Halo 3 BETA dates revealed, Halo 3 ViDoc

[addc182]

the vidoc made me cream

now this?

im never going to pass my finals lol

[acies]

If it is coming out this year, and it's still in the alpha phase - they better get started :s

That footage isn't necessarily from yesterday, am sure there well into the beta by now, but the footage you saw could have been from an alpha stage.

[spenser.d]

If it is coming out this year, and it's still in the alpha phase - they better get started :s

Just because they haven't released a Beta doesn't mean it's not in Beta. By the looks of things in that vidoc, they are pretty far along. I think the public beta is to collect information moreso on XBL networking than anything else.

And if you didn't know it was coming out this year, you must be living under a rock.

-Spenser

[halcyoncmdr]

so is the X button trip mines or shield grenade?

My guess is that the x-button will change dependin on the map and such. So possibly there will also be trip mines or shield grenades that you can pick up and swap, just like weapons. So when you are firing at someone as they are riunning away from you and you are following, you don't know if they have a shield grenade or a trip mine. That's what I think and hope at least. :D

[Nightz]

Seriously though, the 16th of May is my b-day, but I'm not in the Beta because I didn't win a contest and didn't want to shell out for Crackdown.

well since the beta download is tied to the crackdown disc, i'm sure you will be able to rent crackdown and get on the beta...assuming the copy you rent has access to the beta. that would be an alternative to buying crackdown...you'll get to try the beta for about a week and you can just rent it again if you want to play more.

[BajiRav]

Thats an alpha? :o

When is this game coming out? 20009?

Finished-product should look awesom?r then:pp

If it is coming out this year, and it's still in the alpha phase - they better get started:ss

From bungie.net

NOTE: andisn't even representative of what you'll see in the Public Beta>, . You will see frame rate skips, unfinished animation and graphical features that will change come Fall. . You're looking at the features here folks, not the final quality bar ? which we've set pretty high. Your next taste of that will be in May.

This isn't EA dude, bungie has been pretty good (except for the part where Halo2 en:p :p )

Edit: Checkout the screenshot, is that a da:unsure:re:

Edited April 10, 2007 by dhan

[mail]

So I hope we get Battle Rifle + Assault Rifle ... I don't really like the assault rifle after playing the battle rifle for so long. Also why is the "Trip Mine" so visible :p

[MrKuro]

so every copy of crackdown has a beta invite?

if so . . i gotta get me a copy asap . .

[starmatrix]

:o in that video...the microsoft guys are using itunes

[Nightz]

so every copy of crackdown has a beta invite?

if so . . i gotta get me a copy asap . .

well they said that only the first shipment of crackdown will have the beta invite, but even if you check online stores today, the games being sold still advertise the halo 3 beta. even so, if you get a copy, don't just do it for the beta...play crackdown as well because i'm sure you'll enjoy it.

[freedom77]

My guess is that the x-button will change dependin on the map and such. So possibly there will also be trip mines or shield grenades that you can pick up and swap, just like weapons. So when you are firing at someone as they are riunning away from you and you are following, you don't know if they have a shield grenade or a trip mine. That's what I think and hope at least. :D

THe "X Button" is "Delpoys Equipment", like trip mines and shields and am sure there's more...

in that video...the microsoft guys are using itunes

lol yea I saw that too. I like iTunes.

[OhMuffin]

You could have waited for the full game LOL.

No I couldn't, I need my Halo fix.

If I could wait, I wouldn't of bought crackdown.

[MGS4-SS]

The game looks pretty fun. I hope they improve the graphics for the final release, right now the look like Halo 2's graphics.

[Konstanov]

I was this game let you had selective fire on the guns to add the tinyist bit of realism.

[H5N]

Looking forward to the beta, looks really fun! Interesting additions of trip mine and shield grenade...

[magik]

Wow, 3 weeks, that sucks. They should at least let it go for a month or so, even if they stop collecting data after the first 3 weeks, let us play with the damn thing! :p

[NightmarE D]

I like how the one guy mentions taunting people by saying "Hey I just shot you in the head from across the map...now lets see that in slow-mo" :laugh:

[George P Global Moderator]

Yeah, the built in replay is a great feature, and lets you pick what camera angle etc. Great idea for after a round of MP action.

[giga Veteran]

The game looks pretty fun. I hope they improve the graphics for the final release, right now the look like Halo 2's graphics.

From Frankie:

My 3am reality check for Xsamu:

The Chaos he he describes is a result of our vid director saying, "set up an encounter in the ice cavern on Snowbound with loads of guys all firing placeholder trails from their AR's"

Graphics (with the exception of Snowbound's soft surfaces) are missing lots of the things that make them look cool.

All of the water you saw, for example, is placeholder. No decorators are in those maps. The frame rates are all over the place. Some of that footage has correct lighting, some of it doesn't. All of that footage is olde. Although Snowbound looks about the most recent, it's missing new shaders and wind effects, as well as more subtle touches in the architecture.

The textures on High ground are very old, as is the general appearance of Valhalla.

Bubble Shield and Tripmine are just two of the X-Button Equipment deployments. They are not grenades.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p...p;postcount=114

[magik]

"... just two of the X-Button Equipment deployments."

Woah, I wonder what else will be mapped to that. :D

[goji]

You know what would really shake things game up.... add Flood canisters similar to those in H2 in some MP maps... that would be nuts.

[Smigit]

Graphics (with the exception of Snowbound's soft surfaces) are missing lots of the things that make them look cool.

All of the water you saw, for example, is placeholder. No decorators are in those maps. The frame rates are all over the place. Some of that footage has correct lighting, some of it doesn't. All of that footage is olde. Although Snowbound looks about the most recent, it's missing new shaders and wind effects, as well as more subtle touches in the architecture.

The textures on High ground are very old, as is the general appearance of Valhalla.

I'm concerned. Everyone keeps throwing out lines like "its alpha" or "its beta" and follow that up with "itll look alot better in later builds". Sorry for being a sceptic but look at other next gen titles like Crysis, Allan Wake ect. They looked stunning and polished 12 - 18 months before release. halo 3 as it stands doesnt look that stunning at all. It looks like Halo 2.5, same engine with a bit more gloss and some better lighting and particle effects. This is a game thats got a tighter timeframe until release than Allan Wake and from what we've seen that game looks alot more polished despite still having longer to go in development. Add to that that rarely do I see games dramatically change in visual appearance within the last 9 months and youll forgive me if I feel that perhaps the Art direction of halo 3 will be nothing to be inspired by.

The games due this year and from some reports in November which is 7 months away. From what that video shows they are still quite far away from a polished product. I mean add the distribution time and play testing and bug fixing ect and the amount of time they have to actually have this more or less wound up cant be more than 5 months to hit an Xmas deadline. It certainly concerns me that so much of the game seems to be "place holders" currently and people can say its beta or whatever all they like but your going on blind faith that the game will look that 3x better when what we actually have currently to go on doesnt say itll look brilliant. I mean even when you add in water, and some actuall gun/bullet animations ect does that engine as it stand look inspiring? Hopefully they have something up their sleeve because I look at that and I look at another open fps in that of Crysis and I know which looks brilliant and which looks decisively 2005.

And I'm not saying it'll be a bad game. I'll preorder it infact for the gameplay which I somewhat enjoy. But taking a purely graphical/technological point of view I'm currently quite unimpressed with what I've seen. I really hope they dont ship the game prematurely just to hit xmas. If it arrives and is polished fine but I'd hate to see it being rushed to hit the market and I'm sure theres huge pressure by MS to have it done.

[Meshuggah]

why are graphics the only thing people think about when they equate to "good games"?....I'm getting bored with 9 hour games that look good......

[DELTETHISACCOUNT]

why are graphics the only thing people think about when they equate to "good games"?....I'm getting bored with 9 hour games that look good......

Because graphics are the only thing we see right now. Gameplay is important to0, but obviously we can't play the game right now.

[Smigit]

why are graphics the only thing people think about when they equate to "good games"?....I'm getting bored with 9 hour games that look good......

Since that was after my post I guess it was a response to it so I'll reply by saying at no point what so ever did I say it (graphics) was the only important aspect. That said its still an aspect of the game and especially in a FPS I want a game that feels immersive and real, not like a bunch of polygons put together. Graphics play a huge role in creating atmosphere and thus also have an adverse effect on the game play of a title. I'm not saying the game will play good or bad or whatever, but I am offering on my opinion on the one aspect we can really pass much judgment about so far.

Lets take it to the extreme and say that graphics didn't matter at all. Can you imagine playing a game like Oblivion on an engine equivalent to that of Doom's? Surely not and I hope that everyone can appreciate that the visuals are one of the main gateways that developers have to portray a believable universe to the gamer and as time progresses the expectations on what is required to fully immerse a player has developed as games have become more and more advanced.