Cut Halo 2 levels
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| This page discusses elements of deleted material and cut content. Some information on the page is sourced from game files and may not be verifiable through external sources. Where possible, such information should be clearly-marked and replaced with a proper external source as soon as one is available. |
This article is part of a series on
Halo 2 cut content
- Cut content
Early script
Cut dialogue
Cut enemies and ambient life
Cut equipment
Cut gamemodes
Cut levels
Cut vehicles
Cut weapons
- Development
Halo 2 development
Concept art
Design documentation
Storyboards
Title updates
E3 campaign demo
E3 multiplayer demo
To check out cut content for other Halo games, see here!
During the development of Halo 2, several levels were cut during development.
Milestone 1 levels[edit]
Milestone 1 consists of a series of gameplay prototype levels built on the "Halo 1.5" engine, and showcased to industry journalists between 2002 and 2003. At this time, the engine was in a transitionary state between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, and thus the levels use many assets from Combat Evolved. For the most part, these levels were built to showcase and prototype new gameplay features rather than actually be part of the game's campaign story. They have since been recovered by the Digsite project and made available for both the Halo Editing Kit and Halo 2 Editing Kit for modding use.[1]
M1 - Defensive[edit]
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M1 - Explorative[edit]
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M1 - Assault[edit]
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Cut campaign levels[edit]
alphamoon[edit]
- Main article: alphamoon
- "Assault the occupied control room and find the oracle"
A cut campaign level on the September 2003 build of Halo 2. This level seems to have the same story goal as the level The Oracle from the final game, involving the Arbiter securing 343 Guilty Spark for the Covenant. Unlike The Oracle, this level would be set in a heretic camp on Threshold's moon, Basis - the setting of the multiplayer map Burial Mounds.[2]
A view of the level.
covenantship[edit]
- Main article: Covenantship
This level was to take place immediately following Cairo Station. The level would have seen the player, as John-117, board a Covenant CAS-class assault carrier with a team of ODSTs, serving as the main introduction for Miranda Keyes. After opening the airlock of the Cairo Station's docking bay, the player would be blasted toward the Covenant ship and board it instead of destroying it with the bomb as seen in the final game. This level would have involved infiltrating the Covenant ship, taking on and killing its crew and eventually stealing a Wraith and end up destroying the ship by bombarding its power core with the Wraith's mortar.
As mentioned by Joseph Staten, Miranda Keyes and her ODSTs would have also been onboard the ship in order to help you and may have played a big role in the eventual outcome. This level however was cut due to time constraints and replaced by a cinematic that created "just as much work" for Bungie Employees.[3]
The level would have taken the place of this cutscene from the final game.
A whiteboard showcasing part of covenantship's intended layout - matching known details including the ODSTs, Wraith and Ghost.
Infinite Succor[edit]
- "This is Eddie’s [Smith] interior design with my heap of corpses. This is the Infinite Succor, which was never used. Here, the Gravemind is basically a giant mass grave of putrescent flesh and bodily fluids."
- — Robert McLees, discussing the Infinite Succor's concept.[4]
At some point during early production, concept artists Eddie Smith and Robert McLees investigated the idea of a Flood-infected Covenant hydroponics ship, in which the Flood had taken over and formed a Gravemind from the ship's livestock. This ship, the Infinite Succor, ultimately went unused in Halo 2 and it is unclear as to how much the concept was seriously considered for inclusion as a level.[4] The idea was ultimately taken and reused in 2006 with the release of the Halo Graphic Novel, and the aptly-titled short story within The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor - which takes place aboard a Covenant agricultural ship of the same name and focuses on the actions of the Special-Operations Commander during the events of Halo: Combat Evolved.
Early Halo 2 concept of the Infinite Succor.
forerunnertank[edit]
- Main article: Forerunnertank
Not to be confused with a cut Halo: Combat Evolved vehicle of the same name, the level named forerunnertank was only revealed on the Halo 2 cutscene commentary contained in the Halo 3 Legendary Edition's Halo 2 cinematics commentary.[3] The purpose of the level was to tie in plot between the end of the level Regret and the cutscene after the end of the level Quarantine Zone. The level was said to be placed after the cutscene in Quarantine Zone where the Arbiter is pushed down the index chamber by Tartarus and before the cutscene where the Arbiter meets the Master Chief and talks to the Gravemind. This level was supposed to be the Gravemind's introduction; in the level, the Gravemind's tentacles were going to slam down all around the player, and move behind doors like racing freight trains.
The level would have described the Master Chief's adventure through the bowels of Delta Halo before his eventual capture by the Gravemind; the "Forerunner Tank" providing the namesake of the level was only described as something "... awesome, that blows things up, glows a lot from little windows and moves real fast." When asked why he wanted the Forerunner Tank in the game, Jason Jones' response was, "Awesomeness would ensue". The level's replacement was the short cutscene at the end of Regret; the level's removal resulted in the long series of different cutscenes between Quarantine Zone and Gravemind.
Earth Ark[edit]
- Main article: Earth Ark
Earth Ark was the name given to the final three missions of Halo 2, including the game's original ending. This last act was ultimately completely cut for time constraints, though would later go on to be used for inspiration in Halo 3.
Early campaign levels[edit]
The campaign levels here are all work-in-progress versions of the levels found in the final Halo 2 release, seen in a build of the game from September 2003. As such, they are mostly early editions of the final missions with various changes such as missing geometry, textures and lack of optimisation. The "mission pairs" seen in Halo 2 were originally developed as one mission each, then split into two - as a result, levels share the same internal names (IE Outskirts and Metropolis sharing the earthcity map).
alphagasgiant[edit]
- "Go to Alpha Halo, find the Heretics and destroy their base"
An early build of the levels The Arbiter and The Oracle, present on the September 2003 build of Halo 2. Upon spawning in, the player is in a dark room with several Special Operations Sangheili. The SpecOps Elites have no weapons and simply walk forward. Falling out of the level can reveal the gas mine geometry. The level has an extremely low frame rate.[2]
A view of this level.
deltacontrolroom[edit]
- "Start the revolution and recover the sacred icon"
An early version of the final level The Great Journey present in the September 2003 build. This level is unlit and untextured, spawning the player by the "Scarab dock" structure from the final level. On spawning, a Banshee, a Phantom and a Wraith attack the player. The vehicles cannot be boarded.[2]
An image of this level.
deltatemple[edit]
- Main article: deltatemple
- "Warp to Delta Halo and assassinate the Prophet"
An early version of the levels Delta Halo/Regret in the September 2003 build.[2]
A view of the structure's exterior.
