Halo 3 - now coming to Xbox One. MC Collection.

[geldra]

That blue border is really annoying, the transparency will be changeable though.

I think it will all depend on what helmet the spartan you're using is wearing. If you check that hud shot against shots of the the domed helmet i think the visors match. I really liked the effect in the beta, nice and subtle, as was the hud following the curvature of the inside of the helmet. Sad i know but i love those little touches.

[Snowman]

Article on Halo 3 game testing

That was a very interesting read. I do often forget that there are poeple out there who don't know the Halo series inside out, so it's quite refreshing to see Halo 3 from an outsider's perspective as it were. The mind boggles at the lengths Bungie have gone to make this game as user friendly as possible, although I don't know how they'd solve the problem of players getting confused about the melee attack button. I assume they already have tutorial pop-ups in place for situations like that.

[dan_tm]

You sure? I can't find it on any pictures in my very quick search.

Err, it's on that image you just posted

[redman]

Article on Halo 3 game testing

interesting stuff. thanks.

[Digimortal]

Err, it's on that image you just posted

I did look for it but obviously not close enough, I really don't mind it if it's so subtle that I don't even see it!

[b00dles]

That's an amazing detailed testing process, now it just makes me wonder if the game will really be as great as it might be with all that testing. I hope so.

[scottcr]

Bungie is determined not to repeat the mistakes of Halo 2. This time it wants to make the single-player game perfect

this is the face of a happy man ->

[A Hen]

That's an amazing detailed testing process, now it just makes me wonder if the game will really be as great as it might be with all that testing. I hope so.

Either that, it will be focus-tested into blandness, like many blockbuster movies. That article's really got my hopes up, though - it seems like they know (most of) what was wrong with Halo 2, and are taking big steps to fix it, which is all we can ask for, really.

The only major thing they haven't had confirmed is the ability to filter on region during matchmaking (so we don't suffer hideous latency playing against Californians). But if the single player is nearly as good as the first game's, I won't be venturing online that much anyway,

[scottcr]

now - given that Bungie themselves openly admit it, will people who like Halo 2's single player please now stand up and admit their wrongness.

anyway... I've said it many times before, but I reckon this Christmas has the best line up of games we've ever seen across the 360 and Wii.

[redman]

I played through the Halo 2 campaign recently and really enjoyed it, brutes and sniper jackals aside.... (i almost prefer it to the first!)

[The Cactuar Cat]

now - given that Bungie themselves openly admit it, will people who like Halo 2's single player please now stand up and admit their wrongness.

anyway... I've said it many times before, but I reckon this Christmas has the best line up of games we've ever seen across the 360 and Wii.

It doesn't make it any less good!

[Space Renegade Ulala]

That article manages to be both encouraging and disconcerting. As commendable as their desire is to make the game as enjoyable and frustration-free as possible, reading that they're considering putting markers because some people are too slow on the uptake to consider taking a different route instead of foolishly walking into a cliff wall for 30 minutes thinking it can be scaled is a little worrying, there's no need to dumb things down too much. Also:

"A similar report showed that in the game's first level, called Jungle, players often ran out of rounds for their rifles. This was a mystery, because the designers had been careful to leave more than enough ammunition lying around. The team checked Pagulayan's video records and found that people were firing at the aliens when they were too far away, misjudging the range of the weapon and wasting bullets.

At first the designers couldn't figure out how to fix this problem. But then Griesemer stumbled on an elegant hack: He made the targeting reticule turn red when enemies were in range, subtly communicating to players when their shots were likely to hit home. It worked."

Um, hasn't it always worked like that or am I just imagining it?

[redman]

i think that marker idea was a flipant remark from the tester. There's no way Bungie will flash an arrow in front of your face to guide you somewhere. Well, I'd be very surprised....

yeah, I though that too about the reticule.

[Pob]

Great article. It's amazing the resources Bungie have at their disposal. It'll be very interesting to see if this extensive testing results in a game which does away with all the usability issues that pop-up in those 'stupid gaming design decisions' threads.

I wonder if, having had the time and resources, the two hellish hangars is Halo 2's first level wouldn't have been so tough on Legendary?

Oh, and this:

It turns out the designers hadn't put enough vehicles in the scene, and the artificial-intelligence marines were taking them all before players realized they were supposed to hop aboard. The solution: More Warthogs.

YES. Can't wait to play that bit!

[dan_tm]

now - given that Bungie themselves openly admit it, will people who like Halo 2's single player please now stand up and admit their wrongness.

Yeah, something Bungie has said this week has affected how much fun I had playing their game nearly 3 years ago. How wrong I was to be having that much fun, I'm ashamed

That article manages to be both encouraging and disconcerting. As commendable as their desire is to make the game as enjoyable and frustration-free as possible, reading that they're considering putting markers because some people are too slow on the uptake to consider taking a different route instead of foolishly walking into a cliff wall for 30 minutes thinking it can be scaled is a little worrying, there's no need to dumb things down too much.

There were markers in Halo 1 (and probably Halo 2) if you hung around in the same place long enough.

[Snowman]

As commendable as their desire is to make the game as enjoyable and frustration-free as possible, reading that they're considering putting markers because some people are too slow on the uptake to consider taking a different route instead of foolishly walking into a cliff wall for 30 minutes thinking it can be scaled is a little worrying, there's no need to dumb things down too much.

There's no way Bungie will flash an arrow in front of your face to guide you somewhere. Well, I'd be very surprised....

Well, there were arrows that popped up on your HUD in both the previous games showing you where to go next if you spent too much time mucking about. Perhaps that's what he was referring to?

Edit: Never mind.

Um, hasn't it always worked like that or am I just imagining it?

It's definately always worked like that. I guess Griesemer was talking about Halo 2 at the time.

[Stanley]

now - given that Bungie themselves openly admit it, will people who like Halo 2's single player please now stand up and admit their wrongness.

Even though Halo 2 was a letdown it's still better than most other games of it's type. The combat model and AI was, and still is, a cut above the rest.

[Garibaldi]

Interesting article indeed, finally an explanation for why we never saw that level from the E3 demonstration.

[Kryptonian]

It was in the beta. It was always there on the screen but I think it appeared darker at certain times - probably after taking lots of damage like that screenshot shows. I think it was more visible straight after spawning for a second or so too, then it just blends in.

Yes.

[simms]

Even though Halo 2 was a letdown it's still better than most other games of it's type. The combat model and AI was, and still is, a cut above the rest.

Scottcr's trolling in this thread regarding Halo2 is well known. Put it this way, I bet Halo2's combat and AI will be better than any Wii FPS due out in the near future.

Not sure if theyve been posted already but there are some lovely screenshots on CVG

[Snowman]

It was in the beta. It was always there on the screen but I think it appeared darker at certain times - probably after taking lots of damage like that screenshot shows. I think it was more visible straight after spawning for a second or so too, then it just blends in.

I was just looking at the E3 '07 trailer and there's a pretty cool effect I'd not noticed before where the HUD is briefly covered by a hexagonal mesh whenever the player looks directly at a bright flash or an explosion. Nothing too distracting. Just another subtle addition.

Not sure if theyve been posted already but there are some lovely screenshots on CVG

Those really are lovely. And this one in particular might answer geldra's question about the HUD changing depending on your chosen armour permutation, although maybe it's just one type of HUD for spartans and one for elites.

[Ryan]

now - given that Bungie themselves openly admit it, will people who like Halo 2's single player please now stand up and admit their wrongness.

Ironically, the single player Halo 2 experience was far more fun, far better balanced and far more rewarding than that of Half Life 2. Which, besides the original Halo, is the only game to come close.

This is coming from a complete CS whore.

[scottcr]

Scottcr's trolling in this thread regarding Halo2 is well known. Put it this way, I bet Halo2's combat and AI will be better than any Wii FPS due out in the near future.

Not sure if theyve been posted already but there are some lovely screenshots on CVG

doesn't mean Halo 2 is a better game.

That wired article was really good - I really am expecting Halo 3 to be amazing. It sounds like they've really taken their time with the single player.

this image, in particular, is amazing

[LongHairStu]

this image, in particular, is amazing

Yes, except I want Hunters on my side. I was deluding myself that they were my friends, targeting an enemy behind me, when the damn motion tracker went and ruined it. Damn motion tracker!

[The Chief]

Not trying to read about this too much as spoil it for myself as many of you have done!

But blimey those pics are incredible!

I believe there is no confirmed price for the Halo 3 Xbox 360 yet, anyone have any idea on what it's likely to be?

[Snowman]

I believe there is no confirmed price for the Halo 3 Xbox 360 yet, anyone have any idea on what it's likely to be?

My guess is they'll add £20 or so onto the premium's new RRP for the for the play and charge kit included in the pack, so £270-ish? Or perhaps that's wishful thinking and MS will bump it up to £300 to squeeze us for every penny we've got.

In other news, Bungie are putting on an event for some fans in an IMAX cinema tonight, in which they'll see "a sneak peek at co-op Campaign, Saved Films, and one or two surprises". Lucky swines

[Angles Morts]

And he can produce charts that detail how players died, which might indicate that a particular alien or gun is proving unexpectedly lethal or wankishly impotent.

[Snowman]

In other news, Bungie are putting on an event for some fans in an IMAX cinema tonight, in which they'll see "a sneak peek at co-op Campaign, Saved Films, and one or two surprises". Lucky swines

Hang on just a second! Wouldn't an IMAX cinema be an ideal place to maybe, I dunno, show the second of the three Neil Blomkamp live action shorts? During the third Bungie podcast, Joe Staten was certainly wondering how Bungie might distribute the last two parts given the poor reception the first one recieved at E3. Could this be the solution? Am I very excited?

[pretentious_helvetica]

this image, in particular, is amazing

Agreed - it shows the sense of scale nicely and the lighting looks great too. Notice some dead blokes to the left too - makes me wonder if Earth's going to be full of them...

[Lothar Hex]

YES. Can't wait to play that bit!

You can never have too many Warthogs.