Bungie outlines Halo: Reach changes
Betrayal! Campaign matchmaking!
Bungie will tweak Halo: Reach's betrayal system and implement campaign matchmaking in early October, the developer has announced.
At the moment the science fiction shooter can boot players out of games after just one team kill. Reach uses a betrayal system similar to the one in Halo 2, where players accumulate strikes against their betrayal count not just for kills, but for non-fatal damage to team mates.
"Even internally, we've already talked about tweaks to the current system and we're looking into deploying a solution," community man Eric Osborne wrote.
"Don't worry; it's something we can configure without a major update, so you can expect to hear back from us soon about some modified betrayal booting conditions."
Cooperative campaign matchmaking, omitted from the game to prevent players from seeing Reach's ending straight off the bat, will be implemented in early October.
"The first matchmaking update for Reach will occur in early October and consist primarily of fixes for bugs and balance issues," Bungie revealed.
"We're not done testing them all yet, but when they're ready we'll fill you in on all of the little details. We'll also be adding some game types and Forge maps. Co-op campaign will be going live in October as well.
"Campaign matchmaking will not take into account what your current progress is, so if you're worried about spoilers make sure you finish campaign before jumping into this playlist!"
Bungie promised to make "nimble and frequent" changes to matchmaking. Rocket Race, Firefight Versus and other gubbins "are all in the plan and will be deployed sometime down the road".
Bungie also took the time to reiterate to Reach quitters that they will be punished.
"Some people are attempting to game the Arena system by quitting before they turn in a poor performance," Osborne said.
"These people aren't very bright. While your Arena Rating is used to give you a good gauge of your present performance levels in any given match, Trueskill is still in full effect, underpinning the matchmaking experience and informing your ultimate Seasonal Rating.
"The only achievement you'll be unlocking by quitting out of games is one that's not worth any Gamerscore. We call it Quit Probation. You'll also end up in a lower tier Division than you would have had you had sacked up and stuck it out. Chumps."
Oh, and there's a short word for the "small number" of gamers who have received a disc read error with Reach. The answer? Call Microsoft customer support for troubleshooting assistance.
Reach, released last Tuesday, is a pretty big deal. The UK's best-selling game made $200 million in a day, and is the biggest game Microsoft's ever released.