Here is the third in the three part concept Seraph series of “Color me this.”
Here’s what I came up with:
With background:
And without background:
Author Archives: Sal
Spartan Ops Episode 8 discussion. (SPOILERS)
First things first.
I have this nagging suspicion that Halsey is going to become an AI. In fact it’s possible that she becomes the new Cortana (of sorts). It’s kind of cool AND creepy at the same time if you think about it. Clearly Master Chief has feelings for Cortana. Cortana was born of the cloned mind of Halsey for whom Chief learned from in his early stages of training and one whom the Spartans called “mom.”
To have her as an AI would be cool, so long as she doesn’t have the 7 year rampancy bit.
But then to have her replace Cortana…She’s motherly toward Chief, yet she has Cortana within her so to speak. It’s all just confusing. It’s kind of like a partial Oedipus complex. (Look it up if you don’t know)
Also, did anyone else catch that Parangosky is dead (or maybe retired, thoguh I don’t think that old hag would ever retire…)? She was the former head of ONI. Now the new head is actually a former Spartan. Yes…she is. Read the books. Serin Osman was a Spartan II. She didn’t get all of the enhancements as her body was rejecting them. But she’s a Spartan II none-the-less. To have her give the order to kill Halsey is just well…WOW. She didn’t seem to worried about her decision though. Seems like at first she was okay with her “non-decision” of not putting Halsey in a deep hole or killing her. Now that all has changed.
If Halsey does indeed become an AI, well, she’s going to be a LOT harder to kill. I dont’ think Lasky will have Halsey killed. Well, that’s if she’s not turned into an AI already. Though by disobeying a direct order from the head of ONI, well, that would have some serious repercussions.
Okay, trying to get back on track here. What happened to the Knight who looked both Halsey and Lasky in the face and gave them it’s skull scream? That wasn’t shown. Would have been nice to see Lasky blow it away with the shotgun he had.
Once again Palmer is a …. oh nevermind, she’s just not worth talking about anymore. Okay maybe just a few sentences. She can dual weild. Great, why can’t we then in either War games or Spartan Ops? She can take out a Knight with just one shot from a magnum? That must be the most powerful magnum in all of the UNSC. And why for gawd sakes dos she never where her helmet? She might as well be in that skin tight suit we saw in the first episode if she’s going to stay on the ship all the time. She needs to be a much better example to her troops and be IN UNIFORM at all times. Well at least she should have found a way to snag her helmet during the invasion. I get that 343 wants people to know who she is by having her face shown. We know who she is now. Please put a bucket on her! (Bucket is slang for helmet)
The CG is this is pretty good. Nothing too remarkable though. I did like the map Madsen found and showed. As well the holotable of the Infinity bridge was very cool to look at. Where can I get one of those? LOL.
Gek, poor Gek. Why did he have to die? I actually LIKED him. I wanted to know how he was shamed as well as how he lost his left eye. Will we ever find out? Hopefully in the third book of the latest series.
So Halsey goes up into the blue light stream. Man, I gotta think she’s going to become evolved. LIke I said at the beginning, an AI, likely.
As for the missions, well again as of this writing they still aren’t up on Waypoint for me to recall. I do remember that the initial cutscene from the first chapter didn’t looked finished. At least the first couple of seconds didn’t. The background, especially the green hillsides looked terribly low res.
I didn’t mind too much that we revisited areas again, but the missions themselves seemed a bit boring, even though we had more vehicle combat. There really wasn’t much room for the vehicles to maneuver around in anyway, so that was kind of wasteful. Though I did manage to get the Warthog into areas I’m pretty sure they weren’t intended to be. (I like to do that kind of stuff). Same with the Wraith. I think it’s the fourth mission, you can capture a wraith if you’re careful about how you kill the driver. There are clearly Forerunner pieces in the way between where you get it and where you need to go. SO I suspect they don’t want you to take it there. However, by punching off the tips of the front “wings” of the wraith, you can EASILY get it to the next area as it will fit between those Forerunner poles.
While I liked the video, it wasn’t as good as the previous two and the missions weren’t as good either. I did like the last mission where you had to defend areas. That circling holo defend area was kind of cool. And what do you know, Glassman isn’t as much a dolt as he was made out to be. Seems like even Halsey noted that to in the video.
Well, i’m furiously finishing up the Spartan Ops comic for episode 7 so I can get started on 8.
Any thought on this episode and/or missions? Click reply below!
-Sal
Halo 4 weekly challenges: 2-4/10-13
I’m SO glad I don’t need campaign acheivements anymore. No way I’d be going for those challenges.
Spartan Ops ones are VERY easy as are the War Games ones.
Just look at that XP bonus too. If I hadn’t already hit SR130, I’d be trying for these big time. As it is, I already got the Spartan Ops ones first thing this morning.
Hmm, I wonder if 343 might just have some new levels for us after SR130 afterall? And if so, hopefully, the XP earn will count.
-Sal
War Games daily challenges: 2-4-13
Wow, these are pretty easy and just look at that XP!
Hmm, this actually is NOT a good thing that XP is so high. It means 343 is trying to entice people to come back or stay by offering high XP amounts. We should want to play the game regardless of XP. Besides, it’s SO easy to get to SR130 anyway, even without these high XP challenges.
Brutal Hacker in Halo 4.
I found this link via HaloWaypoint:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4BraRoTAXQ
Wow, just wow. I can only hope that guy was banned permanently. Like not just from Halo, but his XBOX too.
Spartan Ops Episode 6 Grunt Party Easter Egg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_-CzZIgSDU&feature=player_embedded
I knew there was an easter egg in Ep6 just didn’t know where it was. Well, I do now and I plan on hoping onto SpOps immediately to do this!
Thanks to HaloDiehards.net for posting the link on their site for this.
-Sal
Helmets in Halo 4 that should be changed or scrapped.
Now you may be wondering why I’m bringing this up now instead of shortly after release. Well, I wanted to give the game some time to grow on me as well as gauge reactions fro friends and fans on Halo 4. While most of the opinions in this article are my own, some are also drawn upon and in agreement with those friends and fans.
I’d love to see some of the old armor return. Barring that, I think 343 really needs to take a look at much of the armor they created. Not so much from the neck down, but rather the helmets.
An overwhelming majority of them simply aren’t plausible. How is anyone supposed to see out of some of them? The ones I like the most are the ones with decent sized visors. Operator is great, so too the recruit. But what of Waterworks? Really? A slit in the middle of the helmet for a visor? Also, just the general design of some of these helmets is plain awful. EVA isn’t rounded anymore. And how about the sad face helmet..That’s the HAZOP helmet if you didn’t know. Or the Frankenstein helmet? Seriously, did 343 have any kind of focus group outside of themselves to gauge reaction? (And I’m talking outside of Microsoft altogether.)
As a designer myself as well as a long time Halo gamer, I’d have shot down at least a third of the helmet designs and had them redone or scrapped entirely.
Here are all but I think one of the helmets in Halo 4, with some commentary by me:
A plain “X” means I think it should just be completely removed from any future Halo games.
A “NP” means “not plausible” but could be reworked into a helmet that is plausible to see out of.
A “X” with a “F” next to it means “fugly.” Yeah, you know what that means… How did that design get approved.
(Might I suggest you download this graphic below and open in a new window to make it easier to read along)
Starting at the top, I could have dinged the Gungnir helmet as not plausible, but I gave this one a pass as it was in Reach and very popular as something different. I think however that 343 went just a bit too wild in their designs of helmets for Halo 4. Especially in thinking that we’d like more helmets without plausible visors. Really, what’s the use of visor colors for some fo these helmets when they have none or barely there visors? Anyway, back to the top row. I’m actually fine with them all except while I think the FOTUS helmet (marked “NP” is cool, that horn really should go.
Second row: CIO? More like I can’t see at all. Okay of the offending NP helmets this one has the next to the best potential behind the FOTUS helmet. Change it so that the black area surrounding the three visor dots is also part of the visor and we have a workable helmet that even looks decent. The last one in the row is kind of the same, though that visor would be HUGE.
Third row: Orbital…uh, the mish-mash of Emile’s helmet from Reach, that skull is just horrid. Sorry but I really would have preferred the carved in look. Though yeah, then people would complain about continuity with Emile being dead. So just can this helmet and bring back the traditional EVA helmet. (Which bears noting that the Strider and even to a point the new Rogue helmets are close to the EVA. While I like the Strider one, it and the Rogue one can go in place of a proper EVA helmet.) The helmet next to the Orbital one (forgive me that I can’t recall which one it is) is kinda ungly. Put a visor on it please. Otherwise drop it.
Fourth row: OMG, that Pioneer helmet…It’s a dual vertical Cyclops helmet. Yeah, that’s kind of an oxymoron and there in lies my point, moronic. Make the visor part that strip of metal in the middle and those circles metal instead and maybe, MAYBE you have a viable helmet. Otherwise…yep, CAN IT. Oh the poor Hazop helmet. What happened to you? You now look like a very sad Stormtrooper from Star Wars. Sigh. I liked the Hazop from Reach. Why did 343 have to change it so dramatically? Can this one please and give us something more reminiscent of the Reach Hazop.
Fifth row: Be my Frankenstein! Or at least my weird Halloween helmet. Okay it could also be said to look like a jar, hence jar-head. However I think my marines buddies would take serious offense to that. PLEASE, kill that design. While I think the Locus (why not add that “t” at the end 343?) is very cool looking and even used it for a time, it’s just not plausible since it doesn’t have a visor. Also, consider how bulbous the head is. It looks out of scale with the rest of the body. Fix the scaling at least and keep it in.
Six row: I actually like the Vanguard helmet (the first one), but dang, does it have to have that small square visor? Expand the visor and it would be a great helmet. I do want to unlock this in Halo 4 though as I like the “cross” pattern on it. (that’s the secondary Vanguard helmet which, IIRC is a bit harder to get) Next is the Wetwork helmet. While it’s a cool design in theory and could have been a good replacement for the Hayabusa, that small slit of a visor down the middle just ruins it for me. I’d like to see this reworked with at least a slim banded visor across the middle. Oh the stalker. Okay first, let’s discuss that name. Stalker. Not really something you want to be known as. Yes, I know it was taken from “Brute Stalkers” in previous Halo games. However, some may not make that correlation. It really is a bit creepy. Beyond that though is the stunted, blunted top of the helmet. The visor is just okay. It could definitely have been made bigger and the helmet even shows where that change could have been made.
Seventh row: The Tracker helmet is kind of cool, but the visor is a bit small and low on the helmet. The one thing that does bother me a little is that it constantly reminds me of the Geth head from Mass Effect. The Venator helmet without a doubt is a cool design, but the visor isn’t too plausible. It’s close however. It kind of has the Dead Space feel to it. I think a little bit thicker though on the visor parts would have made this more plausible.
Also, do others think it’s strange that 343 changed the name of some of the helmets from what they were to something else entirely? The Security helmet comes to mind. It’s now the Operator helmet.
Speaking of previous helmets, I’d really like the Mark V, CQB and original Rogue helmets back. I’ve already touched on the EVA coming back as well. Scout looks okay in it’s Halo 4 version as do the EOD helmet.
I just think while wanted to make Halo 4 their own, 343 went a bit too far with some of the helmet designs. Practicality needs to come back. If you’ve read the books then you know that on a rare occasion, the armor fails and they have to use their eyes. Those helmets I listed about as NP would not make the grade. You just can’t remove your helmet in battle. You’d just be begging to be headshot.
Some of the helmets have had such negative review (well and many before my own) that they’ve been dubbed Power Rangers. That’s not really a moniker I want associated with Spartan armor.
Please 343, get back to more practical designs. It can be done, yet still have some splash or “pizazz” to it, without looking otherworldly or alien.
-Sal
Are Spartans “Legends” anymore?
Are Spartans “Legends” anymore?
This question was posed on the Halo Waypoint forums. It’s a good one to ask and talk about.
In my opinion, Spartan IVs are NOT Legends. For one they haven’t even been around long enough to earn that title, nor have they done anything near the epicness of Master Chief. He IS a legend. Spartan IVs are not.
I do have my hopes for Spartan Thorne. I foresee him being the successor to Master Chief. We’re only just now seeing him develop. He is a rookie Spartan after all.
Spartan IIs are/were legends. Their battlefield prowess very often changed the tide of battles. They are the most disciplined troops in the Halo universe. Being trained for combat from 6 years old, by the time they started seeing real live-fire battles when then were in their mid-teens, they already had a decade of training and experience as a cohesive unit to draw upon. Their regimented code of battle, their skill, and then later their armor all point to them being legendary.
The status of Spartan IIs as legendary though come more from the victories they’ve achieved over time. Not only their initial victories against Insurgents, but then against the Covenant. Master Chief is often the one credited the most, however he was not the only Spartan II to turn the tide. Don’t get me wrong though, Master Chief is the embodiment of what it is to be a Spartan AND a Legend. His actions in the last 6 months of the war with the Covenant completely changed the war.
Moving on to Spartan IIIs, while not as strong as their Spartan II brethren, they still were conscripted fairly early on and had similar training to Spartan IIs. Their armor while different still posed a major threat on battlefields. However they were utilized more as strong arm cannon fodder rather than Super Soliders like the Spartan IIs were. As evidenced in Halo Reach, they were not as disciplined. This in part is why they should not be considered legendary. Kat stealing info… She was too sure of herself. That is not a trait of a legendary spartan. Emile had some issues for sure. Jun was okay, but not legendary. Carter was a good leader, but not great. Were the legendary? NO. Heroic? Yes.
Spartan IVs are at this point little more than glorified ODSTs. Even look at the Recruit armor they get. The helmet bears a resemblance to the ODST helmet. With attitudes on display such as Commander Palmer and Fireteam Majestic’s leader Paul DeMarco, it’s a wonder they can even be considered any where in the realm of being true Spartans, let alone legendary.
Will they rise to legendary status? That remains to be seen. As I mentioned earlier, I have my hopes for Thorne, but even he has shown insubordination and gross misconduct. While saving his squad, he should have never let to attack a Banshee on his own, as well he shouldn’t have been anywhere near the Forerunner artifact after having left in a huff over the incident onboard the Infinity. In doing so he was transported to Requiem away from his squadmates and anyone else who could help him for that matter. We can only hope that he learns from these errors and while improve as a Spartan. Halsey even hinted that he may be more ready than some of the others.
So taking all this in, I ask again, are Spartans legendary?
Spartan IIs, YES
Spartan IIIs, No, but heroic
Spartan IVs, Definitely not, but some have the potential to be.
What do you think about this? Are they legendary?
-Sal
The initial success of Halo 4 vs. its continual success.
Halo 4 was an INITIAL success. That really needs to be understood. It is not on the path to being a CONTINUED success. The biggest evidence of that is the in-game population. Want to see proof of that? Check out this link:
http://halocharts.com/2012/chart/dailypeakpopulation/all
Here is the chart current as of today.
For Frank (O’Conner-Franchise Development Director) or Kiki (Wolfkill-Executive Director for Halo 4) or any other of the 343 folks to say “We learned out lesson and we’ll do better on Halo 5,” just isn’t going to cut it. We’ve got nearly 3 YEARS before Halo 5 is due to come out, if they stick to the normal schedule. That’s way too much time to hope and rely on Halo 4 to carry the population through. Especially when it’s been shown to be continually and dramatically losing gamers.
I still have the highest hopes for Halo as a franchise and I really DO want 343 to succeed. But not just an initial success. It needs to be a lasting success, a continual success. The complaints people have about Halo 4 are mostly valid. If the overwhelming aren’t addressed and SOON, Halo 4 (and the franchise) will suffer greatly in the XBOX market as well as the gaming market overall. That is something neither 343 nor fans of Halo want.
Personally, I’d rather have these issues fixed with Halo 4 before 343 even starts/continues developing Halo 5. It’s not going to be worth it in the long run if THIS game (Halo 4) bombs just a few months after release. It’s not even 3 months that the game has been out. Let that sink in. Wednesday this week it will turn 3 months from being released. And yet the population is well down from ANY previous Halo FPS game. That just doesn’t bode well for the continued success of the franchise. If Microsoft needs to work 343 employees 60+ hours a week for weeks on end to get it right, then do so. Pay them well of course, but this ship must be righted or it’s going to sink.
Please 343 hear our pleas and concerns. Address them AND let us know they are being addressed AND please do that quickly for your own reputation as well as the rep of the franchise and it’s fans.
-Sal
Should we pay for a new season of Spartan Ops?
This discussion came up on Halo Waypoint. I responded to it and just had to share my thoughts with you folks.
First I quoted two other forum users and responded in kind.
If it’s like $10-15 and the episodes are as good as they have been the last two weeks, then yeah I’d buy it.
Exactly! I’ve enjoyed all of Spartan Ops to date. The latest two episodes are even better than the first 6.
if there is a season 2, and I’m expected to purchase it, it needs the following 3 things.
theater mode support
campaign scoring
skullsor it needs to be free. at least for me. by that i dont mean that i should be the only one that gets it for free only that this is just my opinion.
Theater mode is one thing that would make me pay for it in an instant. There are SO many screenshots I want to be able to take and can’t because 343 left it out. Campaign scoring isn’t a huge deal to me, however it does help to know when you’ve killed off one of those bigger enemies at a distance so you don’t waste anymore ammo on an enemy.
Skulls would be cool, especially if it adds to XP. I’m already at 130, but still for those who aren’t it would be a nice aded feature.
As far as price, as the first person I quoted mentioned, $10-15 would be great. Anything more and you start to get into Arcade game prices. For that there would need to be a bit more.
Longer videos, interaction IN-GAME with Majestic and/or Palmer, how about adding the Falcon and/or Pelican to be able to fly in missions? What about the Broadsword in a space mission?
One thing is for certain, if 343/M$ is asking us to pay for a Season 2, they need to be a LOT more forthcoming about what we can expect in the next season. What upgrades they are making, general story plot without giving away spoilers. They need to SELL it to us, not ask that we take them blindly on faith.
They asked us to “trust them” before the release of Halo 4. Some feel burned by that comment. While I think Spartan Ops is AWESOME and would buy in a minute, there are many who need to be convinced of why they should pay for more Halo 4 content. So it’s up to 343 to do that.