Orbital

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Orbital, also known by its former names, Moonbase Alpha and Space Camp, is a map that was revealed in the December 2008 issue of Game Informer.^[1]. It is one of six maps expected to be in the Mythic Map Pack designed for Halo 3. Orbital, along with Assembly and Sandbox, has been confirmed to ship with the Limited Edition of Halo Wars February 26 - March 3, 2009, depending on world region^[2].

Design

Orbital takes place inside the docking-station for Quito Space Tether, a huge tower that transports cargo and people in and out of the atmosphere easily.

It is said to be best for asymmetrical objective games, like CTF and Assault, but also has some natural deadlocks that makes Slayer interesting and Infection "terrifying". It's essentially two overlapping hallways, so each team can see the other one's spawn, but they are separated by some well-placed windows. Both bases of the map have openable doors that are crucial for objective games^[3]. There also appears to be at least one stairway.

The map is located on an "empty UNSC space platform"^[4], more specifically, the station atop the Quito Space Tether. The map contains plaques dedicated to Doctors Tobias Fleming Shaw and Wallace Fujikawa, the creators of the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine.^[5]. It was reported in a Bungie Weekly Update that one part of the map has a deadly chasm, which can be easily traversed once it is "unlocked". However, this may have changed since that information was released long before the map was ever shown. Orbital has several such locks and "switches to disable and enable access to various parts of the map". Orbital has been described as cleanly beautiful, yet haunting and having signs of abrupt abandonment.

Skull

File:OrbitalSkull.jpg

The logo of the hidden skull on this level appears to have a symbol that looks like a giant fan. This symbol can be seen on the walls in several of the screen shots from the level.

Trivia

A battle on Orbital.

This map's codename was originally "Moonbase Alpha", then later changed to "Space Camp". The map's official name was confirmed to be "Orbital".
There is an achievement called Post Mortem, which is to score 2 Death from the Grave medals in a single match online.
This map was first shown in Game Informers story on Halo 3: ODST.
On Bungie.net there is a picture of Orbital at the end of the 12/19/08 Weekly Update. It was added that more images and info would be posted the following week, indicating that the map will finally be revealed before Christmas. ^[6]
On the new Orbital picture in Bungie.net weekly update of 12/19/08, there are several different images on the screens. The farthest to the right is the base of an orbital elevator, possibly the Quito Space Tether or a screenshot from Halo 3: ODST. The next screen shows a map, which may be the layout of the level. The next two screens both show Earth, but uses the image from the Halo 2 theatrical trailer, and the final screen shows the UNSC emblem.
Bungie released new Orbital screen shots on 12/23/08. These pictures show that Orbital may have been slightly bigger than one might expect, and also a Ghost and Mongoose have been spotted on the map as well.

Gallery

An escalator leading towards another chamber, and on the wall is the tribute to Tobias Fleming Shaw.
A loading dock with Sniper Rifle in sight.
Another hallway with 2 Mongooses in sight.
A hallway with vegetation on the wall, as well as two information tubes displaying "Welcome" in several languages.
The main control station.
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