Halo 4 - Weekly Infinity Update #12

Catch the Disease
When I step onto the Grifball court, opposing Spartans begin to resemble pin-shaped pieces of steel and my hammer starts quivering in anticipation of nailing every player in sight. I may not be the most skilled person to ever hit the court. However, I am well aware of the fact that it’s not the size of the hammer that matters but instead how you swing it. And yes, before you ask, I can definitely swing it. All night long, as a matter of fact.

I’ve been playing Grifball since shortly after it launched. That’s right; I caught the disease long before it was cool (helpful hint for newbies: Use the cream. It really helps with the itching). But while I know its history like the back of my Gravity Hammer, those of you unfamiliar with this particular virtual sport may not be aware of its roots. So in honor of Grifball’s Monday launch, I asked Burnie Burns – Patient Zero himself and creator of both Grifball and the popular Machinima series Red vs. Blue – to touch on the topic in a way only he can. Whether you’re familiar with this smashingly fun pastime or new to the swish-swish-stab of it all, join us for an entertaining history lesson on how exactly Grifball came to be.

Who the heck is Grif?

Grif is the Red Team's lovable slacker in our Halo-based series Red vs. Blue. He is voiced by Geoff Ramsey, Rooster Teeth's lovable slacker. Grif serves two purposes in the show: He provides a comedic balance to Sarge and he also helps us figure out which of our audience members can't tell the difference between the colors orange and yellow. For the record, he is orange.

And how did the ball variant of Grif come to be?

Microsoft asked us to make a promotional video for the Halo 3 Heroic Map Pack which featured the map Foundry. We got the codes about a week early and knocked out a really fun video called "D.I.Y." which focused on the Forge elements of this particular add-on. After we turned in the video, we had a few days until release. We used that extra time to make some crazy creations in Forge and even a couple of game types. One of those was a clear standout: Grifball.

What was the creation process like for this particular game type?

I have always liked alternative sports games – titles like Arch Rivals, NFL Blitz and Pigskin 621 AD. So, I wanted to make some kind of Halo-based sport. We made a "paintball" variant first, but it wasn't terribly different than playing SWAT with pistols. Plus, it's a very poorly kept secret that most of us at RvB are pretty mediocre Halo players and can't shoot worth a damn. So, I started looking at the Assault game mode and thinking about how we could use the bomb as a ball. We made an initial variant that was a one-sided goal with people taking turns on offense; then we added the second goal and it really felt like a sports game. There was an older Halo 2 episode of RvB where Sarge talked about a game named Grifball. Gavin Free (Slow Mo Guys, Achievement Hunter) was helping me with the testing and he suggested forcing the ball carrier to turn orange in the true spirit of Grifball. I wanted the players to be physical, so I took away the guns and gave them hammers and swords.

How much iteration did Grifball go through before landing on the final variant?

I would say it went through four or five versions before we took it public. For about two days, Gav and I were the best Grifball players in the entire world. After that, the community grabbed it and ran with it. It's impossible to say how many versions have existed since we turned it loose. The biggest revisions came from expert map makers like Nokyard, who refined the wall blocking Foundry's maintenance bays. He made it a real barrier. Our first wall was a seriously miserable construction. Then the crew at GrifballHub started tweaking the gameplay to keep it competitive and make it more accessible to new players.

One of the neat things about Grifball is that it continues to evolve. What is your favorite thing about the Halo 4 version?

Burnie: Just the fact that Grifball appears in the official playlist is an amazing experience for me. We are very proud to have contributed something to the Halo franchise that actually contributes to the gameplay experience. I don't think that most of the people who play Grifball even know the connection with Red vs Blue. Plus, I get to add a Game Design section to my resume. Which I totally did.

You can read the rest of the interview Here.



Next Week's Matchmaking Playlist Update
We were incredibly excited about last week’s update (So excited, as a matter of fact, that we accidentally released it six hours early. OOPS.), and we’re equally excited about this week’s update (except for the part about releasing it early. Sorry). Here to talk specifics is Bravo. Just to warn you, he’s got a thing for Team Doubles, so his write-up is more than a bit wordy. In light of that, I recommend grabbing a chair and at least two beverages before digging into the below, which includes everything you could ever want to know (and then some) about next Monday’s Matchmaking playlist update.

On Monday, Spartan Ops continues with Episode 8, which will once again contain five new Spartan Ops missions. We’ve seen some great feedback on the second half of season 1 thus far, and we hope you’re enjoying the missions and cinematics.


We’re also extremely excited about the premiere of Team Doubles in Halo 4. Seriously, we’re just as pumped as you are. The Matchmaking team, Multiplayer team and Community Cartographers have been working day and night in order to prepare this playlist for your enjoyment. We’ve got 3 different game types that will be featured when the playlist launches.

Infinity Doubles offers the Infinity Slayer experience in 2 vs 2 form. In this variant, players have the option to choose their custom loadout, and instant respawn and radar are enabled. Personal ordnance will kick in at the traditional 70 point mark, but the options are tweaked specifically for Team Doubles. Games are played up to 300 points.

Doubles Pro offers an experience that features preset game loadouts. The score limit is the same as above, but radar, personal ordnance and instant respawn are disabled. Here are the loadouts that will be featured:

Loadout 1:
Starting Weapon - DMR
Secondary Weapon - Magnum
Armor Abilities - None
Tactical Mod - Resupply
Support Mod - Dexterity

Loadout 2:
Starting Weapon - BR
Secondary Weapon - Magnum
Armor Abilities - None
Tactical Mod - Resupply
Support Mod - Dexterity

Loadout 3:
Starting Weapon - LightRifle
Secondary Weapon - Magnum
Armor Abilities - None
Tactical Mod - Resupply
Support Mod - Dexterity

Loadout 4:
Starting Weapon - Carbine
Secondary Weapon - Magnum
Armor Abilities - None
Tactical Mod - Resupply
Support Mod - Dexterity

CTF Doubles offers the ever-popular Capture the Flag game type, customized for 2 vs 2 play. Custom loadouts and radar are enabled, and respawn time is set to 10 seconds. Flag settings provide an optimal experience for small maps and teams: 5 flags to win, 3 second return, and 15 second reset. Lastly, your flag does not have to be home to score.

We’re still finalizing the map pool but are happy to announce that players who enjoy the comforts of split-screen play will have the option to select on-disc maps in the first voting slot. By offering slightly modified versions of Haven, Abandon and Solace, split-screen players can be sure that they’ll have the option to play on a map that offers the best split-screen experience. Additionally, we plan to offer several of the best community Forge maps in this playlist and will continue to update the map pool on a regular basis to keep everything fresh. Additional details regarding the playlist will be posted before it launches, so keep an eye on the Matchmaking section of our forums.

The Capture the Flag playlist will be receiving some updates as well. For starters, Relay and Exile will be added to the playlist. Also, the flag reset time on Adrift, Abandon, Solace and Relay will be dropped to 15 seconds to account for the smaller map size. The biggest change, however, will be the addition of Infinity CTF to the voting options – in this new variant, players will have the ability to call in personal ordnance in order to add variety, power and, in some cases, total chaos to their flag runs. Keep in mind that because of the high amount of points associated with objective play, players who capture a flag will immediately receive personal ordnance in exchange for their hard work (in addition to the traditional pat on the back). Be on the lookout for Infinity CTF in the Capture the Flag playlist!

Also happening this week is the unlocking of two new Specializations: Rogue and Tracker. Leveling up through these Specializations will grant you access to armor sets, emblems, visor colors, weapon and armor skins, and lastly, armor mods. If you’re a fan of precision weapons, the Stability armor mod is a must-have – it’ll allow you to keep a cool head and a steady shot when under enemy fire. If you love getting personal ordnance (who doesn’t) but you’d rather have a Sniper Rifle than a Needler (shame on you, the Needler is fantastic!), then the Requisition armor mod may be of interest to you. It will allow you to call in a new set of personal ordnance options if you are unhappy with your original set. Good luck with both of these!

Unless you’ve had your head buried in the Community Forge Test playlist, you’re probably well aware that Grifball is now available for a smashing good time. We’ve seen a great reaction on the forums, and hope you’re enjoying the variety of gameplay and courts just as much as we are.

The Community Forge Test playlist will take a break once we introduce Team Doubles next week, which will feature some of the maps you’ve been playing (with updates, of course!) and also some new maps, as mentioned above. We plan to bring the Community Forge Test playlist back at a later date with new maps, and possibly team sizes and game types. One more thing: Last week we announced that we’re hard at work on a unique playlist for the competitive community, and we’ve decided on a name: Team Throwdown. We are still nailing down the specifics, but the playlist will feature multiple variations of settings in the voting options, and we are releasing it ahead of CSR so that we have time to collect feedback and tweak settings as necessary. We look forward to releasing this playlist and hearing your feedback.

We hope you’re enjoying these Matchmaking updates. If there’s no Matchmaking Update next week, it’s because I’m playing Team Doubles and forgot to come to work.

Spartan Ops Update

Episode 6 of Spartan Ops premiered last week. As many of you devoured the fiction summary of the first half of Spartan Ops Season 1, I asked Brian Reed, franchise writer and author of Spartan Ops Season 1, to provide the same summary for last week’s chapter. We will continue this tradition for Episodes 6-10, focusing on the previous week’s installment in order to avoid spoilers. So, enjoy an inside look at last week’s episode, and after that, enjoy a sneak peek at next week’s episode (if you inferred a tease is waiting for you below, then you’re doing it right, just FYI).


In-Game Halo 4 Fileshare Update

As you may have noticed, the in-game Halo 4 File Browser is now fully functional. Hooray! This feature will allow you to search for a friend’s custom game types, the most popular custom Infinity Slayer map and much more. We’ve compiled this quick guide to review some of the features. To navigate to the File Browser from any menu screen, simply press “Start,” then go down to “Settings & Files”, and select “File Browser”. You will see the following screen:

From the main menu, first select what type of content you’re looking for. For the purposes of this demonstration, we’ll choose “Films & Clips”.


We hope this allows you to share and discover an endless amount of community-created content (and, in case you were wondering, the Halo 4 File Share is still on track for coming to the web version of Halo Waypoint in late February).


Now that we’ve covered that, I think we only have one more thing to discuss: The Games on Demand version of Halo 4. Should you want the digital version of Halo 4, it will be available via Games on Demand starting on February 5. And yes, that’s the “in-six-short-days” February 5.

And with that, you have officially reached the conclusion of this week’s Bulletin. I’ll see you next week, for more of the same.