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[Shogmaster]

Mr. Stinkles's house of lies grows ever taller. He had said previously that any IQ improvements from the beta to the retail version would be minor. These clearly look better than what we played.

Yeah, the game does look better than what I remember from the Beta. I'm wondering whether that's from just seeing brand new areas and stuff or new rendering techniques have been implemented.

Either way, this is all a painful cocktease that won't be relieved for another 2 and a half months.

 

[cluto]

The master chief model look worst in this shot then the one in mp.

OMFGREALTIMEREFLECTIONSALLOVERMYFACE

 

[blazinglazers]

http://www.bungie.net/images/games/halo3/screenshots/H3_MasterChief.jpg

heh, it was impressive even back then, but these new shots [multiplayer!] look even better: less harsh, more range in the shadows, something... I really hope we see single player at e3, though I feel this irrational fear that we won't. :/

 

[thekad]

This screen is amazing.

 

[Skilotonn]

Friggin' hell! I wake up, hit the Halo 3 Beta Thread, and see that IGN dropped a bombshell of a Halo 3 MP blowout on us - without crap compressed pics!

Damn - and I definitely see improvements in the things we've gotten used to in the Beta, like the Spartan armor for one - it sharper than before, and it has the realtime reflections finally implemented now... as well as the detail on the Assault Rifle - and the improvements I'm talking about can really be seen in the Epitaph pics that weren't in GamePro - as if IGN got new pics to go along with the GamePro pics at the same time the embargo was lifted... and oh man the lighting!

And what can I say about Last Resort - CTF on Zanzibar is my favourite gametype on my favourite map (I'm more of an objective person than a killer in Halo 2 unlike in any other shooter for some reason, but Halo 3 began to change that) - so I'm more than excited to see it back with such detail and so much bigger now! Plus it has Mon(geese? lol) and the Spartan Laser on it - joy!

IGN reminded me also of how much that I'm going to love making screenshots, and uploading them to Bungie.net for those "HOLY F'ING CRAP" moments... loved the feature in PGR3 and Forza 2, and now it's gonna be in one of my favourite series of all time... oh the possibilities with direct feed screenshot that everyone can make - now not everyone needs to have a digi-cam to show off something (not that they should stop ofcourse!

And you gotta love having editing tools to trim down the replay - yes. Having to wait to watch through 2 rounds to get to the awesome moment that you saved the replay for will be no more!

All of these comments I made were based on what was posted here, so now I'm off to read the article and check out all of the pics - ah yes!

 

[NeXuSDK]

Hmm, I'm guessing Orbital Elevators, amirite!

 

[FFChris]

"We know next to nothing about the single-player campaign and the number of maps yet to be revealed outnumbers those that have."

This is the bit that made the preview for me.

I'm a little worried about the number of maps in the game to be honest, but then again I was never watching the coverage of H1 or H2, so I don't know how many maps they show before the game ships.

They have shown 6 maps now though (Last Resort, Snowbound, High Ground, Epitaph, Shrine and Valhalla) so that means there are at least 7 more they have left to show, including Jub Jub I'm sure.

 

[Tieno]

The amount of features and functionality Bungie is cramming into Halo 3 makes me scared.

Spoiler

I do want a large vehicle snow map ...but there's always H3 DLC maps!

It'd be wicked if they do some map/gametype around the scarab. That was such an awesome part in Halo 2.

 

[tombur]

Spoiler

I do want a large vehicle snow map ...but there's always H3 DLC maps!

Or even a map maker

Okay, gametypes and armor. What else? Videos?

Maps

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

Friggin' hell! I wake up, hit the Halo 3 Beta Thread, and see that IGN dropped a bombshell of a Halo 3 MP blowout on us - without crap compressed pics!

Screens are still hella compressed in some instances though. Pretty obvious with the desert map shots, for one.

Haven't read the IGN article yet, but did they confirm that you can also upload photo's in Halo 3 like Forza 2?

 

[Orodreth]

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/800/800896/halo-3-20070701114824498.jpg

Hmm, I'm guessing Orbital Elevators, amirite!

Like the one in Ghost of Onyx?

Screens are still hella compressed in some instances though. Pretty obvious with the desert map shots, for one.

Haven't read the IGN article yet, but did they confirm that you can also upload photo's in Halo 3 like Forza 2?

It is:

IGN reminded me also of how much that I'm going to love making screenshots, and uploading them to Bungie.net for those "HOLY F'ING CRAP" moments... loved the feature in PGR3 and Forza 2, and now it's gonna be in one of my favourite series of all time... oh the possibilities with direct feed screenshot that everyone can make - now not everyone needs to have a digi-cam to show off something (not that they should stop ofcourse!

I´m gonna read the article and check that intriguing "user generated content" comments.

 

[Shake Appeal]

I said wow.

although I also remember how the screenshots that appeared when the beta started weren't representative of how the game actually looked in motion, so my expectations are firmly in check.

 

[Frenck]

IGN is down for me, I can't see any post-Beta goodness :-(

 

[ToyMachine228]

My God, screens are looking beautiful.

 

[Francias Castiglione]

Hmm, I'm guessing Orbital Elevators, amirite!

I don't think orbital elevators are transparent tubes. My bet is the Covenant fleet doing some partial glassing of Earth.

 

[Mr Vociferous]

If campaign can accurately capture this environment's direction and vibe, I'll be blown away. That has to be the single coolest piece of art I've ever seen for a video game.

 

[urk]

I need more pants.

 

[Frenck]

ZOMG!

The pages are filling with beautiful awesomness. Praise the lord!

 

[IJoel]

The new images look really great. But... man, I really want new single player media. I'll take what I can get though.

I don't know if it's the AA the new images sport, but these do look slightly better than in the beta. Also the lighting seems to have been made a bit more pronounced.

 

[GhaleonEB]

gotta post more

once more, the explosions seem improved to me.

Looks like the decorator destructability is turned on - grass is flying now. Frank said it was turned off in the Beta.

 

[urk]

So, I just scheduled a week of vacation for a certain week in September. Total Halo Fanboy: Confirmed. Single player will be played. Beers will be consumed. Acedia will be achieved. Diapers will be soiled.

 

[Buttonbasher]

So, I just scheduled a week of vacation for a certain week in September. Total Halo Fanboy: Confirmed. Single player will be played. Beers will be consumed. Acedia will be achieved. Diapers will be soiled.

The Halo Flu takes another victim.

 

[urk]

The Halo Flu takes another victim.

I will satiate my fever with Oatmeal Stout and Triple IPA from my Legendary Beer Stein.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Some notes from the interview.

Jaime Griesemer: It's not as bad as Halo 2. Halo 2 was a hell-crunch. Right up until the end, the 'cliff'. The big difference is, in Halo 2, we were crunching like madmen just to finish the game. Now we're still crunching like madmen, but we're crunching to add that extra polish and shine. That's a lot easier.

IGN: Why was there so much mystery surrounding the X button? Was this a hype tool? Or was its function still up in the air?

Jaime: Honestly, when we first showed it, the reason why we weren't talking about it was because the pieces of equipment we had were not ready to show. We had a lot of placeholder art, code that wasn't done and only a few pieces that were done, in-engine. We weren't really ready to show it. It was sort of obvious that there was something big missing from the control scheme. So it wasn't really done to build hype - I don't really remember anyone proclaiming "This will change the way you play videogames!".

Jaime Griesemer: We actually don't know what the final equipment count will be - it depends on how many we can get in. And there may be some items in single player that we won't use in multiplayer. We're really focusing on more interesting pieces of equipment rather than a large quantity of equipment, because we didn't want to run into the problem where there were so many pieces of equipment that you couldn't really keep track of them all. They only had one really specific use, so what we tried to do was keep it pretty small; I'd say single digits, probably.

IGN: You've gone all-out with documentaries, weekly updates, the Open Beta. Why so much emphasis on transparency in development?

Tyson Green: Well, we were so busy on Halo 2 just trying to figure out the processes and getting it done that we couldn't really talk about it - and because there wasn't as much to talk about.

Jaime Griesemer: Bungie's always been 'open' but 'not open'. I mean, we did weekly updates all throughout Halo 2, so in some ways we're super-open about our process. Then in other ways, not at all! I mean, nobody, nobody is getting any preview of the story [in Halo 3]. Not a glimpse. It's sort of that 'open-hand, closed-hand' policy that we've always had. I think the big difference is now is that there's enough stuff going on that there is a lot of interesting stuff to show people. I think that is the big thing.

IGN: Why the secrecy surrounding the single player experience?

Jaime Griesemer: The public beta is our focus for this summer. That's our big roll-out, our big reveal of the game. We're just not going to talk very much about single player because that is the big 'secret stuff' that we're saving for people.

Tyson Green: People invest a lot of weight in Halo's story, and its campaign is very important to them. You wanna save that until the end so that it's a good surprise, a good reveal. It's like talking about a movie before it comes out.

Sounds like any campaign we see will be stripped of the story context.

IGN: That's a good point, and it's something that highlights a question of team sizes and internal emphasis. Is it a 50/50 split workforce developing the single player as opposed to multiplayer? What's the ratio?

Tyson Green: No, definitely not - it's more like 80/20. There's a handful of guys like me who work on both. So it's probably like 15 percent totally dedicated to multiplayer and maybe another 20 percent who overlap. The thing is, if you took every single multiplayer map and stitched them together into this unholy fusion of a multiplayer map, it would probably be about the same size as some of the single-player maps, right?

Jaime Griesemer: Yeah - half of a small single-player mission!

Tyson Green: The use of space in single player is so much different than it is in multiplayer. You need more art resources to accomplish something like single player. You need more designers paying attention to every square inch. Multiplayer can afford to be a little bit smaller.

Jaime Griesemer: Although I would say the number of people working on multiplayer in Halo 3 is the same as the number who worked on all of Halo 1. This is a lot bigger.

 

[Buttonbasher]

Some notes from the interview.

Sounds like any campaign we see will be stripped of the story context.

Where is this?

 

[Mr Vociferous]

Diapers will be soiled.

Not from what I've been told.

Toilet. TV. Line of sight.

BELIEVE.

Ghaleon, those are some interesting highlights. I really can't wait to play this game. Seeing the shots of High Ground, Snowbound and Valhalla remind me of how much of a blast it was playing the beta and how much I want to continue that in Sep/Oct. This game felt like the best Halo game of the three, by far. It really got it right, and that's only based on a small sliver of the multiplayer component...if the rest of the game stays in line with that initial direction, it's going to bring the rock. Hard.

 

[armubaba]

OMFGREALTIMEREFLECTIONSALLOVERMYFACE

YAY! I remember a fellow Gaffer (whose names escapes me for the moment) and I tried to check for visor reflections in the Beta, but, alas, none were to be found. I'm glad they actually got to implement them in the end.

It is a cap from the game.

"Everyone, go fight over there. Do stupid stuff."

:lol

Those must make for some interesting games......

 

[Redbeard]

Why can't they use the armor textures from the single player game in mp? Armor looked like plastic in the beta, and it looks like that's going to be final. They need to up the shine at least.

 

[urk]

Not from what I've been told.

Toilet. TV. Line of sight.

Nope, no sightline from toilet to television. I just blindly twiddle my thumbs and press buttons. Maybe I could fabricate a system of mirrors...

"Everyone, go fight over there. Do stupid stuff."

Are we pretending that this isn't the Halo crew's well-established playstyle now?

 

[Francias Castiglione]

The thing is, if you took every single multiplayer map and stitched them together into this unholy fusion of a multiplayer map, it would probably be about the same size as some of the single-player maps, right?

Jaime Griesemer: Yeah - half of a small single-player mission!

AGUMANFASOKDKAAAADFASB!!!!!

Oh my.

 

[Buttonbasher]

AGUMANFASOKDKAAAADFASB!!!!!

Oh my.

You made me re-read to understand it. My brain just kinda deflated, and the drool is flowing freely!

 

[urk]

Why can't they use the armor textures from the single player game in mp? Armor looked like plastic in the beta, and it looks like that's going to be final. They need to up the shine at least.

 

[Imperial Hot]

Wow, it looks a LOT better than the Halo 3 beta! And I didn't think the Beta looked that bad.

 

[Imperial Hot]

Wait, why is the Weapon of Destruction in this screen a hand.

Pimp-slapping in Halo 3!

 

[Buttonbasher]

You keep posting them but they have another game to make today! They're too busy for the thread!:lol

 

[FIREBABY]

Wait, why is the Weapon of Destruction in this screen a hand.

Pimp-slapping in Halo 3!

Melee. It was in the beta/old.

 

[Cornballer]

Where is this?

Here.

 

[armubaba]

Wait, why is the Weapon of Destruction in this screen a hand.

Pimp-slapping in Halo 3!

:lol

I used to get melee tools of destruction all the time.

Oh Beta, where art thou? *tear*

 

[Sai]

Wait, why is the Weapon of Destruction in this screen a hand.

First time seeing that? Melee carnage.

 

[giga]

Someone hold me.

July 10th.

 

[sableholic]

Wait, why is the Weapon of Destruction in this screen a hand.

Pimp-slapping in Halo 3!

Well he has two assassinations and 3 beatdowns. Not sure if thats the correct answer though.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Here.

Everyone should read that interview. I clipped a few highlights, but there's a lot of other good stuff in there.

 

[Tieno]

Great interview, thanks Ghaleon The Highlighter!


How big was the Bungie Halo 1 team?

 

[Gowans]

My god the screens just keep getting better and better.

Im gona have to be weird tho when I play online and play only in the standard cheif armor, dont ask me why I honestly cant answer.

 

[DenogginizerOS]

Imagine, indeed.

Tease.

 

[Shake Appeal]

is there anything substantiating the 'campaign footage at E3' talk or are we working ourselves into a frenzy over a few sly comments from Marty/that Xbox.com blog?

 

[Tieno]

Just read the entire Q&A, some great questions! Always like reading about the thought-process and decision making that goes into a game (equipment, proximity grenades etc).

 

[siamesedreamer]

Wow.......looks fantastic. I didn't realize how big the chopper is - fricking huge.

I also can't believe how big they made Shrine.

Is anyone else concerned about the possibility of the unlockable armor increasing your defense? I seriously doubt it'll be like that, but that feature absolutely killed Rainbow Six: Vegas.

 

[urk]

is there anything substantiating the 'campaign footage at E3' talk or are we working ourselves into a frenzy over a few sly comments from Marty/that Xbox.com blog?

Unsubstantiated Frenzy. The usual.

 

[Tieno]

Who's leading the SP development of the game? and who are the big guys in that department? Where does Jason Jones fit into this?