Halo: Reach Forum
This topic has moved here: Subject: Fix host advantage. REAL SOLUTION.
  • Subject: Fix host advantage. REAL SOLUTION.
Subject: Fix host advantage. REAL SOLUTION.

Most of us know what huge difference having host can make in halo. I rarely get host, but when I do it's like I'm playing a totally different game and I don't need as much strategy. I'm just happy any more to get a decent connection and there is plenty of times that I've lost simply just because my connection was bad. I don't think they are cheating or anything. I just happen to have a bad connection to the host. Same thing is probably happening to someone playing me when I have host.

Halo is all about making everything balanced. So lets make host advantage balanced. It can't be eliminated so we have to find a way to level the playing field. This is how I think it should be done:

Have all multiplayer games in rounds. For example you get matched with a team and you play your first round on whoever the system selects for host, then after that round is complete switch host over to the other team for the second round.

This will do two things. If the system selected a bad host and everyones connection was bad and the host team won due to connection only, then it will give the other team a second chance or kind of a rematch on their host.

If red team wins both rounds on and off host then they are the better team. If they split then the connection was more than likely an issue and it doesn't hurt either team since it was a draw. You could also lower the kill count for each round so this doesn't make each game too long.
if Halo Reach employs some version of this in it's multiplayer I think it will have all the joy of past Halo franchise multiplayers without the frustrations. What do you think?

[Edited on 06.05.2009 4:16 PM PDT]

  • 06.05.2009 4:13 PM PDT
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Host advantage.
Nowhere NEAR as -blam!- bad as people think.

  • 06.05.2009 4:15 PM PDT
  • gamertag: Cas7er
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So instead of losing or winning a bunch....We all just draw a bunch....Better than nothing I guess...

[Edited on 06.05.2009 4:21 PM PDT]

  • 06.05.2009 4:21 PM PDT

I am Field Master Avu Med 'Telcam, Servant of the Abiding Truth, and I have many brothers.

A god who creates tools is still a god. It is not for us to impose qualifications upon the divine or presume to guess its intentions.

This needs to be put into the Halo 3 fourm, not Halo: Reach

  • 06.05.2009 4:23 PM PDT

90% of teens today would die if Myspace was completely destroyed. If you are one of the 10% that would be laughing, copy and paste this to your signature.

Posted by: matman25402
This needs to be put into the Halo 3 fourm, not Halo: Reach


Forum cop fail

  • 06.05.2009 4:25 PM PDT

I am Field Master Avu Med 'Telcam, Servant of the Abiding Truth, and I have many brothers.

A god who creates tools is still a god. It is not for us to impose qualifications upon the divine or presume to guess its intentions.

Read the Rules, no fails allowed.

  • 06.05.2009 4:27 PM PDT

Or, they could just optimize their networking code further (because I'm sure its not even half as good as it can be) and also make it so that the game actually chooses the person with the best connection as host. In the end, that actually would make more sense since host advantage will never be gotten rid of no matter what the compromise. The best they can do is to actually make it less horrendous.

  • 06.05.2009 4:35 PM PDT

I love the entire Halo series, Halo 2 being my favorite of the games. I think that the universe is compelling and the story is deep, sweeping, and powerful. The hidden layers in the Halo trilogy and rich details of the backstory in the novels are something I love to be lost in, and im greatly looking forward to the story that Halo: Reach will weave. Bungie has carefully and lovingly crafted a mythic tale that will stay etched in my mind until the end.

Host advantage is a way for people to whine, complain, and make excuses. Their is a slight advantage to having host, but host advantage in Halo 3 is no where near, I REPEAT, NO WHERE NEAR as bad as the Gears of War 1 and 2 host advantage. Play Gears 1 and 2 for a few weeks and you will never, ever, complain about Halo 3's host again. Ever.

The only way to completely eliminate host advantage in any game is to have dedicated servers like PC games use and like Sony's PS3 servers use. That way the connection relies on the server itself, not an individual player's connection which is how most Xbox Live games operate.

[Edited on 06.05.2009 5:21 PM PDT]

  • 06.05.2009 5:17 PM PDT

Posted by: The Shepherd214
Host advantage is a way for people to whine, complain, and make excuses. Their is a slight advantage to having host, but host advantage in Halo 3 is no where near, I REPEAT, NO WHERE NEAR as bad as the Gears of War 1 and 2 host advantage. Play Gears 1 and 2 for a few weeks and you will never, ever, complain about Halo 3's host again. Ever.

The only way to completely eliminate host advantage in any game is to have dedicated servers like PC games use and like Sony's PS3 servers use. That way the connection relies on the server itself, not an individual player's connection which is how most Xbox Live games operate.


Very true. I played Gears with my friends system link style. Then I switched to Xbox Live and the host advantage and bullet lag was so inconsistent it drove me insane. Halo is no where near as bad.

Another way to fix host advantage is have certain weapons hosted on client side.

  • 06.05.2009 5:27 PM PDT
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"Rise and shine Mister Freeman. Rise and----shine." -Gman

If your the only one noticing host advantage in your game, its most likely something wrong with your connection. Make sure your not downloading or uploading huge files or torrents.

  • 06.05.2009 6:50 PM PDT