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{{Title|''Halo 3 Beta''}}
{{Era|H3}}
{{Status|RealWorld}}
{{References}}
[[File:Beta Banner.jpg|thumb|300px|The Beta Banner as seen on Bungie.net]]
[[File:Halo 3 Beta Controls.jpg|thumb|300px|The ''Halo 3 Beta'' controls on an 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 25, 2007.
[[Image: Beta Banner.jpg|thumb|The Beta Banner as seen on Bungie.net]]
[[Image:Halo_3_Beta_Controls.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The ''Halo 3 Beta'' controls on a Xbox 360 controller]]


==Details of the Beta==
The '''''Halo 3 Beta''''' was a test video game produced by [[Bungie Studios]] and organized by Microsoft. It was the precursor to the video game ''[[Halo 3]]'', which was released by Bungie on September 25th, 2007.
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://halo.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?cid=9491 '''Bungie.net''']</ref>
 
==Introduction==
<div class="thumb tright" style="width:200px;">
<div class="thumbcaption">Mr. Jukes' "Halo 3 Betalicious" video, endorsed by Bungie (posted on bungie.net on May 10, 2007)</div>
<youtube width="200" height="200">L_SP5Z85oUo</youtube>
</div>
The ''Halo 3 Beta'' was an intermediate build of the [[multiplayer]] functionality of ''[[Halo 3]]''. It was first released to select 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>"http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?cid=9491">Bungie News</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 millon hours of play - the equivalent of a single person playing Halo 3 for 1,400 years (Xbox 360 world magazine).


==Entrance==
==Entrance==
[[File:Halo3invite.jpg|Halo 3 Beta Special Invitation.|thumb|300px]]
 
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 programs 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.<ref>''[[Starry Night]]''</ref>
Phase One consisted of getting onto www.halo3.com after the ''[[Halo 3]]'' [[Starry Night]]'' CGI Trailer that aired on December 14, 2006<ref>http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/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 22–26, 2007.{{Ref/Reuse|First}}
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>http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?cid=9491"</ref>.


===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-day period beginning February 1 at 12:01 am EST and ending February 3 at 11:59 pm EST{{Ref/Reuse|First}} and had to be of 17 years of age or older.


Afterward, players signed up on www.halo3.com on February 5 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 invitation notification on February 11 or February 12 to participate in the multiplayer beta.{{Ref/Reuse|First}}
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>http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?cid=9491</ref> and had to be of 17 years of age or older.
 
Afterwards, 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>http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?cid=9491</ref>.


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.


===Phase Three: ''Crackdown''===
===Phase Three: ''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 invitation 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".
''[[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''. <ref name="http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?cid=9491" />


Also note that to play the ''Halo 3'' Beta, players must have had the ''Crackdown'' disc in their Xbox 360 console. Players could not rent the game to just play the beta, nor could they buy the game, download the Beta, and sell the game.<ref>[http://halo.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=9975389&postRepeater1-p=2#9981353 '''Bungie.net''': ''Crackdown Disc Bungie.net Forum Post'']</ref>
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, 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</ref>
 
==Details of the Beta==
The Halo 3 Beta began on May 16, 2007 and ended on June 10, 2007. In an interview with Game Informer, [[Brian Jarrard]] shared some details about the beta. Jarrard stated that there would be more than one map in the multiplayer beta, but far more than the beta has will be in the final game. As for [[weapons]] he stated that weapons such as the [[Spartan Laser]] and [[Spiker]] would be in it. He also said that vehicles would be added where needed, including the [[Mongoose]]. <ref>http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200703/N07.0315.1215.33382.htm</ref>
 
Bungie and Microsoft announced that the Beta would be released for download on May 16th, and would run until June 10th, presumably a sufficient time for Bungie to gather enough information to make the improvements necessary for the final game. Throughout the beta, Bungie looked on their forums for player feedback on the Public Beta. Included were three different maps: [[Snowbound]], [[Valhalla]] and [[High Ground]].
 
==Early Beta==
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.
 
Bungie and Microsoft hosted big press parties in New York, San Francisco, and London where the press could play and write up on their experiences. The press featured some of the best out there: IGN, Gamespot, and many more.
 
Videos and write ups of their gameplay experiences can be found at their sites.
 
The bad thing is that people were selling the codes on Ebay <ref>[[HBO]]</ref>


==Bugs and Errors==
==Bugs and Errors==
{{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, at 11:59 PM PDT (from June 6, 2007, which was the originally intended end date).
:''See the main article: [[Halo 3 Beta Errors]]''


==Secret Beta Warning Message==
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).
Amongst the coding in the ''Halo 3 Beta'', a warning was found hidden in the text. It's from the closed Beta, but was still buried in the open Beta's code. It was a warning to employees from across [[Microsoft]]'s studios against leaking footage. It reads:


{{Article quote| Do not show this to anyone. Do not show screenshots to anyone. Do not talk about this, post about this, blog about this, complain about this, brag about this, or write about this (outside the sanctity of our beloved BetaPlace, of course). Otherwise, ninjas will be sent to bring ruin on your house and your house's houses. And I don't mean those punkass run-of-the-mill MSNinjas. I mean the other ninjas. The cool ones. The ones on fire. Yeah. That's right.
==Included Features==
The Beta test featured the majority of features from the final multiplayer experience, though it has been hinted that not all will be shown. The features were:


Love, [[Bungie]]}}
===Weapons<ref>http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/787/787943p1.html</ref>===


This was placed in the coding of the closed Beta, and was meant to prevent staff from leaking footage or information about it. The open Beta, that was available to various players outside Bungie and Microsoft, still contained the code, although it was not meant for the open Beta.<ref>Xbox 360 World Magazine, August 2007</ref>
'''[[UNSC]]'''
*[[MA5C Assault Rifle]]
*[[BR55HB SR Battle Rifle]]
*[[AIE-486H Heavy Machinegun]]
*[[Missile Pod]]
*[[M41 Rocket Launcher|M41 SSR MAV/AW Rocket Launcher]]
*[[M90 Shotgun]]
*[[SRS99D Sniper Rifle|SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle]]
*[[Spartan Laser|W/AV M6 Grindell/Galileian Nonlinear Rifle]]
*[[M7 Caseless Sub Machine Gun]]
*[[Frag Grenade]]
*[[M6G Pistol]] (Only available through a glitch in the beta which allowed players to access custom games)


==Included Features==
'''[[Covenant]]'''
The Beta test featured the majority of features from the final Multiplayer experience. The features were:
*[[Brute Shot]]
*[[Beam Rifle]]
*[[Carbine]]
*[[Plasma Pistol]]
*[[Plasma Rifle]]
*[[Type-25 Carbine|Type-25 Carbine "Spiker"]]
*[[Plasma Grenade]]
*[[Spike Grenade]]
*[[Needler]]
*[[Energy Sword]] (only available through a glitch in the beta which allowed players to access custom games)


{{Featurelist|secondcolumn=title-5|title-1=Weapons|
===Vehicles<ref>http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/787/787943p1.html</ref>===
*[[AIE-486H machine gun]]
'''[[UNSC]]'''
*[[BR55HB battle rifle]]
*[[M12 Warthog LRV]]
*[[LAU-65D/SGM-151 missile pod]]
*[[Mongoose|M274 Mongoose ULATV]]
*[[M41 rocket launcher]]
*[[M6 Spartan Laser]]
*[[M6G magnum]] <small>(available through glitch)</small>
*[[M7 SMG]]
*[[M9 fragmentation grenade]]
*[[M90 shotgun|M90A shotgun]]
*[[MA5C assault rifle]]
*[[SRS99D-S2 AM sniper rifle]]
*[[Type-1 energy sword]] <small>(available through glitch)</small>
*{{Pattern|Anskum|plasma grenade}}
*[[Type-2 spike grenade]]
*[[Type-25 Brute Shot]]
*[[Type-25 plasma pistol]]
*{{Pattern|Okarda'phaa|plasma rifle}}
*[[Paegaas Workshop Spiker]]
*[[Type-33 Needler]]
*{{Pattern|Sulok|beam rifle}}
*{{Pattern|Vostu|carbine}}


|title-2=Vehicles|
'''[[Covenant]]'''
*[[M12 Chaingun Warthog]]
*[[Ghost (Vehicle)|Ghost]]
*[[M274 Mongoose]]
*[[Banshee]]
*[[Type-26 Banshee]]
*[[Wraith]] (Only available through a glitch, until it was added in the final week of the beta)
*{{Pattern|Zurdo|Wraith}} <small>(available through glitch)</small> {{citation needed}}
*{{Pattern|Karo'etba|Ghost}}


|title-3=Equipment|
===Equipment<ref>http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/787/787943p1.html</ref>===
*[[Bubble shield]]
[[Image:H3_Equipment.jpg|right|300px|thumb|A list of the various equipment available in the ''Halo 3 Beta''.]]
*[[Portable gravity lift]]
*[[Bubble Shield]]
*[[Power drain]]
*[[Portable Gravity Lift]]
*[[TR/9 trip mine]]
*[[Power Drainer]]
*[[Trip Mine]]


|title-4=Maps|
===Maps===
*[[High Ground]]
*[[High Ground]]
*[[Snowbound]]
*[[Snowbound]]
*[[Valhalla]]
*[[Valhalla]]


|title-5=Matchmaking|
===Matchmaking===
Features:
Features:
*"Party Up"
*"Party Up"
*"Veto"
*"Veto"


|title-6=Saved Films|
==Ranked Playlists:==
*'''Rumble Pit''' – All out action with you entering alone to play in Slayer, and some objective game types. Max party size: 1.
*'''Team Slayer''' – Enter alone or with a small group and you’ll be matched against another team of equal size in a small variety of Slayer variants. Team Size: 3-4. Max party size: 4
*'''Team Skirmish''' – Team based objectives are the order of the day here, everything from single flag CTF to Territories. Team Size: 3-4. Max party size: 4
*'''Big Team Battle''' – Just like it says. Big team based games on maps big enough to support them. In this case, that’s [[Valhalla]] and [[High Ground]]. Team Size: 5-6. Max party size: 6.
 
==Social Playlists:==
*'''Rumble Training''' – Just like Rumble Pit, but unranked. Max party size: 6
*'''Team Training''' – An unranked mixture of team-based games, with both Slayer and objective types. Team Size: 3-4. Max party size: 8
*'''BTB Training''' – An unranked version of Big Team Battle. Max party size: 12
*'''2V2 Training''' – Pint-sized teams battle each other for bragging rights and little else in this unranked playlist. Max party size: 4
 
===Saved Films===
Features:
Features:
*"File Share"
*"File Share"
*"Theater"
*"Theater"
}}
===Trivia===
 
*When some people first played the ''Halo 3 Beta'', the loading screen said "Love, Bungie", after the usual "Loading..." and "Halo 3 Beta".
==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".
*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 [[wikipedia:Photo manipulation#Photoshopping|photoshopped]] image of [[Marcus Lehto]].
*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 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 change in the final version was an artistic choice and not technical.<ref>[https://halo.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=38082528&postRepeater1-p=1#38082953 '''Bungie.Net Forum''' ''- Beta vs Final Graphics Comparison'']</ref>
*On May 11, both members of the press and people part of the "Friends and Family" program got the Beta 5 days before everyone else.


==Sources==
*On the map "[[High Ground]]" there is an easter egg where if you look at the smaller of the two monitors in the room next to the flag base an image of [[Cortana]] will flash on one of the screens.
{{Ref/Sources}}


{{Halo Testing}}
===Cheats===
* [http://www.cheatgenius.co.uk/cheats/14850/Xbox-360-cheats/Halo-3-Cheats.html Halo 3 Cheats - Cheat Genius]


[[Category:Halo 3]]
[[Category: Halo 3]]
[[Category: Halo 3 Beta]]

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