Halo Wars - Interview, Images and Gameplay Details

[SlappingOysters]

Gameplayer (http://www.gameplayer.com.au/Home/FEATURES/FEATURE/tabid/1488/Default.aspx?CID=a05dd664-5e27-4607-ad73-e74bab6e4016) has gone live with an in-depth feature article on Halo Wars following some time with developer Ensemble Studios. Amongst many things, it talks about user-created content.

During our chat Devine also touched on user generated content. ”We actually talked quite a lot about that, we’ve got a very powerful map editor, so we’ve talked about whether we could release that with the game or via Xbox Live and allow people to make their own maps, and then work out a way for users to share the maps,” says Devine. “I would love for that to be in the final product."

Sounds promising

[menage]

Quite frankly, not including a map editor will severely limit the games lifespan. MS needs to get on the user generated content boat quick.

[mister_slim]

It's an MGS game, I'm sure Ensemble will work something out. As a Halo spin-off and platform showcase, they can afford to jump through the necessary hoops.

[mightbe]

Graeme Devine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeme_Devine) has been around forever and does some pretty fucking solid game design. If he's at the helm of this, I think it bodes well.

[HellbenderX]

Quite frankly, not including a map editor will severely limit the games lifespan. MS needs to get on the user generated content boat quick.

User Generated content is free. I'm sure MS would much rather sell you DLC map backs for profit. :-)

-H

[Earth Djinn]

My biggest concern with this is the controls for the 360 version.

Good sound and graphics are almost guaranteed, and the gameplay will almost certainly be excellent. They just need to nail the controls on a controller.

[robotfighter]

I really hope there's a map editor that you can share at least with your Friends (maybe just a "direct send to a friend" type thing). Of course, if you're just allowed to create an upload, how long do you think it will be before "Vagina Canyon" and "Penis Spires" maps appear? I think that's likely more their concern vs. charging for maps (though I'm sure they'd LOVE to charge for maps, and likely will, after all,Halo's a cash cow).

[Kem0sabe]

I don't see how the game will support user generated content, first you would need an editor to ship with the game, then you would need the console to have an HD, which is not common practice over at MS to support HD only features, finally, user generated content is mostly free, at least on the pc, with MS charging for every little thing over Live, i wonder how they will work that one out.

I think the game will not ship with an editor, it will have a campaign, and multiplayer, thats about it. Also im getting a little bit tired of the "this is the first rts that is designed from the ground up with console controllers in mind!". Many game developers have claimed the same and have always failed to deliver, at least when comparing with the pc versions.

[ÜberJumper]

I saw some videos of this lately, and it looks REALLY good. Can't wait to see more.

[fatefodder]

Don't know. The longer this title stays in the development, the less impressive it seems, given the ever-rising bar of quality expected of games. And this is a Halo title, no less...

[PrivateJohn]

It's missing from the gamer's day...

[Squidbot]

So far the result is the first strategy game that doesn’t set the confusion monkeys loose in your brain. Levels are built around the control limitations. The C&C ‘three buttons to do one thing’ system is out – now a single click of A selects a unit, a double click selects all units on screen, and a triple click selects every unit on the battlefield. And you won’t have to fiddle with camera angles: every level can be completed without rotating your viewpoint.

It sounds a little RTS lite at the moment. The fact they have spent 6 months developing the controls alone does sound good to me though.