Cut Halo Wars buildings

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.

An early iteration of the UNSC Firebase found in the Halo Wars E3 2007 demo.^[1]

"The next (and last) big problem on base building and building size turned out to be the need for the units to exit their buildings. We really wanted to showcase that. It had been received very well in our E3 2007 demo. We had gutted that base scheme during the various un-fun iterations of the “place anywhere” systems, so most of the E3 2007 stuff was gone. But, we were determined to keep the units exiting their buildings. But those tanks are so f’ing big. Each building site had to be big enough to accommodate the Vehicle Depot, which was killing our attempts to reduce the base size."

— Dave Pottinger on the E3 2007 bases.^[2]

Throughout the development of Halo Wars, a large number of buildings were cut from the final release. Over the game's development, the building system went through over six iterations prior to settling on the Firebase system ultimately found in the E3 2008 Demo and final game.^[2]

UNSC buildings[edit]

Air pad[edit]

Main article: UNSC Airpad

While the Air Pad was ultimately included in the final game, it underwent several revisions to reach that stage. An early design of the air pad found in the E3 2007 build consists of a small hangar and runway for several aircraft including a B-65 Shortsword and three Falcons or Sparrowhawks.^[1] Icons depicting this design remain in the files of the final release, depicting upgrades which add the aforementioned Shortsword and a missile silo to the structure. These may indicate that early iterations of the air pad were used to deploy leader powers.

The model for this early air pad.
This air pad in-game.
An icon for the early air pad.
An icon for an upgrade to the air pad, which appears to add a B-65 Shortsword bomber to the runway.
An icon for an upgrade to the air pad, which appears to add a missile silo to the structure.

Barracks[edit]

Main article: UNSC Barracks

Another building that survived into the final game, the barracks underwent many design iterations. In the E3 2007 build, the barracks are little more than a fenced-off courtyard, and have Marines doing pushups behind the building.^[1] Another iteration of the barracks was intended to be "orbitally deployed", with the building dropping down from orbit and unpacking itself.^[3]

A third design of the barracks has also been shown, much more simplified in form and more closely-resembling the direction of the buildings in the final game. Icons depicting this design remain in the files of the final release.