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Earlier today, Microsoft Game Studios
announced that the DLC Bungie has been working on will be
available December 11th to the tune of 800 Microsoft points.
The Heroic Map pack is comprised of the first three maps of
our intended downloadable suite to support Halo 3’s
multiplayer. Christopher Barrett, (AKA Barry) the creative
director of Downloadable Content and Steve Cotton, the DLC
design lead answered a host of questions, some reasonable,
some borderline nonsense to give folks a little better idea
about what they are seeing when they look at the three screenshots
of the maps we’ve released (there will be more coming
sometime after the Thanksgiving holiday).
A quick note about how Matchmaking
will work:
When Halo 2's downloadable content
joined the Internet, it effectively split the Matchmaking
population into the "haves" and the "have-nots,"
Bungie was readily aware of the problem that caused, and has
rectified it in Halo 3. First, when downloadable content arrives,
it will have its own playlist for those folks who just want
to play with their new toys. Simultaneously all of the DLC
maps will be rolled in to the regular Matchmaking playlists
as well and then as folks are getting matched up, the game
will take into account who has what maps in the matchmaking
process. So you'll see Team Slayer on Standoff show up in
the Team Slayer hopper as well as in the new DLC-focused playlist.
Standoff
Standoff, a
serene field surrounded by giant satellites awaiting your
chaos.
Q: For reasons that should become obvious
now, Frankie referred to Standoff as Jodrell Bank. What inspired
the creation of this outdoor playground?
Christopher Barrett:
Standoff, or Bunkerworld as it’s known internally was
one of the maps we had originally planned as one of the Halo
3 release multiplayer maps [Bunkerworld was cut early in Halo
3's development, long before reaching a playable state]. Because
of time we ended up postponing it until DLC, and here it is!
Steve Cotton: We wanted
a small, outdoor, vehicle map. It started out simple enough.
2 relatively small bases seperated by a landscape of hills
and rocks. Good visibility and quick access to the Warthog
parked right out front. And a turret on top for defensive
types. After that, the rest just built itself. Actually, Justin
[Hayward] built it. That guy is good.
CB: Obvious? I still
have no idea why Frankie keeps talking about his bank all
the time [ed. Google Image Search – L.S.].
Q: Give us a general
description of the map’s spaces since we’re not
showing too much right now, what’s the overview of Standoff?
CB: There’s
two opposing bases and some rocks and a tree and a road and
some giant missile silos and enormous satellite dishes.
SC: Oh, and a lot
of transportation and firepower.
CB: Imagine Blood
Gulch, except squished together, with 4000 foot satellite
dishes.
Q: What sort of revisions
and iterations changed from early-period Standoff to the version
of the map that folks will be playing in December?
CB: The original version
only had the two front doors into the base. We eventually
added two side routes into the base one of which is opened
via a switch inside like Zanzibar/Last Resort.
Originally the sun was at or around
high noon, about a month ago we lowered the sun towards the
horizon giving the map a very moody sunset feel which really
adds to its atmosphere.
We weren’t satisfied with two
ways into the bunker so we added a third entry.
Q: How many players
can Standoff comfortably accommodate?
CB: Surprisingly it
works for almost any number of players pretty well, but 4
vs 4 feels about right.
SC: 2v2 Multi-flag
is actually very cool. So is 8v8. I think it pretty much covers
the spectrum. It's just a very fun team objective map no matter
how big the teams are.
CB: I was very comfortable
playing a one player game on Standoff but it wasn’t
a whole lot of fun. At least I didn’t die as much as
usual.
Q: What are some of
your favorite gametypes to play on Standoff?
CB: Multi Flag CTF
SC: Kill Barry.
CB: I found out your
teammates love it when you yell out “I CAN’T FIND
THE FLAG” during team slayer games.
Q: What kind of items
will populate Standoff’s Forge palette?
CB: Apart from the
standard crates and barricades we’ve created some new
placeable mancannons, shield doors, and a very special secret
object.
SC: You can add a
Wraith as well. In addition to the mancannons of course.
Rat’s Nest
No, you won't
actually fly the pelican on Rat's Nest. Nonetheless, there's
plenty of high jinks to be had on what was once known as John
Carpenter's Prince of Dorkness.
Q: Rat’s Nest, that sounds like Crow’s
Nest, the second level from the Halo 3 campaign, surely this
isn’ t a coincidence – but it’s also not
simply reused space, what’s the deal?
CB: We really wanted
to create an indoor multiplayer level, something we hadn’t
done a lot of in Halo 3 and the setting of Crow’s Nest
was a perfect fit.
SC: Rat's Nest is
a great example of a simple idea that turned out to be a great
map. And it was only a simple idea because Barry came up with
it.
CB: We felt that the
single-player mission wasn’t long enough so we wanted
to make you play through it again over and over in multiplayer.
Q: It’s a pretty big map with a lot
of smaller, tighter combat spaces, how do art and design create
those spaces and make sure they play nicely?
CB: A lot of testing
and iteration. We also wanted to give a nice balance to larger
open spaces where big battles can occur with vehicles and
also allow some close quarters combat. The combination really
worked great.
The first part of this question makes
me feel weird. I’m not sure why.
Q: What kind of items
will populate Rat’s Nest’s Forge palette?
CB: A hamster wheel
and wood shavings.
SC: Who hasn't always
wanted to drive a Scorpion tank inside.
Q: What’s been
the biggest change in Rat’s Nest from the prototype/concept
phase to the “ship it” phase?
CB: Originally the
entire map was indoor and underground. We had the idea of
opening up the wall to let in the sunlight, give an epic view
and create a memorable space. Doing that really added a lot
to the visual feel of the level.
We almost forgot to put any rats in
the level.
SC: That better not
be why we were losing performance!
Q: What’s the
ideal player count for Rat’s Nest?
CB: 6-16 Players,
it will really add to the Big Team Battle matchmaking hoppers
online.
Q: Which gametypes
have worked the best? What would you guys like to see in Matchmaking?
SC: The
typical symmetrical games work well, Multi-flag, Territories,
Neutral bomb, Team Slayer.
CB: Infection on Rat’s
Nest is great, the dark moody atmosphere and all the hiding
places make it idea for zombie hunting. There is a perfect
race track around the outside!
Foundry
Up until now, you've
known Foundry as Art Vandelay.
Q:
Foundry is completely different from any map Bungie has made
for a Halo game, how so?
CB: Foundry was designed
from the beginning to be a Forge level. There is an almost
limitless amount of potential map designs that can be made
by arranging objects in different configurations.
You can remake Hang ‘Em High
out of crates. Kind of.
SC: The second you
see someone delete the entire level in Forge, you realize
the potential a space like this has. The default layout Tyson
put together is great, but the possibilities are definitely
greater.
Q: Was Foundry’s
art inspired by areas from a Campaign space like Rat’s
Nest?
CB: We loved the feel
of the Warehouse area in the campaign [on Voi] and it really
made for an ideal playground that could be filled with lots
of modular crates.
Q: Tom Doyle called
the Forge objects for Foundry “Legos” –
what kinds of items are players going to have at their disposal?
SC: Legos that look
like all the things you might find in a Warehouse in Halo.
CB: All the things
you’ll need to make a great multiplayer playground.
Man-sized crates, walls, fences, stairs, bridges, and of course
fusion coils.
I wouldn’t trust anything Tom
Doyle says if I were you. He’s shifty.
Q: What’s the
default set-up on Foundry? What’s it built for?
CB: The layout that
will be include with the map is set up to work well to support
as many gametypes as possible. But once players get a hold
of it with Forge I can’t wait to see what people will
do with it!
Q: It’s not
a huge map so what’s the ideal player count for Foundry’s
shenanigans?
CB: I can’t
think of anything funny to say about this question other than
being impressed you somehow fit shenanigans into one of the
questions.
SC: 4-12. Unless you're
Barry and then probably 1. Playing Halo isn't the only thing
he does by himself.
Q: In daily playtests,
what gametypes have been the most successful on Foundry?
CB: Most gametypes
work great on Foundry. I definitely had some memorable Territories
and Assault games.
Kill Barry, repeatedly, has been a
popular one.
SC: Yes. Kill Barry.
As well as traditional Slayer and CTF.
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