[i]Spooky scary skeletons Send shivers down your spine, Shrieking skulls will shock your soul See the coming of Spartanstein![/i] It’s that time of year again where there’s a chill in the air, the wind howls and bites as the night comes early, a thin mist settles over the fields, and humanity marches on—their minds and bodies fueled by pumpkin spice lattes… With this change of the seasons, it is also time for a new [i]Halo Infinite[/i] Operation. Welcome to Haloween! [previewyoutube=RuOG8hWhsf4;full][/previewyoutube] [hr][/hr] [h2]Survive the Undead[/h2] Get yourselves in the Haloween mindset with the Survive the Undead playlist. Grab your friends, gear up, and jump into a unique twist on [i]Halo Infinite[/i]’s Firefight experience as you stand your ground against endless waves of enemies that have been banished from their graves. We sat down for a fireside chat with the crew of the Forge Falcons to delve deeper into this mode and its three maps. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38365036/f82bc0aa1c4c52a9ce74a81414ad3e08f87ef1cb.jpg[/img] [b]Thank you for joining us today! Introduce yourselves and tell us about the Forge Falcons.[/b] Thank you for having us, we really appreciate this opportunity! Who are The Forge Falcons? Simply put, we are a team of Forgers who love [i]Halo[/i], obviously. We believe our process is somewhat unique among Forgers. We use a strict development path when it comes to our experiences. We have multiple teams (Forgers, Scripters, and Graphic Designers) each with a team lead to make sure we’re always hitting the quality you all see when we release our projects or promotional material. We hope the way we do things shows when everyone plays Survive the Undead in matchmaking. [b]Let’s talk about Survive the Undead. What was the starting point for creating this mode and its maps?[/b] The starting point? Well that takes us all the way back to the Forge leaked build in the summer of ‘22, the initial reason we actually made this mode is because we promised it to HiddenXperia, but once we really started to craft the mode and saw just how much potential this had, even before Forge AI, we knew we had to get it out to players. And well, after Night of the Undead took over the CGB, we locked it in as our staple experience and as you can see, it’s still our staple experience over a year later. [b]What can you tell us about each of the maps that folks will be playing?[/b] [h3]Night of the Undead[/h3] Night of The Undead was the first of them all, it is a faithful recreation of the classic COD Zombies map Nacht Der Untoten, which is of course German for ‘Night of The Undead.’ This map is cramped, close quarters and has a horror vibe to it to give the players a sense of hopelessness. That’s the goal with this mode overall. We don’t want the players to feel like they ever have a chance at winning, much like Noble 6’s last stand on Reach. [h3]Countdown of the Undead[/h3] This map was our second map for the mode and is a remix of Countdown from [i]Halo: Reach[/i], made to work with Survive the Undead and just like our other maps, this map also follows the same themes of what we set for the mode, this map is by far the most closed in and has a real feeling of “we’re doomed!”—which of course was the aim. [h3]Installation of the Dead[/h3] Installation is the first, original map we made for Survive the Undead—the others were remakes or remixes, so with this one we wanted to take a completely different approach. With this one, we wanted to give the player a little more freedom when moving around, and have it take place in an outdoor setting by a Forerunner installation, making it feel very [i]Halo[/i] but also not losing that Survive the Undead feeling we have across all maps. [b]What can you tell us about the mode? What are some of the specific settings and features you’re excited for players to experience?[/b] The mode is heavily inspired by COD Zombies, it’s an endless horde mode and something [i]Halo[/i] has never seen quite like this, which is probably why people really enjoy it. Since the last workshop, we have changed a few things. Most notably is the random weapon box and the weapon upgrade machine which now allow players to have many more weapon combinations and choice in what they use. [b]Let’s dive into the visuals and aesthetics of this mode. What were some of the key visual elements you wanted to capture in these maps?[/b] On the aesthetics of the mode, across all maps, there’s normally a heavy use of some sort of atmospheric fog which really changes how a map feels. All our Survive the Undead maps are normally quite dark, again giving players a hopeless feeling—like you’re in a horror game. Another thing we do try to avoid though is visual clutter, making it easier for players to understand where the play area is and where the boundaries of the map are, and we think we pulled this off pretty well across all maps. [b]Of course, there’s a balance to be struck between stunning visuals and gameplay performance when creating a Forge map. What tips and tricks do you have for maintaining that balance?[/b] Absolutely, you’re spot on there. Normally there does need to be a balance between visuals and performance, but because of just what this mode is and how demanding it is, we focus much more on performance over visuals. That said, we still try to hit a solid visual aesthetic so it doesn’t look off, but performance is for sure our focus 80% of the time. To keep performance down, we just try to be mindful of water objects, spotlights, and reflection volumes—this tends to help avoid performance concerns. [b]On the subject of visuals, the Forge Falcons always have some stunning art pieces to go alongside their maps and modes. How do you collaborate with your graphic designers to create pieces that encapsulate what these experiences are all about?[/b] Our team of graphic designers has a set of design principles that they follow for every render. Mainly, they want to emulate what is possible in-game as much as they can. Everything from armor permutations to coatings, they want to make sure that it is accurate to [i]Halo Infinite[/i]. The artists also use the map they are working on as the background for thumbnails, as they want to stay true to the overall tone that the Forgers have set in place. [b]Are there any little details or Easter eggs players should look out for?[/b] There is an easter egg in the mode, but we’re not going to spoil it—it is Haloween after all! So make sure to keep an eye out… [b]Do you guys have some fun memories and stories to share from playtesting these maps? Were there mishaps along the way or did this experience actually come together quite quickly?[/b] Oh, there were mishaps. Many of them actually. The best memory we all have is for sure when we first playtested Countdown of The Dead with FootedGhost when he was live. At this time, the enemies were Spartan bots, but our scripter accidentally maxed out the movement speeds of the bots for late waves, and when we got there the bots would literally just fly off of ramps and someone just said: “[i]These seem a little too fast.[/i]” That just set all of us laughing for a good while. [b]What updates have been made to Survive the Undead since the last time the mode came around?[/b] There have been some pretty significant changes since the Combat Workshop. A recent Forge update allowed us to improve readability by adding distance based nav markers on the various machines around the map. These nav markers should help guide players to all the purchasable upgrades that are crucial to help them survive in higher waves. We’ve also been able to add announcer voice lines that help make the mode feel much more polished. Our favorite updates to the Survive the Undead are the addition of in game music and the overhaul of the upgrade machine. In the Combat Workshop, there were 54 possible weapon combos in the machine given out to players at random upon purchase. Now, the machine takes into account what weapon the player is holding and randomly gives them one of a handful of configurations of that particular weapon. This change has made the mystery box much more exciting and useful since the majority of the weapons in the box can be upgraded. Notable exceptions are melee weapons, the Skewer, and the Rocket Launcher. [b]Thanks again for joining us, we’ll have plenty more to chat about when the Forge Falcons crew joins us for the next Community Corner issue later this week![/b] [hr][/hr] [h2]Operation Pass[/h2] Celebrate Haloween with a free new Operation Pass, consisting of 20 tiers and featuring the Spartanstein armor set. Additional premium options for the Operation Pass include: [list][*] 500 credits will make the Operation Pass durable (it will not expire), offers bonus XP during the Operation’s live window, an extra Challenge slot while your pass is equipped, and comes with an exclusive customization item [*] 2,000 credits instantly unlocks all 20 tiers of the Operation Pass at purchase and includes the exclusive bonus customization item[/list] Upgrade to the Premium Pass to obtain the Pestilent Winds armor effect. [hr][/hr] [h2]The Exchange[/h2] The Exchange has received a refresh for this Operation, bringing in more customization items for you to obtain with Spartans Points. [list][*] “Hunter Blood” – AI Color (Cyber Showdown I) [*] “Cross Glitch” – Backdrop (Cyber Showdown I) [*] “Brute Rock” – Backdrop (Cyber Showdown I) [*] “Neon Shame” – Emblem (NEW) [*] “Neon Forge” – Emblem (NEW) [*] “Walle” – Gloves (Ultimate Reward) [*] “Sigil” – Visor (Ultimate Reward) [*] “Blackpool” – Visor (Cyber Showdown I) [*] “Sentry” – Stance (Ultimate Reward) [*] “Expecting Trouble” – Stance (Cyber Showdown I) [*] “Parasite Ichor” – Visor (Ultimate Reward) [*] “Scarlet Hunter” – Visor (Ultimate Reward) [*] “Neon Screen” – Armor FX (Cyber Showdown I) [*] “Neon Hawk” – Armor FX (Cyber Showdown I) [*] “Lightbike” – Weapon Charm (Ultimate Reward) [*] “Charming Rat” – Weapon Charm (Ultimate Reward) [*] “Slice of Strife” – Weapon Charm (Ultimate Reward) [*] “Electric Bubblegum” – Armor Coating (Cyber Showdown I) [*] “Neon Steel” – Weapon Coating (Ultimate Reard) [*] “Umbra Guardian” – Weapon Coating (Ultimate Reward) [*] “Electric Bubblegum” – Weapon Coating (Cyber Showdown I) [*] “Packed Punch” – Weapon Coating (Ultimate Reward) [*] “Purple Reign” – Weapon Coating (Ultimate Reward) [*] “Heat Stress” – Weapon Coating (NEW)[/list] [hr][/hr] [h2]Shop[/h2] [h3]Stellar Eclipse Bundle[/h3] Space is dark and lonely, a perfect graveyard for your foes… [list][*] Eclipse helmet [*] Apparition Veil helmet attachment [*] Marrow Mantle shoulder pads [*] Keeper’s Ribguard chest attachment [*] UTIL/SIREN REAVER hip attachment [*] UTIL/Project ORANGEWALK wrist attachment [*] Terror Grips gloves [*] Bone Bracers kneepads [*] Corpsewhite Messenger armor coating [*] Pumpkin Force weapon model for M41 SPNKr [*] Training Ground weapon coating[/list] [h3]Molten Chrome Bundle[/h3] Fly high, live fast, keep your trigger on the weapon release switch and you’ll be ready for the pilot’s capsule of any Created fightercraft. [list][*] Deltajock helmet [*] Redline Adaptation helmet attachment [*] Pinion Augmentor shoulder pads [*] Maverick Protocol chest attachment [*] Linerunner Utility hip attachment [*] Relayframe Plugin wrist attachment [*] Xeric Waves armor coating [*] Photon Exciter weapon model for Mk50 Sidekick [*] Darkness Falls weapon coating[/list] [hr][/hr] Stay up late into the darkest hours of the night playing Survive the Undead and progress your Operation Pass to unlock the Spartanstein armor so you can dress yourself for the occasion. The time has come to jump into the Haloween festivities! [hr][/hr] [h2]Press Kit[/h2] [url=https://aka.ms/HaloweenPressKit]Download the Operation: Haloween press kit here![/url]