Halo 4

Zero · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:16 am

And of course, I get the loading circle of death on the Grifball video. Question I have from Forgehub is: How well did ball passing work?

Mike · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:17 am

Yeh, it looks like the videos got yoinked.

No worries, Kal got footage from the panel as well.

Zero · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:21 am

Ooooh. When can we see that? I know the guys over at Forgehub are going to love combing over that video for every bit of forge info they can get.

Kalbelgarion · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:22 am

Here is the article I'll be posting as soon as the video is complete (It's uploading to YouTube right now):

Quote:

Earlier today, Grifball in Halo 4 was introduced at the Penny Arcade Expo at 343 Industries' Halo 4 panel, Halo: Reborn. GrifballHub staff and community members demoed the popular gametype for the audience for the very first time, showing off how Grifball will change and grow in the new game.

After the 343 team introduced the return of Capture the Flag and Oddball for Halo 4, Josh Holmes, Franchise Creative Director, said that the team had decided to also introduce Grifball at PAX after GrifballHub's Goosechecka had quickly interviewed him at Halo Fest the previous year, asking if Grifball would be available in Halo 4. 343 has been hard at work over the past few months creating Grifball in Halo 4 with direct input from trusted and knowledgeable members of the Grifball community. The game was played for the audience at PAX by GrifballHub staffers Goosechecka and Kalbelgarion, as well as long-time Grifball players Seanzie and Paragas.

Grifball truly will be reborn in Halo 4, as fresh tactics will elevate the sport to an entirely new level. The gravity hammer and energy sword will make a return in Halo 4, and the basics of Grifball remain the same: Two teams of four face off and try to plant a bomb in an enclosed arena, and the ball carrier turns orange, like Grif from Rooster Teeth's Red vs Blue.

The biggest development in the game is the ability to pass the ball around the court. Using the "throw grenade" button, the ball carrier (or "Grif") can chuck the ball to his teammates. If Grif runs, jumps, and aims high, he can throw a deep ball to players on the other side of the court. But this is a high risk/high reward play: The other team can jump into the ball's path and intercept it. The ball can also be passed around the court like a hockey puck with the gravity hammer.

Grifball in Halo 4 was built from the ground up as its own unique gametype. Unlike Grifball in Halo 3 and Reach, the gametype is not based off of the Assault variant. This development allows for a "cleaner" game, where the host advantage is almost nonexistent and the settings for the gametype are uniquely tailored for Grifball.

We at GrifballHub would like to thank 343 Industries for embracing both Grifball and the Grifball community while developing Halo 4, and we look forward to continuing to work with 343 far into the future. GrifballHub will be ready to provide Grifballers with a fun and inviting atmosphere to enjoy the Sport of the Future in Halo 4.

If you'd like to discuss this exciting development, be sure to check out the Halo 4 thread on our forums. Also be sure to follow @GrifballHub on Twitter for more updates!

NOPLEX · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:28 am

Awesome!

Zero · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:41 am

Not exactly sure how not basing the gametype off the assualt variant makes for a less host advantageous game, but hey, I'm all for it. As long as the round still ends after a plant and you can disable sprint for classic Grifball then that's awesome.

NOPLEX · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:49 am

I think the instant respawn is a great competitive twist in the game as it will demand more court awareness. Classic grifball should be able to get formed though.

Kalbelgarion · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:53 am

They told us that assault has code that doesn't really come into play for Grifball, so making it its own gametype will cut down on lag and host, as well as allow them to make more fine-tuned tweaks to the game.

The rounds probably won't end at the end of each score. The whole theme of Halo 4 is "faster gameplay!", and I think that will likely carry over to Grifball, too. It will add a new dimension to the game, though. When you're about to score, you have to send one of your tanks back to half-court to get ready for the ball to respawn.

Sprint works really well with the gametype, with the court size and the throwing. If we got rid of Sprint, then the court would have to be smaller...but that would mean that throwing the ball would be more of an instant-win button, as it would be much easier to send it from pad to pad.

The absolute best thing about Halo 4 Grifball is that 343 actually brought in real Grifballers from our community to work on it. It'll be a blast.

Zero · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:58 am

I thought instant respawn was turned off for objective gametypes? At least in the videos of CTF I've seen that was turned off. Either way, faster gameplay sure, but rounds helps teams start off on equal footing. That's kind of one of the Constants of Grifball.

What are we looking at now though? Dash sized courts or somewhere in between? We might be able to get a close enough approximation in Reach and try it out by release. That will defiantly be a fun project.

Mike · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:59 am

I've seen the demo and I'm excited about the possibilities. It's different but so was Evolve and Dash in the beginning of Reach.

Then again maybe I'm so excited by it because the style of play would fit right in with how my team currently likes to play Grifball. We love tossing the ball around and using shenanigans to score.

NOPLEX · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 1:01 am

I'm thinking once the adjusting is done, it will be the best grifball experience ever had. I've never been more anxious to watch a grifball video in my entire life haha!

Kalbelgarion · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 1:05 am

We're checking with 343 to find out if we can post it. I promise we'll post it as soon as we can.

The court is about Dash sized, I would say. It certainly didn't feel too big in all the games I played. With sprint and passing the court feels just the right size.

NOPLEX · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 1:07 am

Could you disclose what the reload and range was like with the hammer and sword? I think we are all curious of that haha!

Zero · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 1:09 am

Kalbelgarion wrote:

We're checking with 343 to find out if we can post it. I promise we'll post it as soon as we can.

The court is about Dash sized, I would say. It certainly didn't feel too big in all the games I played. With sprint and passing the court feels just the right size.

Dash sized? Rectangular like a vanilla court but the length of a dash court perhaps?

Goosechecka · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 1:11 am

Reload was on par with Reach, if not faster. Range was hard to tell due to LAN, but my usual dancing seeming pretty effective so I didn't notice any shocking discrepancy.

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