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{{ | {{Era|RW|}} | ||
{{References}} | {{References}} | ||
[[File:Beta Banner.jpg|thumb|300px|The Beta Banner as seen on Bungie.net]] | [[File: Beta Banner.jpg|thumb|300px|The Beta Banner as seen on Bungie.net]] | ||
[[File: | [[File:Halo_3_Beta_Controls.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The ''Halo 3 Beta'' controls on a Xbox 360 controller]] | ||
The '''''Halo 3 Beta''''' was a phase in the development of ''[[Halo 3]]'', produced by [[Bungie|Bungie Studios]] and organized by Microsoft. It was the open beta of the video game ''Halo 3'', which was later released by Bungie on September | The '''''Halo 3 Beta''''' was a phase in the development of ''[[Halo 3]]'', produced by [[Bungie|Bungie Studios]] and organized by Microsoft. It was the open beta of the video game ''Halo 3'', which was later released by Bungie on September 25th, 2007. | ||
==Details of the Beta== | ==Details of the Beta== | ||
The ''Halo 3 Beta'' was an intermediate build of the [[multiplayer]] functionality of ''Halo 3''. It was first released to selected members of the public on May 11, 2007, and its purpose was to collect information and feedback from the millions of playtest games played through the multiplayer beta to refine Bungie Studio's final multiplayer product and to advertise ''Halo 3''.<ref name="First">[http:// | The ''Halo 3 Beta'' was an intermediate build of the [[multiplayer]] functionality of ''Halo 3''. It was first released to selected members of the public on May 11, 2007, and its purpose was to collect information and feedback from the millions of playtest games played through the multiplayer beta to refine Bungie Studio's final multiplayer product and to advertise ''Halo 3''.<ref name="First">[http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?cid=9491 '''Bungie.net''']</ref> | ||
Over the four weeks of the Beta, 820,000 unique users clocked up over 12 million hours of play - the equivalent of a single person playing Halo 3 for 1,400 years.<ref>'''Xbox 360 World Magazine''', ''issue unknown''</ref> | Over the four weeks of the Beta, 820,000 unique users clocked up over 12 million hours of play - the equivalent of a single person playing Halo 3 for 1,400 years.<ref>'''Xbox 360 World Magazine''', ''issue unknown''</ref> | ||
==Entrance== | ==Entrance== | ||
[[File:Halo3invite.jpg|Halo 3 Beta Special Invitation.|thumb|300px]] | [[File:Halo3invite.jpg|Halo 3 Beta Special Invitation.|thumb|300px|right]] | ||
Because it was highly popular, there were only three phases for the public to enter into to have access to the multiplayer beta. | Because it was highly popular, there were only three phases for the general public to enter into to have access to the multiplayer beta. | ||
===Phase One=== | ===Phase One=== | ||
Phase One consisted of getting onto www.halo3.com after the ''[[Halo 3]]'' [[Starry Night]] CGI Trailer that aired on December 14, 2006 | Phase One consisted of getting onto www.halo3.com after the ''[[Halo 3]]'' [[Starry Night]] CGI Trailer that aired on December 14, 2006<ref>''[[Starry Night]]''</ref>. | ||
Players that entered into www.halo3.com quickly enough were selected to participate in Phase One, and received an email notification on the week of January | Players that entered into www.halo3.com quickly enough were selected to participate in Phase One, and received an email notification on the week of January 22-26, 2007.<ref name="First"/> | ||
===Phase Two: The Rule of Three=== | ===Phase Two: The Rule of Three=== | ||
Players interested in entering via Phase Two were to play at least three hours of ''[[Halo 2]]'' multiplayer sessions on an [[Xbox 360]] on [[Xbox LIVE]] during the three | Players interested in entering via Phase Two were to play at least three hours of ''[[Halo 2]]'' multiplayer sessions on an [[Xbox 360]] on [[Xbox LIVE]] during the three day period beginning February 1st at 12:01 am EST and ending February 3rd at 11:59 pm EST<ref name="First"/> and had to be of 17 years of age or older. | ||
Afterward, players signed up on www.halo3.com on February | Afterward, players signed up on www.halo3.com on February 5th at 1:00PM EST for their chance to participate in the ''Halo 3'' multiplayer beta. If the player was one of the first 13,333 to do this and meet the requirements, they would receive an invite notification on February 11th or February 12th to participate in the multiplayer beta.<ref name="First"/> | ||
If not selected to participate in the multiplayer beta through Phases One or Two, interested players had a third chance to enter. | If not selected to participate in the multiplayer beta through Phases One or Two, interested players had a third chance to enter. | ||
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''[[Wikipedia:Crackdown (video game)|Crackdown]]'', a video game unrelated to the ''Halo'' series, was released on February 20, 2007 (Feb 22 - Asian territories, Feb 24 - European markets). Players could get into the ''Halo 3'' beta by purchasing specially marked boxes of ''Crackdown''. | ''[[Wikipedia:Crackdown (video game)|Crackdown]]'', a video game unrelated to the ''Halo'' series, was released on February 20, 2007 (Feb 22 - Asian territories, Feb 24 - European markets). Players could get into the ''Halo 3'' beta by purchasing specially marked boxes of ''Crackdown''. | ||
These boxes of ''Crackdown'' included an | These boxes of ''Crackdown'' included an invite to participate in the [[Halo 3]] [[Multiplayer]] beta when it became available. Owners of ''Crackdown'' that had access to an Xbox 360 console with a hard drive and a valid Xbox LIVE Gold subscription could simply download the ''Halo 3 Beta'' by selecting "Downloads" on the ''Crackdown'' main menu, then select "Download Halo 3 Beta". After the ''Halo 3 Beta'' finished downloading, players would then select "Downloads" on the ''Crackdown'' main menu, then select "Play Halo 3 Beta". | ||
Also note that to play the ''Halo 3'' Beta, | Also note that to play the ''Halo 3'' Beta, you MUST have had the ''Crackdown'' disc in your Xbox 360 console. This means that you could not rent the game to just play the beta, nor could you buy the game, download the Beta, and sell the game.<ref>[http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=9975389&postRepeater1-p=2#9981353 '''Bungie.net''': ''Crackdown Disc Bungie.net Forum Post'']</ref> | ||
==Bugs and Errors== | ==Bugs and Errors== | ||
{{Main|Halo 3 Beta | {{Main|Halo 3 Beta Errors}} | ||
Numerous problems had been encountered with the ''Halo 3 Beta'', one such problem being a 14-hour setback in its release for many ''Crackdown'' users, downloading errors, and matchmaking errors. To compensate the gamers, [[Bungie]] had extended the period of play until June 10, 2007 | Numerous problems had been encountered with the ''Halo 3 Beta'', one such problem being a 14-hour setback in its release for many ''Crackdown'' users, downloading errors, and matchmaking errors. To compensate the gamers, [[Bungie]] had extended the period of play until June 10, 2007 at 11:59 PM PDT (from June 6th, 2007, which was the originally intended end date). | ||
==Included Features== | ==Included Features== | ||
The Beta test featured the majority of features from the final Multiplayer experience. The features were: | The Beta test featured the majority of features from the final Multiplayer experience, though it had been hinted that not all will be shown. The features were: | ||
{{col-begin}} | |||
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===Weapons=== | |||
'''[[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]]''' | |||
*[[MA5C Individual Combat Weapon System]] | |||
*[[BR55HB SR Battle Rifle]] | |||
*[[AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun]] | |||
*[[LAU-65D/SGM-151|Missile Pod]] | |||
*[[M41 Surface-to-Surface Rocket Medium Anti-Vehicle/Assault Weapon|M41 SSR MAV/AW Rocket Launcher]] | |||
*[[M90 Close Assault Weapon System]] | |||
*[[Sniper Rifle System 99D-S2 Anti-Matériel|SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle]] | |||
*[[M6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle|W/AV M6 Grindell/Galileian Nonlinear Rifle]] | |||
*[[M7/Caseless Submachine Gun|M7/Caseless Sub Machine Gun]] | |||
*[[M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Grenade]] | |||
*[[M6G Personal Defense Weapon System|M6G Pistol]] <small>(available through glitch)</small> | |||
'''[[Covenant Empire|Covenant]]''' | |||
*[[Type-25 Grenade Launcher|Brute Shot]] | |||
*[[ | *[[Type-50 Sniper Rifle System|Beam Rifle]] | ||
*[[ | *[[Carbine]] | ||
*[[ | *[[Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol]] | ||
*[[ | *[[Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle]] | ||
*[[ | *[[Type-25 Carbine|Type-25 Carbine "Spiker"]] | ||
*[[ | *[[Type-1 Antipersonnel Grenade|Plasma Grenade]] | ||
*[[ | *[[Type-2 Antipersonnel Fragmentation Grenade|Spike Grenade]] | ||
*[[ | *[[Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher]] | ||
*[[ | *[[Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword|Energy Sword]] <small>(available through glitch)</small> | ||
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*[[Type-1 | ===Vehicles=== | ||
'''UNSC''' | |||
*[[M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle|M12 Warthog LRV]] | |||
*[[M274 Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle|M274 Mongoose ULATV]] | |||
*[[ | |||
*[[ | |||
'''Covenant''' | |||
*[[ | *[[Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle|Ghost]] | ||
*[[ | *[[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshee]] | ||
*[[Type-26 | *[[Type-26 Assault Gun Carriage|Wraith]] <small>(available through glitch)</small> {{citation needed}} | ||
===Equipments=== | |||
*[[Bubble | *[[Bubble Shield]] | ||
*[[Portable gravity lift]] | *[[Portable gravity lift|Portable Gravity Lift]] | ||
*[[Power drain]] | *[[Power drain|Power Drainer]] | ||
*[[TR/9 | *[[TR/9 Antipersonnel Mine|Trip Mine]] | ||
===Maps=== | |||
*[[High Ground]] | *[[High Ground]] | ||
*[[Snowbound]] | *[[Snowbound]] | ||
*[[Valhalla]] | *[[Valhalla]] | ||
===Matchmaking=== | |||
Features: | Features: | ||
*"Party Up" | *"Party Up" | ||
*"Veto" | *"Veto" | ||
===Saved Films=== | |||
Features: | Features: | ||
*"File Share" | *"File Share" | ||
*"Theater" | *"Theater" | ||
}} | {{col-end}} | ||
==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
*When some people first started playing the ''Halo 3 Beta'', the loading screen said "Love, Bungie", after the usual and typical "Loading..." and "Halo 3 Beta". | *When some people first started playing the ''Halo 3 Beta'', the loading screen said "Love, Bungie", after the usual and typical "Loading..." and "Halo 3 Beta". | ||
*During the Beta, several players posted videos of a possible version of the [[John-117|Master Chief]]'s face. This face was an Easter egg left by Bungie, and is, in truth, a [ | *During the Beta, several players posted videos of a possible version of the [[John-117|Master Chief]]'s face. This face was an Easter egg left by Bungie, and is, in truth, a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photo_manipulation#Photoshopping Photoshopped] picture of one of their employees. | ||
*In the Halo 3 Beta, the MA5C Assault Rifle had an animation where the charging handle would move back and forth when firing. In the final version, this was changed for reasons Bungie has never revealed. | *In the Halo 3 Beta, the MA5C Assault Rifle had an animation where the charging handle would move back and forth when firing. In the final version, this was changed for reasons Bungie has never revealed. | ||
*The [[TR/9 Antipersonnel Mine|Trip Mine]] in the Beta was far more deadly than its final version, as the Beta Trip Mine could stick to the underside of an unmanned vehicle. As soon as this rigged vehicle was touched, the mine would trigger. | *The [[TR/9 Antipersonnel Mine|Trip Mine]] in the Beta was far more deadly than its final version, as the Beta Trip Mine could stick to the underside of an unmanned vehicle. As soon as this rigged vehicle was touched, the mine would trigger. | ||
*The reticule for the [[M6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle|Spartan Laser]] was different in the Beta Version. The Beta reticule no longer featured a dot in the center, and the cross-hair's four corners weren't connected to one another. They instead formed a diamond in the center, resulting in a vague outline of where you were aiming. | *The reticule for the [[M6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle|Spartan Laser]] was different in the Beta Version. The Beta reticule no longer featured a dot in the center, and the cross-hair's four corners weren't connected to one another. They instead formed a diamond in the center, resulting in a vague outline of where you were aiming. | ||
*The Spartan models in the beta were far more detailed than the final version, including paint chips and dents in the armor. They also had a bit more contrast in the visor of their armor. In addition, by what can be observed from the paint chips and dents, it can be noted that the Spartan model used in Halo 3 Beta is actually the same model they used for [[John-117]] in the actual Campaign. | *The Spartan models in the beta were far more detailed than the final version, including paint chips and dents in the armor. They also had a bit more contrast in the visor of their armor. In addition, by what can be observed from the paint chips and dents, it can be noted that the Spartan model used in Halo 3 Beta is actually the same model they used for [[John-117]] in the actual Campaign. | ||
*On May | *On May 11th, both members of the press and people part of the "Friends and Family" program got the Beta 5 days before everyone else. | ||
*Before the release of Halo 3, there was a case where the almost finished game (codenamed Epsilon, 99.9% complete) was leaked to the Internet. Microsoft furiously responded to the case by banning consoles that played the illegal copy from accessing Xbox LIVE until December 31st, 9999. | |||
==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||
<references/> | |||
[[Category:Halo 3]] | [[Category:Halo 3]] | ||
