I had meant to post this on Friday. However, with the exciting news of Halo 5 Guardians, I devoted that whole day to just that topic in a myriad of articles, podcast, etc.

Yesterday I was quite busy, so other than the theory of Halo 5 Guardians, I didn’t have time to get this posted then.

However, here I sit at nearly 3am EST, Sunday. I’m wide awake and ready to go. Now I had said the next concept article would be Halo 4 Equipment and Other Spartan Armor. With there being 24 pics for just the equipment, I decided to split them up.

So without further ado, let’s look at and discuss Halo 4’s concept art of equipment.

The Hard Light Shield. Hard Light itself is not new to Halo. We’ve seen it from the beginning with jackal shields,light bridges and such. This design brings us the Forerunner equivalent to the Jackals shield. Though, I’d say it’s likely better. What I like about this concept is that it most definitely evokes Forerunner design. The upper right conner rendering seems to convey different layers of the shield. The orthogonal views real help in understanding the shape and size of the Hard Light Shield. Good piece of art here.

While this graphic is called “belt bomb” we know that they are really the ability upgrades. In just three colors for each, we get a good sense of depth. I like some of these designs more than others.Notably 2, 8, 11, 13, and 16. The one that stands out the most to me though is 12. Does it or does it not look like a controller?

Next we have this ammo crate. This is a very detailed concept. I appreciate the dimensions being put in as well. The texture sample boxes show just how much can go into something as simple as an ammo crate. Did you know there is a version of this up for sale soon? Check it out HERE!

This piece of art looks strangely like an XBOX 360. Coincidence? LOL The scratched metal adds character to what would have otherwise been a standard green box. Even for a sketch, there is a good amount of detail in here. I’d have loved to have seen this become a Halo 4 XBOX!

We’ve been used to fusion coils in Halo. Now we get to see an amazing design for the Forerunner fusion coil. Both the highlights and shading give the renderings plenty of depth. For me, my eye immediately goes to the blue light though and it’s glow against the coil itself. Excellent design!

Another thing we’ve seen in Halo are ordnance crates. Don’t forget the tube shaped ones in Halo 3 for example. Here we have an ordnance pod that looks designed to mean business!  Basic shapes in this concept coupled with a muted color scheme actually work very well for this piece. It’s a utility device. So as such, does not need to be fancy. This is a well thought out concept.

Here are three more fleshed out armor ability attachments. Visually it was important for 343 to be able to differentiate all three styles. Clearly UNSC had to be green/grey, Covenant Purple, and then there the Forerunner attachments. With the Didact’s armor having a lot of silver with orange lights, it made sense to bring that feel to the attachments as well.

Funny enough, by looking at this piece we see the Mammoth may have been named the Tortoise instead. (I much prefer Mammoth) The consoles within took a little bit of a different shape in the final in-game version. This concept shows well the early concept stage (upper right), more fleshed out designs, and even placement as see at bottom. Note the main pic within has the console being very detailed, while the outer parts are rougher in rendering. This is a good way to direct the viewers eye to specifically where you want them to look.

Even the ammo rack had to be designed. Once again, it’s fairly simple in shape and color. The accouterments of the rack are what gives it its detail. Without, this could have been a multitude of things.

Did you see these in the game? If not, go check out Spartan Ops Episode 5, Chapter 1 (Spartan Miller). There, your task in part will be to activate and defend these towers. It seems 343 really wanted to show detail in their concepts for equipment. Even with it being mostly shades of cool greys, there is plenty enough detail to convey what this is supposed to be. BTW, if you haven’t ever played or have not played in a long time, Spartan Ops, I suggest going back and doing so. It’s a nice break from matchmaking. The whole 50 missions are like a whole other campaign unto themselves. And if you still need Covenant vehicle kills for Commendations, you can EASILY get them there!

This compilation of displays once again goes to show us the amount of detail 343 put into Halo 4. These displays are in many places within both the Campaign and Spartan Ops. A couple of display (not shown here) on the Campaign mission “Composer” are fantastic. They are located in the two-story room just before you have to bring up the shield to stop the Covenant from getting into the hangar bay. Search them out. It’s worth it, IMO!

Now these I do not at all recall in the game. What they do look like though are the capsules form the 1960s rockets, when they crash landed in the sea after the missions were complete. While a nice throw-back, I’m glad this wasn’t put in, as we’ve already had much more advanced drop pods in Halo. (Halo 3: ODST anyone?)

A digital concept showing a Promethean Knight on a Holotable. I do hope one day soon holographic technology like this will be real. We’re CLOSE!

I’m not sure where this pump is in the game, though I want to say the multiplayer map Complex. (If I’m wrong, please let me know where this can be found in-game.) As for the art, it’s very simple. In that though, it’s CLEAN. No real stray lines to detract you from the design. With varying shades of grey, we again get the sense of shape and depth to the art, without it having to be full color.

Remember that Hangar Bay I mentioned earlier? Well, this is the section where you have to run to to bring up the shields. At the end, there is a column (not shown) by which to bring up the shields. This design brings me back to Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back. Specifically within Cloud City, during the lightsaber fight between Darth Vader and Luke. Yes, that’s an old reference…But I just LOVE those movies!

Now this is most definitely on Complex, during certain Spartan Ops missions. Good color application brings this to life. The bulkiness of the missile battery give it a sense of power, however, it’s likely they are short range.

Another example of something that can be found in Spartan Ops. In one of the Cauldron missions, you have to protect the marines as well as these power cores. There are only two of them. It’s a fun mission and pretty tough if you go it alone on legendary. I used this mission to get my assassinations of Covies commendation done. Regarding the art, I’m glad that the color version was put in. The other three look a little flat. Yes, there is some shading, but most of it is very dark. Once again, color really helps to show off detail and depth.

Here’s the follow up that shows the progressive damage the power cores take. Here is where this concept really blows up! Yes, pun intended… The callouts (text around the design) explain the damage well. Good piece of transitional art.

The name of this is a UNSC projector. I’m not quite sure what this means or where it might be in the game. I can only think maybe the holotable or the hologram projection armor ability. Sketches like this represent a brainstorming session. It’s where you have no definitive design choice and just come up with as many different designs as you can quickly. This helps as the people involved, especially those in the decision making, have more things to look at. They may like a piece of one, a part of another, and so on. I’ve done many of these types of things over the years. It’s a very good method to use.
In the above top, we see a modular temporary base. You can tell it’s modular by the design. It’s something that’s meant to be put up quickly, and/or shuffled around to meet the requirements of the mission. The in-game version can be seen in Spartan Ops. While just grey in color, the line work is enough in the sketch to make out the shapes. Sometimes your line art can stand up to a more colorful design, so long as they are drawn well and not sloppy. This is an example of a well done piece of line art,with a bit of grey added in.

Not quite equipment, but this is the section the above fit into the best. It’s amazing how something as simple as a door can have many compacts of it.All of them are quite good. I think the bottom oat right is my favorite of these. Which one is your favorite of them?

More props to fill in a room. It’s these kinds of extras that make a place look more real. Without, you’d have a mostly empty space. The variances as well as similarities tells us that while they may have different uses, they are all of the same design manufacturer.

And finally, the Holotable. I saved this one for last as I like it the most of all of these in this article. We’ve seen on tv something similar. I think it was CSI: Miami that had one. Though that wasn’t a holotable. It was more of a glorified tablet in table size. This can be seen in both the campaign and Spartan Ops. Sarah Palmer actually damages it in a later episode. Go check it out.

Whew, okay, it took me almost an hour and a half to get this article done. Mostly because I’m feeling a little ill this morning. I found a round steak in our freezer and thawed it to be grilled for dinner. After grilling it and my wife and I ate it, she wanted to know where it came from. I told her…. I shouldn’t have got that steak. Turns out it was one forgotten and was literally 4 YEARS old. Yes, frozen that whole time…But I think that’s why I’m sick this morning…yuck. (It did taste good though).

Later today, I’ll have up the other concept art article on “Other Spartan Armor” of Halo 4. And who knows what else might just pop up.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the article and looking at the concept art. Let me know if so by replying below. (Rhyming not intended…)

-Sal