[quote]If it's post 4 why would they all be using pre-4 equipment?[/quote]Maybe because the Spirit of Fire and its crew have been missing for 27 years and is outfitted with equipment from 2531? [quote]Granted the entire image looks like it's taking a gameplay perspective as you have 20+ Red Team members so I'm going to roll with it's too early to imply it's post or pre.[/quote]I only count 6 Spartans with certainty. Here's my reasoning behind why it's post Halo 4: [spoiler]In 2555 the UNSC established a permanent research base on the Ark. One of their first intentions was to repair the damage sustained during Installation 04B's tactical pulse. As you can see, the Ark shows no damage in the image, however, the big tie in comes from the planetoid at the center of the Ark being nearly depleted of resources. Second, by March 2558, the UNSC still had no contact with the Spirit of Fire. Meaning the events of the game take place sometime in 2558 or beyond. Of course, there's still the possibility that the Spirit of Fire miraculously found their way to the Ark before December 2552 and left before the Covenant or UNSC showed up. With a bunch of Brutes seemingly acting on their own though, I'm leaning more towards it being set in 2558.[/spoiler]

Has everyone forgotten that the crew of Spirit of Fire has yet to be found? This game pretty clearly takes place around them, from the Teaser trailer, so it's easy to assume that they haven't been in contact with the UNSC still.

What's wrong with that? There's always the chance I could be wrong, but here's my reasoning. In 2555 the UNSC established a permanent research base on the Ark. One of their first intentions was to repair the damage sustained during Installation 04B's tactical pulse. As you can see, the Ark shows no damage in the image, however, the big tie in comes from the planetoid at the center of the Ark being nearly depleted of resources. Second, by March 2558, the UNSC still had no contact with the Spirit of Fire. Meaning the events of the game take place sometime in 2558 or beyond. Of course, there's still the possibility that the Spirit of Fire miraculously found their way to the Ark before December 2552 and left before the Covenant or UNSC showed up. With a bunch of Brutes seemingly acting on their own though, I'm leaning more towards it being set in 2558.