Halo 3 Story Discussion Thread [spoilers!]

[Natorgator]

There's been other story discussion in G&C but I figured I'd post a thread here to consolidate, since it's not really about the game itself. I want to hear everyone's thought on how the Halo 3 campaign played out. I just beat it tonight so I'm wondering what everyone else thought.

I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed. Maybe it's just me because I got used to Bioshock's way of storytelling, but the way things played out seemed rushed to me and there was hardly any exposition for anything whatsoever. There wasn't even any explanation of why the Chief jumped out of the Forerunner ship when it landed.

Things that are not clear to me:

1. Since it wasn't the Ark, what the hell was it that opened up on Earth? What was the portal and who created it?

2. Did all the Convenant forces leave through the portal, and how was the Flood infection cleared from Earth? In the last scene, Africa didn't exactly looked halfway glassed as was stated in dialogue by Lord Hood.

2. What was the deal with the 'tactical' explosion of the Forerunner construct? Just a local firing of that particular ring that doesn't set off the others? Seems pretty risky, and if so they must have been really far away from earth if we follow the 25,000 light year rule.

3. What about the Flood left on the other Forerunner installations (the one seen in Halo 2?)

4. What was the Gravemind doing to Cortana that made her so crazy, and how the hell did she work perfectly after the Chief put her back in his suit?

5. Is the Chief going to float forever in space, in stasis?

I have other questions, but I don't feel like thinking of them. In the end, I feel like Bungie took the lazy way out because they pretty much followed the same formula as Halo 2: Earth -> Forerunner Construct via portal of some type -> Fight covenant -> Flood show up -> more Covenant, and then for a twist end with the Flood. Given the Flood's nature, everything seemed to wrap up way too nicely to be believable. Even the human/forerunner connection was thrown out there by 343 GS with no backstory or explanation. I was pretty disappointed with that part, since it was so heavily implied the entire time I'd have thought there would have been more meat to it.

Thoughts?

[Agent Fisher]

1: It was a gateway to the Ark, made by the Forerunners. The vibe I got was that the Ark was so far out in deep space that it was outside the range of the Halo's, so Forerunners would fall back to Earth, go through the portal and then shut it down, remote firing the Halo's from the Ark.

2: Well, maybe they just glassed the area where they were, and Lord Hood was exaggerating.

3: Yeah, it was a small radius pulse. The 25,000 light year is the maximum effective radius, if I remember Halo 1 correctly.

4: Well, no idea, but since the humans and Elites got back to Earth no problem, then I'm guess the other flood are contained.

5: No idea about Cortana.

6: Legendary Ending: The section the Chief is in is seen floating towards a planet.

[Jadeite]

How is this pulse supposed to even be an effective weapon? Unless they use some bullshit handwaving, it's going to take it 25,000 years for the effect to reach the systems at the edge of its maximum range.

[Dominus]

1. Since it wasn't the Ark, what the hell was it that opened up on Earth? What was the portal and who created it?

I can answer this, at least. The Iris viral marketing campaign, and Server 5 and The Cradle of Life in particular, seems to indicate that the Forerunners discovered Earth sometime immediately before the Halos were fired and built that portal/shield there to protect and (much later) guide humanity, though *why* they did so is less certain (the Forerunner Prime Directive, perhaps?). The terminals you can access in the Ark also make it clear that the Forerunner and the humans were not the same species.
This also conveniently ties into that other question of yours, and seems to explain why the Monitors continually refer to the humans as Reclaimers--we are not exactly Forerunner descendants per se, but rather adopted, surrogate children whom the Forerunners apparently wished to "reclaim" all of their lost technology, vis a vis the Halos and the Ark. It also jives with what Truth says to Johnson just before his death--humans were left behind by the Forerunners for some ineffable reason, and this is probably where a lot of the xenophobic resentment on the part of the Covenant hierarchs (who are *not* Reclaimers) comes into play.

2. What was the deal with the 'tactical' explosion of the Forerunner construct? Just a local firing of that particular ring that doesn't set off the others? Seems pretty risky, and if so they must have been really far away from earth if we follow the 25,000 light year rule.

My thinking is that because the Halo wasn't complete, it didn't actually fire. It tried to, destroyed itself in the process, and took the Ark out with it.

3. What about the Flood left on the other Forerunner installations (the one seen in Halo 2?)

That's a bloody good question.

[ray245]

So the main reason the covenant want to wiped us out is because we are given access to toys instead of them?

[Chris OFarrell]

Uh wasn't the WHOLE POINT of the HALO network that the flood were imune to its effects? Hence the weapon of last resort? Kill anything that might provide a host for the flood and thus let it starve to death (and then keep lots of specimens in statis for some insane reason...)?

So now the HALO weapon CAN be targeted against the flood directly? Yeash you would think with the budget they have they could keep the facts consistent...

[Dominus]

So the main reason the covenant want to wiped us out is because we are given access to toys instead of them?

Admittedly, that was something of an oversimplification on my part, but I suspect the ingrained hatred the Prophets have for our species is part jealousy/envy (that the Forerunners would show such "cowardly" beings such favor, e.g. by designing the Halo system in such a way that only a human can activate the firing sequence) and part religious indoctrination stemming from the same. Truth all but admits after killing Miranda Keyes that he knows of the 'connection' between the Forerunner and our species, but, in his religiously deluded state, mistakes it to mean that the "gods" had left us behind to go on "the Great Journey" because we were weak/cowardly/unworthy/whatever and obviously worthy of contempt.

It's also worth noting that the Covenant's technological sophistication is something of a fluke--had they not stumbled upon the Forerunner equivalent of an STC, they'd still be going at each other with swords (and not of the plasma variety, mind). Indeed, the Beastary (part of the Legendary edition bonus DVD) indicates that all of the Covenant client races sans the Elites and Prophets have an "adopted technological level 2" thanks to stolen Forerunner technology. We [humanity] could easily have been at their level of technological development if if we had but stumbled across that portal to the Ark before first contact...

[Peptuck]

1. Since it wasn't the Ark, what the hell was it that opened up on Earth? What was the portal and who created it?

A portal tot he Ark, duh. It wa sbuilt by the Librarian, judging by the information in the terminals.

2. Did all the Convenant forces leave through the portal, and how was the Flood infection cleared from Earth? In the last scene, Africa didn't exactly looked halfway glassed as was stated in dialogue by Lord Hood.

Probably not all of the Covenant were able to leave, if they were maintianing a defensive perimeter around the artifact.

The Flood infection was cleared by the Ellites, who glassed half the cvontinent. We don't get much of a view of what happened, so its hard to say how much was glassed.

2. What was the deal with the 'tactical' explosion of the Forerunner construct? Just a local firing of that particular ring that doesn't set off the others?

Well, since we don';t know if firing a single ring sets off the others int he first place....

Seems pretty risky, and if so they must have been really far away from earth if we follow the 25,000 light year rule.

That's probably why it was a tactical pulse that was used on an installation that Spark said was 2 to the 18th power lightyears past the galactic rim.

3. What about the Flood left on the other Forerunner installations (the one seen in Halo 2?)

Probably asleep and will never be bothered for the rest of eternity.

4. What was the Gravemind doing to Cortana that made her so crazy, and how the hell did she work perfectly after the Chief put her back in his suit?

Crazy Floodification nonsense.

5. Is the Chief going to float forever in space, in stasis?

Beat the game on Legendary.

Even the human/forerunner connection was thrown out there by 343 GS with no backstory or explanation. I was pretty disappointed with that part, since it was so heavily implied the entire time I'd have thought there would have been more meat to it.

Read the terminals.

[Xon]

The terminals you can access in the Ark also make it clear that the Forerunner and the humans were not the same species.

Guilty Spark makes it damn clear that humanity are the Forerunners.

And the terminals indicate that a group of Forerunners where lost somewhere around where the Covenant come from (about 1/3 of the way up our spiral arm, compared to earth being 2/3s up the arm from the galactic core).

Hell, one of the last terminals indicates that one splinter group where the ones who founded the Covenant ideal to activate the Halos instead of having humanity requiring todo so.

[Peptuck]

Guilty Spark makes it damn clear that humanity are the Forerunners.

Guilty Spark is also insane - especially at the moment where he says that - and he earlier admits that he does not know everything.

The Librarian outright says that they discovered the humans on Earth, and later on Spark clarifies by repeatedly stating during the battle that the Chief is the descendant of the Forerunners, and Gravemind states that he will not forgive the "child of my enemy" and that there will be no forgiveness for "father's sins passed down to his son."

All evidence indiates that humans are not Forerunner but descendants of them.

[defanatic]

You appear to have two question 2s in there.

[SylasGaunt]

Uh wasn't the WHOLE POINT of the HALO network that the flood were imune to its effects? Hence the weapon of last resort? Kill anything that might provide a host for the flood and thus let it starve to death (and then keep lots of specimens in statis for some insane reason...)?

So now the HALO weapon CAN be targeted against the flood directly? Yeash you would think with the budget they have they could keep the facts consistent...

He just says that it will eradicate the local infestation, not now. It could be that a heavily localized pulse is capable of destroying the flood super cell, or it could be that being that close to a firing halo will do Bad Things to High Charity and obliterate it.

[SylasGaunt]

Oh, something I thought was interesting from the bestiary book that game with my collector's edition notes that the Brutes are the only race in the galaxy to have made it to a space travel capable tech level, blown themselves back to preindustrial status, build back up to space age level and learn absolutely nothing from the experience.

[DesertFly]

Oh, something I thought was interesting from the bestiary book that game with my collector's edition notes that the Brutes are the only race in the galaxy to have made it to a space travel capable tech level, blown themselves back to preindustrial status, build back up to space age level and learn absolutely nothing from the experience.

Of course, that's only because we haven't blown ourselves back down yet....

[SylasGaunt]

Actually we got to the next tier up up on the Halo tech classifications. We've expanded beyond our home solar system so it would be exceedingly difficult for us to reduce ourselves back to preindustrial levels.

But really what makes it astounding with the Brutes is that it apparently hasn't changed their behavior at all. They still do the same internal fighting that caused them to apocalypse themselves once before.

[Peptuck]

Oh, something I thought was interesting from the bestiary book that game with my collector's edition notes that the Brutes are the only race in the galaxy to have made it to a space travel capable tech level, blown themselves back to preindustrial status, build back up to space age level and learn absolutely nothing from the experience.

Yet more proof that Brutes are Halo's equivilant to Orks.

[Vendetta]

2. What was the deal with the 'tactical' explosion of the Forerunner construct? Just a local firing of that particular ring that doesn't set off the others? Seems pretty risky, and if so they must have been really far away from earth if we follow the 25,000 light year rule.

They were somewhere beyond the galaxy, beyond the effective range of the Halo network. It's mentioned when you activate the cartographer, but I can't exactly remember the dialogue.

The "new" Installation 04 is being built to replace the one that was destroyed in Halo 1, it's probably out of range and out of communication range to set off the others, or the Ark override will stop them from going off.

As for destoying the flood itself, it will probably destroy the larger forms, and with nothing left to feed on starve the spores long before anyone else arrives for them to get restarted. Which seems to be the point of the Halo network. Also, the partially complete Halo will destroy the whole of Installation 00 when fired, ruining the Flood's day in quite spectacular fashion.

[Almightyboredone]

I see some of you referencing some kind of terminal to access during play... now, me and a friend were under a time crunch when playing, so we beat it as quickly as we could on co-op. Where and what exactly are the terminals?

[avatarxprime]

For the question about not explaining what happened to the Master Chief aboard the Forerunner dreadnaught, it will be in the new Halo comic, Halo: Uprising. That is supposed to fill in the gap between the end of Halo 2 and the beginning of Halo 3.

[Agent Fisher]

I see some of you referencing some kind of terminal to access during play... now, me and a friend were under a time crunch when playing, so we beat it as quickly as we could on co-op. Where and what exactly are the terminals?

They are scattered throughout the Ark, basicly, they are corrupted data terminals. You only get so many seconds to read through before the freeze up and you have to exit them and start all over.

[Natorgator]

I see some of you referencing some kind of terminal to access during play... now, me and a friend were under a time crunch when playing, so we beat it as quickly as we could on co-op. Where and what exactly are the terminals?

They are scattered throughout the Ark, basicly, they are corrupted data terminals. You only get so many seconds to read through before the freeze up and you have to exit them and start all over.

Yeah I missed those too; I'm going to have to go back and find them.

[Dominus]

As to that other thing that Xon touched upon, yes, this is probably why I shouldn't post badly thought-out theories in the middle of the night. I concede that the overwhelming body of evidence certainly seems to point towards a genetic link between the Forerunner and humanity (given that the Master Chief 'instinctively' knows which holographic controls to press in "Halo: the Flood"), though how that relationship came about is the more present concern. Admittedly, it's easier to swallow the notion that humanity is literally descended from the Forerunner than to believe that such an advanced race just decided one day to bequeath the body of their technology away to some primitive cavemen they discovered on Earth.

They are scattered throughout the Ark, basicly, they are corrupted data terminals. You only get so many seconds to read through before the freeze up and you have to exit them and start all over.

What I found interesting/amusing was that during another playthrough yesterday I espied the caption "I see you, Reclaimer" off to the side in very fine print on one of those data terminals after it 'froze up'. I doubt it means much, if anything, aside from the fact that a Forerunner AI might be stalking the Chief.

[Ryan Thunder]

As to that other thing that Xon touched upon, yes, this is probably why I shouldn't post badly thought-out theories in the middle of the night. I concede that the overwhelming body of evidence certainly seems to point towards a genetic link between the Forerunner and humanity (given that the Master Chief 'instinctively' knows which holographic controls to press in "Halo: the Flood"), though how that relationship came about is the more present concern. Admittedly, it's easier to swallow the notion that humanity is literally descended from the Forerunner than to believe that such an advanced race just decided one day to bequeath the body of their technology away to some primitive cavemen they discovered on Earth.

They are scattered throughout the Ark, basicly, they are corrupted data terminals. You only get so many seconds to read through before the freeze up and you have to exit them and start all over.

What I found interesting/amusing was that during another playthrough yesterday I espied the caption "I see you, Reclaimer" off to the side in very fine print on one of those data terminals after it 'froze up'. I doubt it means much, if anything, aside from the fact that a Forerunner AI might be stalking the Chief.

Guilty Spark, perhaps? Or is he already done away with at this point?

[Peptuck]

Regarding the terminals:

There are seven terminals in all; three on The Ark level, three in The Covenant, and one in Halo.

You need to access them on both lower difficulty settings and Legendary to get the full story. Spoilers in quotes.

On lower difficulty settings, you will read accounts of conversations by two Forerunners, known as Didact and the Librarian. On Legendary, you will end up reading logs left behind by a Forerunner AI named Mendicant Bias, who appears to have gone rampant and betrayed the Forerunner, and seeks to atone for his sins by helping the Master Chief defeat the Gravemind and fire Halo.

[Lone_Prodigy]

Would that explain how the Halo activation killed off the Forerunners? Rampant AI set it off?