Halo: Reach

We encountered a few guests over the weekend. I'm pretty sure you can do split screen.

Seems like they are having a ton of server issues. Just had "server not found" for about 10 min, then it took 10 more min to connect to start a game. Hopefully the kinks will be worked out sooner than later.

SHOCKER one of the biggest beta's for a highly anticipated game has issues with the servers on D1.

Not shocked, just want to play!

edit: It was System who was screwing us up. He joined the game and it was server unavailable.

double edit: Scratch that, happening to me now. Boo :(

It was fine when only the elite could play.

Calling yourself "elite" at anything, especially Halo is like saying Netwurked doesn't like it up the butt. That shit just doesn't make any sense.

it makes sense if you're an 8 foot tall alien dinosaur though

Playing as the elite is a lot of fun, that evade jump is a hoot.

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Originally Posted by mannerbot

it makes sense if you're an 8 foot tall alien dinosaur though

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Touche salesman, touche. Robo, we gotta play ASAP, we haven't played any Halo in forever.

Agreed, I'll be on soonish.

Does auto-aiming still exist in this game? I get my head popped off from some impressive feats.

Yeah, there is auto-aim to some degree. There's auto-aim in nearly all console based FPS games.

Not Gears.

There's auto-aim in Gears.

Prove it.

This is the first thing that showed up when I searched youtube for "gears autoaim"


That just shows reticule magnetism, where the reticule sticks to a target. Console FPS games also have actual autoaim, where if the reticule is close to a target the game will just give it to you.

I hate playing as Covenant

I can't see that video since my browser at work doesn't have Flash. So I'm going to say you're full of shit anyway.

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Originally Posted by Razor Ramon

Not Gears.

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:lol:

Been hearing great things about Slayer Arena, too bad I can't play!

I've been able to play a few games of it today, and it is fun stuff.

People drop like flies when teamshot, the teamwork in this game is going to be amazing. Real big fan of how the DMR and Needle Rifle feel!

It's not really working for me. I'll try again later.

It was working just great for me, but I'll be off until after the Cavs game. After that I'm definitely going to be playing a bunch. The jetpack + DMR on Powerhouse = death from above. It absolutely destroys. As long as you don't fly so high that you're a skeetshooting target it's really easy to get a jump on someone from below when they are on a platform above and hover above their head for an easy 5 shot kill.

I was having serious troubles with the game at first, but the more I play the more I absolutely love the changes Bungie has made. Except the health packs, those came fuck themselves. :)

Downloading now, at a medium pace...

What does a health pack look like?

This game makes for a pretty sweet group chat room while you wait 15 minutes for the playlist to load. If only it had Live Vision Camera support so we could see some dicks like Uno.

Hm, apparently if you get the "Playlist data pending download" message it won't ever load. You can get around that by signing out and back in until you get "Loading information from Reach server."

Wheres invasion? Fuck this 4 vs 4 no vehicles shit!

Invasion will be added on May 7th (reportedly).

Headhunter is the most hilarious and awesome time I've ever had with Halo.

Amen to that.

Myself and a friend had a hellacious time getting this to work last night but when we finally did much fun was had. I've only seen a few modes and a sampling of new weapons but it all seems great so far.

While trying to get the beta to work we tried to play with a few TNLers but rather than being able to join their successfully running game we brought our broken game with us. So, sorry about that.

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Originally Posted by Brand X

I absolutely love the changes Bungie has made... except the health packs

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Yeah.

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Originally Posted by Master

Also, it behooves all of you to force yourself to learn the new "default" control scheme. I'm not saying it is where you will end up, but a lot of thought was put into it and to how it reflects how you should play the game IMO. And this is coming from a DIE-HARD bumper jumper player.

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Still no option to custom map the buttons, eh?

We played like a billion matches this morning, my fileshare has 6 brand new short clips that are all AWESOME.

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Originally Posted by Chux

We played like a billion matches this morning, my fileshare has 6 brand new short clips that are all AWESOME.

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Rendering all of them now.

http://www.bungie.net/stats/reach/fi...ayer=Chux&fc=2

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Originally Posted by Chux

We played like a billion matches this morning, my fileshare has 6 brand new short clips that are all AWESOME.

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The one where Korly blew everyone up was the best.

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Originally Posted by ShinMyk

The one where Korly blew everyone up was the best.

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We all got killed right after that btw.

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Originally Posted by Brand X

Calling yourself "elite" at anything, especially Halo is like saying Netwurked doesn't like it up the butt. That shit just doesn't make any sense.

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BMBRANDX!

Lets play homos!

Lost.

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Originally Posted by Razor Ramon

Lost.

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Originally Posted by Chux

homos!

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GAYLO! This game makes me go waaaaaaaaaa!
I want to play invasion damnit! battlefield's rush mode in halo? Hell yes.

Play Headhunter and stop crying.

I hate Yoshi.

I'll probably be on tomorrow if I'm sober.

So my ISP is running maitenance on the island I live on. Sorry for the drop Master, and Trial.

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Originally Posted by Netwurked

BMBRANDX!

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Awww, I miss yelling BMBRANDX into the mic.


BTW, Netwurked does like it up the butt.

This game is the new hotness, it's Halo, but feels entirely fresh, new, and challenging. Great games with Bacon, Geo, and Korly earlier. Especially our rapage on Powerhouse Crazy King.

Dude Chux those fairies decided to just hole up and keep away from the sword room since I was running riot on their lily asses. They outlasted us :(

Headhunter is so goddamn fun.

Oddball is broken on Powerhouse. The bathroom is too easy to camp.

That being said. I'll be playing this the next couple nights

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Originally Posted by K3V

Headhunter is so goddamn fun.

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There is a video I put up in my fileshare (I think) of me making a fantastic 7 skull turn in. If it's not there now I'll put it up when I get home.

You guys like some dumb shit. Headhunter is retarded. Its all about 1 flag CTF now, soon to be invasion.

I still haven't played Headhunter, but 1 Flag on both Swordbase and Powerhouse is a lot of fun. Swordbase mostly because it's such a cluster fuck. Powerhouse seems a bit lopsided though, as the right hand side of the map is nearly ignored the entire match since both main entrances to the base are on the left hand side of the map near where you spawn.

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Originally Posted by Destro777

You guys like some dumb shit. Headhunter is retarded. Its all about 1 flag CTF now, soon to be invasion.

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Go play your battlefields and your Modern Warfares, I'll be hitting mother fuckers with a space hammer as a god damned alien dinosaur and posting videos of it on the internet.

Chuck and I were doing some ridiculous guard-baiting team assist kills last night. It's currently one of my favorite strategies.

What exactly can the guard do that's useful? I can't use that class properly.

Guard is probably my favorite for objective games.

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Originally Posted by TrialSword

Chuck and I were doing some ridiculous guard-baiting team assist kills last night. It's currently one of my favorite strategies.

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The one where you were on a bridge in power house and I was off in the distance with the DMR was fucking R A D. They just kept trying to house you and I picked them off like flies.

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Originally Posted by Razor Ramon

What exactly can the guard do that's useful? I can't use that class properly.

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I use it most on defense for flag games, like if you need to sit on the flag to return it, just AL on the flag until they get close and then murder them.

Also it reflects rockets and plasma repeaters/guns. Master posted a rad video of what it can do.

Whenever I get owned by a rocket and could have used Armor Lock I feel horrible. I love when idiots try meleeing me and I EMP them and then shoot them once to kill them when I come out of it.

I did it to Trial once <3

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Originally Posted by Chux

Go play your battlefields and your Modern Warfares, I'll be hitting mother fuckers with a space hammer as a god damned alien dinosaur and posting videos of it on the internet.

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:lol: :lol: :lol:

Preach on, brother Chux.

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Originally Posted by Chux

Go play your battlefields and your Modern Warfares, I'll be hitting mother fuckers with a space hammer as a god damned alien dinosaur and posting videos of it on the internet.

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You were probably one of the gays who played Rocket Race and Grifball in H3 more than the normal game modes. :)
Yall ruined the double xp weekends.

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Originally Posted by Destro777

You were probably one of the gays who played Rocket Race

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FUCK YEAH HE WAS

So I've kept out of the Reach info as best I can, I know I'll get sucked in, it's just a matter of time.

But this shit sounds like TF mixed with Halo. Which sounds incredible.

Some modes are fantastic (like oddball or the one where you have to pick up all the skulls) others are pretty boring (One CTF and Slayer). I think I may day one this.

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Originally Posted by FirstBlood

FUCK YEAH HE WAS

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SHIT WAS RIDICULOUS

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Originally Posted by Opaque

So I've kept out of the Reach info as best I can, I know I'll get sucked in, it's just a matter of time.

But this shit sounds like TF mixed with Halo. Which sounds incredible.

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Not quite, the armor abilities are IMO pretty gimmicky like equipment in H3.

if everything goes as planned, I should have this tonight.

PLZ BLV.

Lets play some arena matches you gays!

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Originally Posted by mannerbot

Not quite, the armor abilities are IMO pretty gimmicky like equipment in H3.

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They are so much more useful than equipment. Especially depending on the loadout you choose to use at the beginning of the match. Jetpacks and armor lock have saved my ass more times in a day of playing than equipment ever did.

Sure, but that's because you spawn with them and they recharge. I just don't think they really enhance gameplay and would personally prefer to play without them.

Elitist who hates fun, imo.

It's pretty neat that you can get completely outplayed and be on the brink of death and then magically hit a button and survive long enough for your team to come save you and all, but EHH. It's really not a big deal at all but like I said it's just gimmicky.

If you're playing as a team that won't happen, team shots will destroy him before he can armor lock. And if he does you have enough backup to kill him and his team.

So in other words armor abilities add nothing to the game and are gimmicky!

No, it just means armor lock isn't invincible like you're making it out to be. And is definitely useful, just like sprint, the jetpack, and camo in a ton of different scenarios.

The X button will revolutionize Halo.

Sprint is definitely useful though for flag running and getting to spots faster or running into cover (or running up to melee people like a retard). Comparing the armor abilities to Modern Warfare perks, Sprint and Evade are definitely in the reasonable category that adds something to the game. The rest? The Painkiller etc. type bullshit that rewards or encourages bad play and made me trade in Modern Warfare 2 after playing it once.

The X button reloads.

FURTHERMORE!

We did bad this evening, lets do some more arena to get our lolbetarank up. Trial, your sped ass friend can't play.

Hope there's room for me next time~

Yeah sorry dude, we were doing a little cinco de mayo celebration and he wanted to play really badly. So drunk and bad at Halo = what you saw.

So anyhoo, turned my gross ass 1400 rating to 1630.

I need to repair mine, tomorrow I will be all about doing some arena with you guys.

I was on fire the last couple rounds, getting 20+ kills each.

Nice, I just played two games with Brand a couple days ago and had like 1707 or something. I thought I saw something about being placed into a division (onyx, gold, etc.) after your first 3 games or so; did I just imagine that? lol

I played this at a friends house tonight and I was a little trashed and on a lose controller, also I haven't played in like 5 years, but I noticed some things and I want to see if I just need to sober up, get a normal controller and practice:

Do frags hit like a million times harder than 2/3?

Why are there no real alien weapons?

Is that a needler rifle? Does it track?

Is the pistol really that fucking weak still?

Frags are a little different this time around. I think perhaps they do a little more damage, but with the shield changes it may not matter a whole lot.

The pistol is actually back to almost being Halo 1 powerful, but there's recoil and it's slightly less powerful than it was back in H1. You can fire it pretty fast now, too.

The needle rifle is like the covenant battle rifle, it acts just like the Spartan one but with the added bonus of making people asplode with a pink burst when you kill them. This could do splash damage, not sure.

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Originally Posted by Chux

FURTHERMORE!

We did bad this evening, lets do some more arena to get our lolbetarank

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I blame this entirely on snacks. Next time I won't be shoving food in my face like a fat kid at a carnival. I'll actually be shooting people.

Hey guys how do I shoot hammers?

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Originally Posted by mannerbot

Nice, I just played two games with Brand a couple days ago and had like 1707 or something. I thought I saw something about being placed into a division (onyx, gold, etc.) after your first 3 games or so; did I just imagine that? lol

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Master mentioned something about that, play 3 games a day, get ranked, after X days get placed into a division.

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Originally Posted by Bungie.net

What is a Game Rating?
In the Arena, your Game Rating is a numeric evaluation of how well we think you performed in that game, against those opponents. A score, of sorts.

At the conclusion of a game, players will be ranked according to their rating for that game, and it is this ordering of players that is fed into the TrueSkill black box to determine which Division you belong in. The rating is also used to determine your Day Rating, but that is only used for your personal record keeping.

Surgeon General's Warning

This article is broken into two parts. Here's a handy guide for telling which part you should read:

"I want to know what makes my rating higher. And I don't like math." You! Read Part 1.

"I want to know why my number is 1325, and not 1.78. I like math." You! Read Part 2.

Part 1 - The Juicy Center

This part is concerned with the beating heart of the rating formula. For the Public Beta, it is as follows:

raw_rating = kills + assists - deaths/3 - betrayals

And that's pretty simple. It is essentially a weighted KD spread. Were you expecting calculus?

Kill and assist to increase your rating, avoid deaths that decrease your rating, and definitely avoid betrayals. If you do these things well, the Arena will rate you highly and you will move up in your Division (or across Divisions) until your Division standing accurately reflects your skill relative to your peers.

Now, it is actually a bit more nuanced than that. Here's the actual formula:

raw_rating = (kills + sa*assists) - (sd*deaths + sb*betrayals)

It's still less complicated than it looks. Let me explain each part:

kills

Simply put, the number of kills you personally were credited with. In Slayer, kills are a direct measure of your impact on the game result. These have primacy in the rating formula.

assists

The number of kills you assisted a teammate with. In Reach, an assist is defined as "doing 40% or more of the damage required to kill a target that dies to other causes before a shield recharge can occur."

This number is scaled by sa, which modifies the value of assists in the overall rating. For the Public Beta, sa is 1.0. This is important: an assist is as valuable to your rating as a kill.

One of our goals for the Arena is to reward working as a team. For some teams, this will take the form of team-shooting with DMRs. For others, calling out one-shots such that a teammate finishes off a wounded target. Regardless of the method, the Arena will reward a team who gangs up on their targets by giving their team collectively higher ratings than a team of lone wolves. If you have an off game and never land a single headshot, but you were part of every kill your team made, your rating will not suffer for it. In fact, you'll probably do quite well.

deaths

The number of times you died. This is a measure of failure in the Arena. Dying is something to be abhorred. It is giving the other team points and rating.

This number is scaled by sd, which modifies the punishment levied by deaths. For the Public Beta, sd is 1/3. This means a death reduces your rating by a third as much as a kill increases it.

We believe that this may be a bit too soft, but the Arena is ultimately about killing the other team. A player should not be so afraid to die that he forsakes all glory to cower in a corner. A strong offense should more than pay for the costs incurred. So this scalar sd is one of the numbers we'll be watching closely through the Public Beta and when Reach is released. It may go up if we feel like Arena play is too sloppy and grinding is too rewarding.

Betrayals

This part is pretty straightforward. Here, sb is set to 1.0. As such, a betrayal carries a significant cost to your rating, along with the other, Banhammer level punishments for habitual betrayals. So, blindly lobbing grenades into the room where your teammates are fighting is not recommended.

Part 2 - There Will Be Math

Part 1 wasn't so bad, was it? Still hanging in there? Good, cause now it gets hairy.

Here's what the total formula looks like:

rating = loss_penalty * (1000 + (2000/pi * atan( raw_rating * game_normalization )))

Yes, there's an atan() in there. Stick with me for the loss_penalty part, at least.

loss_penalty

If your team loses, this is a penalty applied to your rating.

But wait, you protest: "Isn't the Arena about individual performance?" It is, so our goal is that this penalty is as small as possible while still accomplishing two goals:


Assuming equal performance, a player on the winning team should place ahead of his counterpart on the losing team.
Playing for a personal best rating should require winning. No hanging your team out to dry to shoot for a high score.

For the Public Belta, this number is 0.96. In other words, if you lose, we shave a mere 4% off of your rating. We will be continuing to adjust this number, and we might even shift the place where this penalty is applied.

game_normalization

Ok, this part is worth reading too. This term is actually calculated as follows:

game_normalization = players_per_team / score_to_win

It simply serves to normalize the raw_rating for different games. A player in a 2v2 game to 50 would be expected to have a larger raw_rating than a player in a 2v2 game to 15, simply because there's more killing to do before the game ends. This term allows us to equalize the ratings, so that a 1350 in one game is approximately equal to a 1350 in another game.

1000 + (2000/pi * atan( … ))

Hahaha, ok. This part really only serves to beautify the result. If you only care about what you should do to make your rating higher, you can stop reading now.

Still reading? Well, ok. You asked for it.

The atan(…) is the trigonometric function arc tangent, which is the inverse of tangent. It's a handy function, but all you really need to know is that it makes a curve that looks like this:



C3CXF-H3DMJ-DPXC3-BDPMM-MDM4G


Why that curve? Because it approaches a maximum and minimum asymptotically (meaning, it reaches them only at infinity and never crosses them), and it has a finite slope at 0. This gives our scaled rating two nice properties:


There is a maximum and minimum rating that can never be exceeded, and it takes exponentially increasing effort to approach either. This is nice because it takes more effort to beat each new high score.
At the neutral point of 0, the rating moves fluidly but consistently, and the rate of change decelerates as you move away from that baseline.

So, we feed the rating into this function to map it onto this nice curve. The other constant numbers simply convert the output of atan(…) into the range of 0 (the lowest theoretically possible rating) to 2000 (the highest theoretically possible rating), with a neutral, baseline point at 1000.

And that's all that that part is doing.

It's worth noting that we do have a other constants in that formula that we can use to adjust things like the shape of the curve, but at least for the Public Beta, those scalars are set to 1.0 and so I've omitted them for clarity.

Caveats

If you've read this far, you must be either hungry for information, appreciative of my prose, or (more likely) looking for -blam!-s in my armor. Regardless of the reason, I offer a caveat: this formula is an evolving entity. We will be adjusting and tuning it based on how we feel the Arena is playing. Our systems will allow us to do so, just as we update our playlists. We have always and will continue to listen to player feedback to improve the experience for you guys.

Thanks for reading.

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I think Sprint needs to have its cooldown lowered or duration increased a bit. It's probably the worst thing to choose right now

Sprint needs to be even faster if the duration is going to be that short. You can't even use it once you grab a flag so it's pretty dumb to choose it right now.

I think they are using arctangent just to show off.

Honestly I think every class should have a short sprint ability, and the dedicated class should have theirs last about 3-4x as long as that and/or be a bit faster. The other classes feel sooo slowww without it, and the idea that only one group of specially-trained soldiers is capable of running is a little silly.

MyGamerCard.net has a widget for Reach stats now:
http://card.mygamercard.net/apps/rea...con+McShig.png

Nice spread.

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Originally Posted by K3V

Nice spread.

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Your mom has a nice spread.

So do I need ODST for beta?

yes.

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Originally Posted by Nash

Your mom has a nice spread.

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You are the worst at this.

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Originally Posted by kingoffighters

So do I need ODST for beta?

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Yeah, better hop to it, rumor is it's only going to run 2 weeks.