- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Posted by: Doom Sticks
Well if anyone out there who is of the position of "we do NOT need the health indicator- it would be more intense/realistic- it takes up space anyway- and change is ok, dont be afraid" could atleast offer some practical usage of this omission then that would be great.
Well, we have to remember that as of now it's only a visual change. But, of course, even something as small as a visual change can effect the way gamers play and perceive a game.
ex: If I wanted to place a greater importance on the shield regeneration system, then I could remove the health bars.
Here's the best explanation I got for the lack of health bars.. This was taken from the ign.com message boards - from a gamer that played the game at e3. This is just a piece of his impressions..
One thing that I have yet to see mentioned by anyone, anywhere is the new shield/health system. Instead of the two bars for health and shield, there is now only one bar for shields. I was totally perplexed and dismayed by this, thinking that the shield/health system was probably one of the best innovations in Halo 1. So I had to ask a Bungie guy what it all meant. He told me that there IS health, but it's hidden under the covers for a reason. It (the health) will actually regenerate the same as shields, but FAR slower, and health doesn't hold out well against any weapon (a couple or few shots from any weapon will completely remove all health). He said that, once your shields were gone, they wanted you to know you were close to death (within a shot or two) and play it with that intensity of not knowing. Anyway, technically, it's not as big of a change as I first thought it was, and play still works largely the same, but I can not believe I haven't seen this mentioned more prominantly in people's impressions of the game.