Unless I’m mistaken, none of the three arena maps we got to play in the tech demo have things like gravity lifts, man cannons, teleporters, or other dynamic/interactive elements like explosive barrels or buttons. Based on what I’ve seen in the multiplayer trailers, it looks like BTB maps will have these features, but if these three maps are of any indication, it seems to me like they won’t be included in the arena. This is kind of a bummer, personally, because things like teleporters and fusion coils make the maps more engaging and add another element to the gameplay- and with our new ability to pick up and throw fusion coils, I’m kinda surprised that the maps we got to play on weren’t packed with the things so that the insiders could test it out. But maybe the developers are saving that for another flight or something, I dunno.
I applaud the developers for their dedication to creating a rich and diverse sandbox and a combat loop that encourages players to seek out and play with all the weapons and gadgets at our disposal- and I think the weapons and equipment we got to play with in the tech demo embody this philosophy very well- but I hope this has not come at the expense of this kind of interactive map design. For me, these dynamic features have always felt like a part of- or at least adjacent to- Halo’s sandbox-focused combat loop. I like Live Fire, Recharge, and Bazaar; but I hope that what we saw of them in this preview is not indicative of the full extent of Halo Infinite’s arena map design- not in this aspect, anyway.
What do you all think? Does anybody else feel similarly, or am I just being nitpick-y?