Hi there, here’s a video I put together detailing the changes made by 343 Industries to Halo 4’s Multiplayer Sandbox as of June 3rd. Don’t worry, your game isn’t glitched, the 4 burst Battle Rifle is real 😉
– Chief Landless
Geronimo!
Category Archives: Halo
Halo 4 Weapon Tuning Info – June 3rd Update
Here are my thoughts on the proposed Halo 4 Weapon Tuning to various weapons in the Halo 4 sandbox. There isn’t a finalized list out there yet, but I list off the repeatedly mentioned weapons and their changes as all signs point to them making the cut on June 3rd.
I hope you enjoy and feel free to discuss your thoughts on the matter!
– Chief Landless
Geronimo!
The Halo Bulletin: May 15th, 2013
This weeks Halo Bulletin covers multiple topics such as weapon balancing, matchmaking updates and more
Weapon Tuning Live Stream Event
- Friday, May 17th. 2pm PDT http://www.twitch.tv/343industries/old
- Watch 343 Employees and Halo community members show off weapon tuning before the launch day of June 3rd, 2013
Current State of Weapon Tuning
What 343 has been looking at recently. No final list yet.
We’ve mentioned that we’ve been looking at the overall state of game types with vehicular combat and attempting to find a balance with vehicle weapons that makes them the perfect mix of deadly, viable, and, of course, balanced. As of right now, both the Warthog and Mantis chain guns have received a 35% damage increase. In current testing, this increase provides a deadly method for objective play and Slayer domination for players who utilize vehicle play.
Matchmaking Update
Premiering this coming week is the Community Forge Island playlist, which brings with it 6 new community-made maps on Forge Island, and will be available until the June 3rd Matchmaking Playlist Update. If you haven’t yet downloaded the free Forge Island canvas, head here to download to your Xbox 360. The Community Cartographers have worked hard to select some of their favorite map and game type combinations:
Map: Elevated by Smexi Bilzo
Infinity Slayer
Capture the Flag – 5 Flag
Extraction 1-Site
Map: Crucifix by Wraith2098
Capture the Flag – 5 Flag
King of the Hill
Infinity Slayer
Map: Onyx by Hahkarazy
Throwdown v3 Slayer
Throwdown Capture the Flag – 5 Flag
SWAT
Map: Confined by Big Papa Salot
TD Slayer Pro
Team Snipers
Capture the Flag – 5 Flag
Map: Ender by The Fated Fire
King of the Hill
Infinity Slayer
SWAT
Map: Forgotten by Flying Shoe ILR
Extraction 1-Site
Capture the Flag – 5 Flag
King of the Hill
In addition, Big Team Infinity Slayer and Infinity Slayer have some updates as well.
Big Team Infinity Slayer:
- Slayer Pro added to voting options.
- Complex added to map rotation.
- Voting options reorganized to provide increased variety.
Infinity Slayer:
- Slayer Pro added to voting options.
- Complex removed from map rotation.
- Voting options reorganized to provide increased variety.
– Chief Landless
Geronimo!
Halo 4 Title Update 1.04.01
The latest Halo 4 Title Update (1.04.01) has been released which was rather unexpected on May 10th, 2013.
Changes:
- For those of you wondering, here is how the “X”s are different.
- ”X”s are a deep shade of red (instead of white)
- ”X”s are 1.5 times as big
- ”X”s are displayed for approximately 4 seconds at death location (instead of being tied to the Spartan’s body), even if the player respawns prior to 4 seconds (instead of disappearing instantly or within 2 seconds)
Sources: 1
– Chief Landless
Geronimo!
The Halo Bulletin: May 8th, 2013
This weeks Halo Bulletin covers multiple topics such as weapon balancing, matchmaking updates and more
Current State of Weapon Tuning
After reviewing community feedback from past weeks, we felt it was necessary to clarify that the red reticle range (RRR) of the DMR has been reduced, and the RRR of the LightRifle has been increased to match this new range exactly (Note: this is different from reducing the DMR to the LightRifle’s original range). What we’ve found in current testing is that the LightRifle is now a favorite weapon for long-range engagements, and in terms of kill time, a zoomed LightRifle currently outclasses the DMR. This has created a dynamic that allows the DMR to excel in a very specific range and role – at equal skill levels, LightRifle users will punish the DMR at range, and Battle Rifle and Carbine users will have an advantage at close range.
We’re also now looking at reducing the projectile spread (inaccuracy caused when shooting rapidly) to the Carbine to make the weapon even more consistent. The projectile spread is not visible to players, so reducing this weapon will create a more consistent and understandable experience.
Also, our latest tests have included a slight damage bump to the Magnum – while it is still the same amount of shots to kill (6), the slight increase will make it more valuable as a secondary weapon, particularly in team play when “team shooting” (firing at the same opponents with your teammates). In Quinn’s words, “The Magnum feels good. It just feels really good.” Quinn gets kind of weird when he talks about weapons. [bs angel note: And even when he’s not.]
Matchmaking Update
This coming Monday, an encore of Spartan Ops Episode 6 will be available in Matchmaking. One of the things we’ll be doing in our next Matchmaking Update, which will take place on May 20th, will be showcasing some of our favorite Forge Island creations in a limited time only Community Forge Island playlist. If you’d like to submit your creations (or those of a friend) for consideration, be sure to post in the Community Cartographer’s Thread in the proper format.
– Chief Landless
Geronimo!
Weapon Tuning Reveal Date! The Halo Bulletin: May 1st, 2013
As you probably know by now, we have been actively tuning some of the weapons in the Halo 4 sandbox. We are still regularly playtesting, and excited to say that we’re nearing the end of tweaking and tuning each weapon. At this point, we are happy to share several key items that we’re looking forward to in the schedule:
- In the month of May, we’ll be inviting a small group of community members into the studio to get a sneak peak at the new weapon tuning. We are finalizing this list and will announce once we have done so.
- We’ll also be bringing you a live stream that will allow everyone to check out some of the weapon tuning in action before the settings deploy globally. This live stream will feature insight and commentary from designers, as well as gameplay from community members and 343 staff. This live stream will give you a close look at how the newly tuned weapons behave alongside one another. Once the live stream is officially on the calendar, we’ll announce the date and time. The location, however, will absolutely be http://www.twitch.tv/343industries.
- Before we go live, we’ll be detailing the final changes for each weapon on Halo Waypoint. This content will give you a detailed breakdown of what to expect when the tuning goes live.
- Our final changes, once solidified, will go live across all Halo 4 playlists on Monday, June 3rd.
Now, onto the next Matchmaking update. This coming Monday, we’ll be adding quite a few maps into several existing playlists. These maps were showcased in our Community Forge Test and FFA Forge Test playlists, and have since been updated to provide new experiences across multiple game modes. Here’s what will be added and updated come Monday.
Halo 4 Spartan Ops Double XP Promotion
Season 1 of Spartan Ops is re-running strong, and we want to reward you for rewarding yourself, by playing Spartan Ops the weekend of May 3-5. When you play and complete 10 Chapters of Spartan Ops, we will give you 10 Double XP Matches!
Once you receive your 10 matches on May 24th, you will be able to see your Double Experience Points stats appear during the post-game summary in the very next 10 Halo 4 Infinity Multiplayer games you play, whether it be Spartan Ops Chapters or War Games Matches, or any combination of the two.
For more information, requirements, and restrictions click here
– Chief Landless
Geronimo!
Weapon Tuning & Join In Progress Settings! The Halo Bulletin: April 24th 2013
This weeks Halo Bulletin addresses the current state of the Halo 4 weapon sandbox tuning and information in regards to the updated join in progress parameters.
Weapon Tuning Status Update:
Battle Rifle
We announced last week that we’re investigating the feasibility of a 4-shot Battle Rifle and saw a lot of interest regarding how many bullets it takes to kill an enemy. There are indeed complications that exist around a BR that takes exactly 4 shots (or 12 bullets) to kill, and most relate specifically to latency and online play. While a 12-bullet kill feels good and rewards accurate players in a LAN setting, the vast majority of the game is played online, and the 11 -bullet kill provides a consistent online experience while still rewarding skill. Right now, we are testing a 4-shot BR that kills on the 11th bullet, which allows for a small margin of error in online play.
We had also mentioned the reduced rate of fire on the BR. When we brought the BR to a 4-shot, the weapon was dominating at all ranges. To balance it out, the fire rate now matches the DMR exactly in current testing.
DMR and LightRifle
We’ve slightly reduced the range at which the reticle turns red for the DMR, and once again matched the LightRifle to this distance. This is based off some feedback we received last week that questioning whether or not it is currently too easy to engage people across the map. To maintain skillful long range battles, we’ve reduced this range slightly for this week’s testing. We’re also investigating slightly increasing the rate of fire on the LightRifle when zoomed, which increases its viability at range.
Assault Rifle
The current Assault Rifle kills in 16 rounds, making it technically possible to kill 2 players with one magazine if not a single shot is missed. Our current balance testing reduces the rounds to kill by 2 or 3 shots, making this feat a bit more achievable. However, a significant reduction in auto-aim makes this quite difficult and demands a bit more skill from players who wield the AR. Our current tests bring us to an optimal kill time range that lies between that of Halo: CE’s and Halo 3’s Assault Rifles.
As we tweak these values, we’ll continue to address some of the challenges associated with each and let you know where each week brings us. We’re currently in the process of building a release schedule for the new weapon tune, and we should have details about that next week.
Join In Progress Parameters as of April 22nd, 2013
Current Join-in-Progress parameters:
- Once a match has passed just over half of the total game time, Join-in-Progress is disabled across all game modes and playlists.
- Rumble Pit now has the smallest Join-in-Progress window, only allowing players to join during the first few kills of a match.
- In Slayer matches outside of Team Throwdown and Team Doubles, players will no longer join after one team has reached just over half of the score limit.
- In King of the Hill and Oddball, players will no longer join in the second half of the game in regards to score limit.
- In Grifball, players will no longer join single-round matches if over 3 goals have been scored by one team. We will be updating Grifball Pro to similar settings in the next update.
- In Team Throwdown and Team Doubles, players will no longer join after a small join window during and before the first moments of a match.
Check out the latest Halo Bulletin here!
– Chief Landless
Geronimo
Xbox: A New Generation Revealed – May 21st 2013
After months and weeks of endless rumors and speculations, Microsoft has confirmed that they will be holding an event on Tuesday, May 21st at 10am PST to unveil its next-generation Xbox (commonly referred to as Durango or Xbox 720). Major Nelson also added some additional details on his website in regards to the next Xbox console announcement:
On Tuesday May 21st, we’ll mark the beginning of a new generation of games, TV and entertainment. On that day, we’ll be holding a special press event on the Xbox campus and we invite you to join us via the live global stream that will be available on Xbox.com, Xbox LIVE and broadcast on Spike TV if you are in the US or Canada.
On that day, we’ll share our vision for Xbox, and give you a real taste of the future. Then, 19-days later at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, we’ll continue the conversation and showcase our full lineup of blockbuster games.
We are thrilled to pull back the curtain and reveal what we’ve been working on.
A New Generation Revealed
Xbox Campus, Redmond WA
Tuesday, May 21st @ 1p ET/10a PT/17:00 GMT
Major Nelson’s blog (click here)
I will be covering the events live via Twitter so follow me there, and intend on recapping the event here on the website and on my YouTube channel.
I will be keeping a keen eye out for details in regards from this event and E3 to Bungie’s next game Destiny and any Halo games (Halo 5, Halo 6, and possibly Halo 2 Anniversary or the Halo PC rumors)
– Chief Landless
Geronimo!
Halo 4 Green Screen Object Tutorial (Screenshots & Video Tutorial)
Hi there, Chief Landless here once again. I’ve had some experience with multiple video editing and photo editing software through my “YouTube journey”. I’ve strived to become self-sufficient and create everything that my channel requires.
You guys demanded a tutorial after I quickly made a video experimenting with the Green Screen object on Forge Island within minutes of its release. I have improved my settings and process and I’m here to share.
This tutorial involves three programs:
- Sony Vegas Pro 12
- Adobe Photoshop CS6
- Adobe After Effects CS6
You don’t need all three programs, but it’s recommend to have them all to produce the best product. But each can handle the job and produce varying degrees of quality.
I go through the process for each software. If you have any questions, leave a comment on the video and I will be glad to help!
I hope you found this helpful.
Share this with your friends, leave a like, or subscribe for more Halo content.
– Chief Landless
Geronimo!
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