Cut Halo: Combat Evolved 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: Combat Evolved cut content
To check out cut content for other Halo games, see here!
- "[Crunch] happened on Halo 1 as well, of the 25 planned missions for Halo, we shipped 10. Part of the problem is that as team size grows, all the really informal, seat-of-your-pants stuff you've been doing just doesn't work."
- — Chris Butcher on Halo's cut levels.[1]
During the development of Halo: Combat Evolved, the game took many forms including real-time strategy, third-person shooter and eventually, first-person shooter. As the game transitioned into an FPS and a release for the Xbox platform, work on the game's campaign still hadn't begun by September 2000.[2] Mission brainstorming later began in earnest in December[3] with the rest completed over the course of 2001. This page documents the levels known to be cut from release, predominantly those planned out for the game's final FPS release.
Overview[edit]
- "I vividly remember building, literally on 3x5 index cards, a number and letter system. A10, A20, A30 and so on for each one of the missions. B30 was “The Silent Cartographer”. I pinned them to a board and I just stared at it for hours. There must’ve been 40 of those cards of there, and I’m like: “There’s no way in hell we’re going to build all of this.”"
- — Marcus Lehto on Halo's cut levels.[4]
When planning out Halo: Combat Evolved's campaign, Marcus Lehto originally planned things out on 3x5 index cards, with a number and letter system assigned.[4] These names can be found in the final game map files, and are listed as such below;
A10- The Pillar of AutumnA30- HaloA50- The Truth and ReconciliationB30- The Silent CartographerB40- Assault on the Control RoomC10- 343 Guilty SparkC20- The LibraryC40- Two BetrayalsD20- KeyesD40- The Maw
As can be seen in the numbering, there are several missing gaps indicating where levels were to be included, before being cut. At some point in development, the 40 missions Lehto planned out were eventually reduced to a more manageable 25, though another 15 were later cut for final release.[1]
Campaign levels[edit]
Very little actual game data is known to remain of the cut Halo: Combat Evolved campaign levels. The vast majority of information comes from Bungie design documentation, relayed via the notes of Kenneth Peters for research with the Digsite project at 343 Industries.
A20[edit]
A20 was a level that existed in a "Key Plot Points" document from Joseph Staten dated January 24th, 2001. It was combined with the level Halo (A30) by final release, and is noted to seem to have been the crash-landing area and “natural formation” tunnel entrance.[5]
A40[edit]
A40 was a level that existed in a "Key Plot Points" document from Joseph Staten dated January 24th, 2001. The level objective was to attack a Covenant excavation site, and would have been the introduction for the original implementation of Engineers before they were cut from the game. The level would have featured a light bridge and Forerunner tunnels, but the specifics are unknown.[5]
B10[edit]
B10 was a level that existed in a "Key Plot Points" document from Joseph Staten dated January 24th, 2001. In this version of the level, the player was to have been tasked with assassinating a Covenant "Prophet," and would have recovered "keys to the Control Center," likely to have been keys to unlock the doors of the Control Center itself.[5] At this stage in Halo, the San'Shyuum species (more commonly known as "Prophets") did not exist yet and were to debut in Halo 2 - instead, the Prophet target of the level was to have been an Elite wearing a "funny hat"[6] - something which likely went on to inspire the Elite Councilors in Halo 2 instead. Similarly, the objective of assassinating a Prophet was realized in Halo 2 with the Prophet of Regret, in the levels Delta Halo and Regret.
B20[edit]
B20 was the original planned swamp-themed Campaign level. It would have featured a mysterious monster that lurked in the central portion of the map, forcing the player to take a wide path around that middle section to avoid being killed while they made their way to a tower in the distance.[7] After cutting, the exterior level geometry would be incorporated into the level 343 Guilty Spark (C10).[5] Per notes of a "Key Plot Points" document from Joseph Staten dated January 24th, 2001, B20 was going to a level centered around the Covenant accelerating it's military occupation forces against the human resistance after the death of the Prophet.[5]
The tags for a version of B20 were made available for use in the Halo: Combat Evolved Mod Tools on June 20th, 2024. They are labeled as deriving from Xbox-compatible tags, of an unknown build.[8] This release of B20 exists in an as-is state, having a clear afternoon sky and with assets like trees being amiss. As well, the level is empty, with no scripting and only a single unimplemented grunt encounter. The similarities with the level 343 Guilty Spark are abundant, with the player naturally following a path to the right, and even crossing over a fallen tree bridge. The most notable difference is instead of the entrance to the containment facility, the level features the aforementioned large tower at the end of the path, which presumably would appear endless in a foggy atmosphere. The tower has an interior, however in this iteration is it not accessible by the player from any conventional means.
