In Response To: Terminal dialogue hides many Easter Eggs (Jordan117)
: I was reading the story on the front page about the new dialogue uploads,
: then decided to browse the Dialogue Database. It's an amazing work --
: alien taunts, marine banter, the multiplayer announcer... even the Swahili
: broadcasts in Old Mombasa had been uploaded and translated.
: There was one chunk of dialogue that had been missed, however: the PA
: announcements in the multiplayer map Terminal. I'd always liked these
: messages, and thought they added a nice bit of realism to the map. So it
: was surprising that such an easily accesible batch of dialogue had not yet
: been included in the database.
: Anyway, I decided to transcript the dialogue myself, to help things along.
: But where I expected to find somewhat dry and generic bulletins, I in fact
: found a relatively amusing source of in-jokes, easter eggs, and Bungie
: references.
: So, without futher ado, here are the dialogue samples I transcripted, along
: with explanations of the in-jokes where necessary.
: MALE ANNOUNCER
: “A child’s My Pet Blind Wolf stuffed toy has been found. Will the owner
: please claim it at the lost and found.”
: A reference to the infamous blind wolf, an eyeless, two-legged, ridable
: creature that was designed for Halo: CE, but got left on the cutting room
: floor.
: “The station cafeteria is now open. Today’s specials feature Svetlana
: burgers, Crème brûlée, and scooter pie.”
: Let's break this one down: * Svetlana burgers : Svetlana is a common first
: name for Russian girls, and is roughly translated as
: "starlight". Russian space burgers?
: * Crème brûlée : a custard-based French dessert.
: * Scooter pies : Northeastern slang for moon pie, a type of chocolate and
: marshmallow dessert.
: Bungie's favorite snacks, perhaps? (after BBQ sauce and Canadian bacon, of
: course...)
: “Attention passengers: the Old Mombasa 4:18 is running several minutes
: ahead of schedule.”
: Nothing very notable about this. Perhaps the time means something...
: “Will the owner of the brown Über chassis, license code P0-WND, please
: return to your vehicle.”
: "Über" is a German word, meaning "super" or
: "over". As for the license code? Just sound it out...
: “Security warning: track section 27 to 45. Please dispatch security
: detail.”
: Again, nothing very notable here.
: “Janitorial please report to parking level 2 with a mop and bucket.
: Janitorial to parking level 2.”
: "Be sure to bring extra cleanser for the entrails and ashes scattered
: everywhere."
: “Mr. Jones to the white phone, please. Mr. Jones to the white phone.”
: Most likely a reference to Bungie co-founder Jason Jones.
: FEMALE ANNOUNCER
: “Smoking is prohibited at all transit facilities.”
: Old habits die hard... Stupid ones? They last forever.
: “The New Mombasa Transit Authority asks all customers to be aware of their
: surroundings. If you see any suspicious activity, or unattended packages,
: please call the New Mombasa transit security hotline”
: How about unplanted bombs? Should I report those?
: “Please note: online fare increases will be in effect April 19th.”
: Some speculated this hinted at an Xbox LIVE price hike, but that turned out
: not to be the case. Oh, well...
: “Mind the gap.”
: Similar to Cortana's comment in the Helljumper's cutscene at Delta Halo.
: “Warning: for safety and comfort, passengers should be in good health, and
: free from heart, back, or neck problems, motion sickness, or other
: conditions that could be aggravated by high-speed rail travel.”
: It's like a roller coaster...
: “All passengers are advised to wait in designated areas only.”
: Not much to note here.
: “Always use overhead walkway when crossing tracks.”
: "Says you. I can do whatever the hell I -- *SPLAT*"
: “Thank you for riding with New Mombasa Transit. For any questions or
: concerns, please contact the transit hotline.”
: No, thank *you*, emotionless, disembodied female voice.
: “Due to security restrictions, the following stations will not be in
: service until further notice: Liwitoni, Kilindini, Manyimbo, Nyali,
: Mtongwe. We appreciate your patience.”
: An interesting note: all of these are the names of actual neighborhoods in
: modern-day Mombasa. Liwitoni is where Terminal is (duh), Kilindini is the
: area near the Metropolis level, Manyimbo is the area around the space
: elevator, Nyali is behind the elevator, on the other side of the river,
: and Mtongwe is further north up the coast. I wonder why the stations
: closed?
: “Possession of firearms at any transit facility is a federal offense.”
: "Just try and stop me, copper..."
: “Upon request, all passengers are required to present their valid transit
: pass to Transit Authority personnel.”
: Nothing remarkable here.
: “Parking lot Station Plaza is prohibited.”
: An odd phrase, but otherwise not notable.
: “Passengers connecting to Orbital Shuttle Hub board westbound trains.”
: Gives a little glimpse into Earth's transportation network: people use maglev
: trains to reach their local Orbital Shuttle Hub, then board a shuttle to
: fly to distant cities.
: “Safety is everyone’s responsibility.”
: But killing is so much fun...
: “Attention: inbound train.”
: You don't say...
: “Welcome to Station 7: Liwitoni. Please refer to video monitors for current
: information.”
: Another “7“ reference. Also, all the video monitors are tuned to channel 7.
: “Children must be monitored at all times. Do not leave children unattended
: in station.”
: Nothing much here, move along...
: “Please be aware of incoming trains, and stand clear of the tracks until
: trains have come to a full stop.”
: That may take awhile...
: I did a Google search as well as a forum search, and turned up zero results
: for these quotes. So, I'm pretty sure nobody's discovered this before...
: Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this guide, and that the relevant dialogue gets
: uploaded soon.
: - Jordan117
Hehe I grew up in Kilindini. Nice stuff, i'll try to find it in the map - thanx.
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