: Attacking these overworked programmers for being lazy (Taking the weekends
: off) or doing nothing meaningful (deck chairs) is just stupid.

No one said they are.

These are the people that make up 343, they work hard, and their reputation is being tarnished more so than MS, in my opinion.

Look at it from a different perspective- I'm an environmental artist for 343.

Without a proper stopping point from leadership, I'll keep working on my tasks. On one level, this is good because I'm constantly improving and making my contribution better. On another level, I'm never finished.

Apply this same thinking to the level designers, the modelers, programmers and what have you.

The Creative types.

Without a hard deadline, they will work themselves into oblivion. I know this, because as a fellow creative type, we are never truly "done" or "finished" with something. That's why eventually you have to have someone come in and say "This is great, you did your job, but we have to stop here".

I'm not getting that vibe from the current leadership.

I'm getting the vibe that they see something work in an alpha stage, and they assume that because it's working internally, it must work externally.

I feel like they are essentially seeing the first stages and going "oh this is playable and looks good so we must be done, yay us" when really they are seeing a demo or hypothetical from the dev team, who probably KNOWS their stuff isn't as done as it needs to be, but it doesn't matter- their hands are tied.

343 leadership is putting the cart before the horse.
Counting their chickens before they hatch.
Opening another candybar before finishing their first one.
Not cooking their cake all the way through and then decorating it.

Use whatever analogy helps you understand this, I don't care.

343 as a TEAM, is very solid, filled with people who care.

Unfortunately, their opinions mean absolutely dick to management. Management needs something to show executives. Executives need something to show the board. The board needs something to show share holders. The share holders want money.

Do you see now, why it sucks to be an artist, and have your creativity stripped down to a common denominator that can be sold and fed to the masses, when the product you set out to create was left on the table?

That is what I see.

343, the studio, didn't work on MCC. They had no involvement. Everything was outsourced to other studios. 343 just has their name on it.

Because of that, THEY are going to bear the brunt of people rage. THEY are going to be held responsible.

Schooly is overzealous in a lot of ways- yeah, people should be allowed to take a break and a nap, start fresh in the morning, see their family over the holiday. He knows that.

The PROBLEM, is that the figure heads don't know how to communicate effectively to the masses.

Bungie was pretty good at that. (I don't think they are now, and grow tired of their antics) 343 wants so desperately to be like that, and they never will be at this rate.

343 is full steam ahead on Halo 5- that is good, and hopefully, they'll have an excellent product to share.

343 rubber stamped their name on MCC, and it doesn't work. Too many different parts from different places and different people.

Now the people who don't deserve the flack are getting it, and that is sad.

Those people should be mad.

They should be turning on their leadership and saying this isn't acceptable, to throw all of under the bus.

Bonnie Ross, You're personally sorry, huh? Take full responsibility huh?

Then quit.

Perhaps that sounds extreme, but if this were any other product, heads would be rolling.

The problems that Halo currently has, start at the top. Not the bottom.

I don't think anyone is disagreeing with you there, but you sure think they are.