Unfortunately I have the be the bearer of bad news. 343 Industries did state in a bulletin following the early weeks of Halo 4’s launch answering questions, and one of them was asking if they had any plans to have Theater Mode support for Halo 4’s Campaign and/or Spartan Ops.
As of January 23rd, 2013 bs angel confirmed the bad news that at this point they have no plans to implement Theater mode support for Campaign or Spartan Ops. This does not rule it out completely, but it definitely rules it out for the time being. This is a sad day for many people who enjoy the artistic side of making machinimas or screenshots and for those who enjoy sharing those awesome moments, or moments you aren’t proud of but still can’t help sharing. I’m talking about you fails of the weak.
After much scrutiny and community outrage by a majority of Halo fans after the news in this weeks Halo Waypoint Bulletin (you can read here), bs angel, answered the hot topic question in the Halo Waypoint forums whether or not the CSR, Competitive Skill Rank, in Halo 4 would be visible in-game; similar to Halo 3.
She replied on behalf of 343 and stated that the “True Skill Rank” or CSR would not be visible in game, but instead visible on Halo Waypoint via the website and mobile apps. She had the design team make a mock-up player profile predicting the possible final product when the CSR rank will be released in April 2013.
This weeks Halo Bulletin is jam packed full of goods. So if you want to read it in it’s entirety click here. But here are the highlights,
On Monday, Spartan Ops continues with episode 7, which will once again contain five new Spartan Ops missions. Also premiering for the first time in Halo 4 is the Grifball playlist! We’ve worked closely with GrifballHub to create several different Grifball experiences in this new Matchmaking playlist
Also this week is the unlocking of two new Specializations: Engineer and Stalker:
Engineer: The Drop Recon Armor Mod allows users to predict the location and time of an Ordnance Drop through an external suborbital monitoring system.
Stalker: The Nemesis armor mod allows users to target and track down previous attacking enemies, highlighting them on the armor’s passive sensors.
The Community Forge Test playlist will also be around next week. The playlist will be available until the release of Team Doubles on February 4th.
CSR – Competitive Skill Rank
We have been working closely with several internal teams on optimizing the ranking system, and working to integrate it into your Waypoint player profile, accessible on web, phone and tablet.
More Details:
• You will have a unique CSR visible per playlist.
• Your highest CSR across all playlists will be promoted in the player profile on Halo Waypoint.
• CSR uses familiar 1-50 scale.
• When CSR launches, everyone will start with a fresh rating.
Our targeted launch date for CSR is April 2013, and we will be re-configuring some of our most competitive playlists to accommodate the launch of the feature.
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Playlist Rotations Going Forward
We have been reading your feedback on rotational playlists, and we would like to clarify our approach going forward.
• Several of the modes currently on ‘hiatus’ are getting updates and fixes based on community feedback.
• We are planning to build several multi-mode playlists that include rotated modes, and new modes we have not launched yet. It is important that we build strong playlist compositions in time for the CSR launch.
• We hope to keep Grifball and Doubles in as regular playlists.
Future Playlists and Modes
Alongside bug fixes, feature improvements, and new maps, here are some modes and playlists we are working on:
• Grifball Playlist: Slated to include multiple versions of Grifball and new courts.
• Extraction Playlist: Adding overtime, fixing a score bug, improving the capture experience, and tuning maps.
• Infinity CTF: More details next week.
Hi there, just showing off some SWAT gameplay of mine on the map Shutout, which is a Halo 2 Lockout Remake for Halo 4. All the while expressing my initial thoughts on the Forge Playlist added to Halo 4 as of January 21st, 2013.
What are your favourite maps in the new Forge Playlist?
As of this morning, January 21st, the Forge Playlist was added to Halo 4’s multiplayer. Here’s the basic information on what to expect on the maps and the game types you will be playing!
Maps:Shutout
Description: Some believe this remote facility was once used to study the Flood. But few clues remain amidst the snow and ice.
Author: Big Papa SaLoT & Nitrooo
Despair
Description: A derelict facility…
Author: SecretShnitzel
Garrotte
Description: Better play it straight.
Author: MythicFritz
Relay
Description: As is, in-game.
Author: FyreWulff
Scythe
Description: A community made forge map by PA1NTS.
Author: PA1NTS
Simplex
Description: A community made, arena style map by Big Papa SaLoT.
Author: Big Papa SaLoT
I bring to you a Halo 4 video by a friend of mine, H3AsiiM. He is discussing whether or not the weapons that fall into the Forerunner arsenal are “Overpowered” (“OP“). He addresses the weapons that appear via ordnance drops and those available for loadout customization. In the gameplay he is using a full Forerunner loadout.
What are your thoughts? Should other weapons be buffed up, or have the forerunner weapons altered?
The boltshot alone is a hot topic right now. What are your thoughts on the Boltshot? I’m personally fine with where it stands currently, but I’m not opposed to having the Boltshot patched in some fashion.
343 has finally announced some File Share news for Halo 4!
Yes! We have updates about two things we’re currently working on in regard to the Halo 4 File Share.
• In-game search: We expect the in-game search feature to come online at the end of January (the 29th specifically).
• Web File Share: The Halo 4 File Share is coming to the web version of Halo Waypoint in late February.
For a recap about its current state of functionality, please refer to the 12.12.12 edition of the Halo Bulletin. We know many people are anxiously awaiting both things, and we’ll confirm their availability once they officially come online. – bs angel
It’s sad to hear it go, but the fabled Halo 2 Multiplayer will now only exist via LAN connections. First the service was shutdown on the Xbox 3 years ago, and now the PC version will suffer the same fate.
Wildly regarded as the most competitive friendly Halo multiplayer is now over.
To switch gears ever so slightly, we’re sad to report that the service end-date for Halo 2 PC Multiplayer will be February 15, 2013. We’ve been monitoring the population for months, and it’s been peaking consistently at approximately 20 players or less. Those that own this game can continue to enjoy Multiplayer over LAN after that date; however our network services will be turned off at that time. We love you, Halo 2 PC, and you will live forever in our hearts.
If you’re interested in my thoughts on this statement and analyzing the true purpose of a “true skill rank” in Halo I have made a video.
Despair
Simplex
Chief Canuck - Video Game News 