Gameplay

High Noon

From Halopedia, the Halo wiki

High Noon
Promotional image for Halo: Reach Anniversary Map Pack featuring the multiplayer map High Noon. From the Halo: Reach press kit.
Map overview

Game:

Halo: Reach

Map file name (?):

cex_hangemhigh[1]

Lore information

Location:

Forerunner slipspace portal generator facility,[2] Reach[3]

Gameplay overview

Terrain:

Multi-leveled building

Recommended number of players:

4-12

Recommended gametype(s):

 
Despite millennia of abandonment, transportation facilities like this one continue to function flawlessly.

High Noon is a multiplayer map included in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and the Anniversary Map Pack for Halo: Reach. It is the remake of Hang 'Em High from Halo: Combat Evolved.[2]

Universe and lore[edit]

Main article: Menachite portal complex

High Noon is set inside a massive Forerunner portal generator complex on Reach, which powers an enormous slipspace portal connected with an unknown number of locations across the galaxy and the Ark outside it.[3][4][5] Passage through this system requires a Forerunner keyship.[2]

The playable area itself is an observation platform, barely sheltered from a storm raging just outside, creating a whirlwind of dust and debris around the center of the portal. Part of the structures in the playable space is also partially covered in sand.[2]

Overview[edit]

Layout[edit]

High Noon retains the general layout of Hang 'Em High, though it appears that the locations of red and blue bases have been swapped.

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Callouts[edit]

The following are locations on the map that are so named on the player's heads-up display during gameplay:

  • Red Base
  • Red Bunker
  • Red Tunnels
  • Blue Base
  • Blue Bunker
  • Blue Tunnels
  • Overlook
  • Overlook Room
  • Portal Overlook
  • Portal Footbridge
  • Central Area
  • Covered Ramp
  • Lower Catwalk
  • Upper Catwalk
  • Outer Catwalk
  • Trench
  • Construct of Mordia
  • Overlook Footbridge
  • Long Ramp

Production notes[edit]

According to 343 Industries, the map's setting and aesthetic went through a number of iterations before the decision to use a Forerunner theme. For the map, Certain Affinity and 343 Industries' Franchise team did a significant amount of exploration on the architecture and mechanics of Forerunner technology.[2] The map was later revealed in 2020's Halo: Shadows of Reach to be a portal complex situated on Reach leading to the Ark—confirmed as such by 343 Industries' Jeff Easterling.[3]

Trivia[edit]

  • The map's name references the 1952 western film High Noon. Hang 'Em High itself also references to another western film called Hang 'Em High, which was released in 1968.
  • An Easter egg can be found at the base of the middle structure (labelled "Construct of Mordia") reading "In Memory of Peter Marks", the original creator of Hang 'Em High.
  • It is to be noted that while on Forge, the cubic Forerunner objects seemingly planted in the ground are known as "tombstones", meaning that there is a possibility that this is a Forerunner burial ground. Alternatively, it might be a reference to the Halo 2 remake of Hang 'Em High, Tombstone, or the description of the original Hang 'Em High, which read "tombstones for everyone".
  • A screenshot of Hang 'Em High can be found the on the floor of Lower Catwalk just above Blue Bunker and almost directly below the hologram.

Gallery[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ Halo: Reach Editing Kit, game file HREK\tags\levels\dlc\cex_hangemhigh\cex_hangemhigh.scenario
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Halo Waypoint, The Halo Bulletin: 11/9/11 (Retrieved on Nov 20, 2011) [archive]
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Reddit, Halo Shadows of Reach Spoiler Discussion Thread: "Been waiting to see who might catch this. ;)" - Jeff Easterling (Retrieved on Jun 1, 2020) [archive]
  4. ^ Halo: Shadows of Reach, chapter 21
  5. ^ Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Point Taken: "That’s right, the location of the map High Noon is none other than the recently-revealed portal complex on Reach" (Retrieved on Jun 1, 2020) [archive]