Spargsy | Ben

26 | Ginger | Halo, Star Wars, HTTYD | Competent Warthog driver | Lego Addict | Online Sales Manager @SoundcraftHiFi

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

The fight is finished.

After nearly 2 years since the career progression came out, I have finally achieved Hero Rank.

Been one hell of a ride @Halo. Looking forward to the next infinite update and whatever else is coming in the future.

#HaloInfinite #HaloSpotlight

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

@TArbiter117 @TheRealQuenny My bad.
Genuinely don’t think I’ve seen this before!

[thomasmahler @thomasmahler]

It’s heartbreaking to see what’s happening at Xbox right now.

A lot of great people are being affected, and I don’t want to minimize that. But if we’re being honest, this has felt like a long time coming and I’m not sure this is the end of it. It may just be the beginning of a much larger reset across the industry.

In the long run, I actually think that reset could be good for games and good for gamers.

Xbox has struggled for a long time to identify, empower, and protect the key creative people and teams who could have kept the brand at the top.

Even when we were making Ori with Xbox, it was clear that the main focus was still Halo, Gears, and Forza - even though gamer excitement around Halo and Gears had already cooled heavily after Bungie and Epic moved on from those franchises.

The newer installments simply didn’t reproduce the same cultural impact those series once had.

Meanwhile, Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps became two of the most critically acclaimed Xbox-published games after the 360 era. I always secretly hoped that Microsoft would see the value in what we delivered, that they'd selfishly turn Ori into their Mickey Mouse or a Mario'esque mascot.

I emailed Phil plenty of times making my argument that Xbox should have their eyes on delivering magical experiences for kids and families as well, like Disney and Nintendo always have.

Ori and Moon could've been the start of something new, but the powers to be were probably too focused on the past for that to happen.

We’re still incredibly proud of what we delivered during our Ori era. Our partnership with Xbox produced two games that many players still see as shining stars in the Xbox catalogue.

Microsoft still owns an absolutely insane catalogue of franchises. The potential is still enormous.

The problem is and has always been that great games are not made by IP. They’re made by people. People who have passion and love for this medium, that understand what gamers truly want.

If I were in charge of Xbox right now, I’d also radically slim down, refocus and try to bring back the passion for gaming that clearly existed in the Xbox halls during the 360 era.

Xbox should be one of the strongest publishers in the world. With the brands Microsoft owns, that should honestly be fairly straightforward.

But nostalgia alone is not enough. Nostalgia can get people to look into your direction, but after that, you still have to deliver the goods. You still have to make products that get players genuinely excited. Products that make gamers literally salivate.

And to do that, Xbox has to bet on the right people.

They need to find the Miyamotos, Tezukas, Sakurais, etc. within their own ecosystem - the people who actually speak the same language gamers do - and then support them, protect them, and trust them.

Bet on those people - Not just IP. We've clearly seen now what happens when you own all the best IP in the world, but don't have the right people in charge to actually service those titles.

The formula is really not that complicated:

Ship better games than your competition.

That’s it.

If you consistently do that, you win. And given the scale that Xbox is operating at, they could win HUGE.

Of course, pulling off a full reset inside a giant corporation is brutally difficult. But we’ve seen it done before. Apple in 97 was nearly dead and Steve Jobs turned it around by simplifying the company, focusing on beloved brands and shipping products people couldn’t wait to get their hands on.

The playbook is already written out for you.

From the outside, to people like me, it still looks like Xbox is sitting on an absolute goldmine.

They just need to put the right people in charge of mining that gold.

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

Xbox is really reverting to Halo, Gears, Forza now with CoD to backup too…

What are we doing here?

[Klobrille @klobrille]

They announced their next game at an Xbox 25th Anniversary celebration one week ago.

What the fuck are we doing here

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

And here concludes my political posts.

Sorry guys but our government continues to make the worst decisions at every god damn turn.

Back to your regularly scheduled Halo posts instead now.

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

Here’s a thought you wet blanket, how about teaching parents how to parent properly?

Maybe educate people on setting their routers to have curfews on kids devices?

Maybe don’t endanger everyone’s personal information?

Can’t wait to get your embarrassment of a government out.

[Keir Starmer @Keir_Starmer]

We are banning social media access for under 16s.

These days kids must find their feet in a world where technology intrudes into every area of their life.

I just can’t let that go on anymore. So we’re giving children their childhoods back.

[Shimazu.S @ShimazuSystems]

Brit here, yes. Do this.

100.00% after talking to MPs, this is the only thing that will work. They don't think this will happen, and have banked on it.

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

@NotOrionLMAO @FunkPasta We’re finally gonna get Reach MP 2 🙌

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

@NickHaydt @ducain23 If you compare them in motion too, the splashes in the PS5 trailer are way smaller than the splashes in the pre rendered demo.

They’ve definitely been testing in engine cutscenes very recently.

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

For those hoping for in-game cutscenes in @Halo Campaign Evolved, there is some hope.

In the October build they almost definitely were.

I’ve compared this frame from the official Halo Channel, IGN and Greenskull.

They all have different levels of pop in.

See the red circles.

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

@NickHaydt @ducain23 Both are as close I can match up going frame by frame on YouTube.

The demo that everyone is playing has less blue water throughout compared to the trailer.

Also the PS5 trailer is missing all trees (probably to improve performance assuming it’s realtime)

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

@zeddikins They definitely had a different version running on the PS5 trailer

https://t.co/PhVLunu7fQ

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

Also here’s a comparison of the same frame between the demo slice (cheers @ducain23) and the Halo Story trailer. (The one that proudly said it was all captured on PS5.)

Note the trees on the beach haven’t popped in on PS5.

So looks like newer builds were in game too

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

Once again our government proves they have no idea what the fuck they’re doing.

[Politics UK @PolitlcsUK]

🚨 NEW: Under-16s in the UK will be banned from the following 10 social media apps

TikTok
YouTube
Snapchat
Instagram
X
Reddit
Facebook
Twitch
Kick
Threads

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

Listen I like a lot of what Campaign Evolved is doing but I’d really like Halo to return to this kinda tone.

Need covenant ships to feel foreboding again.

[Vuthakral @Vuthakral]

1/3 more examples

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

@ChefandArbistor @Generalkidd (Meaning the Needle rifles errors isn’t as noticeable compared to the Magnum which immediately sticks out at me at full speed too.)

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

@ChefandArbistor @Generalkidd Tbf at full speed this isn’t as noticeable but the Magnums animations are totally broken with how the slider just jumps forward in a single frame.

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

@LateNightHalo Mocap E V E R Y T H I N G

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

@LateNightHalo Feel like it spawned from the idea to do the grunt dolly zoom cam which I think is actually a good gag. Just seems like they ran out of time :/

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

@bestspartan777 @logorn_gadum @ProOmega09 @Halo I agree the lighting changes but that is still possible in game too.

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

@bestspartan777 @logorn_gadum @ProOmega09 @Halo In this build yes.

But the even the new PS5 trailer looks different than this build. And that was them showing off what PS5 pro can do.

https://t.co/PhVLunu7fQ

[Spargsy | Ben @Spargsy]

Also here’s a comparison of the same frame between the demo slice (cheers @ducain23) and the Halo Story trailer. (The one that proudly said it was all captured on PS5.)

Note the trees on the beach haven’t popped in on PS5.

So looks like newer builds were in game too