Postums just dropped a massive blog post for the Halo end of month development update. 343i is planning to maintain this schedule of end of the month updates so be sure to check back to Halo Mania for coverage.
In it included details on yesterday’s patch release (posted separately here), a Flighting Update, Design Update, details on future MCC events and featured categories, community updates, as well as further updates on the rest of the Halo Master Chief Collection.
Halo:CEA and Halo: Reach Flighting Update
Lets not beat around the bush here: flighting was delayed. 343i had planned for flighting to be occurring for Halo: CEA as well as additional flights for Halo: Reach before now. Unexpected problems related to Halo Wars 2 pulled attention away from the aforementioned projects. They mentioned their intention is to have Halo: CEA in our hands as soon as possible. At present they do not have a date on when flights can be expected to resume. What this tells us is that they have run into some unexpected problems (10 bugs allegedly) which a solution is not readily apparent. Hopefully they get things worked out soon so that we can get playing some Halo: CEA.
The first flight of Halo: CEA will look at validating: dedicated servers, peer-to-peer connections, cross-play between Steam and Windows version, and new UI for customization.
Halo MCC Design Updates
Something which I find absolutely fantastic has been the connection between the Halo community and 343i as well. The community speaks, and it seems like 343i really does listen, care, and implement changes for a better overall product.
343i describes this whole process in their post: ” Quite often however, the requests from the community for changes are much larger in scope, involve core design changes, require multiple disciplines to create, and take significant amounts of time to bring to life. Making games is complex.”
Their commitment to the Halo community certainly does not go unnoticed and I can’t wait for what comes next.
Map Veto or voting system has been one feature frequently called for. 343i discussed this and brought up some fantastic counter-points: ” Voting systems tended to limit the map and game type pool and could result in increased user frustration when players see the same options voted on or vetoed from one game to another, which could lead to additional quits and lopsided team starts. We did observe similar side-effects with the original vote/veto system for MCC which eventually became a source of frustration amongst players.”
Basically what they’re saying is that while a map veto system may sound great it doesn’t come without negative consequences as well. It’s interesting that a developer takes the time to address these issues. When they don’t the community just assumes they’re being ignored, when perhaps they’re not, but just that the ask is not worth the undesirable side-effects.
Changes are also on the way with the way crouching works with keyboard & mouse for PC.
Halo: MCC Progression Updates
Players have asked for some changes to the progression system that 343i is looking into:
- more balanced medal values
- faster progress
- choice on how and when to unlock items
- challenges
Challenges will be coming shortly allowing flexibility for earning XP and unique rewards.
Halo Forge PC
Work continues on the development of Halo Forge for PC. Once Forge is up and running for PC it really will benefit players across all platforms as any user generated content will be available cross-platform. I can’t wait to see what people come up with.
HALO: Combat Evolved Anniversary Development Status
343i recently hit the Alpha stages and are making progress towards the Beta which will be what you see during the flights.
Key Development Areas:
- Mod support
- Terminal videos
- MP deterministic model on PC.
- Localization work
- Bug Fixing
- Flight Support
Halo 2 Development Status
Key Development Areas:
- FOV Support in progress
- First pass at latency reduction
- VFR Support in progress
- First optimization pass is complete
- Profiling on min spec PC is complete
Halo 2: Anniversary Development Status
Key Development Areas:
- M&K Support
- FOV Support in progress
- Aspect Ratio Support in progress
- VFR Support in progress
- Profiling on min spec PC is complete
- Forge support work has begun
Halo 3 Development Status
Key Development Areas:
- M&K Support
- FOV Support in progress
- First pass at latency reduction
- VFR Support in progress
- Aspect Ratio Support in progress
- Forge support work has begun
Halo 3: ODST Development Status
Key Development Areas:
- Game runs on PC
- Profiling on min spec PC is complete
- M&K Support
- FOV Support in progress
- Aspect Ratio Support in progress
Halo 4 Development Status
Key Development Areas:
- Game runs on PC
- Profiling has begun
That’s it for now. 343i has assured us that their next blog post will largely be focusing on Halo:CEA, we cannot wait!