out ever action-movie stereotype in existence.

ManaByte · « **Reply #151 on:** January 20, 2010, 03:19:17 PM »

100% guarantee that the campaign will be more fun that whatever CoD Rail Shooter comes out this year.

MCD · « **Reply #152 on:** January 24, 2010, 11:08:32 PM »

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=19443915&postcount=8212

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #153 on:** January 24, 2010, 11:16:34 PM »

At least these are at a much better resolution than those ebgames pics which were pretty much useless. Looks better.

Although as always, all that matters to me is how it runs in actual motion.

brawndolicious · « **Reply #154 on:** January 24, 2010, 11:25:45 PM »

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

It looks amazing.

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #155 on:** January 25, 2010, 12:30:41 AM »

never thought i'd say this about a Halo game but: meh

duckman2000 · « **Reply #156 on:** January 25, 2010, 01:32:17 AM »

Looks like early Unreal Tournament 3 screens, on vivid post-fx setting. Nice mountain, though, I hope we get to fight on it.

Third · « **Reply #157 on:** January 25, 2010, 11:58:04 AM »

Quote from: MCD on January 24, 2010, 11:08:32 PM

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=19443915&postcount=8212

Not saying much, but it looks better than Halo 3.
Some effects looks pretty good. I still expected much better, though.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #158 on:** January 25, 2010, 12:16:43 PM »

I think they look good and this comes from someone who has never overly been a fan of the artistic design of that universe.

That being said I never judge console game graphics on screenshots nor even really care to spend much time looking at them. Too much cheating goes on in that area.

CHOW CHOW · « **Reply #159 on:** January 25, 2010, 12:27:44 PM »

i think it looks amazing

- way better character models
- better lighting and shadows
- supposedly 20-40 characters/vehicles on screen at once
- all the while retaining the large scale

you can't compare a game like this to uncharted 2 or killzone 2, which are on rails and have just a handful of enemies on screen at once.

TripleA · « **Reply #160 on:** January 25, 2010, 01:06:13 PM »

Quote from: CHOW CHOW on January 25, 2010, 12:27:44 PM

i think it looks amazing

- way better character models
- better lighting and shadows
- supposedly 20-40 characters/vehicles on screen at once
- all the while retaining the large scale

you can't compare a game like this to uncharted 2 or killzone 2, which are on rails and have just a handful of enemies on screen at once.

tehjaybo · « **Reply #161 on:** January 25, 2010, 04:29:16 PM »

While I like graphically advanced games, this is not why I play Halo. And it kills me when that's all people care about.

The story has always been my main draw to video games. Always. And the Halo storyline is so rich, that I can't not play a game, or read a novel. I'm reading through Halo: Evolutions now, and it's amazing so far.

cool breeze · « **Reply #162 on:** January 25, 2010, 04:33:55 PM »

It's mostly joking and exaggeration to mock the Halo fans of gaf. Like Killzone 2 fans, for a while if you questioned the graphics of Halo 3, they would post that one picture of Master Chief in a cave to show off lighting or something; this was a photo mode picture, of course.

As long as game runs smooth enough and it isn't distracting (aliasing, tearing, etc.) I don't really care anymore.

Herr Mafflard · « **Reply #163 on:** February 12, 2010, 09:39:07 AM »

first Reach vidoc is out

http://www.bungie.net/projects/reach/vidaudio.aspx?c=58#

mmmm sandbox fps, will complete on Legendary

maxy · « **Reply #164 on:** February 12, 2010, 09:50:00 AM »

Looks great...go Bungie go

720 version is killing my laptop,have to download smaller version

Beezy · « **Reply #165 on:** February 12, 2010, 10:10:20 AM »

I've never been a big Halo fan, but that honestly looks like it will be fun as hell. First Halo game that I'll ever buy.

Third · « **Reply #166 on:** February 12, 2010, 10:28:31 AM »

The part with the warthog looked amazing.

I just don't like the character desing. It's still awful.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #167 on:** February 12, 2010, 10:31:46 AM »

Looks good with the early stuff.

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #168 on:** February 12, 2010, 10:31:50 AM »

Day one. Looks awesome! I played the hell out of Halo 3.

Third · « **Reply #169 on:** February 12, 2010, 10:38:52 AM »

Halo 2 and 3/ODST are terrible IMO. I was never hyped for the Halo games that came Halo 2.

But Halo Reach looks pretty interesting.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #170 on:** February 12, 2010, 10:42:57 AM »

No need to conflate 3 and ODST.

ODST was a money making scheme. Lame on all fronts.

Halo 3 was a legit effort and while I never especially became enamored of either the MP or the campaign, it was a credible effort.

My Halo time was mostly spent in 2 which I played a huge amount with the MP.

Mupepe · « **Reply #171 on:** February 12, 2010, 11:12:27 AM »

Okay, i saw the pictures and thought "looks exactly like halo 3"

But seeing it in motion. It looks pretty fucking amazing. I was ready to say meh until I saw it in motion. It's the way I hoped Halo 3 would look.

Mupepe · « **Reply #172 on:** February 12, 2010, 11:12:58 AM »

Oh yeah, and the human models don't look like ass anymore.

AdmiralViscen · « **Reply #173 on:** February 12, 2010, 11:17:04 AM »

Yea, that ViDoc looks way better than the earlier pictures.

Mupepe · « **Reply #174 on:** February 12, 2010, 11:27:20 AM »

oh man, excitement +100000000000000

cool breeze · « **Reply #175 on:** February 12, 2010, 11:46:55 AM »

What they're saying about the game has me interested. It's like they're focusing on what I like about halo games. It looks fine, as in, the draw isn't the visuals but I don't have any issues with how it looks, even at this early state. Still don't really care for how drab it is or how the crosshair is more towards the bottom of the screen. Not really a big issue.

omg you can sprint! finally!

WrikaWrek · « **Reply #176 on:** February 12, 2010, 11:48:15 AM »

One of the images looks like its from Stalker, which makes it look better than any Halo game ever.

Third · « **Reply #177 on:** February 12, 2010, 11:50:47 AM »

I'm just going to pretend Halo 2, Halo 3 AND(no conflating this time) ODST never excisted.

I really loved Halo CE. But the rest was underwhelming. The prequel and CE will probably be the best Halo games. The Halo universe after CE just sucks, basically.

cool breeze · « **Reply #178 on:** February 12, 2010, 11:53:33 AM »

Quote from: Third on February 12, 2010, 11:50:47 AM

I'm just going to pretend Halo 2, Halo 3 AND(no conflating this time) ODST never excisted.

I really loved Halo CE. But the rest was underwhelming. The prequel and CE will probably be the best Halo games. The Halo universe after CE just sucks, basically.

I mostly agree with this.

It's like the Matrix sequels. All the additional information about the universe just ruins what was there. I haven't read any extended fiction for Predator, but if there is some stupid story about how he was hunting Arnold to win his love's affection, I'd think that was shit too.

WrikaWrek · « **Reply #179 on:** February 12, 2010, 12:02:01 PM »

Huh, Halo 2 and Halo 3 were awesome games. ODST was garbage.

I'm a pretty big Halo graphics hater this generation, but after seeing the Vidoc, i'm converted, the game looks amazing.

Quote from: swaggaz on February 12, 2010, 11:53:33 AM

Quote from: Third on February 12, 2010, 11:50:47 AM
I'm just going to pretend Halo 2, Halo 3 AND(no conflating this time) ODST never excisted.

I really loved Halo CE. But the rest was underwhelming. The prequel and CE will probably be the best Halo games. The Halo universe after CE just sucks, basically.

I mostly agree with this.

It's like the Matrix sequels. All the additional information about the universe just ruins what was there. I haven't read any extended fiction for Predator, but if there is some stupid story about how he was hunting Arnold to win his love's affection, I'd think that was shit too.

Sorry but that's just dumb. And if you wanna create your own fan fiction in your head, you can still do it. The universe of Halo has been well developed, and it's not like they have developed a whole fuck ton, as Halo 3 specially is very light on story.

I'm calling haterz on this one, sorry. Not even the biggest halo fan around.

News:

Author Topic: Halo: Reach (Read 82677 times)