BF2S Forums [Halo: Reach] Official Discussion Thread

The prequel to the original Halo, Halo: Reach follows a squad of Spartan III's as they fight the Covenant on a besieged fortress world.

Reach takes place in a futuristic science fiction setting during the year 2552, days before the events of the 2001 video game Halo: Combat Evolved. Humans, under the auspices of the United Nations Space Command (UNSC), have been waging a long war against a collective of alien races known as the Covenant. By the events of Reach, almost all of humanity's interstellar colonies have fallen. Reach is the UNSC's most fortified world after Earth, and serves as a military and intelligence hub.  The game follows the actions of Noble Team, a UNSC special operations unit composed of elite supersoldiers known as Spartans. Players assume the role of an unnamed new addition to the team, identified by the call sign Noble 6. Noble Team's leader is Carter-259, a no-nonsense soldier. His second-in-command, Kat-320, has a bionic arm; together Carter and Kat are the only two remaining original members of Noble Team. The other members include heavy weapons specialist Jorge-052, Emile-239, and marksman Jun-226.

Halo: Reach will feature many new additions to the Halo sandbox, while still retaining the core gameplay. The health system will be similar to that of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 3: ODST, and the player's energy shields will recharge slower than in Halo 3. The HUD will highlight environmental features and overlay information about them, and the Motion Sensor display will be three-dimensional. It will also feature a night vision like in Halo 3: ODST. Halo: Reach also introduces a refined Equipment system known as "Armor Abilities". Pieces of equipment will now be reusable, with a cooldown time between uses. A new assassination system will also be featured, in which holding down the melee button will trigger a context-sensitive, third-person assassination animation. This mechanic will presumably replace the old instant-kill assassinations.

The weapon selection has been streamlined from that of Halo 3, so that every weapon has a specific role. The number of different grenade types has also been reduced from that of Halo 3, and Type-3 Antipersonnel/Antimatériel Incendiary Grenades or Type-2 Antipersonnel Fragmentation Grenades will not be returning. Human weapons all hit more or less instantly after pulling the trigger, giving them a more powerful feel.

Players will be able to personalize their character's armor, and the appearance will be consistent across singleplayer, co-op and multiplayer. Like in Halo 3, the armor permutations will only be aesthetic and not affect gameplay. While the rest of Noble Team will accompany the player for most of the game, Halo: Reach will not feature any kind of tactical squad mechanic. Much like Thel 'Vadam in Halo 3, the rest of the squad will fight alongside the player, but will not require any assistance. The levels will be more open and teleportation in co-op will be far less strict.

Bungie is using a completely redone version of the Halo engine for Halo: Reach, with no component left untouched.

The environments, while larger than in the previous games, will be far more detailed. The graphical effects have been drastically improved, allowing for a new atmospheric effects system and more dynamic lighting for dramatic shadows and moving light sources in interiors. Rain and fogging effects will also be improved. Halo: Reach also features a new animation system, which smoothly blends movement between standing, walking and running as well as jumps, grenade throws and firing. The facial animation system has been completely revamped, including motion capture. Weapon effects will be amplified to be more powerful and visceral than before, giving the effects a more serious tone. Human weapons will sound more powerful and emit smoke and showers of sparks. Plasma bolts will now burn through material as they hit, and explosions will throw clouds of dirt and debris around.

Halo: Reach's engine will be able to support up to 40 active AI characters and 20 vehicles on screen at once. In addition, faraway battles between AI characters will follow automated behavior models, which convert into scripted behaviors as the player gets closer, and finally full AI.

Bungie has taken a new design direction with Halo: Reach, aiming for a more somber and gritty atmosphere. In many ways, the character designs, especially those of Sangheili and Human personnel, harken back to Halo: Combat Evolved. Models for enemies and allies boast remarkable levels of new detail in form of higher-resolution textures and more polygons. Enemies and allies will have more individual features to denote ranks and provide more visual variety. The Covenant will speak in their own languages, and feel more alien and threatening in general.

Last edited by -=]NS[=-Eagle (2010-05-24 22:09:55)