- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
before anything, lemme get this out: I love Halo 2. its a blast. I love Bungie; uve always given me something unique. Im NOT to be identified with the " OMG u didnt tll us bout a new gun or info OMG updates stink!!!!111!!" group. those are the incompetents who didnt even read the post where you said, clearly, that updates were (on a normal basis) primarly for insight into life and love at Bungie. I understand, and GREATLY aprrecciate what youve given us. I personally think Halo 2's matchmaking is BETTER than most. at least in Halo 2, theres no host shottie (ahem GoW ahem) thers a slight advantage, and thats it. usally, a little strategy fixes that up real quick. nyway, ppl dont camp one map and gametype, and going up agianst a team who knows each other when urs doesnt does not destroy any hope of winning. I love Matchmaking, and am a severe advocate of u guys and ur hard work. but, when i see this big a deal, i must speak. and, seeing how 9 pages have gone by without any official reaction, or even a link to one in another forum, i must assume this isnt just a big misunderstanding, where there was a good honest reason for this. i cant find one, and if there is one, id love to hear it. oh, and there are plenty of ppl on said dead playlists. i normally get a list filled nearly instantly; the actually configuring after the other 7 have joined usually takes longer.
first: Halo 3. sweet! i dunno why everyone says teh graphics suck. its THE FREAKIN ALPHA! oh, and for an alpha build, the graphics werent bad.
the action looks better paced. i hope that the vids where a dozen (or more) guys all meet in one place and start brawling is realistic. that would be SWEET, and itd give a more realistic WAR feel.
Im hoping and praying that they have found some way to at least downsize certain, ahem, tactics that (ahem) not so good players use (cough-noob combo/ sword camping -cough) we can only hope, though. cant wait to play the Beta next month!!!!!
next: Halo 2. aaaaaaaahhh, come on... like its been said, Rumble Pit (formally known as Rumble Training, R.I.P.) will go from an extremly fast paced, tense match of skilled adversaries, to assassinating DrgnSlayaz 223124 while he's trying to figure out how to pick up a Plasma Pistol. oh, joy. also, to those who say that it's ALREADY a noob/nade fest all the time, um, no. that only happens partially, and when it does, thats just another challenge to overcome. try teaming up with others; its not illegal. ive done it, and said over-powered party quickly finds himself (herself) dying before he (she) can ever get his (her) precious plasma pistol or sword back. or quitting. booyah.
why must BTB Skirmish be tainted by the touch of unranked playlists? I always loved any match where everyone stayed and it was 16 person carnage. thus, the effect of a RANKED match. no, rank doesnt change the seasons and make the moon spin, but it a least gives many ppl enough respect and honor to stick it out. unranked gives us a bunch of team killers and quitters. woopdy-doo.
unranked BTB slayer was ok; ocassionaly, you got a large group of at least decent players who are willing to dedicate 5-10 minutes of their life to something.
I have never been in a large, active clan, nor do i have more than 2 or 3 buds online at a time. therefore, i cant personally defend the loss of clan matches and BTB Skirmish in that respect. the huge outcry that has come forth is enough for me.
as i said above; i love bungie and halo and halo 2 and halo matchmaking. its a blast. i still play them as much as GoW; even more so nowdays, in prep for da Beta of course. nyways, i am the first person to respect the makers of something of this magnitude, and those who put the hard work in to give us a game that changed console FPS gaming and saved the Xbox from damnation to a hell of 3-star third party games.
however; the recent change in playlists has me worried. first you cut clan matches; ok, ur judgement call. it made many angry, but we accepted it. ur call. now, our BTB skirmish is gone, and our beloved ranked R Pit has disappeared, and its name slapped on Rumble Training. The cuts dont add up to the online difficulty-to-find-games. see above arguement. nyways, my big, huge-Halo 2-section-of-da-post encompassing question is this: what's next? how long till Team Slayer falls to the level of unranked? and once it falls, how fast will an unranked (dear heavens no!) Team Snipers hit our list? the downhill roll has had its up points (Carnage, BTB Skirmish, Clan matches, etc.), but all of those are gone now. im just afriad that Halo 2 online will fall, crippled (if not dead) upon "lack of players". give back our playlists, and that problem will disappear. that combined w da new maps will give 2 through the Beta, and then to 3s release date, and even farther maybe. keep cutting the things ppl play for, and you kill the game.
I trust you guys, but even the wisest of men need advice sometimes. This is just the concern of a dedicated gamer, who has hopefully solidified many of the outcries by his peers. the ones with brains, that is.
please Bungie, we trust you. please, please don't let us down.
it was said that hitting the bar of Halo 2 was a moving target; im just afraid that said bar is slowly sinking towards the floor.
-a dedicated fan, and hope-to-be general of Bungie's new world order, Sam