Regardless of all the waiting and controversy, Halo Infinite is closer now to launch than ever. That's not just a statement on the passage of time, but an acknowledgment that Halo fans will soon have a tangible version of Halo Infinite at their fingertips. Halo Infinite's closed Technical Preview begins on July 29, offering a first look at the upcoming FPS. Before the Technical Preview starts, however, 343 Industries put together an introductory Halo Infinite stream showing off some of what to expect.

Many of the big details regarding the upcoming Halo Infinite Technical Preview have already been detailed by 343. Features like the 5v5 Bot Arena mode and the robust new Weapon Drill tutorial system. What hasn't been detailed is many of the smaller changes that are best conveyed through seeing Halo Infinite in motion. A variety of small but exciting new features, changes, and more were shown during today's Halo Infinite livestream that are worth mentioning.

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One of the big features shown in the Halo Infinite stream is the game's new "Friend and Foe" colorization system. Prior Halo games would adjust players' color schemes to either red or blue, but in Halo Infinite 343 wants players' personal customizations to carry into whatever game mode they choose. As such, the Friend and Foe system adds a reflective layer to players that lines them in color so they still stand out regardless of their customizations. Note, players will be able to customize what colors are for friends or foes in Halo Infinite's options. It's not strictly red for enemies and blue for allies.

Other features that players noticed in the lengthy video include Halo Infinite's new killfeed, which some fans are saying is closer in style to Call of Duty. That's not necessarily a popular change. The mini-map also has an interesting change, as walking won't shop up on the Halo Infinite radar -- only sprinting and shooting. Another notable feature players noted is that while enemies body block the player, allied players can be passed through.

In a quick tour through Halo Infinite's menus, several other small features were confirmed. PC gamers will have triple keybind options, for example. Another potentially game-changing option is the ability to drop a weapon, which can be given to a friend. A Field of View slider has been added and is supported on multiple platforms, to many players' delight. Lastly, Halo Infinite players can change their weapon offset, moving the gun onscreen from the center to the edges of the screen.

The lengthy Halo Infinite Technical Preview livestream covered a lot of ground and introduced many new features and changes. 343 covered customization and also certain aspects of Halo Infinite's live service systems, too. It's an exciting time to be a Halo fan and it's only the start of players' introduction to Halo Infinite.

Halo Infinite releases late 2021 on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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