Halo 3 Beta Planning

[redtop91]

I'll kick things off with a kickas$ new gameplay video. I'm stoked. I think they might have topped Halo 2 already. http://download.microsoft.com/...s.wmv

That aside here are the features of the Beta:

Gametypes:

The Halo 3 multiplayer beta delivers a preview of the final game's matchmaking abilities. Keep in mind that the beta only allows multiplayer over Xbox LIVE—the final game will also support solo play, split-screen, and System Link play.

When you start the game, you have options to Play the Beta or View a Film—I'll get to the films in a few. Now you choose the game type. You'll find both Ranked and Social playlists. Ranked playlists let you build rank depending on your performance, but they don't allow guests, and you can't choose who you play against. Social playlists don't add to your ranking, but they let you party up and choose your teams.

Each playlist has a number of different game types. Ranked game types include Rumble Pit (you against the world), Team Slayer (team deathmatch variants), Team Skirmish (team-based games like Capture the Flag and Territories), and Big Team Battle (just what you'd expect—large map, big teams, non-stop action).

There are plenty of variations of each game type as well. For instance, a Rumble Pit game might find the level populated with just sniper rifles or rocket launchers, or you might find yourself playing a variant like Crazy King, a King of the Hill game where the hill location changes every few seconds.

Select your playlist to get matched with players of equal skill and dropped into the action.

Maps and Gameplay additions:

The Halo 3 beta includes three maps: Snowbound, High Ground, and Valhalla. With variations in terrain, structures, and available vehicles and equipment, each map provides a unique combat experience. Snowbound, for instance, is replete with tunnels, good sniping spots, and a good old-fashioned Ghost vehicle to run down enemies with. Valhalla, on the other hand, is a huge, open terrain, with gravity launchers to give you a boost over the battlefield, and the new Mongoose vehicle for scouting missions, quick transport, and (with a rocket-launcher-toting buddy on the back) fast-attack passes against the enemy.

Combat has all the goodness that made multiplayer in Halo 2 such a blast, plus some new twists that allow for some interesting, and occasionally amusing, new strategies. Spartans can now pick up equipment on the battlefield and deploy it with the X button. For instance, the Grav Lift can be used to give you a boost over a high wall. But you can also drop it in front of an oncoming vehicle to send it flying.

The Bubble Shield protects you from incoming fire outside the shield. It's great protection against snipers when you're trying to hold a position, but it doesn't stop an enemy from walking through the shield and attacking you from inside. Trip Mines can booby-trap a vehicle or help protect you from attacks from a tunnel behind you, while the Energy Drainer can shut down a vehicle or drain your enemy's shielding.

There's a variety of new weapons strewn about the levels, but I won't spoil the fun of discovery by detailing them here.

When the match ends, you now have the option to Party Up. If you've found some awesome teammates and want to play with them again in future games, just vote to Party Up in the post-game screen. If everyone agrees, you'll be put into a new party that you can continue to play with in future games. This works for teammates in Ranked Team Games, and friends and foes alike in Social games.

Replay Save (OMFG I CAN RECORD MY PWNAGE?!?!?!?!?!?!? 1337!):

When a game ends, press the X button to save a film of the entire game. Watch the replay later to see what you did right—and wrong. Better yet, share the film in your File Share, so that other players can check it out.

This isn't just for bragging rights, it's also an excellent training aid.

In one game, another player just decimated the lot of us—he had 25+ kills to our average of five or six apiece. I checked his profile, found his shared films, grabbed one, and I was able to see the techniques he used to rule the battlefield. Next time, I'll be … well, probably still his victim. But at least I'll know how he did it.

Remember that this is the Halo 3 beta, and the final game will look even more amazing, and have loads of features that you don't see yet. While the current version's Saved Films feature is limited to one camera viewpoint, for instance, the final game will let you view the replay from almost any angle or player perspective, slow it down, reverse the action, and zoom in. You can snip clips out of the film and send just the highlights, so you can show your friend that great moment when you saved the game by sticking the flag-carrier with a Brute Spike Grenade.

Article by Denny Atkin

We need to establish teams and a routine playlist, time, and maybe even some tournaments. I'm getting tremendously excited about this one. I loved Halo 2 and was even Nationally ranked at one point but I never carried enough interest to take me to the top. I'm gonna good as hell at this one ladies.

[OldmanPurdy]

I'll admit that im one of the few people that never played any halo game ever but since half of Nico is probaly going to be on this i'll jump on the bandwagon. Any word on the max # of players online? I hope its more than 16 but so far thats the most i've ever seen in a 360 game, i mean if my PS2 can do 32 in socom2 than this should be ablt to match that.

[superDorifto]

get some friends...a few beers, and halo 2, you will not be disapointed...

[Eikon]

I was a Halo2 fanatic.

Was severly limited by the internet connection bandwidth in my part of the world.. .so I was never competitive with the big boys due to lag.

If Halo3 is on it's own servers instead of picking a single player in the game to host it... I'm going to fall into a deep dark addiction to this game.

If the host of the game still has a huge advantage and the others with faster connections still have a small advantage.. . I'll just avoid the frusteration and skip this game.

I will be trying out the Beta in a couple days though... pretty excited about that.

[redtop91]

Yeah single host boxes were a huge limitation in Halo 2. Opened up the door for bridging and modding and all that crap. No word yet on how this one will be arranged but I have a feeling that it will be similar/the same. As regards the number of players, 16 is plenty in a game like Halo honestly. It's a lot faster paced that Socom and 32 players would get overly chaotic. Not to mention latency was already huge in BTB. I'd hate to imagine it with twice as many people with crappy connections

[OldmanPurdy]

Yeah true as long as the levels are built right for the #of players,s till I was hoping they would do what Eikon mentioned and have dedicated servers like the old PS2 games so we could have huge levels with lots of players and no host advantage.

[redtop91]

2 Hours until the beta.

[Loki]

Half an hour now. Too bad I have school in ten minutes

[redtop91]

Lame as$es moved it back.

[Eikon]

I read on bungie that they are having difficulty setting up the Crackdown entrance for halo 3. they have the "freinds/family/contest winners" already working.

Hopefully they will have it figure out by this evening when I intend to start playing at my friends house.

[redtop91]

Yeah the contest winners are playing now. I have a couple on my friends list. It strikes me as unfair that the people who bought Crackdown to play the Beta are getting the mandingo shaft and the people who didn't pay a penny are fragging away.

[Loki]

Wha?? They still haven't gotten the Crackdown people in? Sounds like grade A BS. Bungie

[mahchu07]

As soon as I found out I waited for about an hour and then went back to sleep. When I woke up and got on, redtop informed me that they still had their thumbs up their a**es at bungie.

On a lighter note, while I was sleeping I had a dream of coming online and searching forums for the fanboy's responses and envisioned someone making a 300 picture out of this. Something like Leonidis' head on Master Chief's body saying "This is bulls***!!!"

Oh yeah, redtop you should change your sig to say "May 16th... or 17th... maybe 18th."

[xTURBOx240x]

my friend was one of those selected to get it through there submission thing we have bea playing it... halo 3 beta is bad ***...

[Loki]

Well, whenever Bungie locates it's head and figures out how it got that far up its ***, we should get together for some Nico Skirmish Pwning

[redtop91]

Update:

We're happy to finally announce that the issues being faced with the Halo 3 beta and Crackdown will be resolved shortly. The Microsoft team has found a solution and it's undergoing final testing now.

Assuming the test pass goes according to plan, the fix will come in the form of a Crackdown title update within the next three to six hours.

We understand many of you were eagerly awaiting your chance to jump into the Halo 3 Beta and this technical issue has put a damper on your plans. Thankfully the fix is incoming and we're sincerely sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. Ultimately we hope this will all soon be a distant memory once you pick up the Spartan Laser, launch yourself from a Mancannon and enjoy online shenanigans with your friends.

As a reminder, people who already have the Halo 3 Beta are unaffected by this issue. We'll keep you posted as soon as we have more information.

http://www.bungie.net/News/con...12468

[Shift_Alabama]

Yeah the contest winners are playing now. I have a couple on my friends list. It strikes me as unfair that the people who bought Crackdown to play the Beta are getting the mandingo shaft and the people who didn't pay a penny are fragging away.

Ouch. I know a few of my friends that missed school today just to play the Halo 3 Beta. I'll bet they're super pissed.

[Loki]

Crackdown Halo 3 Beta is LIVE. I am DLing it RIGHT NOW.

Go to 360 Dashboard, go to Memory blade, hit Y, then XX, left bumper, right bumper, then XX. Perform maintenance. Start Crackdown. Halo 3 Beta will be available. Enjoy.

YES I am bloody serious.

[redtop91]

I was online when they uploaded it. It booted me offline then when I reconnected it said there was an update and the beta is there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 45% done.

[Loki]

I played a game of Skirmish on Highground last night...it was pretty fun. Went 9 and 5 after not playing in forever. Love duelwielding the brute spikers. We gotta team up this afternoon Ryon

[redtop91]

I'm in love with that game already. It kicks major as$. It's different enough from Halo 2 to start everyone from ground zero but has little similarities that help those who were good at Halo 2 to be good at 3. I have to work today though Chris I will be on late tonight (1 AM CST) and all day tomorrow (until 4 PM CST).

[Loki]

Until 5pm est =/= all day lol and there's no way in hell I'm staying up til 2

Skirmish is just a blast! But I do run into a fair amount of glitches and such.

Snowbound sucks!

[redtop91]

I absolutely pwn on Snowbound! I love how the snow holds the grenades and you can't see them. It's like leave mines for people LOL. I love the shielded doors and the new strategies they allow. The bubble shield is kind of lame IMO. It only helps when you are being sniped or someone is shooting the Spartan laser (BADASS GUN!) but if someone is chasing you right on your a$s all they have to do is walk into the shield, drop a grenade and walk out. It becomes an instant deathtrap.

[Loki]

That's why you walk out when they drop the grenade. Bubble Shield will be good, we just have to get used to it

[redtop91]

Easier said than done because the nades blow up fast as hell now.

[Shift_Alabama]

That's why you walk out when they drop the grenade. Bubble Shield will be good, we just have to get used to it

What's the deal with the bubble shield. How does it work?

[xekushnr]

Just finished downloading. I might play a round, but I will probably just go to sleep. I dont have to work tomorrow so I will probably be on if I'm not getting laid (good chance, I believe the woman is busy)

[redtop91]

What's the deal with the bubble shield. How does it work?

It's basically a shield that you drop on the ground an d it makes a good size bubble around you that don't allow bullets, grenades, anything to attack with through, however you can just walk into it and attack the person inside. That's pretty much why it's only effective for a territories type of match where the enemy is far away and shooting at you.

Just finished downloading. I might play a round, but I will probably just go to sleep. I dont have to work tomorrow so I will probably be on if I'm not getting laid (good chance, I believe the woman is busy)

Pffft. Excuthes . I downloaded it around ten o'clock at night when it first came out and played until 6 AM the next day I played from 1 AM to 6 AM last night too. God I'm tired as hell. But it was hella fun.

[Loki]

Hehe, you wouldn't even have DL'd it if I hadn't have told you :p

[redtop91]

No actually I was downloading if before you were. I got it the moment it came out. Mine came as an update. I just didn't post it right then because my computer is downstairs.