Halo3 Beta Sign-Up begins Monday!

[Iced_Eagle]

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2006/11/30/sign-up-for-the-halo-3-beta-next-week/

In conjunction with the ad, Microsoft today unveiled further details and an official call to entry for the "Halo 3" beta program. Beginning Monday, Dec. 4, by visiting http://www.halo3.com, gamers in North America will be able to register for the opportunity to be one of the select members to join the unprecedented "Halo 3" public beta program, scheduled to kick off in spring 2007. Today's announcement confirms the first path of entry for gamers to participate in the beta program and be among the first to experience the most anticipated game of 2007.

The Xbox Live multiplayer public beta, which is a pre-release version of the multiplayer experience of "Halo 3," is scheduled for availability in spring 2007 exclusively on Xbox 360. This beta also represents an opportunity for gamers to participate in the development of "Halo 3." Through the resulting feedback, Bungie Studios will be able to further refine and hone the end result of "Halo 3."

Damn, it is a good time to be a US Xbox360 owner right now.

 

[<RJMC>]

dam halo3

here comes the trolls

 

[DeusExMachina]

Awesome. Now I wish I had a 360 D:

Oh well, I'll mooch off my friends.

 

[knut]

So... will it being made available to places like the UK later on down the line? Pretty lame if not. Also, when it says picked, what's the estimate for the numbers of people to play going to be like for that?

 

[AmishSlayer]

I think they were talking about like a hundred thousand or something. I can't remember the figure exactly but it was back when the beta was announced. Lemme try to dig it up.

EDIT: Ok apparently I made that up....I can't find a figure anywhere.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

More than likely not for the UK at all.

It's a heck of a lot of work getting it up in other places than the US, where Bungie is.

They have to get a shitload of servers out there, make sure they are always updated, and then make sure the beta and everything dealing with the beta (signup process and what not) applies and goes with UK laws and such.

It's just too much hassel for a few months of work.

I agree it sucks to be on your end and I would be pissed too cause you guys on that side of the pond consistently get screwed when it comes to games... But you guys get the joy of when you play Halo3 for the first time, it will be extremely polished. By the time Halo3 comes out, the online space for US is gonna be full of talented people already and it won't have the same magic for us who play the beta.

No idea on numbers, but I'm guessing a lot (AmishSlayer's estimate sounds about right).

Also, I'm gonna take a stab and I can guarantee this is for Xbox Live Gold only.

 

[knut]

I agree it sucks to be on your end and I would be pissed too cause you guys on that side of the pond consistently get screwed when it comes to games... But you guys get the joy of when you play Halo3 for the first time, it will be extremely polished. By the time Halo3 comes out, the online space for US is gonna be full of talented people already and it won't have the same magic for us who play the beta.

Yeah, I guess that is kinda good for us, but I'm getting really bored with Halo 2 and it's map and I'd like a change, even for a beta version of a few maps. What I really had in mind was just for me and all my mates to sign up so we could all fill games matchmaking slots ourselves, but your right; there's going to be hundreds of die-hard Halo fans signing up in the first few minutes, but it depends how different the style and gameplay is to Halo 2's MP. More balanced, I'm hoping, and less one-sided with weapons (The shotgun, for me, is USELESS. I shoot someone; nothing happens. He shoots me from the exact same range; I die)

 

[AmishSlayer]

Yeah, I guess that is kinda good for us, but I'm getting really bored with Halo 2 and it's map and I'd like a change, even for a beta version of a few maps. What I really had in mind was just for me and all my mates to sign up so we could all fill games matchmaking slots ourselves, but your right; there's going to be hundreds of die-hard Halo fans signing up in the first few minutes, but it depends how different the style and gameplay is to Halo 2's MP. More balanced, I'm hoping, and less one-sided with weapons (The shotgun, for me, is USELESS. I shoot someone; nothing happens. He shoots me from the exact same range; I die)

The shotgun in Halo 2 is the flakiest weapon I've ever used and I was king with it doing my in-base tactics defending or assaulting the flag in CTF

 

[Iced_Eagle]

TheAntipop: In early 2007 (like Jan or Feb) they are releasing another map pack for Halo2 to keep the game fresh they said.

So perhaps that will get you through the pain of not having the beta until retail Halo3 arrives.

 

[63]

Halo 3 is actually Halo 2 with a laser bazooka.

 

[CyberPitz]

Halo 3 is actually Halo 2 with a laser bazooka.

If that's the case..I'm fkn buying it! I don't even have a 360!

 

[63]

And Halo 2 was really Halo 1 with a sword and the ability to hold two guns.

 

[Stigmata]

And Halo 2 was really Halo 1 with a sword and the ability to hold two guns.

And Halo 1 was really Marathon, but made into a FPS.

 

[Que-Ever]

And marathon was really... actually, I don't know what marathon is.

 

[knut]

The shotgun in Halo 2 is the flakiest weapon I've ever used and I was king with it doing my in-base tactics defending or assaulting the flag in CTF

See, in CTF, I'm usually on defence with my mate who uses dual SMG/Plasma, and I used to get the shotgun as if you're right behind someone it's deadly with a shoot+hit combo. However, when I'm just out of range of hitting them, and I'm shooting them in the back instead, it still takes about four shots sometimes, which is really ridiculous.

Personally, most of the weapons annoy me in Halo 2. The sniper just fails at too long a distance, plus it has a stupidly obvious tracer shot and it feels so slow when you're lining up a shot. The BR was useless at too long a range, too, but deadly up close. I could go on, but I'm tired.

Iced: Ah, I thought I read they were releasing the new maps when Halo 3 came out? I was going to say; that'd be a bit silly, seeing that by then ALOT of people are going to have relocated. Thats awesome if they are coming out around then.

 

[AmishSlayer]

See, in CTF, I'm usually on defence with my mate who uses dual SMG/Plasma, and I used to get the shotgun as if you're right behind someone it's deadly with a shoot+hit combo. However, when I'm just out of range of hitting them, and I'm shooting them in the back instead, it still takes about four shots sometimes, which is really ridiculous.

Personally, most of the weapons annoy me in Halo 2. The sniper just fails at too long a distance, plus it has a stupidly obvious tracer shot and it feels so slow when you're lining up a shot. The BR was useless at too long a range, too, but deadly up close. I could go on, but I'm tired.

Iced: Ah, I thought I read they were releasing the new maps when Halo 3 came out? I was going to say; that'd be a bit silly, seeing that by then ALOT of people are going to have relocated. Thats awesome if they are coming out around then.

Whoops, I meant I was king with it in Halo 1 (the good one ). I hate it in Halo 2.

The sniper rifle is way too easy to use in Halo 1. You don't even really have to lead the target anymore and there's so much auto-aim you almost don't even have to aim at the person to hit them. Without that tracer the sniper rifle would go from "way too easy to use" to "ungodly lame along the lines of the sword".

 

[knut]

I can't even remember the shotgun in Halo 1. I do recall it better than in 2, though.

Yeah, I guess it does even things out, but it always makes me think how silly it is for a weapon of the future to have so much of an obvious beacon to it, espeically a sniper of all kinds. I'm just really hoping for a much more balanced outcome in Halo 3, aswell as lotsa new weapons.

 

[ChiChi]

And Halo 1 was really Marathon, but made into a FPS.

But Marathon was a FPS.

 

[Stigmata]

But Marathon was a FPS.

No, see, what I meant was that Maratho-

CHICHI
0

[edit] According to Bungie, the Halo 3 beta will be available in the US, Europe and elsewhere in the world.

 

[XIII]

No, see, what I meant was that Maratho-

CHICHI
0

[edit] According to Bungie, the Halo 3 beta will be available in the US, Europe and elsewhere in the world.

perhaps canadian are left out again?

 

[destrukt]

I swear, 'elsewhere' better include Australia or .. I'll cry. ;(

 

[99.vikram]

If any of you out there gets selected - review plz

 

[Jintor]

I do feel that the only weapon that had a really good 'feel' to it was the Plasma Rifle. And maybe the Rocket Launcher. Everything else fealt shitty and weak, especially the shotgun. (This is Halo2, folks, i can't even remember Halo1 anymore.)

Seriously. Fire the shotgun or the SMG - they sound and feel like bloody plastic bullets. Blargh, i hope they improve the gun sounds and 'feel'.

 

[G-Dub]

EDIT: Nevermind, I suck.

 

[knut]

I do feel that the only weapon that had a really good 'feel' to it was the Plasma Rifle. And maybe the Rocket Launcher. Everything else fealt shitty and weak, especially the shotgun. (This is Halo2, folks, i can't even remember Halo1 anymore.)

Seriously. Fire the shotgun or the SMG - they sound and feel like bloody plastic bullets. Blargh, i hope they improve the gun sounds and 'feel'.

Even the rocket launcher pisses me off alot. Sometimes it just likes to not lock on to things and just fire anyway, regardless of me locking on.

Y'know what I hate most, though? Anything Covenant. Seriously, they piss me off. The Banshee is such a base-raping vehicle it's not even funny, as is the Ghost. And the weapons... ever played SWAT Carbines? Christ, such a one-sided game if there ever was one. Sometimes it kills in one shot, other times it doesn't. :|

 

[ELITE COMBINE]

OH OH OH I WANNA BE A HALO 3 beta tester that sounds fun.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

I have great news for everyone

Don't panic. The Halo 3 Beta will be available in the US, Europe and elsewhere in the world.

That came straight from the Bungie site...

 

[knut]

Win.

 

[Stigmata]

I really hope Bungie only selects people who are going to do at least some legitimate testing, rather than just saying "Guess what, everyone is accepted!" and then have the feedback server flooded with "BRING BAK SWORED LOL PLUS I WANNA B ABEL TO THROW IT".

:|

 

[destrukt]

^ hahah.. it will probably happen though.

 

[99.vikram]

The sword has to be the worst one-shot one-kill weapon evar.

 

[AmishSlayer]

The sword has to be the worst one-shot one-kill weapon evar.

No shit. 1-shot kill weps should be tough to use. I hate that all a player has to do is aim at a person, be within like 15 feet of them and press R...

 

[Stigmata]

No shit. 1-shot kill weps should be tough to use. I hate that all a player has to do is aim at a person, be within like 15 feet of them and press R...

The sad thing is that there are all sorts of things that could be done to make the sword less over-powered, that simply weren't implemented in the few Halo 2 patches. For example:

- Turn down the lock-on range
- Increase the delay before lock-on
- Increase the delay between swings
- Decrease the "lunge" speed
- Require a "press-hold-release" technique for full insta-kill damage - once locked on, hold the trigger, then release when within swing range of your target

And I thought of that in all of ten seconds. C'mon Bungie, don't let us down!

 

[AmishSlayer]

The sad thing is that there are all sorts of things that could be done to make the sword less over-powered, that simply weren't implemented in the few Halo 2 patches. For example:

- Turn down the lock-on range
- Increase the delay before lock-on
- Increase the delay between swings
- Decrease the "lunge" speed
- Require a "press-hold-release" technique for full insta-kill damage - once locked on, hold the trigger, then release when within swing range of your target

Yeah, if they made you able to dodge it if you moved sideways or jumped/crouched, and it had a smaller range I'd be OK with it...still not happy, but OK.

Bottom line: Games should take skill to win, not just one weapon. Halo 2 is completely flawed in terms of balance and MP gameplay.

 

[Stigmata]

Yeah, if they made you able to dodge it if you moved sideways or jumped/crouched, and it had a smaller range I'd be OK with it...still not happy, but OK.

Bottom line: Games should take skill to win, not just one weapon. Halo 2 is completely flawed in terms of balance and MP gameplay.

Oh, completely. Except for the pistol, Halo 1 had great, great balance, and now Halo 2 has a load of sucky weapons and a cheap insta-kill trifecta (sword, battle rifle, rocket launcher).

 

[AmishSlayer]

Oh, completely. Except for the pistol, Halo 1 had great, great balance, and now Halo 2 has a load of sucky weapons and a cheap insta-kill trifecta (sword, battle rifle, rocket launcher).

I think the pistol is what gave Halo 1 balance. It was the great equalizer. EVERYBODY started with it, it was good at med, med-long, and short range if you were good with it. Shotgun was superior to the pistol at short range and sniper was superior to it at long range. HOWEVER, no matter what encounter you ran into you always had a chance to win if you were good enough. You could hit a sniper a few times as you approach him to knock him out of his scope until you have a better bead on him or if you're up close you could get a 3-shot kill by shooting in the head.

In my prime I could take down 2-3 of my friends at once (since some of them weren't so good). In Halo 2 it's all about who has which gun and who started firing first. Accuracy is out the window.

 

[Stigmata]

I think the pistol is what gave Halo 1 balance. It was the great equalizer. EVERYBODY started with it, it was good at med, med-long, and short range if you were good with it. Shotgun was superior to the pistol at short range and sniper was superior to it at long range. HOWEVER, no matter what encounter you ran into you always had a chance to win if you were good enough. You could hit a sniper a few times as you approach him to knock him out of his scope until you have a better bead on him or if you're up close you could get a 3-shot kill by shooting in the head.

True, and I did love the pistol ever so much ( <3 ), but I think the fact that it was an equalizer is a testament to how over-powered it was. I think if the pistol's power had been toned down, and the assault rifle had been given slightly better accuracy, the balance would have been perfect, since you'd no longer be able to pop off enemy players in three quick shots from a third of the way across Blood Gulch and the assault rifle wouldn't be as much of a throwaway weapon.

What I miss most about Halo is the "stop-frame" effect that plasma weapons had on other players. They generally did a bit less damage than human weapons, but they'd severely reduce, or even stop, a player's turning motion for every shot landed. I loved sneaking up on people with the plasma rifle and then laying into them. I think it's the main reason why the Covenant weapons generally go unused nowadays.

 

[destrukt]

Yeah, if they made you able to dodge it if you moved sideways or jumped/crouched, and it had a smaller range I'd be OK with it...still not happy, but OK.

Bottom line: Games should take skill to win, not just one weapon. Halo 2 is completely flawed in terms of balance and MP gameplay.

You can dodge it and it really isn't that hard to kill a sword wielding maniac.

Also, if Halo 2 is 'completely flawed' than so are these following games:

DoD:S - Grenadier
Q3/Q4 - Railgun
CS - AWP
GoW - Chainsaw & grenade (Using melee)

I could go on for awhile . .

All are 1 hit kill (Though on rare occasion AWP/Grenadier may need a second hit) and many people say they are 'too easy' and 'hard to kill.'

Any moron can pick up an AWP and kill someone or stick a grenade in someone and run off, like any moron can pick up a sword and kill someone though the sword would be the easier of the 2.

@Amish

Haha, yeah, the pistol rocked soo much in Halo1 and while I agree that Halo2 is way more 'run and gun' (Like CS:S is compared to 1.6 and other games which have received 'upgrades') there is still a fair bit of aiming even while dual wielding, etc. I do wish it was even more skill based but sadly we (Well, Bungie) have to make room for people who inherently suck.

 

[Stormy]

ehh not another halo. Seen it all befor.

 

[Asknoone]

(Like CS:S is compared to 1.6 and other games which have received 'upgrades')

Oh yes, your one of those l33t CS kiddies aren't you.