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The Official Halo 3 Thread

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Kibbles

Kibbles

Member
Cold Storage Q&A at Bnet.

http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=14640

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T

The Librarian

Banned
Sai-kun said:
I had to quit. Oh god :p
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He's now telling everyone not to kill him because he is losing.:lol :lol
"Guys what are you doing?!"
"This is why I don't like playing with you, you guys don't let me win, assholes."
 
Kibbles

Kibbles

Member
EazyB said:
Would you mind doing a poor guy stuck in his office a favor and copy/pasting it?
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Got you covered. :)

A few of the talented folks involved in Cold Storage’s redux answered a quick handful of questions – one of them even rewrote the questions and answered those – about Cold Storage and what they do here at Bungie. Fancy a read, k?

Q: So, who are you guys? What do you do here at Bungie?

VDL: I’m Vic DeLeon, Senior Environment Artist and all-around wiseguy of the Bungie Art Team. I also go by Vickybaby or Mr. Pink from time to time. What do I do on the Bungie Art team you ask? I make maps for both Multiplayer and Singleplayer Campaign and I specialize in organic modeling- that’s the curvy, wavy stuff for you not-so-savvy laymen. I enjoy entropy modeling- broken and damaged stuff, like Legendary Map Pack’s Ghost Town and Halo 2’s Maptacular Warlock, but I’ve done a lot of Flood stuff since then so I’ve been begrudgingly bestowed the honorary title of “The Flood Guy” or “Vic- the guy that likes to make the disgusting looking stuff that reminds you of your cloaca”.

MM1: Michael Milota, Environment Artist, 3d modeling, texturing, and lighting.

MM2: I’m Mike Means, I was the architect and primary finishing artist on Cold Storage.

Q: How’d you get into what you’re doing at Bungie?

MM2: I got my BFA from the Savannah College of Art & Design in “Computer Art Specializing in 3D Animation.” I’ve always loved all aspects of 3D art, and actually began my career in the industry as a Character Artist and Animator. When I relocated to Seattle, the opportunity came up to work at Bungie as a contractor creating objects, props, and various trees & plants for Halo 3. During the first wave of DLC, I was the primary finishing artist on Rat’s Nest, which was the first full-fledged environment I’d ever done. As that was finishing up, the idea to remake Chill Out was beginning to get kicked around, and I volunteered to take the level on.

MM1: I’ve worked in games around 7 years. Lots of hard work and a strong desire to do that work with the best got me to Bungie.

Q: Any advice for folks who want to work in the game industry?

MM1: I’d advise any artist to utilize the immense resources of the internet to find out all the “how to” of game art. Get involved with the 3d art forums, make your own levels, join a mod team, participate in challenges/contests. Look at an awesome piece of art and make something of equal or better quality. Realize that you’ll have to commit to some serious time, hard work, and focus to be able to compete with all the best from around the world. Above all, make stuff that you want to see and can believe in.

MM2: The big thing I’d say is don’t limit yourself. Our industry is rapidly moving into more and more specialized roles, and schools are encouraging people to focus on one discipline and to ignore all other aspects of 3D. I think this can be a big mistake for young artists, as it has been my wide range of abilities that has allowed me to end up where I am today. Learn as much as possible and make sure you have a solid foundation in traditional art forms like drawing and sculpting.



Vic’s Question to himself: Any Vicalicious advice for folks who want to work in the game industry?

VDL: First, go research a PC game that has a lot of mods and volunteer to help the team. Next bust your ass making excellent content until someone notices your work and hires you or the team you are on- even if it’s just as an intern or contractor. You should also make a website with a couple shots of your very best work, just a couple great ones mind you, don’t throw everything you’ve ever made up there. Next, attend the Game Developer Conference or something like it and talk to professionals, learn techniques and pipelines, stalk the job fair and get your website URL in front of recruiters. Join the IGDA and become active in your local chapter. Most importantly, get honest critiques of your work from people already in the industry and follow their advice on how to improve. They’ll know what you need to do to get your work up to par, so treat them nicely and buy them expensive gifts in exchange for their tutelage.

Q: How was the setting for Cold Storage selected? Chill Out was Covenant, Cold Storage is Forerunner.

MM2: We knew we wanted to explore something new with Cold Storage, and fairly early on the decision was made to go with Forerunner because at the time there weren’t many Forerunner maps being developed. The concept of a Flood research facility was briefly touched on in Halo 2, and we thought this would be a good opportunity to take a fresh look at the idea. We knew we wanted to keep it fairly sterile, with almost all of the color in the level coming from the lighting, and we wanted each section of the level to have a distinct feel so that there was never confusion as to where you were at any given time. There was a lot of back and forth with Dorje, one of our concept artists, and he ended up giving us some fantastic pieces that really defined the final look of the level.

Q: It took a matter of days to finish Chill Out in Combat Evolved, what’s the art pipeline like for doing a Halo 3 DLC map?

MM2: Well, as you can see from the side by side comparisons, there is quite a bit more complexity in a Halo 3 map than there was on Halo CE. This translates to a much longer development cycle with multiple artists working on each environment. They still begin roughly the same way with someone creating very generic spaces, basically boxes with ramps, to make sure the size of each room, the height of each walkway, the length of each jump, etc. feel right. From this point the level goes into Architecting, which is when we begin defining the final shapes and feel of each section of the level, what types of materials go where, a rough idea of how the level will be lit, things like that, so that when another artist begins working on the level, they have a fairly good idea of what the final product will look like and what they should be working towards. After that we go into Finishing which is when we really start to go over every surface and create all of the little details. Finally is Polish, where we go over the entire level with a fine-toothed comb and make sure everything looks exactly how it should.

MM1: I’d advise any artist to utilize the immense resources of the internet to find out all the “how to” of game art. Get involved with the 3d art forums, make your own levels, join a mod team, participate in challenges/contests. Look at an awesome piece of art and make something of equal or better quality. Realize that you’ll have to commit to some serious time, hard work, and focus to be able to compete with all the best from around the world. Above all, make stuff that you want to see and can believe in.


Q: What’s changed from Chill Out to Cold Storage?

MM2: Other than the level of detail and the thematic change, we tried to keep things fairly close to the original layout. There was an overall shift in scale due to the changed run speeds, jump heights, and FOV in Halo 3. There are some jumps you can make now that you couldn’t before, and we opened up some areas of the level which created a slightly different flow . We never set out to make an exact port, but were more concerned with staying true to the overall feel of the original.

Q: What’s the deal with the Flood in Cold Storage?

VDL: Ah the Flood, everyone’s favorite. Seriously.The idea behind the original Chill Out was that it was a very cold storage facility of some sort. Pretty generic in the style department, but fun was the goal there and it excelled in that respect. For Cold Storage we wanted to add a reason for the season, a fiction for the Vic-tion so to speak[Wat? – editor], and the Flood was a perfect fit amongst all that cryogenic mumbo jumbo. The tricky part was how to add the goopy mounds of parasitic loving without messing with the great work that Mike Means and Mike Milota were making so true to the original. The answer was simple, Add the Flood but keep it out of the playable areas, i.e. stick it behind glass windows where you can admire it from a distance but you can’t get to it. The Isolation MP map had the Flood right there in your face and people were frightened. Well we listened and complied. In fact, there is only one tiny little place in Cold Storage where the player can come into contact with the Flood, yet it’s totally benign to gameplay so I think we did good on that promise. Keep an eye out for little herds of infection forms roaming behind the aquarium-style observation windows, and have fun with the pure-form guy in the glass tube just don’t get too close. Someday I will be at one with the Flood and evolve into a Proto-Gravemind and everything in the universe will be simplified for all eternity; however I will still be subjected to taking crap from the Senior Graveminds working above me.
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LAUGHTREY

LAUGHTREY

Modesty becomes a woman
I wanna know more about 32 mins when luke cuts in and says that the stuff occupying this space was not suitable for ears, and then it just cuts right back to where it was? I don't get it unless it DID cut something out.
 
D

Dirtbag

Member
the disgruntled gamer said:
Narrows is a fun map about 1 out of every 8 games I play on it.

During last year's E3 (this might have been during your middle school days), we had a big, fun, crazy, drunken IRC chat during MS' press conference as we waited for the Halo 3 trailer Luke had hinted at. It was good times. Gross, but fun.
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and then G4 went to commercial :lol
 
O

Oozer3993

Member
LAUGHTREY said:
I wanna know more about 32 mins when luke cuts in and says that the stuff occupying this space was not suitable for ears, and then it just cuts right back to where it was? I don't get it unless it DID cut something out.
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That was Harold Ryan popping in and saying "We're nerfing the BR! LOL!" and then running away. That announcement is supposed to wait until E3

the disgruntled gamer said:
Narrows is a fun map about 1 out of every 8 games I play on it.

During last year's E3 (this might have been during your middle school days), we had a big, fun, crazy, drunken IRC chat during MS' press conference as we waited for the Halo 3 trailer Luke had hinted at. It was good times. Gross, but fun.
Click to expand...

You're not a real man unless you remember downloading the E3 2004 Halo 2 multiplayer demo over dialup. That's the good old days. :D
 
E

EazyB

Banned
59:50 ASAP!

I need a man ripping that song out. Someone dig through the music vaults for any similarities. I want another playing it through with various filters for hidden messages.

<3 Ghaleon

Dax01 said:
Eazy, can you play Cold Storage with me now?
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Sure, thing, don't start your game up; I'll be on in a sec.
 
T

The Librarian

Banned
EazyB said:
59:50 ASAP!

I need a man ripping that song out. Someone dig through the music vaults for any similarities. I want another playing it through with various filters for hidden messages.

<3 Ghaleon
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Eazy, can you play Cold Storage with me now?
 
S

Shake Appeal

Member
I reached the end of the podcast.

There is one tiny hint of a sliver of a suggestion that it might be worth keeping informed about E3 next week.

;)
 
L

Louis Wu

Member
EazyB said:
59:50 ASAP!

I need a man ripping that song out. Someone dig through the music vaults for any similarities. I want another playing it through with various filters for hidden messages.
Click to expand...

That's Flippant, written by Alex Seropian for Marathon 1.

He's never let it be released onto the net, but there are fan recreations of it.

(Edited because I'm an idiot - that's not Fan Man, it's Flippant. My only excuse is that the vacuum cleaner is running about 3 feet from my chair right now.)
 
L

Louis Wu

Member
Dax01 said:
I'm sorry, Luke, but Jerome's voice was not enough to deter me from going to Bungie while I am at Seattle. :lol
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Dax, trust me - it's not gonna be his voice that deters you when you show up.
 
E

EazyB

Banned
Dax01 said:
I'm sorry, Luke, but Jerome's voice was not enough to deter me from going to Bungie while I am at Seattle. :lol
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Like someone else suggested, you must bring a video camera on this journey. I need to see how awesome things pan out for you.
 
T

The Librarian

Banned
EazyB said:
Like someone else suggested, you must bring a video camera on this journey. I need to see how awesome things pan out for you.
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My digital camera can record video.
Louis Wu said:
Dax, trust me - it's not gonna be his voice that deters you when you show up.
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All I am going to do is take some pictures of the building, that's it. Unless Luke invites me inside for a couple of games...
HINT HINT, LUKE
 
E

EazyB

Banned
Dax01 said:
My digital camera can record video.

All I am going to do is take some pictures of the building, that's it. Unless Luke invites me inside for a couple of games...
HINT HINT, LUKE
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You should be able to talk to Jerome and tell him that Luke knows you from the internet. If that doesn't work, you could probably outrun him.

Remember, video.
 
T

The Librarian

Banned
EazyB said:
You should be able to talk to Jerome and tell him that Luke knows you from the internet. If that doesn't work, you could probably outrun him.

Remember, video.
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I don't know. Right before I leave, I could post on here what I'm wearing, and Luke can tell Jerome to expect some kid named Dax01 from NeoGaf to show up and then Jerome can call Luke so he and I can play some games together.

/dreams.

And LOL @ the ending to the podcast. Total teaser. Too bad I'll be flying all day Monday to get to Seattle. Fuck, why does MS's press conference have to be on Monday?
 
D

Deleted member 21120

Unconfirmed Member
Merguson and I were doing some exploring on Cold Storage and he showed me this trick that you can do with a turret to get through walls. Unfortunately, there are insta-kill barriers through every wall. : ( But I at least was able to get the camera out there in theater mode.

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We were able, however, to get inside the tank with the Pure form and survive.

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E

EazyB

Banned
Dax01 said:
How so? I know it's not gonna happen, I'm just joking around.
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Voc is a grumpy old man, Dax, don't let him extinguish your dreams.

Trying to give Luke his Jerome induced beat down extravaganza.
 
H

HolyStar

Banned
Well, just downloaded the Legendary Map pack for 600. Did bungie say anything about it being free in the future? If they do I will be pissed since I bought the Heroic map pack just weeks before they made it free.

Also Cold Storage is amazing.
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
HolyStar said:
Well, just downloaded the Legendary Map pack for 600. Did bungie say anything about it being free in the future? If they do I will be pissed since I bought the Heroic map pack just weeks before they made it free.

Also Cold Storage is amazing.
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Yes, they said there are no plans for it to go free, ever. Probably a good time to buy as any.

Avalanche alone is worth it, IMO.
 
E

EazyB

Banned
HolyStar said:
Well, just downloaded the Legendary Map pack for 600. Did bungie say anything about it being free in the future? If they do I will be pissed since I bought the Heroic map pack just weeks before they made it free.

Also Cold Storage is amazing.
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Well considering they announced that the Heroic maps were going to be free and they even gave a date on which they were going to be free (weeks before that date), it's hard to feel sorry for you.

As far as the Legendary maps are concerned, I thinks it's safe to say that it'll be a while before they're free. In the meantime, enjoy. Even then, the sooner they're free the sooner they'll be fully incorporated into MM and you'll be able to enjoy them even more.

OT: I have been sitting at my for the last 6 hours with not a single thing to do. My mentor needs to get his shit together because I could be playin Chillout right now if I wanted to be accomplishing nothing.
 
Tokubetsu

Tokubetsu

Member
GhaleonEB said:
Yes, they said there are no plans for it to go free, ever. Probably a good time to buy as any.

Avalanche alone is worth it, IMO.
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Why does everyone go crazy over Avalanche? I've always felt that its just shit we've seen before (Valhalla in sheeps clothing). Ghost Town is worth it =P
 
O

Oozer3993

Member
LukeSmith said:
Host said it was a miss, so you as the client didn't get a kill.
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I understand the logic behind it, but the game seemed to be lag-free and he was just moving forward and back. I ended up killing the guy about 10 seconds later, in the same spot, anyway. As the first in an Overkill to boot :D

And then Halo must have felt bad about that and decided to make it up to me because I just had a glorious Rockets game where seemingly every rocket I fired hit somebody. And several ones shot at me down narrow hallways miraculously missed.
 
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