Line #8 Trivia/Halo3


1	* AscendedGlitch:
2	** A lot of the glitches used by Forge map makers to circumvent the mode's limits were turned into actual features in ''VideoGame/HaloReach''. These include the ability to build horizontal gravity lifts, the ability to have objects float or spawn in mid-air, and the ability to have objects interlock with each other. Many of these tricks were even backported into the ''Master Chief Collection'' version of ''Halo 3''.
3	** Also included in the ''Master Chief Collection'' version of ''Halo 3'' is allowing you to place and drive both the Transport Warthog and the Anti-Air Wraith in Forge mode. The former could only be driven in multiplayer by going out-of-bounds on "The Pit", while the latter was completely unusable without the use of glitches.
4	* CreatorProvincialism: ''Halo Online'' was developed by the Russia-based Saber Interactive, and so one of the original maps they created for the game and later ported to ''Halo 3'' is "Icebox", set in the city of Tyumen, New Harmony, which is named after a Russian city and is full of Russian language and influence.
5	* OrphanedReference:
6	** During the first half of the game, the UNSC are working under the assumption that the massive structure the Covenant are excavating at Voi is the Ark, only discovering after it is activated that it is actually a portal to the Ark. This is a holdover from the initial draft of ''VideoGame/Halo2'', where the structure is indeed the Ark itself and the final battle would've taken place there. The structure being on Earth is also a remnant from that same early draft, where it would've tied into the revelation that Forerunners are ancient humans. Later works would fully establish that humans and Forerunners are separate species, and without the later context of ''Literature/HaloSilentium'' ([[spoiler:Which reveals that it was built by the Librarian with the hope that it would help humanity accept the Mantle of Responsibility]]) the portal's location comes off a case of EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse.
7	** The Elite noting that Truth's fleet outnumbered the Separatists three-to-one at the start of "The Ark" was meant to set up the need to weaponise the Ark's defensive systems against the fleet, leading to the level "Guardian Forest" where the Chief would be tasked with doing that. Since "Guardian Forest" was cut (see WhatCouldHaveBeen below), the Separatists now just defeat Truth's fleet off-screen and through sheer aptitude alone.
8	** Near the end of the game when Chief, Cortana and the Arbiter are making their escape from the collapsing ring, there is a bit of dialogue that is clearly referencing the original version of the level where Johnson bringing the ''Forward Unto Dawn'' to the ring was a last-minute decision made independently from the trio. The intent of this line was to show Cortana coming to the realisation that Johnson's arrival has given them a fortunate escape route, but since escaping via the ''Forward Unto Dawn'' was now the plan from the very beginning of the level, the line instead makes Cortana seem a bit forgetful:
9	---> '''Cortana''': The ''Dawn''... Of course - the frigate! We still have a chance!
10	* TheOtherDarrin:
11	** Miranda Keyes had her voice actress changed from Creator/JulieBenz to Justis Bolding.
12	** The Prophet of Truth's voice actor changed from Michael Wincott to Terrence Stamp.
13	* RecycledSet: Due to the TroubledProduction of the level, some parts of "Cortana" are modified versions of other parts of the game. Much of the geometry of the level is very similar to the ship section of "Floodgate" since "Cortana" was built from what was originally planned to be the second half of that level; the very start of the level has you enter from the same hole in the ceiling, just with different debris. Another room in "Cortana" is simply a Flood-ified version of the set used for the Shadow of Intent's bridge in cutscenes.
14	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
15	** The level "Cortana" went through several iterations. In one version, Cortana would pilot a damaged Scarab to battle the Gravemind while the Chief would fight off Flood boarders. In another, the Chief would pass through the Mausoleum of the Arbiter and fight a ton of infected Arbiters.
16	** ''Halo 2'' was originally to have ended where ''Halo 3''[='s=] first half left off (the portal to the Ark was the Ark itself), making much of the latter's campaign filler and resulting in a relatively story-cramped installment. Additionally, Truth’s death at the hands of the Arbiter would have happened at the end of Halo 2, making some story aspects from Halo 2 take all the way until the end of The Covenant to conclude.
17	** Sergeant Johnson's appearance in the final level was originally going to play out differently. In the final game, Johnson providing the ''Forward Unto Dawn'' as the Chief's escape option was part of the plan from the beginning. Originally however, Johnson was supposed to be returning to Earth with the rest of humanity while the Chief and Arbiter went on what they understood to be a SuicideMission, with Johnson only changing his mind and bringing the Dawn with him once the Chief had landed on the ring. A cutscene of this version of events is still fully functional and within the game files, and can be watched [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DrOvOXI_l8 here]].
18	** A campaign level named "Guardian Forest" was cut for time, but remains fairly well documented. Taking place between "The Ark" and "The Covenant", it would have seen the Chief fighting through a massive forest to take control of the Ark's defensive systems in order to use it against the Covenant, with the Chief able to approach the objectives in a non-linear order. Featuring a set-piece on a train as well as a massive aerial battle using a Hornet, the level would have reintroduced the Sentinel Enforcers from ''VideoGame/Halo2'' as enemies, alongside a new enemy called the Guardian, a massive Sentinel with an eye that the player could rip out and use as a weapon. Despite being cut, lots of its ideas would be reused elsewhere. The level's concept art and geometry would be repurposed for the multiplayer map "Guardian", which serves as a small-scale glimpse of what "Guardian Forest" would have looked like. The big aerial battle with the Hornet was adapted to play out in "The Covenant" instead. The idea of being able to approach objectives in a non-linear order and travelling between them via aircraft would be revisited for the ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' level "New Alexandria". And of course, the concept of the Forerunner Guardians themselves would be realised as the titular threat in ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians''. In addition, the idea of weaponising the Ark's defensive systems against your opponent would be used in ''VideoGame/HaloWars2'', with the scene of [[spoiler:Isabel sending millions of Sentinels to crash into and tear apart the Banished's flagship being similar to what was proposed in this game]]. The Guardian Sentinel itself is still featured as a hologram in the fittingly-named Epitaph as a DevelopmentGag. This same hologram design reappears in ''VideoGame/HaloInfinite, and the 2022 ''Halo Encyclopedia'' finally reveals what this hologram is supposed to represent: It's Offensive Bias.
19	** The files included with the ''Halo 3 Mod Tools'' reveals that the second half of the level ''The Covenant'' was originally designed as a standalone level (codenamed "Alpine") before being fused with the prior level.
20	** Another mysterious cut level is "Lost City". While this level largely served as an artist's sandbox to help them develop the visual design of Forerunner architecture, it is also known that at least one developer was assigned to it as a level designer, indicating that it was considered for playable inclusion at some point in development.
21	** On the multiplayer side, levels that were cut during development includes a remake of "Hang 'em High", and a map named "Warthog Inc." which was set in a Warthog factory featuring infantry-focused gameplay alongside a test track to drive on. One map named "Monkey Mountain" acted as an asymmetrical map where attackers would need to fight uphill, with the gimmick that objectives could be thrown into a river that flowed next to the map, where they would be carried to the base of the hill. Another map named "Gauntlet" served as a testbed for a range of objective and class-based modes which were also cut.
22	** DummiedOut files reveals that the Trip Mine was originally designed with a Covenant theme, featuring purple metal and a blue glow. The textures were changed at some point to be more Brute-inspired, with bronze metal and an orange glow.

Context Trivia / Halo3