14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at 343 Industries and publisher Microsoft are continuing to drip feed details about the coming Halo 5: Guardians, with a focus on the multiplayer side of the shooter and the new The Rig map, which was first shown during Gamescom 2015.
The Halo Waypoint explains that the action will take place on the planet Meridian, which has not yet received too much information from the studio and is one of the favorite environments that the team has created.
Mike Byron, multiplayer producer, says that The Rig for Halo 5: Guardians is the first map that 343 Industries believes managed to balance the presence of classic layout concepts and the new movement options the developers have created.
He adds that much of the balancing for abilities and weapons has been done using this environment.
Byron explains, "It was a map goal to stay as close to the block out as possible, due to the fact that it was an internally loved map played often, while still trying to push the theme of being on a giant moving facility and making all of Adrian’s block out designs make thematic sense. We also tried to hide some fun little surprises around the map to let people discover once the game is out."
The Rig uses multiple sources of inspiration
Christopher Hands, the senior environment artist, says that the map was inspired by both modern industrial mining platforms and the idea of a crawler with transport abilities.
The site offers a lot of concept art that was used during the development process for The Rig and how it evolved as light and skybox were added.
Adrian Bedoya, multiplayer level designer, says that the map showcases the verticality elements that are part of Halo 5: Guardians and that players will have to spend some time to find the best routes for assaults and how flanking can improve their performance.
It seems that the focus for shooters in 2015 is on movement and 343 Industries is aiming to make the Spartans much nimbler than they were in previous titles.
The studio has already said that it has made sprinting less powerful than it was during the beta and that it is focusing on improving the balance before the title is launched.
Halo 5: Guardians will be offered only on the Xbox One on October 27.
