{"id":24524,"date":"2015-11-09T11:53:24","date_gmt":"2015-11-09T16:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/halofanforlife.com\/?p=24524"},"modified":"2015-11-09T11:53:24","modified_gmt":"2015-11-09T16:53:24","slug":"halo-community-update-november-sneak-peek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/halofanforlife.com\/?p=24524","title":{"rendered":"Halo Community Update: November Sneak Peek"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a reblog from HaloWaypoint:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

BY\u00a0B IS FOR BRAVO<\/p>\n

\n

Over the past week, we\u2019ve been playing with you, reviewing feedback as we tune existing experiences, and also preparing to deliver new ones. Today, we\u2019ll talk about recent and upcoming game updates, as well as brand new content that will soon be on the way. Welcome to the weekly update, where we\u2019ll talk about all of this and more.<\/p>\n

PLAYLIST UPDATES & ADDITIONS<\/h2>\n

\"h5_sniper_banner-ea387d37b495417f84912429b1aa62db\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Just a few hours ago, the latest Halo 5: Guardians playlist update went live. Thanks to your community votes, Shotty Snipers is available this weekend, and it\u2019ll be around until the early morning hours (pacific time) on Monday. Jump into the playlist to enjoy a chaotic mix of long and close range combat as well as some increased XP rewards.<\/p>\n

But this playlist update doesn\u2019t stop there. We\u2019ve made a few additional changes based on your feedback from this past week, starting with the removal of Orion from all playlists. We\u2019ve pulled the map from matchmaking in order to patch some exploits and make some additional improvements before re-adding it to appropriate playlists. Next, based on feedback regarding map variety and rotations, we\u2019ve added 15 additional map \/ game type combinations to existing playlists.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also made some additional matchmaking changes in today\u2019s update. The first of these was an update to the \u201cOne or more members of your fireteam has high latency to the dedicated server\u201d error message. Previously, this message blocked players in error, preventing you from playing with the other player(s), and we\u2019ve now removed this restriction. Also, we\u2019ve been keeping an eye on feedback from international players regarding Warzone matchmaking, and found that we were a bit too aggressive in filtering players during matchmaking. After reviewing the current parameters, we\u2019ve made adjustments that will allow Warzone matchmaking to not only allow players to find matches quicker and easier, but also allow for improved matchmaking for players across the globe, thanks to updated searching parameters that also better prioritize players in your region. Today, thanks to your reports, we were able to confirm that the changes did indeed improve matching for players across multiple regions. We need to do some additional tests to ensure that the changes don\u2019t negatively impact any playlists, so we\u2019ve temporarily disabled the changes, and will be re-adjusting the parameters once these changes are verified.<\/p>\n

In addition to the other items mentioned\u00a0last week, the team is also hard at work preparing updates for things like Warzone Assault tuning tweaks (more on that with design next week), updating SWAT respawn time to 3 seconds and turning off SWAT friendly fire, CSR tuning tweaks, Seasons & seasonal rewards, actively monitoring and updating ban thresholds, and more. Also, we know many of you are excited to get you Teishin Raikou Armor set, but may not have received yet \u2013 don\u2019t you worry. We\u2019re tracking all eligible players, and will roll these out once we\u2019re able to process all of the player data \u2013 there are lots of you. We\u2019ll be taking about these updates and plenty more in the weeks to come.<\/p>\n

But now \u2013 onto the reason many of you may have joined us today. The new stuff.<\/p>\n

NOVEMBER UPDATE: A SNEAK PEEK<\/h2>\n

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In just over a week, the next Halo 5 content drop will be here, and with it comes Big Team Battle<\/strong>\u00a0(HFFL: YEA!!!)<\/span> in Arena matchmaking, brand-new REQs, and a whole ton of juicy vehicular combat. Today, we\u2019re giving you a sneak peek at what\u2019s in store, and over the course of the next week, we\u2019ll be providing you with more details.To start, we know many of you are ready for some vehicle-based carnage in Arena, and dying to jump into some classic 8v8 matches. You\u2019re in luck.<\/p>\n

Before the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta, Josh Holmes approached me and asked \u201ccan we get a \u201cPro Team\u201d equivalent of the best community Forgers to help us build Forge?\u201d to which I responded \u201cYes. Yes we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fast forward a few months, and we\u2019ve brought some of the community\u2019s top Forgers in the studio: Warholic, The Fated Fire, The Psycho Duck, Nokyard, and Ducain23. These gentlemen provided feedback on Forge tools and features that ultimately resulted in a wide variety of improvements across the feature set. During their time here, they also started working on large-scale Big Team Battle maps that were inspired by classic battlegrounds including: Sidewinder \/ Avalanche, Standoff, Burial Mounds, Longbow, and Headlong.<\/p>\n

Each map maker selected a classic map on which to base their Big Team Battle map design. These guys built day and night, continually preparing and perfecting their maps for the next playtest with the multiplayer and level design teams. At the end of the week, we had solid canvases that offered a wide variety of BTB combat, and this meant that it was time for the maps to be handed off to the 343 team for continued iteration and development. The Forgers continued to provide feedback and direction for the map, and the team here at the studio continued to iterate on flow, polish, spawn and objective placement, look and feel, and more. For the past few months, these maps have been playtested and polished in preparation for the release of Big Team Battle, and in just over a week, the first four maps will be available in Arena matchmaking. Here\u2019s a quick look at what\u2019s to come:<\/p>\n

DEADLOCK<\/h2>\n

Inspired by: Standoff
\nA collaboration between Nokyard and the 343 Multiplayer team<\/p>\n

\"h5-guardians-forge-btb-map-deadlock-01_1120-6002dba870054c69a5e408edb7f559bb\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Stolen Forerunner knowledge has made war a glassy plain of death on which few can find purchase.<\/em><\/p>\n

HFFL:<\/strong> Standoff was one of my favorite Halo 3 maps. Oh the many wheelman medals I got on that map. Plus, that tree on the hill. (Inside comment that only a few will get)<\/span><\/p>\n

BASIN<\/h2>\n

Inspired by: Valhalla
\nA map designed by the 343 Multiplayer team<\/p>\n

\"h5-guardians-forge-btb-map-basin-02_1120-1c414349e43143da85c7ae6450ac2ec7\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Shake the dust from your feet.<\/em><\/p>\n

HFFL:<\/strong> Hmm, this doesn’t look like Valhalla to me….<\/span><\/p>\n

GUILLOTINE<\/h2>\n

Inspired by: Headlong
\nA collaboration between The Psycho Duck and the 343 Multiplayer team<\/p>\n

\"h5-guardians-forge-btb-map-guillotine-02_1120-37992ad244f840c5b5dc22beae1450f3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By day, a deadly urban battleground. By night, a playground for the reckless.<\/em><\/p>\n

HFFL:<\/strong> Cool! I’ve always liked this map.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

RECURVE<\/h2>\n

Inspired by: Longbow
\nA collaboration between The Fated Fire and the 343 Multiplayer Team<\/p>\n

\"h5-guardians-forge-btb-map-recurve-02_1120-1481f2ea1dd04b03b13c30355c8b6448\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The wide arms of this training site embrace every instrument of destruction.<\/em><\/p>\n

HFFL:<\/strong> I enjoyed the original in Halo 4. I hope this redux is close to that one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Be sure to stay tuned next week, when we\u2019ll dive deeper into these new battlegrounds with the folks who created them.<\/p>\n

NEW REQ CONTENT<\/h2>\n

This next update includes a ton of sweet new REQ content. Over the next week, we\u2019ll be filling in the above graphic to reveal the content, but here\u2019s a preview of what\u2019s on the way:<\/p>\n

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HFFL:<\/strong> Sweet! I’m all for new customization options. That Seeker helmet is VERY cool! Bug-like<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep an eye on Waypoint and Twitter for these REQ reveals in the coming days. The content is scheduled to drop the week of November 16, and we\u2019ll have more details on what\u2019s to come starting next week.<\/p>\n

And, to keep up to date on all things REQ System, stay tuned\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n

HALO 5 AIMING & CONTROLLERS<\/h2>\n

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Hey everyone \u2013 Chris King (Halo 5 – Lead Sandbox Designer) and Scott Sims (Halo 5 \u2013 Lead Sandbox Engineer) here. Thank you all for your passionate feedback on Halo 5, the team has been actively following as much as we can and have identified one issue we really wanted to respond to.<\/p>\n

First things first, in the grand scheme of things, this is happening to a small number of people. Most folks are having a good experience and the last thing we want to do is inject either placebo effect or confirmation bias into your gameplay feel, so bear that in mind if you\u2019re having no issues, and just enjoy the dry but interesting technical data. But this is good news for those who\u00a0are<\/em>\u00a0suffering.<\/p>\n

Aiming is the core of any first person shooter experience, and the way Halo controls is key to making Halo, Halo. Weapon aiming is a complex subject and something that the sandbox team obsesses over every day. There are a huge number of factors that feed into the feel of aiming, be it controller hardware, acceleration curves, turn speeds, player movement speeds, aim assist, or weapon fire rates.<\/p>\n

When we started development on Halo 5 we had some very specific goals with regards to aiming. We wanted to provide a best in class 60fps shooter experience, embracing competitive play, with an increased skill gap, while still retaining the essence of Halo.<\/p>\n

To preserve that Halo feel we chose not to re-write any of our base control systems, but instead to perform targeted retunes to balance for the higher framerate and myriad of other changes made to our movement and weapon systems.<\/p>\n

Throughout the project we have worked hand in hand with the 343 Pro team, Microsoft User Research, and test teams and of course absorbed the awesome feedback from the Halo 5 Beta to tune and validate our control systems to what we believe to be the sweet spot for fine control with fast turn speed across all aiming ranges, on all weapon types.<\/p>\n

Players have identified that, by design, the game is a shade \u201charder\u201d than it used to be, but we are seeing players adjusting to the new speed and precision pretty quickly.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, some players have identified an issue that occurs due to variance in controller hardware, commonly referred to as \u201cslow turn\u201d bug. This can cause players to become unable to, or inconsistently reach what we call a \u201cpegged\u201d state.<\/p>\n

The \u201cpegged\u201d state is a region in the outermost range of the analog aim stick in which we blend the players turn speed to a much faster rate. This issue is compounded as the control input fluctuates depending on multiple factors – if you are applying even the slightest bit of downward pressure (clenching), moving the stick around the edges a bit (which is why it\u2019s even more problematic when aiming diagonally), or torqueing the stick on the edge a bit more than normal on\u00a0some<\/em>\u00a0controllers.<\/p>\n

The good news is we have a fix for this issue that introduces no perceivable change to the current feel of the game. This change is going through test and pro team validation now and we will have it out to you soon.<\/p>\n

One thing that has become clear in absorbing all your feedback is that Halo players want choice when it comes to controls. And with that in mind, we are also working on another little pet project that will allow even more precise tuning. This update will offer more custom fine-tuned control over controller settings (hint: independent vertical\/horizontal sensitivities, the ability to calibrate your own dead zones, more granularity in sensitivity, and more). We hope to have that out for you in December and we will follow up with more details later.<\/p>\n

Thanks for all the passionate feedback, know that the team is reading as much as we can. See you on the battlefield.<\/p>\n

PLAY OF THE WEEK<\/h2>\n

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This week\u2019s play may not need any introduction at all, as it already has 77,000 views this week. The Warzone match score is 786 \u2013 772, and A Winking Cat has just called in the Spartan Laser. The rest of the story can be told by this clip. It\u2019s worth the full watch.<\/p>\n