Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Halo 3 Dissapointments, Or, you didn't really think I'd post for a month after H3 did you?

Hey,

Well, if I was happy with Bungie right now, this would be my first post about my fileshare. Sadly, the way that they have set up Halo 3 and the forums has made it impossible for 99% of people's creations to be recognized. With no custom games list in game, it doesn't really matter anyway. I'll keep making maps for my own amusement and the amusement of people at Zion, but there's no way I'll care that much about my fileshare. Bungie has taken the interest out of it. Not to mention that the Forge is too limited for it's own good, stifling what little of my creativity I had left. I've been enjoying the game, but I thought it could be so much more.

Speaking of the game, I also have to vent a little about the matchmaking playlists and the Optimatch forums at Bnet. When Halo 2 first came out, there was a page that showed every gametype you could play in matchmaking and what list they were on. Ninja 0n Fire was a transparent matchmaking master, telling us the intricate details of every playlist update, and building a real community trying to make Halo 2 the best it could be. Without this, there would have been no Team Hardcore, no Big Team Slayer, no Team Actionsack. The people had a say, me included (Brutality FTW!!). As Halo 3 came out, I went around looking for a similar site. It was no where to be found on the main site, so I assumed it was on the forums. What I saw on the optimatch forums made me very sad. The entire forum is dominated by displeasure with the playlists, suggestions for improvement, and full out Bungie hate. The sad part was there wasn't a moderator or Bungie worker in sight. It seems like without Ninja (he left the company just over a year ago) they are content to do everything behind the scenes and decide what is good or bad. I can tell you right now that that wont work in the long run, and Halo 3 could end up with worse playlists than Halo 2, which seems unfair, because Halo 3 is SO much better than its predecessor I actually don't own a copy of Halo 2 anymore. That tells you how much I want this game to succeed, but it wont achieve true greatness in my eyes unless Bungie address these problems and finds a way to satisfy simple needs. Till then, it's really just a fixed Halo 2 with a DLC weapons pack.

-May Shotty Snipers always be vetoed
Pudge