Podtacular

Rounding out the last month of Halo Infinite‘s first Battle Pass season, 343 has been hard at work processing through all of the community feedback that has been received from social media, forums, Discord and the support site. It’s been a tumultuous start to the latest installment in the franchise, but the outcomes has made it very apparent that we are being heard and changes are coming! We are incredibly impressed with the sheer amount of feedback and the list of actionable results we’ll see starting season 2. Paramount also released the first episode for free on their YouTube channel for about a week and we’ give our unanticipated glowing review of the silver timeline in the Halo universe.

After several months of Halo Infinite out in people’s hands, we’re finally getting around to talking about the campaign. We’ve got the first two missions on deck for this episode as we learn of the Infinity’s defeat and the mail antagonist: Echarum. Diving into the story, game mechanics, world appearance, and experience, we give our thoughts on the opening to the story.

The latest community feedback being addressed by 343 sheds some light on the ranking and matchmaking systems in Halo Infinite. It seems that almost every Halo game has some matchmaking issues out the gate and Infinite has been no exception. From social games counting towards your TrueSkill to CSR not being a direct reflection of your MMR, the studio provides clarity into how all the systems work and what players can expect. While this may not address everyone’s concern, it does shed light on a seemingly black box. In addition, we got word that Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will get a 30 day Paramount+ trial and we also get another Community Spotlight.

With the game being out for about four months, we finally have a roadmap update regarding future Halo Infinite content and priorities the studio is currently working. Amid constant community groaning for more content and fixing outstanding issues with its free-to-play multiplayer, 343 has committed to addressing these concerns and keep working on promises made before the game’s release. In other news, we’re two weeks away from the Halo Series premiering on Paramount+, MCC is getting some updates soon, and for the lore enthusiasts out there, there’s lot of new nuggets of info over on Halo Waypoint.

We’re one month away from the Halo TV series releasing on Paramount+ and while it may deviate from the game canon, many of us are excited to see how Halo adapts to the silver screen. After eight or more years of planning, we’re hopeful we’ll get something new and exciting for Halo fans to enjoy and share with our friends and family. Halo Infinite gets a mid-season patch and MCC is gearing up for Season 9 soon.

Dust Storm holds down the fort this week as we get our first Community Spotlight of 2022, an update to CSR and the ranking system in Halo Infinite, results of the HCS NA Finals and more reasons to talk about customization in Infinite. Seriously, when will this topic subside… We hope to have the full crew back next week and maybe we’ll start our Infinite campaign discussion?

Having a game launch with issues is never a game developer’s intent, but Halo Infinite matchmaking continues to struggle with the community. Thanks to a recent blog post from 343 though, we’ve got some clarity into the challenges the studio has in trying to address these issues we’re experiencing in matchmaking most of it a result of inherent network latency. Thanks to Richard Watson, Lead Engineer of the Sandbox for providing a detailed rundown of the issues we’re experiencing and how they are perceived in game.

The Matchmaking servers for the Xbox 360 Halo FPS titles (long description there) have finally been put to rest after a long fifteen year lifespan. Making memories on these games has established a lot of friendships and defined a lot of our expectations of what constitutes a Halo experience. For the many years these games served us and provided countless hours of play, we will remember these games fondly as we look to the future with MCC and Halo Infinite. Speaking of which, Big Team Battle is finally working again!

The Cyber Showdown event carries on, Big Team Battle matchmaking still has ongoing issues, Dust Storm finally plays matchmaking for the first time in a month, and of course, we have to talk about the ongoing community feedback around the Battle Pass in Halo Infinite. While we wait for content updates, fixes to matchmaking, and improvements to the customization system, it seems like the population for the game has dropped drastically and changes are desperately needed. With the studio back in full force, hopefully fixes and changes start coming down the chute quickly.

Big Team Battle is still bugged, Battle Pass is getting cheaper and a new event is underway as Hoss Sauced is missing in action again. 343 is making quick changes a community feedback keeps rolling in. While it will take some time for community demands to balance out with studio objectives, Season one rolls on as we eagerly await more content and updates. Coming up, we are going to reflect on the Halo Xbox 360 games that sunset recently. If you have any fond memories to share, please let us know on our Discord and on social media.

With nothing to talk about, not a lot of news and Halo Infinite MP having issues, this episode is just Dust Storm and Godzilla T ranting about the Battle Pass and micro-transactions in the game. Enjoy an unscripted, unprepared episode.

Halo Infinite has released, a new year has rolled in, and in typical Halo community fashion, people are letting their passions show. However, with campaign finally in hand and the first HCS LAN completed, we’re staring to get a foundational picture of how Halo Infinite will affect the Halo Community. Kicking things off, we discuss our initial, spoiler-lite reactions to the campaign and the results of the HCS LAN, which seems promising for the future of competitive Halo.

Halo Infinite‘s campaign is finally here! It’s been over six years since we’ve gotten a new addition to the FPS line of games and nearly four years since the release of Halo Wars 2 introducing us to the Banished. With a week behind us to dive in, this is our opportunity to give our spoiler-lite impressions on the game. The reception so far as been very positive and we feel the story is a great continuation and brought a lot of pieces together very well. And since we’ve been off for a couple of weeks, there’s plenty of news for us to rush through as well, so pop on your headphones, grab some hot cocoa, and enjoy! (And before we get questions, there’s a reason behind the title. You’ll get it when you hear it.)

Halo Infinite Multiplayer has been our for a week with a surprise launch of the beta on Halo’s 20th anniversary and for the most part, the game play is solid and many of the issues brought up during the flights have been resolved. Customization and progression on the other hand has the community wondering what happened to the systems anticipated to be in the game. While players grind out their ranks, 343 has said feedback is out and clear and that, while it will take some time, changes are coming to customization and progression. Do you have any fun, clutch, awesome, hilarious moments from Halo Infinite? Share them with us on our socials or in our Discord and we’ll talk about them on the show!

As we enter the final month before Halo Infinite finally gets into our hands, 343 is ironing out the kinks and getting Halo ready for prime time along with the outcomes of the second flight featuring the new Big Team Battle experience. We’re also coming up on Halo’s 20th anniversary with a potential special announcement being all a buzz in the community.