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[Deleted member 21120]

You've got to be kidding me:

Via HBO, I just read that Marvel has announced that they'll be releasing two new Halo comic series; the first will consist of five issues, and will start this summer. The second, Halo: Spartan Black, will launch this winter.

This is from the same company that was in charge of Halo: Uprising, which is a four-part series that spans the gap between Halo 2 and Halo 3, and was supposed to have been released before Halo 3 launched. There have been more than a dozen delays, and Issue #4 still isn't out. And now they've been commissioned to do two more series?

...

 

[The Lamonster]

But then you'd be missing all of the epic dream-crushing Bungie has been dishing out the past 3 weeks. First, no Elites. Then no Brute pimps. And now the double whammy of no amazing blue grid-delete-floor-uber-skyboxes-enviroment tool and only two death balls.

I'm not sure who said it earlier (EazyB maybe?) or maybe I heard it in the IRC, but have rectangular death sheets would be awesome. Then we could recreate the classics like Lockout and Ascension.

no Elites, what does that mean?

 

[Blueblur1]

I wouldn't be surprised if the game came with the actual H3 multiplayer mode with full set of maps preinstalled on the disc. It almost seems likely.

This is what I expect to happen. Oh and $60 price tag as well.

 

[Slightly Live]

You've got to be kidding me:

Via HBO, I just read that Marvel has announced that they'll be releasing two new Halo comic series; the first will consist of five issues, and will start this summer. The second, Halo: Spartan Black, will launch this winter.

This is from the same company that was in charge of Halo: Uprising, which is a four-part series that spans the gap between Halo 2 and Halo 3, and was supposed to have been released before Halo 3 launched. There have been more than a dozen delays, and Issue #4 still isn't out. And now they've been commissioned to do two more series?

...

Think of it as a military contract, lowest bidder, armirite?

Thank fuck I stayed away from Uprising until I forgot about it. Waiting months for the shittiest smallest amount of story, no matter how good the story is, is fucking life shortening.

See in case, manga, Berserk.

 

[Voltron64]

Spoiler

We are starting to get into $60 territory. : (

MS is the company that released Shadowrun at $59.99. I'll be surprised if ODST is a discount title. They have us by the balls.

 

[Grimm Fandango]

So should the Legendary map pack become free whenever the Mythic map pack becomes available on the Marketplace?

Friend wants it but he can wait a couple of months.

 

[The Lamonster]

So should the Legendary map pack become free whenever the Mythic map pack becomes available on the Marketplace?

Friend wants it but he can wait a couple of months.

"there are no plans to make the Legendary map pack free"

 

[kylej]

Bungie updates have always been colorful and humorous and I'm really happy that Urk became Halo-famous, ... but the real meat could be trimmed down to a short bullet list.

Overt pretentiousness needs some wit behind it to be enjoyable. I agree, the latest weekly updates are tiring to read. better than nothing though*~*~

 

[Grimm Fandango]

"there are no plans to make the Legendary map pack free"

Well of course MS will say that now and with Mythic about 2 months away... but didn't previous map packs have a similar situation?

 

[Slightly Live]

Overt pretentiousness needs some wit behind it to be enjoyable. I agree, the latest weekly updates are tiring to read. better than nothing though*~*~

Pizza doesn't come with wit, needs a coupon or pay extra, I think.

Well of course MS will say that now and with Mythic about 2 months away... but didn't previous map packs have a similar situation?

Someone find me a recent quote about the Legendary maps not going free. Me thinks you may have to track back a bit. No news is good news?

 

[Tashi]

I'm fully expecting it to be a 60$ price tag as well. I kind of feel like in the interviews Bungie PR has been doing, they're kind of indirectly trying to tell microsoft to bring the price down and not make it 60$ though.

...it’s our hope that the final price reflects a great value and doesn’t give anyone the impression that they are paying for something they already bought.

see what I mean.

 

[The Lamonster]

no Elites, what does that mean?

but seriously, anybody??

 

[vhfive]

but seriously, anybody??

elites won't be in odst

 

[Len Dontree]

:lol Man, I haven't seen this movie in ages. Too bad Netflix doesn't carry it, I remember it being hilariously awful / awfully hilarious.

 

[backflip10019]

wow Ghaleon that was sick.

Ghaleon=pr0.

 

[BladedExpert]

Ghaleon=pr0.

Seriously! I'd love a fileshare version to see how it all went down too Ghal Any chance?

 

[Deleted member 21120]

but seriously, anybody??

BWU 01/22/09

We realize that the Elites are of a fan-favorite, so it's probably wise to set aside your compassion and steel yourself for what is about to come. There are no Elites to fight in Halo 3: ODST.

He doesn't say that there are no Elites, just that there "are no Elites to fight." The facts that we've been given lead me to believe that there's a strong possibility that the entirety of the game will take place in the span of just a few days - which would mean that it happens before the Elites' rebellion against the Covenant (which occurred when they were replaced by the Brutes as Honor Guards for the Prophets, because of their failure to protect Regret (Nov. 2) - or at least that was the excuse Truth used when he demoted them). And even after they were cast out, it took the Arbiter and his linking up with Miranda and Johnson to talk them into working with humanity (or so we've surmised). Which would mean that we won't be seeing Elites as allies. But it's odd that urk didn't just say that: "There are no Elites in the game."

There is a point of interest on the timeline, though, that may relate to this. See: urk's quote from the same BWU I linked to a minute ago:

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 Brutes are already on the ground in the Rookie's squadmates' chapters, which take place only hours after Regret's jump - on October 20th. So what does the thirteen-day span that urk mentioned have to do with anything - why would Truth need that much time to "redeploy" his Brutes, when he obviously had them there already? This might mean that the game will take place across that span, as Truth's Brute forces are streaming to Earth - meaning that there is a possibility that we could see Elites as allies (since the timeline of the game would span longer than a day or two). And, continuing that line of thought, the Arbiter, Johnson, Miranda and Spark arrive back at Earth before the Chief does (when, we still don't know; sometime between November 3rd and 17th). So, could we see them at some point, as well - perhaps bringing the Elites with them?

 

[Blueblur1]

lots of text

This is confusing (not because of you or anything; its Bungie's messing with timelines and tiny details). I hope ODST sorts this stuff out.

 

[Deleted member 21120]

Halo 3: Re

Spoiler

t

con

Spoiler

jeremy's joke

Nah, but we have faith that the when the pieces of the puzzle that we're missing come to light, everything will make sense.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Seriously! I'd love a fileshare version to see how it all went down too Ghal Any chance?

http://www.bungie.net/Online/Halo3UserContentDetails.aspx?h3fileid=65377587

It's more impressive in pictures. :lol

 

[The Librarian]

Dax, spawning with an AR, on Avalanche of all maps, doesn't allow you couldn't do if you spawned with a BR instead.

If I spawn with a BR I am more likely to go one route more than others and pick up certain weapons more than others. Doesn't matter if I have an AR. Starting with an AR on Avalanche doesn't hurt the gameplay.

The AR in fact limits you to having to go scavenger hunting for something useful like another weapon or a vehicle.

I don't feel limited at all when I have an AR on Avalanche. 95% of the time it isn't the only weapon I am walking around with.

If being forced to run around the map before becoming useful is what makes it fun for you than you are a dumb person.

Being forced to run around the map before coming useful? Where are you getting this from? I don't walk around on Avalanche with just an AR all the time, and it isn't that hard to find another weapon lying around. If I am a dumb person by enjoying a videogame differently than you, then, yeah, I guess I am a dumb person.

I enjoy AR starts as much as BR starts on BTB maps (besides Sandtrap), and that is all that matters.

 

[Domino Theory]

Pulling the old "I have a BR so I will not do X, Y, and Z anymore" tactic. :lol

Spawning with a BR on Avalanche will not stop me from

a) getting Bubble Shield + Rockets
b) Camo + Brute Shot or Rockets
c) The Laser (this part is always a go-to at the beginning of an Avalanche match, regardless of what weapon you start with)
d) Picking up Needler + Regen in the base
e) Grabbing the Sniper to fight the opposing team on the other side of Shotgun Room
f) Getting in a Mongoose, Hog or Hornet with my buddies

So many people act as if spawning with a BR will all the sudden stop you from wanting to use other weapons, pick-up any equipment/weapons or trying sneaky Halo-esque tactics. Get the fuck over yourselves. :lol

OT: Eazy, check PMs plz.

 

[The Librarian]

Pulling the old "I have a BR so I will not do X, Y, and Z anymore" tactic. :lol

Not anymore, just less likely to do.

Spawning with a BR on Avalanche will not stop me from

a) getting Bubble Shield + Rockets
b) Camo + Brute Shot or Rockets
c) The Laser (this part is always a go-to at the beginning of an Avalanche match, regardless of what weapon you start with)
d) Picking up Needler + Regen in the base
e) Grabbing the Sniper to fight the opposing team on the other side of Shotgun Room
f) Getting in a Mongoose, Hog or Hornet with my buddies

True, but again, I am less likely to do certain things when I have a BR compared to when I have an AR. I'll stick to the sides (mainly) when there are AR starts, and with BR starts, you'll find me occupying the open areas more so than the sides. Staying to the sides is not "sneaky."

So many people act as if spawning with a BR will all the sudden stop you from wanting to use other weapons, pick-up any equipment/weapons or trying sneaky Halo-esque tactics. Get the fuck over yourselves. :lol

So many people? Who are all these people? :lol

Look, you guys have good points and all, and they make sense, but none of that changes the fact that I enjoy AR starts as much as BR starts on BTB maps. It's why I want both types of weapon starts. I am not bothered by it, and if I am not bothered by it, I won't complain about it.

 

[Dirtbag]

It's just a PR stunt to gain headlines on the gaming websites. Luke never mentioned qty. So expect like 10 codes to be handed out. 9 here on NeoGAF. :lol

This post should ensure your code :lol

oh and WRONG!

 

[TDG]

If only there were a way to spawn with the BR and AR. That'd be so great.

 

[BladedExpert]

http://www.bungie.net/Online/Halo3UserContentDetails.aspx?h3fileid=65377587

It's more impressive in pictures. :lol

:lol

Thanks all the same. I do enjoy a good moment of chaos

 

[Domino Theory]

If only there were a way to spawn with the BR and AR. That'd be so great.

There is: BTB and Squad Battle. Two beautiful playlists.

But in playlists such as Multi-Team (believe it or not, Valhalla and Last Resort are in this playlist), Social Skirmish, Social Team DLC, Team Objective, and Social Slayer all have big maps such as:

Valhalla
Last Resort
Rat's Nest
Standoff
Avalanche
Isolation
High Ground
Guardian

If you play any of those maps in Squad Battle or BTB, you will ALWAYS get a BR primary with an AR secondary (the way it should be). But all the sudden, since we go into a 5v5 or 4v4 playlist, those maps shouldn't have a BR as a starting weapon (whether primary or secondary)? If you play a match in any of those maps above^ regardless of playlist, you should spawn with a BR and AR.

Maps that are "meh" or "okay" (using those terms loosely) if you spawn with an AR and Pistol:

Construct
Pit Stop
Epilogue
Boundless
Narrows
Ghost Town
Foundry
Blackout
Cold Storage (I'm still a believer in BR starts for this map, but I guess it's do-able if it's AR and Pistol)
Guardian (this map is broken either way, but if we want to judge purely on size [that's what she said], then it's ARable)

 

[EazyB]

Yeah, that's a theory that's been floating around.

Spoiler

We are starting to get into $60 territory. : (

It's not a theory, it's a straight up fact. ODST contains the full competitive H3 experience.

We wanted to address an oft-asked, but pertinent question about the Halo 3 Multiplayer content that will ship with Halo 3: ODST this Fall. All twenty-four Halo 3 Multiplayer maps will be in the box. All shipping maps: The Heroic Map Pack, The Legendary Map Pack, Cold Storage, The Mythic Map Pack, and three brand new exclusive maps are included.

 

[Dirtbag]

It's not a theory, it's a straight up fact. ODST contains the full competitive H3 experience.

Yeah reading that I think this is going to end up being a $60 release.

Maybe they'll do a $50 Regular edition / $60 LE edition (but even then I wouldn't get my hopes up that it won't be more like 60/70)
and I bet they have a $100 - 125 Penultimate edition that combines H3 and H3 ODST together in some sort of special packaging (maybe an ODST drop pod, or an ODST helmet?)

That's my guess.

 

[FourDoor]

It's just a PR stunt to gain headlines on the gaming websites. Luke never mentioned qty. So expect like 10 codes to be handed out. 9 here on NeoGAF. :lol

I guess the sarcasm/joke didn't come through my joke post.

I know how much Bungie has given to the community in terms of distributing tons of free codes for the beta and maps both officially and unofficially through places like GAF. All this done with little to no press on the gaming sites so it is far from a PR stunt. The internet is just a buzz about how it sucks that the Mythic maps are time bundled exclusive to Halo Wars yet there is no news out there that Bungie is giving back to the community for free, again.

Spoiler

Let no good deed go unpunished...

 

[Dirtbag]

I guess the sarcasm/joke didn't come through my joke post.

I know how much Bungie has given to the community in terms of distributing tons of free codes for the beta and maps both officially and unofficially through places like GAF. All this done with little to no press on the gaming sites so it is far from a PR stunt. The internet is just a buzz about how it sucks that the Mythic maps are time bundled exclusive to Halo Wars yet there is no news out there that Bungie is giving back to the community for free, again.

Spoiler

Let no good deed go unpunished...

Oh? Damn yeah, I missed it.

 

[kylej]

http://www.bungie.net/Stats/GameStatsHalo3.aspx?gameid=954263602&player=Shishka

ARs on Narrows with a BR weapon of choice? Shishka practice what you preach. There's a spiker over on the mancannon side and a mauler in the lower mowhawk. Dual-wield those puppies and go. Or just use the golden trifecta of AR, melee and nades. ARs promote map movement, remember? No need to pick up a BR.

 

[LukeSmith]

http://www.bungie.net/Stats/GameStatsHalo3.aspx?gameid=954263602&player=Shishka

ARs on Narrows with a BR weapon of choice? Shishka practice what you preach. There's a spiker over on the mancannon side and a mauler in the lower mowhawk. Dual-wield those puppies and go. Or just use the golden trifecta of AR, melee and nades. ARs promote map movement, remember? No need to pick up a BR.

u r so mad

go dong on kids in the game, less q.q on froumz

 

[Sibylus]

VICTREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Borrowed somebody's Halo 3 disc and installed it on the hard drive, now I can run the game fine with my own FUBARed disc. Loads slower on the initial map loads, but that's an ok compromise seeing as the solution was free.

 

[sc0la]

I was hoping (and still hope) that the "kill ball" has shape options like the hill or spawn areas, and an adjustable size like those items.

I want to make the whole floor of sandbox "lava" and have platforms and bridges suspended above.

The BWU post suggests that is not possible though

 

[Dirtbag]

I was hoping (and still hope) that the "kill ball" has shape options like the hill or spawn areas, and an adjustable size like those items.

I want to make the whole floor of sandbox "lava" and have platforms and bridges suspended above.

The BWU post suggests that is not possible though

Well I doubt they were lying...

 

[Stinkles]

u r so mad

go dong on kids in the game, less q.q on froumz

Hey Luke, wen did u change ur avatar to be your sweet tattoo?

 

[sc0la]

Well I doubt they were lying...

I didn't say they were lying, I just didn't know for sure what they were referencing in the post. It suggested that it could only be a ball and said nothing about it changing size.

 

[LukeSmith]

Hey Luke, wen did u change ur avatar to be your sweet tattoo?

My new face tattoo is sweet. Stop being jealouz

 

[Mr Vociferous]

Halo 3: Re

Spoiler

t

con

Spoiler

jeremy's joke

Nah, but we have faith that the when the pieces of the puzzle that we're missing come to light, everything will make sense.

All jokes aside, I have absolute faith in Bungie's control of the fiction and Halo 3: ODST is easily my most anticipated Halo title of the entire "quadrilogy" (yes, I just said quadrilogy).

The fact of the matter is that whenever you get a franchise this large, with this many hands in the pot, you're going to get retcon situations and continuity problems. LucasArts, for example, has an entire panel devoted to ensuring continuity and fictional relevance, because the worst possible thing you can do to a narrative like Star Wars', is invalidate its consistency. So, I'm sure Frank's got his hands full at Microsoft with the several Halo projects they have currently underway, and I know that Robt McLees and Joe Staten take the accuracy of the Halo story seriously. Nevertheless, things are going to go askew from time to time...

For example...

It would seem to me that the Brute/Elite/ODST scenario would have been much easier and understandable to explain like this:

• Regret has a meager, but reasonably-sized fleet, the majority are Elite vessels, but a handful are operated by Brutes. When Regret leaves, he takes the Elites with him to Delta Halo. The Brutes remain and follow through with the orders to continue where the the Elites left off: looking for the artifact.

The explanation we got was:

• 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.

This makes perfect sense, and of course people following the fiction likely knew that Truth had been planning to overthrow the Sangheili even since 2534, during the Madrigal-Metisette incident in the 23 Librae system. But the reality of ODST is that Truth didn't have 13 days to redeploy, he had an hour or maybe less to get the Brutes into Mombasa -- according to the trailers, the Game Informer article and everything we've read thus far (the ODST flashback missions begin almost immediately after the drop occurs).

So the first question that pops into my head is: How could Truth redeploy the Brute guard before he had even known about Regret's slipspace jump? My hope is that there is some sort of reasoning for this elaborate explanation and possibly it's connected to the new antagonist, whoever or whatever that might be.

Of course, if I was Eric, I would have probably just said: There aren't Elite enemies in Halo 3: ODST -- and no need for fictional explanations so eat it bitches. After all the complaints we got about the log-jam difficulty of the Halo 2 Elite encounters on Legendary and the shit people have given to us about the Elite player models in SWAT, did you really think we were going to ruin the expansion experience by adding all of those headaches and tossing in a protagonist who is weaker and less skilled?

But Eric's a nicer guy than I am.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Question about the 7 on the 7th Vidmaster Challenge achievement. I just got my 8th XP on today's playlist, and it didn't unlock yet. Anything special I need to do?

 

[Striker]

There is: BTB and Squad Battle. Two beautiful playlists.

But in playlists such as Multi-Team (believe it or not, Valhalla and Last Resort are in this playlist), Social Skirmish, Social Team DLC, Team Objective, and Social Slayer all have big maps such as:

Valhalla
Last Resort
Rat's Nest
Standoff
Avalanche
Isolation
High Ground
Guardian

I refrain from playing tons of Social games, but you already know my stance on BR/AR's in most maps. However, for maps like Valhalla, Last Resort, Sandtrap, and Avalanche, it's a must. Spawning out in the open vs. a group of guys or even against a Ghost, and you're screwed. In those maps and playlists of Squad Battle and Social BTB only, I would love BR start with AR or SMG secondary. For others, not so much. They are not needed and it, in my view, wouldn't be Halo.

As I said also before, instead of soley changing or modifying maps, they should change up game variants in Team Slayer and Team Objective. For example, Objective -- add the crates, ala MLG, in The Pit. It's extremely helpful and makes the map play better. 1-CTF on Last Resort, High Ground, and Blackout would be an equal weight, with Multi CTF on Boundless, The Pit, Valhalla, Foundry based maps (non MLG built), Standoff, as well. Team Slayer needs more variants and with all the BR talk, what's hurting to add Team Slayer Pro (BR starts and no radar; cannot remember if the SMG or Magnum was a secondary weapon, but an AR or SMG as secondary in this instance works) and Team Rifles (was enjoyable on Halo 2 and would work as nicely on Halo 3 with an improved Carbine)? Adding these would create a more fresh playlist in TS and would help maps like Construct, Snowbound, Valhalla, Standoff, etc.

 

[The Librarian]

All jokes aside, I have absolute faith in Bungie's control of the fiction and Halo 3: ODST is easily my most anticipated Halo title of the entire "quadrilogy" (yes, I just said quadrilogy).

The fact of the matter is that whenever you get a franchise this large, with this many hands in the pot, you're going to get retcon situations and continuity problems. LucasArts, for example, has an entire panel devoted to ensuring continuity and fictional relevance, because the worst possible thing you can do to a narrative like Star Wars', is invalidate its consistency. So, I'm sure Frank's got his hands full at Microsoft with the several Halo projects they have currently underway, and I know that Robt McLees and Joe Staten take the accuracy of the Halo story seriously. Nevertheless, things are going to go askew from time to time...

For example...

It would seem to me that the Brute/Elite/ODST scenario would have been much easier and understandable to explain like this:

• Regret has a meager, but reasonably-sized fleet, the majority are Elite vessels, but a handful are operated by Brutes. When Regret leaves, he takes the Elites with him to Delta Halo. The Brutes remain and follow through with the orders to continue where the the Elites left off: looking for the artifact.

The explanation we got was:

• 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.

This makes perfect sense, and of course people following the fiction likely knew that Truth had been planning to overthrow the Sangheili even since 2534, during the Madrigal-Metisette incident in the 23 Librae system. But the reality of ODST is that Truth didn't have 13 days to redeploy, he had an hour or maybe less to get the Brutes into Mombasa -- according to the trailers, the Game Informer article and everything we've read thus far (the ODST flashback missions begin almost immediately after the drop occurs).

Voc I became a little overwhelmed from reading that. :lol Refresh my memory: what evidence is there that Truth had been planing to overthrow the Elites since 2534?

 

[Chernobyled]

I haven't play a Cold Storage match in awhile, but I don't think 4v4 would be too crowded for it.

BlackOut is an awesome map too.

Blackout raped my childhood.

 

[Thermite]

Blackout raped my childhood.

No, u.

 

[Captain Blood]

Blackout raped my childhood.

 

[Sabotage]

t3.com bungie interview

 

[Mr Vociferous]

Voc I became a little overwhelmed from reading that. :lol Refresh my memory: what evidence is there that Truth had been planing to overthrow the Elites since 2534?

Halo: The Cole Protocol, pg. 230. For time reference, pg. 34... 4 years after Cole's victory on Harvest 2530/2531.

 

[Slightly Live]

LLTP

Posted by Al Warmington on 2009-02-04

I thought there was going to be a follow up like with IGN on Monday. =(

 

[CrazedArabMan]

Yeah, that game night was fun except my dang friends kept on joining and sorta ruining it, next time we just need it on invite only, still don't know how they joined the last game.