I got you, and I'm not being sarcastic. I should elaborate. What you said is spot on, and thus we didn't need the game to start with Halsey. It would have been seen as a desperate attempt by Master Chief and Cortana to try and hold onto some hope. Instead, based on how 343 decided to write this aspect of the game, they started the story out with Halsey, literally, right there in visual form, and an intriguing question presented to her regarding Master Chief. It's like they were implying that something was going to come of this. Then Chief and Cortana go on and on about Halsey, and rather than there even being some possible indication that they are aware of one or the other's presence, that entire aspect of the story is dropped. They introduced a character to the story up front who they had no intention of reintroducing later.

Now, technically they did reintroduce in Spartan Ops, but again for something completely unrelated, and when they finally make that Master Chief-Halsey connection, yet again nothing comes of it. Now, something could potentially come of it in H5. Or H6. I'd expect it to. I highly doubt that anything that does come of any of this will show much impact in regards to H4, which will only further support my case. Or I'll be wrong. Considering how they've handled writing up to this point, I'm not banking on my being wrong, but only time will tell.

: They obviously have some parts planned out, I'm sure. I feel like they have a
: Point A (beginning of Halo 4) and a Point B (end of Halo 6). But there's
: an infinite number of ways to reach Point B, and you can't hammer out
: every single plot point.

Absolutely. But you'd think they'd be able to hammer out their first, second, and third acts of the campaign's story without blowing it so badly. Same goes for Spartan Ops.

: And letting the plot develop as you work on it (aka "winging it")
: is an acceptable writing process (my writing professor tells us to do it
: all the time). It can make things more creative than having the plot
: ironed out completely from the start. You said yourself that you liked
: Requiem being driven into the sun.

It's absolutely an acceptable writing process, and it absolutely can make things more creative. In the talks I've had with some other HBOers, they aren't fond of the whole "Frankie walked in and said fly into the sun" thing. And just like you said, I loved it, and I think it made things pretty interesting and hectic at that bit of Spartan Ops. I also feel that Spartan Ops was better written and executed than Halo 4's main story and campaign (even though Spartan Ops has a boatload of writing issues, mostly regarding military, characterization, pacing, and a few other things. I'll get around to a more thorough Spartan Ops critique later, and I'm thinking it will mostly be positive. I hope. I have ideas and so far it seems more on the positive. :P).

: I guess I really just don't understand what you wanted out of Halsey then. I
: thought that they planned to see Halsey as soon as they got off Requiem
: and dealt with the Didact. And Cortana obviously can't wait that long. It
: was presented as a hopeless situation from the start. Anybody with a
: modicum of Halo knowledge knew there was no side-stepping the lifespan of
: an AI. Like I said, the Chief was grasping at straws, especially not
: knowing Halsey's situation at the time. That's why I wasn't disappointed
: at the lack of "hope" of meeting her, because it was presented
: as a hopeless situation, I feel.

I would have preferred Halo 4 never open with Halsey if they planned to just drop her like that. Or her involvement needed to be larger on some scale. Her presence had to be felt beyond the exposition of the Chief and Cortana and the hopelessness of it all after that initial Halsey introduction.

As for the AI bits, Chief may have been grasping at straws, but his plan was actually pretty brilliant. One of the things that had me so excited for H4's campaign from the start was the thought of Mendicant Bias hitching a ride in Cortana. That seventh Terminal in H3 is the key (on Legendary) in what Mendicant Bias has to say. I had this feeling that Mendicant Bias somehow managed to hide out in Cortana's programming somehow. Then the Halo: Blood Line comics get released, and we see the Monitor of that installation infiltration another AI's programming without the AI even being aware of the presence. If a Monitor can do that, imagine what Mendicant Bias can do. And then there was Halo Legends, where at the end of Origins II, the nifty glyph that was a staple of Iris appears in Cortana's eyes. Maybe 343 does have plans for Mendicant Bias later (or maybe not, and in my opinion they'd be missing out on a brilliant opportunity), but none of this even appears in H4 and was clearly never a possibility (just like ever seeing Halsey again in relation to the Chief after starting the game off on that note).

: I'm confused by what you mean by this (granted, I did pull it out of the
: middle of your post :P).

All the talk of Halsey, grasping at straws or not, was never going to be a possibility because the writers never wanted it to be one. It was all worthless and empty exposition. A lot of early (and not so early) reactions on this very forum had to do with why the Chief and Cortana never seemed all that interested in asking or wondering about anything that was happening or what was going on anywhere. The writers made them almost singularly focused on Halsey at the expense of some other really good writing and dialogue options, yet the writers were never serious about Halsey or about the difficulties in getting to her.

: Well, there was a significant jump in quality between the first and second
: halves of Spartan Ops. I have hope that Season 2 will show another
: significant jump.

I'm looking forward to it, that's for sure. :D

: As for payment, I doubt it'll be free. But I can't see it being more than
: fifteen dollars. Maybe even ten dollars. Those cutscenes can't be cheap.

I think they'd be better off making it free, but you're probably right about it not being free.

: What point is that, if you know it's deeper? :)

I don't know it's deeper. None of us do. I'm just hoping that 343 makes it depper than, "IT'S TIME FOR REVENGE! KILL THE HOBB- ONI PEOPLE!"

: I doubt she wants revenge on all of humanity. Just Osmin, ONI, MAYBE the UNSC
: as a whole.

I just want Halsey to kill Palmer. At first I was wanting to be the one to do it, but I think I'd love for it to be Halsey. Yep.

: See point about writing above.

All Palmer needs to do is get killed. Best writing choice 343 has. No, actually, I'll say it, it's their only writing choice. It must be done. Continuing to let her live is the largest blunder they could possibly ever make. Ever.

: Again, I gotta disagree. I never got the feeling that Halsey HAD to appear,
: or that the Chief HAD to meet her.

I feel that she did have to appear in some capacity. I don't feel like the Chief had to ever meet her. This whole time talking about Halsey, and oh look she's right over there on that other ship, or down on that planet, or just standing around being a bad ass, and oh no we can't get to her! Real impact.