Halo 3: ODST Forum
This topic has moved here: Subject: Maximizing Firefight's Potential
  • Subject: Maximizing Firefight's Potential
Subject: Maximizing Firefight's Potential

One of the few and the proud, a Mythic Conqueror, I am.

Note: All of these additions can be implemented after the game's release because it would be a matchmaking change. One similar to the changes Bungie makes every month to Halo 3's matchmaking. At the very least it could be put in an auto-update. The release date wouldn't have to be pushed back.

Firefight sounds like a great addition to the Halo universe. It will bring co-op play to Xbox Live in conjunction with the competitiveness of Multiplayer. But what can Bungie do to maximize it's true potential?

First, everyone has friends in their friends list, but are your friends wanting to do the same thing as you at the same time? Are they even playing the same game? Most often not. It can be rather cumbersome to find a large enough group of friends to make a good custom game. That is why Firefight should be available both through custom games and matchmaking.

If matchmaking were implemented into Firefight, then you could start up a game of Firefight immediately without having to wait on your friends. Also, because it is in matchmaking, there will have to be some way of tuning Firefight to the skill levels of the players matched. That is where a special Firefight ranking system will come in.

Firefight will have the same ranks as any other ranked playlist. However, the ranks in this gametype have a much larger affect on the gameplay. When you are just starting out in Firefight,(level one) you will play matchmade Firefight on normal. As you progress through the ranks, you will play at a higher and higher difficulty. You will progress through the ranks based on how far you make it in that particular match of Firefight. This way it would be a team based playlist, because if one person uses all of the team's lives, then the whole team suffers.

I know what you're thinking. What about the quitters? This issue has plagued online multiplayer since its advent. Bots are a common solution, but because lives are shared it would only hurt the team more. A proper solution would be to automatically alter the number of enemies in the following waves to preserve a fair enemy to player ratio. (Credit to RigaTony for bringing this to my attention).

As well as a ranking system in-game, there would also be leaderboard stats on Bungie.net. In this manner, teams all over the world would be competing for the top score on each difficulty.

Firefight is a new and exciting way to play Halo. It can either be underplayed and underutilized, or it can be one of the best gametypes in the Halo universe. All of this depends on how willing Bungie is to maximize it's potential.

(Any other ideas and suggestions are welcome. If they are good enough, I will quote them in the original post).

- vMidnightShadev

[Edited on 06.12.2009 10:50 AM PDT]

  • 06.12.2009 10:13 AM PDT

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Posted by: mubox47
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Im pretty sure ODST is finished by now, and i doubt they will change anything.

  • 06.12.2009 10:16 AM PDT

One of the few and the proud, a Mythic Conqueror, I am.

Posted by: The EAKLE

Im pretty sure ODST is finished by now, and i doubt they will change anything.
It hasn't gone gold so the game is not at all "finished." Besides, all of the updates I have listed are "Live updates" so it would be easier to implement it over the internet than altering the game code.

It's best if you think before you speak.

[Edited on 06.12.2009 10:19 AM PDT]

  • 06.12.2009 10:18 AM PDT

Even though this is a great idea, it would make quitting a severe problem.

It's not that bad when someone in your team quits in competitive MM. Now, imagine a team of four people playing coop firefight on a high difficulty. If only ONE person quits, the whole team is doomed.

However, I do like your idea and I hope it will be implemented in MM.

  • 06.12.2009 10:21 AM PDT

One of the few and the proud, a Mythic Conqueror, I am.

It would also be even less productive to implement a bot since the team shares lives. Quitting is an issue that could be swayed by altering the number of enemies in the sequential waves to restore the enemy to player ratio.

[Edited on 06.12.2009 10:24 AM PDT]

  • 06.12.2009 10:23 AM PDT

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Posted by: mubox47
$.50 in store credit.

Posted by: VMidnightShadeV
Posted by: The EAKLE

Im pretty sure ODST is finished by now, and i doubt they will change anything.
It hasn't gone gold so the game is not at all "finished." Besides, all of the updates I have listed are "Live updates" so it would be easier to implement it over the internet than altering the game code.

It's best if you think before you speak.
What is it with this community and telling me to think or read when they have no clue what im doing?

Ranking would likely just cause issues with selling accounts and stuff like that. There would be people that do stupid things like betray you all the time just to annoy you.

if one person uses all of the team's lives, then the whole team suffers.That would suck. People would not like to play with players that were not very good. I would hate it if none of my rank 50 friends played with me because i would drag down their rank in Fire Fight.

It hasn't gone gold so the game is not at all "finished." And how do you know this? Do you work for Bungie? I doubt that. so it would be easier to implement it over the internet Once again, how do you know this? I bet none of it is easy.

Also, with everyone wanting to play Fire Fight and the new Team Mythic (if we get one) all the other playlists' population would likely drop. Then, matches would probably be harder to find.

  • 06.12.2009 10:32 AM PDT

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  • 06.12.2009 10:33 AM PDT

Posted by: VMidnightShadeV
It would also be even less productive to implement a bot since the team shares lives. Quitting is an issue that could be swayed by altering the number of enemies in the sequential waves to restore the enemy to player ratio.


Sounds like a fair solution, but then the weakened squad could never reach the same highscore as a 4-man squad fighting off the full waves.

It's not fair statistics-wise.

I don't want to say your idea is crap, it rocks. I just don't see a way to make it work right. Maybe Bungie found a good solution :D

Oh, and to the guy who said that it was finished and that they won't implement anything new. Well, it IS indeed finished (Curtis Creamer said that in the GameReactor interview), but who said that we already know all of the games features? We know nothing, so it could still be possible that this particular feature is present in the game. It just hasn't been revealed yet.

  • 06.12.2009 10:41 AM PDT

One of the few and the proud, a Mythic Conqueror, I am.

Posted by: The EAKLE
Posted by: VMidnightShadeV
Posted by: The EAKLE

Im pretty sure ODST is finished by now, and i doubt they will change anything.
It hasn't gone gold so the game is not at all "finished." Besides, all of the updates I have listed are "Live updates" so it would be easier to implement it over the internet than altering the game code.

It's best if you think before you speak.
What is it with this community and telling me to think or read when they have no clue what im doing?

Ranking would likely just cause issues with selling accounts and stuff like that. There would be people that do stupid things like betray you all the time just to annoy you.

if one person uses all of the team's lives, then the whole team suffers.That would suck. People would not like to play with players that were not very good. I would hate it if none of my rank 50 friends played with me because i would drag down their rank in Fire Fight.

It hasn't gone gold so the game is not at all "finished." And how do you know this? Do you work for Bungie? I doubt that. so it would be easier to implement it over the internet Once again, how do you know this? I bet none of it is easy.

Also, with everyone wanting to play Fire Fight and the new Team Mythic (if we get one) all the other playlists' population would likely drop. Then, matches would probably be harder to find.


*sigh* Ok, in order, selling accounts is already being done, and it really isn't that large of an issue. With every new game that has a ranking system there will be account trading. It happens.

One person dying a lot in Firefight is exactly the same as someone going negative in a matchmaking game. That's part of matchmaking, it's not a guarantee that everyone is going to be of the same skill level. I didn't say make it a matchmaking exclusive; it will still be available as a custom gametype as well.

Typically games go gold two or three weeks before their official release date. Until that date, changes can be made. Changes to a game's hard code may push back the release but this update could be implemented after release so it is kind of irrelevant whether or not the game is finished.

It would be easier to implement over the internet because it is an internet based change. If it were so hard would Bungie make changes every month to the matchmaking system in Halo 3? It would be a change very similar to those.

Lastly, populations in new playlists are always higher. They are never so high that the populations in other playlists drop to inconvenient levels. Team Slayer will always have a significant population. There is really nothing to worry about. In addition, there will be a new wave of players coming in because ODST will be a new release.

[Edited on 06.12.2009 10:51 AM PDT]

  • 06.12.2009 10:45 AM PDT

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I'd say it could possibly be added but with the effect that the release by date would be extended to perhaps Christmas, still though nice idea :D

  • 06.12.2009 10:46 AM PDT

One of the few and the proud, a Mythic Conqueror, I am.

Posted by: RigaTony

Sounds like a fair solution, but then the weakened squad could never reach the same highscore as a 4-man squad fighting off the full waves.

It's not fair statistics-wise.


Score multiplyer perhaps?

[Edited on 06.12.2009 10:48 AM PDT]

  • 06.12.2009 10:47 AM PDT

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Posted by: VMidnightShadeV
Posted by: RigaTony

Sounds like a fair solution, but then the weakened squad could never reach the same highscore as a 4-man squad fighting off the full waves.

It's not fair statistics-wise.


Score multiplyer perhaps?


It'd better be completely equal. Giving a different bonus to some is never equal.

  • 06.12.2009 10:55 AM PDT

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Posted by: mubox47
$.50 in store credit.


It would be easier to implement over the internet because it is an internet based change. If it were so hard would Bungie make changes every month to the matchmaking system in Halo 3? It would be a change very similar to those.Bungie adds playlists using the same ranking system (wins= good. losses = bad), not something like this. Using a new ranking system (rank determined on how far you get in fire fight) would probably take a lot more work than just adding a new mix of game types.


One person dying a lot in Firefight is exactly the same as someone going negative in a matchmaking game. That's part of matchmaking, it's not a guarantee that everyone is going to be of the same skill level. I didn't say make it a matchmaking exclusive; it will still be available as a custom gametype as well.Exactly. There are already bad matchups. I played a game of Swat last week where the skills ranged from 7 to 40. It would be rather annoying for all the people trying to rank up in this playlist if their team mates cant keep up. Also, it would be annoying to the 7s who can't get kills because the 40s take all of them.


Just my thoughts. Im not a big fan of the idea.



Lastly, populations in new playlists are always higher. They are never so high that the populations in other playlists drop to inconvenient levels. Team Slayer will always have a significant population. There is really nothing to worry about. In addition, there will be a new wave of players coming in because ODST will be a new release.

We just lost Team Objective. I dont think thinning population more is a good idea.

  • 06.12.2009 10:55 AM PDT
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“To say more would spoil be it’s overall its a game that needs to be played.” - Aristotle

Matchmaking and Custom Games firefight sounds pretty amazing to me, and I have to say that I like the idea. Nice thinking.

  • 06.12.2009 11:16 AM PDT

I think Firefight and normal Matchmaking are on different discs. If so, I think it's impossible.

  • 06.12.2009 11:20 AM PDT

As long as a warrior has life, he must fight!!!

Hell, Call of Duty World at War has matchmaking coop/zombies, also Gears 2 has matchmaking coop/horde. So why not ODST? Tell me Bungie!

  • 06.12.2009 12:10 PM PDT

One of the few and the proud, a Mythic Conqueror, I am.

Posted by: Comangeit
Hell, Call of Duty World at War has matchmaking coop/zombies, also Gears 2 has matchmaking coop/horde. So why not ODST? Tell me Bungie!
At least they haven't said that it would not be used in matchmaking.

  • 06.12.2009 1:47 PM PDT
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in firefight can you play offline or is it just online play only?

  • 06.12.2009 1:52 PM PDT

One of the few and the proud, a Mythic Conqueror, I am.

Posted by: dawnzz
in firefight can you play offline or is it just online play only?
You can play offline as well.

  • 06.12.2009 3:15 PM PDT