Halo 3 co-op troublesome over Live, might head offline

Although Bungie is striving to make co-operative multi-play workable over any scenario – be it offline, networked, or over Live – it appears that the developers are having a bit of an issue with Halo 3 co-op multiplayer over Microsoft‘s Xbox Live.

 

We all know that the clamor for Halo 3 four player co-op has been alleviated a bit with the confirmation of two-player cooperative play, but even while reduced in half, Bungie has yet to sort out the “online” bit. In the latest issues of EGM, Bungie’s Frank O’Connor took a stand on the issue, saying:

We’re not dumb. We know that people want it and we’re trying to make it happen. I think the biggest problem for us for online co-op is that we have a situation where you can be in a Warthog with five troops, almost a mile away from the other player. That’s a significant challenge. And there’s lots of design things you could do to prevent that from happening, but they would make it not feel like Halo anymore. If we can make it happen in a way that works well, we will – and if it works badly, we won’t.

The mention of additional work on an Xbox 360 premier title set for release on September 25 may have fans “facepalming” in tandem around the world, but Bungie’s claims don’t appear to affect the release date of the game. According to them, the co-op mode will follow after the game releases via downloadable content – if everything “online” works out on Bungie’s end.

Speculations have risen that Bungie may opt for offline multiplayer over split-screen or LAN as a last resort, although this information has yet to be confirmed by the studio as of press time.

Although Bungie is striving to make co-operative multi-play workable over any scenario – be it offline, networked, or over Live – it appears that the developers are having a bit of an issue with Halo 3 co-op multiplayer over Microsoft‘s Xbox Live.

 

We all know that the clamor for Halo 3 four player co-op has been alleviated a bit with the confirmation of two-player cooperative play, but even while reduced in half, Bungie has yet to sort out the “online” bit. In the latest issues of EGM, Bungie’s Frank O’Connor took a stand on the issue, saying:

We’re not dumb. We know that people want it and we’re trying to make it happen. I think the biggest problem for us for online co-op is that we have a situation where you can be in a Warthog with five troops, almost a mile away from the other player. That’s a significant challenge. And there’s lots of design things you could do to prevent that from happening, but they would make it not feel like Halo anymore. If we can make it happen in a way that works well, we will – and if it works badly, we won’t.

The mention of additional work on an Xbox 360 premier title set for release on September 25 may have fans “facepalming” in tandem around the world, but Bungie’s claims don’t appear to affect the release date of the game. According to them, the co-op mode will follow after the game releases via downloadable content – if everything “online” works out on Bungie’s end.

Speculations have risen that Bungie may opt for offline multiplayer over split-screen or LAN as a last resort, although this information has yet to be confirmed by the studio as of press time.