Walkthrough
The easter egg can be found on Rally Point Bravo of The Package, on the Legendary difficulty. The room can be found on the far right side of Halsey's lab entrance, (when facing the building where Halsey's lab is located) though the door will not open initially. Access to the room can be achieved by completing the objective without opening Halsey's door, then traveling to the end of the map directly opposite to the Lab entrance. Once across the bridge bear left to a caged area. Behind and below this cage, outside of the map's boundary, is a glowing green switch, which requires one to activate it and quickly get within the maps boundary again, lest the timer will expire and he or she will die.
There are two methods to hit the button that opens the Tribute Room. For the first method, the player must use a jetpack to fly from the top of the building down to where the switch is and hit the switch while hovering. The second and much easier method is by using sprint. Once the player reaches the cage-like area, they must sprint around the building, or they may be killed by the death barrier. Once they hit the switch, then they must again sprint around the building and jump over the fence to survive, or in co-op, the person who hits the switch can choose to die and respawn. Due to the difficulty of this task it is recommended to complete the level on split screen or online with a friend, to prevent being sent back to the checkpoint upon every unsuccessful attempt. It is possible to survive using either method.
Once the switch has been pressed, all of your AI allies (Carter, Jun and Emile) will disappear and 7 Elite Generals will leave through the door. They can run very fast, but they will only attack with swords and grenades and so are relatively easy to defeat. After entering through the door and at the far end of the room, you will be teleported to the corridor from the level's ending cutscene, with your loadout switched to the Assault Rifle, no ammo or grenades, and no armor ability.
Description
The room itself is Dr. Catherine Halsey's lab from the level's ending cinematic. As the player enters the chamber, two songs can be heard on a loop: one is Siege of Madrigal, which marks the second time in the game (the first being the Club Errera Easter egg), and the other is From the Vault, a song unique to the Tribute Room that plays various pieces of other songs from the Halo series.
Inside the Tribute Room are seven databases that hold a collection of information in the form of textual documents, similar to the data pads. The documents, mostly written from Halsey's point of view, reference to Bungie-related topics, most of them dedicated to the fan community; the Seventh Column, Halo.bungie.org, Red vs. Blue, Warthog Jump and the Bungie.net forum moderators. One terminal is dedicated for Bungie's charity projects, including "Fight the Flood" after hurricane Katrina in 2005 and "Be a Hero" during the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Several Bungie- and Halo-related posters can be seen in the hidden chamber: A picture of Spartan-117 rushing the beach in the Silent Cartographer Level from Halo: Combat Evolved, a Halo 2 launch poster featuring the Master Chief dual-wielding a pair of SMGs, a landscape image of Master Chief standing with his weapon in the alert position in Halo 3's Sierra 117 level, and the first frame of the opening cutscene from Halo 3: ODST. Bungie's "carnage zone" warning sign can be seen on the wall near the entrance, and a picture with Ling-Ling's head is shown on one of the desks.[1] A picture of Marty O'Donnell and Jason Jones can also be found, as well as a photo of Bungie's 7 Steps to World Domination, Halo 3: ODST's title screen, and a Bungie "Don't Make Us Kick Your Ass" logo placed on a desk. Multiple Xbox 360s can also be seen in the room, under one of the terminals. The consoles are upside down and their lights are colored blue instead of the actual green. Dr. Halsey's personal journal can be found next to Cortana's terminal, which also has a screen that displays an exchange between Cortana and Halsey, concerning Cortana's transfer to another storage unit. There is a door switch next to the room's entrance - activating the switch will trigger the ending cutscene, completing the mission.
Databases
Red vs Blue
SUBJECT: RvB [CIV] KNOWN ASSOC.: Burns B, Hullum M, Ramsey G, Gustavo S, Saldana J, et al. This one and his cohorts have piqued my curiosity with their incessant puppeteering. While we busy ourselves bending all of this technology in service of the war, they twist and contort the public message of our effort into something else. I'll admit, like the massive menagerie of men and women that now hang on their every word, I've laughed at their antics on more than one occasion. I find their incessant mockery and immaturity strangely cathartic, even if I cannot help but question whether or not this protracted war has wreaked irreversible harm and havoc upon these poor souls' sanity.
halo.bungie.org
SUBJECT: HBO[CIV]KNOWN ASSOC.: Errera C, Chavez M, Morden B I've been keeping my eyes on this faction for years now. I'm now officially impressed. For a civilian, Errera and his compatriots have assembled quite the network of like-minded individuals - and cobbled together more than their fair share of illicit technology. If I didn't know better, I'd call them a militia. Daily they scour public, private and military systems in search of data relevant to their cause. Daily they bring more men and women to their cause. The fact that they continue to do so is impressive, but ultimately it is their passion and perseverance that could make them a potent and potentially powerful ally in this war. I wonder what kind of mess they could make if I cut out the middle man and provide them direct access to my internal systems. I can't wait to find out.
7th Column
SUBJECT: Seventh Column [COMM] My dim lab is only a tiny spec inside this cavernous icy hollow, but my work demands a monumental share of time and energy. It is all too easy to convince myself that I am toiling alone here in the bowels of Reach, yet I know that there are thousand upon thousands of men and women who may be affected by my work. It's comforting to know that so many are willing to reach back and make the connection. I am inspired. I am... happy. Moreover, I am grateful.
Warthog Jump
SUBJECT: Jump Program [MIL] When I initially caught wind of this new 'training protocol', I didn't believe a word. Military types, despite their devotion to structure - or perhaps because of it - enjoy the respite offered by tall tales. So, I assumed the field reports of a man and his "flying pig" were owed to such phenomena. Using fragmentation grenades to lift an M12 sounded too much like a fairy tale. But as it's said, seeing is believing - and this particular Marine managed to catch his acrobatic antics on film. It's a shame my program only ran for a single generation and that its specification so rigid. In another life, this one might have made a hell of a Spartan. He certainly should recommended for the ODST. I'll be flagging this file for investigation. It's too risky to have this Marine out in the field. If his foolish actions go unchecked, I suspect we may see dozens if not hundreds of emulators in the future.
Charity projects
SUBJECT: 'Fight the Flood,' 'Be a Hero' [COMM] Humanity never ceases to amaze me. In the face of despair, many among us respond only with generosity. Curious given our species' predilection to succumb to the "base" emotions. I find it comforting to see that there is still a sense of camaraderie and compassion instilled in many among us, even though, as a whole, we regrettably still segregate ourselves voluntarily via a wealth of meaningless artificial constructs.
HFCS
SUBJECT: HFCS [CLASSIFIED] My friends in the field. Trusted eyes and ears walking among the masses. They've become invaluable to me over the years, though at times they've proven themselves to be less than delicate. Heavy-handed though they are, they've earned my respect and admiration. I fear that may be the only payment they ever extract from me.
I Like Pie
SUBJECT: I LIKE PIE Curious. I don't recall opening this file. Perhaps I have a security breach?
Trivia
- There are 7 Sangheili Generals guarding the entrance into the room, and 7 Databases referencing Bungie's fandom, an obvious reference to "7".
- On the screen next to the Xboxes, there is concept art of NOBLE Team.
- Although you have no ammunition, you can still melee. You can melee other players to disable their shields, but they cannot be killed.
- If played on co-op though, if a player is killed in anyway outside the room while another player is in the room, they can spawn in the room and are treated as a normal character and thus have ammo, and can be killed.
- There is a screen that has the faces of every current Noble Team member with their corresponding names below. Their pictures in question are taken from an early concept art piece, only now tinted in black and white. Starting from the right, panning to the left the images begin to fade. Next to Emile, there is a completely blank spot labeled "YOU!" where the name would be, referencing the fact that you are Noble Six.
- There are several Easter egg pictures in the room as well, such as a picture of Marty O'Donnell when he was younger and Jason Jones (one of Bungie's founders and initial Halo project lead) sitting on the floor in his underwear.
- The terminal with "I LIKE PIE" is actually a picture from Bungie Day 2009's playlist Bungie vs. world.
- If someone were to activate the door that triggers the cutscene, then all players will appear in the room for a short while, during which time the screen will darken, leading up to the cutscene.
- Players can save a video of the room in Theater, effectively allowing them to visit the room whenever they wish. However, even in first-person view, the content of the databases will not appear on screen.
- If you trigger the cutscene and then start reading a database, there is a glitch that will make the text persist on screen during the cutscene
- Accessing the Tribute Room in Halo: The Master Chief Collection will unlock the This is Not the Greatest Lab in the World… achievement, which is a direct reference to the song Tribute by the band Tenacious D.
- You do not need to kill the generals in order to access the room. Simply use a Mongoose and drive into the teleportation zone.
Gallery
Entrance to Dr. Halsey's lab.
A view of the lab overlooking the Forerunner artifact.
Dr. Halsey's journal next to Cortana's terminal.
The Xboxes in the room.
A terminal showing an exchange between Cortana and Halsey.
A screen showing the status of Noble Team, along with portraits based on early concept art.
A poster of Ling-Ling's head.
The Seven Elite Generals.
A General leads the horde.
Sources
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