Forerunner City
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 An exterior view of the city's third iteration.[1] This design was recycled for the Cartographer in Halo 3 and a structure in Origins.
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- "All I can say is, imagine a beard trimmer, and each blade of the comb is the size of manhattan, each with tiered 'hoods."
- — Paul Russel[2]
100_forecity (or more simply, Forerunner City) was a level that was worked on during the development of Halo 3, but was ultimately cut from the game. The level was to follow on from 090_alpine, and was ultimately combined with 090_alpine in the final release of the game to form the mission The Covenant.[3] The level is famous for its distinctive Forerunner structures, more commonly known by the nickname The Lost City,[4][5] or more jokingly, "Forerunner Condo" to Bungie and "Cuesta Verde phase 4" to Vic DeLeon.[6]
Forerunner City was given some limited development during Halo 3's production, with basic mission layouts and 3D models generated, though these were largely scrapped once the level was merged to become The Covenant. Many of its intended plot beats were adapted into the final game mostly-intact (albeit polished). In the final game, the remnants of Forerunner City can be seen in the final encounter on The Covenant - particularly the sections inside the Citadel at the end of the level. Most of the plot information about the level comes from a first-draft script uploaded online by campaign design lead Rob Stokes.[7]
Overview[edit]
Forerunner City received some limited development and 3D prototyping in Halo 3's development before being combined with Alpine to form The Covenant. An initial script pass was done by Rob Stokes, with visual look-development done by Paul Russel. During production, Russel's 3D environment grew so large that "it could be a game in itself".[4][5] Nonetheless, it was to have been a fully-playable level, with Russel's 3D blockout used as the basis for a level layout plan done by Stokes.
As part of Russel's development process for the art in the level, he tried to use the city's architecture to showcase values held by Forerunner society and how they might have lived their daily lives.[8] Vic DeLeon also worked on the level, and further elaborated that their goal was to create something more than "just cool shapes with mysterious purpose," creating something that told a story.[8] Russel stated that in total, there "were probably 10 different versions of the city."[9]
Once the architectural blockout was made, it was passed on to Vic Deleon, who populated the area with vegetation, entropy, and lighting.[9] They worked on the project for around three weeks alongside a cut level named "Tsavo Township" before being moved to making multiplayer maps for Halo 2 DLC.[10] By this time, the fiction surrounding the structure was that it was to be a housing complex for Forerunner scientists living on the ring, possibly the Librarian's team.[6] The idea of this iteration was to design the abandoned living space with a courtyard, one that had fallen into disrepair.[9] Another developer, Dan Miller, stated that the level was cut as the development team felt it would give too much away about the Forerunners and their mystery.[11]
Developers known to have worked on Forerunner City include:
- Rob Stokes (mission design and script)
- Dan Miller (level designer)[11][12]
- Paul Russel (3D environment art)[4][5]
- Vic DeLeon (3D environment art)[6]
- Isaac Hannaford (concept art paintovers)
- Lee Wilson (storyboards)
An early level design document for Forerunner City.
An early level design document for Forerunner City.
Plot[edit]
This section summarizes the plot of the level, based on the first draft of the script submitted by Rob Stokes for further editing later on, and the mission design documentation posted on his website.[7]
Background[edit]
During prior missions, forces from UNSC Providence (replaced by UNSC Forward Unto Dawn in final release) observed that the Prophet of Truth had moved his forces behind a large energy barrier preventing UNSC access. In the previous level 090_alpine, John-117 had successfully attacked the barrier towers preventing access before witnessing the arrival of the Flood-infested High Charity. The infested station crashed on the Ark and began to spread Flood across the megastructure.
100LA_CITY_GATES[edit]
- 100LA01 EXT. ALPINE
The first section of the mission, titled "City Gates" in the script, sees Master Chief enter the eponymous Forerunner City to find the control citadel for the entire Ark (referred to in the script as Waypoint). In this opening section, the player leads an attack force through the city's ruins toward the Citadel, facing off against Brute forces loyal to the Prophet of Truth. During the level, the Chief would receive a transmission from Miranda Keyes with a mission briefing, though it would be cut short abruptly due to Miranda and her people coming under attack - leading to Miranda's capture later in the level.
During this section, level design documentation notes that as the player fights on, Flood spores and tendrils would be visible beginning to creep up the structure and infect it. During the vehicular combat of the mission, the player would drive a Scorpion tank alongside allied UNSC and Elite troops, facing off against Brutes in the streets. The combat would feature massive three- and four-way battles between the player, Covenant, Flood, and Sentinel forces. Halfway through the mission, the tank convoy would be stopped by a barrier and forced into an engagement on foot, seemingly inside the vegetative and overgrown spaces shown off by Vic DeLeon (point C on the design document).
These near-final iterations of the level were done by Vic DeLeon in 2005, running in the "Halo 2.5-3" engine.[9] They seemingly depict the location at point C.
