343 Industries has just begun a big– big team, that is– Halo 5 community event called Big Team Battle Community Refresh.
As detailed in a post on the Halo website, the refresh is the largest a playlist has ever received in Halo 5, with the 12 existing Big Team Battle maps receiving aesthetic and balance adjustments and another 4 maps being added to the playlist, bringing a total of 16 maps to the 8 vs. 8 game mode. Some highlights: One of the existing maps is a user recreation of Halo 3 fan-favorite BTB map Valhalla, now named Viking. One of the new maps, Unearthed, comprises a giant excavator and the surrounding area. Shootouts will take place in outposts, cities, wildernesses, sewers, and more.
343 Industries credits the support of Forge and BTB community members alike, displaying a level of community involvement that should satisfy the diehards. As the post details, “These communities worked tirelessly to consistently host custom game lobbies in order to make sure each map was thoroughly tested. Specifically, we’d like to thank HaloCustoms, Creative Force, BigTeamBattle.net, and ForgeHub for helping us organize the test lobbies, which allow us to communicate feedback directly to the map creators.”
“After pulling the new and refreshed maps internally,” the post continues, “the Multiplayer Team is able to take a closer look at them and contribute even more input on layout, aesthetics, and the overall flow of the gameplay. At this point, the process becomes a very quick back-and-forth as the Forgers look to make the last few changes needed on their maps, such as improving player containment, quality intro and outro cameras, as well as fixing up name location placement.”
The Big Team Battle Community Refresh is live now.