Real World

Halo Wars Launch Site

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The Covenant side of the site

The Halo Wars Launch Site was a website used to market Halo Wars before the release of the game. It contained the viewpoints of the United Nations Space Command and Covenant about the Harvest campaign. This happens between the events of Halo Wars: Genesis and Halo Wars.[1]

Overview[edit]

The interface was the planet Harvest rotating, and you were given a choice. This choice was if you wanted to view the UNSC side or the Covenant side.

  • UNSC side - You got a blue colored interface with Serina narrating the text in the interface.
  • Covenant side - You got a purple colored interface with the Prophet of Regret narrating the text in the interface.

Once you picked a side, you got to pick a location on the rotating Harvest. If you hovered over the location the relevant sides narrator will tell a bit of info about what was happening. This was key points where both sides was having operations in. In these areas there was an animation of what was happening in that location with some points you could click. These points were text boxes with story tidbits, some of these were even voiced by the relevant character in Halo Wars.

Transcripts[edit]

Note: The following is an exact transcript of the entire text from the Halo Wars Launch site. It is copied directly, and is not speculative.
HWLS Microsite halowars.jpg
UNSC side
Halo Wars UNSC side.jpg
UNSC / SPIRIT OF FIRE

sof.ao.ai.serina

tac com sys – 14159

Clearance Granted __________________________________________________________________________________ VOICE REGONITION

TRACKING SYSTEM | GPS.001.569.824

PLANETERY CYCLE | 17.5 SOL HRS

Geo Synchronous Rotation Established

Orbital decay - 009.0028°

Safety Margin +4.078

ACTIVE TRANSLATION | MKVII

waiting...

Five years. Five long years. That is how long we have fought. We have beaten the Covenant and taken back Harvest back. The price was high, but worth it. One question remains: What more does the Covenant have planned for Harvest?

HWLS UNSC Alpha Base.png
Hornet squadron heading to Rally Point Baker to rendezvous with main UNSC battle group.

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND

INCOMING REQUEST//CIV STATUS

On your way to Rally Point Baker, can you swing north by 4 degrees and take a peek at the Eastern slopes? I got some unexpected readings on the EM band up there and would appreciate some aerial perspective on it.

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND

>Encrypted link to ONI databank\\

PSYCH EVAL: SGT. FORGE

Subject excels at tactics and combat. As a foot soldier he is indispensible to our current needs. I would recommend denying all promotions, but his predictable pattern of insubordination saves us the trouble. Curiously, still have not been able to determine the significance of the playing card attached to his shoulder pad.

HWLS UNSC Forge leaving.png
Sgt. Forge is on long-range patrol.

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND

SECURE COM CHANNEL

Sweeping through quadrant 4 again. No sign of that battalion of Elites the Hornets spotted earlier. Are you sure they were this far north? There’s nothing up here but ice and colder ice. If they are here, they must have found something. They glassed Utgard and everywhere else, but leave the North Pole untouched? Doesn’t add up.

HWLS UNSC Base1.png
Defensive turrets 1 and 2 upgrade coming on line now. Flamethrower fuel ratio optimized. Forward interrogation room is fully operational.

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND

INCOMING TRANSMISSION

Commander Figueroa, I understand your concerns about the production timetables. But time is not a luxury we have. Epsilon base needs to be fully operational by week’s end. Remind the men what’s at stake. They’re fighting not just for Harvest, but all the colonies. And Theo, I wouldn’t have asked this out of you if I didn’t think you were the best man for the job, Cutter out.

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND

PRISONER #0005849784A

Been at it for three hours now, but this Grunt ain’t gonna crack. He’s like all the other little whack jobs we captured. They just run their mouths constantly about ‘heretics’ and ‘journeys.’ I doubt they even know what they are looking for up North. And that stink. Somebody tell me why we only capture aliens who breathe pressurized methane?

HWLS UNSC Base2.png
Warthog production is at 71% efficiency. Running optimization algorithm now.

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND

ATTENTION MOTOR POOL:

Starting at 1600 hours, all production of M41 LAAG weapon mount and assembly will cease. They will be replaced with M68 Gauss Cannons. New specifications have already been uploaded to the machine shops. All Warthog gunners must complete weapon recertification before their next patrol.

HWLS UNSCCovie Battle2.png
A large contingent of Grunts are flanking from the west.

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND

MAINTENANCE REQUEST

Could you please tell your drivers to stop running down Covenant? Their guts gum up the manifold and it takes forever to clean the grill. It’s already hard enough keeping the Warthogs working with all your reckless driving, without spending hours wiping orange ooze off the axel. Turrets are on the back for a reason. Use them.

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND

OUTGOING MESSAG

Dr. Roman,

It is with great sorrow that I must inform you that your daughter, Helena Roman, died in an engagement against the Covenant. While I can’t go into detail regarding her death, be assured that your daughter was a rare solder. As tank commander she gained the respect of not only the men serving under her but myself as well. She pitched in, made a difference, and you should be proud of your daughter’s sacrifice. She will be dearly missed.

Regretfully,

Captain Cutter

HWLS UNSCCovie Battle1.png
We’re taking heavy casualties but the Cyclops are holding their own.

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND

TAC-EVAL UPDATE IV

Admiral– the initial trial of the new Cyclops are promising. They perform remarkably well in the field and the learning curve for pilots is low. On paper, the Spartans are a technically superior unit, but the lower costs to build and train the Cyclops tips the scale in their favour. Also, I’ve noticed the troops feel more ‘comfortable’ around a Cyclops. Captain Cutter signing off.

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND

KEIICHI-047 SELF_DIAGNOSTIC

SPIRITOFFIRE.SP.KEIICHI-047>> The upgraded neural implant is causing some minor feedback on the com link. Reaction times have improved significantly though; probably just need a little tweak. Can you check it out next time I get an ‘oil change?’

SPIRITOFFIRE.SO.AI.SERINA>> Easy fix. I’ll prepare a sub-routine at your next diagnostic. If you run into Professor Anders, she might do the adjustments on the spot. Just her ask nicely.

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND

BATTLE GROUP PHI DEBRIEF-0820039

Cutter-

The enemy advance is completely contained. We’re just mopping up the remnants now. To be honest, it was more rout than fight, which is unusual for the Covenant. Why are they suddenly committing forces out here without any logistical support? No baces, no depots. It’s suicide. I can’t see the strategic value. They’re using a different playbook than us and I don’t like that.

Captain Jenkins.

Related marketing[edit]

There was a website "sidebar ad" created that linked to this website. It featured the tagline "Battles take soldiers but wars need leaders", with a small interactive section where the user can MAC blast a Scarab.[2]

Production notes[edit]

The site was made by the team at AKQA. The site featured a rotating Harvest that utilized the Papervision3D of Adobe Flash to render interactive points of interest which rotated in sync with a rendered video of Harvest.[3]

The model for the planet Harvest used on the site was created in Maya by Matthew Law. He also created the transitions to the surface and ensured they seamlessly flowed into footage captured from the game itself.[4]

The surface terrain was made using locations from Campaign and Multiplayer maps from Halo Wars. The levels from the campaign that were used was Relic Approach, and Alpha Base. The maps from the multiplayer that were used was Chasms, Terminal Moraine, and Frozen Valley. Nate Riley also made the Halo Wars posters that were unlockable on the website.[5]

Antonio Gomez a creative developer worked on the site and its "sidebar ad".[2] Adam Marrs a Computer Scientist also worked on the project.[3]

Gallery[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ halo.xbox.com, Halo Wars Launch Site: (Defunct) (Retrieved on Jun 1, 2009) [archive]
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b electricbulb.com, Xbox360 - Halo Wars (Retrieved on Oct 29, 2020) [archive]
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b visualextract.com, Projects: Halo Wars, AKQA, 2009 (Retrieved on Oct 29, 2020) [archive]
  4. ^ matthewlaw.blogspot.co.uk, Halo Wars: Monday, February 9, 2009 (Retrieved on Oct 29, 2020) [archive]
  5. ^ cargocollective.com, Halo Wars Dive In (Retrieved on Oct 29, 2020) [archive]

See also[edit]