Well, I thought I’d engage in a little dreaming. Just a little. What are the features that I’d really like to see in Halo 3? Since we all have played and read so much in the Halo universe, we are certainly qualified to express some opinions…
My goal here is not to evaluate the specific elements of the game (e.g. BR versus Halo 1 pistol, etc.), but to evaluate how we’ll play the game.
Scope refinements
Add a different sensitivity adjustment for when you are looking through a scope. I’m not sure if the look sensitivity when looking through a scope in Halo 2 is any less sensitive then when not looking through a scope, but if it is, it’s not toned down enough. Let us pick how sensitive the scoped view is separately from the standard look speed.
Perfect Dark Zero had a great scope refinement - let’s keep it! The left trigger was used as the scope button, but since it’s an analog control, you could adjust the zoom level back and forth from zero to full by varying how far you pulled the trigger. Could something like that be done for Halo 3? Sure, the dual-wield scheme is probably going to be carried over, but the only weapons with zoom are the ones that take two hands, anyway. Switch the zoom control to the left trigger, and make grenade be a button (or stick click). Being able to escape from a low-level zoom by letting go of the left trigger is much handier than having to reach over and hit the zoom button until you’re back to the normal view.
Difficulty Adjustment
From single player to multiplayer, the strength of weapons varied greatly. This doesn’t make much logical sense: why would a Grunt in Legendary be able to take the MC down in 5 or six shots with the plasma pistol, when it takes 24 to do the same in multiplayer?
Here are some more logical ways to adjust the difficulty of a game:
- Adjust the number of enemies
- Adjust shooting accuracy - less experienced troops just don’t shoot as well
- Adjust awareness - troops aren’t as situationally aware.
Again, here are some less-believable ways to change difficulty:
- Adjust weapon damage - why should that gun hurt you more than me, if we’re the same?
- Adjust shot rate - it seems to me that less effective, more scared, less situationally-aware enemies would blaze away in a fire fight, rather than try to conserve ammo (or aim) as better trained ones would.
System-Link Play
I’d like to be able to adjust all of the options of a game type at a LAN party, and not just the “Quick Options”. The quick options are just never enough. At every single Halo 1/2 LAN party I’ve ever been to, we’ve had to do the whole “OK, everybody quit so I can set up the game type you want… OK, still waiting for BeavisMunch to quit… HELLO - GET OUT OF THE GAME!! He’s in the bathroom? Spasmo - reach over there and hit B on his controller…. no it’s the red one… on the right. Sigh.” It happens everytime, Bungie! Everytime!
Auto-aim
For Halo 3, let’s leave this off, or at least leave it as an option. Whenever it kicks in, I panic - something must be wrong, I’m getting shot, or something! I attempt to correct the new rotation vector, over estimate, and then get shot. There’s no way to know when it’s going to kick in, so you don’t play as if it’s on. When it finally does engage, you’re not expecting it. I don’t even think it helps new players, since they have the same problem. I know I did.
Physics
Physics is the single biggest innovation I expect in Halo 3. World interaction, not nescessarily with a gravity gun, really ups the immersion. I expect big changes here.
That’s just a few ideas. What bits of UI, game play, or control do YOU want to see?
Lastly, what if Bungie’s next project, that they’ve been so tight-lipped about, is really closer to a MMOG than a single-player adventure with attached multiplayer? M3mnoch, the author of that article, just become one of my favorite people.
My own take: I don’t think we’re talking here about an RPS - an RPG FPS. While there’s text input, I think of that more in a lobby sense. I really doubt you’ll be able to play as a Grunt, and make your skill be “chair crafter,” or “lounge dancer.” I’m thinking more like - there’a s huge war, you pick a fighter and go in. Ranks and stats are tracked, there’s bonuses for doing better. You can move around the galaxy in transports, and there’s talking in stations before entering the field. Something like that. More of a “pick a specific 128 player battleground” than an “RPG with limitless people and specially designed PvP servers.” See the difference? Anyway, put your speculation hats on, and sound off on what you you want in the next Halo 3/Halo online. Are they two separate products, or the same?