Halo 3: ODST Forum
This topic has moved here: Subject: Weekly "HALO 3 In The Work PLace" ODST Thread 6/5/09
  • Subject: Weekly "HALO 3 In The Work PLace" ODST Thread 6/5/09
Subject: Weekly "HALO 3 In The Work PLace" ODST Thread 6/5/09

Man what a week it has been for the HALO fan. Bungie dropped huge bombshells on us at E3 and here on Bungie.net. The peep in HALO 3 In The Work PLace have been talking about these bombshells non stop. Fellow group member through out the following question and I thought let's take it to the community and get their input. This question comes to you from asayboy

With the addition of what has been asked for (and added into every other game recently) from the community. Will Firefight really be the thing that warrants ODST to be more than a campaign chapter? How do you think it will stack up to other similar modes in other popular games (ie Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2, etc.)?

  • 06.05.2009 7:56 AM PDT
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Firefight will be amazing because this is halo, and halo combat is amazing, and finally we get what I call "a bot mode" which is amazing, I really cant wait for this, i haven't been this excited for a game since... well Halo 3... okay maybe smash bros brawl

  • 06.05.2009 7:59 AM PDT

The WorkPLace<3
(Formerly Halo 3 In The WorkPLace)
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I think it stacks up very well to those games. It's had the chance to see the games, paly them, and improve upon them making ODST's version better. From the interview John Staten said it isn't better then Gears, just different. I think with randomized waves, and adding skulls to the mix it'll be a hell of a lot of fun. I'm so excited for ODST and firefight mode. I've been begging for something like this since the H3 forum started. :-)

H3ITWP Desk Jockey

  • 06.05.2009 8:00 AM PDT
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Considering that I have never played those other games. I can't wait for Firefight. Something to mess around in when you don't have friends online and something to do with friends when you don't want to mess around with the crap in MM.


Scoutt H3ITWP Sup3rvisor.

  • 06.05.2009 8:02 AM PDT

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Posted by: ArchedThunder
Firefight will be amazing because this is halo, and halo combat is amazing, and finally we get what I call "a bot mode" which is amazing, I really cant wait for this, i haven't been this excited for a game since... well Halo 3... okay maybe smash bros brawl


I agreed with you. I am literally shacking with excitement.

  • 06.05.2009 8:03 AM PDT

The WorkPLace
(Formerly 'Halo 3 in The Work PLace')

Posted by: VENOM MDK
With the addition of what has been asked for (and added into every other game recently) from the community. Will Firefight really be the thing that warrants ODST to be more than a campaign chapter? How do you think it will stack up to other similar modes in other popular games (ie Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2, etc.)?
I feel that Firefight will be the thing that keeps bringing me back to ODST (yes even before its out), but I don't think it will be the thing to take me away from Halo3 MM, that will probably be down to whatever I find in the Reach Multiplayer beta. Personally I'm really looking forward to Firefight and I'm sure it will make ODST one of my most played games, at least for a year.

Jussy - H3ITWP Desk Jockey and Bringer of teh Awesome!

  • 06.05.2009 8:13 AM PDT

Posted by: ArchedThunder
Firefight will be amazing because this is halo, and halo combat is amazing, and finally we get what I call "a bot mode" which is amazing, I really cant wait for this, i haven't been this excited for a game since... well Halo 3... okay maybe Halo 2

  • 06.05.2009 8:17 AM PDT

RIP Logan ~B.B.

Since Halo has my favored base gameplay, and much better AI than Gears, so I assume I will like it more. Plus, in Firefight, I get a Warthog!

  • 06.05.2009 8:19 AM PDT

Posted by: VENOM MDK
With the addition of what has been asked for (and added into every other game recently) from the community. Will Firefight really be the thing that warrants ODST to be more than a campaign chapter? How do you think it will stack up to other similar modes in other popular games (ie Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2, etc.)?
Come on, killing wave after wave of Covenant with 3 buds until you just get over-run and die, what could be better? This type of mode has been proven to be loads of fun so I think Bungie was very smart to include it. We all know Bungie listens to the fans and does what they can to please them. After all, we buy their cars and build their houses so it makes sense to keep us happy :) I think it is just another tic in the box of making ODST worth 60 bucks.

Jay120171 - H3ITWP Foreman

  • 06.05.2009 8:43 AM PDT

You know, technically Bungie had Firefight before any other of these companies. Anyone recall Marathon? Yep.

It'll be good. I'm sure Bungie'll have a whole variety of maps for us here. It'll be great.

  • 06.05.2009 8:45 AM PDT

We're building a better world...all of them, better worlds.

I'm excited for Firefight because Bungie has tailored specific maps for it. Gears of War Horde Mode is fun on certain maps, but on other maps that were designed for multiplayer team vs. team games, it isn't so fun. The maps in L4D's survival mode are somewhat of a disappointment as well, since most of them don't offer fortified positions. The thing that struck me about what we've seen of Firefight is the maps help you.

For me, the thing that makes survival games fun is making the enemy funnel through one choke point and working with your friends to focus fire on that one choke point. Then, once the enemy passes that choke point and you are forced to focus fire in multiple directions, the objective becomes regaining control. I think Firefight will give us more of that experience.

At least for me, survival modes are all about setting up to control the situation and then that struggle to regain control. The fun comes when the chaos overwhelms you.

Edit: The final battle for Zion in Matrix Revolutions comes to mind. That's what I want out of a survival gametype, and I think Firefight is going to get close to it.

Senior Foreman - H3ITWP

[Edited on 06.05.2009 8:53 AM PDT]

  • 06.05.2009 8:50 AM PDT
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R.I.P. DeathPimp. Never Ending Respect.

"Posted by: Kickimanjaro
I'm trying to become an '04, but it's not working too well."

Firefight is the reason to buy Halo 3: ODST
I know it's a big claim, seeing as though we haven't played yet.

But the fact of the matter is this; You'll have wave after wave of Covie Slime sloshing its way to your door step. The high parts of any Halo campaign would consist of MASSIVE amounts of enemies heading your way. The fact that some maps will include Vehicles is beyond me.
Imagine Blood Gulch infested with Grunts and Jackets with 2 wraiths constantly bombing you, followed by a swarm of Drones and a pair of hunters.

I can't wait until my first time hearing the Drums of the Deep.
Especially with 3 other ODST's by my side.

I mean heck, that's the selling point for me. Throughout any 4 player co op in H3, i always find myself wishing that i had Marines or ODST's as buddies, rather than the Elite combo meal.


DMG04- H3ITWP Desk Jockey

  • 06.05.2009 9:21 AM PDT

Remember all the "backlot " shenanigans for that acceptance speech?
It's like all of those wild accusations came true!

I cannot wait for this game.

  • 06.05.2009 9:35 AM PDT

I'm really stoked for Firefight. I do think that many people will be getting ODST for Firefight itself.
As for if it stacks against the rest of them, I don't know I've never played them to know.

  • 06.05.2009 9:41 AM PDT
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Bare with me for a moment as I attempt to answer the OP's question... I am sure I am not alone when I say, people are growing tired of Bungie's online grief-making system.

Personally, I'm tired of dealing with 2nd accounters. Those who should be playing at a higher level due to greater skill deciding to play down, by way of a 2nd account, in order to beat up on lesser skilled players.

I once had trust in matchmaking's ability to find me a fair match based on the merits of TrueSkill. However, with little or no incentives for players to stick with and play upon their primary accounts, players, left and right, are starting over.

It is the rare game where I don't bump into a 2nd accounter. Again, I'm not trying to win every game. I'm in it to have fun. These days, such a thing (fun) is a difficult to quantify when I am being smacked down at every turn due to playing a supposedly evenly matched team of nothing but heavily skilled and experienced players.

As to the OP's initial question: when I had seen that ODST will bring with it a new mode (Firefight) which allows me and my buds the ability to play online against AI in a constantly changing battlefield... I LOLd.

I can imagine playing ODST Firefight a whole heck of a lot. I can imagine playing this kind of mode more than matchmaking in general. That is, at least, until Bungie finds a way to provide incentives for players to stick with their primary account and not play down in order to grief the average gamer.

As to the competition to such a gamemode. I grew tired, quickly, of fighting wave after wave of the same old zombies in COD. Horde mode, at least in terms of variety (both in the form of levels and monster type) was an improvement over COD. Firefight, from what I have seen, trumps the competition.

1) The Wave / Round / Set model encourages team work by developing a sense of finite resources. Since, as Bungie has stated, teams won't receive a resupply until the each Set has been completed.

2) The inclusion of vehicles... Enough said.

3) The inclusion of vehicles... Such a point merits being repeated

4) The events of Firefight aren't scripted. Every Firefight will be unique.

5) Medals

6) Progressive point system

7) Online Stats / Leaderboards

8) Multiple maps ( in both day / night versions )

9) Customizable armor permutations which can be unlocked via the campaign...

10) Skull modifiers controlled by the Firefight game engine...!

....

I haven't given up on Bungie's ability to fix the woes of matchmaking brought on by mistakenly thinking EXP + Skill = Reward will keep people in their first accounts. I will, however, spend most of my time amassing a chest of medals based on my ability to defeat wave after wave of, ever varying, Covenant scum...

[Edited on 06.05.2009 11:45 AM PDT]

  • 06.05.2009 11:02 AM PDT

If Superman died, then why was he so super?

I'm in total accord with bigturns, Firefight will be the strongest "bot" mode out there, it offers a lot more in way of replayability (if that's a word?). From what the Bungie A.I. can do ingame, it will be much like the "Director" in Left 4 Dead, but with the random skull's added every wave, it does, in a way, trump all other competitive modes.

I really thought that Bungie had something great with the Meta-game during campaign, but it never was really set up to be competitively played. Firefight takes what made the Meta-game fun and combines it with endless waves that same fun.

I'm super excited.

Asayboy - H3ITWP Desk Jockey and Weekend Thread Questioner

  • 06.05.2009 12:02 PM PDT