Take a look at some pics from the upcoming episode of Spartan Ops: “Expendable.”
I can’t wait to see what happens in this episode. As for the missions though, there are already two repeating maps. Still, what happens to Halsey in this episode may have a major impact on the future of the Halo universe.
Coming in at over 22 minutes long, this video has some neat insights of how Spartan Ops came about. Topics range from the initial idea of Spartan Ops to development, to the intense weekly schedule and fan reactions.
As a Halo fan who LOVES playing Spartan Ops, I enjoyed this vid. Nothing is given away past episode 7. So no spoilers to worry about.
I recommend clicking the link and checking out the vid.
-Sal
Hmm, Halsey isn’t expendable. So I wonder then about the title? Is someone important going to die in this episode?
Oh My GAWD. I have a guess as to what happens in this episode! SARAH PALMER DIES! Master Chief then comes back to the Infinity and takes over as new Commander of the Spartans!
GAWD! I HOPE this is what happens. WHile I’d like to see Palmer character fleshed out more so that I could actually start to like her, having Master Chief back and in charge is WAY more appealing to me.
Whoops here it is. After several weeks off due to the tournament, Spartan Ops is back! Not only that, now I’m able to make the comic books again! I had an issue with uploading images to my blog due to a recent upgrade. That’s been fixed and now I can finally present to you, Spartan Ops Episode 6: Scattered, in comic book form!
I love making these and hope you enjoy reading them. Please feel free to download the images. If you do repost or relink them, please give me credit as “Designed by Sal Salerno of HaloFanForLife.com.”
And again, I’d love to hear your comments on this episode and comic book. Reply here or e-mail me at sal@ halofanforlife.com and I’ll be sure and get those comments in the Episode 7’s comic book, which I’m already working on!
-Sal
Strangely the weekly challenges aren’t showing up on Waypoint ATM. So I can’t bring you those just yet. In the meantime though here are the daily challenges.
A pass for me. Unfortunately 343 has decided to not allow the Grav Hammer to count as CQC kills. WHAT? REALLY? Yeah, I know, right?
Just another small fail…come on 343 get your act together. I really REALLY want to believe in you. But even these little screw ups just don’t cut it. Sigh.
It was released a little early. At like 2am EST. I’ve already watched it twice and played through it tiwce. It’s FAN-FREAKIN’ TASTIC! While the video part ends rather abruptly, that keeps you wanting more.
In the meantime the 5 chapters are quite fun. I don’t want to spoil it. Let’s just say you’re not going to be on Requiem for a little bit of time.
The chapters increase in enemies, or at least they feel like they do. But it’s not just one big firefight each mission. There are clear objectives. While there is repetitiveness in the latter chapters, it’s still quite a blast (pun fully intended) to play through them.
Here’s the vid for Episode 7 “Invasion” on Waypoint.
-Sal
I’ve got word Griffball is LIVE.
Here are the details of the playlist per HaloWaypoint’s post:
| Setting | Grifball | Grifball Pro | ||
| Game Settings | ||||
| Score to Win | 5 | 1 | ||
| Time Limit | 12 Minutes | 3 Minutes | ||
| Lives per Round | Unlimited | Unlimited | ||
| Rounds | 1 | 5 | ||
| Grifball Options | ||||
| Automatic Pickup | Enabled | Disabled | ||
| Ball Arm Time | Instant | Instant | ||
| Ball Fuse Time | 5 Seconds | Instant | ||
| Ball Reset Time | 15 Seconds | 30 Seconds | ||
| General Settings | ||||
| Friendly Fire | Enabled | Enabled | ||
| Betrayal Booting | Disabled | Disabled | ||
| Team Changing | Not Allowed | Not Allowed | ||
| Loadout Usage | Game Loadouts | Game Loadouts | ||
| Respawn Settings | ||||
| Respawn Time | 3 Seconds | 3 Seconds | ||
| Suicide Penaty | None | None | ||
| Betrayal Penalty | None | None | ||
| Death Cam | Disabled | Disabled | ||
| Base Player Traits | ||||
| Shields and Health | ||||
| Damage Resist | 90% | 50% | ||
| Shield Multiplier | 100% | 0% | ||
| Shield Recharge R | 200% | Default | ||
| Shield Recharge W | Default | Default | ||
| Weapons and Damage | ||||
| Damage Modifier | 200% | 1.5 | ||
| Grenade Count | No Grenades | No Grenades | ||
| Infinite Ammo | Enabled | Enabled | ||
| Weapon Pickup | Disabled | Disabled | ||
| Equipment | ||||
| Armor Ability | None | None | ||
| Ability Usage | Unchanged | Unchanged | ||
| Tactical Package | None | None | ||
| Support Upgrade | Dexterity | Dexterity | ||
| Sensor Mode | Player Movement | Player Movement | ||
| Sensor Range | 25 Meters | 25 Meters | ||
| Movement | ||||
| Player Speed | 100 | 100 | ||
| Jump Height | 100 | 100 | ||
| Player Gravity | 75 | 75 | ||
| Fall Damage | 100% | 100% | ||
| Appearance | ||||
| Active Camo | Off | Off | ||
| Waypoint | Visible to Allies | Visible to Allies | ||
| Visual Effect | Unchanged | Unchanged | ||
| Grif Traits | ||||
| Shields and Health | ||||
| Damage Resist | 200% | 200% | ||
| Shield Multiplier | 2x | 2x | ||
| Shield Recharge R | Base | Base | ||
| Shield Recharge W | Base | Base | ||
| Weapons and Damage | ||||
| Damage Mod | 300 | 300 | ||
| Melee Modifier | Unchanged | Unchanged | ||
| Infinite Ammo | Enabled | Enabled | ||
| Equipment | ||||
| Ability Usage | Disabled | Disabled | ||
| Sensor Range | 25 Meters | 25 Meters | ||
| Movement | ||||
| Player Speed | 170 | 170 | ||
| Jump Height | 110 | 110 | ||
| Player Gravity | 75 | 75 | ||
| Fall Damage | Base | Base | ||
| Appearance | ||||
| Visual Effect | Overshield | Overshield |
Check out the link above for pics of the new Griffball courts!
-Sal
Whew after a week’s frustration with the recent upgrade to my site, I’m finally back to being able to directly upload images to my site. So I can now get back to bringing you the Halo 4 challenges.
Here are the challenges for 1/27/13.
Man, I wish Griffball were here for the first one. That would be extremely easy. Well, looks like Flood is the playlist of the day. You shouldn’t have much trouble getting both challenges in that playlist what with the shotgun and Flood “Sword” arm.
Taking a little longer than expected, but for good reason. I just finished the layout completely. All graphics are in! Eh, but now I need to add all the text in. I’ll do that tomorrow and should have it ready some time mid-day. I had to really decide what panels I was going to cut out here. I wanted to keep them all but realized some where a little repetitive, so some cuts had to be made. Pacing is just as important in comic books as it is in an animated or filmed production.
-Sal
BS Angel posted this yesterday. While much of the news is good there are some things that caught my attention that are slightly disappointing.
Not having your matchmaking rank clearly visible IN-GAME is not just annoying, it makes it much more difficult to check your progression through the competitive ranks. Having to check Waypoint for this is a huge step back. I know they have an app for this. Really? While I don’t know the actual percentage of gamers who check their profiles through their phones, I’d have to guess it’s a pretty low percentage. I don’t want to do something through my cell phone that I was able to do in Halo 3. A game might I add that came out 5+ years ago. 343, I love ya and really do want you to succeed. But these failings of core game mechanics are hurting not only you, but Halo 4’s population and popularity as well. You can’t deny that. It’s not just me saying it. It’s other community blogs and websites, it’s the throngs of forum posters on your own forums.
Let’s just take a quick look though at some of the early details (that may change), Pros and Cons:
4v4: Pro: we have a party size! Con: It’s limited to 4v4 and no BTB. Maybe
Pre-set game loadouts: Pro: Yeah, we all start out equal. Con: Some slight variance would be okay.
Forced respawn timers: Pro: YES! Con: none
No instant respawn: Pro: YES! Con: can’t get back into the acton more quickly, but this is okay by me.
Ordnance on re-supply timers: Pro: Holy heck YES! Con: Noobs will complain they can get these weapons because “try hards” are always getting them. Sorry, but for competitive playlist this is a must. Teamwork SHOULD be rewarded in this case.
Join-in-progress off: Pro: Oh sweet Mary mother of God, they finally heard our cries! Con: Why can we no haz in all multiplayer? Or at least an option to not Join In Progress.
No split-screen play: Pro: You’ve got the whole screen to yourself. Con: No screen peeking (which I think is a good thing), but what if you’ve got a friend over? They can’t play on their gamertag with you on your XBOX in the competitive playlists.
Friendly fire on: Pro: well nothing really, just standard fair. Con: Um, watch your back teammate! LOL
Max part size 4 with big party matching enforced: Pro: Should make this more competitive as people usually in teams are either more skilled and/or have tactics set-up. Con: Might take longer for randoms to be matched up.
No guests allowed: Pro: You won’t have to deal with random bad players (or conversely awesome players masquerading as guests); Con: You buds can’t play with you on your XBOX.
Most of these details I’m perfectly fine with. THey are what we expected Halo 4 to be from the start. It’s a bit mind boggling why it’s taking so long for them to be put in the game in the first place.
My biggest disappointment is that most of these won’t be implemented in the casual playlists as well. The two BIGGEST for me being:
Ordnance on re-supply timers
Join-in-progress off
I really absolutely believe that if these two things where put into casual matchmaking as well that you’d see a LOT MORE happy Halo 4 gamers. Those two alone would help to bring the game play back to Halo normal standards.
We can only hope that the Halo community makes their collective voices heard and that 343 will make these changes to all of matchmaking across the board. Not just because we want it, but because it’s better for the overall game play, longevity of the game, and replayability of the game.
You can make your opinion heard here at the thread she posted in.
-Sal