Impossible....take care,Hotrod, for what you say is heresy!Quote:
Originally Posted by Hotrod
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Impossible....take care,Hotrod, for what you say is heresy!Quote:
Originally Posted by Hotrod
Some people enjoy vague, convoluted garbage. Let them stay in their little world why we move on.
Well I haven't read the book or really know anything about how the story went, so I can't be THAT much of a heretic...right?Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkHalo003
Precursors are arthropod-esque beings who's head (all together) looks like a sea-scorpion, who created the flood in revenge to use against the forerunners, because the forerunners rebelled against them thousands and thousands of years ago; after the precursors created them.
I'm sorry that is complete crap. While the arthropod archetype is understandable (insects tend to evolve at a quicker rate IIRC) it is too "generic sci fi" for me. I don't enjoy the idea of the galaxy's supreme race being so bland and predictable (almost every sci fi genre has a insect race). I more or less imagined the precursors being somewhat like the aliens from The Knowing:
http://prattleonboyo.files.wordpress...ng?w=360&h=214
Extremely evolved translucent beings who create and work for the benefit of the galaxy, and don't go on an entire revenge trip that will kill EVERYTHING in it.
I expected (most of us did I want to think) after all these years, one of THE BIGGEST mysteries about this series wouldn't be so bland and predictable and uninteresting as a revenge episode.
In my opinion yes the book is that bad.
Greg Bear defines generic sci-fi, if not, is carrying the forsaken torch.
lalala I'm not listeningQuote:
Originally Posted by TeeKup
Do forgive me arteen. Purge it, purge from the depths of your mind!
Giant bugs, eh? To be honest, I kind of like the sound of that.
Here you go then:Quote:
Originally Posted by Hotrod
Attachment 2454
Hot.
I'd tap that.
Greg bear has just fucked up the franchise even more with Primordium.
You know those new fins they've added to the Ring in anniversary well..
Click hereQuote:
Eagle-eye followers of "Halo" have begun grumbling over the addition of metallic fins lining the bottom of the ring that surrounds the planet in the game. Execs from 343 Industries initially said the fins were present in the first game but not visible due to the low graphic resolution. In fact, the fins are an important element of the plot in the Greg Bear novel "Halo: Primordium," which is set to come out in January, O'Connor said. Without them, the game would be inconsistent with the book.
:suicide:
I'm unreasonably upset by this.Quote:
Execs from 343 Industries initially said the fins were present in the first game but not visible due to the low graphic resolution.
Please just end me now.Quote:
In fact, the fins are an important element of the plot in the Greg Bear novel "Halo: Primordium," which is set to come out in January, O'Connor said. Without them, the game would be inconsistent with the book.
So, since 343I got given free reign what have we had so far?
Flood being a parasitic powder for pets.
12 Halo rings.
Prophets and human having an alliance.
Humans going to war with Forerunners.
Humans having cure for Flood parasite.
Halo's now have wings/fins
Humans are still at war trying to cause extinction of the Elites.
Flood being the super mythical precursor or at least having some connection to said precursor race..
Have I missed anything?
Basically, they're just sucking the dicks of non-Halo fans. That's really all it is if you look at the whole situation.
Yeah, they got these writers to try and attract the readers of their non-Halo books. Be careful, HBO seems to be get hard-on for these books as well. RIP HBOers :'(
The walking grossness known as Frank O'Connor is franchise director instead of someone even remotely competent.Quote:
Originally Posted by =sw=warlord
Also the Forerunners killed all of the Precursors. That's pretty dumb too. Actually, Precursors are dumb and unnecessary anyway.
Could have been cool.Quote:
Originally Posted by Arteen
Ew why are we still talking about Cryptum.
This.Quote:
Originally Posted by TeeKup
I found it quite enjoyable actually, and to all of those refusing to read it based on how some have summarized it...
Well vague descriptions of the plot from people who didn't like tend to leave out the important parts.
I find it strange that some believe that the subtlety that the Flood are capable of in establishing a foothold somehow detracts from them. It just turns out that they're a more adaptable Parasite then we knew, and capable of more then one strategy. They actually got other species to grant them a foothold across a multitude of worlds without raising suspicion.
Yet somehow some see their ability to do so makes them less frightening?
As for other plot points that have been mentioned as somehow breaking established canon...
Well the canon was somewhat iffy on those matters and not clear at all. Some things were somewhat suggested but not really clarified.
Some have asked how Humans could be the reclaimers of the Mantle if they were in fact the Forerunners ancient enemies and not their creations or descendants.
Those same people are likely
I would suggest people give it a read actually. It seems some people have been missing important points that will likely be explored further.
So what if the Flood are capable of subtlety? All that does is make them more of a threat, not less. They did establish a solid foothold across multiple star systems without arousing suspicion after all, and the manner in which it did so shows the adaptability and complexity it is capable of, given how specific and intricate its strategy was.
And as to why the Forerunner would make their Human enemies their heirs to the Mantle, and some had argued correctly that one couldn't reclaim what one never had...
Well some of the Forerunner liked them, and those that liked them were heavily involved with the Ark and the Halos. That and the Humans had originally believed that they were the true inheritors of the Mantle in the first place, an idea that if true means that the Forerunner effectively stole that role from them. And since the Forerunner eventually messed everything up it's quite likely they rethought everything and came to realize that the Humans might've actually been right and so set everything up so that the Humans could reclaim the Mantle, with the word "reclaim" still being fully appropriate as they were bearers of their own concept of the "Mantle" at one point. And seeing as how Humans actually had the biological engineering skill to defeat the Flood I would say that they had more going for being the true bearers of the Mantle then the Forerunner.
Essentially nothing truly breaks anything established previously, it merely subverts our expectations. Since the next point is from a Human perspective I expect some more information on that. And hopefully that Human perspective will result in us getting a real description of Forerunner appearance.
Anyhow rather then denying the events as existing in-universe I suggest you look past your biases and actually examine the details for things you might've missed that would help make sense of everything.
I would suggest people give it a read actually. It seems some people have been missing important points that will likely be explored further.
So what if the Flood are capable of subtlety? All that does is make them more of a threat, not less. They did establish a solid foothold across multiple star systems without arousing suspicion after all, and the manner in which it did so shows the adaptability and complexity it is capable of, given how specific and intricate its strategy was.
And as to why the Forerunner would make their Human enemies their heirs to the Mantle, and some had argued correctly that one couldn't reclaim what one never had...
Well some of the Forerunner liked them, and those that liked them were heavily involved with the Ark and the Halos. That and the Humans had originally believed that they were the true inheritors of the Mantle in the first place, an idea that if true means that the Forerunner effectively stole that role from them. And since the Forerunner eventually messed everything up it's quite likely they rethought everything and came to realize that the Humans might've actually been right and so set everything up so that the Humans could reclaim the Mantle, with the word "reclaim" still being fully appropriate as they were bearers of their own concept of the "Mantle" at one point. And seeing as how Humans actually had the biological engineering skill to defeat the Flood I would say that they had more going for being the true bearers of the Mantle then the Forerunner.
Essentially nothing truly breaks anything established previously, it merely subverts our expectations. Since the next point is from a Human perspective I expect some more information on that. And hopefully that Human perspective will result in us getting a real description of Forerunner appearance.
Anyhow rather then denying the events as existing in-universe I suggest you look past your biases and actually examine the details for things you might've missed that would help make sense of everything.
Sorry. Book is still a mess.
The biggest issues I have with the book is the presentation of the last Precursor and the behavior of the Forerunners. While the idea you have is interesting and all, it won't make up for a sour first impression. In the end, this story is going to be centered around a "revenge-trip" that's present in every single fucking Sci-fi out there. I don't see the problem with Greg Bear giving us the innocent concept of 2 hyper advanced civilizations who worked to created and preserve the miracle of life only to be threatened by some extra-galactic horror.
It's a choice of two predictable concepts. I prefer the naive and happy origin to the "oh look, someone got pissed and is now threatening the entire galaxy, oh joy."
This book is well written, I will give Bear that. That does not however, excuse him for everything else. Forerunner tech is all around vaguely descriped, their behavior is TOO human for my taste. Corrupt and arrogant, they don't come off as the benevolent force we've always been hinted at and even told (see Halo Encyclopedia.) Also how do the forerunners De-evolve humanity? The bestiarium stated that Tier-0 species (precursors) could control evolution, then again maybe the bestiarium isn't the best source.
None the less. The book is dry and lack luster, some of the smaller details I found interesting such as the "Domain" and the body suits they wore....oh and the battle stations, the 50km long ships I found interesting enough. One last thing though, I didn't like Mendicant Bias. Yes he was the most advanced and powerful AI at that time, but he wasn't an ethereal god. I get that he had the ability to manipulate and enter all technological terminal around him (their armor and the council planet itself), but that doesn't change the fact he didn't seem like an AI, he seemed like a god. That was probably Bears intention though, either way I don't like it.
Oh and the concept of the flood starting out as some kind of powder is just stupid through and through.
EDIT: I forgot to specify why I didn't like the precursor. Tier-0 species I would expect to be completely near godlike status, as such I never saw them as arthropod scorpion headed creatures. I more or less saw them like this:
http://prattleonboyo.files.wordpress...ng?w=360&h=214
Ethereal and all knowing would work for them. The biggest complaint I did say, the whole revenge against the forerunner for the Precursor-Forerunner war. I would expect a race of hyper-beings to be above such petty and horrible motivations as to set in motion the extinction and destruction of an entire galaxy.
Not to mention the fact that, in Halo 3, humans weren't known by the Forerunner until their DISCOVERY during the construction of the Halo array
Moral of the Forerunner trilogyQuote:
Originally Posted by TeeKup
http://www.natureofanimals.com/yorkiepuppy.jpg
This is a puppy
http://www.halopedian.com/images/6/65/Flood3.jpg
This is a flood infection form
DO NOT MIX
Looking at that picture reminds me that infection forms from Combat Evolved were so much cooler looking...
It's like Gremlins, don't feed after midnight and don't get them wet!
I wonder if 343i gave Greg free reign in deciding his book, and thus the Forerunner/Precursor lore (why the hell would they be called Precursors if they even existed during the Forerunner *sigh*). That would mean someone totally alien to the game's universe decided all of this bullshit shitty shit crap poop turd junk. At least we'll have one single person to blame for the next 10 years or earlier when the franchise just becomes flat like soda.
I translated it as:
Also, Raab sounds like he has no idea what he's talking about. Bear has his publicity mask on. Peter has his "kissass" mode on. Karen Traviss and Kevin Grace at the end are the only two that seem sort of real about what they're about. Frankie, why did you have to bring some of these cliches into Halo? Bring back Dietz and Nylund!
Also, TeeKup is right. Completely. Bear basically compiled everything he did before and copy-pasta'd into the Halo Universe. Anyone feel like writing the actual canon? You know, the actual story that fans will actually find plausible and consistent?
Pick me, pick me! I can make a synopsis of my internal canon if you'd like.
Wait.
This thread is still going?
I've had PM's over at FanFiction of fans enjoying my story moreso than Cryptum. My story isn't even THAT good. It's charming and I like doing it but by no means is it top notch as Cyptum is SUPPOSED to be.
Mmmega bump.
I'm halfway through Primordium and I'm trying to not have a biased view against it.
I don't like it.
I'll tell you more when I'm finished with the book.
What bugs me more than the storyline is the fact that it's in first person.
I liked it when we knew more about the story than the protagonist(s).
I liked it more when we were actually buying good Halo books.
Why, why would you waste your money on another cluster fuck of bad writing/story development?
When Halo has a bad book, they make another and adjust canon to fit the books, when Mass Effect has a bad book, they redo the book. Which sci-fi universe is better?
Halo.
Mass Effect tries too hard and ends up being a laughing stock to anybody who has a modicum of knowledge on what they are trying to describe in Mass Effect. In Halo, it's unashamedly fake and gives no fucks.
HAQuote:
Originally Posted by Warsaw
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kornman00
>Implying that I'd buy any of the Forerunner Saga books.Quote:
Originally Posted by TeeKup
No, I borrowed it from a friend.
I liked it when Halo: Evolutions butchered a couple of pre-established events. /sarcasmQuote:
Originally Posted by Warsaw
Halo was better when it at least feigned believability in the original three novels, but it has always been somewhat whimsical. It's kind of like the original Battlestar Galactica: great until the unicorns.
I actually liked everything up to Contact Harvest. First Strike said that we haven't encountered Brutes yet, and the end of Halo 3 seemed to seal up the fact that Elites started the war. Like you said though, Warsaw, Halo gives no fucks.
The Cole Protocol didn't seem as well written as it should have been. Buckell was just an obscure writer (they way it should be for Cryptum and onwards), but he seemed to refer to several things as if through the eyes of a newly introduced Halo player (i.e., "sticky grenae", humans using terms like "unngoy and kig-yar", etc.).
I have yet to read Glasslands, but I'm going to reserve my judgment on that. It sounds like a good book, though.
Grasslands is nice. Great ending for the next book though.
Glasslands*
Not in Asia.Quote:
Originally Posted by TeeKup
Never caught that.
*edits*
Just finished reading it on my Ipad and felt just like the first book to me, was so bored while reading the first half of it as all they did was walk around a "hoop" lost!
Finished it. I went to the Home Depot and bought a twelve foot piece of sheetrock to punch holes into. The only thing I like about the book was Greg Bear's consistancy in butchering everything. Can't wait to find the Librarian and other Forerunners in Halo 4.
I'm going to buy Halo 4 used.
Provided microsoft doesn't jump onto the bandwagon of pass keyes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Warsaw
I'm not even going to bother with multiplayer, so that doesn't concern me.
^Quote:
Originally Posted by Warsaw
So I started reading Glasslands. I like it. There's action, there's plot, there's narrative, there's direction. Everything is moving, it makes sense, it's alive. Much better than the Forerunner Saga.
FAKE EDIT: I almost put this in the BF3 thread. Yikes!
Glad to hear you agree! Nylund may not be writing for the series anymore (sadly), but after reading the novel I regained faith in the book-side of the franchise.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkHalcyon
It's not that the books were bad, it's that they ruined the vision of the Forerunners and the lore behind it.
I may pick up Glasslands.
My worry was that the book would cause dissatisfaction after knowing Nylund would not partake in their conceptions. Glasslands fixed that though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Warsaw
To be honest, I did skip a lot of the human segments (until about half-way into the book) just because the Spartan and Elite chapters were so intriguing.
The third book in the Forerunner Saga is slated to be released early January, next year. Screw you, Greg Bear. :parrot:
I'm going to pick up The Thursday War instead. The novels by Karen Traviss look so much more promising.
The Thursday War looks sooooo sick.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkHalcyon
I'll get both :P just because I'll be dieing to know just how that stupid Forerunner Saga ends.
Looking forward to The Thursday War. Travis did a great job on Glasslands.
:smithicide:
:raise:
It's not the worst thing he and his "permission-to-fuck-with-canon" team have done. The Didact could simply be a rank or role of a Forerunner. Wasn't Didact from the Halo 3 Terminals banished at some point?
If there's really anything that makes me hate Greg Bear it's that:
- Humans were a rival race for the Forerunners (like every other cliche SciFi BS).
- The Flood was a powder the Galactic Humans put on pets.
- The Forerunners were depicted as whiney bitches.
- The Forerunners' internal conflicts are comparable to the Occupy Wall Street movements as depicted by Greg Bear.
- Nothing is alien or ethereal enough in the Milky Way Galaxy according to this team of tryhard.
Things I can accept:
- The San-Shyuum (The Prophets) existed at a comparable, though still weaker, level than Forerunners.
- The PreCursor being Flood-like (WHAT A TWIST!).
Notice how there are those five most hated things and only two options I can consider decent. :ugh:
I thought Primordium proved the Primordial that he was actually a Gravemind, and not a true Precursor? IDK I didn't bother to read that book.
I FUCKING HATE THAT MAN.
From what I understood, it was saying that The Precursors and The Flood were synonymous, that the Flood were a part of the Precursors.Quote:
Originally Posted by TeeKup
As for there being two Didacts, it's possible that the Master Builder never actually killed the first one, but I suppose we'll see...
Goddamnit, why Greg Bear why.
Why do you people keep bumping this?
LET IT DIE
Should we make a thread for Glasslands (and The Thursday War) instead?
BECAUSE I STILL WANT TO LOVE THIS SERIES.
BUT I CAN'T WHEN ALL THIS NEW SHIT DOESN'T MAKE ANY FUCKING SENSE WITH THE PREVIOUS SHIT.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Badger_001.jpg
Someone should retitle this the "Dedicated Greg Bear Hate Thread."
Kiefer Sutherland, keep us safe!
Because the only thing 343 is bringing forward with them is the MC and Cortana. They said fuck everything else Bungie did :mech2:Quote:
Originally Posted by TeeKup
Spartan IIIs? HA! We have Spartan IVs!
The Flood? HA! We'll make the player fight the Forerunner's other leftovers
Should have come up with a new name for humanity's next-gen super-soldier program tbqh.
Yeah, should have gone with Promethus, and then they could have had the Promethus-program fight the Promethians to see how is better :downs:
(spoiler: tank beats 'em all)
(joking aside, Promethus was a name Halsey was considering for the program IIRC)
Yeah, it was like one of about a dozen names, like Minutemen and Juggernauts IIRC.
"Spartan IV" just sounds try-hard. Kind of like the titles "Halo 4" and "Final Fantasy XIII-2."
"Halo 3: ODST 2"
Still waiting on that sequel though.
I would like those sequels though (ODST 2 and Halo Wars 2). But yes, the titles aren't original at all.
Spartan IIs are the best Spartans. Kthxbai
What's ironic is that the Spartan-II's have been the best out of all of the iterations. The most disciplined, the most skilled, the strongest, the fastest, and the best-equipped.
Because they were the first, the least restrained, and the only ones created by Halsey, unless they bring her back in Halo 4 which would render the entire scene FUBARQuote:
Originally Posted by Warsaw
They were actually the second (derp), Johnson was one of the first.
The reason Spartan-II's are the best is because they were trained since six years old. Like the Spartans of ancient Greece, combat is really all they have ever known. They were raised together, so their unit cohesiveness is second to none. Their augmentations were also the first truly ambitious ones, so the techniques were very brutish and the process was refined with a higher success rate in the later generations. I suspect they had to insert an HGH pellet in order to get the other augmentations to take in a short time-frame, hence seven-foot soldiers.
Their armour is also the most feature-complete. Spartan III's got the el-cheapo SPI that offered zip for protection against Covenant armaments. Spartan-IVs get a light-weight version of MJOLNIR, which implies less protection (it's in the Game Informer issue where they state this blurb).
Spartan-IIIs, IVs, and later will never be as good as Spartan-IIs unless they get the lifetime of combat treatment as well. They can't be as strong because they are less massive than Spartan-IIs (less tissue to work with in building muscle). They can't be as fast for much the same reason (greater leg length grants a higher top speed). They can only become "comparable" when provided with equivalent armour, but in a straight fight I'd put my money on the II over the III and IV.
The only way to get Spartans like the Spartan 2's would be either go through the trials again or in the future one or two of the Spartans settle down and have offspring which then decides to join the military.
I think by the rule in Biology that parents do not pass down acquired traits to their offspring would mean this wouldn't work. Then again, I'm sure someone here is better qualified in Biological sciences than me and could tell me I'm missing something.Quote:
Originally Posted by =sw=warlord
Augmentation modified their genetics directly. Being that the genes are passed down, it may work.
Wow did I say V? Yeah, I meant II. I must have been thinking of the Mark V armor.Quote:
Originally Posted by Warsaw
So yeah, Spartan IIs are the best spartans.
Genetically engineered.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkHalo003
Also your genes mutate as you grow older, it's partially what causes you to get old in the first place.
Genetic and DNA decay through the replication of our cells, infection and ambient radiation.
So yeah, had the Spartans bred with their dominant and modified genes the offspring would also inherit those modifications though they would not get all the modifications as not all of them were results genetic engineering.
The ceramic infusions onto the bone layer, for instance, are not genetic enhancements...and holy fuck that would have serious health complications with age.
That's exactly what I was thinking when I questioned if the genetics would actually work.Quote:
Originally Posted by Warsaw
I don't think Spartans were really expected to live to an old age. What kind of health complications would that lead to though?Quote:
Originally Posted by Warsaw
Degeneration, bone mass shrinks, ceramics don't, bones break, bad shit happens ect.
Keep in mind the Spartans were genetically altered not to have that degeneration, which next to the ceramics killed 3/5 of them.
Some more info on that upcoming Greg book crap that no one in their right mind can actually bear to read
I burst out laughing when I saw this:
"Only the Ur-Didact and the Librarian—a husband and wife pushed into desperate conflict—hold the keys to salvation. Facing the consequences of a mythic tragedy, one of them must now commit the greatest atrocity of all time—to prevent an unmatched evil from dominating the entire universe."
:ugh:
The Ur-Didact? That title couldn't sound anymore stupid.
"I AM THE UR-DIDACT."
What was wrong with The Didact?
He derp'd.
The Halo Universe is engaging its internet meme'ing fanbase.
Please... make it stop. For the love of all things sane, someone make it stop.