Yesterday evening, 343 Industries premiered their latest #Ask343 video relating to Halo Infinite. Several members of the development team joined to discuss details of Infinite, which provided new insight into what players can expect when the game launches. We’ve summarized the team members, and the information provided below!
Team Members in the Video
- John Junyszek – Community Manager
- Quinn Delhoyo – Lead Sandbox Designer
- John Mulkey – Lead World Designer
- Troy Mashburn – Gameplay Director
- Justin Dinges – Campaign Art Lead
Details Provided
- Zeta Halo has a full day and night cycle with weather patterns.
- Wind as an example is both visual and audible.
- Fog systems apply to different altitudes and times of day.
- Weather systems such as rain and snow will likely be added post-launch as they continue to update the title.
- Day and night cycle does provide some impacts.
- Certain enemies may be sleeping at specific times of day.
- Search parties with spotlights will be present at night.
- Lighting and areas are accented at different times of day.
- Wildlife has been confirmed for the world.
- No hostile wildlife.
- Focus was bringing world to life with some unique animal behaviors.
- Dual-wielding is not present (at least not at this time).
- Playable Elites are not present (at least not at this time).
- Weapon upgrades were initially an idea that was experimented with but decided against due to not feeling like Halo.
- There are items to progress including equipment.
- Unique weapons will also be spread throughout the world.
- Equipment is present (similar to Halo 3).
- In campaign you may be able to use multiple.
- In multiplayer the plan is to use one that is disposable, but will adjust for custom games.
- The open-world design was meant to be an expansion of the larger Halo missions.
- Not open-world in the vein of crafting, scavenging, etc…
- Designed to keep the feeling of Halo combat and missions in a much larger environment.
- Locations are connected.
- The biome is really representative of the Pacific Northwest
- Within that there are wetlands/swamps, high-altitude, war-torn areas, and more.
- Sub-biomes will represent Covenant, Banished, and Promethean with a lot of variety.
- Player agency is a priority. You are encouraged to explore and go off the beaten path.
- Discovery and varied combat scenarios are a priority.
- No invisible walls. Aimed at making it feel more natural and organic.
- Using the Halo sandbox of weapons and vehicles is possible at will.
- Items like audio logs are spread throughout the world and provide insight into world and lore.
- The skybox is fully 3D rendered which allows greater detail and variation.
- At certain times, the ring can eclipse the sun which gives off almost a “midnight” feel on the ring.
- Cut-scenes are not pre-rendered, they are all done in real-time in the engine.
- Narrative scenes will feature whatever weapons you have at the time, the time of day and shading, etc…
- The design of the Banished was set in Halo Wars 2 which has been built upon.
- “Big”, “Heavy”, “Metallic”, were the types of inspirations.
- Their influence on the world will be impactful and noticeable – a stark contrast to Covenant/Promethean.
- In some form, you will be able to knock things “off” of the Zeta Halo ring.
- The majority of what the community brought up after the initial reveal was already on the list of improvements to make.
- The teams are very thankful to have more time to optimize the game for release.
- While there are bases, outposts, etc…. there will be random encounters spread throughout the world.
- The game also has the ability to react to player decision making.
- The goal is to provide fun gameplay encounters based on what the player is doing at the moment.
- For instance, you may be in a Scorpion and the game will present combat that’s fun to engage in while in that vehicle specifically.
- The game is “anchored in player agency and choice”.
Our Take
Our excitement for Halo Infinite is already through the roof, but these details just add to it further. Stay tuned as we will have a wealth of coverage on Halo Infinite throughout 2021.