Halo : Reach Beta

[EvilBoris]

The new AR has a very clunky mechanical rattling feel to it, it behaves much like the one from Halo 3 but I think the bullets may be spread a little wider. At a guess I'd say it's probably weaker as the old clip of ARand a melee doesn't really kill an enemy now in multiplayer.
This may be down to the new health/shield system though or just the fact I haven't got to grip with it yet.

[Uli]

hmm... i hate to empty a full clip of ammo on an opponent without seeing him going down, that's so unsatisfying. Bungie should either power the Assault Rifle up so that it lives up to its name or replace it with a machine pistol with higher fire rate and so give us at least useful close combat weapon.

oh yes, i want my dual MPs back!

[Family Fry]

Still takes almost a full clip on AR to drop shield, think it has a bit more effect from a distance. It is a good starter weapon and pistol is good too.
I am liking the Needler Rifle like a nice BR with needler bullets, headshots really do matter with this one.

[EvilBoris]

Yeah I think that is the big difference and probably haven't got used to yet the sheilds take damage all over but then once you've knocked that out you have the health bar to kill, which is obviously much mire responsive to head shots.
There is probably some visual clue to identify when the sheilds are depleted , but that hasn't become sub conscious yet

[englishbob]

The Reach beta will run from May 3rd til May 19th.

Wow, all that advertising for a 2 week beta, including a full TV advert.

I guess there is too much money in the world. Surely a donation to a worthy charity would of been better than literally spunking millions of pounds on a 2 week beta?

[Family Fry]

Well you have to spend money to make money.

[Uli]

so there is no visual clue to whether a shield has been downed or not?

[EvilBoris]

There is a flash on the sheild and they sparkle.
I've got the knack of the weapons now following Family Fry's reminder of headshot.

AR the body until it flashes then aim for the head!

[EvilBoris]

Wow, all that advertising for a 2 week beta, including a full TV advert.

I guess there is too much money in the world. Surely a donation to a worthy charity would of been better than literally spunking millions of pounds on a 2 week beta?

Well the beta is a promotional tool for the full game.....

Go look up how much money Bill Gates has given to charity, I bet you'll be shocked.

[Eight Rooks]

Wow, all that advertising for a 2 week beta, including a full TV advert.

I guess there is too much money in the world. Surely a donation to a worthy charity would of been better than literally spunking millions of pounds on a 2 week beta?

Thaat's a mental image I'm not going to forget in a hurry.

<_<

[englishbob]

Go look up how much money Bill Gates has given to charity, I bet you'll be shocked.

Look up how much advertising costs for a 30 second slot. Then multiply that by the amount of times its shown, and times that by the worldwide regions. Then you have a figure...

Anyway, how comes you lot are playing it early. Its not out yet is it?

[Uli]

just read the performance analysis over at EuroGamer...

seems there's lots of motion blur and also heavy ghosting due to a frame blending technique...

[EvilBoris]

Once I'd been playing a bit, the initial blurriness becomes quite unnoticable, it was when I was checking out the weapon models that you could really see the ghosting.

I played some 'Covy' games last night, man are the elites fun to control! The roll move they have instead of the armor ability is tremendous , you accelerate from normal running speed soo quickly, the impression of the leap us fantastic, especially combined with the large distance the roll covers.

The Spartans vs elites games are going to be special

[Matt]

just read the performance analysis over at EuroGamer...

seems there's lots of motion blur and also heavy ghosting due to a frame blending technique...

The ghosting looks horrible

Strangely, they made an error in their tech analysis:

However, perhaps the most readily apparent change has been in the motion blur system. The idea behind this is really very simple. When you go to the movies, the film you are watching runs at 24FPS. It looks smoother because for each frame, the camera shutter was open for 0.04 seconds. Any movement during that time period is blended.

That just isn't correct. That's assuming a 360 degree shutter, which gives the video look. Usually on film you'd expose for 0.02. OK I'll stop being silly now

[EvilBoris]

The ghosting looks horrible

Strangely, they made an error in their tech analysis:



That just isn't correct. That's assuming a 360 degree shutter, which gives the video look. Usually on film you'd expose for 0.02. OK I'll stop being silly now

I don't mean to go off topic but when you say a 360 degree shutter do you mean an iris type shutter like a stills camera? Are movie cameras a different kind of shutter or do the projectors have a different kind of shutter that causes the film effect?

As for the frame blending I'm still 50/50 about it. It helps the frame rate seem smoother but in connection with the AA and the horizontal scaling it can on occasion make things a bit jaggy, certainly noworse than Halo3 but I find it strange that it's still present to such a degree.