Mombasa Tether: Difference between revisions

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[[Image:SpaceElevator.jpg|thumb|The space elevator as seen during the Halo 2 campaign, with [[Prophet of Regret|Regret's]] flagship holding position nearby]]
[[Image:SpaceElevator.jpg|thumb|The space elevator as seen during the Halo 2 campaign, with [[Prophet of Regret|Regret's]] flagship holding position nearby]]
The space elevator is visible throughout all the [[Earth]] levels of the game, first as a thin line on the horizon in [[Outskirts]], then later as a ringed tower in the skyline of [[Metropolis]]. Only at the end of that level is the player offered an unobstructed view of the structure from across the artificial canal.
The space elevator is visible throughout all the [[Earth]] levels of the game, first as a thin line on the horizon in [[Outskirts]], then later as a ringed tower in the skyline of [[Metropolis]]. Only at the end of that level is the player offered an unobstructed view of the structure from across the artificial canal.
At the end of the campaign level [[Metropolis]], the flagship of the [[Prophet of Regret]] flees into [[slipspace]] with the ''[[In Amber Clad]]'' in hot pursuit. This in-atmosphere jump unleashes a wave of energy that scours the area, toppling the elevator and wrecking much of the city.


==Halo 3==
==Halo 3==

Revision as of 14:41, September 27, 2008

Template:Ratings

Screenshot of the 3D space tether model seen in the end cutscene for the Halo 2 campaign level "Metropolis", with alternate sky and water textures edited in.
The New Mombasa Orbital Elevator

"The Mombasa space elevator!"
"It collapsed when the city got glassed."
"But the tower was thousands of kilometers high..."
"Yeah, but now it's scattered all over the savanna.
"
— Two Marines discussing the fate of the Space Elevator.

The New Mombasa Orbital Elevator is a large space elevator located at the heart of the East African Protectorate city of New Mombasa on Earth. It is used for lifting heavy ordinance from the surrounding port facilities into an orbital station at the top of the elevator structure, a transport method much cheaper and more efficient than booster rockets filled with expensive fuel.

As a cheap gateway to space, the elevator is the key to New Mombasa's economic and strategic importance. The presence of the elevator radically changed the structure of the city -- service roads and a Mag-lev line radiate out from its base, connecting it to nearby warehouses and factories, while a large artificial canal has been dug through the city center to provide more docking space for incoming cargo vessels. And it was this influx of business and trade brought in by the elevator that made New Mombasa the metropolis it was by the time of the Covenant invasion.

Halo 2

The space elevator as seen during the Halo 2 campaign, with Regret's flagship holding position nearby

The space elevator is visible throughout all the Earth levels of the game, first as a thin line on the horizon in Outskirts, then later as a ringed tower in the skyline of Metropolis. Only at the end of that level is the player offered an unobstructed view of the structure from across the artificial canal.

At the end of the campaign level Metropolis, the flagship of the Prophet of Regret flees into slipspace with the In Amber Clad in hot pursuit. This in-atmosphere jump unleashes a wave of energy that scours the area, toppling the elevator and wrecking much of the city.

Halo 3

File:H3 Outskirts 1.jpg
The elevator's stabilizer rings lie shattered on the savanna in this concept art for Tsavo Highway.

The elevator was not seen again until the Halo 3 Announcement Trailer, in which several of its stabilizer rings lay shattered in the background hills. Concept art from the Halo 3 Zune confirmed that the wreckage of the space elevator would play an important part in the design of the Earth levels.

The elevator did make an appearance in the final game, with the player fighting through its ruins throughout Tsavo Highway and even hearing some dialogs concerning its fate from Marine allies. The detritus of the elevator is presumably cleaned up by the end of the game, as its rings are not seen in the background of the final Earth-based cutscenes.