Last year, we released a three-part blog series exploring the cutting room floor of [i]Halo[/i], reaching all the way back to not just the E3 2003 demo of Halo 2, but even further back to the 1999 Macworld demo for [i]Halo: Combat Evolved[/i]. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/0661aff12045c13d766fcd1f42eed1bf647d4495.png[/img] We announced that an intrepid team of modders, in partnership with us here at 343 Industries, have been working to restore some of this old content so that you can experience it for yourself in [i]Halo: The Master Chief Collection[/i] on PC. After going dark for a year, heads down as we entered the darkest depths of ancient folders and shone a light into the deepest corners of [i]Halo[/i] history, delving into that secret [i]tenth[/i] circle of Hell (the cutting room floor of game development), the time has now come to reveal what you’ll be able to get your hands on through modding when the next MCC update drops [i]soon[/i]. So, let’s hand it over to Kenneth Peters, Senior Franchise Writer, and the Digsite team themselves to bring you a new two-part exploration of what’s on the way. [hr][/hr] [h2]Sitrep[/h2] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/e5a2af2df99960af6b8f694dabae7aff317a845f.jpg[/img] [i]Blam Magazine – Collage by Neo.[/i] Today is a jam-packed article, written directly by the Digsite team! We’ve squeezed in as much as we could fit, you’ll find the full low-down on anything and everything about our first release. Short of the mythical [i]Forerunner Bench[/i] and [i]Forerunner Train[/i], we’ll be diving into a look at what you can find, meeting new friends involved in this project, and discussing old and new surprises alike. While the wait was a big one, we all greatly look forward to seeing these restored works go out into the wild, and how the community will use and iterate on our released resources in new and exciting ways. We’re going right into the thick of it, so buckle up and read on! [hr][/hr] [h2]New Teammates[/h2] Since our previous Waypoint article, the crew has expanded with new members from the modding community to bolster our efforts across the board, from giving weapons a bigger boom, to uncovering the long-famed mysteries of the Guardians… If this is your introduction to our project, we invite you to meet the existing team progress in these three articles from 2022: [url=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/cutting-room-floor]Cutting Room Floor[/url] | [url=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/cutting-room-corps]Cutting Room Corps[/url] | [url=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/canon-fodder-cutting-room-lore]Cutting Room Lore[/url] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/0a95d5730f93ad317b27c5ee705d59a38376c9aa.jpg[/img] [i]A journey to the past…[/i] [h3]Crisp[/h3] Hey all, you may know me for my Zombies inspired mod for [i]Halo 3[/i]. Since then, I’ve been focused on community tools for working with the Halo Editing Kits. My latest project has been [url=https://github.com/ILoveAGoodCrisp/Foundry-Halo-Blender-Creation-Kit/releases]Foundry[/url], a solution for turning Blender models into game assets for [i]Halo: Reach[/i]+. I’ve joined Digsite to assist getting cut content for [i]Halo: Reach[/i] and [i]Halo 4[/i] in-engine. [h3]Killzone64[/h3] Hello, I’m Killzone64. You may know me from projects such as [url=https://youtu.be/U7FjzHf9fUw]Dynamis[/url], [i]Halo CE[/i]+, and as a/ longtime member of VKMT. I have been modding various [i]Halo[/i] games since 2009, specializing in 3D modeling and level design. I recently joined Digsite to assist with fixing up any cut maps that we find for release across various games. [h3]Krevil[/h3] Hello, I’m Krevil, you might recognize me from the Halo Mods Discord or from my work on mods such as the [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2908094235]Multiplayer Characters in Campaign[/url] series. I was brought on to research enemy behaviors and restore [i]Halo 3[/i] assets like characters and scenarios. Since joining the Digsite team, I’ve been using my skills in reverse engineering to get a low-level look at what makes [i]Halo 3[/i]’s AI tick so that I can bring cut characters such as the Guardian back to life. [h3]Neo Te Aika[/h3] Kia ora! I’m Neo. I joined the team last year, aiding in dev shenanigans from analyzing ~30-year-old file formats, to the production of our new audio assets (occasionally of the musical variety). My community projects include VKMT and Odyssey, reconstructing [i]Halo[/i] music with the original gear. Alongside gamedev, I’m a [url=https://youtu.be/oSkqrGdhXWQ]musician[/url] and sound engineer. I also like takoyaki! [hr][/hr] [h2]What's in the Box?[/h2] [h3]A (Bigger) Box[/h3] The PC release of [i]Halo[/i] introduced the series’ online big team battle experience, jam-packed with new weapons and maps. Even more content was once in concept, though their production was cut early, and their archived iterations remained incomplete from a design standpoint, until now. For Digsite, we went deep into the archives and uncovered Milestone builds of [i]Halo PC[/i] which had material that never made it to the retail release. Of particular interest to us were design/production docs, Bungie feedback notes, tags, compiled maps, and source data for previously unseen multiplayer maps. Some of these were cut before they even had a name more evocative than gbx_map#. Nevertheless, two were interesting enough to playtest and bring over the finish line within MCC: [h3]Indoor/Underground[/h3] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/ea580542d51dee212dcd5ee06ca6a8cbbaa2a60f.jpg[/img] [i]Imagine the smell. 4-8 players.[/i] [b]Ludus[/b]: Indoor was the most complete of the cut Gearbox Software maps. It was interesting to explore what was there because it wasn’t visually far off from any of the maps released with the original [i]Halo: CE[/i]. Unlike the other maps Gearbox ended up shipping with [i]Halo PC[/i] (Infinity, Death Island, etc.) Indoor stood out as a close-quarters map set entirely indoors (pun intended). While it was pretty far along, much of the map flow was still a bit messy and spawns for players and weapons still needed to be done. I was considering just tidying it up with a complete scenario but inspiration struck when I was digging through the files of the map and found a treasure trove. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/9f23f1ecd170d1f4a1f51d6fd2bf830ff6c83a0e.jpg[/img] To my surprise, Gearbox had made a bunch of brand-new textures that were not being used whatsoever. I felt it would be a shame if these textures never got used, so I decided to remix Indoor into a brand-new map that could better utilize these newfound bitmaps. The result of that is the new map I made: Underground. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/204521a1ec79e85e249354beaa853ea9e8ad0a1f.jpg[/img] [i]Check your corners.[/i] I wanted to showcase this map as a demonstration of what the community can do just with a few extra textures at their disposal. [i]Halo: CE[/i] especially doesn’t have many human environments outside the [i]Pillar of Autumn[/i], so I think that the community having even a few new human textures to play with can lead to some cool results. I tried to keep my changes in Underground as a nice balance between the original layout of Indoor, changes based on the feedback Bungie gave Gearbox at the time of development, and lastly changes that I felt would help the map play in a way that [i]Halo: CE[/i] multiplayer veterans might enjoy. In the new update with the tools, modders will be able to find the files for both the original Gearbox Indoor along with my map Underground. [b]Neo[/b]: I believe a key element of [i]Halo: CE[/i]’s memorability lies in the distinct environment audio of every location, waiting patiently to shine in moments of reflection and reprieve. Against an entrance that may have once served a relaxing stroll for crew off duty, the interior is full with a rumble worthy of sleep mixes, computer equipment ticking away at data, perhaps never to be measured again. Cue action: what was once underground has now been found! Evacuation sirens bounce through the corridors. Partially inspired by the escape sequence onboard Nostromo from [i]Alien[/i], we repurposed the [i]Pillar of Autumn[/i]’s klaxons (now with an orange coat of paint to match Ludus’ nifty visual design) to serve in the mixing pot of your next tense round of hardcore doubles. [i]…and who left all the stuff in here running, anyway?[/i] [h3]Dusk/Abyss[/h3] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/2a7e7345dfc9fbbb70dda2f9c88593e3944748ac.jpg[/img] [i]Watch your step. 2-4 players.[/i] [b]Ludus[/b]: While working on Underground, I decided to take a second look at another cut [i]Halo PC[/i] map, Dusk. Unlike the state Indoor was found in, Dusk was rough to say the least. The scaling was entirely off and much of the map’s layout was muddled and unclear. Funnily enough, the layout of the center structure vaguely reminded me of the map Rust from the [i]Call of Duty[/i] franchise, and that’s when the idea for how I’d remix Dusk came about. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/a56868e77895ced8bf4ade01efb0ebaf03600018.jpg[/img] [i]Jump in the arena.[/i] From Dusk came the map Abyss. I have always adored [i]Halo: CE[/i]’s multiplayer above all other games in the franchise for one thing specifically: the sheer sweat and tears that 1v1 and 2v2 Slayer matches produce. I scaled up the original portion of Dusk I wanted to remix and went to work. Similar to Underground, I also wanted this map to be an example of what could be done with the new assets the community will be able to play with in this Digsite release, so it also uses the cut rock texture found in Indoor’s files along with using the skybox some might recognize from [i]Halo[/i]‘s E3 2000 demo. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/e0ce691398da44599e68c6832d26fddf087d5dc5.jpg[/img] [i]Old WIP screenshot of Abyss to better show the E3 2000 skybox.[/i] This map was especially fun to put together because playtesting was as simple as getting one other Digsite member on call to 1v1. (Un)pleasantries were exchanged each playtest session. Word of advice though, watch your step when going for Rockets. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/55f42924b81de035f11eb2e7ced5b35079aa6f4b.jpg[/img] [i]Keys to superweapons![/i] [b]Neo[/b]: The cavern lighting is one of my favorite spots here. I wanted to match the vibrant visuals and centerpoint here with a hum reminiscent of vinyl crackle and the noises you can conjure up with a piezoelectric style microphone. If the buzz gives you positive tingles, I encourage you to listen to [url=https://youtu.be/-j4-DGPEFik?t=96]this supercut of field recordings for [i]Halo Infinite[/i]’s audio design[/url], capturing intricate sounds with said microphones’ ultra-sensitivity to electrical interference! [h3]Ruined Pain[/h3] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/f7d06e9420d62ab332f4c370b0e8c9db42aa9436.jpg[/img] [i]All pain, some gain. 8-16 players.[/i] Two “Ruined Pain” maps were uncovered as part of the Digsite process, in different stages of completion and playability. We believe this particular variant dates to a very early stage of [i]Halo[/i] FPS-era development, as it was created at a scale appropriate for the original cyborg, who was roughly the same height as a retail marine. During playtesting, it was immediately apparent this caused issues in retail MCC due to the larger player character, so the fixed-up version was scaled up by x1.5. [b]Ludus[/b]: It was a bit surreal getting to play the first test of the map after scaling the map up to correct size for retail MCC. Everything just clicked into place after that single change. After trying it with Killzone64, we both agreed there was potential for a really cool [i]Halo: CE[/i] equivalent to something like [i]Halo 3[/i]’s Standoff. [b]Killzone64[/b]: Ruined Pain actually ended up being a great BTB map once we scaled it up – all I had to do was add weapons, player spawns, and some oxygen tanks so that players could jump up onto the base structures more easily. I also spent a little time building a completely chaotic racecourse that I really hope players enjoy. I am also currently working on the more well-known version of Ruined Pain that appeared in the beta UI as the map preview for Damnation. This version of Ruined Pain will be released once we get it into a playable state. In addition, a “remixed” version of the map inspired by the original layout will be released by Digsite member Conscars. [h3]Swampthing[/h3] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/a8191d0be4dcdc88eedd1251e16bcf600ad0334b.jpg[/img] [i]Something in the mist…[/i] A swamp themed level by Gearbox Software. Lots of similar art from the single-player level 343 Guilty can be seen on display here and the theme for a foggy swamp area goes as far back as the swamp level from the third-person era of [i]Halo[/i]. Put together, you have a level evoking that familiar ominous mystery. The name and some of the theming are also shared with a very early version of [i]Halo: CE[/i] campaign development which survives only in the form of missing tag references. In B20, the Master Chief was tasked with assassinating a Covenant Prophet (who – at this early date – took the form of Elites wearing appropriately striking hats, per Joseph Staten). A mysterious killer monster lurked in the center of the map, forcing the player to take a wide path around the center of the swamp as they made their way to a distant tower. [h3]Spasm[/h3] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/baaea5e4a08d2b8daac42e9bd4d4a0271da728b7.jpg[/img] [i]Ancient, Epic, Mysterious[/i] Made famous by the Macworld 1999 demo and subsequent media appearances, Spasm was a multi-biome environment built to test vehicles, architecture, and new game mechanics during the fast-paced early days of [i]Halo[/i] development. It’s a big place, and used a heightmap-based terrain system incompatible with [i]Halo: CE[/i], so it took some work to get running in MCC. We’ve set it up as a sandbox to play in, explore, and repurpose for your own mods. Don’t forget to pack a picnic! [b]Ludus[/b]: It was a fun challenge to get this into MCC. The process of figuring out how to best translate the map into something usable with the retail mod tools was very fun. It’s a bit surreal getting to walk around the map after all these years. Currently I use a copy of Spasm for its original intended use case: a test map for tags I work on. It’s a great playground to see how vehicles play, weapons react to different materials, and even has some nice areas to set up play fights with AI if I need to test that. I hope the community will enjoy getting to first hand explore [i]Halo[/i]’s past like this. I’d love to see someone turn it into a giant BTB map to recreate the glory of 24/7 CTF servers on [i]Halo PC[/i] Death Island! [b]Neo[/b]: Vast, rich with texture, and containing a mythical center. No it’s not my favorite chocolate, but it is a very special piece of [i]Halo[/i] history! Hiking up to points of altitude, you’ll hear the wind rushing past, and friendly birds holler near the few trees dotted around the island. Those familiar with [i]Custom Edition[/i]-era modding may remember stereo 44.1khz sound scenery could cause the game to crash. MCC’s under-the-hood upgrades include raised engine limits and improved functionality for handling audio beyond what the engine previously supported. This ensures that you’ll hear waves lap all around your hunking boots, in crispy stereo! The interior is where the magic is though. Some say the Spasm hangar is haunted with everlasting whispers, but the real treasure is the Macworld control room. To me, [i]Halo[/i]’s strongest association of wonder lies in this room-’o-destruction, not only for story importance, but because this control room set the opening shot of [i]Halo[/i]’s initial Macworld reveal in 1999. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/52a96c895c89137a7e938a9655e01323544979fc.jpg[/img] In keeping with the spirit of said magic, the control room ambiance features a rerecording of the very first element heard in both the Macworld trailer, and the opening of [i]Halo: CE[/i]’s campaign. Blink, and you’ll miss it, the key lies with the index… [hr][/hr] [h2]Ghosts of Futures Past[/h2] Deep in the archive catacombs, we uncovered a myriad of worlds from [i]Halo 2[/i]’s production in early revisions of classics, and previously unseen trinkets of Xbox and Vista development. These maps have all had work done to ensure compatibility with MCC and are playable, though they may contain occasional visual or physical oddities. Some of these may be fixed later, but we thought it important to present these as important milestones in the [i]Halo[/i] multiplayer experience and learning tools for new modders without enacting changes that impact their original layout or design. Not everything takes form right out of the gate during production—it’s important to iterate on all ideas and adapt with where the successful ingredients naturally flow. [h3]Arcology[/h3] An early revision of Outskirts/Metropolis where New Mombasa was still a towering arcology stretching up into the clouds. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/8e0231fa7dd964a7f240a2affbccca0a66305ccf.jpg[/img] [i]City fight![/i] [h3]Ascension Revision[/h3] Recovered from an era where [i]Halo 2[/i] still largely resembled its predecessor, this early build of Ascension has been brought forward to MCC in all its glory. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/5eaa5231778d62045f754ac9faaceba8ed11283e.jpg[/img] [i]Infinity and beyond.[/i] [h3]Burial Mounds Revision[/h3] Perhaps one of the most significantly different early variants of maps that made it to the final game. This restoration features a unique teleporter design constructed from meteorite chunks that emit purple particles, compared to the familiar portal variation that appears in the final game. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/606c3d0f1aa8d1e95c52a3e76cbaab1eb26eaa89.jpg[/img] [i]More than secrets are buried here.[/i] [h3]Colossus Revision[/h3] From an early period where textures, mechanics (e.g. ladders), and design language further resembled [i]Halo: CE[/i], this revision is nearly unrecognizable as the map we know today, though with tantalizing elements that hint at greatness. It even has some greenery in the back! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/ec7fbb567d0145d74c721a863494e33aee13cf67.jpg[/img] [i]Big changes are afoot.[/i] [h3]Headlong Revision[/h3] Another highlight of radical iteration, yet with a familiar feeling… The Spartan statue is the visual set piece here. Decals indicate this area a commercial district, but parking is in short supply. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/68d4adbf311b93221881330635d2aef987d3fe4c.jpg[/img] [i]Urban planning is harder than it looks.[/i] [h3]Lockout Revision[/h3] This version of Lockout predates prior publicly known development builds of [i]Halo 2[/i]. [i]Halo: CE[/i]-style teleporters connect the lift room and sniper tower, preceding the final “elbow bend” walkway. The lift room here also sports an actual physical platform instead of a gravity lift to ascend floors. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/ca9f89a04c750e9cd8bfa2d222219bc98babcddd.jpg[/img] [i]Also known as Blockout.[/i] [h3]Midship Revision[/h3] An early version of Midship. Another map pulled from an era where [i]Halo 2[/i] still resembled [i]Halo: CE[/i] in a lot of ways. It has the same energy as what we got in retail, but it’s a little different with how things work. For example, there is an elevator in the middle of the map that leads up to rockets. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/1e5716b1d876ef5b241338779c6d89242ec5d4eb.jpg[/img] [i]Action from port to starboard.[/i] [h3]Waterworks Revision[/h3] No water to be found here! This version of Waterworks borrows environment textures from [i]Halo: CE[/i]’s Blood Gulch, and likewise is very spacious and open, much flatter than [i]Halo 2[/i]’s final incarnation. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/3a02fe7c1af86200d6e885d9f44fee6fdbdcb1de.jpg[/img] [i]The spigot has not been turned.[/i] [h3]Anchor Point[/h3] A cut multiplayer map from [i]Halo 2[/i] on Xbox. The divisive map is finally here and ready to be judged by your own hands. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/f596d46bc59110ece00f5827547dd38118969d13.jpg[/img] [i]It’s a gas![/i] [h3]Artery[/h3] A cut multiplayer map from [i]Halo 2 Vista[/i]. Watch that you don’t fall, it’s a long way down. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/9f7fe9b9c2169c41441de1243e827e8f504537fa.jpg[/img] [i]An entire ecosystem of megastructures lies beneath the ring.[/i] [h3]Backwoods[/h3] A cut map from [i]Halo 2 Vista[/i]. Let the battle for the hill commence! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/10a96a8864400e059878c7a52b52806ee5e2863a.jpg[/img] [i]Private property.[/i] [h3]Convergence[/h3] A cut multiplayer map from [i]Halo 2 Vista[/i]. An interesting Forerunner installation with unknown purpose. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/40d937c3da0107cd8e7082405a793ba48e1dd900.jpg[/img] [i]Together, forever.[/i] [h3]Convergence Revision[/h3] An alternate, earlier iteration of Convergence, with notable differences in both art and layout. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/7febb0b652d105df32bd670ad5e9c11bff46e12c.jpg[/img] [i]It’s all coming together.[/i] [h3]Convict[/h3] A cut multiplayer map from [i]Halo 2[/i] on Xbox. “Prisoner from [i]Halo: CE[/i] was a really good map, but how could we make it even better?” That’s probably what the meeting for the creation of this map looked like. Frankly, it’s more Prisoner and you can’t go wrong with that. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/f18a9206cb1382a5ce7dc84771d71dcf1c3df018.jpg[/img] [i]…and throw away the key.[/i] [h3]Grotto[/h3] A cut multiplayer map from [i]Halo 2[/i] on Xbox, surgically sliced from the [i]Halo 2[/i] campaign geometry. It’s a shame this wasn’t more fleshed out since the Delta Halo art is spectacular. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/48cabf2355929a357745f18edc0c46b9f89e1f24.jpg[/img] [i]Wanted: Snipers[/i] [h3]Rodentia[/h3] A cut multiplayer map for [i]Halo 2 Vista[/i]. Take in the nostalgia with this remake of Rat Race from [i]Halo: CE[/i] in the [i]Halo 2[/i] engine. Pulled from a map file and cleaned up for you to enjoy. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/1ac062e4a52be30bcf76866d6b5009de0548d933.jpg[/img] [i]You can check in, but never leave.[/i] [h3]Covenant Sample[/h3] An unearthed Covenant example map for [i]Halo 2 Vista[/i]. A fine example of eloquent construction. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/b0e3b0e235f51a0d1e6e71255a1411640c0b6298.jpg[/img] [i]The Great Journey starts with a single step.[/i] [h3]Forerunner Sample[/h3] Only unofficially released until now. A Forerunner example map for [i]Halo 2 Vista[/i]. Views like this should be enjoyed by all. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/413f0fd6f563308b92a5695812ceaa66251c4566.jpg[/img] [i]Relax on the beach they said. No Flood they said…[/i] [h3]Human Sample[/h3] Only unofficially released until now. A human example map for [i]Halo 2 Vista[/i]. Duke it out in the streets of Mombasa. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/7308a7b43e56dde7dedecaa8ac0556eb8a5b3907.jpg[/img] [i]Build up. Build out.[/i] [h3]Shaft[/h3] A cut multiplayer map from [i]Halo 2[/i] on Xbox. The basics of the map layout and theme were also worked on in [i]Halo 3[/i] and will be the subject of a later Digsite release. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/639aa8e9ee4e3e6ae52c16e7a9ee913b389ee208.jpg[/img] [i]Don’t delve too deep.[/i] [h3]Soccer[/h3] A revision of a test map from [i]Halo 2 Vista[/i]. You may remember this map from early demos showing the modability of H2V. Cue Haloball! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/ff0eeb6f6a3ae2692521c2ca33c4d3e8270637bf.jpg[/img] [i]GOAL![/i] [hr][/hr] [h2]Weapons, Critters, & Vehicles[/h2] This Digsite release includes various assets from the early development era of [i]Halo: CE[/i] and [i]Halo 2[/i]. From vehicles, to weapons, to new creatures, there’s a little something for everyone to get their hands on. [h3]Locked and Loaded[/h3] One of the most beloved parts of the [i]Halo[/i] franchise has always been the diverse and fantastical armaments seen throughout the games and media. Famously, the first [i]Halo[/i] had a large and diverse arsenal that never made it to the final game. Thanks to the efforts of both the Digsite and MCC teams, modders now have access to plenty of new guns to play with. Here are a couple of the new firearms awaiting you in this release. We do want to point out that the recovered weapons shown below were from the third-person era of [i]Halo[/i] development – they were not made to be seen up-close, nor rigged for use as first-person weapons. All of the cut prerelease [i]Halo: CE[/i] weapons with first-person models in these Digsite releases were done from-scratch by the team as a labor of love! [hr][/hr] [h2]Assault Rifle Grenade Launcher[/h2] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/25fe2e69799b38e348e73e352d76fc0eecf6321d.jpg[/img] [i]MA-5 ICW/30mm CGL[/i] [b]Neo[/b]: The assault rifle shouts quintessential [i]Halo[/i], with a character recognizable far and beyond. It seemed fitting to incorporate elements of the spiritual predecessor, and fans of [i]Marathon[/i] may detect hints of the MA-75B in the secondary trigger. Time to deliver some boom with your bang! [b]Ludus[/b]: I always loved the MA5B from the first [i]Halo[/i]. Logically the only way to make it cooler was to give it a noob tube. It was fun working on the first-person model to keep it as a nice middle ground between the original third-person models we recovered and the final MA5B. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/9753b8d410cec061a19116bfda0025715bee0664.jpg[/img] [b]Scruffy[/b]: It was an interesting design challenge translating third-person weapon data to values that made sense for a first person weapon, and fitting them into an established sandbox. Using the original stats would have resulted in sniper-accurate paper cuts, so what I ended up with was a blend of the original unique stats, adjusted to be on equal footing with the rest of [i]Halo: CE[/i]’s sandbox in damage and range, without sandbox overlap. If the MA5B is an SMG in rifle’s clothing, then our grenade launcher variant is [i]CE[/i]’s first true mid-range rifle. Be careful firing grenades, they ricochet on hard angles, though will plant firmly into earthy materials like dirt before detonating. [b]Sean T[/b]: For the most part I didn’t want to change what isn’t broken with the AR animations. The MA5B reload is effectively synonymous with [i]Halo: CE[/i] itself, and maintained with this animation set (with hand placement adjusted to accommodate a larger grip on this model). On top of this, I fixed up the old “stealth” melee to be much snappier, now the featured melee. There’s a special extra animation for grenade reloads, a feature now possible with MCC’s engine updates. [hr][/hr] [h2]SMG[/h2] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/22cf61c00184d1c437c0ffbf9b08f2ac0441b338.jpg[/img] [i]12.7mm MP-99 para[/i] [b]Neo[/b]: Though they share a side-fed ammo delivery system, this SMG is very different from the signature M7 we bonded with in [i]Halo 2[/i] and [i]ODST[/i]. This SMG has a meaner punch, thanks to the heavier caliber, but still needed to fit into the soundscape of [i]Halo: CE[/i]. The result is a sort of middle ground between the “plastic” bite of [i]Halo 2[/i]’s audio, against the beefiness of [i]CE[/i]’s human guns. A middle ground between a cat purring and a motorcycle with engine issues. Avoid the barrel end. [b]Ludus[/b]: For everyone who complained that the MA5B performed too much like an SMG, thankfully your solution is here: an actual SMG! Unlike other models – like the Chaingun or the above ARGL – the SMG was pretty barebones detail-wise. I wanted to keep a lot of the original silhouette and design choices but have the gun “make sense” in first-person. To keep the proportions of the original gun’s sights, I decided to turn that into a futuristic holographic sight. I used this as an opportunity to make a nod to the original holographic parallaxing reticles [i]Halo[/i] had back in its third-person era. To make more mechanical sense of the gun, I drew inspiration from the firing mechanism of the real-life HK SMG II. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/4dba7fba93dc19d7cfccfa5c824a857aa56d9949.jpg[/img] [b]Scruffy[/b]: A similar challenge with the SMG as with the Assault Rifle. This time, however, it clearly would overlap with a retail weapon and there was no way around that. The decision was to make it a different flavor of MA5B gameplay instead of trying to push it towards a gameplay role it was not designed for. It’s slightly more accurate, but with a slightly smaller magazine. It also features a burst fire mode recreated from its original files, which can still be disabled by modders to allow grenade throwing. [b]Sean T[/b]: The SMG is a completely custom set of animations and was the most challenging weapon to work on for Digsite. The goal with these first-person animations was to keep them in line with the [i]Halo: CE[/i] style, which is slower paced and more methodical than the rest of the franchise. An earlier version of this animation set felt far closer to [i]Halo 2[/i], so I ended up redoing all of it from scratch with help from Ludus. I think the final version feels right at home now. Additionally, with the help of the MCC tech team, many features were added in recent updates that help us approximate legacy behavior. For example, the [i]CE[/i] engine can now support third-person weapons, allowing us to replicate their original look and feel much closer than previously available. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34690208/2c677502d030ce351812fc21d03fa0f8875d7fde.jpg[/img] [i]It really brings a new perspective to things.[/i] [h3]Now I can Hide Behind... Me?[/h3] [b]Scruffy[/b]: It works, and it looks really cool. These third-person reticles aren’t perfect recreations of the older builds in function, instead of 2D HUD layers they exist physically as 3D holograms. Even so, they indicate your weapon’s aim precisely, even at a distance or while jumping around. When we began modeling and animating first-person weapons it became clear that we would not be able to enhance all of them to a retail-level quality standard within a timely manner. Once [i]Halo: CE[/i] was updated to allow third-person weapons, our weapon count for R1 quickly shot up from four weapons to [i]over forty[/i]. Shout out to the MCC dev team for implementing our feature requests. [b]Ludus[/b]: I’d also like to give a small shoutout to my friend and fellow [i]Halo[/i] modder Frostbyte6686. Thanks to spitballing “things to do with effects tags in [i]Halo: CE[/i] with him, the method used to implement the 3D reticles was figured out. [hr][/hr] [b][url=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/digsite-deliveries#legends-of-old]To read the rest of this Digsite Delivery, including Blender versions of vehicles recovered from the real-time strategy and third-person era of early [i]Halo[/i] development (circa 1998-1999), some Ringworld inhabitants, new wheels, lost combatants from the past, and more, head over to Halo Waypoint today! [/url][/b] [hr][/hr] This concludes the first part of our detailed excavation of what the Digsite crew has been uncovering, but we’ll be back soon… We’ll be sharing a preview of the next MCC content update (which includes the tags for all this content and more for MCC players on PC!) on July 10, and our second Digsite blog will drop out of slipspace on July 14 to explore some of the additional things the crew has been up to – from the E3 2003 demo of [i]Halo 2[/i], to the Guardians cut from [i]Halo 3[/i], more weapons, maps, vehicles, characters, and more general awesomeness. Until the next time. [i](Praise slugman!)[/i]