Season 4 of Halo Infinite arrives on June 20, bringing with it two new maps – Scarr and Forest.
Scarr takes us to the mechanized heart of a massive Banished mining operation that will serve as a new space for BTB chaos, while Forest is an arena map set amongst the weathered ruins of an ancient temple complex.
We’re joined by multiplayer designers Cayle George (Lead Level Designer), Cliff Schuldt (Level Designer), and Ryan Bergstrom (Level Designer) to explore the making of these maps, but first let’s give you a closer look at them in our new flythrough video.
New season, new maps – it’s always exciting to have new spaces to learn and explore. How would you summarize Scarr and Forest to give Halo fans out there a sense of what they’re in for?
Scarr is the new BTB map in Season 4. Put simply: it’s a Banished mining facility in a volcanic setting – one side has a very molten kind of look to it, the other is colder and emphasizes more of the Banished aesthetic.
Forest is a new Arena map, and you’ll immediately get some Delta Halo vibes from it – though it’s not actually set on a Halo ring (you’ll find out exactly where in good time!) It’s got this gorgeous woodland aesthetic that will probably make you want to live there as much as you want to fight there.
I’m particularly excited about these being more alien-themed environments, the ancient and Banished aesthetics of Halo Infinite really look fantastic. What are some of the opportunities and differences that working with those palettes gives us compared to human-themed maps?
Ancient ruins in Halo naturally tell the story of another species and another time as you look at the architecture and design nuances. And then, on the Banished side of things, Scarr really shows the grittier industrial complex that feeds their war machine – it’s an interesting contrast to some of the human-themed industrial spaces we’ve seen.
These themes really give us some cool storytelling elements to work with for these maps. Walking around them really makes you feel like you’re in a living space in the universe, and that’s an important element of what a Halo map should feel like.
Forest feels like it takes us right back to Delta Halo from Halo 2 with its buildings made of weathered stone. Was that the main inspiration for this map?
No doubt this’ll be detailed further in Canon Fodder, so we won’t give too much away, but this map shows a bit of a relationship between humans and Forerunners from a unique period of history.
Artistically, Forest is different to the Pacific Northwest theme of Zeta Halo, as this has more of a jungle vibe to it. And then there are some cool gameplay aspects to it as well. There’s a massive hollow tree base, there’s a waterfall where you can grab the sniper and – if you’re channeling your inner Linda-058 – attempt to snipe players through it.
What are some of the unique features that Scarr has as a BTB map?
One of the things we decided to do for power weapon placement on Scarr is, instead of a gravity hammer, we put the Diminisher of Hope on there for players to fight over. Its area-of-effect damage is larger, and the wielder can run faster while holding it, which can make a big difference on a BTB map.
There’s a kinetic launcher and teleporter, which both change up the dynamic of the map to make it distinct amongst the other BTB maps. The kinetic launcher will send you flying over to the other side of the map, but you have to go through vehicle territory to get to it; you can alternatively take side lanes where there’s more of a focus on infantry engagement, but Ghosts and Warthogs can get into those spaces as well. So traversing this map is something that presents some interesting choices.
We’ve got some cool new equipment arriving in Season 4 – namely the Quantum Translocator, which adds some interesting dynamics to traversal. How does it feel to use this tool on a larger BTB map like Scarr and a smaller one like Forest?
The cool thing about using the Quantum Translocator on Scarr is that you can play with the kinetic launchers in an interesting way. Activate the QT before you go in to create your jump-back point, then soar over to the enemy base to make your play, and if you find yourself taking too much fire then you can blink back and reposition and wait for your shields to recharge before trying again. With thoughtful planning, it’s a piece of Power Equipment that can enable you to spread yourself out further, which can be useful on a larger map.
On Forest, let’s say you’re playing Strongholds. If you play smart, you can activate the Quantum Translocator at one capture point and head over to defend another. Then, if the first point is being attacked, you can warp back to it – it’s not quite being in two places at once, but you can use it to a similar kind of effect.
It’s also fun to fake your death by activating it before jumping off a cliff, then blinking back to potentially land a backsmack, or at least surprise an enemy player who thinks you’ve just tumbled to your death!
Which modes are your favorite to play on these maps?
Infection on Forest is great fun! There are some good camping spots, and fighting Infected in a shadowed forest feels a bit like you’re in Predator.
This is probably a good point to say that we’ve reworked all of the maps for Infection. These map variants have dead Spartans on the ground, blocked off areas, and other little additions which make it feel like a more bespoke experience for the mode rather than running around the exact same space you’d play any other match on.
CTF on Scarr is another one we’ve enjoyed a lot as well. Lots of tense moments to be had on that map as players get creative with how they make their plays!
Do you have any fun stories from playtests on these maps?
On Scarr, we had a tied game of CTF – both teams had 2 points, so whoever got the next capture was going to win. I got in a Ghost and managed to take down the flag carrier, but then I got killed and the enemy team rallied on that position to escort the flag back to their base. I thought we’d lost then and there… but then Cayle, who has a rocket launcher, grabs the active camo and makes it back to their base, and he kills every. single. one. of the enemy team as they’re inches away from winning. Cue a whole lot of yelling in the playtest lab!
For Forest, here’s a silly one. There’s an eagle’s nest you can get up to, and seeing other players jump up trying to melee you but failing is just quite funny.
Are there any Easter eggs or secrets that players should keep their eyes open for on these maps that you can hint towards?
I’m still trying to find my lunch. And don’t look under the bridge!
Thank you for helping us dive into these awesome new maps! Do you have any parting words?
First of all, a huge thank you to our partners over at Certain Affinity and Sperasoft for the collaboration that went into making these maps. We’re thrilled with how these turned out and we can’t wait for you to get to play them.
Secondly, be sure to share your clips! Tag us, we love seeing them and all the chaotic things you get up to.
And thirdly… really, don’t look under the bridge!
That wraps things up for our Season 4 map preview. We can’t wait for you to get to play them for yourselves, so mark those calendars for Season 4’s release on June 20.
For a closer look at some of the major elements of Season 4, take a look at our other blogs below.