Upon deciphering what developer 343 Industries is preparing for Halo Infinite exactly, it is always best suggested to let the hype cool down when the monthly ‘Inside Infinite’ update rolls out. In the past month, the game studio elaborated on quite a lot just for March 2021. Firstly, the team spoke on quality of life features and how the game is to operate in favor for those that pay attention to the details.
However, highly-requested mechanics like dual wielding and playable elites are absent from the final version. But, the team reassures not everything in the base release coming this autumn denounces later additions. The developer later went on to discuss the background of the game’s audio design and how Halo Infinite utilizes the attribute for a way to tell a story aside from the visual details.
Already this week, Microsoft went to confirm Halo Infinite will feature cross-play & cross-progression between PC and console. Even more, the game would adapt itself to PC with dedicated support at launch. In the latest April 2021 ‘Inside Infinite’, the studio further elaborates on its pursuit to make game suitable for PC users ultimately.
Building a native, first-class PC experience for Infinite meant convincing some brilliant console developers that these quirky features they’ve never cared about are hugely important to PC players. This job is at times equal parts educator and PC hype man. As an example, I might need to convince someone that even though 21:9 ultrawide doesn’t exist on console, it’s a very important thing to PC players and we should design our content natively for it.
There’s also a TON of preventative problem solving. Things like making sure our game plays nice with specific families of hardware or fighting hard to ensure we don’t add intrusive DRM to our game. The problem with preventative problem solving though is you never see the crisis averted.
Fortunately, 343 knows how to make a great Halo game. It’s important to call out that the MCC team has done fantastic work pioneering Halo on PC. The Infinite PC team has a huge opportunity to learn from the challenges and wins MCC has faced and we’re paying close attention.
Jeff Guy, Halo Infinite PC Producer
In past updates for Halo Infinite before, 343 Industries expanded on the emphasis for the game’s PC version. The studio talked on matters including appropriate PC control schemes and the rendering power to be up to par with modern PCs when bridged to console simultaneously. However, this new update released on Thursday elaborates further with major emphasis on the accomplishment for the game’s ultra-wide support.
“I think as lifelong PC gamers we have a great feel for the expectations of how a PC game should look, feel, and operate – we want a great set of options without getting in your way, rich feature support with a streamlined experience, and the confidence that the game will run on your hardware,” Mike Romero, Halo Infinite PC Development Lead asserts. “To go through a specific example, let’s talk about ultrawide support.
“This is something that really takes the whole studio to do right, because there is so much content that has to be created with this in mind for this from the start. To start with there are design considerations – I explicitly wanted wider aspect ratios to allow you to see more horizontally instead of seeing less vertically. This is harder on performance but provides a more immersive experience. The 3D scene has to support arbitrary window sizes – that’s probably the easiest part.
“Then you’ve got your HUD which has to anchor to the edges of the screen. And think of Chief’s helmet display; you want the helmet wires to be seamless regardless of aspect ratio, so we design with that in mind. You can also run the game in 4:3 and at lower minimum resolutions than you would get on a TV and the UI still needs to be legible.”
On the topic of cross-play, it appears that when PC and console are in the same lobby that regular matchmaking is bridge into one. But, competitive playlists are to wall players based on control scheme to level out the playing field, Romero explains. “Social playlists and custom matches are open to all, you can play on any platform and any device with anyone you like!
“For ranked matches, we plan to restrict competitive playlists based on input type, not console versus PC. That’s because we believe the input is the biggest differentiator in gameplay ability (with things like aim assist on the controller or the precision of sniping with a mouse). You can play with a controller on your PC to play ranked with your console friends, or even mouse and keyboard on your console to play ranked with your PC friends.”
Although player input is not to be a concern on how Halo Infinite will be handled in competitive play, unfair users are another concern. To elaborate, Romero continues with a statement on the anti-cheat crafted exclusively for Halo Infinite.
We want to ensure fairness and adding PC into the mix opens Pandora’s box. We felt like we had to make an anti-cheat solution that doesn’t get in the way, doesn’t root your machine, doesn’t block your legitimate applications – we want the most unobtrusive thing possible that ensures a safe way for everyone to play together.
For crossplay again we prioritize fairness without being too restrictive, so we have to draw lines players are comfortable with (input-based restrictions for ranked matches) while maintaining flexibility (you don’t have to buy the game on a different platform to play with your friends, worst case you switch input devices).
We also want to ensure nobody feels like they’re at a significant disadvantage because of the way they’re playing (within reason; a 10-year-old PC just isn’t going to be as fast as a brand new ultra-high-end PC). If we do our job right, in combination with our TrueSkill 2 ranking system, everyone should be able to trust they’re getting a fair shake in the crossplay ecosystem.
Most exciting is the concluding statement from Joseph Staten who hints for more footage to be planned for this summer, he implicates. “While I hope you enjoyed this month’s 1,000-word screenshots, we know that game videos are worth at least 10,000 words. And the great news is that Summer i.e., game industry event season, is just around the corner—and there are glorious plans afoot.”
As for Halo Infinite on its own competitive level, 343 Industries already prepared for the esports portion of the game’s post-launch phase. While not all is in hind sight, more details are said to arrive later this summer. You can read the full report by heading here.
What piqued your attention most from the latest ‘Inside Infinite’?
Halo Infinite is launching sometime in fall 2021 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.
Source: Halo Waypoint
