Live Q&A #3 Recap Apr 18 - Tosh

Hello everyone, Tosh again, your friendly neighborhood Community Manager. For those of you who missed out on Q&A Stream #3, I'll be doing a quick info dump of everything answered during that session, Q&A Stream #4 Recap will be coming out tomorrow! In the future expect these closer to when the streams happened.

I'm a big ol' softy for our Community so everytime I get the chance I have to thank all of you for the continued support of our dreams; it means the world to us, truthfully, we love you. <3 A big thank you to Khizar one of our fantastic Community Members for helping me get this out to you guys!

If you just want to see if a question was answered in here that you might have, you can use Ctrl+F to search the page!

Q: Will i01 be on the Nintendo Switch?

A: No

Q: Will there be faces behind the helmets?

A: No

Q: Will we see a map that is in the middle of a battlefield?

A: I don't see why there can’t be a map like that in the future. Very thematic maps are important to Halo, it kinda presents to you the scale of what's going on in the world you're in, and it's very immersive.

Q: Will we see vehicles that haven't been drivable in Halo?

A: No, we gotta focus on the core gameplay and get all the classic vehicles that we know and love there.

Q: Do you guys think the carbine and the battle rifle should be just as powerful as each other?

A: Yes and no, I think they should complement each other, but they should be different weapons regarding arsenal.

Q: What Halo are you mainly trying to recreate the gameplay for?

A: None, It is a classic Halo experience however it does not follow a single game’s formula. It takes the pieces of each of each.

Q: Would you ever consider making a version of the scrapped dogfighting game mode for Reach after i01 launches?

A: That’s not something that’s out of the question, maybe some of the team will do so. But first, we’ve got to get you Installation 01!

Q: Will there be some type of achievement or something after achieving the highest rank in i01, bragging rights or new armor sets?

A: Yes, there definitely should be a reward for achieving the highest rank. You're not gonna grind just for a number on your profile. There will absolutely be SOMETHING we’re just not too sure at this moment what that would be.

Q: Microtransactions?

A: No, this is a non-profit project.

Q: After i01 is released and available to us through a launcher. Will the devs use the same launcher for other titles they create as well?

A: Yes, most likely.

Q: Will maps have day and night versions? It would be cool and add a lot of variation to maps, but first, we’ve got to get you the standard maps, to begin with.

Q: Forge World?

A: You never know.

Q: Will the haunted helmet be in i01?

A: Can’t answer that question yet, we don’t know whether we’ll be implementing the Haunted Helmet in the game.

Q: Will there be map editing tools?

A: Yes, there will be Forge as you see in other Halo games, but hopefully, our own thing that we can expand upon.

Q: When will we get customization on the website?

A: Website customization isn’t a priority as of right now, but we absolutely want to get that to you promptly of course. To do this we really need a WebGL Dev with experience in C#, if you’re that person, please apply!

Q: Will i01 be promoted as much as Halo was?

A: No, not at all. We don’t have the budget to attempt such a thing. Even though we’d love to, we can't.

Q: Will weapons have a newer design like Halo 4 or the classic simpler look?

A: Don’t know if I’d call it simpler, but it will definitely have a classic look to it but very much so our own.

Q: Will armor abilities be available in custom games or only equipment?

A: We will have armor abilities like sprint in custom games only. It will not feature in official gameplay, and of course, we will have equipment like Halo 3.

Q: Will i01 use the joint launcher that project contingency talked about?

A: No, i01 has its own launcher. Contingency and glassed share a launcher together.

Q: When will we get to play the beta?

A: After the alpha and before the world ends.

Q: Why did you choose unity over unreal?

A: (Bean) I started i01 back in 2013, CryEngine was hard to learn anything in, UDX has a couple of stuff but harder to pick up, and there's unity which had tons of support. So unity was more appealing.

Q: Release date?

A: Soon™.

Q: Is there a plan that makes sure i01 gets finished in case developers get hired off?

A: It’s kinda already happened, a lot of our developers have been hired in professional environments, and it's fantastic, but they've definitely become busier, so you just have to really look for people, and look for more talent.

Q: Will we have colorblind support?

A: Yes, our UI designer is color blind, so of course, we will accommodate them.

Q: What engine would you have chosen if you started this project today?

A: Still unity. Interesting thing about UE4 is that it has this certain default look and it’s very recognisable. But If you have the talent with unity, you can make it look however you want because of how baseline unity is. C# is becoming more and more common as well. If I really wanted to start my game development, I would look at popular games and see what they were made in.

Q: Max number of players supported in one single game?

A: As of right now, we will be going for the standard 16 players, but depending on other aspects we may play around with the idea of more players.

Q: Will there be merchandise for i01?

A: No, we can't sell any merchandise. When we talked to 343, they said they don't want any confusion between the brands, we’re not here for the money in the first place, but it's great that people want to support us.

Q: Will there be Arbiter armor for Elites like there is Recon for Spartans?

A: We’ll talk about that later; it's a good idea though.

Q: Firefight mode?

A: Sadly no, Installation 01 will not be featuring any sort of AI/NPCs. Expect Fish AI of course.

Q: Custom games browser?

A: Absolutely! What's a pc game without a custom games browser?

Q: Will there be matchmaking or will it just be a customs browser with automatic selective game variants?

A: The goal at full release is to have both.

Q: Mod support?

A: Would we like to? Yes. Can we? At the moment no.

Q: Will there be controller support?

A: Yes, you can even play using a DK Bongos.

Q: What's the work flow like with your programmers and how many hours per week do they contribute?

A: We have programmers in different time zones so that you can go to sleep and someone is working on the game, then wake up and someone different is working on the game. We have source control where people can push changes to our game version that we have. They communicate a lot in chat, and we have standardization regarding guidelines on how to code. Adds a level of organization.

Q: How would chat be handled? Will there be text and voice, if there's voice will it be proximity voice like in Bungie Halo games?

A: Text, yes. Voice, were working on it but it's kinda iffy right now. We would love to have it though!

Q: Considering that i01 is entirely free though intended to be multiplayer focused, how is the team going to go about attaining/ maintaining the servers needed for the many who will undoubtedly wish to play?

A: Most of us have jobs; we’ll probably be using our own money so we’ll pull together money and pay for servers ourselves. The goal is to try to have servers across the US, and other countries as well. The greatest thing about having an international team is that you can do this. But it’s the nature of the project; sometimes the connection will be meh. It’s also ptp so players will be hosting their own games. But when it comes to dedicated playlists and matchmaking, we definitely want official servers for you guys to be running on so we have no issues with gameplay.

Q: Will i01 Forge be on par with recent iterations like Halo 5?

A: If we can pull it off then probably. We’re not sure yet, but that’s the gold standard.

Q: Can you release a dedicated server program like with Halo CE?

A: So we are thinking about doing a headless server mode. Executable to include as a dedicated server, so we give players the ability to host their own games. If you just wanna pop online and play with a friend you can, and it'll be ptp, but if you wanna host a server and get all your friends there, you can do that too. That's the goal, and hopefully, we can deliver that.

Q: Are you worried about the rumors that Microsoft will be releasing MCC onto pc through the Xbox app or that h6 will be launching on the pc?

A: Not at all, we’re Halo fans just like you and would absolutely love if those games make it to PC in a good fashion. However, that will not stop our development on Installation 01.

Q: What are our customization plans for progression system and player customization?

A: Installation 01 will not be featuring a ranking system. It will be more akin to Halo Reach with levels and a Halo Reach’s customization system where you can customise your forearms, helmets, shoulders, legs and stuff like that. Hopefully, this gives people a goal with things to go after since we couldn’t deliver a good ranking system like we’d want to.

Q: Will there be support for user-created maps not like Forge but completely custom maps?

A: We will not be supporting completely custom maps, which goes into the category of modding. It's not out of the question, but right now we can't do that.

Q: Will i01 be on Xbox?

A: No, it is a dedicated PC game built for Windows, Mac, and Linux. But it will absolutely have controller support.

Q: Splitscreen support?

A: We absolutely want split-screen in the game, but as of right now it is no a major priority.

Q: Will there be an integrated friend system and messaging system So you can have parties and chat groups so you can have game nights?

A: Yes, we do want want to have a friend system, we are working on the friend system right now, and we are working on making sure you can bring people into parties and bring them into other people’s parties. We want to make sure it’s available at launch as it’s a core part of Halo’s experience.

Q: Will i01 be on steam?

A: No i01 will not be on steam because not only is that iffy with Microsoft, we want full control over our game and have our launcher to setup updates dedicated to the game and just all be integrated nicely into one package.

Q: Will anyone create i01 machinima at some point in the future?

A: We hope so, that was one of the greatest things about Halo. We’ll provide you all with the ability; you just have to do it!

Q: Will you choose a certain Halo game to choose how guns work or will each Halo gun version be represented in the game?

A: The game is mainly based off of Halo 2 and three weapons regarding numbers and balance.

Q: How do you guys feel about cosmetics such as victory poses at the end of the game?

A: We won't be having those, a lot of people have strong opinions such as TheFeelTrain and Tosh.

Q: Have you tried to contact the people who created SPV3?

A: (Bean) I met the lead of the mod at pax last year. We've actually done some asset sharing like the warthog that will be appearing in our game.

Q: What's your main goal with i01?

A: i01’s main goal is to bring a unified Halo experience to windows, mac and Linux that is the classic Halo experience but built for pc and pc in mind. Past Halo games have only been ported to pc, so they weren't built to have mouse and keyboard in mind.

Q: Is it based on a specific Halo engine or a brand new one?

A: It is based on the Unity Engine.

Q: Will there be different variations of guns in the game like the br from Halo 2 and 4?

A: No only one variation.

Q: Will there be armor abilities like in Halo Reach and 4 or will the gameplay be like like Halo 2 and 3?

A: Base gameplay and playlists and default settings will be like 2 and 3. However, in the custom games option settings you can turn on sprint and can spawn armor abilities, but that is later down the line towards release.

Q: Will there be holiday events and will it change maps?

A: We can't rule it out, we haven't really thought about it yet. We want to get the game out before we want holiday events.

Q: Will there be Chromebook support?

A: Technically yes if you load Linux on there.

Q: Have you guys cast a voice actor for the announcer?

A: Yes, Greg Wasdyke's father.

Q: Are you experimenting with Vulkan?

A: Yes, we are. It will be the main API for Linux. But yes we will have Vulkan support in general.

Q: What vehicles can we use in the game?

A: The basic Halo vehicles with some we are considering and some we are not.

Q: Battle Royale mode?

A: No, not at this time.

Q: Will there be gravity hammers?

A: Absolutely.

Q: Will PCs with lower hardware be able to play i01?

A: Yes, but be sure to check our system requirements page on our website. They are subject to change, however.

Q: Will you introduce new emblems and will we see them on our armors in-game?

A: We will be introducing new emblems; we’ve been looking into some unlockable ones, for example, the monitors on our Discord channel will get their own emblems that only they will have.And yes, of course, the emblems will show up on our armors.

Q: Is there a way to sign up for i01?

A: Yes, if you want to help the dev team, head over to our website and sign up. We won't deny you, but if you don't hear from us, that means we have not chosen you yet or gotten around to your application. REMINDER: PLEASE HAVE A PORTFOLIO.

Q: How will players be paired for matches, randomly teamed, optimised for best latency, balanced by skill level?

A: For matchmaking, they will be paired based on their network or how close they are. Also randomly teamed. It will be balanced by skill level, but we are thinking about our options on how to do that.

Q: Armors based on the 343 games or extended lore armors?

A: Can't confirm right now. Maybe or maybe not.

Q: Will there be ricochetting sniper bullets as a mechanic?

A: Yes, that was one of the coolest features in Halo. Gotta get them cool montages!

Q: Female Spartan voices?

A: We haven't discussed this, but I’d assume there will be. We haven't recorded them yet.

Q: Different varieties of warthogs like the rocket and gauss warthog?

A: At this time there will be the gauss hog and the regular one.

Q: Will the golf club appear?

A: Probably.

Q: Is there any in-game credit system or will everything be unlocked with levels and achievements?

A: Both!

Q: Will you have overpowered magnums?

A: No, our magnum is actually balanced. It is a starting weapon, not a power weapon

Q: Will you track stats?

A: Absolutely!

Q: Will you sign your executables to prevent hacking and checking during runtime against server hashes to reject modded connections?

A: They're actually self-signed.

Q: Flamethrowers and flame grenades?

A: Flame grenade yes. Flamethrowers, however, we are not 100% sure on.

Q: How many rounds will the assault rifle have?

A: It will have 32 rounds like the H3 Assault Rifle.

Q: Magazine size of the AR?

A: Our Assault Rifle is basically Halo 3’s with different balance.

Q: What was the process when making the cinematic trailer, did you make it yourself or have a separate team?

A: It was made by the entire team but animated completely by our very own Mathew Lake. It was for his end of year university project.

Q: Will the grenade launcher be in i01?

A: In the future yes.

Q: What will the customization be like?

A: Think Halo Reach.

Q: Will there be dual wielding?

A: Yes.

Q: Will i01 have machinima features like lowering your weapon?

A: Of course!

Q: Will lowering your weapon be bind to one button?

A: Hopefully.

Q: Will the BR be hitscan or projectile?

A: Most of the weapons in Installation 01 will be projectile.

Q: Is there going to be assassinations?

A: Yes but like doom 2016 where it doesn't slow down combat in an impactful way.

Q: Will there be an SMG that is suppressed like in Halo ODST?

A: Yes!

Q: Are you going to track total time played?

A: Yes!

Q: How will players earn XP in matches? Is it like Halo 3 where you only get 1 XP per win and 0 per loss?

A: Our system is like Halo Reach.

Q: Will players be able to earn XP in custom games outside of matchmaking?

A: Yes but limited. Similar to Halo Reach.

Q: Will there be a monitor helmet?

A: We’ll talk about armor later.

Q: As of right now is the game functional enough to test play it instead of animating yet?

A: Yes it is functioning we are doing internal gameplay tests, it isn’t quite where we want it for public play. But we’re hoping to have a Closed Alpha this year!

Q: Elite player models in every playlist?

A: Not in every single playlist. We want our Elites to be Elites (Big, powerful, and badass). But in doing so this caused competitive balance issues, so they won't make an appearance in some playlists.

Q: Will elite customization be good or Reach style?

A: It will be good, don't worry we love Elites.

Q: How do you feel about installation 01 and being a part of the team creating the most looked forward to Halo fan project?

A: (Bean) Since I started by myself in 2013, I am just shocked thinking how it is so popular. Then I realised I have such great team members like Tosh and Feeltrain that have been with me through the thick and thin. I’m really proud of everybody on my team, I wake up every morning and get to read all the progress that's being made on the game and read the chats to get caught up.

Q: Particle effects like in Halo Reach?

A: We will have our flaming helmet for Developers only. Others like birthday party and storm effect, we'd like to, but we don't know… maybe.

Q: Will there be easter eggs in the game?

A: Absolutely, there’s already some you can find on our website!

Q: How big is your team?

A: We’re sitting at around 50 developers currently.

Q: Will Fotus be in the game?

A: (Tosh) MY CRUSADE WILL NEVER END!

Q: What are you most excited for in i01 right now?

A: (Tosh) I really just want to play it with all of you, our community. (Bean) We’d love to see the community reaction. We'd love to play something that feels and flows fantastically.

Q: What spawned the idea of creating something like this?

A: (Bean) (In short) Basically I'd like to play a multiplayer Halo game that looks good on pc.

Q: Did you guys take inspiration from Halo online?

A: Yes, their Forge system is great, and we’d love to have those features in i01.

Q: What map remakes have you taken into consideration to add in the future?

A: We've considered almost all of them.

Q: Is it pronounced installation O 1 or installation zero 1 or installation 1?

A: (Bean) It is Technically pronounced installation zero 1, however, I call it O 1 cuz it just flows. i01 is with a lowercase i.

Q: Do you have to pick up weapons or do we spawn with weapons?

A: You spawn in with weapons, and you can find weapons on the map like previous Halo games

Q: Can you create clans and clan emblems?

A: Well, you can create a clan for sure, as for emblems. That is yet to be decided upon.

Q: Who is the concept artist for the game or do you even have one?

A: Avixie, Blind, and Derek.

Q: Have the original Bungie team members reached out to you about the project since you started?

A: Yes, Markus letto the art director for Halo 2 and 3 has contacted us and told us he loves the art and everything. Along with several other employees both new and old some even still working there who wish not to be named.

Q: Have you guys taken any inspiration from the Destiny series since the connection with Bungie and all?

A: No, we haven't, we’ve focused on Halo and where Bungie took inspiration from to create it.

Q: Will you guys take on graduate programmers?

A: (TheFeelTrain) You can apply from our website to join the team. If you don't get a reply, it's most likely declined.

Q: Will there be infection?

A: Yes!

Q: When will you be accepting bean memes for the recon achievements?

A: That's not actually going to be a thing. It was a joke. It's not realistic and untrackable.

Q: Will the Bean paper helmet stay or go?

A: (Bean) I hope it goes. (TheFeelTrain) I hope it stays. (Tosh) Fotus?

Q: Donations?

A: We can't accept any sort of donations what-so-ever, we aren't doing this for any gain other than providing other fans like ourselves with a great classic Halo game!

Q: Halo 3 style or updated?

A: Regarding graphics, Its updated style mainly based on classic Halo. Not a defined style.

Q: In the infection game mode, will the zombies be green or look like flood in H4?

A: We will have our own infection model, it will probably be on the settings so you can switch it off if you don't like it.

Q: Man cannons or grav lifts?

A: Both!

Q: Hats?

A: No.

Q: Are there any iconic Halo characters?

A: No, because there's no campaign and we don't wanna do anything shaky with Microsoft.

Q: Will there be taunts?

A: No, besides the only one you need, the teabag.

Q: Blood Gulch variants?

A: We’ll talk about maps later.

Q: Ever considered ditching the Halo aspect and make your own IP?

A: (Bean) Well, if we ditch the game that built us up, it won't go well with people plus we’re unoriginal and just want a new classic Halo game.

Q: Will the music be nostalgic plus new and fresh?

A: Well, people are telling us they listen to it in treadmills in the gym, so I guess it's working out.

Q: Aim assist?

A: No aim assistance at this time. But we want to make it balanced for both keyboard and mouse and controller.

Q: Were you guys dead?

A: No, we’re alive. We have a website, Twitter and Twitch.

Q: Will you be at E3?

A: We may or may not be at a convention coming soon. But not E3.

Q: During the development, during the testing phase, were there any unique ideas allowed in the game or was the goal not to diverge from the original Halo formula?

A: There were definitely ideas that were brought up, but we realised that the classic Halo is what people want the taste of again so we thought we must stick to the formula. We can introduce SOME things but as long as it doesn’t mess up the core formula that's ok.

Q: Will there be another video of gameplay soon?

A: Soon.

Q: Is there anything rvb related in i01?

A: (Feeltrain) I'm a train, so I'm kinda like caboose…

Q: What do you use for modelling?

A: Everyone uses their own thing, so some people use Maya some people use blender or 3DS MAX

Q: Dual wield snipers?

A: No, only weapons you can dual wield are the ones from H2 and H3.

Q: Android Ports?

A: No.

Q: Maulers confirmed?

A: No.

Q: Do you guys think this game could recreate the old Halo community and machinimas like Arby and the Chief?

A: We hope. It’ll be difficult, the way it can happen is through youtube. Games like fortnite and Minecraft got popular through the internet. If people find out there's a free fps that played well (Hopefully) that is fun, and you can play with friends, people will pick up on that.

Q: Theater mode?

A: Yes!

Q: Will you add free DLC?

A: Even better, everything will be free!

Q: Button combos?

A: No, it's way too easy on PC.

Q: Will brute weapons do more melee damage than other weapons?

A: No.

Q: What has been the inspiration for the atmosphere and the art for the game?

A: Pretty much a lot of Halo 1 stuff with Halo 3 mixed in. We take a lot of inspiration from Ron Cob.

Q: Have you mentioned anything about the sentinel beam and if not what is your thoughts on it?

A: No, we haven't talked about it, and I like it.

Q: Will I be able to play with friends with social media accounts like facebook?: No, you have your own friend system in i01. Your friend will have to make an account and friend you in i01.

Q: Any new game types in i01?

A: Well, we talked about that infection CTF mode. But nothing else we wish to talk about at this moment.

Q: Who is Tosh, I cant see him on the website?

A: We’re working on a new version of the website; I'm a Community Manager.

Q: Will the graphics be like Halo 3 or more like Halo 1?

A: It’ll be like i01

Q: How many programmers in the i01 team?

A: Like 8? Not enough..please join us

Q: How many voice actors?

A: 2, Greg and his Father.

Q: There are still many people in the Halo community that don't know about you guys, any idea to increase popularity to bring back Halo players?

A: The players themselves gotta spread the news. Get machinimas made, streamers, Forge people making maps etc. would help. We simply cannot afford marketing on a large scale; we’re counting on you through word of mouth!

Q: Will the flag in CTF be a flagnum?

A: We would like to talk about the flag later in time. (It’s really cool!)

Q: I’m 100% convinced this game will never come out?

A: Sorry about that but what about that 101%? That extra 1%. Believe.

Q: Do you have any positions for programmers without unity experience?

A: (Feeltrain) No, sorry. If you know how to do database things, then I might need you for consulting I guess

Q: Will you be heading to PAX this year?

A: Bean won't make it. He’s ditching us. Some i01 folks will make it though, such as myself (Tosh) and TheFeelTrain. (Bean is triggered)

Q: How old are you guys?

A: Train = 68, Tosh = End of his lifespan, Bean = 20

Q: Hayabusa?

A: Hayabusa will not make a return in i01.

Q: Has the announcer recorded the suicide voiceover?

A: Yes. The announcer voices are not final yet though. You’ll get a taste soon.

Q: If you guys had the chance, would you guys make the Halo 3 trash compactor map an official map?

A: (Bean) This whole game is trash compactor. We’d love to do a matchmaking system that has random game modes in it.

Q: You guys think 343 can learn from you guys?

A: No, but we can learn from them.

Q: Will there be teleportation sound effects like from Halo 1?

A: I hope so.

Q: How are sound effects being implemented?

A: They’re not; we need an effects artist!

Q: Will you be able to hack in this game?

A: If you want a flaming ban-hammer to the face, then yes!

Q: Will this game be able to run on school computers?

A: We’d love for people to be able to do that and be able to make i01 accessible.

Q: Reporting system?

A: We will have a reporting system and hopefully an automated system.

Q: Fileshare?

A: Yes and it will cover screenshots, game mode, shared maps and saved films for Theater mode.

Q: Will there be continued updates supported after launch?

A: Absolutely! Some of us may leave the team to pursue other projects, but the majority will stick through its lifespan bringing you updates and content post-release.

Q: Will there be a transgender spartan model?

A: No, we will have male, female, and Apache attack helicopter.

Q: Will there be seat switching like H5?

A: We would love to add it.

Q: How does it feel being the reject crew of Halo making a sick Halo game?

A: We’re not rejects; we’re just misunderstood!

Q: Do you check applications often?

A: We check them often. We need FX artists; please join us!

Q: Will there be a lot of blood like in Halo CE?

A: Perhaps.

Q: Playable grunts?

A: No

Q: Will there be a tutorial?

A: No, but there will be one on how to download the game

Q: Big plans for i01?

A: Wanting it to go mainstream and cultivating our community

Q: Do you guys want this game to go to eSports?

A: We don't mind it if it does, it’d will bring awareness to the game. Anything like that is entirely up to you, the community. We’ll try to support you in any way we can.

Q: Will you be able to get killed by the guardians?

A: Yes.

Q: Will there be (cu..) cone splatters?

A: Yes, but not what Tosh said.

Q: Will there be a dev vs players mode?

A: We’d love to have a mode that does this, but it’ll likely be a Play Date where we announce we’ll be queuing in a Playlist, and if you find and beat us, you get rewarded. Think Bungie Bounties/ Bungie vs The World.

Q: Will there be sword cancelling?

A: No, you will get arrested for not having a sword license in the UK.

Q: Will you be able to zoom-in with the pistol?

A: Yes!