Halo Wars FAQ
Update: 6/28/09
Introduction:
In Halo Wars, players can command armies and hordes of familiar and new UNSC units in its first encounters against the Covenant, an alien coalition that threatens to eradicate all of mankind. "Halo Wars" will immerse gamers in an early period of the multi-storied "Halo" universe, allowing them to experience events twenty years prior to Halo: Combat Evolved. With the guidance of AI Serina, the player leads UNSC soldiers and vehicles against Covenant Grunts, Elites, Ghosts and Scarabs, each group having its own strengths and uses in battle. Strategic-minded players who react well under pressure will emerge victorious. The game's story is told through in-engine cut scenes and in-game moments, as with the other Halo games. The game is set in 2531; it focuses around the Marine forces of the UNSC Spirit of Fire as they engage Covenant ground forces after the discovery of an ancient artifact during a journey to the planet Harvest, the first planet to be attacked by the Covenant. The majority of the 15 campaign missions will take place in the polar/mountainous and parts of the jungle and ruin regions of the world, allowing Ensemble Studios to do some great stuff with mountains, snow, ice, forests and some Forerunner structures.
It has been confirmed that Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 will not be making an appearance in the game, although some characters from the Halo games will make brief but important appearances. There will be a group of Spartans that are called SPARTAN Group Omega. In contrast, the Spirit of Fire is set to be full of new characters, such as the AI Serina and the Spirit of Fire's commander, Cutter. The story will begin with the UNSC's early battles on Harvest, but will also feature another colony world, Arcadia, which holds "something of great interest to the Covenant". The planet is subsequently invaded by the Covenant, and the UNSC must evacuate the planet while engaging the invasion force.
Halo Wars Screenshots
Q: What is “Halo Wars”? A: Halo Wars is the next real-time strategy game from Ensemble Studios, creators of the Age of Empires franchise. Designed exclusively for the Xbox 360, Halo Wars allows you to take charge of the human UNSC armies and see the Halo universe from a totally new perspective.
Q: Where does “Halo Wars” take place in the Halo timeline?
A: “Halo Wars” takes place before the first Halo FPS game, during the UNSC’s initial deadly encounters with the Covenant.
Q: What kind of soundtrack can we expect to hear?
A: Ensemble Studios began recording the music for the game in March, with Ensemble's Music and Sound Director Stephen Rippy flying to Prague for the orchestral and choral parts and Seattle for the piano and mixing.
Q: What role will the Forerunners play in Halo Wars?
A: Although the Forerunners are long gone, their structures remain and can be encountered by the player.
Q: Can you reveal anything about “Halo Wars” storyline?
A: Players will lead the crew of the UNSC’s “Spirit of Fire” from initial skirmishes to an all out war against the Covenant.
Q: Will I be able to play as the Covenant?
A: So far, only in Multiplayer.
Q: Why is “Halo” being made into an RTS game?
A: Warthogs are cool. Scorpions are cool. Controlling lots of Warthogs and Scorpions and sending them into battle is really, really cool. We’ve been big fans of Halo for years at Ensemble Studios, and when we sat down to discuss our next project we thought Halo would be absolutely perfect as an RTS on the Xbox 360.
Q: When will “Halo Wars” be available?
A: The third or forth quarter of 2008
Q: Will I be able to play Halo Wars on Xbox 360 and PC?
A: Halo Wars is for the Xbox 360 exclusively.
Q: Is the trailer pre-rendered?
A: Yes, and it's based around our world concepts and uses lots of in-game models. The sound and music were done at Ensemble Studios as well. Props to our friends at Blur for bringing it all together and making it really shine.
Q: Other RTS games that have transitioned to console have had issues with controls, how will “Halo Wars” improve on the formula?
A: Halo Wars was created for the Xbox 360 from the ground up, which meant we didn't have to make compromises or shoe-horn in artifacts from a Windows PC game. We were able to take all the best aspects of RTS games, make them work perfectly on the Xbox 360, and exclude the rest.
Q: Will I be able to play as the Master Chief?
A: No. Sorry but Spartan 117 will not be appearing in the game.
Q: Will there be a demo?
A: An Alpha test was given to some select users on the Halo Wars forums for testing purposes. A public beta may be coming soon.
Q: Other than the Covenant and the UNSC, what factions will I be able to play as?
A: So far, only the UNSC and Covenant are confirmed. Sentinels will make an appearance as captuarable units via a "Sentinel shop", which will allow the player to produce Sentinels to command alongside his army. So far there are two types of Sentinels confirmed as buildable. A normal version and an advanced version with an EMP attack ability.
Q: Will there be an FPS mode?
A: No.
Q: Will there be highjacking of other vehicles?
A: Most likely no.
Q: What kind of economy will we see?
A: Supplies from the SOF will be air lifted down for the UNSC. Covenant economy is most likly similar.
Q: What about space battles?
A: There will be no space battles in Halo Wars.
Q: Where does the game take place?
A: On the surface of the planet of Harvest, Arcadia and other UNSC colonies.
Q: Will Halo Wars come to any other next-gen platforms?
A: No. The game is strictly for the Xbox 360.
Q: Will there be wildlife in the game?
A: Although only in the conceptual stages at this point, ambient life forms may and will be encountered in the game play. They may be found on the battlefield, and might react to the actions of the player's forces (such as firing a weapon, flying around or near them, etc.). Examples include the Space Owl, the Harvest Whale, the Arctic Beast, Ice Hound and some sort of eel-snake creature that has yet to be named. The Ambient life forms will be on the Multiplayer Maps and they will be interactive.
Q: Is there a unit limit?
A: Yes. This is necessary to prevent “spamming” of a certain unit and more balanced gameplay.
Q: Whatever happened to Halogen? A: Halogen was a complete conversion mod of Command and Conquer: Generals being created by Slipstream Productions in an attempt to create a Real-Time Strategy version of Halo. Microsoft had given the cease and desist order to Slipstream Productions, and it has since been cancelled.
Q: Can we run people over with vehicles?
A: Yes. Warthogs and other vehicles can crush infantry.
Q: Will there be a map editor?
A: A map editor for Halo Wars is still up in the air. Since map editors have appeared in past Ensemble Studios games, it’s not unlikely that one will be in Halo Wars. Recent comments by ES seem to lean towards the possibility of a included map editor.
Q: Will there be any DLC?
A: At the present moment, it seems that Downloadable content is planned, ranging from new units and levels to Campaign missions.
Q: How many missions are there?
A: 15
Q: What will multiplayer be like?
A: Such as the Halo 2 & 3, Halo Wars will have the strong characteristic of online gaming. Halo Wars' live gaming characteristics include direct voice communication & online leader boards. There's no specific information regarding to the player ranking. As of now, multiplayer is said to be up to 6 players at a time in a match. Two player online Co-op for the campaign story will also be in the game. It has also been stated that online games would be rather quick, estimated at around 20 minutes per game.
Q: What kind of superpowers can we expect to see?
A: So far only the UNSCs MAC Cannon Bombardment from the Spirit of Fire. Q: What is the control scheme for the game?
A: Select individual squad; hold to "Paint Select" groups B: Cancel selection X: Move/Gather/Primary Attack Y: Secondary Attack DPAD: Jump to areas of map (Bases, armies) Left Stick: Move Camera Right Stick: Rotate/Zoom Camera Left Bumper: Select all squads on screen* Left Bumper x2: Double-tap to select all squads* Right Bumper: Cycle through groups of units in current selection* Left Trigger: Hold to quickly move the camera Right Trigger: Modify (such as queuing waypoints for squad movement) Back: Objectives Start: Ingame Menu and Options Q: What units/vehicles/structures are available to the UNSC? (Note: * items may be replaced or removed)
Confirmed UNSC Infantry:
Confirmed UNSC Weapons:
- BR55 Battle Rifle
- M6D Personal Defense Weapon System (Magnum)
- M19 SSM Rocket Launcher
- M90A Close Assault Weapon System (Shotgun)
- SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle
- M7057 Defoliant Projector
Confirmed UNSC Ground Vehicles:
- M12 Light Recon (Warthog)
- M808 Scorpion MBT
- Grizzly Variant: Scorpion recieves addition of a flamethrower and a double barrled canon.
- *Rhino
- Wolverine Mobile AA
- Cobra Rocket Artillery
- Cyclops Mechanized Attack Vehicle
Confirmed UNSC Air Vehicles:
- D77-TC Pelican Dropship
- Shortsword Class Bomber
- AV-14 Attack VTOL Hornet
- *Sparrowhawk
- Vulture Gunship
Confrimed UNSC Structures:
- UNSC Supply Pad
- Missile Silo
- Command Center
- Vehicle Depot
- Armory
- Aircraft Pad
- Drill Grounds
- Barracks
Q: What units/vehicles/structures are available to the Covenant? (Note: * items may be replaced or removed)
Confirmed Covenant Infantry:
Sangheili (Elites)
Unggoy (Grunts)
Lekgolo (Hunters)
Kig-yar (Jackals)
Confirmed Covenant Weapons:
- Type 1 Energy Weapon (Energy Sword)
- Type 25 Directed Energy Pistol (Plasma Pistol)
- Type 25 Directed Energy Rifle (Plasma Rifle)
- Type 33 Guided Munitions Launcher (Needler)
- Type 33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon (Fuel Rod Gun)
Confirmed Covenant Ground Vehicles:
- Type 32 Rapid Assault Vehicle (Ghost)
- Type 25 Assault Gun Carriage (Wraith)
- Type 47 Ultra heavy Assault Platform (Scarab)
Confirmed Covenant Air Vehicles: