343 Reset (Still making Halo, changed to Unreal Engine)

Started by the-pi-guy, Jan 31, 2023, 04:38 PM

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the-pi-guy


the-pi-guy

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At several points over the past decade, management at 343 debated switching to Epic Games Inc.'s popular Unreal Engine. But it wasn't until late last year, when previous studio head Bonnie Ross and engine lead David Berger departed and Pierre Hintze took over, that the firm finally decided to pivot to Unreal. This switch will start with a new game code-named Tatanka, according to people familiar with the plans.

That project, which 343 is developing alongside the Austin, Texas-based game studio Certain Affinity, started off as a battle royale but may evolve in different directions, the people said. Future games in the series will also explore using the Unreal Engine, which may make development easier, although internal skeptics are worried that the switch may have a negative impact on the way Halo games feel to play. A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment on issues with the engine or on the company's plans to pivot to Unreal.
Quote
Since Halo Infinite was released, fans had assumed that in addition to new multiplayer modes, 343 was working on new content for the story. But that wasn't the case, according to the people familiar with the situation. Developers were making prototypes in the Unreal Engine and pitching ideas for new Halo games rather than working on new missions for Halo Infinite. Many of those developers were laid off this month and the company isn't actively working on new story content, the people said. A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment.



In the eyes of some observers and former 343 employees, the reorganization was a long time coming. The studio, which was founded in 2007 to inherit Halo after Microsoft parted ways with original developer Bungie, has struggled through many challenges, including the release of several polarizing games. Patrick Wren, a former 343 designer, said on Twitter that the job cuts and the state of the Halofranchise overall are the result of "incompetent leadership up top" during Halo Infinite's development that led to "massive stress on those working hard to make Halo the best it can be.

kitler53

well, moving to unreal is probably a good thing.   pretty much guarantees that the next halo game launches next gen though.


Featured Artist: Vanessa Hudgens

Legend

Wow!

Spent 6 years updating their engine just to abandon it.

well, moving to unreal is probably a good thing.   pretty much guarantees that the next halo game launches next gen though.
Unreal isn't good at everything, but it's certainly good at Halo lol. They could definitely release another game this gen if they wanted to. Could even release two more if they're as barebones as Infinite.

Legend

343i is 4 for 4 with Halo.


the-pi-guy

343i is 4 for 4 with Halo.


I feel like MS studios are in a weird place.
There's a few really strong spots.  Tango, Obsidian? arguably.
Age of Empires is doing better than it's done in decades.
MS has the strongest set of studios they've ever had.

And yet it just seems like there's so many issues at a lot of them. Perhaps especially with their long standing franchises.

343 has consistently had difficulties. Gears has trended worse. Forza Horizon is still strong, but mainline Forza went 6 years without an entry. A couple of studios they bought 5 years ago have yet to put out a game. Ninja Theory has yet to launch Hellblade II, which they announced almost 4 years ago.


It's the best time in decades to be an Age of Empires fan, probably the worst time to be a Halo fan.  

darkknightkryta

Wow!

Spent 6 years updating their engine just to abandon it.
I'm starting to wonder if their contract work attitude was a factor for their engine not being good.  Imagine having a group guys working on a lighting engine for 1.5 years, and then you can them all and expect the next set of temp contractors to just pick up and finish their work.
I'm also wondering if that's an issue with their dev studios in general.

Legend

I'm starting to wonder if their contract work attitude was a factor for their engine not being good.  Imagine having a group guys working on a lighting engine for 1.5 years, and then you can them all and expect the next set of temp contractors to just pick up and finish their work.
I'm also wondering if that's an issue with their dev studios in general.
Can't help, but 343i had 750 employees too. That's more than double Guerrilla and Guerrilla had no problem building Decima.

I don't understand how slipspace+infinite took 6 years. It looks so bad compared to Horizon 2.



It cannot render backgrounds during its main cutscenes. Every single time it has something like this or a wall.

kitler53

I'm starting to wonder if their contract work attitude was a factor for their engine not being good.  Imagine having a group guys working on a lighting engine for 1.5 years, and then you can them all and expect the next set of temp contractors to just pick up and finish their work.
I'm also wondering if that's an issue with their dev studios in general.
you don't hire/fire the whole group at once.  each individual is fired after 18 months but they are staggered.  

still,.. in something like my software the onboarding phase is like 6 months so if the "senior" only has 12 months experience...


Featured Artist: Vanessa Hudgens

Legend

Really crazy seeing Halo reviews on Metacritic. In their alternate universe Halo is still going strong lol.

Halo 487
Halo MCC85
Halo 584
Halo Infinite  87




kitler53

Really crazy seeing Halo reviews on Metacritic. In their alternate universe Halo is still going strong lol.

Halo 487
Halo MCC85
Halo 584
Halo Infinite  87




bias is strong in our industry.  too many games review good because they are expected to review good.   


Featured Artist: Vanessa Hudgens

the-pi-guy

Even with "good reviews", it's a pretty big drop off from the 97/95/94 that the first 3 Halo games got.

Can I just say that it's wild that Sony owns what was Microsoft's best studio?

Legend

Even with "good reviews", it's a pretty big drop off from the 97/95/94 that the first 3 Halo games got.

Can I just say that it's wild that Sony owns what was Microsoft's best studio?
To bad that sony bought them for Gaas. I'd kill for a new game like Halo 2 or 3.

bias is strong in our industry.  too many games review good because they are expected to review good.  
I can't think of a worse example than Forza Horizon 5. Freaking 92 on metacritic yet a post like Forza Horizon 5 is terrible can get 104 net upvotes on the series x subreddit. It's so removed from reality.

kitler53

yeah, i don't know anything about forza.    i'm not really a racing fan and if i race i'd rather play a kart racer.  i just can't figure out how people can be excited for this game after 4 releases in a generation.  like c'mon,.. most of the content is just a re-release of the previous game.  it's not like it's a complete change over in cars.  it's the same cars as last game plus a few new ones.   should just make it a GaaS game really.


Featured Artist: Vanessa Hudgens