Now that we've had a couple of weeks to fully immerse ourselves in the online experience of Halo 3, it's time to start picking apart the issues that have been coming up.
Bungie has begun to address some of the more expected problems, such as certain maps coming up far too often or a particular game type (Shotty Snipers on Narrows, anyone?) that makes logging onto the game somewhat dreadful. These issues are being turned into positives, just as Bungie did last time around when we got sick of seeing such modes as 1 Flag CTF on Zanzibar.
However, the latest issues has been the loss of Experience Points for disconnecting or quitting. Bungie was pretty adamant before the game came out that they were out to punish those who left in the middle of a game. They absolutely wanted to get that point across. While they have done this, it hasn't been welcomed with open arms like they expected....and we'll look at it from both points of view, just to be fair.
The Good Side
In Halo 2, we all got sick of seeing a number of people dropout early into any online match when things started to go badly for them or their team. A quick 10-0 deficit in a Big Team Battle usually led to about three to four people ducking out quick before the situation got worse. In order to counteract this, Bungie laid the smack down by penalizing those who left early. The Experience Points system that was implemented for Halo 3 was designed just to settle issues such as this.
Someone decides to leave the match? Lose experience points.
Pull the plug on the 360? Lose experience points.
It's a much needed thing. It prevents many mid-tier ranked opponents from dropping out of a match, especially when you consider that it takes 115 Experience Points to go from Lt. Grade 2 to Captain. It really does make you think twice about getting out of a match that you feel just isn't worth your time. Plus, you have to take into consideration that you can have some negative feedback left for you by all of the people you played against. I have used this a few times already, and it seems to work. I've noticed a couple of people on my "Recent Opponents" list have a steadily declining reputation.
The Bad Side
If Microsoft had systems that were far more reliable than what they currently are, the bad side of this comparison wouldn't be so vocal. However, many gamers have complained about how their 360s decide to crap out on them in the middle of matches, or they have some type of connection hiccup that boots them from a match, costing them valuable experience points in their quest to move up in the rankings.
The system is advanced enough, by now, where you should be able to detect what happens during a match. I'm not talking about tracking, although that wouldn't be a bad thing, but some people have no reason to duck out of a match if they're winning by a good margin, only to have their internet connection go haywire and boot them from a match, essentially costing them two experience points: one point for a win, and one point for dropping out of the match.
Bungie hasn't officially announced anything regarding this situation, nor is there really anything expected from them. The system is in place for a reason, but I feel that there can be some tweaking done to it.
Perhaps, the fairest thing to do, is to only have someone lose experience points if someone reports them for quitting early, especially if it's just an internet hiccup. I fully agree that those who willfully quit on their own should be docked the point.
The bottom line is this: don't punish the rest of us for your lack of maintenance.
Bungie has begun to address some of the more expected problems, such as certain maps coming up far too often or a particular game type (Shotty Snipers on Narrows, anyone?) that makes logging onto the game somewhat dreadful. These issues are being turned into positives, just as Bungie did last time around when we got sick of seeing such modes as 1 Flag CTF on Zanzibar.
However, the latest issues has been the loss of Experience Points for disconnecting or quitting. Bungie was pretty adamant before the game came out that they were out to punish those who left in the middle of a game. They absolutely wanted to get that point across. While they have done this, it hasn't been welcomed with open arms like they expected....and we'll look at it from both points of view, just to be fair.
The Good Side
In Halo 2, we all got sick of seeing a number of people dropout early into any online match when things started to go badly for them or their team. A quick 10-0 deficit in a Big Team Battle usually led to about three to four people ducking out quick before the situation got worse. In order to counteract this, Bungie laid the smack down by penalizing those who left early. The Experience Points system that was implemented for Halo 3 was designed just to settle issues such as this.
Someone decides to leave the match? Lose experience points.
Pull the plug on the 360? Lose experience points.
It's a much needed thing. It prevents many mid-tier ranked opponents from dropping out of a match, especially when you consider that it takes 115 Experience Points to go from Lt. Grade 2 to Captain. It really does make you think twice about getting out of a match that you feel just isn't worth your time. Plus, you have to take into consideration that you can have some negative feedback left for you by all of the people you played against. I have used this a few times already, and it seems to work. I've noticed a couple of people on my "Recent Opponents" list have a steadily declining reputation.
The Bad Side
If Microsoft had systems that were far more reliable than what they currently are, the bad side of this comparison wouldn't be so vocal. However, many gamers have complained about how their 360s decide to crap out on them in the middle of matches, or they have some type of connection hiccup that boots them from a match, costing them valuable experience points in their quest to move up in the rankings.
The system is advanced enough, by now, where you should be able to detect what happens during a match. I'm not talking about tracking, although that wouldn't be a bad thing, but some people have no reason to duck out of a match if they're winning by a good margin, only to have their internet connection go haywire and boot them from a match, essentially costing them two experience points: one point for a win, and one point for dropping out of the match.
Bungie hasn't officially announced anything regarding this situation, nor is there really anything expected from them. The system is in place for a reason, but I feel that there can be some tweaking done to it.
Perhaps, the fairest thing to do, is to only have someone lose experience points if someone reports them for quitting early, especially if it's just an internet hiccup. I fully agree that those who willfully quit on their own should be docked the point.
The bottom line is this: don't punish the rest of us for your lack of maintenance.
