XF-063= ONYX

ZETA DORADUS, IV= HUMAN OCCUPIED WITH BOTH UNSC AND ONI FORCES

DIAMETER= 9.21431341 MILES

THERE IS ONE SATELLITE WATCHING OVER THE PLANET

GRAVITY= BELOW NORMAL

ATMOSPHERE= NITROGEN (n2), OXYGEN (o2), ARGON (AR)

SURFACE TEMPERATURE IN FAHRENHEIT= -13 DEGREES FARHENHEIT-116 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT

LOCAL DAY: MONDAY

LOCAL YEAR: 2554

AS YOU CAN SEE WE ARE LOOKING LIKE WE ARE HEADING TO ONYX, HERE IS ALL THE INFO KNOW ABOUT ONYX

Onyx, officially known by the UNSC as "XF-063", was a planet-sized Forerunner construct located in the Zeta Doradus System. While it had a Human habitable surface and a seemingly terrestrial crust, internally, it was actually composed of trillions of Onyx Sentinels.^[2] Onyx's ultimate purpose was to guard the entrance to a Shield World. It was the location of the massive, three-sided Battle of Onyx.

Background

Onyx, named by the Unified Earth Government due to the unusually large onyx quarries found in the planet's crust, had an Oxygen-Nitrogen gas atmosphere, of suitable pressure for Human life with a temperate weather cycle. It also had an unusually large number of indigenous species of flora and fauna, some of which were edible by Humans and posed no threatening danger. The transplanting of Earth species was immediately possible.

Some notable anomalies were that it had no detectable tectonic activity, an unusually strong planetary magnetic field, and slightly higher than normal background radiation. All of this was possibly explained when it was revealed that the planet's crust was composed of large numbers of dormant Sentinels.

Structure

Onyx's surface, as mentioned before, was composed of seemingly infinite amounts of Sentinels, with a massive Forerunner city hidden under the terraformed ground layer. Under the surface, there was a vast network of underground tunnels and installations, including a map room and an immense Sentinel production facility under the northern polar region.

In the core of Onyx, there was a large room, the Core Room Antechamber. It contained a slipspace rift that would be open for a short time after the Halo Array was put into standby mode, allowing evacuation to the Micro Dyson Sphere within, acting as an escape from the Array's destructive firing.

The Dyson Sphere habitat located wholly within a maintained slipspace bubble, which in normal space, is only some meters in diameter, has a diameter of approximately 300 million kilometers. The megastructure has a habitable, terraformed surface and in the center, a G2-type star to provide terrestrial lighting.^[3]

History

A UNSC complex on the surface of Onyx. Onyx was discovered by the UNSC Engineering Corps sometime around May, 2491. In ENGCORP Field Report A76344, Captain D. F. Lambert stated "XF-063 is a rare jewel of a find" and recommended colonization. The Assembly quickly moved to keep colonization from occurring, as they had discovered the presence of Forerunner artifacts independently of the UNSC and feared that humanity would not be ready to learn about the existence of alien life.

On February 19, 2492, in ENGCORP Field Report A79052 Lieutenant W. K. Davidson stated that Geological Expedition Four found an entire phylum of possible alien taxonomy and recommended a follow-up survey with specialists in Paleobiology, Xenobiology, and Biochemistry.

In 2511, when archaeological expeditions uncovered massive subterranean Forerunner constructions in what would after be called Zone 67, ONI immediately took control of the world, going so far as to remove Onyx from UNSC navigational databases and suspending any prospective colonization and terraforming attempts. However, further attempts to determine the purpose of the structures, or even to extract any usable technology, yielded no results. In 2525, with the coming of the Human-Covenant War, the operation was scaled down and only a minimum ONI garrison and a single AI remained. The planet's location remained secret. Regular scans continued to yield little of value.

With the course of the Human-Covenant War, Vice Admiral Margaret O. Parangosky authorized the construction of the SPARTAN-III training base on Onyx in 2531 (there were three companies trained, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma) because of the planet's obscurity. This base, designated Camp Currahee, was constructed perilously close to Zone 67, which had been declared strictly off limits. However, during a routine exercise north of Currahee, Beta Company Team X-ray trespassed into Zone 67, entered a Forerunner structure, and disappeared without trace. An ONI investigation into the matter was inconclusive, although X-Ray was rumored to have encountered a "glowing eye", which detonated upon discovery.

Battle of Onyx

In 2552, Onyx's Sentinels were roused to action by the standby signal from Installation 05, instigating the Battle of Onyx and revealing Onyx's true nature. The AI Endless Summer took command of all military personnel on Onyx to immediately defend Zone 67 per General Order 98.93.120, after Onyx's Sentinels first started to attack the SPARTAN-III's. Endless Summer sent Kurt a flash transmission sending attached files directly into Kurt's retina. An explosion stopped Endless Summer's transmission before Kurt could finish scanning the new threat. At the conclusion of the battle, Onyx was effectively destroyed, although not before Bloody Arrow was declared and Blue Team, Team Saber, Team Katana, Dr. Halsey, and SCPO Mendez escaped to the safety of the Shield World.

Locations on Onyx

Camp Currahee

• • Command Center
  • Armory
  • NCO quarters
  • NCO's Inspection yard
  • Infirmary
  • Camp Commandant's residence.

  [*]The Tree House[*]Zone 67

  • Slipspace COM Launcher

  [*]Twin Forks River[*]Gregor Canyon[*]El Morro Point[*]Shield World

  • Core Room Antechamber
  • Sentinel Production Facility
  • Entrence to Core room

   

  Trivia

  [*]he Terminals mention that there were indeed Forerunners on Onyx. However, the Terminals were probably referring to the Onyx Sentinels being on Onyx or the construction of it to become a Shield World to be protected from any of the the Halos.[*]The Sentinels on Onyx were much stronger than the ones on Installation 04 and Installation 05, being able to combine forms, and were capable of space flight.[*]Onyx on the Moh's hardness scale is seven.

Panels:

Halo Anniversary Panel

Fraggin, Forge, and Flowers

Whats next for Waypoint

Halo Universe

Anniversary Campaign Disscusion

Halo Universe Fiction

Halo: Building a Universe of Toys and Collectibles

Bungie: Hatching the Cosmic Halo Egg

Halo 4 Panel

Xbox 10 Years of Halo

Red vs Blue Table Read

The other videos:

http://www.ign.com/v...litplayer-vidoc

343 Talks Halo 4

http://www.ign.com/v...yer-walkthrough

Halo CEA Terminal #1

Halo CEA Terminal #2

Halo CEA Multiplayer:

Installation 04 Flythrough

Ridgeline Flythrough

Solitary Flythrough

Penance Flythrough

Battle Canyon Flythrough

The articles of Halofest!

Why You Should Care About Halo: Reach's Title Update

This September, 343 Industries will release a title update for Halo Reach that will prep your 360's for Combat Evolved-flavored gameplay.

If you've wondered how exactly 343 Industries plans to recreate the multiplayer gameplay you know and love from Halo: Combat Evolved in Halo CE: Anniversary, this is your answer.

To explain, we asked 343 Industries' Content Producer David Ellis to give us the inside scoop as to why a typically innocuous thing like a title update could become such a gamechanger or Halo fans.

"It's a free downloadable update for Halo: Reach to allow the MP to work seamlessly with the Halo CE: Anniversary MP as well as adding some additional options for adjusting gameplay variables in multiplayer," Ellis explained.

Translation: this update will essentially use high-tech ninjary to fool Halo: Reach into playing like Halo: Combat Evolved.

The update won't enable content immediately; you'll have to wait until specific multiplayer hoppers go live sometime in October for that. But here's how it will all work when they do.

Weapon Changes

The insanely overpowered gameplay of the Halo: Combat Evolved Magnum pistol will crash the Halo: Reach party with the Title Update.

Now, it won't feature the OG Magnum itself exactly; instead the wizardy of the TU will allow for the configuring of the reticle bloom on the Reach pistol (and other semi-automatic weapons, like the DMR), enabling high-precision firing with increased accuracy in rapid succession, making for a lethal three-shot kill from anywhere on a map. It's strongly reminiscent of the way Combat Evolved felt.

Ellis puts it this way: "Bloom is a gameplay mechanic in Reach which encourages players to space their shots to keep accuracy high. For example, the rate of fire for the Reach magnum isn't set. You can fire the gun as fast as you can pull the trigger. However, there is a lag in the time it takes your firing reticule to shrink down between shots. Fire quick, your shots are less accurate; fire slower and your shots will be more accurate."

The TU allows changes to how much your reticle "blooms", or expands, when firing 'head shot' weapons. If you set it to zero, there is zero bloom. If you set it to .85, it's 85%. *All* headshot weapons on the map are affected by this setting. Settings will vary for different beta hoppers.

Swords will get a tweak as well; specifically the ability to block a sword attack with a melee from any weapon other than another sword will be disabled.

Melee Damage and Armor Ability Changes

In Halo: Reach, players can basically sprint at you and melee twice for an insta-kill. Not so with the TU; melee beatdowns will require 3 full blows as damage will bleed through your shield into your health, similar to Halo 3.

And good news for anyone who hates people who camp Armor Lock: Sticky grenades will no longer be nullified if you use Armor Lock after being stuck. Also, damage received while in armor lock is transferred to remaining Armor Ability energy, and how much the damage depletes your armor lock energy (and how quickly) is configurable.

Active Camo will get a dialing back, reducing the bonus time the player gets in Camo while standing still and reducing the overall length the player can be in Active Camo.

The update will enable Campaign and Firefight matchmaking for players using an Xbox 360 4GB console without a HDD, which previously required a HDD.

"We'll be launching the TU sometime in September with the beta hoppers coming online in early October. One of these reasons we're doing this is to allow the rabid Halo community to provide feedback on the changes we're implementing in this TU. So in essence, the community themselves will help to shape their Halo multiplayer experience going forward."

Halo's Warthog Makes its Debut... in Forza 4.

What could be cooler than seeing the new Halo 4 Warthog in your favorite racing game? How about racing in it? Well, too bad, but it's still very pretty looking.

The Warthog will be featured as part of Forza Motorsports 4's Autovista mode, which allows players to walk around and interact with vehicles. You can't race in it (could you imagine trying to handle Forza's tracks in a giant dune buggy?), but you will be able to interact on some level. Oh, and you're going to have to unlock it, so we hope you're good at Forza.

Check out the screens of the new improved Warthog.

343 Guilty Spark Campaign Impressions

It's a strange lens at times. Going from the mysterious and oh-so-2001 fog-plagued view of 343 Guilty Spark of Halo CE to a ominous and alien swamp courtesy of Saber Interactive is... jarring, to say the least. It's distracting wandering around a level you thought you knew to see everything that's been done. Everything looks more alive than it did before, which changes the general vibe of the level in distinct ways. The haunted swamp feel has been pushed aside by a foreboding green and yellow light emanating from the trees.

You'll lose track of that when the shooting starts though. In that respect, everything is as it was. Halo CE is filled with moments involving a valley, trees, and a dozen or more Grunts and Jackals. These kinds of encounters dwindled in later games, and playing them again, I realize how much they've been missed. There's a great sense of pacing to timing shots from the Halo CE pistol to maximize efficiency, alternating between close grouped head shots on Grunts and well aimed arm shots on shield-bearing Jackals to leave them vulnerable.

No other Halo game has gotten that same pistol-powered rhythm down as well. The one-two-three of effective pistol usage is empowering and distinctive and... I really missed Halo: Combat Evolved. It's good to have it back again.

There are some wrinkles in the experience right now though. First, hardcore Halo fans will want to foreswear the wireless controller in lieu of a wired one. The finer points of Halo combat were tuned around the wireless-lag-free response of the original Xbox controller, and things might feel a little more floaty than you recall otherwise. Then there's the 3D.

This being 2011 and all, a major title can't seem to hit our greedy little hands without some implementation of 3D, and Saber Interactive and 343i have implemented it pretty well. Aside from the world's longest gun barrel, there's a great sense of depth, and a lot of adjustment options. Plus, it supports passive 3D for compatible televisions, so you can spring for lots of cheap, theater style glasses for everyone you want to suffer through watching you play Halo in 3D.

CEA gets 3-D Support

Halo: CE Anniversary is getting a lot of upgrades in the visual department, but if you're at Halo Fest this weekend there's a pretty major one you can see for yourself: stereoscopic 3D.

Microsoft announced that the revamped Halo: Anniversary will feature a 3D system built specifically for the game. The 3D is being demoed during Halo Fest at PAX this weekend.

Changes Coming to Waypoint

At its "What's Next for Waypoint" panel at this year's Halo Fest, the 343i team announced a number of changes and additions to Halo Waypoint due later this year.

Waypoint will receive a visual overhaul for the release of anniversary this November. The Xbox 360 portal will get a new look, with a consolidated look at stats and top level information regarding your Halo experience. Players will also be granted the ability to issue create and issue custom challenges to their friends.

The web version of Waypoint will be altered to reflect the console changes to the platform, with an initial full stats view of your personalized Spartan in Halo: Reach. The deep-view information players have come to expect from Bungie.net for Halo: Reach will also transfer over to the new Waypoint site, as well as the Windows 7 Waypoint App.

ALL SKULLS ON

At 343i's "Halo Anniversary Campaign" panel at this year's Halo Fest, the developer confirmed the return of "skulls" in the remake launching later this year. Previous Halo titles have allowed users to find hidden skulls that could be activated in order to trigger additional effects within the game, such as more resilient enemies or no regenerating health.

In addition to the previously leaked Grunt Funeral skull available for pre-orders at specific retailers, the panel disclosed two of the currently unknown total number of easter eggs. Malfunction, when activated, disables a random HUD element after each respawn, while Boom doubles explosion radiuses.

343 also informed fans that skulls will not be available or functional in the so-called "Classic" mode. Skulls will also not be visible to collect outside of the remastered mode.

Also it was confirmed that they are going to use the Halo 3 format. You will have to find the skulls secretly located throughout the campaign.

Halo 4-6 Now has a Name for the Trilogy!

While the ten year birthday of Halo: Combat Evolved and the upcoming Halo CE Anniversary release are clearly the focus of the first Halo Fest at this year's Penny Arcade Expo, the continuing adventures of the Master Chief aren't far from anyone's mind. At 343i's Halo 4 panel on Saturday morning, Josh Holmes discussed the impending Halo trilogy and revealed the name of the upcoming three-game series: the Reclaimer Trilogy.

Astute Halo fans will recall that Guilty Spark, the AI presence from the original Halo installation in Combat Evolved (and namesake of 343i), often referred to the Master Chief as the Reclaimer throughout their interactions. Guilty Spark also plays a prominent role in Halo CE Anniversary's new addition to the original game, the Terminals.

Halo 4 beta rumors have been deceased.

At was announced today that there will be NO beta for Halo 4 shipping out with Halo Anniversary, They did go on to say that when they have a beta, they will make sure the full public has access.

Halo 4 and CEA Info!

Halo 4 Concept Art Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDfnBw--hbA&feature=player_detailpage#t=2s

Halo 4 Audio Field Recording

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUB7BeRoa-w&feature=player_detailpage#t=8s

Halo 4 Concept Art!

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Halo 4-6 Now has a Name for the Trilogy!

While the ten year birthday of Halo: Combat Evolved and the upcoming Halo CE Anniversary release are clearly the focus of the first Halo Fest at this year's Penny Arcade Expo, the continuing adventures of the Master Chief aren't far from anyone's mind. At 343i's Halo 4 panel on Saturday morning, Josh Holmes discussed the impending Halo trilogy and revealed the name of the upcoming three-game series: the Reclaimer Trilogy.

Astute Halo fans will recall that Guilty Spark, the AI presence from the original Halo installation in Combat Evolved (and namesake of 343i), often referred to the Master Chief as the Reclaimer throughout their interactions. Guilty Spark also plays a prominent role in Halo CE Anniversary's new addition to the original game, the Terminals.

Halo 4 beta rumors have been deceased.

At was announced today that there will be NO beta for Halo 4 shipping out with Halo Anniversary, They did go on to say that when they have a beta, they will make sure the full public has access.

Calling all detectives, CEA has skulls!

It was announced yesterday that CEA will feature skulls, here is the official press release.

At 343i's "Halo Anniversary Campaign" panel at this year's Halo Fest, the developer confirmed the return of "skulls" in the remake launching later this year. Previous Halo titles have allowed users to find hidden skulls that could be activated in order to trigger additional effects within the game, such as more resilient enemies or no regenerating health.

In addition to the previously leaked Grunt Funeral skull available for pre-orders at specific retailers, the panel disclosed two of the currently unknown total number of easter eggs. Malfunction, when activated, disables a random HUD element after each respawn, while Boom doubles explosion radiuses.

343 also informed fans that skulls will not be available or functional in the so-called "Classic" mode. Skulls will also not be visible to collect outside of the remastered mode.

[via IGN]

Also it was confirmed that they are going to use the Halo 3 format. You will have to find the skulls secretly located throughout the campaign.

Panels from yesterday

Anniversary Campaign Disscusion

Halo Universe Fiction

Halo: Building a Universe of Toys and Collectibles

Bungie: Hatching the Cosmic Halo Egg

The panels from yesterday!

http://www.ign.com/videos/2011/08/26/halo-fest-halo-anniversary

http://www.ign.com/videos/2011/08/26/halo-fest-halo-community-fragging-forge-and-flowers

Whats next for Waypoint

Halo Universe

ALL SKULLS ON

At 343i's "Halo Anniversary Campaign" panel at this year's Halo Fest, the developer confirmed the return of "skulls" in the remake launching later this year. Previous Halo titles have allowed users to find hidden skulls that could be activated in order to trigger additional effects within the game, such as more resilient enemies or no regenerating health.

In addition to the previously leaked Grunt Funeral skull available for pre-orders at specific retailers, the panel disclosed two of the currently unknown total number of easter eggs. Malfunction, when activated, disables a random HUD element after each respawn, while Boom doubles explosion radiuses.

343 also informed fans that skulls will not be available or functional in the so-called "Classic" mode. Skulls will also not be visible to collect outside of the remastered mode.

BE SURE TO CHECK BACK TOMORROW WHEN I WILL BE COVERING THE PANELS INCLUDING HALO 4!

I will start from the earliest to the latest!

Why You Should Care About Halo: Reach's Title Update

This September, 343 Industries will release a title update for Halo Reach that will prep your 360's for Combat Evolved-flavored gameplay.

If you've wondered how exactly 343 Industries plans to recreate the multiplayer gameplay you know and love from Halo: Combat Evolved in Halo CE: Anniversary, this is your answer.

To explain, we asked 343 Industries' Content Producer David Ellis to give us the inside scoop as to why a typically innocuous thing like a title update could become such a gamechanger or Halo fans.

"It's a free downloadable update for Halo: Reach to allow the MP to work seamlessly with the Halo CE: Anniversary MP as well as adding some additional options for adjusting gameplay variables in multiplayer," Ellis explained.

Translation: this update will essentially use high-tech ninjary to fool Halo: Reach into playing like Halo: Combat Evolved.

The update won't enable content immediately; you'll have to wait until specific multiplayer hoppers go live sometime in October for that. But here's how it will all work when they do.

Weapon Changes

The insanely overpowered gameplay of the Halo: Combat Evolved Magnum pistol will crash the Halo: Reach party with the Title Update.

Now, it won't feature the OG Magnum itself exactly; instead the wizardy of the TU will allow for the configuring of the reticle bloom on the Reach pistol (and other semi-automatic weapons, like the DMR), enabling high-precision firing with increased accuracy in rapid succession, making for a lethal three-shot kill from anywhere on a map. It's strongly reminiscent of the way Combat Evolved felt.

Ellis puts it this way: "Bloom is a gameplay mechanic in Reach which encourages players to space their shots to keep accuracy high. For example, the rate of fire for the Reach magnum isn't set. You can fire the gun as fast as you can pull the trigger. However, there is a lag in the time it takes your firing reticule to shrink down between shots. Fire quick, your shots are less accurate; fire slower and your shots will be more accurate."

The TU allows changes to how much your reticle "blooms", or expands, when firing 'head shot' weapons. If you set it to zero, there is zero bloom. If you set it to .85, it's 85%. *All* headshot weapons on the map are affected by this setting. Settings will vary for different beta hoppers.

Swords will get a tweak as well; specifically the ability to block a sword attack with a melee from any weapon other than another sword will be disabled.

Melee Damage and Armor Ability Changes

In Halo: Reach, players can basically sprint at you and melee twice for an insta-kill. Not so with the TU; melee beatdowns will require 3 full blows as damage will bleed through your shield into your health, similar to Halo 3.

And good news for anyone who hates people who camp Armor Lock: Sticky grenades will no longer be nullified if you use Armor Lock after being stuck. Also, damage received while in armor lock is transferred to remaining Armor Ability energy, and how much the damage depletes your armor lock energy (and how quickly) is configurable.

Active Camo will get a dialing back, reducing the bonus time the player gets in Camo while standing still and reducing the overall length the player can be in Active Camo.

The update will enable Campaign and Firefight matchmaking for players using an Xbox 360 4GB console without a HDD, which previously required a HDD.

"We'll be launching the TU sometime in September with the beta hoppers coming online in early October. One of these reasons we're doing this is to allow the rabid Halo community to provide feedback on the changes we're implementing in this TU. So in essence, the community themselves will help to shape their Halo multiplayer experience going forward."

Halo's Warthog Makes its Debut... in Forza 4.

What could be cooler than seeing the new Halo 4 Warthog in your favorite racing game? How about racing in it? Well, too bad, but it's still very pretty looking.

http://www.ign.com/v...thog-in-forza-4

The Warthog will be featured as part of Forza Motorsports 4's Autovista mode, which allows players to walk around and interact with vehicles. You can't race in it (could you imagine trying to handle Forza's tracks in a giant dune buggy?), but you will be able to interact on some level. Oh, and you're going to have to unlock it, so we hope you're good at Forza.

Check out the screens of the new improved Warthog.

Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary Multiplayer

Installation 04 Flythrough

Ridgeline Flythrough

Solitary Flythrough

Penance Flythrough

Battle Canyon Flythrough

We will also be getting a remake of Hand em' High and I was also able to find out what the Halo 2 map remake was....are you ready.....HEADLONG!!!!!!

Headlong Gameplay

Multiplayer Vidoc

http://www.ign.com/videos/2011/08/26/halo-ce-anniversary-mulitplayer-vidoc

343 Talks Halo 4

343 Talks Halo 4

CEA Single player Walkthrough

http://www.ign.com/videos/2011/08/26/halo-anniversary-single-player-walkthrough

Impressions:

It's a strange lens at times. Going from the mysterious and oh-so-2001 fog-plagued view of 343 Guilty Spark of Halo CE to a ominous and alien swamp courtesy of Saber Interactive is... jarring, to say the least. It's distracting wandering around a level you thought you knew to see everything that's been done. Everything looks more alive than it did before, which changes the general vibe of the level in distinct ways. The haunted swamp feel has been pushed aside by a foreboding green and yellow light emanating from the trees.

You'll lose track of that when the shooting starts though. In that respect, everything is as it was. Halo CE is filled with moments involving a valley, trees, and a dozen or more Grunts and Jackals. These kinds of encounters dwindled in later games, and playing them again, I realize how much they've been missed. There's a great sense of pacing to timing shots from the Halo CE pistol to maximize efficiency, alternating between close grouped head shots on Grunts and well aimed arm shots on shield-bearing Jackals to leave them vulnerable.

No other Halo game has gotten that same pistol-powered rhythm down as well. The one-two-three of effective pistol usage is empowering and distinctive and... I really missed Halo: Combat Evolved. It's good to have it back again.

There are some wrinkles in the experience right now though. First, hardcore Halo fans will want to foreswear the wireless controller in lieu of a wired one. The finer points of Halo combat were tuned around the wireless-lag-free response of the original Xbox controller, and things might feel a little more floaty than you recall otherwise. Then there's the 3D.

This being 2011 and all, a major title can't seem to hit our greedy little hands without some implementation of 3D, and Saber Interactive and 343i have implemented it pretty well. Aside from the world's longest gun barrel, there's a great sense of depth, and a lot of adjustment options. Plus, it supports passive 3D for compatible televisions, so you can spring for lots of cheap, theater style glasses for everyone you want to suffer through watching you play Halo in 3D.

CEA gets 3-D Support

Halo: CE Anniversary is getting a lot of upgrades in the visual department, but if you're at Halo Fest this weekend there's a pretty major one you can see for yourself: stereoscopic 3D.

Microsoft announced that the revamped Halo: Anniversary will feature a 3D system built specifically for the game. The 3D is being demoed during Halo Fest at PAX this weekend.

Halofest Terminal Numero Uno

Halo CEA Terminal #1

Changes Coming to Waypoint

At its "What's Next for Waypoint" panel at this year's Halo Fest, the 343i team announced a number of changes and additions to Halo Waypoint due later this year.

Waypoint will receive a visual overhaul for the release of anniversary this November. The Xbox 360 portal will get a new look, with a consolidated look at stats and top level information regarding your Halo experience. Players will also be granted the ability to issue create and issue custom challenges to their friends.

The web version of Waypoint will be altered to reflect the console changes to the platform, with an initial full stats view of your personalized Spartan in Halo: Reach. The deep-view information players have come to expect from Bungie.net for Halo: Reach will also transfer over to the new Waypoint site, as well as the Windows 7 Waypoint App.

With that said and done, look forward tomorrows recap!

An advance look at Halo 4 will be found in the unlikeliest of places: Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport racing game.

Hidden deep within Forza’s fourth installment, to be released on October 11, will be an in-depth look at the Warthog vehicle design that will be used in the upcoming Halo 4.

The interactive Warthog model will be viewable in the game’s “Autovista” mode, which allows players to use the Kinect motion controller to move around an intricately detailed model of a car, opening the door, popping the hood, even sliding into the driver’s seat and starting her up.

While you investigate the Warthog (which Microsoft says will be a well-hidden Easter egg), Halo’s central character Cortana will narrate and tell stories about the vehicle’s prowess.

Microsoft reps were quick to add that players will not be able to drive the Warthog around Forza Motorsport 4’s race tracks.

Visitors to this weekend’s Halo Fest in Seattle will be able to check out the Autovista viewer for themselves.

Images courtesy Microsoft

The confirmed maps:

Pennace (Damnation)

Battle Canyon (Beaver Creek)

Hang Em' High

Timberland

The rumored/possible maps:

Infinity

Death Island

Unknown Firefight map

Have the Heavens Finally opened to the public? Haha

As you can see, bloom has been taken out. Also the armor lock has been modified, now when you melee someone while in armor lock they will lose about 25-50% of it.

Thanks FullerPendragon for pointing this out!

The one on the bottom left looks like it could very well be a remake of Highground but, I say the coolest one is Kronos!

Now here are the vehicle images I found:

Here is what was given on the vehicles on the Facebook page:

Hear are the new vehicles for Halo 4 there are the new Pelican / The Sparrow, the new drop ship witch has no name but it is flyable, and last the new scorpion its the same as the old one but it has more power more speed new turret and new guns

He also said that these were posted on waypoint awhile back and then taken down in a few minutes.

Please speculate below!

Previously, it was rumored that Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary will also feature a beta version of Halo 4 in its ‘Extras’ panel in the menu. Now it is believed that Halo 4 will see the graphical representation of Cortana is a livelier form.

"I can tell you Cortana's going to be a focal point of Halo 4, for sure." Said Frank O'Connor, 343's franchise development director, during an interview with OXM (Official Xbox Magazine). "I think a lot of people are speculating on Cortana's age and the effects of age on an AI, there's this thing called Rampancy which is really just any AI thinking itself to death and Cortana's been around for a while and most AIs have a lifespan of seven years.”

O’Connor has hinted that Cortana will not be limited to a graphical imagery AI in the new version of Halo alongside Master Chief. This is expected to alter the game’s storyline and give it a more detailed plot. If Cortana is to play an active character alongside the chief then it will come as a bonus with the game.

"Cortana's a little bit different in that she's been exposed to a lot more technology and information than other AIs via the Forerunner lore and mythos. But her state of mind, her relationship with the Chief, they're all going to be core elements of the story and the 'human drama' as it were in Halo," O’Connor added.

“Set in the aftermath of Halo 3, Master Chief returns to confront his own destiny and face an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the entire universe. Halo 4 marks the start of a new trilogy that begins with its release in 2012,” says the official Halo 4 website.

Halo 4 will arrive on Xbox 360 in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to an OXM report.

Part of the reason for this was that the campaign was cut short to make it's release date, as senior engineering lead Chris Butcher described the project as a "three act tragedy".

According to Butcher, "The first act was when we were all optimistic and fun, we were saying "this game is going to be 70 times more fun than Halo 1, because we've got all these great vehicles and environments and we're just going to jam in as much stuff as we can,"

He went on to say that their enthusiasm "lead us into some very, very scary places, with a graphics engine that was "totally unsuited" to Xbox and levels that "didn't make sense in a shooter".

Bungie COO Pete Parsons stated, "We had to throw out a lot of stuff that we'd wanted to do", and blamed some of the issues from the absence of studio founders Alex Seropian and Jason Jones, which made them develop Halo 2 "by committee".

"Before Halo 2, we could fail in silence and in misery but no-one really knew we were failing," writer Joseph Staten added. "But with something like Halo 2, everyone knew we'd cut missions at the end, that we'd lopped off our third act - we failed spectacularly in public as far as the story was concerned."

However, one thing all agree on is that players rushed through the single player campaign and delved into the revolutionary multiplayer, whose matchmaking and clap support made Xbox Live finally explode and become the popular service it is now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m0xv3eJ5Sg

Combat Evolved Anniversary is a remastered version of the original Halo campaign. Bundled with seven of the most popular multiplayer maps in Halo history ready for Xbox LIVE, Halo: Anniversary will include a bunch of new features including cooperative play over Xbox LIVE, Achievements, new challenges, and new fiction to uncover.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtG6--4r_qk&feature=player_detailpage

Jason Jones, the secretive co-founder of Bellevue game studio Bungie, emerged for a video the company produced to commemorate its 20th anniversary.

It's on YouTube, but it's more than a brief clip. It's a 55-minute documentary that provides an overview of the company's history from its start in Chicago through its acquisition by Microsoft and phenomenal success of its "Halo" franchise.

The video comes a few weeks before Microsoft begins promoting its new, post-Bungie Halo game at the PAX conference in Seattle, and reiterates Bungie's role in creating the franchise.

It also drops a few hints about the new "universe" game that Bungie's developing for Activision. There's even a screenshot (below) of a new realm that appears, just after Bungie's Marty O'Donnell says the new game will be "scary."

It looks like the upcoming game has renewable energy and some local flavor:

Place your Bungie Remembrance comments below.

Over the last few months we’ve seen quite a few screenshots and videos highlighting the multiplayer and graphical slip-shine the game is receiving, but we’re still in the dark about how the Kinect will be integrated into the experience. There’s apparently a reason for that, as 343 Industries’ Frankie O’ Connor told Official Xbox Magazine that the Kinect functionality in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is really not a big deal. It’s a “cool” feature, but players shouldn’t get “hyper-excited” over it.

“I don’t think it’s going to be something that people need to be hyper-excited about,” said O’Connor.

“It’ll be cool, but it’s not something you’d put on the front of the box. I don’t want to downplay it, but I think of it like this – I use voice on Netflix and it’s awesome, and that’s what this’ll be. Something that enhances you overall experience.”

Honestly, this sounds like good news for Halo fans. It’s great to hear that Microsoft isn’t forcing Kinect down the throats of those interested in revisiting (or playing for the first time) the original Halo with this new remastering. It seems like O’Connor is insinuating that Halo Anniversary’s Kinect integration will be something similar to how BioWare is handling it in Mass Effect 3 -- solely voice commands.

Unfortunately, O’Connor wasn’t able to peg an official announcement day for the Kinect functionality in Halo Anniversary. Microsoft and 343 Industries are still trying to figure out when is the best time to make the announcement. But they better do it before the game launches on November 15, 2011.

Halo: Anniversary

Pegasus Theatre (Sheraton)

Friday, August 26th, 10:00am–11:00am

The team responsible for the 2011 reimagining of the classic Xbox title peel back the cover on the process behind bringing Halo: Anniversary to gamers on the 10th anniversary of Halo: Combat Evolved. Panelists include Executive Producer Dan Ayoub, Producer Dennis Ries, Franchise Development Director Frank O’Connor, Franchise Manager Kevin Grace, and more!

Halo Universe

Pegasus Theatre (Sheraton)

Friday, August 26th, 4:00pm–5:00pm

Over the past decade Halo has touched millions of people around the world. Come be a part of the 10th anniversary celebration as we welcome some of the people who helped bring the universe to life. Panelists include Franchise Development Director Frank O’Connor, Franchise Manager Kevin Grace, Pete Stacker (Captain Jacob Keyes), Tim Dadabo (343 Guilty Spark), and Steve Downes (Master Chief).

Halo 4

Main Theater (Paramount)

Sunday, August 28th, 10:00am–11:00am

Here is your first chance to see and hear from the 343 Industries team that is creating the exciting next chapter in Master Chief’s heroic story. Be there as we kick off the next 10 years of Halo! Panelists include Franchise Development Director Frank O’Connor, Creative Director Josh Holmes, Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill, Senior Art Director Kenneth Scott, and Audio Director Sotaro Tojima.

Two awesome contests for Halo Fest have been announced! Are you a Machinima magician? A fabulous Forge artist? Then read on:

Forge Contest

Use the Forge mode within Halo: Reach to create a work of art that represents the Halo universe. Submit your art, and you could win an Acme Archives art-quality print of your submission, plus a trophy!

Machinima Contest

Submit your short film based upon Halo game footage, and you could win a walk-on voice-acting role, get your name and winning piece showcased on a Wabsite, and take home a tropy!

To get more information and participate in the contests, please visit the Halo Facebook page, make sure you Like it, and then enter “Halo Fest Contests,” available on the left sidebar. From there you can go to either the Forge or Machinima contest app, both of which could get you fabulous prizes!

WHERE:

PAX Prime

Seattle, WA

Washington State Convention Center

Annex 3rd Floor

WHEN:

Day Time

Friday, August 26 10am-7pm

Saturday, August 27 10am-6pm

Sunday, August 28 10am-6pm

Post created by Spectral Jester

Release

It will be released on November 15th, 2011. As far as I know there are no pre-order editions. More info will be given at PAX in August and I will update thread when new info is released. There are seven new maps that come with Halo Anniversary. Six multiplayer and one Firefight rumored to be unique to other Firefight maps. It will not be two disk but only one disk.

The following is from an interview with Frank O'Conner on Spike TV:

A total of six multiplayer maps from Halo: Combat Evolved will be playable in Halo: Reach's online multiplayer along with a retooled campaign level for Firefight mode. He also said it will be a budget-priced game.

If you preorder :

You will recieve a skull.

Name- Grunt Funeral

Effect-Grunts explodes after death and damage other enemies nearby.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYfNBCHYHFE&feature=feedu

A Master Chief avatar costume.

Campaign

Every single details are the same except for graphics which is updated to modern graphics. You will be able to switch between the original and new graphics via the back button. Even the glitches are gonna still remain. For those who have not played CE in its original state those glitches are not negative towards players. 343 has announced terminals to be found throughout the campaign. It will not be like Halo 3's terminals, but instead like a comic cutscene giving hints to extra stuff and Halo 4's story. There's a terminal on every single level. If you think about that, in terms of what the levels are, and what species those locations belong to - even that's a part of the story. We'll be careful about where we put them. They'll be in gameplay - but you should be able to access them without dying. Skulls have been confirmed in the campaign. There will be two player co-op as stated at E3.Every single audio sound effect has been redone. Some of them have been re-recorded, others have been remastered. Dialogue is the same - identical. (We're cleaning it up, so it works better in 5.1.) All of the music is being re-recorded by Skywalker Orchestra - the same melodies, though there'll be some slight tweaks because it's a full orchestra. It's richer, fuller, much more expansive production values. Some of the synthy stuff will be less synthy. We're trying to retain a lot of the original flavor, rather than just replace everything. It'll sound like the Halo soundtrack, but just richer, fuller. When you jump back to the old game, you have new audio. You've already got two engines runnning. You have the old gameplay physics and AI engine, and the new graphics layer running on top. We couldn't run a third engine to do audio emulation, as well. Think about the loading. You see the slight pause, when it switches? Audio files are some of the biggest files - waiting for the switch would be just unpleasant. It's not jarring at all, this way - when you switch back, if there's an ambient effect, it just keeps going. We never gave audio serious consideration for that flip, because it would have been a dissonant experience. It's possible that some eggs might be removed or changed a little from the original, out of respect for the creators. 343 added plenty of their own eggs. 343 has also said that the updated Master Chief seen is the trailer is not finished and therefore not what he may look like in-game.

Multiplayer

It's gameplay is exactly like Halo: Reach.

The following is from an interview by HBO:

It just has the 7 new maps - Reach's original multiplayer maps are not included. If you just have Reach, and you don't want to play this, we will make these available for separate purchase eventually. We're not saying how long 'eventually' is right now, but it's not an amount of time that will upset anyone.There will be a playlist for just these maps. Reach players will be able to directly play seamlessly in that playlist, and those maps will also be integrated into other playlists. We'll try and make a very central place to play just these maps, so there'll be a good population, but eventually they'll end up in all lists. We're going to do significant stuff with matchmaking playlists to make sure that these are respectful of original system link-type games. You know how there's a Classic playlist right now? Imagine that, but plus-plus, and some other stuff we can't talk about right now. O' Connor clarified with Joystiq that Anniversary's multiplayer component, while employing the Reach engine, will still be playable on the Anniversary disc itself. The game will also include a voucher to download the maps for play within Halo: Reach.

You will not be required to swap between disks to play the Halo: Reach maps, but you may have to buy DLC if you haven't already done so.

Forge

It is confirmed.

Firefight

The following is from an interview with Frank O'Conner on Spike TV:

A total of six multiplayer maps from Halo: Combat Evolved will be playable in Halo: Reach's online multiplayer along with a retooled campaign level for Firefight mode. Halo: CE Anniversary will not support Xbox Live multiplayer whatsoever (outside of co-op). These maps are for loading into Halo: Reach (think: ODST), according to comments made by 343 Industries' Frank O'Connor on Spike TV. He also said it will be a budget-priced game.

Theater

Theater is only available for multiplayer.

Special thanks

Absolute Dog

SPARTAN 117

HBO

JOHN 117

NateyBoyClink

Any useful information regarding Halo: CEA is welcome.