: If we want people to talk about a game in forums like this then it has to be
: relevant. It has to be current. It has to be in your face. Of course it
: must also be good but it doesn't need to be the best in every way. It only
: needs to the best in ways desired by its fans.

I agree with you about fan perception, but it doesn't need the other stuff; counter-examples include 8-bit games in general, old PC games in general, the original Doom games, the older Quake games (or maybe all of them now), the whole Half-Life series now, heck, old versions of Counter-Strike have a bigger, more interested, more invested fanbase than a lot of big, recent games and game series.

: Right here, on this and other forums, comments have been dropped suggesting
: they would be happy with old graphics for remakes of campaign and maps. I
: would never set the bar that low but I do think the Halo 5 engine may be
: capable of delivering at least three games at a pre-set level of detail.
: If we look at previous Halo titles, huge investments went into the
: engines. Much of it was for platform development but I am assuming it was
: also for innovation in the early days of this type of game.

: Does 343i need to keep innovating their Halo engine? I believe the answer is
: little to none.

I think you're wrong, because platforms will continue to change, and people will expect more advanced graphics and more detail, and people will want there to still be big maps and big games.

: Imagine if back in the day, we had Halo 3 followed at one year intervals by 4
: and 5 and all at the same level of detail as Halo 3. I'm doubting fans
: would have complained. It would have been acceptable, given the elapsed time.

I would have complained. Games cost money, especially if you get them while people are still talking about them a lot and active in them and don't wait for them to come down in price. Once a year isn't that bad, but once every few years is better. I would prefer them maximizing the number of games on a given console, though, because those are significantly more expensive. Case in point, I got a 360 for Halo 3, and it turned out to be a great investment even just considering that and the other Halo games for it. I got an original Xbox to have a more modern gaming machine, and I got several games with it, but I played Halo and Halo 2 way more than the others-- so it was a good investment, but it would've been a better investment if I could've gotten more Halo games for it.
Also, I wanted them to let the Chief rest, and I would've like for them to rest a little longer than they did even.
The last problem, and the biggest one from the standpoint of quality, is that rushing things makes them prone to mistakes. For this I'd point to the many bugs and cliffhanger ending in Halo 2 and the messed up graphics and missing features in Halo 4. They could have multiple teams working concurrently on different games and supporting each other between projects and during lulls. We've seen this be successful at Bungie and I'm sure the same has happened with other game and software developers. The question is whether 343i can make it work and if it's sustainable, if they decide to go that route. If they don't, I think they shouldn't even try to speed up development. I don't think farming out games is a solution either, it seems too hit-and-miss to me.

: 343i must change from continuously rebuilding software over three years to
: delivering more content at a standardized level of detail.

A standardized level of detail isn't what people in general want and it isn't what their bosses want, they want things to move forward. Aside from that, rebuilding software is, well, necessary. Programming is a product of engineering, and it's an art-- both of these sides to it mean it can improved almost endlessly, and most people who have passion for their work want to improve it until it can't be improved any more. I don't know much about the visual and audible art sides, but I know a lot of artists are anything but content to let their work sit if they can go back and make a new, better version.

: Imagine a world where a new Halo campaign came out each and the canon was
: better for the continuity.

I don't see what the release speed has to do with the story, and I especially don't see what it has to do with improving the story.