Currently the Master Chief is traversing Zeta Halo and having to fight for survival.
From a story perspective, the Chief should be constantly getting pursued by groups interested in claiming their prize. From my perspective, this is demonstrated through the dynamic engagements you can face on the ground. Each encounter ON FOOT feels thorough, unique, garnishing considerable replay value.
As soon as you are airborne though, it feels entirely different and honestly quite empty.
Here is my idea for how 343i could Improve Banshee & Phantom Stimuli, whilst simultaneously creating a new experience for people to enjoy. This concept maintains the belief that we should respect the hard work the developers have already put into the game. It’s insulting to demand for new stuff, before appreciating what as been created already. I find it highly unreasonable to ask for 343i to just spit out new sections of the map, considering it took them years to get what we have ready. Baby steps will be how Zeta Halo reaches her full potential.
New Playable Area: Zeta’s Upper Atmosphere
What if there was a new playable area, above the current playable space, that allowed you to travel into Zeta’s upper atmosphere? An area comparable to Skyward from H2A, where there is essentially zero terrain, zero collidable geometry, only relying on the Skybox & LODs down below to create the environment? What would an area like this be intended for? Simple, to expand Aerial Encounters & Stimuli whilst preserving 343i’s current vision for the game.
Aspects of the Concept:
1. Airspace Location
→ Located directly above the current playable space. Requires an extension of the vertical kill/soft barrier.
2. New & Improved Banshee Stimuli:
→ Once the player flies into this area, as they travel higher, Banshee Squadrons begin massing in droves from
the Ring’s Surface below to engage you.
3. New & Improved Phantom Stimuli:
→ Phantoms appear as well to engage you at higher altitudes.
4. Loadzone Fixes & Changes
→ The higher you travel, the more intense the engagements become. Intensity is determined by amount of
pursuing AI.
→ Allow for Phantoms, Pelicans, Banshees & Wasps to travel across every single Loadzone. It’s hard for players to backtrack with how restrictive the current loadzones can be.
5. Out of Bounds Changes:
→ Reduction of Soft Barriers/ Kill Barriers for players who have completed the story. Once you’ve conquered the Island, you should be able to explore it.
→ More Immersive Barriers, for example, getting Stasis Beamed by opposing Banished Ships instead of simply ceasing to exist. Getting destroyed by Banished Dreadnoughts that detect you near their airspace. Requires the Overhaul of the the current Out of Bounds system
6. Interchangeable Ship POIs (Points of Interest): <-(more on the imaginative side)
→ Banished, Forerunner, & UNSC Ships could occupy & leave the airspace throughout the game’s lifespan. What if these ships were setups as Device Machines that had randomly occurring animations, much like the skybox dreadnoughts we have now? The Potential is … Endless
The airspace would be nearly empty, so engine resources can be diverted to denser AI spawns without compromising the experience with any new bugs, loading issues, etc etc. The only considerably difficult task would be the Interchangeable POIs. Subtracting this concept, The Emptiness of the aerial space is simple enough to be implemented in a timely manner, yet highly effective at conveying Zeta’s scale & who owns the airspace to the player, so if the POI thing needs to be cut I totally understand.
Once this area is created, it could lay the groundwork for potential future DLCs as there is quite literally an empty canvas above Zeta just waiting to be painted on, so to speak. Future DLCs that expand on this area could even include new Aerial vehicles, like the Sabre, Broadsword, Litch, etc etc, but this is all way down the line. We need the area, first.