5+ years later, Reach still stands as an unmatchable bar? (Destiny)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Friday, February 12, 2016, 17:28 (3003 days ago) @ Cody Miller

I see your point. I thought it was awesome and amazing, but I didn't think we won't see the likes of this again. No campaign films is still my biggest disappointment of the 343 era.

It didn't have to be that way. I hear that there were no campaign films in Halo 4 because 343 "cheated" with the geometry such that not everything you see was real. To have a camera you could then detach and put wherever you want would ruin the illusion. Think forced perspective in the LotR movies. Frodo looks small, but only because the camera is in a very specific place.

The cheats were done for performance reasons. So you get to pick between better graphics, and campaign films. 343 thought one would sell more games than the other.

I was wondering if that had something to do with it. During my playthrough of Halo 5, I slowly came to the realization that very impressive visual presentation was just barely holding together. Every now and then I'd get blown off a cliff or fall somewhere I wasn't supposed to, and the illusion of the world would break instantly. There are barely-textured surfaces and geometry that just "ends" all over the place. You just don't see any of it from the intended player perspective. Step just slightly outside of that perspective, and it's like you're backstage on a movie set.