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Re: :-\
Posted By: Stephen L. (SoundEffect) <soundeffect@hotmail.com>	Date: 6/2/09 10:22 p.m.
In Response To: Re: :-\ (Jordan117) : Well, not *just* that. If you look closely, you can see that the transit map : is consistent with what was seen in the Halo 2 level Metropolis: : So, because that map corresponds to the real world, it ties everything seen : in the game to a real place. That bridge? It's over Kilindini Harbor. That : street you fight the Scarab on? It's called (of all things) Voi Street. : The Space Elevator? It sits on what used to be the Municipal Stadium. And : so on. : I've always liked geography -- as a kid I would pore over my dad's atlas, : learning the countries of the world and the plans of major cities -- so : naturally I went and learned more about the real city via Google Earth and : such after playing the game. It's an interesting place with some unique : sites -- the Tusks over Moi Avenue, Fort Jesus, Kibokoni Park, Old Town : Makadara -- and I probably know it as well as any city I've been a tourist : in. So I was looking forward to Bungie recreating this city with the same : skill and imagination that they had rendered Old Mombasa and the small : part of New Mombasa we saw in Halo 2. : Bungie has retconned their canon a lot in the past -- the number of human : colonies, Johnson's flood immunity, the original form of Earth City seen : at E3 -- and it's never really bothered me. So I'm not so much : disappointed that they've contradicted a bitmap image, but that we won't : get to see that vision of a realistic New Mombasa brought to life. I only : focus on the map because it's the best representation of what could have : been. : But that's the thing, I don't see how they would have been hemmed in that : much. The island has so much unexplored territory that there's no reason : they couldn't have set the game there. Judging by the map seen in the : trailer, the ODST gameworld will consist of a bridge leading into a large : urban area, with a fortified ONI facility on the far side and the space : tether beyond them all, separated by water. Looking at the old map I see : at least three ways you could fit those elements into unseen parts of the : map: : It doesn't matter if the streets exactly match or stuff like that, just as : long as the in-game version of New Mombasa bears some sort of relation to : the real city. But the city in ODST doesn't look anything like Mombasa : Island, and is essentially a completely invented place, apart from its : name. : Bungie managed to fit the five Earth levels of Halo 3 into the geography of : East Africa without sacrificing fun factor, as seen in this old image: : I even remember reading that they used satellite imagery to make the layout : accurate, and plotted the sun to set at a realistic pace as the campaign : progressed. The fact that the entire ODST game world is defined as the : city of New Mombasa, and yet the layout of that game world looks nothing : like the city of Mombasa, is disappointing for a company that has always : prided itself on self-consistency and rich attention to background : details. I think that image has Mombasa in the wrong spot. The burning city in Halo 3 we see in the distance should be Voi, not New Mombasa. On a real-world map, New Mombasa is so far from Voi you wouldn't see that far. Most of Voi is where the portal device is the ruined building in the background are what's left standing. The Traxus Complex is on the near side of Voi on the outskirts. I can't see how the building in the background is supposed to be Mombasa.

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Message Index

ODST is bittersweet, for me	Jordan117	6/2/09 5:10 p.m.
Oops.	Jordan117	6/2/09 5:14 p.m.
Re: ODST is bittersweet, for me	The More Deluded	6/2/09 6:51 p.m.
:-\	pete_the_duck	6/2/09 7:51 p.m.
Re: :-\	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	6/2/09 8:15 p.m.
Re: :-\	Jordan117	6/2/09 9:11 p.m.
Consider this:	InnerRayg	6/2/09 9:19 p.m.
Re: Consider this:	Jordan117	6/2/09 9:26 p.m.
Re: :-\	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	6/2/09 10:22 p.m.
Re: :-\	Omega	6/2/09 10:37 p.m.
Re: :-\	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	6/3/09 1:26 p.m.
Re: :-\	bluerunner	6/3/09 1:55 p.m.
Re: :-\	Omega	6/3/09 2:24 p.m.
Re: :-\	vlad3163	6/3/09 4:58 p.m.
Re: :-\	Omega	6/3/09 6:18 p.m.
Re: ODST is bittersweet, for me	MasterNoob	6/2/09 9:32 p.m.
Gameplay issue	FyreWulff	6/2/09 9:46 p.m.
Good Point...Here's another question	InnerRayg	6/2/09 10:55 p.m.
Re: ODST is bittersweet, for me	Warp2	6/3/09 8:50 p.m.
Re: ODST is bittersweet, for me	Psychophan7	6/4/09 3:37 a.m.
Re: ODST is bittersweet, for me	General Vagueness	6/4/09 1:53 p.m.
Re: ODST is bittersweet, for me	Psychophan7	6/4/09 4:32 a.m.