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Hasn't been posted yet but Halo Wars has gone gold.

Mythic Map Pack Mirage

You might find one of those shaded sanctuaries in Halo 3's Mythic Map Pack, set for initial release this Spring bundled with the Halo Wars Limited Collector's Edition, and then a short time later by way of Xbox Live Marketplace as standalone downloadable content.  By now, you've probably laid eyes on the Xbox.com Newsflash which comes saddled with the first official Sandbox screenshot (now in our gallery and embedded below).

Though the verbiage included is light on the specifics you've been demanding for so long, keep in mind this is only the opening salvo.  Between now and March, there's plenty more to come.  We're bringing our MAC cannons online and we're targeting next week.

From the press release:

"Sandbox combines large-scale vehicular combat with a limitless amount of Forge customization. Boasting a tiered, open-world layout, “Halo 3” players will be able to build their own unique game experiences using the Forge map editor. Sandbox is a map unlike any Bungie has ever created."

Ooh... large-scale vehicular...

::faints::

Consider this the popping of the lid.

Though you may feel as though you've been condemned to stand chin-deep in cool, refreshing waters your lips can never touch, sweetly-scented orbs of fruit dangling overhead ever out of reach, the cruel torment will end soon enough.  The mythical tantalizing will fade away like sand after a windstorm, becoming nothing more than a distant memory.

The Mythic Map Pack is no mirage.  It's real, and it's spectacular.

And Sci & uki can partake of it when they get their tree-sittys.

http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx … ;cid=17091

There's analyst talk of the Pro coming down to $250 by Spring, April maybe. That should help.

Hmm, I bet Hudson will buy Halo Wars and then load the pack on my console ...i'm really not in the mood for an RTS atm.

Stuff was left out.

March 25, 2009 - Fans of Halo 3's online multiplayer are familiar with the Guardian map, a thickly forested area consisting of multiple Forerunner platform structures. At a talk at the Game Developers Conference today, Bungie producer Allen Murray mentioned that Guardian was at one point an entire level in the Halo 3 campaign that was cut due to production time constraints.

As a multiplayer map, Guardian takes visual cues from Halo 2 maps like Lockout and Ascension and features man cannons and gravity lifts for maximum noob deaths. The single-player level also took place in a jungle setting and contained ancient Forerunner structures, but beyond that, we don't know much about what the lost Halo 3 level contained.

However, Murray did mention that the mission was home to a creature called, fittingly, the Guardian. A piece of concept art showed the Guardian as a deep green, angular machine-like object with a single glowing red eye at the top. It appeared to be a Forerunner construct and was reminiscent of an upside-down sword. According to Murray, you were able to fight the Guardian in the original level and could rip out its laser eye for use as a weapon.

But the removal of Guardian wasn't the only change Bungie made to the Halo 3 campaign during the middle of the production process. The Cortana mission, which takes place inside the Covenant capital city of High Charity, was once two separate (and considerably shorter) missions. Tsavo Highway, a vehicle heavy level in the Halo 3 campaign, was also originally longer and was also chopped to meet production schedules.

Also, Master Chief was originally concieved as a small woodland creature. OK, we made that last bit up.

I knew there'd be a price for releasing in September vs. November as per usual. Sigh.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/966/966319p1.html

I allus figured MS made a money decision, and the game suffered. They had a strong Xmas lineup for once that year, Bungie was more on-time then they'd ever been, so they figured bumping it forward 6 weeks or so wouldn't really hurt it; and they'd sell a bazillion anyways. Ed Fries had left a long time earlier. Heaven knows what else was cut that wasn't mentioned. Books loves that map in MP; I wonder what he thinks, hearing it was once Campaign.

(If I ever meet Shane Kim, Robbie Bach or J Allard in a dark alley, hopefully all three...)

Last edited by Bat (2009-03-29 4:45 am)

Because, I guess, Halo 3 just had to come in under budget. No telling whether or not it such a risky title would break even.

Actually, on quick reread I recall hoping that H3: ODST might, somehow, find a way to introduce some of that, say in terminals within the Portal structure (assuming they get inside, which is where I think dev was first heading. The Ark was originally supposed to be on Earth as the Announce tralier implied). Plenty of room in there, I think, and not too tough to write such a storyline. I've a hunch the story guys would sure like to.

I've some other story hunches I've never mentioned, either.

====

Shucks, almost forgot I wanted to mention a personal Achievement of sorts.

Last night I replayed 'Uprising.' I've long wanted to do the seemingly impossible there- get a Grunty alive to the end. Recently I've gotten substantial Elite groups past the waterfall, fought with the Zealot alongside a few times... but tho I've often had a Grunt or two jump or Ghost over, they just can't endure the firepower waiting there. Thought I might eventually pull it off on PC.

Last night I took a different approach than usual and let all heck ensue when a group went over- took my Ghost against both Wraiths, ready to board if necessary; but the Elite I'd given the FRG to did good work. I Ghosted into the Armory and beyond, very tight quarters for splash damage, but got thru. Plasmaed the snipers across the valley and, story short[er], at the end I had an Elite and a Grunt I'd rearmed with a Brute plasma rifle. Just ere the cutscene I swapped him my recovered FRG as a battle honor. My Grunty minions outfight your Brutays! Teamwork foevah.

My reward was, yup, appearing in teh cutscene with that red plas rifle, not my sword- the wimpiest wep I've ever had in it.

Oh, for some screenshots.

Have a better idea what those missing story threads could be about, but this is not about that. Guess fresh ideas are gone...

Let's hope that the HTML works for my images this time around...

Hello world. I just finished the map that I've been working on for about a month; a Hang 'em High remake titled "High Noon" (keeping with the western theme.) I put a ton of effort into this. HEH is my favorite map out of all 3 games, after all. I believe that I have put more effort into keeping my remake true to the original than anyone else has for HEH. I'm very proud of this. Without further adieu, take a look...

OK, that was TIC. HeH is one of almost everyone's favorite MP maps; [MA] Halo spent much time in matches there. A Halo 3 remake on Sandbox... :looks for wallet:

Hang 'em High remake

Render-to-video has gone beta for Bungie Pro users, and H3: ODST seems to have gotten a new pistol.

http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx … PublicBeta

http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx … =BWU051509

http://halo.bungie.org/news.html?item=26264

Whens that?

Some ODST details and/or goodness...

Forget the startlingly large screenshots, Bungie has confirmed ODST will run at the same below-HD 1152x640 resolution as Halo 3.

Speaking to 360 Gamer magazine, senior designer Lars Bakken confessed that ODST's engine is practically the same as Halo 3's and that graphical improvements are a result of talented artists, rather than improved tech.

"Everything that existed in Halo 3’s engine was there from the beginning. So the graphical differences that you’re seeing in ODST is really testament to the artists, because they were able to just take the tools that we had from the beginning, and just make awesome looking stuff."

When asked about the game's resolution, Bakken confirmed it would be:

"The same as Halo 3."

So, less than 1280x720?

"Yes, exactly."

Which is perhaps surprising news for anyone who can recall Halo 3's launch, and remembers the, erm, 'excitement' that followed when word spread that Microsoft's flagship 360 title wasn't using its flagship resolution. Or perhaps it's not really that important?

Regardless, we're sure it'll give the PS3 fanboys something to shout about. If only because they have little else right now.

I was hoping they'd found a way to bring it up that small notch, but it looks pretty good as is... that much more to look forward to on the PC.

http://www.gameswire.net/news/halo-3-od … ie_85.html

Halo 3: ODST - 25 massive screenshots
You've probably seen these elsewhere, but most likely at a slightly lower resolution, so for that reason we're uploading these (a bit late, granted) at full-size, for those of you who want to stare at all that extra detail.

Some shots come as 1280x720, but many are as high as 3840x2160.

http://www.gameswire.net/screenshots/ha … ts_71.html

For those unfamiliar... you take screenies from saved fims. It takes all available RAM, upscales to 3840x2160 then condenses to half that (1080p), with additional texture filtering... thereby looking much as it will eventually on PC , rendering in a 1920x1080 window with perhaps 4xFSAA and some goodly AF. The 360 can't look that good in realtime... and of course, you'll haz 60+f/s.

Me must play again soon!

Last edited by Bat (2009-07-25 1:42 am)