Halo 5 Is Testing Major Radar Changes That Could Make It Into the Next Game

More than 16 months after its release, 343 Industries is still making updates to Halo 5: Guardians. The studio has announced in its latest weekly blog post that it is going to launch a new test playlist that features major changes in how the game’s motion sensor/radar works.

In the playlist, only two player activities will make you show up on the sensor, a (non-silenced) weapon being fired, and a Spartan ability being used. The “functional range” which is how far the motion sensor can track you, is being increased from 18m to 25m.

This is being done in order to “help determine if this has a potential place in Halo 5 going forward as well as potential learnings and implications for future Halo FPS titles.”

However, this is still only a test. It is possible that 343 may never introduce the radar changes to a wider audience in Halo 5 or the next Halo FPS game.

“The motion sensor is a staple of Halo gameplay but has also been a source of some controversy, particularly amongst the more competitive multiplayer crowds,” 343 said. “While some players argue that the motion sensor should be completely removed, others argue that due to the speed of the game, gameplay would become too chaotic and it’d be too difficult to track players and Spartan abilities. Instead of an either/or approach, the team has been doing some work to change the motion sensor’s functionality and now we’d love for players to help test it out and give us feedback!”

The new radar changes will be available in Halo 5’s “Proving Grounds” playlist on Thursday, March 9th. The playlist will be available for “at least a month,” 343 said. “We’ll run the test as long as it takes to ensure that the team has adequate data and player feedback to make decisions,” the developer explained.

343 will be closely studying the gameplay data, but if you want to send in specific feedback, you can do so on Halo 5’s forums of relay your thoughts to multiplayer director Quinn DelHoyo on Twitter.