Communication tower
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
The Banished operate communication towers, also known as communication pylons,[1] that serve as communication relays for their battle-net.[2] While they are typically used for communication between commanders in the field, some serve as propaganda towers that broadcast propaganda.[3]
Overview[edit]
Design details[edit]
Serving as both short-range relays and long-range broadcasters, communication towers are distributed across Banished-occupied territory to create a proselytization network for transmitting messages during battle. The towers route protected communiqué through the Banished battle-net, enabling instantaneous communication and coordination by commanders in the field. Some communication towers also broadcast stories of valor and news of impending victory to raise morale among Banished troops, in complement of propaganda totems that broadcast Atriox's speeches. Regardless of their function, however, all of the towers join together to form the Banished battle-net; as such, destruction of any one could impair local communications.[2]
History[edit]
During the Battle for Zeta Halo, the Banished set up at least forty propaganda towers on the fragmented section of the ring, which were operated by Glibnub, an Unggoy communications officer.[3] Glibnub constantly broadcasted taunting and demoralizing messages to the surviving UNSC personnel.[4] These messages typically contained unverifiable statements, half-truths, or outright lies (such as the Master Chief merely killed "four Grunts in an Escharum suit"), and occasionally the Unggoy officer would simply air some personal grievance instead, such as him being upset over the towers being destroyed.[3] Glibnub's obnoxious broadcast has made him a "Most Wanted" target among UNSC survivors,[4] and even Ciar 'Yaham, a studymaster in the Banished, was relieved by the sight of a destroyed tower.[1]
In-game information[edit]
- "The Banished have built an extensive network of propaganda broadcasting towers across this fragment of the Ring. Destroy them all."
- — TACMAP description[5]
In Halo Infinite's campaign, the player has the option of destroying these towers, weakening the Banished's influence in the area and earning valor. Destroying a tower earns the player 10 valor points. There are a total of 40 towers on the map. Destroying the first tower rewards the Please Shut Up achievement, while destroying all 40 of them rewards the player with the Off the Air achievement.[3]
For a list of Glibnub's propaganda tower voice lines, see here.
Production notes[edit]
- The propaganda towers originally only made a mechanical sound, but the developers decided to add more personality to the towers, hence the creation of Glibnub and his dialogue.[6]
- One message states that the Banished have calculated that a human dies on Zeta Halo every eight minutes. This may have been inspired by a real World War II radio broadcast from a Red Army propaganda station directed to the Germans on Christmas day in 1942, stating "every seven seconds, a German dies in Stalingrad."
Gallery[edit]
A group of Banished infantry standing guard around a communications tower.
A communications tower on the surface of Installation 07.
A communications tower.
A destroyed communications tower.
List of appearances[edit]
- Halo Infinite (First appearance)
- Halo: The Rubicon Protocol (Mentioned only)
- Halo: Whispers from the Pyre (Mentioned only)
Sources[edit]
- ^ a b Halo: Whispers from the Pyre
- ^ a b Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 441
- ^ a b c d Halo Infinite, Propaganda Tower in-game structures
- ^ a b Halo: The Rubicon Protocol, chapter 21
- ^ Halo Infinite, TACMAP
- ^ Twitter, Joseph Staten (@joestaten): "Now that #HaloInfinite is out, I can explain that this was a reference to a change we made to the Banished “communication towers.” They originally didn’t have any VO, just a cool mechanical sound, and we thought they could use a little more Grover-ish personality aka #Glibnub." (Retrieved on Dec 10, 2021) [archive]
