Commando Archive
Thread: What can Halo 2 teach us about commando? (Expanded! Includes Swg!)
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StarNick
Thu Nov 18, 2004 7:22 pm
#1
Well its that time of year folks, Turkey's defrosting...getting all prepared for that Thanksgiving meal time. Halo 2 came out Nov. 9th, and sold a record 125 million or so dollars worth of copies within the first 24 hours. All that good stuff.
A long long time ago I made a similiar post, 07-09-2004 at 09:20 PM exactly. What Halo can teach us about "Commando"?
The Chief returns in another epic storyline, and thusly has returned to grace us all with new ideas and owning our friends online - mostly owning our friends online. So lets get started shall we?
"You are the last of your kind
Bred for combat, built for war
You are master of any weapon,
pilot of any vehicle...
and fear no enemy."
One of the first things I begun in the original post, this game directly from the back of the Halo Xbox case. Essentially, that old post detailed how a commando should be - just like the Chief himself! (He was no pistoleer, no TKM, nobh, HE WAS COMMANDO!! Booya!) Reviewing the original thread, everything pretty much holds up...and once that sandbox hits, hopefully it'll become a reality (where we'll actually be feared).
So then...what can Halo 2 teach us about Commando, where as Halo 1 already taught us everything there is to know (and hope for)? I personally loved Halo 2, some didnt like it...either you loved it like your spouse, or you were unamused by it; this thread details the love aspect of this community relationship to a alien-stomping cyborg in a FPS. Halo 2 for starters, teaches us how to be better, while being unique. The major negative comment ive heard about the game, is that, its unlike Halo 1 - thats good to hear too, as that means Halo 2 really has achieved what it was suppoused to be...a new adventure. Halo 1 and Halo 2 however are also exactly the same, they have what SWG does not...
To start things off, lets look at the Commando-y aspect of the new shoot em up:
1) Destructibility - Vechs, some structures in cases, lots of things can be blown up...many a time Ive been hit by a chunk of Ghost armour plating and died for goodness sake! A la to my first post on Halo 1, this is what a commando should have...the firepower needed to take on legions and legions of covenant warriors on...err...to blow up AT-STs and whatnot! If all goes as planned...this will be addressed in the Combat Upgrade...and we all can play a SW version of our favorite Cyborg soft-yet-witty spoken Hero!
2) Duel Weapons - Hmm...Ive heard alot about this, not sure when or where (Things like this can fall out of a window, and smack ya when you least expect it!) this (or if) may come....but I'd definately love commando to have this ability. Always been a dream of mine to have duel flamethrowers...dance like a commando, and be the envy of all chefs!
3) The Armour - Basically same as #1...covered in CU...(which is good!)
4) Whack that Grunt! - I don't believe I went into this in the original thread...but if I have, then Ill say it again. Just like the Chief, using melee attacks with our Hvy Weapons (especially the FT/HAR) would be simply, uber! Afterall, it fits with our hybrid pre-reqs...Marksman combined with melee aspects, what would you expect? A gun that you could hit people with!
Basically, 3/4 of these will or have a very good chance of coming true in a galaxy near you...edging us closer to what I see as the ideal Sci-Fi commando. This addresses the 2nd important thing in the Halo 1 thread - gameplay issues. Now only time will tell when we actually get an AR (or LR as some of you like to call it 
) of our own - the #1 important thing (or hey...a Battle Rifle! Anything better than the LP...which looks...pathetic and weak...)
) of our own - the #1 important thing (or hey...a Battle Rifle! Anything better than the LP...which looks...pathetic and weak...)And now...*drum roll*...the expanded portion of your current broadcasting...
The Four AMQS's of Halo 2:
Action -Quoted from I believe Jason Jones (the head lead guy person, it, alien thing of Halo), where a good game has 30 seconds of fun, and its the task of the developer to try and repeat that 30 seconds over and over and over (and over). I think this is where SWG may be lacking - even a bit in Space. But also mind you, this is an RPG...not some mindless (well..) FPS! But does that mean SWG should not too have action?
What first comes to mind are cinematics...something to break up the monotomy of the loading screens. Wouldn't it be cool, of having a cutscreen of your character just frying a Mokk in slow-mo, as it falls down writhing in pain? Alot of great games and movies have interesting cam angles, or interesting things going on that keeps the attention of the audience or player - definately something we need for the up and coming CU.
Music - An issue that has haunted SWG from the dawn of time...its just too dang quiet or repetive in SWG! The first thing that Halo 2 struck me...was its...Menu music...it was so dang beautiful. Nearly EVERY music piece in Halo 2...well just blew me away...it was truely like a movie. SWG is all about living the saga...well, we need good music to do just that! Maybe they should hire old Marty O'Donnell.
An interesting thought comes to mind, Profession-specific music...wouldn't it be cool hearing riveting commando-esque action music? Perhaps in a profession quest (more on that below) or when wielding profession specific weapons (like if you begin flaming a nuna, commando music kicks in...or if you equiped a FT or something). Hopefully we'll see stuff coming this way after the CU...
Quests - Profession Quests...my old idea (as well an old idea of many other people too, heh!)...definately something that would be cool...something to do when you mastered a profession. Remember that old thread garvin had up about new mission types? Yeah well, Im still dieing for those commando-specific quests! Definately a cool reward for mastering a profession - you get someone over your headset saying to go and blow up some alien base on a remote hostile planet...just like our good old friend, Master Chief.
Storyline -Briefly mentioned in another thread around these forums...potentially the biggest of the Big Four...and the one SWG, as well as every profession, is lacking. Any good movie, any good game, any good book...the story reigns supreme...crappy story, crappy game. Period. Likewise, every profession needs to have its own story...think of them like characters....
We got the big overall story - the Galactic Civil War raging and womping people left and right...
Then we have our main "characters"...the professions!
Each profession has a different story to tell...each profession will traversethe road not taken...
...in a yellow wood
I think im getting a bit epic here, as I have the halo 2 menu music playing...and shesh, it stirs these feelings in me all the time! Anyways, the players...us...we ARE the characters in this game, so why shouldn't our professions be likewise? Afterall...every commando has a story to tell...
Likewise, this is where profession quests come in and stuff, and other dynamic features etc etc. Master Chief wasn't just John 117, he was a kick-ass Cyborg commando hero that had a destiny. All of our commandos have a destiny, and likewise...we all have a storyline that exists in SWG. These storylines can be done through a variety of ways...1) Profession Quests 2) Optional Player Quests [Either player made, or the existing Pilot/FS quests] 3) Dynamic Quests [Remember the twilek running from stormtroopers on tatooine?]. Finally, to coincide with this...new quest specific badges can be implented...or generated Fiction data disks that tell of your great deed - anything that builds your character up...your Bio is your background, your quest journal is what you are now...a perfect place, as well as new items to represent this.
To wrap things up, basically Halo 2 took Halo 1 a step further...a more grander story...something bigger than the player (god...cant wait for Halo 3!!). To me (and you dont have to agree), Halo 2 is simply "better" its more complete...it has the right mixture (same with halo 1 to as well) of what a great game requires...and is a perfect model for SWG and our profession.
As well here, im taking this Halo = Better Commando, a step further. Not only do we need to apply great gameplay to combat professions (the CU), but we also must apply a great storyline to each as well. This thread talked about many different (well, ok 8) aspects of what we as well as SWG should have. But again, a storyline is the biggest component we need...without it, we're just big BBQ Chefs wandering around a virtual chat room...
Whats our story you quietly ask?
We fear no enemy...we are the few, the proud, and the brave. We are, Commando.
*Quietly Plays "Remembrance" in the background*
Message Edited by StarNick on 11-18-2004 09:38 PM
StarNick
Thu Nov 18, 2004 7:36 pm
#2
Ahh well that sucks, when I went and edited it for a grammer typo...it kicked my HTML links out...dont get all angry at me just yet...fixing it now 
Edit: There we go, all fixed...
Message Edited by StarNick on 11-18-2004 09:38 PM
JuggernautRM
Thu Nov 18, 2004 9:06 pm
#3
Heh.
Was playing Halo 1 for the first time today. And to be honest, Master Chief is my main depiction of what a SWG commando should be, the jack of all trades, and the master of destruction.
Was playing Halo 1 for the first time today. And to be honest, Master Chief is my main depiction of what a SWG commando should be, the jack of all trades, and the master of destruction.
StarNick
Fri Nov 19, 2004 3:29 pm
#5
Heh...100% accurate RL's *would* be nice...
Despite being rather broad, I guess this thread really ultimately boiled down to the last and final "good game" aspect...making professions the characters...
Its another plea for profession-specific quests...but taking it a step further. It would just be totally cool, "living the saga" through a commando's eyes, its your story, but because you've chosen to live in Star Wars as a commando...you see the galaxy and the story through a commando, rather than just yourself.
Then bam, you become a pistoleer...and you experience the same general storyline...but through, another's perspective...while at the same time, being yourself and enhancing the experience with your character's fictional background and attitude.
Thats a true RPG right there.
LuciusScipio
Mon Nov 22, 2004 2:47 pm
#6
Man, 5 star post...I think that's what is missing from the game the most...A STORY!...A personal story/adventure....and of course a saga...it's just too staticy (sp?)running around...I agree 100% with EVERYTHING that you suggested there.
StarNick
Mon Nov 22, 2004 5:00 pm
#7
Hmm...maybe the Flaming Lords of Lag should goad the devs in making commando armour a la Master Chief...
Now that be cool... (built in shield generator and very cool looking!)
Maybe im just obsessed...
nbd9k
Tue Nov 23, 2004 7:58 am
#8
i think we should all get our own Cortana for mastering. it would eliminate the need for smugglers, droid engineers, and we would have someone to operate the turrets when we fly solo. that and i just like the idea of a litle holgraphic computer girl riding around on my shoulder like a parrot. arg!
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