I mean they already had to make a separate model for him so why does he have the Post-Halo 4 style elite anatomy?
I mean look at the mandibles in H2A and in Halo 5. I know the change isn’t really canon and whatnot but still. Why not just model him after his H2A appearance?
There’s another article exactly like this (almost word-for-word) with about 1,500 replies from months ago. With that being said, I’ll give the same reply here that I gave there: no, he’s fine.
It’s just simple aesthetics, which usually bother me but this did not.
> 2533274912753574;3:
> It’s just simple aesthetics, which usually bother me but this did not.
If it was a human character would you be equally as unbothered? If they brought Lord Hood back for Halo 6 and he was black would that be acceptable? This is the same thing just from an alien standpoint.
I’m with you, man. If 343 insists on having both canon, show them both in your -Yoink!- games and don’t change characters from one to the other if you’re going to bother to do individual models.
> 2533274825022855;4:
> > 2533274912753574;3:
> > It’s just simple aesthetics, which usually bother me but this did not.
>
>
> If it was a human character would you be equally as unbothered? If they brought Lord Hood back for Halo 6 and he was black would that be acceptable? This is the same thing just from an alien standpoint.
I can see the point of view, I just don’t necessarily agree with it. Humans can identify changes much more easily in other Humans. If Hood changed that drastically between games, everyone would notice. That’s not necessarily true for Sangheili, Unggoy, etc. In Halo 2, the only reason most fans could tell the difference between Rtas and Thel, is because they wore different armor and had different scars. I don’t care if Thel’s mandibles are a little bit more pointy than they were before or if he looks a little scaly on his forearms. You know what most fans look for?
Does he have the same voice actor? [Check]
Does he look like an elite? [Check]
Is he still a badass? [Check]Art styles and models change between different artists and modelers. I’ve just kind of accepted that as a fact of the dev process. Things change. But, I can respect the fine eye for detail like fans such as yourself have.
I can’t say I really care all that much.
Hell if you’re going to go there then why not mention the Spartans in H2A terminals not resembling Osiris. Its trivial.
> 2533274825022855;4:
> > 2533274912753574;3:
> > It’s just simple aesthetics, which usually bother me but this did not.
>
>
> If it was a human character would you be equally as unbothered? If they brought Lord Hood back for Halo 6 and he was black would that be acceptable? This is the same thing just from an alien standpoint.
Making Lord Hood black isn’t the same as slightly altering the shape of an alien’s mouth parts. Now if you said, change a human character’s facial appearance, that would be a more appropriate argument. With that being said, yes, they have changed human character appearances and voices before. Johnson in Halo 3 looks nothing like how he appeared in Halo 2, Halo 2A, or Halo: CE and no one was bothered by that either.
Yes and no. No in the sense that I don’t think it negatively impacts the story, but yes in the sense that I think it is an example of 343 really not taking much time to keep things consistent. I know I’ve butted with the OP on this subject before, like with the Halo 5 Wraith (which I still like), but I feel “artistic licensing” and “new models” can only go so far. You look at the new Star Wars movie and you can see how things like the X-Wing and TIE Fighter have changed, but still retain their distinctive characteristics.
> 2533274825022855;4:
> > 2533274912753574;3:
> > It’s just simple aesthetics, which usually bother me but this did not.
>
>
> If it was a human character would you be equally as unbothered? If they brought Lord Hood back for Halo 6 and he was black would that be acceptable? This is the same thing just from an alien standpoint.
First of all, why did it just become a matter of race? That has nothing to do with the main topic! It’s just aesthetic design. You’ve seen throughout the entire series. It changes from game to game. And btw, I prefer the Sangheili characters. I used to run a Halo: Reach Sangheili clan from 2010 to 2013.
And I just want to get this out there. I prefer the anatomy of the Sangheili H2A, except for their feet. 343i designed better feet for the Sangheili. However, armor wise I prefer Halo: Reach. But the Minor could’ve a little more work.
> 2533274812652989;10:
> Yes and no. No in the sense that I don’t think it negatively impacts the story, but yes in the sense that I think it is an example of 343 really not taking much time to keep things consistent. I know I’ve butted with the OP on this subject before, like with the Halo 5 Wraith (which I still like), but I feel “artistic licensing” and “new models” can only go so far. You look at the new Star Wars movie and you can see how things like the X-Wing and TIE Fighter have changed, but still retain their distinctive characteristics.
The new Wraith is awesome! I don’t like the plasma turret though…
If Thel was canonical then he would still look like a halo 4 elite but with halo 2A mandibles.
> 2533274825022855;1:
> I mean they already had to make a separate model for him so why does he have the Post-Halo 4 style elite anatomy?
>
> I mean look at the mandibles in H2A and in Halo 5. I know the change isn’t really canon and whatnot but still. Why not just model him after his H2A appearance?
This was brought up for ever ago and Grim explained it. Two different teams where at work here, one for H2A and one for H5 and they didn’t have the time to go back and fix Thel. I’ll dig around and see if I can find the quote or something.
I am, but what you gonna do right?
I was one of the people bothered by this (and the SoS models) several months ago when the first screens came out.
Explanations about the SoS and variety have since relaxed me a bit, and the fact Thel’s face is mostly obscured lends me to believe the H2A face is canon and there isn’t an intentional discrepancy.
I thought he looked pretty cool in Halo 5. I don’t really get too hung up on aesthetic choices. Just like when Chiefs armour changed between Halo 3 and 4, it didn’t bother me.
Found it!
> It’s important to understand that things aren’t really black and white in situations like these. There are times (many times) where visual differences have canon explanations built into them to enrich the universe overall. The different variations of Sangheili are one such example. The way that you see them depicted in H2A, H3, Reach, HW, H4, etc are all representations of how an elite can look in the universe. There will be times however, when limitations dictate the need to be more efficient with the use of assets, and something you see in a game might not necessarily represent the definitive canonical look for that thing/species/character etc 100%.
>
> It makes for a much more relaxing and fulfilling overall experience if one is able to relax the rigid constraints we sometimes try to fit everything into. And trust me, no one is more conscious or concerned with creating and codifying “definitive” understandings of all the various elements in the Halo universe more than me lol. 
It is a balancing act though. It’s a case by case basis. While in a perfect world, it would be awesome to have every character represented individually, and have all phenotypes of a species represented within a single game, the reality is that there is a hidden - but very real - “cost” to doing so. Hopefully fans are able to take in and appreciate the richness of the Universe both because of, and in spite of, times where something might not “look just right.”
And here’s a link to the post it self
> 2533274812652989;10:
> Yes and no. No in the sense that I don’t think it negatively impacts the story, but yes in the sense that I think it is an example of 343 really not taking much time to keep things consistent. I know I’ve butted with the OP on this subject before, like with the Halo 5 Wraith (which I still like), but I feel “artistic licensing” and “new models” can only go so far. You look at the new Star Wars movie and you can see how things like the X-Wing and TIE Fighter have changed, but still retain their distinctive characteristics.
This
> 2533274832967331;18:
> Found it!
>
>
>
>
> > It’s important to understand that things aren’t really black and white in situations like these. There are times (many times) where visual differences have canon explanations built into them to enrich the universe overall. The different variations of Sangheili are one such example. The way that you see them depicted in H2A, H3, Reach, HW, H4, etc are all representations of how an elite can look in the universe. There will be times however, when limitations dictate the need to be more efficient with the use of assets, and something you see in a game might not necessarily represent the definitive canonical look for that thing/species/character etc 100%.
> >
> > It makes for a much more relaxing and fulfilling overall experience if one is able to relax the rigid constraints we sometimes try to fit everything into. And trust me, no one is more conscious or concerned with creating and codifying “definitive” understandings of all the various elements in the Halo universe more than me lol. It is a balancing act though. It’s a case by case basis. While in a perfect world, it would be awesome to have every character represented individually, and have all phenotypes of a species represented within a single game, the reality is that there is a hidden - but very real - “cost” to doing so. Hopefully fans are able to take in and appreciate the richness of the Universe both because of, and in spite of, times where something might not “look just right.”
>
>
> And here’s a link to the post it self
>
> https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/6e35355aecdf4fd0acdaee3cc4156fd4/topics/halo-5-sangheili/c73aceae-7ae4-4b4c-b419-0dffcffd0350/posts?page=1#post14
That’s all well and good, but they could try a bit harder for consistency.
