Bungie acceptance video teases new Halo goodies
by Kevin Kelly 
{ Aug 12th 2008 at 3:29PM }
Are these some teasing tidbits about a possible Map Editor? Check out that last shot when our soldier pal lobs a plasma grenade towards the camera. Verrrrrrrry interesting. It's definitely a lot more robust-looking than Halo 3's Forge editor. Also, those look like new AI models of past cast members ... including Cortana. Playable models? In-game NPCs that'll be on your squad? Cats and dogs, living together? Who knows. What's for sure is that Bungie is saying "the ride isn't over yet."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jack of No Trades 85 @ Aug 12th 2008 3:37PM
Map editor would be sweet!
rv @ Aug 12th 2008 3:52PM
Yes, finally you could make a perfect rocket race court, zombies facility, etc...
Just having an open area would be very helpful, as right now even on foundry you can't do whatever you want/
modified @ Aug 12th 2008 5:18PM
I think there are going to be a lot of heart broken people if they reveal this is just for the PC version.
Jakka (Not sure why he got banned?) @ Aug 12th 2008 3:38PM
Could it possibly hint at Forge-spawned Enemies and Survival-like gametypes?
McWeen @ Aug 12th 2008 3:42PM
Timesplitters has better map maker than Forge
SPOOOOCK! @ Aug 12th 2008 3:50PM
REALLY!? A game's full fledged map editor is better than Halo 3's FORGE!?!?! INCONCEIVABLE!
But in all seriousness, a full map editor with bots would definitely make me dust off Halo 3.
Jakka (Not sure why he got banned?) @ Aug 12th 2008 4:00PM
Touché.
Bots make everything more awesome.Me and my mates still dust-off UT2004 to play Invasion every once in a while.
Jonah Falcon @ Aug 12th 2008 5:01PM
I prefer UT, the first one, from 1999. Best bots evar.
Nytemare @ Aug 12th 2008 3:42PM
Ooooh!
*inner child comes out all of a sudden*
That looks intriguing! I'm excited!
Jacksons @ Aug 12th 2008 3:45PM
It won the award for most innovative in 2007, and an award for the most innovative in the last 12 months since now.
"Halo 4..wha.." heh.
The_Punisher @ Aug 12th 2008 3:45PM
...or maybe they just have access to all of that cuz they....y'know....MADE THE GAME!
Jakka (Not sure why he got banned?) @ Aug 12th 2008 3:58PM
Of course we know that, but the fact that they did it(+ the still models on Halo 3 Modded Maps) means that there are no coded restrictions when it comes to AI and Models in MP.
Hell, if you mess long enough(risking Live Ban) you learn that you can put any object from the campaign(Shade Turrets,Pelicans or even the Giant Ship in the last mission) into the map as long as you know how to trick Forge into thinking it's "all fine".
Here are some examples: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcFOwalpw2c
The_Punisher @ Aug 12th 2008 4:02PM
That's most likely how they made the campagin, but that doesn't mean they want to release it to the public. I doubt Bungie is that nice, but i've been wrong before (haha, not rly).
Cobra @ Aug 13th 2008 12:05PM
You clearly don't know Bungie
The_Punisher @ Aug 13th 2008 10:22AM
They charged me $10 for 3 crappy maps and 1 decent one. I know them alright.
john @ Aug 13th 2008 12:11PM
I think you know Microsoft, not Bungie.
Trippy Haps @ Aug 12th 2008 3:50PM
I'd be happy with bots. Come onnn.
Imagine a map spawning with tons of Hunters and Brutes. Good times.
Jakka (Not sure why he got banned?) @ Aug 12th 2008 4:02PM
Imagine retarded eight-year old making a map full of them.
I still have nightmares after that 500% Speed 10% Gravity infection game on Sandtraps.
john @ Aug 12th 2008 3:52PM
Clearly hinting at a more powerful version of Forge. Is it going to be multiplayer? I think people underestimate how close Bungie has come to the user created content promise of LittleBigPlanet, just without the cutesy characters. Being able to control all the geometry of a map and share it on your file share sounds like a winner. I'm not sure what's up with the NPC(?) characters, but it can't be bad. The only thing missing from all this is a more robust system of rating content and making the best of it available to everyone.
SeanScythe @ Aug 12th 2008 4:49PM
"user created content promise of LittleBigPlanet"
You're kidding, right?
john @ Aug 12th 2008 4:59PM
I'm not really kidding. You've got a multiplayer map editor that you can play in while you create. Real time physics and all that. That's a major part of the appeal of LBP, along with it's more accessible style. The scale of what you can do isn't as grand as LBP, but if Bungie continues in this direction it's getting a lot closer. If what's hinted at here is mostly real, they just need a better (in game) way to find your way to the best stuff.
It all depends on how committed Bungie is to the idea of doing major community-based updates for Halo 3. Certainly more than the average studio, but we'll see...
j.howlett @ Aug 12th 2008 3:54PM
when i read the headline i thought it was the video from G4 where someone in the background told the guy giving the speech to "keep it clean". this was cool though
rTwelve [xbl:chilblane] @ Aug 12th 2008 3:55PM
Playable Hunters!
not really i guess.....
Shmil @ Aug 12th 2008 3:56PM
tits
Bryan @ Aug 12th 2008 3:57PM
Lol. Josytiq takes stuff way too seriously.
GridloQ @ Aug 12th 2008 3:58PM
OMG THAT WAS LUKE SMITH
LUKE, WE MISS YOU AT 1UP YOURS
turkeybaster @ Aug 12th 2008 4:01PM
Maybe it could be class-based multiplayer objective based gametypes ala Team Fortress 2.
BioRebel @ Aug 12th 2008 4:47PM
That would certainly keep with Bungies motif of making games that are merely rip-offs of other franchises.
Churchy @ Aug 12th 2008 4:04PM
O_O
Bungiiiiiiiiiiiiiie...
superaktieboy @ Aug 12th 2008 4:26PM
lol@ the vid xD
ice~ @ Aug 12th 2008 4:52PM
ah ah ahhh bungie, daddy microsoft is gonna spank you if u say anything else!! How dare you! A full fledged map creator would be kikass though, I like when the bungie staff makes these videos lol
Jonah Falcon @ Aug 12th 2008 5:00PM
TRON?
mc200X @ Aug 12th 2008 5:40PM
Woah the Superintendent is in that Thank you screen...
Turkish Superman @ Aug 12th 2008 5:41PM
They're making another Halo for the orignal Xbox?
Chris @ Aug 12th 2008 6:10PM
Why now? Why not last year? Or, better yet, why not roll something like this out the door with the Premium version of H3 on launch? The answer is timing... See below.
As H4 nears, H3's product life cycle draws to a close. Having said this, you simply can not close the doors on 10 million + fans and expect them to shut up and go to sleep. The fans want more maps by which to p0ne m0re n00bs. Bungie needs the devs, who were previously slaving way at building NEW maps, to get involved on up and coming projects (ala H4).
No time like the present. Times a wasting.
Enter Bungie's solution. Why not give the map creation tools away to the community? Problem(s) solved. Happy masses... Key resources working on key projects... It's a win, win.
Oh, and, this answers the question of what, exactly, are the three Bungie projects..
Project 1) Halo Wars (I know, I know, Ensemble Studios is building this... Do you honestly think, for a moment, that Bungie would not be closely involved in a third party's work especially given this is their prize IP).
Project 2) H3 Level Creation Tools
Project 3) Halo 4 (Ok, they can not call it H4 since MS owns the H4 IP. It will be a spacey, futuristic, FPS.. The fourth, in fact, from Bungie... so, H4-ish)
Intentless @ Aug 12th 2008 7:07PM
1) They have already specifically pointed out that they are heavily involved with the ensemble project and that it is not one of the three projects they are working on themselves.
2) Plausible but honestly I think that something as robust as that would be wasted being released this late in the cycle. And honestly it wouldn't be a "new" project seeing as it is being added to an already existing game.
3) It has already been pointed out by many comments that Bungie is not making Halo 4. MS Studios is potentially working on Halo 4 currently (Big reason Frankie left Bungie and went to MS) Either that or just the Halo "Chronicles" Jackson project...
Exodus @ Aug 12th 2008 9:13PM
It isn't Halo 4 but Bungie could always return to the series that spawned Halo all those years ago. Yes let us all bask in the bliss that was Marathon. Those were the days.
mlucky @ Aug 12th 2008 9:08PM
i want it now.
Mr.ESC @ Aug 12th 2008 9:59PM
OMG Bungie is working on TRON!!
EGuzzi392 @ Aug 14th 2008 7:02PM
I think they're really making this map editor for H4, or whatever you want to call it. But they probably figured they could port it to H3 as a thank you to all the fans...and to shut them up until H4 is released. Now we can have actually Infection games. No more zombie that run at the speed of light and drop with one shot.
Misfit Toy @ Aug 13th 2008 12:39AM
Bungie is king at driving their community crazy with crumbs of information.
peepoop @ Aug 13th 2008 5:47AM
Halo 3 + innovation = Does Not Compute
censorman @ Aug 13th 2008 9:13AM
ZOMG111
SO INARVORTIVE!!111
iwantanimac @ Aug 17th 2008 9:07PM
Look, this could very well be a small part of Halo 4 (Or whatever they'll call it... "Bionic SuperSoldiers on RingWorlds" or "Marathon 3") - why would they not put out an early version of the new map editor and take community comments on it to they can perfect it?
I'm rather cautiously excited actually. If this is a full-on map editor (Letting all those people who hacked maps do it legitemately for a change...) then this is going to change the face of Halo Machinima yet again.