Hey Space Cowboy, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Strap in 'cause we got a bit to talk about.

A Fortress World amongst the stars

What is this Fortress World stuff all about? Well I’m glad you asked, let’s get into the breakdown.

You like Halo, and we like Halo too. When you see the Fortress World logo, know you are getting 100% guaranteed more Halo for your Halo. No, we didn’t make the Assault Rifle 0.2% more accurate because we felt like it, and no, we didn’t change the AI firing distances.
There is no cursed content or memes. We all fell in love with that immersive military sci-fi experience and we are barking up that tree again. Think of it like DLC for some of your favorite Halo games. It’s just more Halo. Who doesn’t want more Halo?

And the reentry pack you rode in on...

The first mod to debut under the Fortress World banner is Verdant Vale. A completely original, from scratch Halo: Reach Campaign level.
Set during the week between Long Night of Solace and Exodus, it shows how Noble Six arrived at the city of New Alexandria.

The level was made as a proof of concept using the 3DS Max Halo: Reach Tool Kit. We’re excited to show you what’s possible using these tools. Check out the trailer below!

Questions & Answers

How do you guys plan to make Halo styled experiences?

Bungie set out to make a foundation for their designers to use to make fun experiences. We are picking up the proverbial mantle (to the best of our ability) and continuing what they started. We are following the same design rules, principles and practices they used to make the original games. Add in some late night Discord voice arguments and we have a recipe for success.

For example, when you play a custom CE level, everything is tuned for CE. We do a lot of testing on things like AI engagement distances and red reticle range. The levels are built around the rules of the game, not the other way around. If we need to change the rules of the game to suit the needs of the level, we failed as level designers. We miss that immersive Halo feel and experience as much as you do.

What’s different about this vs anything else from the Halo modding community?

We are shooting for Halo-like parity on every front. This encompasses everything from things like world building and cinematics, to difficulty, balance and pacing Sorry, there unfortunately won’t be any 10 mile wide open corridors with idle covenant standing around in them.

We think we have a pretty good handle on how Halo should feel and play but we’ll let you be the judge of that when it’s time to get your hands on the first set of levels. We want to get you back to that feeling of playing a new Halo for the first time, and if we can capture a bit of that magic we did our job.

So there is no custom content at all? Is it all just vanilla?

Woah, hold your horses! To say there isn’t any custom content isn’t exactly accurate, as there will be new assets such as scenery. We also have a tiered system for any Fortress World mods so you know what you are getting out the gate.

Standard - Basically just a new map for the Halo title, all vanilla gameplay. Maybe some minor new additions for some sandbox interactions that went missing from the base game. An example would be a non spec ops grunt using a fuel rod gun in CE.

Silver - Vanilla+, baby. All original gameplay stays the same, but with some new additions that don’t step on the toes of the original balancing. Think adding some new weapons or vehicles to a Halo game.

Gold - This one is an entirely new experience using one of the base Halo engines. The sandbox and the maps are built in tandem using the same design rules, principles and practices mentioned earlier. This would be like playing as a spartan in the H3 ODST engine with spartan like gameplay (higher jump, higher melee damage, etc.)

Gold is the most tricky and takes time to get right, and will most likely be reserved for larger scale projects. We will talk more about the tiers and the content under them down the line, but for now most releases under the Fortress World banner will be standard or silver.

Speaking of the Fortress World Banner...

What is Fortress World? Is it a mod team?

It’s not exactly a mod team, more like a mod collective. We are all like minded individuals that have a certain perspective and belief on what Halo is and what it should be. We’re not one team all working on one massive project, but a group of people working towards the same goal. The goal of getting more Halo styled Halo content to the starving masses. We know you’re out there and don’t worry we’re hungry too. We have a good mix of people to tackle anything a Halo level might need, from art to design. There’s a few levels in incubation across a few Halo titles, all in various forms from paper sketch to block out.

Can my project be a part of the Fortress World collective?

Sure, we think spreading the love of Halo is an important part of your day to day life. Letting players know they are signing up to play Halo when they see that logo and that there aren’t any secret changes is an important endeavor. As long as you meet the guidelines of the tiers and have something worth celebrating. More guaranteed Halo is a win-win for all involved. We’ll talk more about how to become apart of the hivem- I mean collective soon. Stay tuned for more details.

Finally, Halo modding has been saved! Thank you!

You’re welcome.