Of course you can’t forget the fact that the game simply kicks ass (despite its obvious flaws), and now with 21 maps, most of which are excellent, the game is bigger and better then ever. With various auto-updates, play list updates, and new maps that have and are soon to be released the number of people playing Halo 2 is sure to gradually increase throughout the rest of the year. We'll have more stories from Carney and Cotton on the making of Guardian, The Pit, Valhalla, and some maps that never made it into the shipping version of Halo 3, in the coming weeks.Nearly 8 months after being released, Halo 2 is still running strong. But at the same time, you can play it Slayer. It's a very asymmetrical map, right? It's clearly trying to give one team the role of being defenders. I think the tube was an add later, as we realized we wanted more routes into the base. I believe the flag was initially back inside that structure, and it made more sense to put the flag out in the middle of that courtyard. I did end up iterating on the area in the back. It was strong from the beginning, and it was just about finishing it. It didn't deviate much from that initial idea.Ĭotton: It's a lot like Zanzibar in that way. What could've happened to create the opening?'Ĭarney: I think this is a map that had such a strong initial design, as Steve worked on it it just got better and better. It was like, 'this big opening doesn't make sense for a bunker. It actually started as a bunker with a giant door for no reason. The wrecked bunker in the front didn't start that way. It also describes the "heavy artillery gun at the top of the hill that mortars the hillside below the wall during the assault," which you can see on the final map, but sadly just as a non-functional decorative object.Īn annotated image of the completed map from above (Image credit: Bungie)Ĭotton: allowed for the right amount of pathing and choice for players to get around the base. Cotton originally planned for it to fit a Warthog rather than a Ghost. The design doc includes a few interesting distinctions from the final map, like the gate being "destroyed" rather than opened, and only one alternate entrance, instead of the eventual two. Its purpose: an artillery compound and last line of defense from the Covenant." The wall is ancient but has been retrofitted with modern bunkers and gun placements.
The great wall at VOI is nearly impregnable with one heavily fortified underground passageway through and only one scalable other way over the wall. The height of the sniper tower had to be such that you could make that jump using the jump pad.Ĭotton shared the initial design document for High Ground, which captures most of what ended up being in the final map. One was the jump pad, and we intentionally put it in a spot where somebody could grab it and get to a place that made a lot of sense to stealthily jump up to the sniper tower. But for the attacking force I remember talking a lot about the equipment they could use to breach the wall. I spoke with Carney and Cotton, who led the multiplayer map design in both Halo 2 and Halo 3, about the stories behind some of Halo 3's greatest maps-this is the story of High Ground. That early idea eventually became High Ground.
They challenged themselves to design and refine pieces that they thought could work well in maps, like a perfect sniper tower or a wall that one team could scale.
Halo maps top view series#
The idea for High Ground came from a series of "exercises" that multiplayer map designers Chris Carney, Steve Cotton, and Justin Hayward did at the beginning of Halo 3's development. Another time they might use a one-off piece of equipment, a grav lift, to jump to the sniper tower on top of the wall and take the height advantage. One round the attackers may rush the control panel that opens up the front gate, making it possible to drive a dangerous Ghost straight into the back of the base. It's the kind of map that you can play a hundred times without getting bored of it, refining your strategy on both attack and defense, with enough variety to keep any round from becoming predictable.