Bungie Weekly Update: 11/30/07

[iBotPeaches]

Bungie Weekly Update: 11/30/07 Posted by Frankie at 11/30/2007 3:32 PM PST

Aswe get closer to the first map pack Ã?¢ââ??‰â?¬Å? the Heroic pack - we get closerto what will obviously be a better, more varied game of Halo. There area few things that pop up when discussing this, so I will clarify thoseimmediately. You can play the DLC maps in their own playlistalmost immediately Ã?¢ââ??‰â?¬Å? so no waiting for a Playlist update for weeks andweeks. You can continue to play boxes with and without the DLC maps ina LAN setting. In most ways, this should be the smoothest DLC weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢veever made. Fingers crossed (I donÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t want to jinx it.)

These maps shouldnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t require any kind of patch or autoupdateper se, so thatÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s why compatibility between versions isnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t an issue. Ifyou donÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t have the maps, you simply wonÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t match with games that do usethem (your game will connect you to existing maps and you wonÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t see anyissue)and in a LAN setting, you simply wonÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t be able to load the newones if theyÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re not on your box.

But DLC isnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t all weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re looking to update in the future. Right now asignificant amount of work, time and research is going into things tomake the game play and perform better than it already does. We donÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢tconsider Halo 3 to be Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?â??perfectÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã? and we will continually investigateways to improve the gameplay and performance. When we see issues,whether it be something as simple as a matchmaking inconsistency, orsomething as serious as a control problem, weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ll consider the pros andcons of fixing those issues and where possible and prudent, weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ll fixthem.

As most of you know from reading these updates, applying changesisnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t just a case of identifying and fixing the problem. It has to gothrough that process, but also be tested, rigorously so that when anautoupdate is applied, that it is stable, functioning and god forbid,doesnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t fix one thing while wrecking another.

There are many issues that weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re investigating, so bear in mind thatjust because you donÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t see something mentioned here, doesnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t mean weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢renot looking into it. ItÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s almost certain in fact, that we are. WeÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢realready looking into issues with melee, with parties being splitunevenly in matchmaking, slow matchmaking, skill levels and much, muchmore.

We have a team of engineers, testers and of course, designers,looking at all of this stuff as well as working on the downloadable mappacks. For the first months of Halo 3, our focus has been to make surethat the game launches smoothly and that there are no critical problemsrequiring immediate updates. There will certainly be fixes for some ofthis stuff and improvements throughout other aspects of the game, butwe ask your kind patience as it takes some time. When we have specificsand dates to discuss Ã?¢ââ??‰â?¬Å? we absolutely will and donÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t worry, weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re notthinking about the distant future here.

And as for the new maps, we got mixed reactions to some of therevelations. Price for example, was a common complaint. ThatÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s notsomething we decide unfortunately Ã?¢ââ??‰â?¬Å? but in the long term, like thoseHalo 2 maps theyÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ll eventually be free of charge. So if youÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re patient,you can wait it out. And although the analogy is done to death, itÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢sthe same price as a couple of lattes.

The other revelation that received some ire was BarryÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s contentionthat Standoff was planned for Halo 3. As weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve clarified before,Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?â??plannedÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã? doesnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t mean built. The Standoff heÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s referring to is notonly nothing like the final map, but it never got far beyond theback-of-napkin stage. All of our maps are built from the ground up, bya large team, with full test resources and require months of work. Wehave never, ever held a map back so we could cash in on it. You cantake that to the bank. Accountants figure out how much the maps cost tomake and what we need to earn to justify the resources and man-hours.Bungie ainÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t accountants.

Another slight confusion thatÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s out there regards Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?â??Foundry.Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?Although itÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s designed to be the most flexible Forge map Ã?¢ââ??‰â?¬Å? the mapitself ships as a complete, properly designed map, not an empty box. Inreality, the vast majority of matches that will ever be played onFoundry will be played Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?Å?as-isÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã? since itÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s a very flexible, competitiveand well-balanced gameplay space. You do of course have the option tocompletely reconfigure it as you see fit.

David Candland already made a pretty convincing Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?â??Mario KartÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã? level,where you race around a proper circuit, complete with checkpoints andof course, the ability to drop power ups behind you for hilariousconsequences (Energy Drain, Trip Mine and Gravity Lift for laffs) andof course, the new Mancannon Forge object makes for some pretty funnyjumps too.

All of the new downloadable maps will benefit from some new Forgeobjects being loaded into their Forge palettes and this is somethingweÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ll see more of going forward. The existing maps will retain theirexisting lists of Forge stuff Ã?¢ââ??‰â?¬Å? because thatÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s the way theyÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re built Ã?¢ââ??‰â?¬Å?with a specific performance budget thatÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s already carefully balanced.But for example, the ramps and bridges from Foundry, can also be usedin RatÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s Nest, to make some incredible jumps possible (not to thePelican though, so donÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t try.)

Another question that keeps popping up, over and over again, is theone about map remakes. All three of the new maps in the first pack arebrand new to the Halo universe. TheyÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re already office favorites andthe press weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve exposed to them thus far, seemed to love them. They doaddress gaps in our matchmaking for sure, but weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re not done yet. ItÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ssafe to say that we have plenty of incredible new maps lined up andmaybe one or two revisited classics.

WeÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re not stupid. We know what you like. But remember, as anyonewhoÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s played Last Resort can attest, we donÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t just dump the old mapinto the new engine. We start from scratch. More on that teaser muchlater. But you should always consider the tiny possibility that the newmaps might be as good as, if not better than the oft-demanded classics.

We also owe you an explanation regarding the Machinima button-pressthat lowers your weapon. The complaint is that the Easter egg canÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t beused during custom games on Xbox Live. There are some perfectly goodreasons for this: One is that if you could use this Easter eggin online games, itÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s an animation that would need to be tested forpossible abuse. If that sounds absurd, then you should recall BXR Ã?¢ââ??‰â?¬Å? ananimation that can be abused.

When you make a video game, you have to plan time and resourcessensibly Ã?¢ââ??‰â?¬Å? a test cycle with engineering, art and animation impact fora small Easter egg Ã?¢ââ??‰â?¬Å? is not a sensible use of our schedule. So weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢resorry to the folks this impacts, but we have to be practical.

The upcoming playlist update(s) are going to be very cool. The firstbasically adds a DLC map playlist so that you can guarantee Matchmadegames in the new maps. The DLC maps will appear in other playlists too,but wonÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t split the userbase as explained at the beginning of thisupdate. That first one will go live the same time the maps do, but asecond Playlist update is planned for roughly December 18^th(although itÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s subject to change). That will have some more significantupdates in it, including Team Hardcore, weapon placement tuning (toaddress real problems with weapons on certain maps) and some othergoodies we wonÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t discuss yet.

All in all, these updates, the DLC and a potential Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?â??maintenanceupdateÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã? in the not-too-distant future are designed to do what we alwayswished to do; which is making sure that Halo 3 will continue to provideenjoyment, challenge, balance and fun for a long time to come. WhatyouÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve seen so far, is just the tip of the iceberg.

Next week, weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ll have an actual brand-new Podcast up, featuring special guest and level artiste Chris Barrett, who will chat in-depth about maps, arts, mens and fashion.

 

Speaking of mens and fashion.

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