Talk:Gamma Station

Name?

I made the change from "Reach Station Gamma" as named in Halo: The Fall of Reach to "Gamma Station" as mentioned in Halo: Reach because it's dialogue in a game. But the latest press release also states "Orbital Station Gamma". So it's all a matter of which we follow, does new canon trump old canon?, games greater priority than books?, or does the mention of "Station Gamma" in two sources, indicate it should be appropriately named "Station Gamma"? --Asian Inferno 03:20, 15 February 2011 (EST)

Firstly, it would be appreciated if you added a proposal to rename before actually carrying out the act of renaming it. You never know what could go wrong. Secondly, all iterations of the title refers to the station, so I think we should go with the most frequent used title, which I supposed in this matter should be Station Gamma.— subtank 08:24, 15 February 2011 (EST)

For me, it seems that "Reach Station Gamma" is the complete title while "Station Gamma" is used if there's no chance of confusing it with another station in orbit over another planet. Also, just because something is referred to with a different name doesn't mean the old name has been retconned away. Consider all the things in the real world which have more than one acceptable title. --Jugus (Talk | Contribs) 08:39, 15 February 2011 (EST)

I'll keep that in mind, but I was also going off the current Halopedian Canon policy which still states game over novels and press releases. Shouldn't that be changed? Game quote is: ATC 1 (COM): "Gamma Station Control, reading multiple pings below the Orbital Defense Grid!" - LNoS level --Asian Inferno 17:51, 15 February 2011 (EST)

Take note that "Game over Novels" should be considered, but it is not always the case. Things like gameplay balance negates the validity of game canon. Back in topic; it is not really an issue as long as every iteration of the title is redirected to this article. — subtank 18:04, 15 February 2011 (EST)

Just because it appears in a game, it isn't necessarily a more proper title. You also have to consider context. The radio operator likely said "Gamma Station" instead of "Reach Station Gamma" because of the situation; there was no point to say the full title because everyone probably knew what station he was referring to. Besides, the canon policy is more of a guideline to solve things that may contradict with each other while here, they're just using a different name. --Jugus (Talk | Contribs) 08:26, 16 February 2011 (EST)

Gamma Station multiplayer orientation/location

Gamma Station damage graphic

In looking at the station in more detail for an upcoming update to my scale article, I'm trying to accurately size out Gamma Station as well as find the location of the playable area in multiplayer and I'm soliciting opinions on the matter.

First off, size. It was mentioned as far back as the first novel that Gamma Station was 3km in diameter. If the station had been realized in Reach multiplayer as a perfect circle this would be easy. There seems to be ship berths sticking out in a couple of places. Is the majority circular structure approximately 3km across or should the widest point to widest point of the station (as it exists in the map Condemned) be 3km? I'm leaning towards the former, as I'd surmise the ship berths can retract and extend, so the station's diameter is the rough diameter of the bulk of the station. Thoughts?

Secondly, I'm wondering as to the orientation and location of the playable Condemned spaces. In an examination of the full holographic model within the station's Comm room makes me want to place the playable area in the area on the map to the right in the area that's showing damage but that is not highlighted in the graphic. (Note thee are 4 data points highlighting damage and a 5th reddish section showing damage with no data point.) That structure has a conical shape at the top nicely matching the top of the central reactor core in the multiplayer map. I'm curious as to orientation as well. most of the station has windows around it. Which point inwards towards the center of the station and which point outwards? It's not as easy as it sounds.

Thanks for any opinions. I'll continue to work on it. -ScaleMaster117 (talk) 22:17, 4 May 2014 (EDT)

From The Fall of Reach, I always assumed the station's decks were oriented much like in traditional proposals for space stations to provide an approximation of gravity through centripetal force (was this ever stated in the book?). From Condemned, however, I got the impression that the floor is parallel to the ring plane. Hard to tell, though, since the station's not seen intact (though the readout image supports the latter interpretation). As for the diameter, I definitely believe the 3km figure can be interpreted as a rough approximate. The novels rarely provide exact numbers for anything.--Jugus (Talk | Contribs) 01:05, 7 May 2014 (EDT)

Thank you for the input. I also believed the deck structure was horizontal to the plane of the diameter, as suggested by the hologram. The panels that stick out from the bulk of the station could be shipbuilding scaffolding or a solar array or comm dishes for all I know, but they look like they can be retracted, suggesting a proper 3km diameter of that section. With the extensions, the station comes out to more like 4.2km in maximum length.

Can you suggest an orientation for the Condemned area of game play? The comm room looks out onto burning Reach, so is this room on the outer side of the station or inner? When you move slightly around the station, you can see broken components of the station 'listing lazily to the left'. Which part of the station are we seeing the inner portion and which the exterior? It's very confusing. -ScaleMaster117 (talk) 08:19, 7 May 2014 (EDT)