My recap of the 343/CA/Halo Master Chief Collection panel at RTX!

You’re in for a real treat if you didn’t already see the stream. Lots of cool pics to discuss. Some revelations, one of which could be a FUN game-changer!

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343 getting ready for their panel
The panel host and guest getting set-up for the conversation. They looked relaxed.Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.04.12 PM
Bravo starts off by introducing the panelists. Apologies that I didn’t catch each one’s names. Though Max Hoberman (Halo 2 multiplayer GOD and current president of Certain Affinity) is next to last from left to right.Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.04.21 PM
First things first, reiterating what all will be included in the game. All four Halo titles that featured Master Chief in it’s campaign, including each of the multiplayer aspects of them. The live-action feature ‘Halo: Nightfall’ and access to the Halo 5 Guardians BETA.

Next some of the Universal Interface is explained. (Excuse the white bar, that was my fault. I used an automated cropping tool and it jumped to the wrong spot.)Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.04.58 PM
As you switch from campaign to campaign, the background changes to reflect which game you’ve chosen… AND… the MUSIC changes to that respective game as well! AWESOME! Bringing back the classic Monk Chant!

It was revealed that there will be 30 skulls, in Halo 2 Anniversary. Some may have to do with Easter Eggs!!!
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Various playlists. Some will be game specific, some will have multiple halos within.Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.10.06 PM
YOU will now have the ability to decide what your control scheme is! There will be pre-built ones of course. But this added customization really gives you control over your controller!

Next up, Max Hoberman talks a bit about his experience with Halo 2’s multiplayer.

He mentions how Halo CE was going to have 32 person multiplayer, but that got scrapped. That then moves to Halo 2, In the meantime, Max kept petitioning for online multiplayer. At the time the heads of Bungie said no, as they had already done that and wanted something new. Still he persisted. He got the go ahead to develop multiplayer maps for Halo 2. In the meantime, Bungie still wanted to have 32 person multiplayer maps. As well all know, that didn’t work out. However, Max and his team’s efforts DID! Below are some of the paper sketches of Halo 2 maps.

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Midship is possibly the most liked and certainly the most used in tournament play from Halo 2. The map varied slightly from concept to completion. Max designed it to be a 2v2 CTF map where one person could go on offense while the other play defense, yet still be ale to see much of the map to help his teammate. It’s safe to say, it was very successful at that.
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Next up the classic Ascension map. As you can see from above, the map did go through some major changes. Originally the leap of faith was to have fog between your jump point and your landing point. There’s much more about Ascension later in this article.

We move on to Zanzibar.Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.25.33 PM
Max stated that Zanzibar was made to have something “sexy” to show of at that year’s E3. Beofre that Bungie didn’t have anything they thought was sexy enough.Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.26.13 PM
The conversation moves on to talk about some of Halo 2 Anniversary’s goals.H2A mp goals
Now for those that are Halo 2 purists, do not fret. The maps acre still the same. It’s the 6 additional remastered maps that have upgrades to them.

As stated earlier, Ascension plays a big part in the panel conversation.Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.27.45 PM

For the first time on Ascension, we will now have an interactive element. At three spots on the map, you can activate a switch that…Ascension Dish Energy Shield
BAM, turns on a shield in the middle of the dish!  You can not throw ‘hades through it nor shoot through it. I have a feeling this is going to be VERY fun. Yes, casual gameplay and not competitive.Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.29.29 PM
We get a look at the TO-SCALE Halo ring that was built as the backdrop to the map. It rotates around as the game plays on! It’s freakin’ fantastic. Just check out the GIF below!!Ascension GIFScreen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.31.30 PM
Several small changes were made to the remastered version of Ascension.Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.31.33 PM
Changes include the ramp to Banshee. near it’s Banshee end, the ramp was widened a little to give more cover.Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.31.58 PM
The jump point form dish to the long walkway now has a connected ramp to it so you can get back up to the dish faster. (I think that’s a GREAT addition.) Yes, I can hear competitive folks screaming at this one. Calm down folks, you still have the original on the disc…LOLScreen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.37.05 PMScreen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.39.17 PM
One more look at Ascension before the topic moves on.

From here, Bravo switches the conversation to game types on the Halo 2 maps.Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.41.44 PMScreen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.45.36 PM
Note that Assault is BACK! AND Ricochet has been added in. Hmm, I’m curious how that’s going to play out.

Now this next piece is AWESOME!

We are getting a NEW vehicle. The GUNGOOSE!Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.50.24 PM
Yes, that’s right a mongoose with GUNS! Oh HELL’S yeah! This looks to be loads of fun. No longer will people stray form using it. Now they’ve got some firepower behind the wheel. You can still have a passenger, so there’s another gun shooting for you as well!

That’s my favorite part of the conversation.

Now we see some concepts for another of the 6 remastered maps. Know where it is?Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.52.30 PMScreen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.52.32 PM
If you can’t tell by the picture above, well….oh never mind.It’s Coagulation, the spiritual successor to Blood Gulch from Halo CE.Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 1.52.48 PM
And WOW, does it look beautiful!343 panel crowd shot
Here’s a shot of the crowd listening to the panel.

Now…for those who left the room early and for those who stopped watching the stream at this point, you missed out.

There was a final cinematic that showed the Arbiter. Whether this is part of the terminals for Halo 2 Anniversary or not, wasn’t stated. Still, they looked amazing!Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 2.01.08 PMScreen Shot 2014-07-05 at 2.01.13 PMScreen Shot 2014-07-05 at 2.01.18 PMScreen Shot 2014-07-05 at 2.01.21 PMScreen Shot 2014-07-05 at 2.01.28 PMScreen Shot 2014-07-05 at 2.01.33 PMScreen Shot 2014-07-05 at 2.01.42 PMScreen Shot 2014-07-05 at 2.01.50 PMAnd with that the panel was officially over with much of the throng moving over to the 343 booth to get autographs.

-Sal

 

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About Sal

I’ve got tons of experience with Halo gaming and collecting. I feel I have something to offer to the greater Halo fan community. Posts along the way will be about tips and tricks in the games as well as collecting and many more Halo related things. I’ll also repost interesting articles from the official site, Halowaypoint.com, or from fellow Halo fan sites. As I continue this blog, I hope to help gamers who want advice on the games, as well as any collectors with regards to where to find collectibles as well as deals, coupons and so on. You can also follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/#!/HaloFanForLife or Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/halofanforlife11. Welcome to my blog and I hope you’ll come back again and again. -Sal

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