Cold Storage

Cold Storage is a Halo 3 Multiplayer map. It is a remake of the Halo: CE map, Chill Out and was released for free at 2am PST on July 7th, 2008 (Bungie Day). The map was announced by Bungie at MLG San Diego on June 14th, 2008. During development, it was codenamed 'Smuggler'. Bungie has also stated that Cold Storage will be featured in all playlists that previously required the Legendary Map Pack. In these playlists, it will say that all DLC are required.

Bungie made an official statement online about the level in their Bungie Weekly Update on June 20th. It was first shown in an exhibition game between Bungie members; Lukems and Shishka, and MLG Pros; Karma and Legend, which served as the map's debut. It was then revealed in the Weekly Update on July 3rd that the map will be released, for free, July 7th.

It is set in a Forerunner Flood Containment Facility, which have had a Flood outbreak, evident by the Flood bio-mass. By the "transmissions" revealed in several Bungie Weekly Updates, it was speculated that Cold Storage was somewhere on Delta Halo, possibly a Flood Containment Facility. This was confirmed by the in game description of the map.

Design
Cold Storage is a Forerunner Flood Cryogenetic Containment and Research Facility located on Delta Halo that has had an outbreak of the Flood Super Cell, possibly the origin of the massive Flood outbreak on Installation 05. Being derived from a Halo 1 map, many changes needed to be made to Cold Storage to bring it into line with Halo 3's updated physics and graphic design. Many of the jumps and railings have been tweaked, like those on Blackout (Level), but they stay well within the layout of Chill Out. The "Monitor" in the ceiling, follows your movements if you stare at it for a while, but will stop once you leave the room. The Pure Form in the Cryo-container will sometimes have small spasms in his tube. The room containing the Flood Pure Form is apparently a room where a handfull of containers are brought out of storage to be examined, as several empty Containers can be seen behind windows. Being a Cryogenetic Containment facility, the temperature is low, shown by the mist above the floor several places in the map.

The map's mood is considered "competitive", and it is best played with small FFA (Free-For-All) Slayer games. Combat tends to be rather chaotic, and because of the multitude of teleporters, it is very easy to get from one area to another and smite your opponents. The only major change to the map's weapon layout is that the Halo: CE Pistol that was in Chill Out has been replaced with a Battle Rifle.

Forge
There is only a handful of new obejct available for Cold Storage, among them are three new Energy Blockers, each with their different shapes and sizes, similar to the ones on Avalanche. There are also the Forge Filters that effect the color and overall tone of the map. The Soccer Ball is once again included, and the Mongoose and Ghost can be placed in as well, though the map is not especially designed for the vehicles. The Flamethrower is available, but only added in Forge. Teleporters have a new design to them, as they now have a circular base, instead of the three-pronged base in like other maps. They also have purplish-blue color, and not the usual green color theme.

Transmissions
Before the map was revealed, it was known as Smuggler. Two transmissions about it were posted on Bungie.net.

In the Bungie Weekly Update 5/30/08, the following transmission was shown:

Part 1
"REPORT: CONTAINMENT FAILURE

LF.Xx.3273 research and containment facility; [delta site] has experienced catastrophic specimen containment failure. All apertures into facility will be locked until further notice. Atmosphere evacuation and [reduction of ambient temperature] protocols have already been enacted. Request maintenance and security detail [at earliest opportunity]. [8 minutes] elapsed since initial containment failure.

REPORT: CONTAINMENT FAILURE

Waiting for maintenance and security detail. [32 minutes, 9 seconds] elapsed since request.

REPORT: CONTAINMENT FAILURE

Still waiting for maintenance and security detail. [24 hours] elapsed since request.

REPORT: SECURITY BREACH

LF.Xx.3273 research and containment facility; [delta site] has experienced a security breach via emergency [slip stream space] transportation conduits. Emergency [slip stream space] transportation conduits have been placed in recursive mode to contain unauthorized hostile lifeforms. Request emergency security detail. Still waiting for primary maintenance and security detail. [2512332 hours, 14 minutes, 6 seconds]elapsed since initial request.

REPORT: DERELICTION OF DUTY

2401 [PENITENT TANGENT] has been lax in the areas of maintenance and security."

Part 2
A new conversation was given in the 6/6/08 update.

LOG: QUERIED ADJACENT FACILITIES LF.Xx.3273 research and containment facility [alpha, beta, gamma, epsilon, zeta, and kappa sites] have all replied [systems normal] within expected constraints. This would tend to signify that the containment failure was purely mechanical in nature; perhaps a manufacturing flaw. As no [outside agent] has accessed [delta site] in the past [874068942 hours, 4 minutes, 46 seconds]—[allowing for a 61360 hour, 54, minute, 2 second margin of error]—sabotage would seem unlikely.

LOG: REQUEST UNANSWERED LF.Xx.3273 research and containment facility; [delta site] is currently being held at [.01 atm] / [184K]. Local maintenance and security hubs have failed to reply within expected constraints. [Bumping maintenance and security request up] to [quadrant oversight].

LOG: REQUEST UNANSWERED LF.Xx.3273 research and containment facility; [delta site] is currently being held at [1 atm] / [278K] as atmospheric seals were showing signs of stress. [Quadrant oversight] has failed to reply within expected constraints. [Bumping maintenance and security request all the way up] to 2401 [PENITENT TANGENT].

LOG: UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO FACILITIES LF.Xx.3273 research and containment facility; [delta site] emergency [slip stream space] transportation conduits have been accessed by unauthorized parties.

LOG: FILED COMPLAINT TO INSTALLATION 00 2401 [PENITENT TANGENT], monitor of Installation 05, has been lax in the areas of maintenance and security. Requests for aid in said areas have gone unanswered by both 2401 and [subservient] systems well beyond expected constraints.

Theories
The second time stamp seems to imply that this was when the Flood broke free on Delta Halo, since it equals approximately 99,779 years. Perhaps this level may provide clues as to how, considering this and the mention of how the "best laid plans can fail", as stated by Luke in one of Bungie's Weekly Updates.

Gallery
For many more pictures, click here.

Trivia

 * This is the first Halo 3 Map to be featured on Delta Halo.
 * In the Q&A on bungie.net, one of the level developers said "don't get too close" to the tank form, although this is likely a mock by the developers answering the questions.
 * It was mentioned in the ViDoc, And On the 7th Day, that Bungie had wanted to call this map Cold Sore. However, Bungie said this name wouldn't work.
 * Cold Storage is the first multiplayer map to feature Flood combatants. There is the Tank Form in suspended animation near the Shotgun spawn, and Infection Forms are seen crawling through the Flood infested area.
 * The first time stamp '2512332 hours, 14 minutes, 6 seconds' is the equivalent of 290 years, 7 months, 14 minutes, 6 seconds. The second time stamp is equivalent to 99,779 years, 204 days, 6 hours, 4 minutes, 46 seconds.
 * It is also possible that the "slipspace transportation conduits" is referring to the teleportation grid on the Halos, which 343 Guilty Spark used on Installation 04, and that Gravemind took control over via 2401 Penitent Tangent on Installation 05.
 * LF.Xx.3273 is the Forerunner term for the Flood Super Cell.
 * Cold Storage is the second map in Halo 3 to include teleporters by default. However, the teleporters are blue instead of common green. The Halo 2 multiplayer map, Gemini, also contained blue teleporters.
 * It appears that one of the cryogenic tubes has a burst, leaving behind a Flood Biomass where the base used to be.
 * The map's weapons layout is the same, or close to, the weapon layout on Chill Out, one adjustment being the pair of grenades removed from the southwestern half and the northeastern half in the curved hallways, originally, four grenades spawned there. Also a pistol is replaced by a Battle Rifle.
 * A ViDoc was released on Bungie.net soon after the Weekly Update of July 3rd was posted.
 * Also, in the ViDoc, if you look closely at the upper right hand corner after the Halo 3 logo fades away (at the end), the logo of the Superintendent can be faintly seen. This may be a possible reference to the Recon Road Trip, though it could be a reference to the screen before that that restates the information in which the "Love, Bungie" flickers once to "KEEP IT CLEAN".
 * It was shown in the ViDoc that the Monitor in the ceiling looks at you as you walk around the room it's in.
 * Cold Storage is the first and only Halo DLC to date to be released alone.
 * Cold Storage is the "seventh" Halo 3 DLC map.
 * Cold Storage is the second Halo 3 multiplayer map to be Flood themed, the first being level Isolation.
 * Cold Storage is the first map to reveal what the bottom of a Flood Growth Pod looks like.
 * Shooting the Monitor causes its shields to flicker.
 * Using the Turret Glitch, it is possible to get inside the Pure Form's containment tank. Once inside, your player model will pass through the Tank Form, yet when you melee it in the mouth, it will make a squishing noises.
 * Shooting it in the mouth will make "Flood blood" come out. Shooting anywhere else will give you the same effect as shooting a wall.
 * The white pillars in the room where the Monitor is in make a low, pulsating sound.
 * The Monitor in the ceiling follows you around as you move around that room, and the machinery cannot be stuck with a Spike Grenade.
 * Plasma Grenades can stick to the Tank form once you are inside the cryo-tube.
 * The Flood biomass on the roof of the level can react to the Spike Grenades thrown.
 * The empty blue room with the Sniper Rifle and Active Camo appears to be a freezer of some kind. If you float up the crack, you will see mist.
 * Unlike The Pit, when you get out of Cold Storage, you die instantly, no matter if you are in Monitor mode or Spartan/Elite mode, or even if you are touching the ground.
 * The large Monitor may be a reference to GLaDOS from the game portal.
 * You can't stick the head of the Tank form with a Plasma Grenade, curiously enough.