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[Deleted member 21120]

Well, that sucks. At least they told us now.

 

[Thermite]

Weekly Update - http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=16989
...

Unfortunately guys, all elites got the text message.

So much for keeping things as fictionally correct as possible.

 

[TDG]

Whoa, in such a short time, the Elites on Earth magically turned into Brutes! However did the Covenant lose the war, they have such amazing technology!

I wonder if Dax wasn't looking forward to Halo Wars so much there wouldn't be so much negativity towards the game in this thread.

I wonder he's an RTS fan as well as a Halo fan, meaning that Halo Wars should be everything he's ever dreamed of. And I wonder if it's a bit silly to project on him like that with absolutely nothing to back it up.

 

[GhaleonEB]

We're heading off for a weekend of cryo, but no worries, we'll return on Monday, ready to suit up and fill you in on the latest Bungie news. Stay Tuned.

Sandbox pics on Monday, confirmed.

 

[TDG]

Elites will be in Halo ODST as long as you enter a code that can be found in the Halo Wars collector's edition. Each code is unique and can't be used more than once, so you'll have to really buy it.

Sandbox pics on Monday, confirmed.

I hear the images will be password protected and you'll only be able to see them if you've preordered Halo Wars from GameStop.

Pass it on.

 

[urk]

No Elites. No sale. Know Elites. Know sale.

amirite?

 

[Shishka]

No Elites. No sale. Know Elites. Know sale.

amirite?

What?

 

[EazyB]

But it's Friday, the clouds has swept back over Seattle proper prompting discussion of Vitamin D supplements, and we've got a Weekly Update ready to fill you full of our own brand of nutrition, Food Nipple style.

Just started reading the update. Haven't gotten past this line but I'd just like to say that it's a very clear day in Seattle (while still cold as fuck) so I'll have to take the rest of the BWU with a grain of salt.

 

[S1kkZ]

Whoa, in such a short time, the Elites on Earth magically turned into Brutes! However did the Covenant lose the war, they have such amazing technology!

i also dont like the explanation but i never expected elites in odst.
they would have to program the elite a.i. from scratch, create new animations and balance everything. with the brutes, all they need to do is import everything from halo 3 and make some slight changes.

no elites still sucks.

 

[Kibbles]

Just started reading the update. Haven't gotten past this line but I'd just like to say that it's a very clear day in Seattle (while still cold as fuck) so I'll have to take the rest of the BWU with a grain of salt.

Elites am confirmed.

 

[Domino Theory]

What a nice, chunky update.

 

[urk]

Just started reading the update. Haven't gotten past this line but I'd just like to say that it's a very clear day in Seattle (while still cold as fuck) so I'll have to take the rest of the BWU with a grain of salt.

When the clouds sweep from here to there later tonight, I will demand an apology.

Considerable cloudiness. Areas of patchy fog. Low 31F. Winds light and variable.

 

[Frenck]

i also dont like the explanation but i never expected elites in odst.
they would have to program the elite a.i. from scratch, create new animations and balance everything. with the brutes, all they need to do is import everything from halo 3 and make some slight changes.

no elites still sucks.

You're right. We would probably have to wait almost a year for the game if Bungie had included Elites. I'm glad they made this choice, now we can enjoy ODST in early February instead.

 

[Kibbles]

For a game in development since January 2007 (iirc from the December podcast), I sure hope this is more than 3-5 hours, especially since it's SP only. (With Halo 3 Mythic Maps)

 

[Thermite]

You're right. We would probably have to wait almost a year for the game if Bungie had included Elites. I'm glad they made this choice, now in can enjoy ODST in early February instead.

Yeah, I can't wait to play ODST in a few weeks. It's going to be so awesome.

Wait, what?

 

[The Librarian]

It's pretty incredible how much impact audio can have. The crisp patter of rain on pavement. The distant roll of thunder. The sharp, violent crack of lightning overhead. This concert of conspirators was almost enough to make the representative version New Mombasa feel as if it was under the shadow of an angry storm. But those elements, like Halo 3: ODST itself, were still being formed.

In the most recent stable build, the atmospheric illusion provided by the sonic simulations has been augmented with some freshly painted in visual effects. A thin sheet of rain now slants down from a dark blanket of racing clouds. Wind mingles with sprays of vapor and mist. Heat lightning draws soft, blue highlights while sporadic ground strikes bleach everything, for brief moments, stark white.

Sounds excellent. Come to think of it, how many Halo campaign levels have we had where there was rain, thunder, and lightning? I can't think of any. Cloudy/rainy weather is my favorite kind of weather. This sounds delicious.

* October 20: New Mombasa, Kenya is destroyed by the Slipstream Space Rupture Backlash from the Prophet of Regret’s ship.
* November 2: The Prophet of Regret’s ship and In Amber Clad arrive at Delta Halo. Prophet of Regret liquidated by SPARTAN-117.
* November 3: Prophet of Truth leaves High Charity for Earth in Forerunner dreadnought.
* November 8: The Forerunner dreadnought arrives in the Sol system and proceeds to Earth at near relativistic speed.
* November 17: The Forerunner dreadnought arrives at Earth. SPARTAN-117 ejects and lands in the Kenyan jungle.

Can someone clear up the last two bullet points for me? If you notice, in the last cutscene of Halo 2, we see Dreadnought drop out of slipspace right next to Earth.
Start viewing at 1:40

If the above can be put within the context of the last two bullet points, then what the hell was Truth doing for those nine days between his arrival in Sol and his arrival at Earth? Better yet, what the was the Master Chief doing? Hiding? Causing mayhem?

As I have said before, before the release of Halo 3, I always imagined the player starting out on the Forerunner ship in an attempt to take care of Truth. Nine days?

I don't understand.

 

[Domino Theory]

For a game in development since January 2007 (iirc from the December podcast), I sure hope this is more than 3-5 hours, especially since it's SP only. (With Halo 3 Mythic Maps)

Why the hell are people latching onto that 3-5hrs crap? :lol

It plays for as long as you want it to play. You can't tag a number to how an individual will play a game (co-op, alone, alone with skulls, co-op with skulls, different difficulties, playing more than once for achievements).

 

[TDG]

I don't really know when Halo ODST is supposed to end, and I don't really care, but I've been thinking of something I'd like to see happen in the game.

I'm getting the impression that there will be a lot of small fights, choosing your battles wisely, etc, and that you're pretty much alone in Mombassa, seperated from your fellow ODSTs. I think it would be cool if in the next to last level you finally met up with the rest of the ODSTs. Then the last level, you'd conduct a night attack on some Covenant landing party that had just landed on the outskirts of the Kenyan jungle. You have a big climactic battle, destroy some huge thing or something, and the mission's a success. Then at the very end of the game, you hop on a pelican to be taken elsewhere (this is all in first-person, Half-Life-like shit) and as you look over the jungle, you see Master Chief's ship thingy crashing into the jungle. Roll credits.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Can someone clear up the last two bullet points for me? If you notice, in the last cutscene of Halo 2, we see Dreadnought drop out of slipspace right next to Earth.
Start viewing at 1:40

If the above can be put within the context of the last two bullet points, then what the hell was Truth doing for those nine days between his arrival in Sol and his arrival at Earth? Better yet, what the was the Master Chief doing? Hiding? Causing mayhem?

As I have said before, before the release of Halo 3, I always imagined the player starting out on the Forerunner ship in an attempt to take care of Truth. Nine days?

I don't understand.

Wasn't the four-part comic series (Uprising?) supposed to fill in the gap between Halo 2 and Halo 3? It was delayed so long I stopped paying attention to it and never read anything other than seeing the covers show up from time to time.

 

[GM Bullfrog]

What are the dates for spring?

Additionally, it bears mentioning that the Mythic Map Pack will still be made available by its lonesome on Xbox Live Marketplace later this spring.

Edit: According to my calendar March 20th - June 20th. At least a 17 day wait. .

 

[The Librarian]

Wasn't the four-part comic series (Uprising?) supposed to fill in the gap between Halo 2 and Halo 3?

Forgot about that, but I don't know what happened during Uprising. Did MC sabotage some systems to delay Truth for those nine days?

It was delayed so long I stopped paying attention to it and never read anything other than seeing the covers show up from time to time.

Same.

Edit: According to me calendar March 20th - June 20th. At least a 17 day wait. .

At least it isn't a full month before you can start expecting it.

 

[EazyB]

When the clouds sweep from here to there later tonight, I will demand an apology.

:lol We'll see. I was walking back from class, my young innocent face soaking up rays of brilliant sunlight. In the back of my mind I knew something would screw up such a delightful day.

Hope onto the internet to find out Urk deleted elites from ODST and if that wasn't enough he plans on deleting my sunshine.

Yeah, I can't wait to play ODST in a few weeks. It's going to be so awesome.

Won't that conflict with the release of the Mythic maps?

 

[SpudBud]

No Elites? I'm....I'm going to go cry in the corner over there....

 

[Sibylus]

I don't really know when Halo ODST is supposed to end, and I don't really care, but I've been thinking of something I'd like to see happen in the game.

I'm getting the impression that there will be a lot of small fights, choosing your battles wisely, etc, and that you're pretty much alone in Mombassa, seperated from your fellow ODSTs. I think it would be cool if in the next to last level you finally met up with the rest of the ODSTs. Then the last level, you'd conduct a night attack on some Covenant landing party that had just landed on the outskirts of the Kenyan jungle. You have a big climactic battle, destroy some huge thing or something, and the mission's a success. Then at the very end of the game, you hop on a pelican to be taken elsewhere (this is all in first-person, Half-Life-like shit) and as you look over the jungle, you see Master Chief's ship thingy crashing into the jungle. Roll credits.

Give this man a medal.

 

[Thermite]

Won't that conflict with the release of the Mythic maps?

:lol

 

[GhaleonEB]

No Elites? I'm....I'm going to go cry in the corner over there....

Look on the bright side:

There were two primary threads of speculation this week regarding ODST: the return of Elites as an enemy and the return of the M6D as a weapon. The Update spunked the former in detail because Bungie did not want to get our hopes up. It never mentioned the latter.

The absence is conspicuous.

 

[Mr Vociferous]

I guess I'm on an island about the Halo Wars cinematics, including the unpopular one. I thought they were pretty damn clever and impressive. I haven't played the game, so I'll definitely reserve judgment for it, but overall the visuals and the concept have gotten me interested.

Along the Path

The following is a cursory exploration of some of the more critical events along the Halo 2 and Halo 3 timelines. This examination is not meant to be exhaustive, but rather a set of waypoints to guide you along as we look back at key events and characters that influenced and impacted the Covenant schism, circa 2552.

• October 20: New Mombasa, Kenya is destroyed by the Slipstream Space Rupture Backlash from the Prophet of Regret’s ship.
• November 2: The Prophet of Regret’s ship and In Amber Clad arrive at Delta Halo. Prophet of Regret liquidated by SPARTAN-117.
• November 3: Prophet of Truth leaves High Charity for Earth in Forerunner dreadnought.
• November 8: The Forerunner dreadnought arrives in the Sol system and proceeds to Earth at near relativistic speed.
• November 17: The Forerunner dreadnought arrives at Earth. SPARTAN-117 ejects and lands in the Kenyan jungle.

What's written in these few entries is important in the context of understanding the overall story presented in the Halo trilogy. But what exists between the lines is where you should focus most of your attention. This is where the majority of the events that unfold during Halo 3: ODST take place. And it is in also in these moments that the Prophet of Truth did much of his puppeteer's manipulations. The thirteen day span between the dates of October 20th and November 2nd provided the High Prophet with all the time he needed to redeploy Brute-led Covenant forces, their mission objectives relayed sub rosa, into the heart of New Mombasa.

But why Brutes?

In the wake of Regret's shameful retreat from New Mombasa, the Prophet of Truth continued his maneuvering - one eye always on his ultimate goal: his rightful and holy ascension. For Truth, his own personal passage was paramount. His Godhood would not be denied. Everything else was secondary.

And though Truth's duplicitous scheming doesn't come to full fruition until the Elite Honor Guard's failure to protect the Prophet of Regret affords him with the final leverage needed to appoint the Brutes to the lofty position, his plans were never made in haste. They were well laid. When the time came to return his attention to Earth, his expendable regiments needed to be led by Jiralhanae, not Sangheili.

Leaving the Elites to scour Earth in search of a Holy Forerunner relic, and ultimately to uncover the most precious and sacrosanct Forerunner artifact in existence - the very portal that opened upon the Ark itself - would have placed all Truth's aspirations upon the shoulders of a species he had already decided to cast aside, a species splintered by heresy and derision, even amongst their own ranks.

Truth's divisive mandate had been set in motion. The Elites had exhausted their usefulness to him, they would not be allowed to meddle in his affairs any longer, and he would not place his rightful transcendence into the hands of incompetents. His word was law.

So the Prophet of Truth deploys Brutes. And the Brutes were eager to prove that their loyalty and battle prowess had earned them a seat at the side of the Hierarchs, as the honored protectors of the sacred Covenant. Such blind faith and eagerness marked them as near perfect pawns for Truth to sacrifice.

This is the kind of stuff I love about Halo and the kind of material that make this update pure money. It'd be cool to get the story bible cracked open every once in a while. Well done, urk.

The absence is conspicuous.

The bright side just seared my eyeballs with awesome.

 

[fin]

Here's that Spartan-jacking part I was talking about where he jumps a hundred feet up into the air:

Maybe the spartans have grav-lift feet?

 

[kylej]

No dinos in ODST? GOTY 2009.

 

[GM Bullfrog]

At least it isn't a full month before you can start expecting it.

It did say "Later this spring" not starting this spring ... I was trying to be as optomistic as possible. FUCK M$!

 

[Sibylus]

Maybe the spartans have grav-lift feet?

Red Bull in little dispensers inside the suit.

 

[Slightly Live]

Awesome update and the Mythic playlist information, awesome.

Mythic information and ODST information make me one satisfied gamer. Pity about the lack of elites, I'm sure the game will still be awesome, the details surrounding New Mombasa have me excited. The little details is what makes Halo games subtly impressive.

 

[LukeSmith]

Look on the bright side:

There were two primary threads of speculation this week regarding ODST: the return of Elites as an enemy and the return of the M6D as a weapon. The Update spunked the former in detail because Bungie did not want to get our hopes up. It never mentioned the latter.

The absence is conspicuous.

 

[backflip10019]

 

[A Penguin]

Congratulations, man! I know how it must feel. Onwards to 50!

Spoiler

wait, I'm still a 44. Fuck you for reminding me of my inadequacies. =p

 

[The Librarian]

I guess I'm on an island about the Halo Wars cinematics, including the unpopular one. I thought they were pretty damn clever and impressive. I haven't played the game, so I'll definitely reserve judgment for it, but overall the visuals and the concept have gotten me interested.

I'm with you, Voc. From what I've seen, they're pretty well done.

Now, please explain to me those last two bullet points (November 8th and the 17th). I'm confused.

 

[Domino Theory]

When you get some bling under your bird like me then we can talk.

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Look on the bright side:

There were two primary threads of speculation this week regarding ODST: the return of Elites as an enemy and the return of the M6D as a weapon. The Update spunked the former in detail because Bungie did not want to get our hopes up. It never mentioned the latter.

The absence is conspicuous.

The leaving out of an entire race of enemies is alot more significant than the leaving out of a pistol, so I'm sure they wanted to address that straight away.

Once again, the story 'bible' is adapted to suit the gameplay. Not that it's wrong, just that it's depressing.
Of course we can put down my expectation/hope to my ignorance/in-consideration of the timeline.

And I'm taking it too seriously too, 'just' a game. Man I'm tired.

 

[Revengeance]

When you get some bling under your bird like me then we can talk.

Gold Bar Club.

 

[Deleted member 21120]

Elites will be in Halo ODST as long as you enter a code that can be found in the Halo Wars collector's edition. Each code is unique and can't be used more than once, so you'll have to really buy it.

I hear the images will be password protected and you'll only be able to see them if you've preordered Halo Wars from GameStop.

Pass it on.

:lol

 

[Son of Godzilla]

Is the hating on the Halo Wars cinematic coming from the one that was on Live a few days ago? I don't see what's to bitch about that one, it seemed genuinely impressive and far more than I was expecting from the game.

Also ODST no longer makes any sense to me. Why are there troopers dropping into the destroyed city in the first place?

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Also ODST no longer makes any sense to me. Why are there troopers dropping into the destroyed city in the first place?

I'll be honest, the first reply that popped into my head was an annoyed troll on Bungie. I believe in them too much to let my childish tiredness get the better of me.

Real answer: To remove any remain Covenant & see what state the city is in. Remember that some were dropping in just as Truth was 'bugging out', so obviously they didn't realise that there wouldn't be much left.

 

[soldat7]

The leaving out of an entire race of enemies is alot more significant than the leaving out of a pistol, so I'm sure they wanted to address that straight away.

Once again, the story 'bible' is adapted to suit the gameplay. Not that it's wrong, just that it's depressing.
Of course we can put down my expectation/hope to my ignorance/in-consideration of the timeline.

And I'm taking it too seriously too, 'just' a game. Man I'm tired.

I can only imagine what Halo 3 could have been with at least some Elite enemies...I'm personally tired of fighting Brutes (I still find them very aesthetically unappealing, especially when compared to the Elites)

Hopefully the combat will feel quite different in ODST against them.

 

[Deleted member 21120]

I'm with you, Voc. From what I've seen, they're pretty well done.

Now, please explain to me those last two bullet points (November 8th and the 17th). I'm confused.

There's not really an explanation. At the end of the cutscene where the Chief boards the Dreadnought ("Once Again, With Feeling,") the ship jumps into slipspace. And then in the final cutscene of Halo 2, it can obviously be seen emerging from slipspace. But in the Uprising series, it can be seen passing by planets that appear to be ones in the Sol system - which is consistent with what tonight's update says - that it entered the outskirts of the Sol system and proceeded to Earth "at near relativistic speed." So that's pretty much that. We have to assume that things have been retconned and that the final cutscene of Halo 2 is innacurate when it shows the Dreadnought emerging from slipspace.

If anyone has another explanation, I'd like to hear it.

Also ODST no longer makes any sense to me. Why are there troopers dropping into the destroyed city in the first place?

This, I think, is the point of the game; this is the question you'll be answering as you play through the game.

 

[Tashi]

hahaha hell yea! next we'll get your general

 

[GhaleonEB]

The leaving out of an entire race of enemies is alot more significant than the leaving out of a pistol, so I'm sure they wanted to address that straight away.

Dunno. The M6D die-hards are a pretty intense bunch.

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Dunno. The M6D die-hards are a pretty intense bunch.

True. And there has been quite a bit of discussion about it.
The more I think about it, the more it makes fiscal sense to re-introduce a 'loved' weapon rather than a race of enemies (much to my chagrin).
I guess we'll see.

You know we never really heard the Halo 3 afterthoughts from Bungie themselves.
I'd love to hear what they thought they did right, wrong, what they thought people would like more, what they didn't expect people would like, etc.

Anywhoo, to bed with oneself!

 

[The Librarian]

There's not really an explanation. At the end of the cutscene where the Chief boards the Dreadnought ("Once Again, With Feeling,") the ship jumps into slipspace. And then in the final cutscene of Halo 2, it can obviously be seen emerging from slipspace. But in the Uprising series, it can be seen passing by planets that appear to be ones in the Sol system - which is consistent with what tonight's update says - that it entered the outskirts of the Sol system and proceeded to Earth "at near relativistic speed." So that's pretty much that. We have to assume that things have been retconned and that the final cutscene of Halo 2 is innacurate when it shows the Dreadnought emerging from slipspace.

"Near relativistic speed" is in slipspace? Even not, how does it take nine days for Dreadnought to reach the outskirts of Sol to Earth? And what was the MC doing in all that time?

 

[Falagard]

I had a really nasty post written up about the lack of Elites, and stayed my hand before posting.

Let's just say I'm disappointed and have rarely if ever criticized Bungie and wanted to keep it that way.

 

[Zeouterlimits]

"Near relativistic speed" is in slipspace? Even not, how does it take nine days for Dreadnought to reach the outskirts of Sol to Earth? And what was the MC doing in all that time?

Getting shot in the foot by Marvel. (and I'm out)