Multiplayer Technical Preview Overview
Back at the very tail end of July a great many Halo Insiders joined us in our tech preview – the very first public test for Halo Infinite. That weekend brought us laughs, memories, and perhaps most of all, data and feedback from you, our community.
That’s why this weekend and next (September 23-26 and September 30 - October 3) we’re going to be running two more multiplayer tech previews. Our primary focus during this tech preview is to test our backend systems and online services at scale ahead of launch. Our secondary goals will be to receive feedback and find additional bugs around the content in the flight.
Fragmentation, a Big Team Battle map, features stunning Forerunner architecture [Click here to get the image in 4K]
Over the next two weekends there will be a fair amount for all of you to dig into, so we wanted to take a chance to collect all the information we could in one place, so that you know what’s going to be included in this preview and when you can get involved.
But, if you’re short on time and only want the top-level details, here’s the most salient points:
The schedule of the Multiplayer Tech Preview
While flight access is open, the Academy experiences will still be fully available to Halo Insiders. So, if you want to warm up for the next play session in the Weapon Drills or Training Mode, you’ll be free to do so.
[h3]TECHNICAL PREVIEW GOALS[/h3]
Halo Infinite’s release date might seem distant, but December will arrive before we know it. Over the course of the next two weekends testing the game’s services at scale will be critical to us, so we’re thankful that so many of you will be able to join in on the action. If you ended up not registering as a Halo Insider in time, don’t worry. There’s still a chance you can make our second weekend.
Next week, we plan on expanding the audience through a few methods – including potentially allowing Halo Insiders to invite a friend – so that we can push the servers to their limit. We'll have more to share about this audience expansion next week. We're excited to host our largest flighting audience to date, and we’re eager to learn as much as we possibly can.
Additionally, as a thank you for helping test our services, players who complete 10 matches during the second weekend (October 1-3) will be granted a special emblem for their Spartans when the game launches this December.
Overall, our goals for these technical preview weekends can be distilled down to the following three areas:
As always, if you want to learn more about our entire flighting process, be sure to check out July 2021’s Inside Infinite. Now, let’s take a closer look at all of the content you’ll be able to play during these technical previews.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]TRAINING MODE[/h3]
A new addition to the action, and a first for the Halo franchise, will be Training Mode. In Training Mode, you can load into a solo sparring session against Bots on the Arena map of your choice.
To help you focus on what you’d like to improve, you can customize the following options on the fly, mid-match:
Over the course of your training adventures, you’ll be able to choose from all Arena maps available in the build as they arrive. So, when Behemoth is be added to the Preview on Sunday, you’ll be able to dive in.
[h3]WEAPON DRILLS[/h3]
The ‘how’ is often just as, if not more important, than the ‘what.’ For those of you that joined us in the last tech preview, you’re likely familiar with the races for top scores with the S7 Sniper Weapon Drills all over Twitter. We’re extremely excited to see more of you enter the fray and push those scores as high as they can go.
Of course, you can take the time to learn the new weapons at your disposal, so you can come up with ideas of just how you’re going to put them all to use to maximize the number of Spartans you slay in any given round.
This time around, you’ll have access to the following Weapon Drills:
Behemoth, an Arena map, is sure to be filled with vehicular action [Click here to get the image in 4K]
[h3]BOT ARENA[/h3]
In our last tech preview, you got to go head-to-head with our Bots for the very first time. Unforgiving. Relentless. And steady-handed with a grenade. Over the course of that flight, we received tons of data and feedback alike that’s already helped us make improvements to our Bot behavior – from movement, to combat decisions. That said though, our Bots are still learning, and for now, they have an aversion from jumping in vehicles. We've all seen how good they are on foot already. We want them to be
That’s why this weekend and next (September 23-26 and September 30 - October 3) we’re going to be running two more multiplayer tech previews. Our primary focus during this tech preview is to test our backend systems and online services at scale ahead of launch. Our secondary goals will be to receive feedback and find additional bugs around the content in the flight.
Fragmentation, a Big Team Battle map, features stunning Forerunner architecture [Click here to get the image in 4K]Over the next two weekends there will be a fair amount for all of you to dig into, so we wanted to take a chance to collect all the information we could in one place, so that you know what’s going to be included in this preview and when you can get involved.
But, if you’re short on time and only want the top-level details, here’s the most salient points:
- Am I Invited?: For your invite information, be sure to check Halo Waypoint vNext or your Private Messages starting tomorrow evening.
- Stream approved: Everything you can access via normal means can be shared with your friends and followers. Content creators, have a great time out there!
- Goal oriented: If this is your first time joining us, we want to thank you for participating in a process we call flighting. For more information on our goals check here, and for outcomes from the previous tech preview be sure to check here.
- Two weekends: We’re excited to be running for two weekends, but please note that there are focused play sessions to help stress our services.
- Weekend 1: (September 24-26)
- Friday, September 24 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT
- Saturday, September 25 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT
- Sunday, September 26 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT
- Weekend 2 (October 1-3)
- Friday, October 1 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT
- Saturday, October 2 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT
- Sunday, October 3 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT
- Weekend 1: (September 24-26)
The schedule of the Multiplayer Tech PreviewWhile flight access is open, the Academy experiences will still be fully available to Halo Insiders. So, if you want to warm up for the next play session in the Weapon Drills or Training Mode, you’ll be free to do so.
[h3]TECHNICAL PREVIEW GOALS[/h3]
Halo Infinite’s release date might seem distant, but December will arrive before we know it. Over the course of the next two weekends testing the game’s services at scale will be critical to us, so we’re thankful that so many of you will be able to join in on the action. If you ended up not registering as a Halo Insider in time, don’t worry. There’s still a chance you can make our second weekend.
Next week, we plan on expanding the audience through a few methods – including potentially allowing Halo Insiders to invite a friend – so that we can push the servers to their limit. We'll have more to share about this audience expansion next week. We're excited to host our largest flighting audience to date, and we’re eager to learn as much as we possibly can.
Additionally, as a thank you for helping test our services, players who complete 10 matches during the second weekend (October 1-3) will be granted a special emblem for their Spartans when the game launches this December.
Overall, our goals for these technical preview weekends can be distilled down to the following three areas:
- Testing the services behind Halo Infinite at large scale
- Gathering real world data about PC hardware configurations
- Collecting community feedback and reports
As always, if you want to learn more about our entire flighting process, be sure to check out July 2021’s Inside Infinite. Now, let’s take a closer look at all of the content you’ll be able to play during these technical previews.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]TRAINING MODE[/h3]
A new addition to the action, and a first for the Halo franchise, will be Training Mode. In Training Mode, you can load into a solo sparring session against Bots on the Arena map of your choice.
To help you focus on what you’d like to improve, you can customize the following options on the fly, mid-match:
- Bot Difficulty
- Number of Friendly Bots
- Number of Enemy Bots
- Weapons (Primary & Secondary)
- Grenades (Primary & Secondary)
- Equipment
- Reveal Enemy Location
- Playfighting
- Infinite Ammo
- Deathless
Over the course of your training adventures, you’ll be able to choose from all Arena maps available in the build as they arrive. So, when Behemoth is be added to the Preview on Sunday, you’ll be able to dive in.
[h3]WEAPON DRILLS[/h3]
The ‘how’ is often just as, if not more important, than the ‘what.’ For those of you that joined us in the last tech preview, you’re likely familiar with the races for top scores with the S7 Sniper Weapon Drills all over Twitter. We’re extremely excited to see more of you enter the fray and push those scores as high as they can go.
Of course, you can take the time to learn the new weapons at your disposal, so you can come up with ideas of just how you’re going to put them all to use to maximize the number of Spartans you slay in any given round.
This time around, you’ll have access to the following Weapon Drills:
- MA40 AR
- BR75
- MK50 Sidekick
- CQS48 Bulldog
- Needler
- VK78 Commando
- S7 Sniper
- Plasma Pistol
- Pulse Carbine
- Ravager
- Heatwave
- Skewer
- Shock Rifle
Behemoth, an Arena map, is sure to be filled with vehicular action [Click here to get the image in 4K][h3]BOT ARENA[/h3]
In our last tech preview, you got to go head-to-head with our Bots for the very first time. Unforgiving. Relentless. And steady-handed with a grenade. Over the course of that flight, we received tons of data and feedback alike that’s already helped us make improvements to our Bot behavior – from movement, to combat decisions. That said though, our Bots are still learning, and for now, they have an aversion from jumping in vehicles. We've all seen how good they are on foot already. We want them to be