Ask a Halo fanboy anything! Removing common misconceptions.
- Thread starter Jabberwock xeno
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I have a question about Halo 3's plot. Near the end, why does everyone follow Guilty Sparks idea of "Using a tactical pulse to wipe out the local infestation", using the new halo ring to wipe out the flood on the ark, when so far we've been told that halo rings kill everything but the flood? I know eventually the Ark is destroyed which kills the flood but the original idea just didn't seem to make sense.
Well, I've played the Halos from 1 to 3 and I haven't played Reach and ODST yet. I played Halo 1 on the PC with real online multiplayer and I finished the campaign twice, same with Halo 2, PC version, finished single player twice and played a good portion of multiplayer (it's still alive btw) and I played a lot of Halo 3 when I got my hands on a 360, same with the previous ones, finished the game twice and played a good chunk of mp.
That said, I like the series and even there was a time when I wanted an Xbox back in 2005 when Halo 2 was synonimous of online multiplayer (for consoles).
I tried to be part of the community, but I just couldn't get myuself to play for long periods of time as I was a lot more used to PC games.
Right now, I don't have any questions to ask and really the Halo community doesn't bother me, I respect them, even if they're pictured like something else entirely. But the ones that really bother me are the COD fanboys.
That said, I like the series and even there was a time when I wanted an Xbox back in 2005 when Halo 2 was synonimous of online multiplayer (for consoles).
I tried to be part of the community, but I just couldn't get myuself to play for long periods of time as I was a lot more used to PC games.
Right now, I don't have any questions to ask and really the Halo community doesn't bother me, I respect them, even if they're pictured like something else entirely. But the ones that really bother me are the COD fanboys.
Actually the way it works is that the Halo ring firing destroys the base infestation and it's food supply. Because the flood in its raw form is just an infection, the flood seen on the Ark was a full blown hive.koops128 said:
It had itself developed a sentient intelligence (Gravemind) so now it too was a sentient life form). But the basic infection forms of the flood can't really be killed unless they starve to death.
Hence by firing the Halo ring in an area beyond the rim of the galaxy it would effectively destroy the bulk of the hive infection and leave the remnants of the flood stranded in a place where there was effectively no food supply whatsoever.
So in essence firing the last Halo 'killed' the Gravemind and all flood forms in that area and left nothing for the infection to rebuild from.
The Ark blowing up was also an effective bonus.
Jabberwock xeno said:
Except that the MA5 has a pretty useless electronic compass and ammunition meter where the sights should be.
That doesn't exactly scream practicality, that would add a lot of unnecessary weight, could break easy, would cost a fair bit for the amount of MA5's produced, and how could anyone even aim the thing?
Then theres the M6D with a magic invisble scope, a shotgun which uses 8 gauge rounds and apparently somehow has very little recoil, a futuristic jeep/humvee with practically no protection for its occupants, a grenade launcher which fires bouncy exploding EMP balls and ATV's which are known to be used to charge armoured columns.
But the thing is, all this stuff works, not at all in a realistic sense but in a gameplay sense.
I don't get why the Covenant are repeatedly stated as having far superior technology. Really, the only major technological advantages they have over the UNSC are their ships and the energy shielding used by their Elites. Their main infantry weapons rarely hit targets outside of close range and their vehicles generally have poor weapon systems which are inferior to their counterparts (Wraiths vs Scorpions, Revenants vs Warthogs) and/or offer very little protection for their crew (pretty much every Covie vehicle, Ghosts in particular.)
Seriously makes me wonder why humanity were the ones getting hammered, maybe it was to do with the fact that a freaking ammo counter is where the iron sights should be?
Anyways basically what I'm getting at is that very little of the tech in Halo is anywhere near practical, but then again it doesn't need it be.
What I mean is that its bizarre, and somewhat jarring, when death rays and the like are often made to seem practical in what is essentially a fantasy world.
Question
Also, I keep hearing that the Covenant reverse engineered all their tech from the Forerunners. So it is safe to assume that they too would have used weaponry similar to what the Covies have?
That doesn't exactly scream practicality, that would add a lot of unnecessary weight, could break easy, would cost a fair bit for the amount of MA5's produced, and how could anyone even aim the thing?
Then theres the M6D with a magic invisble scope, a shotgun which uses 8 gauge rounds and apparently somehow has very little recoil, a futuristic jeep/humvee with practically no protection for its occupants, a grenade launcher which fires bouncy exploding EMP balls and ATV's which are known to be used to charge armoured columns.
But the thing is, all this stuff works, not at all in a realistic sense but in a gameplay sense.
This sort of thing in the real world is only in the prototype stage and is quite unlikely to be able to be adapted for handheld infantry weapons, like the Plasma Pistol or Rifle, so while it seems somewhat plausible I wouldn't go as far to say its realistic. Then again these guys are aliens.Jabberwock xeno said:
I don't get why the Covenant are repeatedly stated as having far superior technology. Really, the only major technological advantages they have over the UNSC are their ships and the energy shielding used by their Elites. Their main infantry weapons rarely hit targets outside of close range and their vehicles generally have poor weapon systems which are inferior to their counterparts (Wraiths vs Scorpions, Revenants vs Warthogs) and/or offer very little protection for their crew (pretty much every Covie vehicle, Ghosts in particular.)
Seriously makes me wonder why humanity were the ones getting hammered, maybe it was to do with the fact that a freaking ammo counter is where the iron sights should be?
Anyways basically what I'm getting at is that very little of the tech in Halo is anywhere near practical, but then again it doesn't need it be.
What I mean is that its bizarre, and somewhat jarring, when death rays and the like are often made to seem practical in what is essentially a fantasy world.
Question
Also, I keep hearing that the Covenant reverse engineered all their tech from the Forerunners. So it is safe to assume that they too would have used weaponry similar to what the Covies have?
I sort of answered this, but...koops128 said:
There is some inconsistency about how the halo's kill the flood, is it directly, or by starvation?
As of now, the general thought among the Universe fourm is that the Halo's probably directly kill the gravemind, protograveminds, and combat forms, as they make use of asorbed neurological tissue.
Likely, pure forms and infection forms would be starved off, as they are purely flood.
Ninja'd. XDVrex360 said:
However, that brings up a point: we don't know if in Halo canon, sentient means the real definition, as in ANYTHING that has any sort of concinouiness, IE can think. In this way, humans, dogs, cats, insects, etc, are all sentient, but a plant is not.
However, Halo could be using the term like in star wars, where it is mixed up with sapient, in which case, humans are the only known sapient creatures in real life (we think, dolphins and elephants may be).
IBlackKiteI said:
Well...
It seems to me that you didn't read my link.
I explained there, firstly, that the Ma5 series DOES have iron sights, it's under the electronics's suite which is removable, as seen in this image:
And the elctronics suite is more than just a compass and ammo meter: It provides other functions too (admittedly, what these are isn't really said in detail)
As I explained in that thread too, it's mentioned in canon by many individuals that the MA5's are deceptively sturdy, and that we almost never hear about Ma5's breaking or jamming in canon unless they get outright destroyed (and it's not like guns never break or jam in the Halo novels).
You have to remember that this is 500 years in the future: What we can now fit in a flash drive would have almost the same amount of memory as a full sized computer of 10 years ago.
In 500 years, there would almost certainly be lighter but stronger materials to make guns with, electronics will take up minuscule space with greater memory, And guns have only really been around for 500 years (unless you count a tube with a bunch of powder stuck in it a gun), what will 500 more bring? There are so many improvments that may be in the Ma5 that wouldn't be apparent if every weapon has them.
As for the other things you said (nearly all of which is addressed in that link, BTW):
The M6d's scope is right above the barrel, it's the thing that looks like a laser sight emitter:
The way it works is that it is uplinked to the users HUD, be they a spartan in Mjonlr armor, a ODST with their helmet, or a Marine with the eyepieces. The reticule ins't just in game: it's a canonical thing, too, that's why the MA5's have their iron sights covered by default, most soldiers have a HUD.
As for the shotty, this is outright stated in canon to be due to advancements over the 500 year course, in fact, the recoil is stated to be "relatively low" by a marine.
The guy who designed most of the UNSC gear, rob mclee's, actually considers a lot of this stuff when he designed them, and calculated the muzzle velcoity these would have, how they would behave, how fast the vehicles would go, etc.
About the warthog, the model you see in game is just one vairent out of many. Yes, it is rather open, with no door and such, but I don't think you realize how large the vehicle is.
For normal, non spartan passengers, the walls are so big that doors simply aren't needed.
The covenant's weapondry may not seem all that practical or powerful in game, but that is merely for gameplay purposes.
In canon, a single shot from any plasma weapon is often deadly. (you ARE getting shot at by what is essentially a small orb of lightining)
To answer your question, the covenant are shown to actually be pretty bad at reverse engineering forerunner stuff. What they use is only a fraction of the weapons what the forerunners had, and many times weaker.
It seems to me that you didn't read my link.
I explained there, firstly, that the Ma5 series DOES have iron sights, it's under the electronics's suite which is removable, as seen in this image:
And the elctronics suite is more than just a compass and ammo meter: It provides other functions too (admittedly, what these are isn't really said in detail)
As I explained in that thread too, it's mentioned in canon by many individuals that the MA5's are deceptively sturdy, and that we almost never hear about Ma5's breaking or jamming in canon unless they get outright destroyed (and it's not like guns never break or jam in the Halo novels).
You have to remember that this is 500 years in the future: What we can now fit in a flash drive would have almost the same amount of memory as a full sized computer of 10 years ago.
In 500 years, there would almost certainly be lighter but stronger materials to make guns with, electronics will take up minuscule space with greater memory, And guns have only really been around for 500 years (unless you count a tube with a bunch of powder stuck in it a gun), what will 500 more bring? There are so many improvments that may be in the Ma5 that wouldn't be apparent if every weapon has them.
As for the other things you said (nearly all of which is addressed in that link, BTW):
The M6d's scope is right above the barrel, it's the thing that looks like a laser sight emitter:
The way it works is that it is uplinked to the users HUD, be they a spartan in Mjonlr armor, a ODST with their helmet, or a Marine with the eyepieces. The reticule ins't just in game: it's a canonical thing, too, that's why the MA5's have their iron sights covered by default, most soldiers have a HUD.
As for the shotty, this is outright stated in canon to be due to advancements over the 500 year course, in fact, the recoil is stated to be "relatively low" by a marine.
The guy who designed most of the UNSC gear, rob mclee's, actually considers a lot of this stuff when he designed them, and calculated the muzzle velcoity these would have, how they would behave, how fast the vehicles would go, etc.
About the warthog, the model you see in game is just one vairent out of many. Yes, it is rather open, with no door and such, but I don't think you realize how large the vehicle is.
For normal, non spartan passengers, the walls are so big that doors simply aren't needed.
The covenant's weapondry may not seem all that practical or powerful in game, but that is merely for gameplay purposes.
In canon, a single shot from any plasma weapon is often deadly. (you ARE getting shot at by what is essentially a small orb of lightining)
To answer your question, the covenant are shown to actually be pretty bad at reverse engineering forerunner stuff. What they use is only a fraction of the weapons what the forerunners had, and many times weaker.
In the expanded novels its mentioned that the Covenant's only advantage is their ships and shielding. They lose almost every ground encounter they have, but then they simply retreat onto their ships and glass the site from orbit. I can't remember offhand but I don't think they made much mention of Covenant 'advanced technology' in game. It seems to have been mostly a product of the fandom that they think the covies have superior tech. The novels and games portray them as in fact being pretty useless in ground based assaults.IBlackKiteI said:
I think we are mixing up Technology by it'self, and military tech and tactitcs.MelasZepheos said:
The mere fact that they can produce and guide plasma in handhield devices is a HUGE distance above what we can do.
I remember hearing that the main reason why we don't have light sabers in real life is because the sheer power it takes to make and guide the plasma blade.
All covie weapons that use plasma must have a battery that would power a city, many times over.
Furthermore, the thing MelosZephos is talking about is SPARTANS always won ground encounters, not the UNSC as a whole.
The metal their ships are made out of are very strong (Hunter armor is the same material as their starships), god knows how needle's work, etc.
The covenant doesn't have any "super" tech that is entirely above our heads, like if a modern marine came across cave men, but their methods of doing what we would do is far above us, more like if a modern marine came across a redcoat from the american war of Independence.
I'd like to here more questions about Bungie, and the fanbase.
EDIT:
Ack!
I thought the person I was quoting was a new post on page 8, I didn't realize that was page 7.
I had intended to let this thread die, and make a new one in a week or so. I guess that's not happening now XD
Ack!
I thought the person I was quoting was a new post on page 8, I didn't realize that was page 7.
I had intended to let this thread die, and make a new one in a week or so. I guess that's not happening now XD
*sighes*TheAmokz said:
Did you read any of the thread other than the title?
I really want to answer your question, but I have given so many answers to so many questions that my response should not be needed.
To ANYBODY else: DO NOT POST HERE, let this die.
I just have one question, why does everyone say Halo is a half life rip off? They are both awesome games, plus Halo came out before half life. I mean the head crab zombies do kind of look like the flood, but how come people are so ignorant?