Multiplayer
Halo 3 multiplayer map “High Ground”, from the online multiplayer beta.
Halo 3 multiplayer map “High Ground”, from the online multiplayer beta.
Up to four people can participate in multiplayer match on a single Xbox 360 in Halo 3 via a split screen layout. Up to sixteen may participate in a single match over a LAN or Xbox Live. A match may use any of these methods (LAN, Live or split screen) or a combination of all. A public beta test of the multiplayer component of the game occurred between May 16, 2007 and June 10, 2007.
Like most multiplayer Xbox 360 titles, Halo 3 uses a customized version of TrueSkill ranking system for its online matchmaking facilities. Halo 3’s matchmaking system is based on two different ranks, skill and experience (based on Rating Points or RP). Skill is the numerical TrueSkill rank of the player in a given playlist, and experience (RP) is a linear measure of experience (1 point for each win in the online playlists) overlaid by a Military rank; a player with a designation of a “General” has played for a longer time than someone who is a “Recruit.” The addition of the experience ranking is intended to make the system more fair and to reflect the effect of experience on players’ profiles. The RP system also has a mechanism built in to dissuade players from excessive quitting from matches, which became a problem for some players in Halo 2. When players quit from a match before it has finished, they lose 2 RP; players that regularly quit games, leaving their teammates stranded, may eventually end up having negative RP.
The user interface has been redesigned from Halo 2, making it easier to generate a custom game in Halo 3 multiplayer, which can now be saved and shared online with the File Sharing Features. It was promised that players would be able to “advertise” their custom games via Xbox Live Public [19], making it easier to find a multiplayer match to a player’s taste without having to link up with friends; this feature was never added to the game. To help players have an enjoyable time online, a new feature dubbed the “A-hole button” allows players to mute annoying players in the game quickly and easily from the in-game scoreboard view.[20] The matchmaking and multiplayer are constantly updated.
