If the post-E3 news drought has resulted in you feeling a sort of Halo-sized emptiness, you’re in luck, as 343 Industries has released a massive Q&A in this morning’s Halo Bulletin. Among other things, the team has addressed some specifications within the functionality of Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s Forge, co-op, split-screen and more. Most of the information was already known, or will be coming at a later date, but there were pockets of new information, of which I’ve sifted through for you.
For starters, since the competitive nature of Halo 2 and Halo 3 is making its glorious return on new-and-improved hardware, the subject of a competitive spectator mode has been a much-discussed topic within popular MLG Halo forums, and I’m afraid I have bad news. As it stands now, and as it is likely to remain, the Collection doesn’t feature a spectator mode.
“By leveraging the Xbox One platform we’re able to take advantage of Twitch functionality to provide a spectator experience that will allow online players to stream their matches, speedruns, Forge sessions and more. However, there is not a dedicated in-game spectator mode. While we understand the importance and versatility of a dedicated spectator system, we’re confident that Twitch functionality will make it easy for anyone to share gamely at any time while playing The Master Chief Collection.”
At this time it is unknown as to whether or not this also includes the (now standard) Theater Mode, but we’ll have to wait for further clarification/comment to know one way or the other on that specific detail. My assumption is that Theater Mode is such a standard that it wasn’t worth mentioning, as every main entry since 2007 game has featured it. Hopefully I’m correct in my thinking.
In regards to TMCC‘s Forge mode, you’ll be happy to know that the ability to share full-blown levels via the returning Forge editor. However, it is worth noting that not every map in the Collection will stand up to this level of modification.
“We’ll be able to share more about Forge specifics in the coming months. For now, we can confirm that Halo 2, Halo 3, and the six re-mastered Halo 2 Anniversary maps will be Forgeable.”
Co-op campaign is making a compact, and is “supported across all four titles, both online and split-screen. In addition, we will be changing to a horizontal view for split-screen multiplayer for Halo 2: Anniversary.” A full breakdown of each game’s co-options is as follows:
- Halo: CE Anniversary – 2 players max online, 2 players max split-screen
- Halo 2: Anniversary – 2 players max online, 2 players max split-screen
- Halo 3 – 4 players max online, 2 players max split-screen
- Halo 4 – 4 players max online, 2 players max split-screen
So if you were planning on breaking your entire crew out for a 4-player series playthrough, I’m sorry. Looks like you’ll have to limit to only a single battle-buddy for now.
When it comes to Custom Games, 343 fully intends on offering all the original custom game options for each title, as well as keeping all of Halo 2 Anniversary’s multiplayer and campaign exploits – such as the infamous BXR – intact. But there’s a caveat: certain button combos and glitches may not work as they once did on the six remastered Halo 2 maps, as these not run in a new engine. “Rest assured, we are working very hard to match the original experience as closely as possible on this engine.”
Finally, anyone holding out for an Xbox 360 version or a PC release can un-hold his or her breath. “We are dedicated to bringing a full and fun experience to Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Xbox One, providing you with dedicated servers, a unified interface, increased visual fidelity, and gameplay running at 60 fps. We do not have any plans to bring the game to Xbox 360 as the game size, enhanced features and technical specifications simply can’t support it.”
[via, Halo Waypoint]
