343 Provides Official Statement On Halo Infinite Graphics Concerns

Communication is key. It's great that they openly talked about criticism instead of the usual generic PR speech.

I hope they improve the lighting a lot before release. The throwback in art direction is fine, but it doesn't look old just cause of that. Gameplay looked great, and much of the negativity has been overkill. I wonder what they have cooking for split-screen multiplayer.

Jesus people wanted classic gameplay , not a classic aesthetic!!. Not buying this for a second. Worst excuse I've ever heard in my life. Paraphrasing. "oh I thought the fans wanted classic halo graphics from the 360 era?, " lol embarrassing. Flagship titles define your new product. Spencer and his team of clowns. Need to get real. Deliver this and expect people to buy into the "worlds most powerful "console mantra? . If i were a sony executive I'd be pissing my trousers laughing at these clowns.

Personally, it wasn't the 'vibrancy' that I had issue with. After seeing the Game Engine reveal in 2018 and then the trailer in 2019, the game-play visuals were seriously lacking that not just changing the lighting would fix. The grass for example in that 2018 demo was moving in the wind, yet in the gameplay, they were static and lifeless - let alone the 'short' draw distance between being static grass and flat green texture filled polygons.

Take a game like Ghost of Tsushima which has a stylised artstyle too, that world still looks 'alive' and the flora moves with the wind and whatever moves through it. It would be great to have Skin textures as seen in the trailer before the game-play, the woman making the armour, and to see the pilot rendered similarly wouldn't be out of place from the 'original' - had it been made in 2020 for Series X. That game had 'human' characters and I bet if Bungie were to make Halo today, they would be using very 'Human' looking characters - not looking like they did in 2001 with a higher polygon count and higher resolution.

This is supposed to be a 'Flagship' title, something that pushes the boundaries of what was thought possible as Halo CE and Halo 3 did respectively for Xbox and Xbox 360. Lighting should be one aspect but that isn't the only problem with this and fixing that won't fix the Visual problems shown here. It will help improve it, but will still be a far cry from the Game Engine Demo and all subsequent trailers after.

You can have a stylised and Vibrant look, but its going to be analysed and compared to the games like Ghost of Tsushima, Red Dead Redemption 2, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla and other Open World games as well as Destiny 2 which also promises 4k/60 in a vibrant, sci-fi world...

@BAMozzy it's all abit embarrassing. For ms. Isnt it?......like "oh people didnt want classic 360 graphics on our 12tf beast?". Truth is people wanted retro halo gameplay, coupled with photo realistic next gen graphics.

Wouldn't it be funny if the whole game was so amazing and beautiful and then they purposefully left a Craig in the game

@DavLFC Honestly Ghost of Tsushima looks like a low detailed cartoon fortnite graphics if you zoom in things like walls, with lot of bugs in animations. If I was a Sony executive I would be damaging controlling the anti-consumer Spiderman standalone DLC created on the same assets, embarrassing CPU/GPU stability and memory bandwidth difference and the fact that Xbox Series X hardware breakdown reveal was done way back in February by a neutral side. It’s sad how Pushsquare fangirls defend their 30fps checkerboard games which only uses optical illusion to look good - low detailed things hidden behind ultra dark low lit regions, small visible environments, low interactivity, static baked-in lighting (check DF) etc.

I think the problem was Phil Spencer bigging this game up as a showcase for next gen. The reality...this is a current gen game repurposed as a next gen launch title, with no next gen features to currently show.
A Series X version could imporve some elements;
Lighting - The models looked flat due to the lighting style used. If they use Ray Tracing, that issue is solved straight away.
Pop-in - Again, the next gen SSD should eliminate any pop-in, unless it's an issue with the game engine.

Overall, at least they've taken the feedback on board.
Just a shame that the Halo brand has become a bit of a joke now.

Wow, we're really getting this as a finished product. No wonder they're considered a joke.

Another generation going to Sony with how this upcoming gen has been mismanaged already.

@DavLFC well, what they delivered was DOOM gameplay with retro visuals.

@Z3u5000
A user score of over 90 in meta critic for Ghost of Tsushima, plus all media talking about how beautiful the game is, are against you.
Also, your entire post smells like blind fanboy talk.

People should learn to give credit where credit is due and stop this console war nonsense. See yourself as a gamer, and not a PS/Nintendo/XBox/PC lover that has to talk bad about the competition no matter what.

Halo didn’t look like anything special, period.
That the devs weren’t aware of some of the obvious low quality issues is concerning.

But anyway, what I did like is the gameplay itself and being on the ring again. And I will play Halo for the gameplay and story anyway. But I am currently more amazed by The Medium with its rendering of two worlds at the same time when it comes to actual next gen stuff. Although since it runs on PC, it doesn’t seem to make full use of the SSD.

The poor studio are stretched to hell.
They have had about five years.
But having to make it for Xbox one and series x and PC only really enables them to use PC scaling and not take full advantage of series x. Also adding multiplayer co op the forge and war zone all take massive resources. Microsoft chose this cross generations direction but at the same time big up the power of the series x. You can’t really have both. You will only get to see the true power of the series x and not up scaling and clever stuff if you produce the game ground up for the series x.
I don’t like the direction Microsoft has taken the start of this generation and Halo shows this but it is to be expected as the poor studio can only do so much.
I don’t care for cross generations and backwards compatibility. I just wanted a true series x next generation Halo and we are not getting that.

When Sony sells more next generation and repeats this generations success again.
It won’t be the fault of say 343 or the other Xbox studios. It will be Microsoft and the direction they have taken at the start of this generation for the next two years I believe with cross generations. Time will tell so no arguing, but I would bet a months salary I will be right.

@BAMozzy
Could have not put it better.
The world looked static and dull, no environment movement like you said.
Has to be so far the biggest disappointment of next generation. Good start Microsoft, stretch the hell out of a studio making it work on Xbox one and PC and all the other co op and multiplayer stuff and that’s what you get. The only thing this defines is I won’t be getting a series x at launch if ever at all.
And stop saying how powerful you next generation console is, if you are not going to build game’s ground up for it to take proper full advantage. Microsoft PR suits suck big time.

@Carck
I’m not a Sony fan boy I have all three consoles. I’m just disappointed the direction Microsoft have taken with next generation.
I more than anyone wanted to see a new Halo built from the ground up for series x and proper use of its power, not PC up scaling and little tricks. The next two years might as well be Xbox one generation not series x.
Imagine the lush world and effects they could have produced just for series x game only.

huh...
maybe I'm not as much of a hardcore gamer as I thought I was, but I thought the game looked great and fun to play. I'm sure someone can explain why I'm wrong, but I'm excited for it and will definitely pick it up when it comes out.

p.s. I guess I wouldn't mind more hair on brutes.
p.p.s. And I hope we don't have to interact with the pilot too often (or he really takes a chill pill) because he was really annoying.

@Menchi
Could not agree more. I have had all the Xbox consoles from day one.
But not this time, Xbox one was a little disappointing but was ok.
But all this backwards compatibility and cross generations has ruined would could have been an amazing next generation series x only Halo and a great start.
Instead we get another Xbox one Halo with PC scaling and little tricks for the series x
What a waste of power and money for the start of a beast of a console.

@themightyant
I feel for 343 as well. They have been stretched to thinly making it cross generations etc etc and are limited what they can do. Microsoft have made that poor studio get so much stick. They should have been allowed for the last five years to focus on a massive open world story Halo for series x only. Instead we moulded looking characters, a bare looking static open environment.
If they had all this backlash would have been praise for an amazing looking game and the series x power.

@tatsumi So according to your logic, 4.4 user rating metacritic of TLOU2 means that game sucks too? Also there’s nothing revolutionary about GoT, CNET has advised to skip playing the title and Polygon review goes something along the lines of “you have already played this”. It’s clearly evident who’s comment is more fanboyish without making any real sense, probably defending everything propagated by pushsquare. This is a clear pattern that can be seen in every comment section after the Xbox 4k60fps games showcase. Whatever stated in my earlier comment could be verified from the Digitalfoundry expert review of GoT.

@tatsumi If you want to see true next gen technology, consider educating yourself with the recent technical review of MFS by Digitalfoundry (2PB of photorealism, real-time weather). It’s nowhere near your checkerboard 30fps static lighting and low lit shadows semi open world titles creating an optical illusion of good graphics. There’s a obvious reason why true open world titles like RDR2 can only run with checkerboard blurry 4K on PS4 Pro. There’s no optical illusions and other graphical optimisations in that game, it’s totally raw graphical prowess. Come back with actual technical facts next time, rather than propaganda fed by Pushsquare.

@Z3u5000

From the DF review

"Technologically, Ghost of Tsushima is excellent, it's Sucker Punch's best release yet and it's clearly a cut above most of the open world fare we've seen this generation, but compared to the standards set by Sony's remarkable run of first-party hits, it doesn't quite feel like the finished article"

It's honest but not quite as harsh as your comments were - I think that was slightly OTT no?

I do however, agree with what you are trying to get at and I think 343 are being treated a little too harshly here, achieving optimum fidelity and an open world is a challenge when trying to do a cross-gen release.

I don't think it is anything that can't be patched in post-launch however so the level of the uproar is a bit nonsensical.

But GOT low-detailed cartoon graphics it is not - not on topic for this thread though so I'll leave that one.

@Jaxx420 No, watch the Digitalfoundry video.
I never shied away from the fact that 343 took a big L with that half baked product that they were working on for so many years. It’s hilarious they needed Digitalfoundry to point out what was wrong.

Let's judge the game at release. It is positive that they listen to us and give their opinion.
The classic style is fine for me, photo realistic doesn't mean that the game is good as well.

@DavLFC Artstyle =/= graphical quality.

@Z3u5000 dude why don’t YOU play ghost of Tsushima and tell us if YOU like it rather than repeating others opinions.

If you did I’d be surprised if you didn’t like it. It has one of the highest user meta critic ratings of any game this gen.

Anyway on topic, I think the classic halo look is a good idea after recent releases. It’s just a shame it didn’t show off the power of the XSX.

@Carck
It just comes from my high expectations and decades of gaming and passion for a true series x using all the power Halo Infinite.
Not a tarted up Xbox one game.
I’m glad I don’t work for 343 after all that hard work and underwhelming comments.
That will not motivate the team and help manage the team, as I manage a team myself. There will be chit chat in the team and the I told you so team members etc etc.
It’s all Microsoft fault not 343.
It’s the total opposite to seeing the public at cosplay dressed as god of war and Aloy and thinking wow what an impact my game had.
That motivates the team and then they are easier to manage.

@Jaxx420
Well it’s what you get for stretching a team to far and having take make the game work on a 2tflop console.
Come play Xbox series x and a load of tarted up Xbox one games for the next two years.
Not the way to sell the most powerful next generation console. And after a year or so sales will show this.

@Dezzy70 It's not going to be for the first two years anymore, they have changed that.

@DavLFC

The only thing that’s embarrassing here is your comment. And calling people “clowns”? 🙄

Why are you even here?

@Z3u5000

All the Sony fans do is bring up Metacritic, which is a joke of a website. Like you said, I guess that means The Last Of Us 2 is a piece of garbage then bc of all the low scores? 😂

Why these people spend so much time on an Xbox website instead of playing all of those “great PS4 exclusives” is beyond me. Lol.

The only thing i found troubling (i thought the game looked fun...remember fun?) is that 343 or Microsoft didn't know better than this. Sony is making a new Horizon game, and while i don't think it looks LEGIONS better than the last game, graphical presentation was clearly a focal point. i don't think Halo looks outright bad, but people expect a flagship title especially to look a certain way. The fact that Microsoft AGAIN exhibits such odd decision-making and judgement has me concerned.

@armondo36

Horizon showed zero gameplay. It was, basically, a CGI trailer. And who knows when that game is coming out. Comparing Halo to it makes zero sense.

@armondo36
Being an Xbox gamer from day one.
That is exactly more thoughts summed up in a nut shell.

Hi there fellow gamers. I do have to agree with @Dezzy70 in terms of 343 being stretched thin by making a new semi-open world Halo that´s supposed to be the flagship of "the most powerful console", when in reality, it was probably developed with the Xbox One in mind.
Because it does not look like it is made for the Series X or that it should be.
Even though I´m not a Halo fan I wanted Infinite to blew me away since I love sci-fi so much. It didn´t. Not for me at least
Let´s hope the studio, who is taking criticism in a very positive way mind you, can still make an awesome game for the fans who have been eagerly waiting for Master Chief to make a return, and for new ones who love the space/alien setting.
Cheers, stay safe and happy gaming to us all

All these people in here whining & complaining bc of one gameplay demo.....

If you think Halo looked bad, then don’t buy it. If you don’t like what Microsoft is doing & their vision for Xbox, don’t buy the next Xbox. It’s really that simple. Microsoft & us Xbox fans will be just fine. Lol. 👍🏻

@KelticDevil
Have to agree with that. But being honest we do know they will deliver if history tell us anything. And that the difference with the general gaming public overall. They have seen PS4 and studios deliver time and time again this generation and sales have shown this 110 million and counting. When you have consumer confidence and a good history it’s like surfing a massive wave of positivity and it just rolls on and on.
What Microsoft did not do this generation and should have done with when showing Halo. Don’t forget Microsoft first showcase got bad vibes and so is the second. This is not the wave of positivity that they need.

@KelticDevil the Comparison is that they showed that they focused heavily on the graphical presentation. they went out of their way to make sure it LOOKED BETTER. Like it or not, gamers care a LOT about graphics. Microsoft should know that by now.

@armondo36
Gamers and young gamers I know always look at graphics. A 25 year old graduate of mine was always Xbox360 and Xbox one.
Three months ago he purchased a PS4 Pro as no new exclusives were being made for Xbox one. He can’t stop praising GOW, HZD and now GOT. And guess what console he is buying when he does next generation.
Again it was not an intentional purchase but it was in the sale for £250. Now he’s converted, totally due to top end AAA exclusives. Seeing Halo has not converted him back as I discussed this with him.
That’s the exclusives difference between the two companies.

@armondo36

I disagree. Horizon showed me nothing but a CGI trailer. Halo’s CGI trailers looked great too. Where did that get them?

And comparing a cross-gen launch title like Halo to a game that may not even be out in 2021 is not a fair comparison, in my opinion.

@KelticDevil
That is why daft Microsoft should have not gone cross generations. I craved for a true series x all out power Halo and not a tarted up Xbox one game. It’s not the studios fault at all its Microsoft decision at the end of the day.

@KelticDevil
Don’t you worry about HZD 2 it will be the best lookIng setting the bar open world environment game for first next generation phase of game, as they have no competition whilst Microsoft make Xbox one tarted up games for the most powerful console in the world the series x. What a waste of power.

@Dezzy70

Ok, we get it man. You don’t like Microsoft’s way of doing things. Going on & on about it in every article isn’t going to change it. Go play on your PS5.

And why is it a guarantee that HZD 2 will be amazing? Guerilla Games has made some Killzone stinkers in the past. And we have seen nothing of that game in action yet.

@KelticDevil @Dezzy70 @KelticDevil ok fair enough. Let's use Ratchet and Clank. They presented us with a gameplay demo of a game that has probably been in development for around the same amount of time, utilizing IN ENGINE gameplay, with Ray tracing on and showing off how the SSD helps with gameplay. Meanwhile the Halo gameplay was from a weeks-old build (why?) and WASN'T EVEN RUNNING ON AN XBOX (WHYYY?!?!?!). again, it looks fun, i'm very interested, but the decision making, the frustrating way Microsoft ALWAYS seems to screw themselves, is annoying.

I rewatched the 8 minute gameplay trailer last night and after looking for the finer details in the graphics, I feel like they aren't that bad. I see and understand what the developers were going for with a return to Halo 1's color palette, and I like it. Who knows what beautiful landscapes we will be exploring. In Halo 3 in particular, as I looked at the background art, I always wondered what it would feel like to be able to explore that area. I am not a super huge Halo fan, but I know I will be playing this one.

Thank you I will play my PS4 and one x just for Forza Horizon 4 and a little bit of switch.

They will not mess up with HZD 2, for a new IP that HZD was it was truly amazing and played and sold by millions of gamers.

Like I said it’s all about confidence in the company and the studio and they have tons of that in the public eye with HZD.
If they mess up I will bow down to you.

@armondo36
Good example of the two companies, one that knows how to do it and one that has not a clue.

@armondo36

R&C (another PS series that has had some major stinkers over the years) is a linear, single player action adventure game.

Halo is much more than that, especially if it’s going open world. I can’t compare Halo to a Sony FPS bc they don’t have any. All Sony’s exclusives are single player, 3rd person, action adventure games. Lol.

@KelticDevil

Sort of agree but this generation on PS4 and Pro, 30fps and 1800p checkered up to 4K have got used to seeing open world games look like HZD etc. Environments that move that and are filled with detail, even ants climbing up trees. Massive beasts in the environments moving around and you fighting them. So much going on, on the screen, amazing weather effect the rain reacting in the streams the snow ❄️ looking wonderful. Puddles being created then drying up the list and effects go on.
Sony new this and took the right move staying at 30fps and also not full native 4K.
On my 65” 4K tv it is hard to see any difference between 1800p up scaled when done well to native 4K, but all ours see that lush moving environment and effect as clear as day.

Spot on.

Players have to remember the draw distance is large from what we've seen too which was not possible on previous gens.

Better some textures and add some nice lighting and you've got a nice looking Halo game.

It doesn't blow the graphics out the water, it doesn't need to.

@KelticDevil @armondo36 sorry coming in out of left field. Im confuses. If you going to compare a Sony holiday Showcase game to Halo Infinite, doesn’t comparing Miles Morales to Halo make better sense? Sorry to its hard follow conversation but Ratchet isn’t dated yet, and I’d be far less skeptical if it had one. I dunno maybe It’s just inner me, but Miles is the one game with a date and like Halo is linked to “Last Gen”.

@mousieone i feel like my point is getting missed. i'm talking about HOW TO SHOW OFF A NEW GAME ON NEW HARDWARE. Sony showed a game running on the system they're trying to sell, using the features it's touting (the SSD and Ray tracing). Halo, ridiculously, apparently wasn't even being played on an Xbox and was an older, non optimized build. this was stupid, plain and simple. they had MONTHS to get a demo going on Xbox. why on earth did they let this happen? it's a bad look, public opinion on the system is in the tank LARGELY BECAUSE OF THIS ONE DEMO (because i honestly think the rest of the showcase was better than Sony's). Microsoft should probably make another fully optimized, running on Xbox Series X hardware demo, and do so SOON.

@mousieone

I completely agree. And Sony has showed off zero gameplay for Miles Morales, so at least Halo has done that.

@Dsswoosh

Exactly! This overreaction to Halo’s visuals is ridiculous.

@DavLFC
Just watched the gameplay again in 4K the best I could.
Game play wise top notch, looked tight and precise.
So let’s move to the graphics, they looked clean and did the job and that’s about it.
It has made to work on Xbox one a 2tflop console and not much is worth saying lease it ends up in an argument.
It’s not the next generation show case graphically I wanted and some others wanted, not even matching some of the very best this generation, but underneath it is a this generation game. It’s a dam shame.

@KelticDevil I can't believe the debate is still raging on, if this was outside of the internet I would be going blue in the face saying it's about gameplay with Halo.

Like I said the gameplay is looking top notch. But please let’s not use that as an excuse for a current generation game on a next generation console being graphically underwhelming. I understand why 2tflop to 12tflop plus all the other magic is gonna seem disappointing when it has to run in the 2tflop. And you all know if it was made for series x only it would explosive hot Graphically not just because of the power but the developers would have focused just on the series x only. Yes watching again gameplay top notch, graphics poor for the beast.

@armondo36 One please don’t be upset I’m sorry your are frustrated. please don’t be.

Two, I think your missing mine. Miles didn’t show off anything really, but everyone gives Sony a pass. Had MS show the same amount of footage for Halo, it still would have been a “fail”. MS shows something and everyone are upset it’s not “Next-Gen” despite the gameplay (the most important area) looking polished. The reality is the game was just shifted mid production to XSX in the middle of a pandemic. How could it be “Next-Gen”? I mean yes they should get a demo catered to the new hardware, you are right. People are fickle things that actually care more about how something looks as opposed to how it plays. Sadly. But my point is they were force to show Halo, Sony wasn’t forced to show off Miles.

Well if a generational leap is not also about graphics then let’s get the Atari 2600 out and see how long lasts playing a Halo game made for it or any other game.
The young guns will just laugh at you and even I would get bored in minutes.

@Grot
Thank you the Microsoft suits being big mouths again and then comes the let down.
Though my own expectations were high as well being a 12tflop console etc.
We just have to face it, it is made for the weakest console this generation and will have scaling tart up tricks for the series x and that’s it. Top games this generation look better and that’s that I’m afraid.
That world did look so static though, like a painting with nothing moving, trees baked in the spot etc.

For me I’m not going to, when they make a true next generation game I might join in until then I will keep my money. No point buying a series x to play last games on.
And that’s why for the first year or two Sony will take the lead, then as with this generation it will be to late. Heads will roll at Microsoft and the board will go, well we went in the wrong direction there.
But never mind we clear 38 billion a quarter else where. Shall we close the Xbox toy shop or keep it going for fun.

@Dezzy70 no head will roll. This is their plan. Why? because people will be playing on Gamepass reguardless. Money made. Not to mention sales are always weird during a gen change, lots of people can’t buy in day 1.

@Jaxx420

Exactly. Halo has never been the best looking game out there, even when Bungie was working on the series. They looked great, but nothing crazy. It’s all about the gameplay and the 60fps.

Don’t get me wrong, I want the game to look good.....but this overreaction to one gameplay demo is beyond ridiculous.

And people need to stop comparing Halo to Sony’s games. They are completely different genres & are trying to do different things. A game like Uncharted’s gun play is boring & repetitive to me. But Halo has amazing gun play & a smoothness to it.

Long term they won’t sell more than this generation console wise maybe less and don’t forget game pass is not just Xbox consoles, so sales should be ok of game pass. but at what point they make profit when game pass gives away exclusives is anyone’s guess. It’s a directional move along with cross generations, but they can afford to fail profit wise as a business but it depends on the board wanting a massive profit or not. They are in a unique position money wise to give it ago. Both Nintendo and Sony probably could not risk it. As they need the money more hence focus on generations and selling consoles and games. Though so far this generation and what I’ve seen for next generation so far you can tell in the quality of their games it’s where Nintendo and Sony make their money.
I now expect Xbox to become the value for money console especially if there is a series s and along with game pass create average games a jack of all trades but offer the best value, maybe with the odd highlight very special game if we are lucky.
I would rather spend more and go high end quality wise and go Sony and Nintendo and leave the value console and game pass to those that prefer that.

Surely the point to take away from this is that 343 are working to improve Infinite's graphics. As for how much they can improve before launch remains to be seen, but I think people should draw a line under the subject until we see it next.

As for the art style, whether you like it or not, I've always been a believer in respecting the creative decisions of the creatives. I'm glad 343 are sticking to their guns on this one.

@Dezzy70

Trust me.....we all know how you feel bc you nag like no one I have ever seen before. Lol.

You comment 50 times in every article complaining about Xbox’s strategy about one game. 😂

@TimG13

I actually really like the art style. When Master Chief stepped off the ship to start the demo, it reminded me of Halo 1, big time. 👍🏻

@Z3u5000 who is talking about Ghost of tsushima? "Looks like fortnite" . The hell you talking about?

@Dezzy70 agreed. It's just a shame we wont get to see the full potential of infinite whilst they have to cater for the base xb one..

@KelticDevil
Ok point taken no more.
But it is not just about one game they did say First two years a while ago. So either Forza, Hellblade, fable are not arriving for two years until November 2022 earliest or they arrive before the two years for Xbox one as well.
If they don’t arrive before November 2022 at earliest then what AAA from Microsoft studios do we have between 2020 and 2022.

I think Halo Infinite is going to ge great..

Good to see they're handling feedback well. Yeah, I admit, the gameplay demo didn't wow me either. Maybe it was because of the teaser trailer (from last year IIRC), that got me more exciting. Showing that vast landscape I thought they were changing things up, but the gameplay looks like something I've already played. They say they're going back to the old gameplay, but it would've been cool if they tried changing it up a little more. Oh well, we haven't seen everything yet, there's plenty of time left.

Xbo/ps4 generations graphics are pretty good. If they were even to achieve that level of graphics, while having the gameplay jump, I'd be happy. Graphics can only get so good, but gameplay can change eveything.