So, I was putz'ing around on youtube earlier and the auto player stumbled on this little gem on the bungie channel
The Building the E3 Demo video. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR1zsI0WuiA )

Watching this, a few things stand out to me that honestly made me a little sad:

The level design seems to have taken a dramatic hit from what we saw in E3 and what we recieved. Now, this isn't exactly anything new, we know the game went through some major changes before release especially on the story front, and for the most part I don't mind that (though i really really hope TTK makes up for some of this) but the thing that stood out to me most was that the game enviroments feel very shallow compared to what we see here and what was recieved.

From the start, the Ghost has far more personality. Line delivery is still a little flat, but it seems that there was definitely dialogue that was entirely ignored in the final release which didnt need to be. Enemy behaviours were also particularly altered. Fallen clamber around, shanks actively scan you. All of which really help make the enemy feel like living things instead of just "target of the month" A lot of this can be put down to scripting for E3, but one does have to wonder why did things deparet SO drastically when it comes to enemy behaviour.

Another thing comes to level designs, now we have all run that first at least 3 times. I never once see that level of dynamic environments as we pas through there, or anywhere for that matter. The little window that pops open giving you the choice of trying to combat the next section from the bridge or take the fight to the enemy is actively removed in favour of shepherding you along a linier path into small arena. This isnt just something we see in this area but is the status quo for most of the levels in the final game.

For a studio that built their reputations through the halo series and other games on environments that can be tackled in a multitude of ways its disappointing to see how linier the levels are. Sure we have patrol, but that doesn't really make up for how "on rails" the game currently is. For example, How many level can you think of that let you run encounters entirely differently to how the game expects you to?

So far I have only found 1 or 2 that let you take the levels in a different way that feels decidedly different and enjoyably challenging (but even they depend on some self diciplined constraints which I may be sharing at a later date when i've had chance to tweak the requirements with the pheonix's). Each mission has a way of going from a to B, Enviroments feel cramped, even more so when running with competent team mates that understand how to traverse areas efficiently. Strikes can be honed down to within 9 minutes for the most part and raids suffer the same issues.

It's not just the gameplay areas that make the world feel cramped however, but the skyboxes also. Theres a wonderful section in that video where they first step inside the cosmodrone, a ketch is seen descending to the planet taking down scenery as it does so. The world FEELS alive, feels like the events are actively making a difference. The closest we get to that now? well the only thing i can put a finger on is the radar dish at skywatch.

Now, dont get me wrong, I love this game, I've sank easily 500+ hours into the damn thing and I've lapped up every bit of new content we get happily. But It's disappointing to realise that the game should be so much more and at one time WAS so much more. I am hoping the TTK will improve on this, early indications point towards the idea that it might, but i cant help but be a little apprechensive about the whole thing at the same time.