The following was taken from a thread on HaloWaypoint regarding the vocal fanbase “not being heard” by 343. The thread link is at the bottom of this article.

DSB Strike (A Halo forum poster on HaloWaypoint.com): Yes, there are a lot of players who don’t come here. The thing is, their voice can’t be calculated into the problems.

HFFL: Actually, while their specific voices aren’t heard, their gaming habits within Halo 4 are seen. 343 is able to collect all sorts of data regarding what gametypes people play, what weapons are used, what maps are voted on, etc.

Using that data, they can surpass much of the vocal crowd here by using this hard data from the game itself, to formulate game updates, fixes, etc.

That’s something many are forgetting.

ReFs BaCk (A Halo forum poster on HaloWaypoint.com): Halo 4 was fully funded and supported by Microsoft, with 343i having 3 years to work on it. I see no excuse on time, resources, or experience gap that made them develop such a shame of a beta-game

HFFL: Actually, the bulk of 343 (as in it’s hundreds of employees) has not been around for those same three years. 343 had to be built from scratch. Even with the talented pool of developers, producers, etc., it still takes time to build that team into a cohesive unit that understands not only the goal (the game itself), but also the processes and procedures of how to get there.

Each development company has their own guidelines and procedures by which they produce a game. So getting all of these folks from all over the video game development world to work as one took time too.

Given all of this, I think it’s quite amazing that 343 has not only been able to put out a Halo game, but one with such visual and audio quality. Halo 4 is a very good game. Frank O’Conner has already stated to the effect that they (343) have learned a lot of lessons along the way while creating Halo 4. Those things deemed a mistake will most certainly be righted in Halo 5.

The problem is that the majority of the vocal fanbase doesn’t want to wait for that. I get that, really. However, we’re also so very hard to please. If one portion of the game is change in one manner, some fans will cheer while others will complain.

The battle between casual and competitive players is one such case. In that way, 343 can’t win. They please some while ticking off others.

The fact is, Halo 4 is a very playable game. Halo from game to game evolves in gameplay. Reach brought us a bigger jump that previous titles. Halo 4 made an even bigger jump that that. It’s up to the gamer if they like those changes or not. Make your voices heard yes, but really do it respectfully. Do you (general you, not anyone in particular) think any business would listen to people who are disrespectful to them, even if those complaints are valid? It’s tantamount to being hollered at. Be respectful in tone, not just to 343 but your fellow forum members and maybe, just maybe you’ll see more happen in the direction you want, or at least more discussion on the matter.

In the meantime, 343 is still going to collect that hard data generated by gameplay from ALL players and tailor that gameplay to the majority. That makes sense, even if it isn’t agreeable to the vocal minority.

Source Link: https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2344859_343–Here-is-your-Fan-Base–Now-Help-It.aspx

Please direct your replies to this article at the link above. I’m sure 343 would appreciate your respectful responses.

Respectfully,
Sal