gerrythedon

Completed it on NORMAL 100%. Too many fucking deaths. The first thing I upgraded completely was my Shields and that didn't help. After that I upgraded fully the Wall and just used that during every battle asap. Anyway enjoyed it and took a long damn time to get everything. Since I really didn't use vehicles, I like to walk/run in open world games. Gonna replay it on easy and do a quick run to get achievement.

stingermck

Still playing campaign and still enjoying. But man the open world makes it harder for me. Im so used to going from A to B and shooting

Yesterday I finished the beacons to assemble the sequence. Whew, that should have been worth more than 10 points.

Adam Tyner

It's definitely the toughest Halo campaign on the default difficulty. (I played on Normal as well.) I didn't completely 100% it -- still have skulls to get and a bunch of propaganda towers to blow up -- but I did everything else on the map, and I did enough of the side activities to unlock all the weapons/vehicles at the FOBs.

The toughest bits for me were the two battles against the cloaked badniks. Less because of the invisibility and more because I went in with dumb loadouts. I don't even know how I beat the second one late in the game. I was on attempt #-don't-even-wanna-guess, he was on the lower level, I was on the upper level, I wasn't actively firing or anything, and...a voiceover started playing and a waypoint appeared. I'll take the win, but I wish I knew what I did to at long last achieve victory!

I prioritized the grapple since it's both offensive and defensive. I could zip out of the way to let my shields recharge, and, when upgraded, I could also stun an enemy and zip towards 'em for a heavy melee hit (and they'd still be stunned long enough that I could finish off the heavier Brutes with a shot or two).

I did miss the vehicle-heavy areas of previous Halo games since those are usually my favorites, and I moved almost completely by foot, even with all the FOB options. Once I unlocked the Wasp, though, that was my go-to.

I forget which one it was, but there was a priority target (whatever those miniboss guys are called) very close to a FOB who whomped me on my first attempt. So I brought a Scorpion from the FOB to the battlefield, thinking a couple of blasts would do it. No such luck, and besides, reinforcements were being airlifted in. So I started blasting the enemy ship with the Scorpion, it crashlanded onto the target, and it instantly killed him. Another accidental success!

So, yeah, I wish there were more areas explicitly oriented around vehicles, and I wish there were maybe some more diversity in areas (no matter where you are on the map, it's awfully same-y), but I'm still very tempted to say it's my all-time favorite Halo campaign. Definitely my favorite since 3, anyway.

T-bone22

I played on Heroic and it did seem tougher to me than my memory of Heroic on previous games, but I'm not sure if that is actually the case or not. The toughest fight for me was the Brute brothers boss fight, but it didn't take too many tries. I had to scavenge around the island for ammo though.

Jeremy517

Only the boss fights were hard to me. Everything in the open world was really easy if you just loaded up a vehicle full of marines with great weapons or just fired at things from afar with the tank.

T-bone22

I had the tank unlocked, but thinking about it now, I did not use it even once.

I mainly used the car that you could load up full of marines and the flying vehicle (to traverse quickly).

Michael Corvin

I finally played a few hours. Not sure how I feel about the open world. It's alright. The narrative isn't as tight because you're just running around doing whatever.

I'm just rolling on Normal and it hasn't seemed too difficult. I've done lots of Heroic and Legendary runs on the previous games, but figured I'd just take this one easy. They unplayed pile is too large to waste time redoing battles 5x.

stingermck

Finally put campaign to bed. Enjoyed it overall. Harder than previous games. And turn the power on missions need to go away forever.

gerrythedon

Report Suggests 343 Industries Will No Longer Lead Development on Halo Series, Set to Oversee Future Games


Following lay offs at Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries, as part of a company-wide 4.5% reduction in staff numbers at Microsoft, a new report suggests that the studio might no longer be leading development on the Halo series. Creative Head Joseph Staten is also rumoured to be departing 343i, though this has yet to be confirmed.

Future entries in the Halo series will reportedly be handled by third-party studios, with 343 Industries removed from “active development” in favour of a consultancy role, which could see the developer overseeing work on Halo games. The report originates from Halo leaker Bathrobe Spartan on (translated by https://metro.co.uk/2023/01/20/343-taken-off-halo-as-single-player-content-cancelled-claims-rumour-18136323/ via https://www.gamespot.com/articles/343-industries-will-no-longer-make-halo-games-but-will-oversee-outside-development-report/1100-6510721/), who has previously accurately leaked Halo info on several occasions.

It's also said that as well as a ‘parental role’ on Halo, 343 Industries will maintain the Halo Infinite engine, although Bathrobe Spartan reckons that planned story-based DLC for the game has been cancelled, due to it being seen as not cost-effective. The report adds that a Halo Infinite follow-up and various spin-offs could be entering pre-production, albeit not under 343's stewardship as developer.

Halo Infinite is due to kick off Season 3: Echoes Within from 7th March, as part of 343's planned 2023 multiplayer roadmap, adding new maps, two new game modes, and the Bandit rifle weapon.


https://www.xboxachievements.com/new...series-report/

K&AJones

I put that story up over on the XBox Thread since it did relate to all the layoffs.....The report is probably true and if so, pretty sad. I can remember getting the XBox 360 for the sole purpose of playing Gears of War and Halo; both the central cornerstones of XBox. It's amazing yet sad to see both sort of fizzle and fade away and now this. First Bungie which was THE Dev back in it's day, then 343 Industries grabs the lead and now Microsoft just throws them under the bus.

As mentioned in my topic, Gaming Division only accounts for about 6% of the Revenue for MS. And it seems like some are now seeing, Microsofts goals are changing. Good video below worth a look as the guy shows texts from 343 Former and some current voicing their opinions....

gerrythedon

Michael Corvin

Halo Infinite answers the question, "what if MS released a Halo game and no one cared." How the mighty have fallen.

I bought a Series X to play it and only made it a few hours in. 343 just killed this franchise. I guess Sony owning Bungie complicates the "drive a Brinks truck to Bungie and beg them to return" scenario.

K&AJones

Now what would be funny is....Sony get Bungie to do a Halo Spin-Off Game.....

stingermck

Same, got one for Halo. Finished it but it was a chore. The magic just isn't there anymore. I haven't really played the system since, except for some 360 Tomb Raider.

K&AJones

After the Microsoft Layoffs which did hit a lot of parts of their Gaming Divisons, this past weekend the Head of 343 Industries came out and made this comment...."Halo and Master Chief are here to stay. 343 Industries will continue to develop Halo now and in the future, including epic stories, multiplayer, and more of what makes Halo great."

Well, quite a few took this comment to task and good reply over at IGN considering what many are saying about how hard 343 got hit; both by current and former Devs and employees... Halo Infinite: 343's Statement Runs Against Deep Cuts in Halo Development Team - IGN

gerrythedon

Report: Halo Infinite Won't Get Story DLC, Series Switching To Unreal

Things are changing at Halo developer 343 Industries following massive layoffs across Microsoft—including reportedly 95 people at the Halo developer. The studio is switching to Unreal Engine, has no plans to make more story content for 2021’s Halo Infinite, and continues trying to figure out what to do with a supposed Halo battle royale spin-off still in development.

In a report out today from Bloomberg, it appears 343 is basically starting from scratch with Halo. According to people familiar with the studio’s plans, the company isn’t actively working on new campaign DLC or updates for Halo Infinite. Instead, before the layoffs, developers at 343 were reportedly working on prototypes for new Halo games and projects in Unreal instead of designing new content for Infinite. And according to the report, many of those devs have since been laid off.

It’s also reported that the studio has, after nearly a decade of debate, decided to finally switch to Unreal. While there were internal concerns about how future Halo projects made with Unreal will play, the current tech—known as Slipstream—is apparently a pain to work with and is based on decades-old code at this point. Bloomberg’s report even mentions that two multiplayer modes for Halo Infinite—Extraction and Assault—are nearly done but haven’t been implemented yet due to issues with the aging Slipstream tools and tech.

This switch to Unreal will apparently start with a brand new Halo game internally code-named “Tatanka.” Reportedly, this game is being developed by both 343 and Texas-based studio Certain Affinity, a team that has a long history of working on previous Halo projects. It seems Tatanka started out as a battle royale but could “evolve in different directions.”

Kotaku has contacted Microsoft about the reported engine switch and campaign DLC.

Halo Infinite was supposed to be a big, 10-year game for Xbox and 343. And while it launched to rave reviews, it has since become a punching bag for Halo fans who find its updates lacking and its road map too sparse. It now seems like those long-term plans focused around Infinite aren’t quite the future anymore. In an email obtained by Bloombergthat was reportedly sent to staff by new 343 studio boss Pierre Hintze, the current plan for the Halo studio is to support “a robust live offering” for Halo Infinite and its Forge mode while also “greenlighting our new tech stack” for future Halo projects.


https://kotaku.com/halo-infinite-dlc...ffs-1850054347

stingermck

So much for the 10 year plan. The Halo magic just isn't there anymore.

K&AJones

I believe there's been a lot going on at 343 Industries for a long time......and who really knows why but they've lost a lot of key personnel in last several years.....I could see if this was just another Game/Series for MS but this is HALO, basically a cornerstone of XBox Gaming....Just a brief history of those key people who have left....

May 2017.... Halo studio head Dan Ayoub leaves 343 Industries | TweakTown

August 2019.... Halo Infinite Has Lost Its Creative Director (screenrant.com)

October 2019.... Halo Infinite Developer 343 Industries Loses ANOTHER Project Lead (screenrant.com)

October 2020..... Lead Halo Infinite Developer Chris Lee Leaves 343 Industries (culturedvultures.com)

Story November 2020..... Why Halo Infinite Keeps Losing Developers Why Halo Infinite Keeps Losing Developers (screenrant.com)

January 2021..... [UPDATE] Halo Infinite Lead Narrative Designer Leaving 343 Industries To Pursue New Opportunity - Game Informer

May 2021 Story..... Halo Infinite's 343 Accused Of Crunch Development By Former Employee [UPDATED] ...... Halo Infinite's 343 Accused Of Crunch Development By Former Employee (screenrant.com)

January 2022.... 'Halo Infinite' writer leaves developer 343 Industries for Riot Games (nme.com)

March 2022..... Halo Infinite's lead multiplayer designer leaves 343 Industries | PC Gamer

May 2022....... Halo Design Lead Leaves 343 Industries (gamerant.com)

July 2022..... Former Bungie director joins 343 Industries to work on Halo Infinite | Windows Central

September 2022.... Bonnie Ross 343 Industries Founder Leaves but for Family Medical Reasons... 343 Industries founder Bonnie Ross is leaving the Halo Infinite studio - Gamepur

September 2022..... David Berger leaves the same week as Ross..... Microsoft Veteran David Berger Leaving Halo Dev 343 Industries (msn.com)

January 21, 2023...... Halo Infinite Director Joseph Staten Leaving 343 Industries to Rejoin Xbox Publishing - IGN

January 19, 2023..... Story.... Ex-Halo developers slam ‘incompetent leadership’ after layoffs ...... Halo Infinite studio 343 Industries slammed by former devs amid layoffs - Polygon

January 30, 2023..... A 343 Industries Head Has Apparently Left for an Xbox Job (escapistmagazine.com)