Gamerscore Blog : RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 11:29 AM by CPaladino

RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

We've asked your questions in the past with Community Q&A for Fable II, Gears of War, Dead Space, and several other games, but we are excited to be going a little deeper for the upcoming Xbox 360 game Halo Wars.

We want to know the types of things you are curious about with Halo Wars - especially skeptical PC RTS gamers, and folks in Halo-Nation who aren't necessarily fans of strategy games.

While we can't reply individually, post your comments and questions here, and we'll try and get these burning issues answered!

Filed Under: Xbox 360, PC Games, Ensemble Studios, Halo, Community, Halo Wars

Comments

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 2:55 PM by KenC

I would like to know what gave them the idea to make an RTS on Halo and knowing that RTS's don't fare well on a console how did that change their outlook on how the game should be done?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 4:11 PM by dirt

As a very long term PC RTS gamer (AoE II FTW) I wonder how the amazing guys at Ensemble are going about mapping all the commands to the 360 controller? I keep a not so short-cut list as long as my arm for playing AoE, so how the hell are they gonna work that shit out?

PS is the game ever gonna see the light of day on pc? Please say yes.... please?

But WAY more important that this BS attempt from MS to milk the cash cow that is 'Halo' whats gonna happen with AoE now that MS have done the worst and ripped the guts out of Ensemble? God I love AoE!

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 4:24 PM by ThePiousFlea

I'm sure they will be, but as a Halo-story nerd, can you assure us that the early appearances of the Flood, the Elites etc. will be dealt with in a sensible way?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 5:07 PM by Paradox

Will the game feature some form of online play? Like Starcraft?

Also, after completion of the game, will we have the option to play as various races, such as the covenant/flood, or will we be limited to humans.

Finally, will there be a map crafter or something similar?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 5:10 PM by AriesDog

1. Does Master Chief, aka John 117, or Sgt. Johnson make an appearence?

2. Since this is a prequel, does it explain what happened to the other Spartans?

3. Will there be a story mode that shows things from the Covenant point of view?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 5:21 PM by Jake of 8bitjoystick.com

How can we believe the game is going to be good when Microsoft management announced the closure of the studio long before the game is finished? I mean if the game is going to be good why is the studio being canned?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 5:26 PM by Jake of 8bitjoystick.com

Some of this has been answered before
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_Wars

The Covenant is playable but not the Flood
Master Chief is not in it. It takes place 20 years before Halo 1.
Yes it will have online game play on Xbox Live
Controls: The controls use the A-button primarily for selecting via 3 methods; tap to select one unit, double tap a particular unit to select all units of that class on screen or "paint brush" which selects all units that the "brush" is dragged over. Selecting a unit gives the player the option of commands and selecting certain buildings brings up a "circle menu", said to be the most important menu in the game, taking up the whole screen which is used for creating units and buildings. The game's lead developer, Graeme Devine, has said that the emphasis is more on combat than economy; it is necessary for the player to "manage a battle instead of watching it",

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 5:42 PM by exprohound

can two folk on the same side?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 7:48 PM by Mee

Do you think Halo is just an over-rated, candy-sweet FPS for angst-ridden teens and thus, is well overdue retirement?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 10:00 PM by Terrell

Will there be a demo of the game for download? I hope so, because it will help people who are on the fence make a decision whether or not to give it a try. I just think for a game like this, a demo is neccesary, especially for an RTS game.

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 10:03 PM by palmboyfx

What kind of terrain can we expect to encounter in the maps? Is this terrain going to have an effect on battle strategy? Any space battles?

A lot of PC RTS games gained longevity through user made maps and mini-game style map scenarios (WC3 Tower Maps, Starcraft Parties, the RPG style games). Is there going to be map making software released? If not, does Ensemble have maps like these on their radar?

Are there going to be any infiltration-style maps ala Starcraft?

Thanks!

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 3:42 AM by Matt Sharpe

If the game has a story, will it remain faithful to the events laid out in the Fall of Reach?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 7:31 AM by Paustinj

How will resource gathering be handled?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 8:35 AM by Hurgh

Here is a short list of what I, as a PC gamer, would like to know.

-Will a demo / beta be avaliable?

-Will there be a replay system available that many RTS' on the PC platform support now? Such as the C&C series.

-Do you have any involvement in major community fansites? Such as http://www.gamereplays.org which has influenced many PC RTS' balance patches, bugs, etc.

-What is the length of the campaign, for the average player?

-Will there be affordable map downloads in the future, or will there be some form of a map editor?

-Can we expect patches on a regular basis, or will we be left in the dark as many console RTS' are, due to Microsoft's restrictive nature on patch size, frequency, etc.

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 5:44 PM by Bobby

Do you think Halo fans like me will enjoy Halo Wars even if don't like RTS games

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 6:14 PM by LFotF

I am a huge Halo fan, and want to experience this new chapter in the mythology, but I have a few concerns.

First, I play almost exclusively shooters. Once in a while, I will play an RPG, but basically I focus on shooters. I am hoping that there will be some in depth tutorials for us RTS newbs.

Also, I am really hoping that HW will support splitscreen multiplayer. I like playing couch co-op with friends. Online co-op is useless to me. I just want splitscreen. Any word on this topic?

LFotF

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 6:38 PM by Bryce Blake

I am a ex fan of the Halo series and also a ex RTS player on computers, with starcraft warcraft 2,3 and many more.
So i wanna ask, with the Halo Series Evolved around MasterChief will the Game HaloWars be more of a typical Real Time Strategy, or will it be adding feature similar to WarCraft 3 where you have a Main Character such as a hero or a Strong Unit or Ground Unit that levels up during the gameplay, while including all the other activities of a normal RTS. I feel that would be essential in a game like HaloWars, but then again this game might be before masterchief.

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 6:40 PM by Jay

how many spartans appear in the game? spartan Is or IIs? names and spartan numbers?

how is the spirit of fire able to provide support AND survive in space against superior covenant ships?

y/n:
character cameos?
co-op demo?

very excited for the game!

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 6:56 PM by matt aka(AbUs1v3 SoLjA

what civilizations will be playable in halo wars?, how many players can play in online multiplayer, if any?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 6:59 PM by Matt Hills

Why are the two sides colour coded, why are the humans green and Covenant purple? Can this be changed so we can get their normal colours?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 6:59 PM by Intangible 360

From the little that we have seen of the story it seems much more complex and deep, with several key characters. Can we expect to see any Spartans playing key roles in the story or are they just powerful gameplay elements?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 7:00 PM by TipsySpartan117

I was wondering if this game will have an option to be able to connect a keyboard and mouse to the 360 and play with using thos. Becuz i know that most ppl know RTS games from using a keyboard on your computer so it might feel alot better for most ppl to be using that.

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 7:33 PM by David

If the game sells well, will you consider making an expansion?

PLEASE can you make a port to the pc with cross platform gameplay? My father is a huge pc rts fan and I'd love to get him onto this, but he can't physically use a 360 controller.

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 7:43 PM by vanquish

Does it have splitscreen? or local play at all? If so in what form? Halo games have always supported this.

With only two races won't the gameplay get boring quickly, due to lack of variety. Aren't there also less units per race compared to other RTS games (eg SC2), compounding the problem.

What resolution does the game run at? Is there antialiasing? Are there any cool graphical effects?

Is there a map editor?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 7:46 PM by Lawrence Lee

I know it's been said that the main point of the game will be to get out of the base and attack, but will there be a key focus on managing base resources as well? Will it be a Halo-fied version of the Command & Conquer series, or will it try something new to RTS games?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 7:51 PM by james

With MS shutting down one of its most recognizable studios in Ensemble.

You have to question their development strategy of relying on 3rd party exclusives like Gears.

With Bizarre, Bioware, and Bungie also either becoming independent or being acquired. Doesn't this have significant impacts on the 360's AAA title base?

Especially as Sony has a host of studios, that churn out AAA titles eg. Insomniac, Naughty Dog, SCE Santa Monica, Polyphony Digital, Kojima Productions, Evolution Studios, Guerilla etc. And the best Wii games basically being all Nintendo 1st party titles.

Shouldn't MS be bolstering its 1st party dev lineup instead of paring it back? What are your thoughts?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 7:55 PM by Ihatebrutes

1. How will the online multiplayer work? Will it be similar to Matchmaking? Will we have ranks/skill/xp?
2. Will the Flood ever be playable? Through a future patch for example?
3. Will DLC be focused more on MP maps, or new SP content?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 7:55 PM by Jd999

To make the races more interesting to play as, and add more depth. Will the game feature branching technology trees for each race?

Like Age of Mythology, where for each race you could choose a major god, and then minor gods, which changed the race specific units/bonuses available and increased depth.

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 8:37 PM by halo

Will this game suck like all Halo games?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 9:19 PM by RdN!

I'd like some insurance that we'll receive post-launch support for Halo Wars, since Microsoft decided to shut down Ensemble.

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 9:27 PM by Jon

What makes this game better than LoTR: BFME and C&C games on the 360?

They were fun for a few weeks but then it lost my interest. How are you going to keep me coming back for months?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 10:44 PM by Spatial Zero

Please please tell me that there will be some type of wall building in multiplayer?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 11:09 PM by smartglo1

How much is the gameplay similar to the Age of Empires series in terms of UI, unit movements, and all other good stuff?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Thursday, November 27, 2008 11:17 PM by eMax

My Question/fear is the following:

The biggest problem with playing Command and Conquer and other RTS games on the console has been the combination of the CPU AI & the control schemes. And I don't mean the controls are bad, since the "radial" wheel seems to work.

What I do mean is that during a multi player match, specifically, when you fight against the CPU they are MUCH MUCH faster in executing commands to their units, and the Human players must make their way through the interface, which adds an additional layer of complexity to the game.

HOW does Halo Wars accommodate for this? Will I be fumbling with my interface trying to select my units while the CPU instantly sends hordes of units at my base from all angles?

Obviously the interface and controls will probably take some getting used to, but the balance of jump in and play, and CPU playing well, but not unfairly is a HUGE part of the RTS on a console.

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Friday, November 28, 2008 12:06 AM by jediadame

why in xbox 360, what happen with the PC, is much better the mouse than a controler of console for playing RTS Games
*sorry for my English i don't speak very well

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Friday, November 28, 2008 1:42 AM by sami nash

will you ever be able to look in a soliders Point of View? not actually play them, but be able to see what they see to get a better perspective on the battle field.

will you be able to send out spartans to battlefields? since this is a prequel, are there spartans other that master chief?
if so, will they regenerate like the FPS trilogy? or will the have a set health like everything else?
if so, will they have their own control options that other soliders do not, since they are "better fighters"?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Friday, November 28, 2008 1:48 AM by Taylor McMullen

Since we get the Mythic map pack early with the special addition of Halo Wars, will we get Recon armor and more of the achievements in Halo 3 earlier than others?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Friday, November 28, 2008 2:37 AM by RomeoDude

What are your thoughts about the future of the RTS genre on consoles?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Friday, November 28, 2008 2:44 AM by Oh the Irony

I don't like RTSs. Why should I buy this game?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Friday, November 28, 2008 2:59 AM by MSdrej89

Is there a very big storry, like in the other games, are there many big spoilers in the Game?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Friday, November 28, 2008 5:55 AM by disturbedstu

3 things

1. is there more fractions to play with cause 2 is not enough i think could get boring fast

2. can you move the base you start with around at the start of the game

3. please release download content for more elite squads and stuff keep the game alive

and please answer number 1 we need at least 5 fractions to play online with =D

p.s the game look sweeeeeet

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Friday, November 28, 2008 7:34 AM by goodgamer77

Will this game rely on lore from other Halo games or will it explore the "Expanded Universe"?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Friday, November 28, 2008 7:49 AM by Superman

Is this game really gonna be worth 50 bucks when it comes out? I really want a game that is going to last me a long time with lots of replayability? How long would it take to 100% complete the game (not including multiplayer which expands the replayability extraordinarily)?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Friday, November 28, 2008 8:29 AM by Ven

Will there be an RTS version of capture the flag? Like in Halo 3 multiplayer playlists. 8 red Spartans vs 8 blue spartans...

Will there be heroic named characters from the Halo universe or just plain vanilla identical units?

Will matches be short enought to make it interesting for quick and casual xbox live play? (like 10 minutes timed skirmished)

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Friday, November 28, 2008 8:45 AM by TXPaladin

I wonder if the early news of the studio closing is going to hurt possible sales and if it would have been better to wait until after release of the game myself. I for one hope the game does well.

1. Does the game have voice command support?
2. Is it possible to play co-op?
3. Have you thought about Chat pad giving you more options for Game Play?

Thanks,

TXPaladin

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Friday, November 28, 2008 8:48 AM by Tiberian

Now we know Halo Wars will have a control system built from the ground up for the 360s control pad to be more accessible and easier but aside from that, what has Ensemble Studios done with Halo Wars to appeal to the more traditional/or hardcore rts player?

Many rts players feel like gameplay is often "dumbed" down when an rts is made for consoles. So how will Ensemble convince those types of players that they are wrong and should give Halo Wars a try?

Will i being able to play with a friend online over Xbox Live against the AI?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Friday, November 28, 2008 9:29 AM by Malrinth

Why should I spend my money on this game when it could have been much better through increased replayability that an included map editor would had provided?

Why should I invest in a game with a short life span that, at most, has 15-20 maps? Not everyone will pay 400 MP for map packs. You may retort that programmers should be paid for their work. In this case, they would have paid with the $60 I would have spent had this game included a map editor.

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Friday, November 28, 2008 1:40 PM by Anthony Stubblefield

Will there be any characters from the games and extended universe making an appearance in Halo Wars? If so, are there any that you can confirm that will be in the final retail version?

Thank you and good luck on your game!

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Sunday, November 30, 2008 9:56 PM by Suffian

I'm definitely going to buy this game, even if the developers at the last minute decide to substitute the Covenant with an army of Pikachus. But what I'm really concerned about is the graphics. I heard that Red Alert 3 and C&C 3 have issues in the graphics department; there are lags, the visuals looked a little washed out, that kinda stuff. Is this going to happen to Halo Wars?

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Monday, December 01, 2008 8:26 AM by Nicholas Puleo

How does the co-op mode work? How many players are available in co-op? Is the co-op online? Is it offline?

:)

New Comments to this post are disabled

About CPaladino

Chris was born in the Bronx in 1976, but grew up in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating from college he worked as a computer programmer for several years, and during that time he started a podcast - The DreamStation.cc Video Game Show. The show caught the eye of the Xbox Community Team, and Chris moved to Seattle with his wife Heather to pursue his passion for shaping the future of the video game industry.

Gamerscore Blog

Archives

Post Categories

RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

Comments

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

# re: RTS Fans, and Halo-Nation - We Want Your Halo Wars Questions

About CPaladino