Halo Infinite Multiplayer Drops Seasonal Narrative Cinematics

Good. Now if only there was a way to disable the ones already there.

Suddenly the reason they were able to hit the deadline they were so proud about becomes very apparent...

Now maybe they will have the time/resources to fix the graphics issues when using VRR at 60Hz. 120Hz works great, 60Hz is all screwed up. I play multiplayer at 1440p/120 and the campaign at 4K/60 without VRR, because of the issues.

Not good.

What this means is their budget and staffing has been reduced. So they have had to cut content.

The marketing speak is that they are doing it to ‘focus on gameplay’ but that is bull.

Marketing 101 (or should I say 343): You never admit a weakness or inferiority. Even when you deliver less you tell customers you are giving them more.

The Cinematic can be worked on later or dropped into the menus in a months time not a big loss.

Long as there's new game play content, new maps, weapons, gadgets, game modes etc etc, were all happy.

Season 4 is looking to be amazing, that new Forest map looks beautiful!

@Kienda this is an harsh take, 343 have had huge cut backs and senior staff leave, new leadership has taken over, please please give them a break, 343 have talent and need time.
A lot of massive figures have left the studio! This is them being honest and transparent. The content looks to be amazing, so a cinematic is not a massive loss at all!

@ZYDIO I play on Series X last night, with LG Oled, no issues, what has happened my friend with you setup? 120hz I haven't tried as seems over kill, I want the 4k 60 fps on my console, looks amazing!

I honestly don’t mind this. Cinematics are fine but add so little to the game. I’d rather they add other stuff to the game.

Having said the I am still interested in where the story goes but only through cinematics not blog posts.

@Kienda can also just be reallocated.

@Ep_13 one thing 343 don't need is time... They've botched every game launch since MCC, had all the money and time in the world with Infinite, and still fumbled.
Admittedly the layoffs play a part but the only "talent" in that company are the ones who made the gunplay. Still some of the best in business. Everything else at 343i is just dead weight.
The game is going to need more than a returning mode, X1 BTB and X1 normal map per season going forward if it's to stay relevant.

@pip_muzz this isn't true, the Halo games that 343 have made have been decent, that is fact. People still even on this site like to crap on the best MP I've played on Halo.

Of course it needs work, but it's better than the other Halo games MP wise for me! Just plays so well!

@ParsnipHero I think the story will get progressed just not with this update off the bat, that's what I feel

@Ep_13 I agree about the MP being really good and people being sometimes too harsh on Halo, but Halo 5 was utterly awful, there's no defending that one.
It's just all we hear from 343 is they're giving something up to make the "game" better.
*Split Screen Co-op
*Story Content Single Player DLC
*Season Cinematics
All things dropped to "improve" the game. The only thing that seems to get focus is the Weekly Store 🤔

@Ep_13 I agree. We might see cinematics return next season or get blog posts furthering the story.

@pip_muzz Halo 5 was a good game, MP very good, story about a 7 etc, lets not make out it was terrible, when it was received pretty well. It's not a disaster or anything.

Split screen local coop isn't a bad thing for me personally, I don't think it was needed and not a massive issue, it's a negative of course removing any mode, but to get Infinite out the door, it was a lesser of evils etc.

@Ep_13 That problem has been a known issue for a long time. There is nothing wrong with my setup. The same problem exists on four different TVs of different brands and also on four different series X's.

@ZYDIO Sorry to hear that, I have no issues playing the game, played last night for about 45 mins? I have a Series X and played as normal?

My TV has VRR and all the green ticks, its an LG C2 42

@Ep_13 Ironically I'm playing multiplayer right now. I have it on 1440p/120. They may have fixed it if they have updated the game recently. I haven't tried it on 4K/60 in a while because I completed the campaign a long time ago. I guess I will try it real quick. I just checked and while the shimmering is now gone in 60 FPS, it now has a weird shakiness to it that's not me just going from 120 FPS to 60 FPS and 30 FPS doesn't look correct either. It's like the 60 FPS mode is running at 40 FPS but in a weird way and the 30 FPS is not even hitting 20 FPS. Maybe that's what people are referring to when they talk about frame pacing issues I'm not really sure. If I turn off VRR, it looks normal. So apparently it still has a VRR problem, it's just different now. Maybe one day they will get it right.

@Ep_13
Just because split screen isn’t a huge thing for you personally doesn’t mean it’s not a big problem for the game as a whole. After Halo 5 343 promised infinite would have it and look how that turned out. For some people the whole reason they play Halo is for a co op campaign and 343 dropped the ball. 343 as a whole has just been making promises they can’t keep.

@Deemo37 of course, given you a heart, just don't think it was a major miss for millions of peeps. They are keeping them now.
Fans should be returning I hope the game is very good now!

@ZYDIO the game doesn't need to be played at 120hz, you'll take a hit to resolution, not worth it on a 4k tv surely.

I turned 120hz off at system level for my Series X, so Halo Mp can't run at 120hz, As I don't need it to! Just my 2pence worth haha.

@Ep_13 Like I said in my previous post, I only play multiplayer in 120 FPS, but it's because I don't mind the lost resolution and I don't even notice. The frames per second are more important to me in multiplayer. I play the campaign in 4k/60. You are totally missing out if you are turning off 120hz all together.

@ZYDIO I meant as a test, I don't want any games running at 120 for me, not needed, found issues cropping up across a few other games. Not missing out at all, I'm happy and fine with 60 Fps.
120HZ ONLY works on a few games anyway it seems.

Will give it a go again, but it's not worth it for me. I doubt many Xbox users play at 120 etc

@Ep_13 Here is a link to other people having the same problem. Even Digital foundry has an article about it apparently.

https://www.reddit.com/r/halo/comments/11swnqp/is_vrr_broken_with_halo_infinite_and_can_we_get/

@ZYDIO but the game still works right?
I get a frame rate issue or lag, but that is rare, I assumed Network issue. Will have a look later, will try Season 4 later.

@Ep_13 I am fine with 60 fps, but if I can have 120fps in multiplayer, why not. I do like Doom Eternal at 120 fps. It's pretty awesome, but I equally like that mode and the 60fps with ray tracing, so when I sit down and actually play through it, I'll have to pick one and stick with it.

And yes the game may still work with those issues, but it is pretty unplayable and I'm not even picky. I play my original Xbox and Xbox 360 all the time with games that are 30 fps and it doesn't bother me a bit. That's also how I know there's something wrong with Halo infinite.

@ZYDIO never noticed any issues, played a few team slayers, was great on Series X.

Hope your issue gets sorted, many others are playing fine, so not sure what to suggest. I have all the bells and whistles turned on, just not 120hz as I don't really need it

@Ep_13 yes, this is time for 343 to be open and honest, but instead we get marketing speak that is anything but honest.

I work in marketing. I’ve manoeuvred companies public messaging while they are shutting down offices but still promising “nothing is changing”. I’m glad I’m away from that stuff. That’s how I noticed the marketing speak.

To be clear, I’m not bashing 343. I play Halo Infinite weekly and love the game. But they cannot claim that cutting content is a good thing. It always leads to bad things (even if the current new content is exciting).

This is more a Microsoft issue to fix. This is their flagship game. And they should invest in it as a loss leader, not cut budgets, teams and content. It doesn’t look good or bode well so I hope they will course correct.

I never really paid attention to these cutscenes anyway so it's no biggie.

Season 4 is the best season I've played thus far, played for 1hr 30 mins last night, was epic. The Infection maps have a great atmosphere and a new layout and map expansion new areas etc.

Also the Forest map is amazing, and probably my favourite map thus far. It's beautiful, the Art team for that map deserves a raise and muchos Kudos.

I even met a new friend in voice coms, good times

Maybe one place Microsoft shouldn't be cutting staff or budgets is in the studio that houses your most prolific and recognized franchise. You should be bleeding money to make sure your flagship game is supported and always top tier. You don't see the Forza team slacking on the job. Get 343 on track!