Editing New Alexandria

{{Status|Gameplay}}

{{Disambig header|the Halo: Reach campaign level|other uses of New Alexandria|New Alexandria (disambiguation)}}

{{Level infobox

{{Article quote|Provide air support in a forest of crumbling skyscrapers.}}

'''New Alexandria''' is the eighth level in the [[campaign]] of ''[[Halo: Reach]]''. The level has a unique structure: the three main objectives may be assigned to the player in any order, and the minor objectives between these are randomly selected from a larger pool every time the mission is played. The mission requires the player to fly a Falcon, and the player is able to call in a new one should they lose theirs.

The level takes place on August 23, 2552, several hours after ''[[Exodus]]'', in the airspace above the embattled city of [[New Alexandria (location)|New Alexandria]]. [[Noble Six]] meets up with the rest of [[Noble Team]] and is informed that the [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] are jamming all communications to Command. They mount a [[UH-144 Falcon|Falcon]] and assists [[Catherine-B320]] in destroying the [[Covenant communications jammer|jamming devices]].

As Noble Six destroys the jammers, Covenant {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}}s arrive at New Alexandria and start [[glassing]] the city's outskirts.

*[[Gunnery Sergeant]] [[Edward Buck]] requests assistance. Buck's exact task varies; he may be rescuing his men from various danger or on a classified mission. In any case, Noble Six is instructed by Kat to escort Buck's Falcon to its destination.  

After Noble Six destroys all of the turrets, they meets up with the rest of Noble Team at the ONI HQ. However, they receive an urgent hail from Colonel Holland, informing them that they are being redeployed to [[Sword Base]]. Just then, the Covenant begin [[glassing]] the city, and the signal is cut off. As Noble Team flees to a radiation bunker, Kat is shot through the back of the head by a [[Needle Rifle]] round fired from a [[Phantom]] overhead. Her body is dragged into the bunker by Noble Six as the doors close. Three days later on August 26, after the Covenant forces are gone, Noble Team walks outside to be picked up by a Pelican, with Kat's dead body in Carter's arms.

''View switches to the open rear door of the Pelican. Rain pours down while burning skyscrapers and building lights fill the night sky. After staring out for a long time, Six stands up and holsters a [[M392 Designated Marksman Rifle]]. The Pelican slows down above a rooftop with two [[Falcon]]s parked on top. Six steps out and meets [[Carter-A259|Carter]] while the Pelican flies away.''

*'''[[Commander]] Carter-A259''': "Your report will have to wait, Lieutenant. The Covenant are jamming all comms to Command. [[Catherine-B320|Kat]] needs your help running a counter-op."

''Six flies to the hospital, sets down on an open landing, and goes inside where they finds a small group of Grunts, Jackals and Brutes, supported by an Engineer. As Six fights through them, they picks up radio transmissions from troopers in the next room.''

''Six reaches the hospital's concourse. They engage the Brutes cornering the troopers.''

''Six gets back upstairs and into the Falcon. As it takes off, another skyscraper collapses while a {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}} flies overhead. After stopping above the city's outskirts, the cruiser starts to [[Glassing|glass]] the area.''

''Six continues their way up, passing by a hologram of a UNSC Frigate.''

''If Six walks to the uppermost level, they can find a [[Shell-shocked Army trooper|shell-shocked trooper]] cowering in a corner.''

''Six takes the elevator back down to the landing platform and returns to the Falcon. Another {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}} flies overhead and begins glassing the outskirts area after arriving at the region's airspace. ''

''Six looks at him, and loosens their hand to show Jorge’s dog tags dangling from it.''

''Carter rounds on Kat, annoyed, knowing that she is responsible for the leak.''

''A massive plasma blast lights up the room as a Covenant warship opens fire on the area. The resulting shockwave shatters the windows, and the team dives or is thrown to the floor. Powerful wind howls through the room.''

''The Spartans get on their feet, and Kat is helped up by Six and picks up her helmet. They run towards two elevators, as a {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}} engaged in glassing passes over the window. Carter, Emile and Jun take one while Kat and Noble Six take the other one. Kat closes the elevator door and starts it, missing the button on the first try. The elevators rush down the building as Kat puts on her helmet.''

*'''Carter-A259 (COM)''': "We’re being redeployed to [[SWORD Base]]."

In the early stages of planning for the campaign of ''Halo: Reach'', the team at Bungie knew they wanted a mission set in a war-torn city, though they did not know if they wanted it set before, during or after glassing. Originally, the plan was for the level to be set after glassing, with the players walking around the glasslands on the city outskirts by hijacking and driving a {{Pattern|Deutoros|Scarab}}. The development got as far as having a prototype mock-up for the player-controlled Scarab, and a mocked-up section of city. The physics were commented on by Chris Opdahl as being "sweet", though the experience of driving the Scarab was ultimately unsustainable. Combined with the high engine-cost to run the level, the prototype was scrapped, resulting in the final level making the cut featuring the Falcon instead.{{Ref/Site|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-halo-reach-tech-interview?page=3|Site=Eurogamer|Page=Tech Interview: Halo: Reach - Page 3}}{{Ref/Game|Id=Commentary|HR|Detail=[[Halo: Reach Legendary Edition|Legendary Edition]] developer commentary}}

[[Dan Miller]] was a designer majorly responsible for the level's creation along with artist Mick Buckmiller, and imposed the "''super epic multi-parallel script/random ordered monster''" on himself as a challenge after beginning to get bored of creating ''Halo'' missions; having worked on ''Halo 3'' and ''Halo 3: ODST''. During production, he went over the game's script limit twice, custom-wrote the Falcon rescue script and 12 random mission scripts alongside a number of other major mission elements and did all of the bug-fixing alongside working on the next level, The Package, and adding in a large number of Easter Eggs. According to Miller, the music script for entering the SinoViet building was one of the more complicated ones.{{Ref/Site|Id=HBOMiller|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=http://forums.bungie.org/halo/archive37.pl?read=1092706|Site=halo.bungie.org|Page=Re: AI Script|Detail=Dan Miller discusses the development of New Alexandria}} Many of the level's ideas were also pulled from an [[:File:H3 TheArk DesignDoc.png|early draft]] of what would become the level [[The Ark]].{{Ref/Twitter|882000758798823424|dmiller260|Dan Miller|Quote=#halo3 map first draft of waypoint level:<br>I ended up taking those ideas to Halo Reach 'New Alexandria'|D=10|M=10|Y=2021}}

*The soundtracks ''[[Never Surrender]]'' and ''[[Siege of Madrigal]]'' are included in the [[Club Errera Easter egg]] in this level.{{Ref/YouTube|XxuLOpuKTPw|Achievement Hunter|Halo: Reach - Never Surrender, Siege of Madrigal Easter Egg}}

*The [[Lift|elevator]] music heard in the [[SinoViet Center]] elevator is actually from one of [[Martin O'Donnell]]'s old commercial jingles.{{Ref/Reuse|Commentary}}

*The final chapter, ''Last One Out... Turn Out the Lights'' is an obvious reference to ''[[Halo 3]]'s'' level ''[[Crow's Nest]]'s'' chapter ''Last One Out, Get the Lights'' and a ''[[Red vs Blue]]'' episode.

*If the player sees a {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}} in the sky and pays attention to its movement, it will drift around 117 degrees to the point where it will begin glassing. Uniquely, this is the only level where you can see a cruiser drift in the same manner as a player is able to drift when steering a [[Warthog]] or [[Mongoose]].

*If this level is played on Co-op, the second player will be given a Falcon of their own. The Falcon given to the second player is armed with [[M460 automatic grenade launcher|grenade launchers]] instead of machine guns.

File:HR NAGlassingConcept.jpg|Early concept art of {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}}s firing upon New Alexandria.

File:HaloReach - Glassing.jpg|{{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}} glassing New Alexandria.