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The Halo 3 Beta Thread
- Thread starter GhaleonEB
- Start date
Son of Godzilla
Banned
So uh beat the game again just to replay that section right before Tart, and I actually think the ending kinda works. The game obviously had to end then, it had gone on long enough really. Another MC level would have sucked without Cortana too. And I think, you know, cinemaeioutically the ending would have worked if they just had the Oracle tell Keyes the fancy name for the launch button is on Earth or whichever shocking location it's at, then faded on that downnote. Then after the credits stick that MC scene in. That would have been muuuuuuch better pacing.
Anyways, plot question: Why do people link GM to the Flood? I seem to remember it being done alot from what I glanced at offhand, and I just don't see the link. Just seem like two lifeforms that just mysteriously show up, not necessarily connected. And GM helping the flood by proxy doesn't mean much considering the consequences for not doing so.
Also seeing as how I have to throw in a bit of bitching, the Elite rebellion wasn't particularly believable. They hadn't found out that the prophets were full of it at the time and IIRC only a handful learned of the Brutes killing off the council (And I promptly got them all killed that level), so basically the whole insurgency where they beat the total shit out of each other was provoked by losing the gaurd station? Just seems a tad petty to lose total sight of their goals over. I mean, did Truth even arrive with a fleet?
Anyways, plot question: Why do people link GM to the Flood? I seem to remember it being done alot from what I glanced at offhand, and I just don't see the link. Just seem like two lifeforms that just mysteriously show up, not necessarily connected. And GM helping the flood by proxy doesn't mean much considering the consequences for not doing so.
Also seeing as how I have to throw in a bit of bitching, the Elite rebellion wasn't particularly believable. They hadn't found out that the prophets were full of it at the time and IIRC only a handful learned of the Brutes killing off the council (And I promptly got them all killed that level), so basically the whole insurgency where they beat the total shit out of each other was provoked by losing the gaurd station? Just seems a tad petty to lose total sight of their goals over. I mean, did Truth even arrive with a fleet?
I'm not really sure how else they could've ended Halo 2. They clearly wanted to end the game by giving you some feeling of accomplishment, so they end it after you save the galaxy by stopping the Delta Halo from firing. They really couldn't do any more without doubling the size of the game and delaying it by at least a year, so I'm happy with what they did.
I agree - I've been saying that would have been a better ending for a while.Son of Godzilla said:
The way he subsumed and reanimated the Prophet of Regret, and was made out of the same material as the rest of the Flood. And he shows up after the Flood have taken over High Charity. He also has the same motivation to obtain the Index - prevent Halo from firing and depriving him of the Flood's food supply.
Not sure if you caught it, because it's hard to hear, but Gravemind and the Prophet of Truth have some interesting exchanges over the loudspeaker during the "High Charity" level.
TRUTH (over loudspeakers):
The parasite did not defeat the Forerunners, and it shall not defeat us.
GRAVEMIND:
Arrogant creature! Your deaths will be instantaneous while we shall suffer the progress of infinitude!
TRUTH (over loudspeakers):
Whosoever is gripped by fear, take heed: I am the Prophet of Truth, and I am not afraid. Noble Mercy is here, at my side, his wise counsel ever in my ears.
GRAVEMIND:
We exist together now. Two corpses in one grave.
http://halosm.bungie.org/story/halo2_level_transcripts/lv14_highcharity.html
When Master Chief wants popcorn, he breathes on Nebraska.SpudBud said:
Master Chief uses red hot lava to moisturize his skin.
Master Chief invented the apple.
Master Chief built Mount Everest with a bucket and spade.
Master Chief beat the Sun in a staring contest.
Master Chief was born in a log cabin that he built with his bare hands.
Some people get lucky and kill two birds with one stone. Master Chief once killed four birds with half a stone. What's that? You say there's no such thing as half a stone? The four dead birds didn't think so either.
Master Chief puts the FUN in Funeral.
Master Chief is capable of photosynthesis.
Master Chief does not love Raymond.
Einstein's original Theory of Relativity was; if Master Chief kicks you, your relatives will feel it.
Bigfoot takes pictures of Master Chief.
Master Chief can hold Puff Daddy down.
Master Chief once played Russian roulette with a fully load gun and won.
The only reason the color pink still exists is because Master Chief is color blind.
Master Chief is allowed to talk about Fight Club.
Niagra Falls is the result of one of Chuck's legendary cannon balls.
Master Chief sneezes electricity.
Master Chief performs colonoscopies on himself.
Master Chief' smile once brought a puppy back to life.
You know he jumped off the Empire State Building this one time and he only sprained his ankle.
Master Chief lost both his legs in a warthog accident....and still managed to walk it off.
Contrary to popular belief the Lottery numbers are not random. They are just the number of people Master Chief killed that given day.
Mr Vociferous
Member
In Halo 3, my guess is that most of it is without Cortana whispering in his ear and when she does, he's probably not going to be cool with what she's saying. You may want to get used to the whole Cortana-less campaign experience.Son of Godzilla said:
Apart from having been officially linked to the Flood by Bungie, I didn't remember having a problem with making the connection. There's a line by Cortana early in one of the High Charity levels (the one where the Pelican crashes and the Flood escape). She says the Gravemind's name for the first time and states something to the effect of...It sent us here so they could follow us. It was just using us.
That line and others really connected the group, but the biggest connection were the visuals. After getting the "Art of Halo" I was extremely upset to see loads of much more interesting and cool versions of the Gravemind, ones which didn't look like a venus flytrap. Hopefully we're going to get a differently looking Gravemind this time around which is why its been absent from halo3.com.
Arrive at Earth? Don't know what your question is there.
To answer the first question though...I think the Brutes began to systematically exterminate the Elites and that the scene at the guard post was really a microcosm of what was going on in the city ship of High Charity and what was happening throughout the Covenant-patrolled regions of Installation 05. The Arbiter was executed by Tartarus, so I would imagine that similar things were going on throughout the city and ring once the Prophet re-aligned his military with the Jiralhanae.
Mr Vociferous
Member
Good purchase. Solid read and look. Not like the bathroom garbage I write. I don't know what part exactly, but I think Mr. Stinkles had something to do with it as well...GhaleonEB said:
I think you'll enjoy it.
I kind of consider Halo 2 a big set-up that will make help contribute to Halo 3 to make it a better game. Putting aside the new gameplay mechanics, there was alot of new and important story elements that were introduced that added more layers and depth to the Halo universe. The problem was that because of their sudden introduction it had negative effects. Like the Arbiter and the Covernant's side of the story. We get alot of detail and clarification on the Covernan such as the motives, layout and so on, but because of the constant switching from Human and the (focus on) Covernant's, it really screws around with with H2 and gives it serious pacing problems.
In H3, we won't have to worry about as Halo 2 has given H3 a good solid foundation on information. This allows Bungie to add more details to either side more easily, and allows them to concentrate on ending all those loose ends.
I wouldn't be suprised if they swap Cortana's role with Sgt Johnson, the marines (hopefully the ODST and Spartain III;s) will probably play a much larger role as well. After all, we know that MC is on Earth trying to stop the Covernant, it only makes sense that the marines are next to him trying to make a final push.
In H3, we won't have to worry about as Halo 2 has given H3 a good solid foundation on information. This allows Bungie to add more details to either side more easily, and allows them to concentrate on ending all those loose ends.
Son of Godzilla said:
I wouldn't be suprised if they swap Cortana's role with Sgt Johnson, the marines (hopefully the ODST and Spartain III;s) will probably play a much larger role as well. After all, we know that MC is on Earth trying to stop the Covernant, it only makes sense that the marines are next to him trying to make a final push.
Francias Castiglione
Banned
GhaleonEB said:Well aren't you mister fancy-pants, using their Covenant name and everything.
Technically it is their Korean name! :lol
siamesedreamer
Banned
Damn y'all know your Halo......
I've mentioned this before in another thread (or hell, maybe this one 17000 posts ago), but is it possible there is more than one "Gravemind"? Is Gravemind simply another form of the Flood, like the infection or carrier forms (and hence, non unique), but existing as a single entity to guide the rest of the Flood that exist in a given area? If so, does that mean that on other Halo rings, that a Gravemind could exist there as well, or be created by the other Flood?
For example, what was it that the Flood were making on the Truth and Reconciliation
Were the Flood making a Gravemind to help guide them to the stars and new food sources, or was that Flood biomass simply another form of the Flood?
Or is Gravemind absolutely unique, and the result of the accumulated knowledge of millions of Flood infected lifeforms (since the Flood absorbs the knowledge of the host)? Or is it unique because the Flood spawned from it, and it, in turn, spawned from the Forerunners? (Bringing up the question: which came first, the Gravemind (chicken) or the Flood (egg)?)
For example, what was it that the Flood were making on the Truth and Reconciliation
out of Capt. Keyes and the Covie captain?
Or is Gravemind absolutely unique, and the result of the accumulated knowledge of millions of Flood infected lifeforms (since the Flood absorbs the knowledge of the host)? Or is it unique because the Flood spawned from it, and it, in turn, spawned from the Forerunners? (Bringing up the question: which came first, the Gravemind (chicken) or the Flood (egg)?)
Wolffen said:
This will help
The Art of Halo: Creating a Virtual World states that Gravemind is “literally built from the bodies of its enemies and its own fallen warriors reassembled into a massive, tentacled, and intelligent entity." It is not known how that Gravemind managed to survive the first Halo activation, as he(or it) being a sentient life form should have died with the rest of the Forerunners as well.
Mr Vociferous
Member
Wolfen, you can read the Halo Graphic Novel and get an idea how the Gravemind-like entities are formed. The Flood reach a certain critical mass where they begin gathering unsalvageable portions of flesh and biomass and eventually form a Gravemind-like creature. It's in the "The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor." The creature then directs and operates the Flood so they work together to achieve their goals...
One thing that I didn't get about the story, and maybe someone can help me out with this one, but the Covenant ship which is boarded, the Infinite Succor, had some sort of habitat on it with alien flora and fauna. Some of the animals appeared to have been assimilated into the Flood. I was always under the impression that the Flood would only effect their parasitic strain on sentient beings.
Isn't that the basis for understanding the Halo weapon network and installations or did I miss something?
One thing that I didn't get about the story, and maybe someone can help me out with this one, but the Covenant ship which is boarded, the Infinite Succor, had some sort of habitat on it with alien flora and fauna. Some of the animals appeared to have been assimilated into the Flood. I was always under the impression that the Flood would only effect their parasitic strain on sentient beings.
Isn't that the basis for understanding the Halo weapon network and installations or did I miss something?
Animals are sentient. "The Flood consume all."Mr Vociferous said:
Sentient \Sen"ti*ent\, a. [L. sentiens, -entis, p. pr. of
sentire to discern or perceive by the senses. See Sense.]
Having a faculty, or faculties, of sensation and perception.
Specif. (Physiol.), especially sensitive; as, the sentient
extremities of nerves, which terminate in the various organs
or tissues.
:lolMr Vociferous said:
Y'know, I just re-read that the other night, and I completely missed that the, er, thing in Engineering was a brain form. For some reason it didn't strike me as odd that the thing spoke to Half Jaw. I guess I just took it as artistic license on the part of the writer, but that was idiotic of me, as Bungie probably had much more of a hand in the GN than they did in the First Strike. I'm so used to retcons and such in comics I didn't even bat an eye during that sequence. It didn't help that I was focused on finding the panel where Half Jaw lost his lower mandible.
siamesedreamer
Banned
Anything else besides the Halopedia and HBO sites that help with the story?
I imagine they both cover it pretty well, but I am just curious.
I imagine they both cover it pretty well, but I am just curious.
Mr Vociferous
Member
I guess that's where I'm wrong. I've always taken the term to mean having consciousness. I stand corrected.GhaleonEB said:
Son of Godzilla
Banned
Just that it seemed silly Truth flew the Forerunner ship to Earth while the Covenant fleet was busy killing itself. The reasons behind the infighting seemed a dumb thing to forget the whole Exterminate Mankind thing they had going on. I guess the Brutes started picking fights off camera and the elites were on edge for being demoted, but I mean... that's retarded. I guess it just wasn't developed enough for me.Mr Vociferous said:
I took that as a "Screw the Arbiter" deal, not "Screw the elites". Arby didn't have very many friends, and ordering the mass execution of the elites is kind of a stupid thing for a Prophet to do. Then again, I guess Halo 2 is kinda adamant on the Prophets being ****ing morons.
But the real Halo 2 ending question I forgot to ask: What was Steve Vai credited for?
Truth had 343 Guilty Spark in interrogation for a while, and probably learned of the location of the Ark (which is what he came to earth looking for to begin with). Given how fanatacal he was, and how the Covenant was falling apart, I thought it fit his character to run like mad to try and trigger the "great journey".Son of Godzilla said:
But the real Halo 2 ending question I forgot to ask: What was Steve Vai credited for?[/QUOTE]
He does the guitar work during the Bungie logo and over the Halo theme during the end credits.
Son of Godzilla
Banned
Sucks that it has to go through the server first, I thought they'd just end the matchmaking but still allow you to watch videos.
Mr Vociferous
Member
I think we really have to see the what happened behind the scenes before and during Halo 2 to understand why the Covenant snapped in half so abruptly. That being said, I think it's safe to say that the Brutes and the Elites weren't capable of coexisting together.Son of Godzilla said:
To answer your first question, Frank actually talked briefly about why Truth had to use the Forerunner ship and why he had to at that moment. I did a brief search and found it here.
If the Halo array launched the Forerunner ship, then we can assume that Truth didn't have complete control over when or how it would be sent. He knew it would take him to the Ark (Earth), because that's part of the failsafe protocol, but other than that it was "blind faith" that guided him. I'm certain the Brute-controlled fleet was not far behind when he entered Slipspace, despite the civil war that is ongoing around and on Delta Halo/High Charity.