: That last one especially. It kills me really all the backlash against some of
: the visual differences. The Dawn change? That's dumb. But more variations
: in how a species looks? That's fine, really. And they really aren't all
: that far off. I've always wished I had the time and talent to create a
: species board for each faction and include all the variations using a
: baseline art style to show just how much more realistic it is to actually
: have lots of looks within a specific group of alien lifeforms.

So, going from crustaceans to miniature cave trolls is... realistic?
Somehow, I can buy H1, H3, and Skirmisher Jackals all coexisting. Halo 4's redesigns simply pushed my suspension of disbelief too far.

: Armor as well. I actually like a lot of the H4 armor, so everyone else can
: suck it lol.

: And just because I don't like the way it might look doesn't
: mean it;s not canon.

Meh. I exclude Halo 4's armor from my headcanon not because I hate the way it looks (which I do), but because I have difficulty reconciling a broken remnant of Humanity (Halo 3) with a humanity that can push out a bigger and better Spartan program with the requisite hundreds if not thousands of sets of MJOLNIR.

I also don't consider it canon because I don't think those armor sets are WORTH being canon. I can see why stuff like CQB, EOD or EVA would be produced, because their roles require structural changes to the helmet itself. But eight different armor sets designed for recon/tracking? Really?
And don't get me started on Warmaster.

I generally LIKE how Reach helmets look, but I don't consider canon because their roles aren't defined enough. Because yes, a Spartan absolutely HAS to have a special helmet to act as a forward observer for artillery. /sarcasm

: Every little piece of
: armor, every map description, they all add to the universe in a wonderful
: way. Makes it all feel that much more realistic to me.

I emphatically disagree. Some things can only destroy what they were meant to add to.
Like story in multiplayer. : )