The Halo Customs Population

[ShockBolt21]

That's your opinion, however, many people think Halo 4 is trash...

Yes they do, and I can't remotely understand that. Saying that it's bad compared to other games is a valid claim, but it's only gotten so much better since the previous Halos. In my opinion, the changes made into Halo 4 mostly improved the game, with the exception of a few balance issues. But are these imperfections in the balance really a good reason to leave the Halo series, despite all of its enhancements? If you can explain what it is that's so attractive about the other Halos that Halo 4 doesn't have, maybe I could get a better perspective.

 

[Tomtris]

Yes they do, and I can't remotely understand that. Saying that it's bad compared to other games is a valid claim, but it's only gotten so much better since the previous Halos. If you can explain what it is that's so attractive about the other Halos that Halo 4 doesn't have, maybe I'd get a better perspective.

Well I mean, they liked removed most of the custom game options, and game types.

...and that made me sad.

 

[ShockBolt21]

they liked removed most of the custom game options, and game types.

Like which options? I don't remember seeing any more options in Reach or 3 than there are in 4, except for the gametype-specific ones, which have been replaced with new ones to better suit the new game types.
Also note that while had some game types that H4 doesn't, like Invasion or VIP, Halo 4 also has its own unique gametypes, like Extraction, Dominion, Regicide, and Ricochet, each with their own customizable options.

 

[Skyward Shoe]

Like which options? I don't remember seeing any more options in Reach or 3 than there are in 4, except for the gametype-specific ones, which have been replaced with new ones to better suit the new game types.
Also note that while had some game types that H4 doesn't, like Invasion or VIP, Halo 4 also has its own unique gametypes, like Extraction, Dominion, Regicide, and Ricochet, each with their own customizable options.

Ahem:

Removed Game Modes since Reach:

Assault - All forms
1 Flag CTF
Neutral Flag CTF
Territories - All forms
Headhunter
Stockpile
Insane
Race
Invasion
Invasion Slayer, Bro Slayer, and other similar modes.

Important Options:

• Sprint cannot be removed in any game mode besides flood (zombies only). Issue for some classic competitive modes, flood, mini games, etc...

• Flood removes the option to let zombies hold other weapons, restricts armor abilities for zombies to a set of 3 predetermined ones or none at all, forces humans to be bright yellow-green, forces zombies to not have sprint.

• Flag cannot be dropped in CTF, auto pickup cannot be disabled, flagnum cannot be disabled. This changes tactics for CTF, making body spamming the flag usually more effective than anything else, making it less strategic.

• Removed custom power up, which was a key element in many mini games and infection maps.

----

The new modes added were appreciated, as were player trait zones. Regardless, the amount of custom game options removed with Halo 4 far outweighs what was added and hurt a large portion of the existing community. I'm not even sure if I hit everything with that list. This is on top of other issues such as infinity ordnance, random drops, a few bad power weapons, certain items allowed in personal loadouts, and more.

I will say this for Halo 4 though. Halo 4 has a large number of issues, the biggest being what is listed above because it keeps us from fixing them in custom games, but it has made improvements and it plays MUCH more smoothly than the past games. I went back to Reach lately, and while it was nice to have the options and the simplicity the game felt much more clunky than Halo 4. Halo 4 is aggravating in many ways, but 343i did also do pretty well in some categories.

 

[ShockBolt21]

Removed Game Modes since Reach...
Important Options...

Oh right, I didn't remember those. The removal of 1 flag and neutral flag really hurt, as did the withdrawal of some of the other game types.
The removal of custom powerups was also quite significant, but I think that trait zones are a far better alternative.

...Regardless, the amount of custom game options removed with Halo 4 far outweighs what was added...

I wouldn't necessarily agree with this. The removal of some of the gametypes did affect customs, and it would be nice to have more customizable options for flood. But Ricochet, Dominion, and Extraction are all fully customizable and are great game modes for a variety of competitive games, casual games, and minigames.

Also, ordinance drops are present in every gametype and can be changed and tweaked in any desired way, or can be removed all together.

Bottom line here- Halo 4 custom games are still very malleable. If Halo Reach's custom options actually are greater than 4's, it isn't by that much.

...but it has made improvements and it plays MUCH more smoothly than the past games. I went back to Reach lately, and while it was nice to have the options and the simplicity the game felt much more clunky than Halo 4.

That, I think, is what really makes this game so much better for me- the smooth feel and better graphics or visual/aesthetic appearance. It makes it so much easier and more comfortable to play.

 

[mrgreenwithagun]

...It can't be because H4 is a bad game....

Ask the general population and you will find that over 98% will tell you that they despise H4 over every other title in the series. While you may not agree with them, their opinion is a solid singular view of the state of Halo and you are simply not in a position to deny that reality.

Regardless, I will always love Halo above all other FPS games out there.

 

[Elliot]

I'm going to bring things back to how this thread started.

I don't care that the amount of custom games being played is declining. I'm having fun regardless and I will continue to frequent this site for as long as I am. There is still very much a community here, and a fantastic one at that. Look at what you have. Appreciate it, enjoy it and make the most of it. Nothing lasts forever, remember that.

 

[Psychoduck]

The decline of activity on HaloCustoms has almost almost nothing to do with the website itself. Indeed, if you look around the community you will see that this site is either the most or the second most active Halo community website. Similarly, you'll notice that this decline in activity is seen throughout the activity, and HaloCustoms has not even been particularly hard-hit by it. Look at THFE, the biggest Halo community YouTube channel. Note that the video views have dropped below what they were two years into Reach's lifespan after less than a year of Halo 4. Other channels are just as hard hit. The community is smaller than it has been in years, and HaloCustoms is actually quite well off relative to other community groups and websites. This isn't really grounds for a childish "I told you so" moment. The website isn't on the decline, the Halo community as a whole is.

There are loads of reasons why this is. Basically, Halo 4 is not a competitive Halo game. The fact that it received an inadequate amount of polish before release is secondary to the fact that the design of the multiplayer sandbox is decidedly poor. Combine that with a decrease in custom game options fro what we saw in Reach and the fact that the Xbox One is on the horizon and you'll see exactly why the community has shrunk so much. People are simply not happy with the game and there are a lot of other games out there. The bottom line is that HaloCustoms has still fared quite well, all things considered. We have a great community here, and we will continue to maintain and improve this website as long as people continue to come here. Perhaps threads that aren't about the website dying would be more conducive to keeping the website alive and well.

 

[ShockBolt21]

Ask the general population and you will find that over 98% will tell you that they despise H4 over every other title in the series. While you may not agree with them, their opinion is a solid singular view of the state of Halo and you are simply not in a position to deny that reality.

That's all completely true. I feel like I'm recognizing Halo 4 for being the great game that it is, while everyone around me despises it for reasons I don't understand at all. As I mentioned before, saying that Halo 4 is inferior to other games outside of the series is a valid argument. Also, saying that Halo 4 could have turned out better is a fine point as well (I can agree with that myself). But saying that Halo 4 is inferior to its predecessors? Hell no!

The community demands that it be brought back to its classical origins, which I strongly disagree with. I do not want to see the series regress to the way it was before halo 4. I really hope I don't have to watch 343 make Halo 5 a beefed up version of Halo 3 under your demands, losing all of the potential it had with Halo 4.

 

[ShockBolt21]

The decline of activity on HaloCustoms has almost almost nothing to do with the website itself.

I feel like my title was slightly misleading. I'm not trying to say that Halo Customs is an unsuccessful site, or that it isn't a fun place to be. I understand that the entire Halo community is on the downfall, but that's not really my point. I was just trying to get some statistics down to satisfy my curiosity and that of others who may care- I wasn't trying to turn the entire site against me. If you can use your staff powers to change the title to "The Halo Customs Population," I'd appreciate that.

 

[Psychoduck]

That's all completely true. I feel like I'm in a horrible situation right now- like I'm recognizing Halo 4 for being the great game that it is, while everyone around me despises it for reasons I don't understand at all.

The community demands that it be brought back to its classical origins, which I strongly disagree with. I do not want to see the series regress to the way it was before halo 4. I really hope I don't have to watch 343 make Halo 5 a beefed up version of Halo 3 under your demands, losing all of the potential it had with Halo 4.

There are certainly some people who just want Halo to be exactly as it was in the days of Halo 2 and 3 until the end of time, these people are rather close-minded. The problem with halo 4 is not that it changed the Halo formula, the problem is that the changes made were either poorly implemented or inherently broken to begin with. Halo 4's multiplayer sandbox is incredibly flawed. I would love to see some new additions to the core gameplay to keep things new and interesting, as I'm sure would most people. However, these changes need to be well thought-out and well implemented, which clearly was not the case with halo 4.

 

[anexpiredlemon]

I've only just noticed this thread and being a fairly active and known member of the site I may as well have my say on this matter.

HaloCustoms is a website that has roots seeded in a console exclusive title, bringing a large collective of people together that all game on the same console platform meaning that every last member on this website has the opportunity to play with one-another and has allowed us all without question to generate an individual circle of friends and foes.

I'd also like to add that regardless of how much traffic the site has had, the same familiar faces still reside in the shoutbox as they always have and for the most part that portion of the site remains consistent.

Furthermore just because we are a halo-based community, doesn't mean we cannot play other games too.

A fairly active portion of us are all playing GTA V together at the moment and decent amount are playing Pokémon X/Y too and with the nearing release of Battlefield 4 a good wedge of us will be playing that also. Diversify.

At the end of the day HaloCustoms is not dying, Halo 4 is. As a forum (which is what we are deep down) we are actually quite active. It's just the Customs/Maps sections of the site which will most likely slow down and face a lull until the release of the next halo title, this being purely being the case from less traffic from "randies" and new members that only really joined for the customs and customs alone.

The site will develop and evolve over time and is still in it's first year, the rate of progression it has gone through in that time is staggering and if you cannot see the possibilities and have the foresight to see where we came from and where the site is going in the grand scheme of things, then feel free to throw in the towel.

At the end of the day it's your choice to be here and there's no point constantly moaning on about the same point, if you have an issue with what we've got here as a core forum consider moving on or better yet simply take a break from the site.

As at the end of the day, we ain't going anywhere

 

[ShockBolt21]

At the end of the day it's your choice to be here and there's no point constantly moaning on about the same point, if you have an issue with what we've got here as a core forum consider moving on or better yet simply take a break from the site.

Constantly moaning and complaining? Really? I simply stated a fact with some evidence.

Know that I made this thread mostly just to satisfy my own curiosity, and to share the results with anyone else who would like to know the numbers. I did not make this thread to insult or belittle this site in any way- that seems to be how you and several others interpreted it. I have no issue with this forum.

The site will develop and evolve over time and is still in it's first year, the rate of progression it has gone through in that time is staggering and if you cannot see the possibilities and have the foresight to see where we came from and where the site is going in the grand scheme...

I don't know about that... not until the release of Halo 5. If we're still around then, I have no doubt that we will bounce right back up once the title is released.