@rubyofblue
Hello! I’ve been a fan of your work since your learning about your Halo 2 mod from a LateNightGaming video and have been playing Halo CE Rebalanced since November 2023. It’s magnificent, but I wanted to point to 3 personal gripes concerning the Pillar of Autumn that I’ve pondered for a while and felt compelled bringing up when I heard/read that you were planning to return to the mod after finishing H2R. This isn’t to say that I’m not grateful with what you’ve done (you’ve in fact blown me away!), but I want to give my two cents to help provide a more gratifying experience for everyone.

In the Pillar of Autumn’s introduction cutscene, Johnson has a Sniper rifle when rallying the marines. This is a really nice touch, but it was surprising to see this in every difficulty. It’s understandable if it’s supposed to lead up with the next mission where he picks off Covenant on high elevation (which also introduces the player to a new weapon before they get to use it later on) but while that was supported by the surrounding context - this isn’t. I’m not sure if everyone who will play the mod know of the lore behind the character and it sorta sticks out (literally, the rifle stock protrudes out of his arm), especially when he was just another recurring extra like most of the other Marines before being elevated to an important side character in First Strike and Halo 2. If possible, perhaps he could keep the Assault rifle in all difficulties below Legendary. Through this the original cutscene can be preserved and the changed cinematic would subtly allude to the Maw cutscene only viewable on Legendary as well as hinting to his capabilities and history for those who are in the know.

I like the idea of the twin shields blocking your path and how it teaches the player the value of plasma-based weaponry, though it seemed less necessary when it appeared again in both Heroic and Legendary where an experienced player would already be aware of the dynamic. I think it should be reserved to Easy (and Normal?) in line with how the mod scales difficulty through map changes (among other things) and how the level keeps tutorial elements below heroic.

Another thing in mind would the squad of ODSTS pushing against Covenant troops blocking the escape pod latch. This is awesomely done, as well as all the appearances of ODSTs throughout the mod, but then the cutscene plays and only marines are on the seats. The seamless transition from the original game is lost when wondering if and why the Shock Troopers stayed on the Autumn or where did these Marines come from when there were only two injured at the back of the hallway or if they waited this long for other leathernecks to hop in. To be frank, it’s not telegraphed very well. I can see its purpose, but given the helljumpers were already introduced by this point (twice on Legendary), I think a moment for the marines to shine before capping off the level should be kept in some way. Maybe Marines can stay in all difficulties except Legendary, serving as a final reminder for new players on the lower difficulties the camaraderie of the gung-ho leathernecks while giving accustomed players on Legendary a renewed experience with the elite helljumpers!