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Halo Lore Thread

Variation may result in less than perfectly optimal function, for one. Like that big ass snipeable dome on Kellys helmet, what's the tactical benefit of glass above your brow line?

We all know the fourth wall breaking explanation of course though, easy visual identification of masked individuals. "Fred's over...Wait, that's Lin...Shit, what?"
tumblr_nqfa04AB9J1uznzc5o1_400.gif

Well, yeah, that's the Doylist explanation :p

Was more interested in Watsonian, tho.

As for optimal outcomes... there's a lot of stuff that goes into that, no? Shields and a surprisingly tough undersuit account for a lot of variations. EVA type helmets might be too broad, but hey, who knows, maybe there's some added functionality.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
Variation may result in less than perfectly optimal function, for one. Like that big ass snipeable dome on Kellys helmet, what's the tactical benefit of glass above your brow line?

We all know the fourth wall breaking explanation of course though, easy visual identification of masked individuals. "Fred's over...Wait, that's Lin...Shit, what?"
tumblr_nqfa04AB9J1uznzc5o1_400.gif

That's what I don't get. With ODST Bungie managed to make troopers that still looked very similar distinct enough, and they solved the issue of not seeing through the helmets. And then with the very next game, and 343 following them, they ignored their own lessons :p
 

FyreWulff

Member
The whole armor customization stuff in Halo multiplayer has been a ball of nonsense ever since Halo Reach, really. It never made much sense that you had Spartans wearing unique armor or that there was this level of outsourcing and litany of modular components.

In the post-Covenant War, meanwhile, the vast array of armor makes a lot more sense given the vastly higher number of Spartans, and the fact that the project is public now. I just wish they hadn't retconned everyone into Mk IV that looks like Mark VI and the like.

It was supposed to show how kitbashed the S3s were and that they had their own personality. They even show that S2s can do it, with Jorge getting remarks from Halsey about changing his armor.
 
Finished Last Light last night, really REALLY enjoyed it!

Great to see a different side of Blue Team, and though 'Mom' was a really great strong character.

Probably out of all the books so far I'd like a Halo spin-off game that followed this kind of plot - investigation / intrigue / hunting a 'killer'. Could be really excellent.

I've still got New Blood and now Shadow of Intent to catch up on.
 

Squire

Banned
Finished Last Light last night, really REALLY enjoyed it!

Great to see a different side of Blue Team, and though 'Mom' was a really great strong character.

Probably out of all the books so far I'd like a Halo spin-off game that followed this kind of plot - investigation / intrigue / hunting a 'killer'. Could be really excellent.

I've still got New Blood and now Shadow of Intent to catch up on.

Glasslands is making me want the same thing basically. Halo, but at a slower pace/more atmospheric.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
It was supposed to show how kitbashed the S3s were and that they had their own personality. They even show that S2s can do it, with Jorge getting remarks from Halsey about changing his armor.

The idea that Spartans can modify their own armor is another wacky thing I have issues with, but...
 

FyreWulff

Member
The idea that Spartans can modify their own armor is another wacky thing I have issues with, but...

In this case I'll accept 'better hardware and software' as a plausible reason for this change, along with women having more feminine armor as of Reach.

Because a major reason women had the same armor up until 3 was because 3 didn't have enough spare overhead to give them unique armor. This is also why Elite MP armor choices got nerfed in Reach. They sort of were obviously canon-handwaving it away, IMO, up until that point with "it looks exactly the same on everyone". Even Nicole's armor was made to look more feminine than Chief's

hqdefault.jpg


Also, it's kind of funny to look at DOA screenshots now, it almost looks like it's made entirely out of faked screenshots. "LOOK GUYS HALO IS IN A FIGHTING GAME"

6933800uj0.jpg
 

Fuchsdh

Member
Nicole was the ONLY reason I played that game.

They should make all that canon.

Well it'd be one way to get back a Spartan-II from the dead, as it were.

New Haruspis write up on Halo 5 story, I wholeheartedly agree.

https://haruspis.wordpress.com/2015/12/10/halo-5-a-compendium-of-lies/

If you want to critique Halo from the perspective of its marketing being misleading (like previous Halo marketing) I get that. But digging up quotes from 12 to 18 months ago? It's entirely possible the story changed in that span of time. Levels and lines get cut, content gets shuffled. Gamers bitch when developers aren't forthright and transparent, but they nail them to the wall with their words at the first opportunity.

I really don't get where this outright anger is coming from when discussing the story. It's still just a game, guys.
 
New Haruspis write up on Halo 5 story, I wholeheartedly agree.

https://haruspis.wordpress.com/2015/12/10/halo-5-a-compendium-of-lies/

Ehhhhh... I agree with some parts, and can understand where he is coming from.. but it comes off as a little too much fan entitlement.

I do think Halo 5 was too light on the exposition, and certainly did not go the direction we imagined. I kind of like being surprised, and am genuinely curious where, and how, they go forward from here.
 

nekkid

It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
Ehhhhh... I agree with some parts, and can understand where he is coming from.. but it comes off as a little too much fan entitlement.

I do think Halo 5 was too light on the exposition, and certainly did not go the direction we imagined. I kind of like being surprised, and am genuinely curious where, and how, they go forward from here.

Yeah that does scream of entitlement, and then takes the "lies" thing to an unnecessary level.

I do believe, however, that a full Halo game could have been squeezed in between 4 and 5 where Chief is a bit miserable about Cortana then teams up with Blue, without actually seeing Cortana.
 

Kalentan

Member
Halo 5 needs some Single Player DLC like asap.

It needs to have at least one DLC that focuses purely on Blue Team pre-Halo 5.

Also while I I'm really- REALLY interested in seeing where Halo 6 goes... 343i has to come out now and tell us what the fuck is going on? Why are we having storylines built up and then just end abruptly? Shit like that is sort of making me worried about future EU stuff getting screwed over. :(
 

Glass

Member
Halo 5 needs some Single Player DLC like asap.

It needs to have at least one DLC that focuses purely on Blue Team pre-Halo 5.

Also while I I'm really- REALLY interested in seeing where Halo 6 goes... 343i has to come out now and tell us what the fuck is going on? Why are we having storylines built up and then just end abruptly? Shit like that is sort of making me worried about future EU stuff getting screwed over. :(

I'd be all over that. There's definitely some un-tapped potential when you see the sustain model 343 is doing, which is great, but for now seems to be focused on multiplayer.
 

Kalentan

Member
I'd be all over that. There's definitely some un-tapped potential when you see the sustain model 343 is doing, which is great, but for now seems to be focused on multiplayer.

I'm sort of worried that they took the advice from Halo 4 a bit too far. Like they don't want to alienate the casual SP fans and so they have begun to make EU stories less relevant and given less care (or at the very least less care in how they tie into everything else.)
 
New Haruspis write up on Halo 5 story, I wholeheartedly agree.

https://haruspis.wordpress.com/2015/12/10/halo-5-a-compendium-of-lies/

This is the first write up from Haruspis I've seen that isn't informative, interesting and balanced. I've made my own personal views on Halo 5 story known - and in some ways I agree with Haruspis to an extent, and I think the execution of the narrative could be better, but this piece comes across very much as 'the story was not what I wanted so I'm pissed'. vibe, which is so at odds with all his other pieces.

One thing I'd have to say that I disagree with, is bringing back Cortana to be the villain was definitely NOT safe, 343 must have known it would be divisive.
 
Yeah they could have had cortana come back as an ally and had the enternal warden take orders from the compksed didact or some crazy stuff like that. Plus we still have the gravemind alive right?
 

Fuchsdh

Member
I see the argument that Cortana coming back is too "easy" and we didn't get enough time to feel her absence, but yeah, while there have been people saying Cortana was going to turn evil since literally the end of the first game, having her actively oppose the heroes is pretty far away from the safe choice.

That reminds me... anyone still have a copy of that fake Halo 3 script? Been meaning to reread it, it's been years.
 

Tawpgun

Member
RE Armor discussion

I do think it was cool how in the old halo books Halsey and the spartans could differentiate each other just based on certain unique mannerisms they had.

I think initially the spartan project having the same armor just makes sense. Shit was expensive as fuck.

But with cost getting cheaper and more spartans being available, more suit variants just make sense. It's not TOO apparent in game but each suit is custom tailored for specific jobs. This is a TINY bit evident in Halo 5 campaign. I only just found out about this but the different spartans have different abilities. All I know for sure is Locke has better thrusters and chief has greater melee strength. I think Linda might have a bigger radar and can see radar while scoped. Kelly might have increased speed/reflex.

Not sure about the others. Its basically tied to the warzone armor mods.
----------------

But for Halo 5 you could argue the customization point is moot because you can simulate different armors. Maybe. Idk.

Either way, armor specialization only makes sense.
 
RE Armor discussion

I do think it was cool how in the old halo books Halsey and the spartans could differentiate each other just based on certain unique mannerisms they had.

I think initially the spartan project having the same armor just makes sense. Shit was expensive as fuck.

But with cost getting cheaper and more spartans being available, more suit variants just make sense. It's not TOO apparent in game but each suit is custom tailored for specific jobs. This is a TINY bit evident in Halo 5 campaign. I only just found out about this but the different spartans have different abilities. All I know for sure is Locke has better thrusters and chief has greater melee strength. I think Linda might have a bigger radar and can see radar while scoped. Kelly might have increased speed/reflex.

Not sure about the others. Its basically tied to the warzone armor mods.
----------------

But for Halo 5 you could argue the customization point is moot because you can simulate different armors. Maybe. Idk.

Either way, armor specialization only makes sense.

I hope that for 6 they lean into the specializations in single player. I want Kelly to be, like, a lot faster than anybody else.
 
I see the argument that Cortana coming back is too "easy" and we didn't get enough time to feel her absence, but yeah, while there have been people saying Cortana was going to turn evil since literally the end of the first game, having her actively oppose the heroes is pretty far away from the safe choice.

That reminds me... anyone still have a copy of that fake Halo 3 script? Been meaning to reread it, it's been years.

The thing is with cortana is that It was outrageously obvious that they were going to revive her.
 

Squire

Banned
I see the argument that Cortana coming back is too "easy" and we didn't get enough time to feel her absence, but yeah, while there have been people saying Cortana was going to turn evil since literally the end of the first game, having her actively oppose the heroes is pretty far away from the safe choice.

That reminds me... anyone still have a copy of that fake Halo 3 script? Been meaning to reread it, it's been years.

I feel like there's a tendency to conflate an obvious narrative choice with a bad one. It was obvious that Cortna was going to become the villain, but it's tragic, too. I think that's at least part of the intent; That she resisted rampancy as best she could, but what's become of her is possibly even worse than death and terrible for everyone around her. She's a hero in her own right and now she's fallen.

From a certain perspective, it really is a bold direction. Because 343 is still doing what they did in Halo 4. They're telling a story about Cortana and MC. But it's not an easy relationship. It's changed, it's effecting the people around them, and we're getting to see that through some of those other eyes (Osiris team).
 
https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/blog-posts/canon-fodder-mythellaneous-topics

Hello Halo: Mythos

WE MYTH YOU
Mythos is a guide and overview of the Halo story itself, and one like we’ve never produced before. Brought to you by our friends and partners at Egmont Publishing and penned by a few of the scribes at 343 Industries (including yours truly), Mythos will walk readers through the expanded Halo fiction – from the Forerunners’ conflict with ancient humanity all the way through the events of Halo 5: Guardians. Along the way, readers will witness connected stories unfold across a continuous narrative, helping tie together characters, artifacts, and events found not only in the Halo games, but also throughout the novels, comics, and live-action and animated features.

Accompanying the text will be more than fifty pieces of newly commissioned artwork from a handful of talented artists who have applied their unique styles to specific eras in Halo’s timeline, allowing fans to get a glimpse of certain events they’ve only read about but never had visualized. Just recently fans got a small taste of what’s in store, when we gave you a sneak piece at artwork by Halo-veteran Isaac Hannaford depicting a moment within the recently-released Halo: Shadow of Intent by Joseph Staten. Needless to say, it’s been a pretty incredible to see so many iconic moments in Halo’s history come to life in brand new ways.

For the writers on this end, it’s been a process as delightful as it was daunting – bringing together stories from a myriad of media and weaving them together into a more linear narrative in hopes to frame the overall Halo story in a new way that’s both engaging for the “old-school” fans, but still accessible and entertaining to new ones. In fact, we hope that not only will Mythos be a book every Halo lore fan will want to have on their shelf or coffee table, but that it will be something fans want to share with friends and family to introduce them to the universe we all adore calling home.

With Mythos we got to dig deeper into the Halo Story Bible than ever before to present perhaps the most cogent and complete accounting of events in the universe over the last 100,000 years. We can’t wait until people get it in their hands to marvel at the art, absorb the historical detail, and start to put the pieces together for the next chapters of the story. While Mythos is specifically designed to make the entirety and breadth of the vast Halo timeline more accessible to fans of all walks, detail-oriented and deep-diving story seekers will no doubt find some particularly intriguing gems sewn throughout the narrative, answering some questions while perhaps raising brand new ones to ponder.

In short, Mythos tells the massive story of Halo with incredibly rich, brand-new art and an interesting peek at some of the more enigmatic corners of the universe. Mythos is slated to drop into your hardcover-holding hands in October 2016, and we look forward to sharing more info about the project as we approach its release later next year. If you dig Halo's story at any level, you'll want to pick this one up.
 
Mythos sounds really cool.. sucks its like a year away though.

STILL NO INFO on what we're getting between now and then! I'd like to know we're not going to get months upon months with no new Halo lore.. I'm not sure I could continue existing. It seems like we got advanced notice of this years Halo material some time in advance of its release, didn't we?

I wonder if Halo Wars 2 will actually get released next year.. hope so.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
Mythos sounds really cool.. sucks its like a year away though.

STILL NO INFO on what we're getting between now and then! I'd like to know we're not going to get months upon months with no new Halo lore.. I'm not sure I could continue existing. It seems like we got advanced notice of this years Halo material some time in advance of its release, didn't we?

I wonder if Halo Wars 2 will actually get released next year.. hope so.

There's only so much Halo media you can consume, or that they can probably keep track of. I'm fine with scaling back how much stuff there is compared to 2014 and 2015, which was insane.
 
That's probably true. I'd still like a couple of books a year though, maybe 2 books and 2 smaller digital pieces?

Though it's all getting kind of moot if none of it even colors the games anymore.. *grumbles*
 
New Haruspis write up on Halo 5 story, I wholeheartedly agree.

https://haruspis.wordpress.com/2015/12/10/halo-5-a-compendium-of-lies/
Agree with almost everything except the opinion that Halo 4 was a good character piece. Everything about Halo 4s and 5s story just make my skin crawl, sorta the same way Ninja Theorys handling of DmC did, completely misses the point, tone, and atmosphere of the universe pre-343. There were so many interesting places they could have gone with Halo 5 as well, and they just completely copped out.
 
New lore dump today (*waves* thanks Grim!)

https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/exuberant-witness

Interesting about 031 EXUBERANT WITNESS...

nstalled on Genesis to help maintain its systems and the secret gateway to the Domain, 031 Exuberant Witness was given charge of the entire installation upon the activation of the Halo Array. Exuberant halted its normal production of seed worlds, and Genesis entered a dormant state. Halo’s firing eventually severed all access to the Domain.

This relative dormancy last over a hundred thousand years, but was disrupted when the gateway to the Domain suddenly became active again, revealing a human-created AI who called herself Cortana. After making a pact with the Warden Eternal, Cortana quickly subdued Exuberant, forcing the monitor out of Genesis’ main control systems. The rogue AI planned to reclaim the Mantle of Responsibility, activating Guardians hidden throughout the galaxy as a means to enforce this new power. She gathered these incredibly destructive machines to Genesis, with plans to dispatch them.

The Spartans in Fireteam Osiris had followed one of the Guardians to Genesis and sought to stop Cortana. Exuberant worked with them to fight against the Warden’s Promethean forces and the Covenant. In the end, despite efforts from both the monitor and the Spartans, they were unable to halt Cortana’s deployment of the Guardians.
 

Monocle

Member
I'm excited for this.

New Haruspis write up on Halo 5 story, I wholeheartedly agree.

https://haruspis.wordpress.com/2015/12/10/halo-5-a-compendium-of-lies/
I've had it with the whining about Halo 5's story tbh. I've been a fan of the series since the original game. Grew to hate Halo 4. Loved Halo 5 immediately. 343 delivered an outstanding campaign after the huge disappointment of Halo 4 and barely anyone seems to have noticed. I hope all the shit flinging doesn't shake 343's commitment to Halo 5's exciting plot developments.

People defending Cortana's lame death in Halo 4, saying she should have stayed dead... I can't even. Hints that she was going to survive rampancy appeared as far back as Halo CE and The Fall of Reach. To her reappearance in Halo 5 I say: GOOD. It would have been a massive letdown if they'd really killed her off like some other random AI.
 
Just finished Shadow of Intent. Man, I love Staten's writing, really excited to see where he goes next.

The miniature Halo felt a little contrived, but it was so cool seeing Half-Jaw again. Hope he shows up again, later.

Up next is New Blood. After that I'll buy Saint's Testimony.

How is Last Light? I also heard some bad things about Hunters in the Dark, am I okay skipping that one or is the writing at least enjoyable?
 

Kalentan

Member
Just finished Shadow of Intent. Man, I love Staten's writing, really excited to see where he goes next.

The miniature Halo felt a little contrived, but it was so cool seeing Half-Jaw again. Hope he shows up again, later.

Up next is New Blood. After that I'll buy Saint's Testimony.

How is Last Light? I also heard some bad things about Hunters in the Dark, am I okay skipping that one or is the writing at least enjoyable?

Hunters in the Dark is quite enjoyable imho. You also learn more about the co-op elites from Halo 3.
 

Squire

Banned
Peter David's Marvel work is very good, from what I've read. I'll probably check out Hubters in The Dark eventually off of the strength of that alone.

I'm almost done with Glasslands. It's been good. It's quite a portrait of Halsey.
 
Quick question for Halo 5's story:

Why didn't Roland go Rogue like the rest of the AI's at the end of the game?

Was it explained and I just missed it?
 

Ade

Member
Quick question for Halo 5's story:

Why didn't Roland go Rogue like the rest of the AI's at the end of the game?

Was it explained and I just missed it?

Only ones that chose to join did, the assumption is that he, along with others didn't choose to.
 
Peter David's Marvel work is very good, from what I've read. I'll probably check out Hubters in The Dark eventually off of the strength of that alone.

I'm almost done with Glasslands. It's been good. It's quite a portrait of Halsey.

Glasslands was a great read- the next two books switch up the tone a bit, but they are both solid. Mortal Dictata (book 3) also has one the introduction of one of my favorite Haloverse characters. This character doesn't appear in Halo 5 but a lot of what they experience and struggle with sort of foreshadows where they went with H5.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
Peter David's Marvel work is very good, from what I've read. I'll probably check out Hubters in The Dark eventually off of the strength of that alone.

I'm almost done with Glasslands. It's been good. It's quite a portrait of Halsey.

Unfortunately I think Hunters in the Dark wins the award for "Most Promising Premise that Disappointed" in the Halo universe. It's got some good elements, but they're wrapped up in stuff I just found alternatively tedious or boring, and that never exploited the benefit of returning to the setting that had been built up in supplemental materials over most of 343's stewardship of Halo. Definitely in the mediocre tier of Halo novels for me.
 
Unfortunately I think Hunters in the Dark wins the award for "Most Promising Premise that Disappointed" in the Halo universe. It's got some good elements, but they're wrapped up in stuff I just found alternatively tedious or boring, and that never exploited the benefit of returning to the setting that had been built up in supplemental materials over most of 343's stewardship of Halo. Definitely in the mediocre tier of Halo novels for me.

Same for me. It was super light on lore and the last act was almost a snooze. I tried reading it again and it didn't get any better, sadly.
 
Yeah, poor Hunters.. I did like the character interactions for the most part, but damn if they didn't DO ANYTHING with the opportunities given.

I still feel like the knee-jerk reaction to Halo 4's "JUST READ THE BOOKS!" complaints gave us this.. where the books have zero (or little) effect on pushing the mainline story forward.

I'm fine with side stories.. but it sucks when everything else ends up being inconsequential.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
Yeah, poor Hunters.. I did like the character interactions for the most part, but damn if they didn't DO ANYTHING with the opportunities given.

I still feel like the knee-jerk reaction to Halo 4's "JUST READ THE BOOKS!" complaints gave us this.. where the books have zero (or little) effect on pushing the mainline story forward.

I'm fine with side stories.. but it sucks when everything else ends up being inconsequential.

I think it's less that it's inconsequential (as we know that the Rubicon's earlier journey had an impact, and the Ark is pretty much locked down thanks to the efforts of the joint Sangheili-human force) and more convenient in the way those "why did no one discuss that the home fleet apparently got trashed again between Halo 3 and Halo 4 way, and no one talked about the attempted Sentinel invasion?"

I think it's also probably better to view the Forerunner Saga and K5 trilogy as the exception, rather than the rule. There's plenty of hooks in the recent fiction that could come into play later, but they aren't directly leading into a game like those ones were. That's not to say they're irrelevant, any more than Nylund's early work was.
 

Monocle

Member
Peter David's Marvel work is very good, from what I've read. I'll probably check out Hubters in The Dark eventually off of the strength of that alone.

I'm almost done with Glasslands. It's been good. It's quite a portrait of Halsey.
More like a smear piece IMO. Stomps all over Nylund's great characterization.
 
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