Many fans will agree that Halo Infinite’s second Tech Preview featured general improvements over the first one this past July. While Halo Infinite’s first preview was solid in its own right, allowing fans to go hands on with 343 Industries’ return to traditional Halo, it was obviously still a beta, having its share of glitches, optimization issues, and other bugs. With that in mind, the second preview was overall a much more cohesive experience, featuring new maps, new game modes, and more content for players to mess around with. That is not to say though it was perfect, as there were many things fans wanted changed for Halo Infinite’s launch in December.
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In a new extensive Outcomes Report, 343 Industries outlines the player feedback from Halo Infinite’s second Tech Preview, and its plans to address it. Written by Unyshek, Community Manager at 343 Industries, he breaks down the article into sections as they relate to various aspects of the game with responses from the appropiate development teams, including: Accessibility, Audio, Live, Multiplayer, PC, Sandbox, and UXUI. Unyshek reiterates before diving too deeply into the feedback that the the test flights “primary goal was to test [343 Industries’] online services at scale,” meaning the team did its best at listening to community at the ground level, even though its attention was mostly on its servers.
Some aspects receive more attention in the Outcomes Report than others, one of them being the Live section. 343 Industries has discussed Halo Infinite’s challenge-based progression system previously, and many players are concerned that it is not fulfilling enough. Feedback in this department included earning “per-match XP outside of Challenges” and a “desire for a ‘career’ ranking system in addition to the Battle Pass,” systems that are more performance-based and are popular in many other online games. 343 Industries recognizes this feedback, modifying Challenges to be “focused on a per match play model,” and has begun working on a new progression system, though it “is a ways away.”
Other aspects of note include Halo’s legendary multiplayer announcer, Jeff Steitzer, will return for Big Team Battle, as he was absent during the second preview, and that the Sandbox team is aware of the aiming difficulty players experienced. This was in part due to a lack of game optimization, 343 Industries believing aiming should never “feel bad,” and in turn, the Sandbox team adjusted the aim assist “cone angle” for certain weapons. The team emphasizes that this was not an increase in the strength of the aim-assist but an improvement to “make aiming feel more natural.” Not all of the changes will be ready for launch, but 343 Industries is clearly committed in realizing fans’ wishes for Halo Infinite.
Halo Infinite launches December 8 on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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Source: 343 Industries
