What Made Forerunner Structures Special | Halo Retrospective

[@misternolife2018]

I think what made the Forerunner structures interesting is how they seem to be built upon a natural environment. The Halo rings have snow, grass, rain, and sand and the way the Forerunner fit in with the surrounding environment appears as if it's trying to co-exist with the environment rather than take it over. The technology is apart of and respects the environment. It's almost kind of a metaphor for real life. Us humans have become so attached to technology that we have almost started ignoring/destroying nature itself whereas the forerunners have realized a way both can exist and even compliment each other. Maybe I'm looking too deep into it but it goes to show that you can tell what type of people the forerunners were all because of how their personality bleed over into their creations.

[@maroonmedia6426]

No man I definitely agree with you. It's one of those little things that made (and still does) make the Forunners so special to me. Especially as a kid.

[@ducko1988]

Agree

[@JesuSoup]

Yea Cortana mentions that in the mission Regret how they built around it almost to honor it

[@chrissonofpear3657]

That works for me. We were also never sure if those buildings on Regret were early Forerunner ruins (in 343 terms, perhaps closer to when they and humans were a common species?) The way the buildings blend in helps to establish an antiquity feel, and a hint of fantasy genre melded with the sci-fi.

[@MonocleMAYHEM18]

I never thought about this before until you brought it up. But it's profound enough to not be regarded as overthinking. a wise old man once said... "You may not have noticed it, but your brain did"

[@linusorm]

Funnily enough the reason why the Forerunner structures are special to me is almost opposite of yours! :O What made the Forerunner structures special to me is their generally cold nature. They remind me of how the City of Rome looks like now. Back in the day, Rome used to have *a lot* of colours, everywhere. But over time that colour faded. That is the vibe I get from Forerunner structures. That the hundreds of thousands of years before the games, those structures could have been brimming with life. There could have been colour, art, people everywhere. But now, eons later, it's all cold, dead. It reflects the Forerunner as a species. To me, it truly embeds the idea that the age of the Forerunners are truly over, and the time of the reclaimers is nigh. Like I said on Twitter, The Forerunners are mysterious, powerful, and gone. This & the fact that their structures are cold gives me the creeps. They held mysteries I think is better to leave unanswered. A lot of the time the magic is gone when you're shown how it occurs.

[@OpposingReflection]

I almost wish we never saw what they looked like.. the forerunners. The strange angelic nature of their atmosphere was so enthralling. It still is. I had many day dreams of what they were like. All based on the music, and what they left behind in the galaxy

[@chrissonofpear3657]

Well, since they have much variation in their phenotype and facial features, there doesn't need to be a fixed 'look' for them altogether. Although we can all agree the Didact ended up making himself too ugly prior to his imprisonment in Halo 4.

[@grantlauzon5237]

OpposingReflection You could probably assume that they were about as tall as a human based on the doors and button heights. It would be neat if consoles would rise up from the floor to meet the player or if doors were really tall but would open to just over the players height. That way any species could explore Forerunner structures and it wouldn’t hint to the size or shape of the Forerunners.

[@OpposingReflection]

@@grantlauzon5237 dude yes!!!

[@OpposingReflection]

@@grantlauzon5237 I also love how most tech involving the forerunners also included landscape.. like integrating vegetation and cliffs with the tech

[@chrissonofpear3657]

Some were around 7 feet, but some were up to 16, per 343's take.

[@ubermaster134]

This video made me kind of nostalgic for some reason.

[@iBravoArbiter]

Would you say it was...ICONIC?

[@1337GameDev]

4:42 - Compare THIS halo 3 frame, with the prior halo 4 one. They are similar, in a lot of ways, yet halo 4 feels odd, and halo 3 feels familiar, yet mysterious. The problem? The chrome, SUPER intricate "circuit" detail (halo 3 had the right amount, and halo 4 felt a bit over-board), the lens flair BRIGHT lighting all contribute to this. Take the halo 4 image, and replace the chrome with steel, bronze and copper, make the lights not have as much glare and be softer and remove the SUPER intricate "circuit" designs and make them "slight" accents instead. Then tone down reflections. THAT looks forerunner. That's the issue. The newer games depart from the established and great design. The older styles didn't feel "perfect" or pristine. They felt like REALISTIC (no REAL race would make everything chrome, especially in hurried construction of halo rings, it's just wasteful) surfaces, that we could discover of an ancient alien race TODAY. It was relatable. 343 simply needs to tone down the lights, reflections, floaty bits, chrome, and go with a more "mysterious" color palette that feels relatable. Forerunner were practical first, luxurious 2nd (and their luxury areas were done tastefully and not over-the-top).

[@Twisted_Logic]

This right here. I also want to emphasize the floaty bits. If any exist at all it should be to emphasize something very important/powerful. I can't stand how the Prometheans' aesthetic is "bright lights and floaty things".

[@wilburforce8046]

Yep. Exactly

[@chrissonofpear3657]

It does make for a very limited palette and style for them. Also, the occasional green lighting of chambers can feel 'off'.

[@greencaffeineupsb1728]

I think the differences between these two frames has more to do with the ceiling height and the angle the angled structures have. In the Halo 3 frame, the architecture is much more boxy, with angled pieces at 45 degree angles; it creates a more closed-in feel. In the Halo 4 image, the architecture is much more "cathedral"-like, with tall, shallow-angled pieces and and a very high ceiling; the vertical lines in the room are much more accentuated.

[@LateNightHalo]

Green Caffeine UPSB yeah, it’s unfair to compare a tiny room to a large room and criticize the large room for not looking so boxed-in. Halo 4’s design doc even uses a lot of Bungie concept art from CE to influence their forerunner designs

[@lukeskywalkerthe2nd773]

If there is one thing that really made the Forerunner structures so special to me, it is that they made (and still make) me *wonder* about things. After playing through a mission in one of the OT games (more specifically Halo's 3 or 2), I went outside to my porch and just looked up at the dark sky above (for it was Nighttime then) and began to think about so many questions: Could there be civilizations like the Forerunners out there with their awe inspiring ruins just waiting to be discovered by Humanity someday? Are we alone in the Universe? What is the purpose of Humanity? Were we created by a God or are we just an accident that came to fruition by pure luck or some all powerful race like the Forerunners?. I did that for some time while just looking to the stars above, contemplating and wondering. But that's just me, and this video was so amazing!!! :)

[@MonocleMAYHEM18]

Simpletons will just call you an edgelord. But I so often do the same thing. Thats the power of good storytelling. It gets you thinking

[@lukeskywalkerthe2nd773]

@@MonocleMAYHEM18 I quite agree!!! :)

[@anothermetaphor7586]

@@MonocleMAYHEM18 WHAT AN EDGELORD but yeah you're right

[@wannabecliffburton4275]

Ohh thats deep

[@wannabecliffburton4275]

@@MonocleMAYHEM18 i hate how people call normal things edgy i mean to me being edgy you really have to be edgy for me to be like oh thats edgy apparantly making a star wars prequel i dont like sand joke is edgy

[@PrimordialNightmare]

The "Motherboard but as a cathedral" is really a description that I have been lacking so far. Thank you for pinning that sensation down.

[@charliewhite578]

For me the best thing about the forerunner buildings and artifacts from the old games was how little we knew about them in the games. They were like ghosts that didnt take up a form of a spectre, but existed within the glowing lights that emitted themselves from their machinery, watching over the galexy.

[@robertnewman4854]

Fundamentally I posit that the prevailing design cues of Forerunner architecture are rooted firmly in the Gothic tradition. Throughout the entirety of the original trilogy, Bungie's designs adhered to Gothic convention at least to some degree. Gothic architecture principally was designed to emphasize height, juxtapose heft with an arrieness, and make the parishioner feel small. It did this utilizing relatively ubiquitous techniques and design cues. Almost all Gothic cathedrals were comprised of several parts, namely the Nave (the center aisle), the aisles beside what is now seating, occasionally a horizontal transept (think the crossbar on a t), and an Apse (essentially an end cap). Further Gothic cathedrals were comprised of multiple layers, namely arcade, the gallery, and the clerestory. They were also usually held up with buttresses.really what defined and even originated the Gothic style though was the advent of buttressing, and vaulted ceilings, which enabled something to appear stalwart yet open. As of a 50 ton boulder was resting on a thin layer of glass. This is Forerunner architecture! Most maps of the original trilogy that had a forerunner aesthetic understood this. Epitaph is perhaps the most obvious example, internally maintaining almost all aspects of a traditional Gothic Cathedral in the vein of Chartres. But aspects of this can be seen in everything from Narrows to Citadel. If they want to make Forerunner architecture look like it's Forerunner again, 343 should do the following: 1. Emphasize verticality. Just like Gothic cathedrals utilized vertical lines to give the impression of height, so to did classic Forerunner architecture. Add more bottomless pits. Add more columns. In Bungie designs, most visible lines even those that were angled, at least to some degree pointed upwards. This is something 343 does not do currently, and would go a hell of a long way to making it look like Halo again. 2. Decrease the sheen on everything. In terms of coloration, radiosity is a big deal. The color of reflected light dramatically effects the appearance of whatever it hits. ( 3kliksphilip did a video on this a while ago, I think it was called something like "how to make Source look pretty".) 343 should use Shadows and Light as a paintbrush, not merely obfuscating a monochrome structure with colored doodads. 3. Cut it out with the floaty bits. How the Sam Hell is anyone supposed to get to the top of one of those towers on Requiem without a jet pack or an aircraft? Design for utility, not just because "floaty bits look dope". In some contexts such as when something is moving they work, like the gondolas in Halo 2, but often times even when something would have made sense to float like the gas mine, it's still had a support structure. 4. Make it so that someone can actually walk on the floors. 343 has a really bad habit of putting so many cotton pickin bumps and grooves and troughs everywhere that it's ridiculous. Even a godly being like a Forerunner can sprain an ankle. Why is this a thing? Make it so that you don't have to be a member of MEMSA to walk down the bloody hallway. Texture is great, and is almost abonded in the 343 games. Look at the grooves almost mimicking grout lines in Halo 2 and Halo 3's floors. They actually add traction and make it safer, not an OSHA lawyer's wet dream. 5. Embrace angles, and get rid of some of the extraneous details. Where in the original trilogy were there spinning fans in the floor in maps like Coliseum? Why are they there? What purpose do they serve? There is no utilitarian purpose that design elements like these could conceivably have without really trying to justify them. I'm not saying they don't look cool, but they don't look Forerunner. 6. As a general rule of thumb, 343 should just ask themselves "could this be made out of stone?". The vast majority of original trilogy designs could work and not look too far off. If you were to retexture most Bungie era designs appropriately, they wouldn't be too out of place in Dark Souls or Ico. This isn't so much a rule, as a general rule of thumb. Forerunner design are very familiar. Hell, a lot of fans of the original trilogy thought the forerunners might even be ancient humans. You can see an example of how well this works in the ruins on Delta Halo. Sure they may be stone, but they don't look out of place next to the metal. 7. Finally, 343 needs to remember that these buildings have been largely abandoned for millennia. Even if Forerunner metal doesn't tarnish, it will get dirty and grimy. If I leave my car outside for a week, it's going to need to be taken to the carwash. It's going to have dust and dirt, and probably some bird crap on it. The forerunners have been dead for tens of thousands of years, and I don't see any Sentinels with mops. Stuff is going to get dirty. Understand this and embrace it. Regardless, I really hope that 343 will at least incorporate some of these aspects into their new art style. Those stone rings from the Infinite trailer are certainly making me feel more positive than I have in a long time. I'm not trying to hate on 343 here, but I do think that they misinterpreted the original idea. The 343 designs do look really cool, and if they were presented as the Promethean design, seperate entirely from what we have already seen, I would have no problem with them. But they just don't look Forerunner. Thanks as always for the great video. (Edited for spelling)

[@derekk.2263]

I think the forerunner were always supposed to be ancient humans, then they decided to change this for Halo 4 because they had to give the plot somewhere new to go.

[@Echo1608.]

I always loved the Forerunner structures, impossibly large, angular, and breathtaking. With the occasional brightness of light. They still bring me inspiration to this day.

[@johnnytightlips5355]

I've always loved the Library from Halo 2. Looking at it from a distance still gives me goosebumps.

[@darthvader4594]

i've always wondered,how fast and strong is forerunner wifi?

[@Azrael_Equinox]

15 TB download speed

[@kameradin8964]

Not as fast as north Korea's

[@pastordonkoh7692]

Your search results arrive before you search for them. Just like how *pre-activation echoes* could be detected way before Born Stellar Iso Didact activated the Halos. It's like arriving before you left

[@randomhaloplayer918]

@@pastordonkoh7692 they dont need wifi ,they had the dominion forerunneres more advanced internet and they can mentaly conect to it,so in conclucion the speed is lightspeed

[@maroonmedia6426]

I want Domain internet now!

[@Atarios]

What really makes Forruner structures what they are is that they have a soul. They are monuments of an ancient civilization which are still more advanced than present technology. The structures are mysterious and fascinating but at same time for some reason they feel familiar and homelike.

[@fragban5994]

I think that familiar feeling has something to do with the original Canon for the Forerunners. The reason why Humans could only activate Forerunner tech is because the Forerunners we're just ancient humans. However after Halo 3 that changed and I believe that 343 retconned the lore and made the Forerunners 10 foot tall vampires with the force. I believe that the best representation of the Food was in origins from Halo Legends. We don't see their faces and they have a humanoid figure, these were hints that they were just humans.

[@Allen667sjja]

@@fragban5994honesty as much as I liked halo 3 they should’ve kept them as being just ancient humans, cooler that way

[@darknephilim6822]

In my opinion, Forerunner structures always had a mysterious feeling to them, even if you knew what the structure was used for, and just the vast halls and rooms of the structures are very interesting to see for the first time.

[@1Kamalmalik]

also in halo reach, the anniversary map “High Noon”, is a total hybrid of 343’s forerunner art and Bungie’s. and it doesn’t look bad.

[@omnissiah1119]

Thank the gods for you, I'm so happy with the quality that you always bring to each video. Never cease. P.S I Hope you're okay, I heard that you had some medical stuff going on, and I just wanted to wish you well. Thanks again, man!

[@lukeskywalkerthe2nd773]

Ikr!! :)

[@MuffinOfChaos]

Personally, I prefered Bungie's approach to the forerunners. They were beings who melded nature and structure and they were catherdralic in design, but they didn't boat and show off as much as 343's designs. No over the top floating pieces that prove no purpose. The only floating things in Halo 1 - 3 were functional. Maps, elevators, consoles, weapons, bridges, gondolas. The structures were just that. Structures. A contrast to how nature seemed to grow around them and shift with weather and climate. Forerunner designs were submerged in snow and rock as over time, erosion and avalanches knocked debris down and covered things. Now, 343 seems obsessed with an ADHD inspired Forerunner race. That everything the forerunners built isn't allowed to just sit still and house the devices within.

[@alsenar2]

The great thing about the Forerunner was that you always wondered what this building might do, or why they build it like that. I especially love the first Halo level in Halo 2 were you have to kill the prophet underwater. You have this big lake with the gondolas and it almost seems like a calm and beautiful place. Nature is also a big part of Forerunner architecture it seems. The whole silent cartographer level is a huge Forerunner base build into an Island. It would be a paradise if it weren't for the damn Covenant.

[@tTaseric]

This was a really great video that pretty much summarises my entire thoughts on the Halo 4 Forerunner structures. I'm a big sucker for over-saturated lighting and colours. I grew up experiencing Sci-Fi like Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica which all kept that very rugged, grey, almost brutalism approach to designs. Halo 4 was my first dive into this 'generic' style of Sci-Fi. The way the walls seem to breathe and it seems like magic when the bridges start piecing together around you. That blew my mind. When I went back and played all the Halo games again, I started to think about the actual thematic reasons for the choices. Requiem represents life, while the Halos represent death, but both are still supposed to signify age and the signs of a bygone era. Requiem just seems a little TOO clean, a little TOO alive. Requiem wasn't perfect, but there was clearly care put into it. There's a reason why Halo 4 looks the way it does. With almost everything in Halo 5, it feels like they dialled everything from Halo 4 up to 11 without actually considering why it was like this in the first place. Even for things as small as the Promethean Weapons in Halo 4, they were supposed to resemble Human weapons due to the link between Humans and Prometheans, but it seemed like they just forgot about that and made it worse in Halo 5.

[@isaace436]

I'm no art expert but the three things that always made me like forerunner style designs were the angles and lines that seem to both at the same time cut through the environment but also flow with itself, they were designed with sharpness and tightness that illustrated no only a mastery of quality in build but also in artistry. A mason can build two pillars, one with rough hewn surfaces and poor edges, and another pristine, smooth, and straight. Both are very hard to make, and show mastery of design, but one is more elegant and a step above the other. The forerunner, having not only made an entire moon sized construct, showed a total mastery of technology by showing that they could not just throw something into space, or make something about of metal, but do both to a scale, craftsmanship, and elegance that really isn't something humanity is capable of now, or even seemed to be in Halo either. The covenant came close, but even they have many things that show roughness and a level below, with things not seeming right all the time, or being out of place, or being mismatched, there's all sorts of that. They are a multi culture, so there is that, but even then, they aren't super cohesive in all aspects, a theme to be sure, but there is something missing that the forerunners have. The other thing is the coloring and the way it gave off mystery and awe just about anywhere. Everything from small corridors to large halls felt like something special, like there were a thousand stories, and not only did it show they made things well, beyond our dreams, given how well it held up after hundreds of millennia, it also showed that there was age, that there was events, with the dirt and dust in places. In Halo:CE the almost moldy look of it being *just* starting to rust, or like there is a coating of *something*, like a how a bit of silver will get darker and dull over time, it's not rusting but it's showing age. The colors and subtle use of lights made it feel like what you describe, a careful crafted environment, every angle meant to convey something we don't understand, and give just enough light to reflect just the way they meant to. And the last thing is the way buildings are given shapes you wouldn't normally expect in a building, but that somehow make sense. Like the towers around Halo that shoot up those beacons, they hang to one side like a super stretcher of a bridge or something but then fly back up like a tower, and the base they rest on of geometric shapes, and the simple flat walls that give the sense that they didn't need to do anything else, it was perfect as is. That part there is the thing I think you are touching, the "too much detail" thing, you may be right that there is more detail on closer look, but in the the original Halo:CE & 2, albeit for reasons of limitations, there wasn't nearly that much detail, or rather there was a simplicity there of, the long flat walls at odd angles and sharply shaped buildings with minimal pointless additions make the forerunner seem, while clearly with their own style, also very practical and were not into making things needlessly complex. Think of the difference between master chief of the first game, and compare it to, say, and over loaded spartan in Halo reach, while the options and custom things were cool, they added business, something that isn't always needed, original master chief was simpler, yet just right. He was *spartan* in more ways then one. The buildings of Halo:CE and 2 did this too, yes, tech limits are more likely to blame then we may ever be sure, but they made use of it in a good way, and things felt right for it. The newer graphics of Halo:CE mess with this, and while not bad looking, seem to miss the simplicity idea. That is where the new Halos also seem to fail, maybe it is shadows some, but I really don't see their busyness being totally to blame on color and shadows, there is a LOT more going on for Halo 4 & 5 then the older games, even 3. This and other inspirations have actually been the kind of thing I strive for in my own ideas and art. Simplicity and practicality, but with a balance of craftsmanship and design and well spaced lighting, with an emphasis on sharp lines and flowing angles, but a lack of over complexity where it's simply not needed. An aura of mystic and reverence, of mastery and of thoughtfulness, but yet clean and fact forward at the same time. With lots of grays, whites, blues, and hues there around.

[@meowmcmeowpherson6457]

As a non-religious man who only stepped inside a church once, I always saw the Forerunner structures as a sort of majesty, as if you were inside the great halls of some ancient Greek building. It was like exploring the history of a world not my own, which it was. It gave the dual sense of both the ancient, almost mystical wonder of historical landmarks and the magical qualities that modern technology would have over someone from the medieval era. I felt like the observer to an entirely new world every time I stepped into a new room. I would always wonder what each little detail meant, what events this room had witnessed over countless millennia. I didn't understand what it was or how it worked, if it even still did, but I could see how the Covenant could revere such structures as god-like. Not knowing anything about what the Forerunners were added to the atmosphere, as it was like you were alone inside some kind of museum filled with things you knew nothing about. Sadly, exploring that museum comes with the risk of understanding what you are seeing, and when the 343 trilogy started focusing more and more on the Forerunners it took away from some of the magic I felt as a kid wandering through the hallowed halls of the ancients. Not only did 343 change the shading and style of the Forerunner structures, it put them into a new context. Suddenly, now that you've met the Forerunners and their creations, the Promethians, they felt inhabited and alive in a way that outcast the player. It was no longer you alone with the exhibits, it was you in a crowd of beings that existed in this setting where you didn't. No longer were humanity and the Covenant battling over the belongings of a race that time has forgotten, but now that race is stubbornly clinging the pieces to it's chest, ruining the almost pure majesty of the Forerunners with something that seems to fit in just a tad bit too easily. It's hard to enjoy nature when the animals within it all want you dead. If that makes sense

[@derekk.2263]

I really think the newer halo games have the same problem the new Alien movies have had. When these things were created they were always meant to be mysteries, but if you want to make new content in the same world you have to start answering these mysteries and when you do that you spoil what was so interesting about it in the first place.

[@hiimchrisj]

I've just been marathoning a lot of Halo lore videos and it's really made me come to a realization of what exactly is so different about 343's Forerunner aesthetic versus Bungie's You're right that a lot of what gives the Forerunner style its "Cathedral" like appearance is, albeit only partially, just the mood provided by the lighting and color choices. Another part of it is how monolithic it all is, nothing was unnecessarily cluttered, they were huge and grand but still with a minimalistic visual style in a lot of ways. But most of it is in the fact that they genuinely looked into real life architectural principles, particularly that of old European Cathedrals. The most obvious being their huge cavernous nature that makes you feel like it'd even have the acoustic quality of a chapel even without the actual sound design emphasizing that. Even subtle things like how large spires and walls are supported by flying buttresses akin to Notre Dame and similar grand cathedrals. Things like columns and horizontal and diagonal support beams seem to properly support the ceilings and internal structures of most buildings. Then there's the fact nothing but small platforms arbitrarily float off the ground like they do in Halos 4 and particularly 5 and Halo Wars 2. They all had strong structural foundations that gave them this sense of permanence. Even larger bridges had things like bracings and "support cables" (said in quotes because they tend to be made from hard light rather than, well, cable). Basically, as abstract as Forerunner design is, it still made sense from an architectural perspective. These buildings were essentially the workings of one massive machine but they were still buildings. Not real buildings JUST in the sense that they had walkways and platforms for people to move around in, they WERE buildings in the sense that they actually had structural support in mind. Halo 4 still seemed to understand this for the most part but the latter two games didn't they just seemed to think the only thing that made Forerunners what they were, were the fact that they were this ancient but advanced race. And from that they extrapolated that all that mattered was pushing things that feel ethereal and abstract like bright lights and small intricate floaty bits. They seemed to be hooked on their idea that Forerunner technology needed to be able to form on the spot that nothing really had that structural permanence that I mentioned was essentially the hallmark of Bungie's Forerunners. Personally? I like the shininess of Halo 4's structures and how the lighting and shadows emphasize a lot of techy detail. But they still lost the foundations of the proper Forerunner aesthetic in terms of the buildings overall and that's where they lose me. And when we hit Halo 5 not only did they completely go off the rails with the architectural aspects but everything got so unnecessarily busy that it didn't even look pleasing in that regard either. Some people argue about the shininess and cleaness to everything makes it look everything's too new rather than ancient and to a certain point I definitely agree but that's not such a foundational thing that it bothers me so much. It's the actual structural changes that do bother me. And I hate all the floaty bits and how much 343 over does that little gimmick. You wanna know something I think is kinda ironic? People always make the comparison between 343's Forerunner design and that of Tron Legacy what with all the lights accenting everything. But I would argue that Tron Legacy actually embodies a lot of Bungie's Forerunner design better than 343's designs do because everything looks structurally sound like a genuine futuristic city. And this actually makes a whole lot of sense if you look at the background of the director of that movie. His educational background is actually in architecture. You take away the neo-urban trappings of the interior designs and all the outward surfaces and replace that with something that's a cross between brutalist and gothic you would actually have something that looked like Bungie's Forerunners.

[@Lolbloko]

My favorite part of the forerunner structure design was how seamless it integrated nature into itself. When I first stepped out of the life pod in ce, I looked up and went “wow, it’s earth but man made.” The structures are built from nature which is built from an even larger structure. It’s super cool.

[@spinmeister1245]

I love the halo 2 forerunners, particularly in the mission sacred icon

[@159tb]

Something I really loved when playing the halo games was the scale of some of the structures. An example is when you go through the library in Halo 1 and Halo 2. You see the large rooms and tunnels leading to other parts of the structure which makes you seem much smaller in the grand scale of things. Another example is when the Spirit of Fire is inside the inner workings of the shield world in Halo Wars. You see sentinels flying around and tunnels that lead to other places which I so desperately want to explore. The first time I felt this was in the silent cartographer level in Halo 1 when chief knocks a rock into the deep abyss.

[@JJAB91]

One thing I think that is often overlooked is the amount of light reflection the metal itself gives off. In the old Bungie Halos most Forerunner metals were very matte, little reflection but rather it was lit by the lights of the room or within the metal itself. Contrast this with Halo 4 and 5's Forerunner metal where everything is highly reflective, almost chromelike. That I feel is a major cause of why many don't like 4/5's Forerunner design. Older games had an almost metallic concrete look if that makes any sense. It truly looked like something that had been abandoned for 100,000 years. The newer games with the more reflective metals lost that feeling, it feels like the Forerunner could have been there just an hour earlier. Another factor is the lighting itself. I feel in the 343i Halo games the lights often on or near Forerunner structures are too bright. Keep them but dim them down a bit and it would help quite a lot. Look at Monolith in Halo 4, looks pretty good but imo would look better if they took the white lines of light running along the grey metals that you can see at 6:58 and dimmed them.

[@CHgamer14]

Great video dude, for me the big thing missing with post halo reach forerunner design is there is a lack of locked doors. The hall ways always go straight to where their needed. That compared to halo 3's ark structures that had lots of locked doors which added to the mystery, as the vast sections of the monoliths you walked through were only just the beginning.

[@subhadeepjasu292]

Mystical Grand structures with mysterious aura, pulsating beams, materialized energy stuff. And an excellent calm but spooky ambient sounds. This sends shivers down my spine.

[@Totone56]

Amen to that.

[@iamnathanael2132]

I always loved how the Forunner structures looked like gigantic monoliths that exist for no apparent reason.

[@userJohnSmith]

I largely agree with you. I am Catholic and have the same kind of memories from mass as a child. I still go, though to a smaller church, but that majesty of architecture is less profound. I haven't been back to the one I grew up in, it was on the larger sub cathedral size. I almost don't want to ruin it because churches are so much bigger as a kid. I think that's the biggest thing that was different beyond the lighting in the later games. Side from running down the spine of a Guardian the way detail was used made things seem small. There was too much clutter in the foreground. Pretty clutter, but it made things seem small. Aside from the church aspect I are this in nature too. I live next to some pretty impressive mountains and it's reasonably arid but not desert. That means that there isn't a lot of foliage in the way of the view. Even the smallest rise can leave you gobsmacked by the view-especially at sunset. When I go to other places with more trees and less visibility, I quickly begin to feel confined and uncomfortable, even though I feel right at home in the pines here. I think ultimately we lost, through shadows, strange detail, and the limited lines of sight we got in 4 and 5 that that gravitas was lost. Small "lived in" spaces became the norm. That strangely fits, the Halos were weapons while the shield worlds were sanctuaries. Going back to a Halo hopefully fixes that.

[@juantelle1]

Damn you should write something.. Your ability to describe atmospheres and feelings is incredible.

[@InclementFilms]

You just put the feeling I always had while exploring Forerunner places into words. The atmosphere is just incredible.

[@slayerprogram2104]

It's not just the visuals of the Forerunner structures that are intriguing. The ambient sounds they make are also awe inspiring. From activating light bridges and lifts to the subtle hum of the structures in "Assault on the control room". In Halo 3's multiplayer level Epitaph it's almost like the wind and machines are humming the Halo theme.

[@cypherdice1954]

Q&A: I've been thinking about halo 4/5's forerunner artstyle recently, and I realized that it's actually really cool, I'd hate to see that go to waste. So I thought about it and realized that whe have (mostly) only seen it on Promethean tech. Maybe they could make the "classic" artstyle be preferred by the Builder caste's tech, and the "modern" artstyle be preferred by the Promethean caste's tech. The explanation for this could be that as a military class they need more flexibility compared to the builder's more rigid designs. 343 could take this idea and run with it, examples: Prometheans could dynamically swap weapons & parts with each other depending on the situation, as long as they are within 50m or so of each other. Or they could change into other units like the flood tank form. Then we can have the art we want, new fans can have the art they want, and the 343 employees don't need to scrap several years of work. What do you think of this? Ps: I love your videos! Thanks ahead of time if I am picked for a video. Pps: Sorry if you've gotten this question/idea before, I haven't watched you as often recently. Ppps: I'm doing this in the right place correct?

[@cypherdice1954]

did I start that right? is it QnA, Halo QnA, or does it really matter?

[@chrissonofpear3657]

I like bits of it, definitely. But it needs to be integrated properly with more classical elements, and arguably be subservient to them. I'd like for more Halo 3 style architecture to return significantly too.

[@PrincelyWhistle]

Frankly, I've always liked the Forerunner designs in Halo and I really loved them in Halo 4. They convey so much. A detail 343 added in the campaign is whenever you see the structures are in the presence of the Librarian, they are blue and when they are in the presence of the Didact, they are Orange and yellow. It's cool how much went into making the campaign.

[@DarkBladeX98]

Epitaph was always one of my favorites. I enjoyed all the small details, the sounds, all the ambiance that was in some of the old maps. Truthfully I never strolled the H4 and H5 maps in that way (Halo got more dull for me after Destiny stole my friends and half my motivation to continue alone :/) so I can't say if it's still there. I really love that the environments felt like legitimate structures that'd be humming away, whether or not you were there to witness them or not. They didn't give off the vibe of being built to suit a level design or game requirement, but rather that it made you feel as the stranger passing through something completely beyond you.

[@chrissonofpear3657]

Epitaph definitely has a wonderful atmosphere to it...

[@cherlojomzyaduermanse]

Agree Had they kept the worn out rock-like metal instead of the nearly cristal-like look and used holograms instead of buttons and pedestals, it would be perfect on H4

[@derekk.2263]

I never actually thought about it until now, but the buttons in halo 4 actually do bother me. I always loved the hard light hologram control panels in the old games. The forerunner had the ability to make solid structures from light, using physical buttons that can dissolve seems kind of redundant when you don't even need to build buttons at all, just project them.

[@derekk.2263]

I always loved how mysterious and ancient the forerunner structures felt. I loved in the first halo how you start in this cramped, practical human spaceship and then suddenly find yourself on this vast, beautiful ring world with all this ancient architecture that's almost growing out of the natural landscape. All of these structures clearly have to have some sort of reason or purpose that they were built for, yet you have no idea what their true function really is. You feel almost like an archeologist, exploring ancient ruins and trying to figure out who built them and why. I also always liked how even though these structures are incredibly ancient, they also feel extremely technologically advanced, far more so than anything you or the covenant have. They're made out of some sort of indeterminate metallic stone material and hardened glass, materials that don't exist in real life so they seem completely alien and advanced. And it all seems like it might be able to move or rearrange itself if you could only find the controls, but control panels or maps or labels are almost entirely absent and you're never totally clear what pressing a button will do. And since the halo ring is clearly artificial you know that all of this, even the natural landscape itself, was deliberately built by someone who intended all of this to be this way. I really like when Cortana is surprised to find it snowing in two betrayals, because the ring's designers actually wanted it to have inconvenient weather. It says a lot about these people who left no other clues behind.

[@JuansTheName]

Mystery my friend. That is what makes the halo 3 forerunner structures so awesome. Mysterious architecture built thousands of years ago, the dust that has collected on it and the lighting brings it all together.

[@ChrisPTenders]

ONE WORD: Serenity. The Forerunner structures gave me this unsettling sense of serenity while these horrible mutant space zombies were trying to kill me - almost as if my death were ordained by holy forces. As a young human boy, I remember that potent feeling of being forced to assimilate a social system I didn't understand, and everyone acting like it was normal and my feelings of despair and uncertainty were just part of growing up. It was an oddly horrifying, yet uniquely exhilarating experience - to prove myself to these larger creatures who had cared for me my whole life until then, and suddenly expected me to take on greater responsibility. The original Halo trilogy managed to recreate that feeling in the context of a vast fictional universe, and all through simple art and sound direction. Everything from the muted sounds of the guns, to the softer, more synthetic OST all contributed to this atmosphere. Playing through the Forerunner structures felt like you were proving yourself to some unseen power looking on in holy curiosity. More so, the dust and rust colored metals really made me feel like I was encroaching upon holy ground, and gave me a sense of something beyond my comprehension... it all came together and created this incredible mystery. It lent to the premise of Halo in a way that reminded me of that story trope where the young aimless protagonist searches for his parents who had given him up for adoption, and finds out they were dead, but left him a grand, fantastical legacy to discover. It achieved that on a galactic, existential scale. I don't know if any of that was intended, but it was very distinctive for me.

[@chrissonofpear3657]

Yes - that rather nails it for me! The sense of legacy, whether intentional or not, or at least of walking in vast footsteps from before. It added a much more mythical quality to the story, blurring the lines into fantasy epics somewhat.

[@LiterallyIzutsumi]

What made the forerunner style special to me is how grand it is. Each large open corridor created a sense of importance and mystery. Each enclosed space felt like you were walking inside the walls of the structure as if you are a part of the technology. It makes you feel special that you are there experiencing the majesty of these empty cathedrals.

[@LateNightHalo]

Edit: im an idiot and i havent been to church in way too long. Today I just realized I called Saturday night vigil "Liturgy" which is the sunday morning service Feel free to share the video around! It helps it reach new people seeing as KZbin can’t seem to be bothered unless the thumbnail includes a face, is an hour long and has me begging for over 1,000 likes before my next video 🙃

[@Will057]

You'll get it. Don't worry.

[@AliAhmadi-bl7ey]

your imagery is amazing. I absolutely love your channel

[@Ikcatcher]

I honestly kinda missed when Halo was more of a mystery thriller about who are the Forerunners and what is Halo instead of a typical sci-fi flick

[@minesimusic1447]

Q&A. What was one of the worst experiences that you’ve had in your lifetime or career? And how did it effect you, plus I’ve learned a few life lessons from the commentaries, so thank you, keep up the good work.

[@Louis-s8x]

The main problem with the Halo 4 forerunner structers is that the angles are less coherent as if placed at random rather than carfully plotted. Just compare the siluette of a hallway from H4 to one form H3.

[@joeyvitale24]

I just miss how subdued it all felt. The structures were there as if they were another rock face or mountain. Beam emitters sent off a calming wraith ball directly upwards with a peaceful echo through the valleys of Halo. The interiors weren’t all chrome like that one spongebob episode. There were stains on the walls and floors that showed age and grime. Lights were more dim too. The sound design too. There used to be this soft distant scream type sound that only eluded to the horrors within these facilities. There used do be soft distorted exhales that sent chills up your spin. I can’t stand the loud aggressive “look at me” sound design the forerunners have now. There used to be some mystery and subtlety to the environments they had. I want passive lights and not so harsh shadows. I want passive sounds. Scary soft and intimidating sounds. I want it to feel ancient and not so in your face. Kind of like an Egyptian pyramid would be today, but with metal and technology instead of sand and hieroglyphs.

[@maroonmedia6426]

Great video man! As usual. :D Keep up the great work. Also I like how you've been mentioning your orthodox upbringing much more lately. I'm Russian Orthodox as well and I definitely agree with you on the Evening Vigil/Liturgy. :D

[@lcbrtn3287]

To me, there are two main problems with 343's forerunner structures: they glow too much because of all the LED lights used and time seems not to have affected them at all, I mean, they look unnaturally perfect and clean, if you think that they where last used around 100000 years before. I think they should look more dirty, rusty and in stand-by mode (at least the majority of them)

[@whisperedflame6952]

That amazing introduction to Requiem in Halo 4 when you walk out of the cave from he crash site.....

[@luminouscactuz9510]

I have that exact mic, but I record music with it, so take these suggestions with a grain of salt (I don’t know if these effects are available in audiophile): Compressor EQ (most importantly remove all the lower frequencies) Exciter Stereo spread (mostly at the highest frequencies) DeEsser Great video btw, Halo 3’s forerunner design will always be my favorite.

[@theninjaassassin4468]

As always, a great video! And I don't even play Halo or know much about it (PC gamer here who only played bits of Halo 4 on my old 360) but I've always appreciated the franchise and the art design. You might wanna look into the Orokin design language from Warframe at some point. It's a pretty awe-inspiring mix of organic and ornate design. The Orokin structures, the Prime weapons and Warframes are just brimming with detail and gorgeous to look at.

[@_halloeen_856]

I think halo 4 is my favourite due to the lighting My favourite part is the area just before you meet the librarian

[@leandroingrassia]

Still remember when i entered the underground complex in Silent Cartographer for the first time and got completely lost. Always loved how they combined the beauty of those perfect beaches lost in time with mysterious and menacing structures. You doubt, but ultimately your curiosity and sense of adventure guides you, so you choose to get lost in the tunnels, with your trusty UNSC rifle in hand. Best game experience ever as a kid.

[@subfuscous987]

I feel that you touched lightly on a very important (for me) part of Forerunner structures, the materials. In the older games, like CE or 2, the metal was worn down, not as shiny (as you mentioned) but there was also a lot of other material going into the build, like stone and brick. There were obviously deliberate choices to use different materials with the metal depending on its environment, and the metal was layered over, like a shell.

[@withyoregano7312]

Late night went from talking about forerunner to microphones so seemlessly in the beginning, and that's what makes your channel so great. I love you man, and I deeply appreciate your work. You deserve way more subs than you have, you and other channels like act man and hidden Xperia work so hard to get out good, quality videos, and yet most fortnite KZbinrs, for example, don't put any love in their videos and yet have way more subs than you, a hard working person. Keep up the BRILLIANT work. Thanks for keeping me and everyone else entertained for hours man.

[@Francesco-gf1sv]

you put your sentimental vision associating with part of your life but particularly I think what I find in these forerunners images and scenarios is how style communicates something inexplicable and everything in such a place seems to give a wise simplistic look to mysterious things which leaves something solid . I couldn't explain much but if you read thanks and I hope you understand that I don't talk about emotions but what I got 😅

[@t.b.thelwell3366]

I think what made the original architecture so rememberable was how simple but effective it was while also being unique, it looked kinda blocky to a extent but fit together like a motherboard with that holy type of soft glow to it. This imo made it unique and distinct compared to human and covenant technology and architecture, but given 343i version of the Firstborn race technology its all smooth and shiny looking with a lot more floating pieces. From what I can tell if you were to colour the new Firstborn species technology and architecture in the same colouring as the Covenant style, it would be hard to tell them apart besides form the obvious floating parts. Personally I feel that most of the Firstborn lost most of their magic when 343i took the franchise in this new direction, I feel like this godly advanced alien civilisation is loosing most of its otherworldly charm the more and more we see of them taking away their mystery.

[@steve7745]

In my eyes, the forerunner magic rests on the feeling of living decay. The structures all look as old as they are, but you still see the heartbeat, the pulse of the creations still ticking on in the lights and the little details. The newer forerunner stuff, while I don't actively dislike it, lacks the feeling of decay. It doesn't look old, it looks like scifi. It isn't as mysterious in that it looks like a janitor or two has been keeping the floors clean and the rust away for hundreds of thousands of years, and to me that's the only thing that really detracts. I'm okay with the floaty bits and the rounded designs - even if I do personally prefer the old angular ones -because as long as there is the feeling of age, of weathering over millenia, it will feel right. Make the lights less bright and make them appear less frequently, tone down the color scheme into the steels and the bronzes of the old palette, and tone down the excessive use of the circuit motifs (yes, there were a ton in the old games too, but they were less obvious and more minute detail) and you're all good. Hell, I even like the variety in colors of light, it's a lot more interesting than flat blue. Although, on the topic of flat blue, I want the old blue back. That darker, more lonely, cold blue. The new forerunner blue looks too crisp and fluorescent to be ancient.

[@grantlauzon5237]

The structures in H5 also have an almost organic look to them. They often have curves leading into points like small thorns. I think the issue with H4 was that the reflections in the metal adds contrast to a plainly lit scene and the lens flares don’t help. If you compare the last level of H3 it does the same thing that H4 does but with the CE structures (the control room and other areas are much shinier).

[@Nevirate]

Somethings about their structures felt alien. This shiny, dusty metal with lights flowing through the metal and the symbols, hieroglyphs, and foreign languages along the glowing glass. Archives of alien info that sit in a glass frame that looks like there’s something beyond all those letters. All the strange sounds that can be heard were very unnerving.

[@3l_Raro]

As a Catholic I understand that feeling that you were talking about at the beginning

[@1337GameDev]

5:19 - Having BETTER shadows, and harder angles isn't the issue... It's simply the amount of "visual noise" going on, from chrome, reflections, lens flares, greebling....

[@scottc5627]

Just discovered your channel. I was once a huge halo fan, but have since moved on generally to PC gaming. Miss the series. I adore these retrospective videos. Working on binging them. Look forward to seeing more.

[@UnseasonedMexican]

Love it when you do videos like this, still glad to know that people still care about this game :) Keep it LNG, your awesome man!!

[@Dashx64]

one of my favorite parts of Halo CE, was two betrayals when guilty spark does the whole "when you asked me the first time" "why would you hesitate to do something youve already done before" MIND BLOWN! my jaw was on the floor, ever since then ive always been interested in the race that left behind all of these crazy structures. Like Jak and Daxter's precursors, theres just an amazing level of wonder when you look around, the secrets they hold...so coool. the mystery of it all, and the ary style ahh so amazin. lets hope infinite returns to that feeling for me

[@kanto20]

between the recent Sims 4 streams and these kinds of videos, i can easily say that LNG has made one of the best channels on KZbin.

[@cherlojomzyaduermanse]

In halo 1 forerunner stuff looked more ancient, instead of 'mechanical' stuff there were weird dull monoliths like the hang'em high blocks or those huge bars connecting canyon, with lots of intentional carvings. Only by melee you could confirm there weren't stone

[@Jedi_Spartan]

Which Bungie game has your favourite overall, my favourite is either the Ark and multiplayer maps of Halo 3 or the mechanical catacombs of the Cartographer and the Control Room with its surrounding support buildings in Halo CEA

[@LateNightHalo]

Halo 3 without a doubt with Halo CEA as a close second

[@wilburforce8046]

Halo 2’s delta halo, it looks the most aged and rustic and I love the aquarium asthetics.

[@chrissonofpear3657]

The cartographer and the citadel on the Ark, the high ceiling vaults, the golden tiles and blue rivers of light...

[@gamecubeslayer]

Honestly my favorite moment in any Halo game was getting Halo 4 at release then during mission 2 I believe walking out of the cave to be greeted by the ambient sounds and the awe inspiring structures floating on Requiem It's a moment that I hold very near and dear to my Halo experiences

[@alderton_8002]

what made the forerunner structures interesting to me is that there was always a sense of mystery with a hint of fear (that coming from the flood being contained deep in the rings waiting to be discovered), and that they seemed to build their structures to fit in with nature rather than build over and destroy it. and the halo rings had their own entire biomes which are home to sanctuaries of wildlife (seen in the halo infinite trailer which is most likely set on zeta halo) living in all the different landscapes.

[@Azrael_Equinox]

That's a long name you got now

[@cyan1294]

I enjoyed walking in these mysterious environments that you know have a lot of story behind them. How these god like beings created these magnificent creations that I'm walking in. It was eerie, and the lighting was subtle, it felt very cozy and it was gloomy. Back then we knew very little about the forerunners so that level of mystery was cool as well. The Halo 5 forerunner style is so obnoxious and the lighting is annoying. I love the Halo ring missions, it's always awesome whenever I'm looking into the skybox and I see this narrow piece of land loop over me. I would fantasize about living on a Halo ring. Anyway, that's me, that's why I like the old forerunner art style.

[@1337GameDev]

6:30 - This map has SOME features of the bungie era, but still goes over-board. The floor has WAY too much greebling, when simply floor textures would have sufficed. The walls, edges, the glass, etc. All of it has a TON of detail / polygons. There's no simply "edging" or floors anymore. It's all "hyper" detailed. Shadows do play a role (shadows form bumps maps do add a lot of detail), but in past games, this was much softer and wasn't overwhelming for the player. It's just super busy. Look at the transformer movies. The transformers are INCREDIBLY detailed with things on the character all wanting attention of the audience. Every little surface, chain, metal plate, wheel, etc all have TONS of greebling as to try and make the audience "not bored." This leads to it being a bit overwhelming. Luckily, in these movies, the up close shots of the transformers are spaced out, as to not be too annoying. But in a game? It's all you see. Every time you play. EVERY TIME, for the ENTIRE match. Detail needs to be nuanced, and "hidden" unless the player CHOOSES to focus on surfaces. LOD needs to be taken into account for shaders, and this detail needs to be much lessened when a player is simply running down a hallway.

[@LateNightHalo]

1337GameDev I really don’t think it looks overboard at all, it even reuses some textures for the floor directly from Reach.

[@1337GameDev]

​It isn't overboard "AT ALL?" I think it's better than a lot of h5 ideas, but feels a bit too cluttered / busy. I would agree that it reuses reach assets. A lot of textures in reach forge objects / surfaces were a bit "boring" when used in maps / forge due to them blending all together.

[@chrissonofpear3657]

The idea 343 seemed to be going for was having the architecture coming more to life again, and being active - but maybe too threatening now. And yes, it can end up looking rather cluttered.

[@Titanic_Tuna]

I love these personal videos Taras, they do really have a poetic feel to them, even if that isn't intention it's entertaining.

[@itsthemumu8585]

I’d like to add to what you said about the shadow change in halo 4. Their absence is what made those structures so special. It felt other-worldly, but had a kind of familiarity to it as well. I will always love CE in classic graphics because of the matted colors, it made it feel eerie, but grand at the same time.

[@johnmatrix1232]

Your insight is spot on. The forerunner stuff have a similar feeling to the Dwemer structures in Oblivion... ancient yet more advanced

[@dauren7328]

I liked the initial design due to it's uniqueness to it with a combination of advances and ancient. As the theme of the Halo trilogy was on the religious cult, the covenant, worshipping the forerunners as gods; and this could be seen in the design. While in Halo 4 was my favorite style. A more scientific and technological style that reflects the forerunners no longer being a mystery but a returning race. It also was reflects the advances in the technology as the forerunners made structures, weapons, and even soldiers that seem to defy the laws of physics. Halo five seemed too generic looking.

[@mythicq8246]

Bright and pure lights alongside with dull and shabby sufaces, just this would show how much contrast and complexity there is within the universe. In my opinion Forerunner structures are like life, they are both beautiful and magnificent, and can be pernicious and deadly

[@DavidJCobb]

I came to the comment section thinking of brutalism, sorted by new, and saw someone already mention it, haha. There's an elegance to Forerunner architecture: thick, chunky, and angular; detailed but not *cluttered*; larger than life, yet familiar. It sits atop the line between seeming extravagant and seeming functional, and it often feels human. I bet I could show almost any piece of classic Forerunner architecture to someone unfamiliar with Halo and they wouldn't be able to be sure it wasn't built by sci-fi humans of the future. (Thinking about humanity's status as "Reclaimers," I have to wonder if this was intentional.) But brutalism is at its best when it contrasts, compliments, and is complimented by nature, and that's where Forerunner architecture really shines. The most memorable parts of Halo 1 for me are all on the second level, where Forerunner towers dot a landscape of hills and meadows. This video showed off Epitaph's interior, but remember how that interior stood within a massive tower -- the only structure visible in an endless desert, at the center of shining roads poking out of the dunes. I love snow, so Solitary and Narrows both stand out to me: steel and glass nestled in the ice: cozy, cold, serene, desolate, and hauntingly beautiful -- made that way by their surroundings. Halo 4's Forerunner architecture felt much less practical. The chunky trapezoidal shapes of the past gave way to more organic forms, more slender silhouettes dotted with thin panels that couldn't possibly exist for any other reason than decoration, all hovering off the ground -- wasted energy, no doubt, spent on literally setting the structures above the worlds they belonged to. Architecture that was once familiar and functional became alien and often ostentatious. It only got worse in Halo 5: the circular shapes appearing everywhere were as beautiful as they *weren't* Forerunner; I wish they'd been a signature of the Created instead. Halo: Reach's Solitary felt like an evolution of the classic Forerunner style, whereas too much of what we saw on Halo 4's Requiem felt like a replacement, and Halo 5 only went further in that direction. I will credit Halo 4 on one thing: the level where you gain control of a Pelican, flying between towers that protrude downward out of the clouds. The shapes aren't right. The concept is impractical. Yet here, we see the Forerunners existing within the world: it felt less like their towers were hovering off the ground, separate from nature, and more like they were simply built on the clouds, little different than Halo 1's towers built on grass and dirt. It felt beautiful.

[@HeliosDrive]

QnA: What are your thoughts on the upcoming SPV3.2 update (featuring 3 new CE Campaign missions, 3 missions of the remastered Lumoria Campaign and an extensive Firefight mode, alongside a bunch of other visual fixes/improvements and balance changes) and do you have any suggestions on what should be fixed/improved about it?

[@lassymcginninf153]

it's a damn magic feeling

[@saint8612]

didn't even notice XD

[@Hammudiii]

Bratan I really love that you do more halo videos again :) I loved your videos and still love them! Your voice, your background music and the topics you choose for your videos are always great too! Halo will thrive again :)

[@tjparrillo5931]

Q&A: are you going to redo your Birthday stream, Keep up the good work. (Bonus question: Have you played the Binding of isaac?)

[@doodsalot270]

Major respect to you for seeing the worth in the artistic styles of H4's structures. I was always really bothered by your claims about them not being like previous forunner structures.

[@neonsolace2748]

What dafuq was written at 1:12 "False prophets, covenant and the *church"* "Covenant=christianity" "Covenant= islam" "Wut ?"

[@Ascendant1]

Dude. This is massively deep and perceptive and I love it.

[@santyclause]

The tone of Forerunner structures is what I could only describe as mastercrafted. Visually, the style is full of straight lines and harsh turns that yet flow together to give all parts a sense of purpose, even when an observer might not be able to discern the exacts. They are ancient and forgotten structures that live in a state of dormancy that exudes through even the most lively piece as they patiently wait for their creators to return. The abandoned hallways stand almost totally silent with only occasional sounds as various sentinel types go about their routine maintenance. When traversing one, the tone and style clues you into the long history of the Forerunners. Their bodies are gone but the very walls soaked up every lament the species had and each step taken echoes the sorrows of ancient dead. However, they accepted their fate and, though these memorials of circumstance now stand solemn, the structures offer a place of silent solace. Then, even upon being provoked, the tone will only slightly change. Machines come to life, creating sentinels with the intent to kill yet, only making the slightest whir and drone in the process. The high powered and deadly beam weapon of the sentinels itself only makes a soft sizzle when it fires. The start of the Halo 2 level Sacred Icon is my personal favorite example. You start, there is no music and the only sounds are that of assembler sentinels quietly mending the broken floor behind you. One flies past your head emitting a subdued electric buzzing noise as it's propulsion fires to move it towards its destination. You take a quick look around before walking in the only direction you can, slight knocks as each step impacts the solid floor beneath you and your armor slightly clacks against itself with your movement. More assemblers work on a large monolithic structure with unidentifiable glyphs on it's side to your left, a sizable covered vent with a glowing red light sits in front of you, and a small hallway to your right. Spread along the walls are somewhat dimmed holographic displays, presumably showing useful readings for an engineer long since gone. The monolith to your left hisses briefly as it reveals itself as not just some monolith. The hissing stops and is replaced by the noises of restrained mechanical bits as they pull the piston upwards, revealing a large downwards vent for you to continue through on your way. I hope I was able to get the right feeling across. I'm not known for good long-winded explanations.

[@EMoney0527]

Halo QnA Do you think warzone should return? And If so, how? Like how should req weapons work if at all. the AI, Bosses. Ect.

[@willlongo2639]

The forerunner structures of halo, past and present have always fascinated me. I have always observed similarities in interior structure design to the interior of some churches. I am a practicing Roman Catholic myself. I too know what you're talking about when you refer to the vibrant and darkened energy vibes a lot of churches give off whenever present in mass. I have always been fascinated by the forerunner architecture...to the point that I've even built MANY forerunner structures myself in minecraft's halo map on xbox 360 then eventually to continue on the xbox one. I have felt through my forerunner structure designs and the few of the ones I've copied that there are mysterious, angelical, divine vibes that they gave off. This fuels my drive to build, and to keep building them. After watching this video, your explanations have brought lots of light upon my forerunner structure building addiction in minecraft.

[@gruntes11isttt]

With halo 4 I always thought it was something about the lighting or the color of the lights that threw off the style. My favorite part about the forerunner structure was the mysterious aspect about them a civilization used to live here and they seem almost religious that blends with nature, but different areas lose the nature aspect and become more religious technological.

[@ag-bf3ty]

Great vid. I always felt like Halo 1-3 had three very distinct artstyles (or visual languages) for the different factions (as well as colour schemes.) But they all fit into the same universe well together because it wasn't overly realistic. Whereas for Halo 4-5 it feels as though in trying to pursue "343's stamp on Halo", they've had to merge all the different visual languages into a single homogeneous "343" art style. So the Spartans, Elites and Prometheans now all look rather similar (described as "overdesigned" but I don't think that's necessarily the core problem.) The forerunner architecture feels more anxiety-inducing and oppressive rather than mysterious and awe-inspiring. The covenant's style uses much darker colours and feels more feral and animalistic rather than sophisticated and alien. The old wraith for instance looked like it was designed by an engineer who really loves curves... while the new one looks like some sort of insect or something. And I'm sure I don't need to explain what's wrong with the Spartans... I didn't mind 343's decision to make Chief armour feel "tank-like" tbf, and I don't mind his redesign because his armour looks very militaristic. But this isn't true for the rest of the spartans. Anyhow, just my dumb opinion.

[@arbiter-]

I think Halo 3 did it best, especially considering how great the textures and lighting hold up in 4K. There's so much detail that you just could never make out at 1080p. Oof, the skybox of the final mission warthog run sums up my feelings entirely.

[@zappadow6538]

The thing that made the forerunner architecture specal to me was all of the decorative struts and support beams, as well as the subtlety of the gold, white, blue, and yello lights. I also really miss the old, scratched, weathered look of the metal that made them seem like an anciant long forgotten race that was also far advanced, along with the multiple diffrent colors of metal. I really hope that at least some of that comes back with halo infinite.

[@bigbrainlemon7570]

For me the Forerunners architecture was ancient yet new giving it a really cool vibe when I first played through the original games

[@Quodergo]

Thank the lord you used Peril as the background for the intro lmao. Speaking of which, what do you think they'll have to do with the music in Halo to make it impactful, nostalgic and epic? With the new artstyle being kind of like a mix of the two different types (old and modern), do you think they'll also mix the music styles? For instance, there's a video called "Peril and Jeopardy combined." It plays both the Halo 2 anniversary and Halo 2 original at the same time (not badly but mixed well so it takes both attributes). Just want to know your thoughts cause you're very good at these lol

[@chrissonofpear3657]

Tom Salta might be a good choice, but some bolder themes wouldn't hurt. A remake of 117 could have a good place, but some evolution from classical melodies could also find a home.

[@masterj2001]

Linking to that feeling of 'liveliness' I think the floaty bits in H5, and a little bit in H4, emphasise that feeling of the forerunners being awoken and alive again. Contrast that to HCE - H3 where the forerunners had been quite dormant and had no reason to be active, the dull colours and less gloss of the materials reflects that idleness. In all honesty, I don't have a problem with the art direction of 4 and 5, sure; it's not 'Halo' per say, but aesthetically, I still think it looks really appealing to the eyes. Granted, I am excited for the change in direction for Infinite, but I think I'll be happy if it stays the same, changes or creates an even mix between the two generations of Halo.

[@LateNightHalo]

masterj2001 I’ve grown to be okay with halo 4’s but I think halo 5’s Forerunner stuff is gross looking. I think it genuinely looks bad.

[@masterj2001]

@@LateNightHalo Like you, I'm not a fan of the 'roundness', but Halo will always have a special place in my heart. So as much I can pull it apart and criticise it for all its flaws, at the end of the day, I always view it as a game I love... and somewhat, push my critiques aside :) But that's just me

[@LateNightHalo]

masterj2001 yeah I really disagree with a majority of the choices made in Halo 5’s forerunner structures. It was definitely changed a lot. Sparth(Halo 5 and halo infinite’s art director) talked to HiddenXperia and I in Seattle and even he confessed he really isn’t happy with how halo 5 turned out when it came to the forerunner structures. He said that they’re looking at old Bungie design docs and exploring ways to bring back the old designs without making them look “last gen” which has me excited

[@masterj2001]

@@LateNightHalo Definitely brought a smile to my face upon hearing that the art direction was being revised. I've got a lot of faith for Infinite, just hope it executes :)

[@WesleyReagan]

Taras your videos keep getting better and better!!!

[@ItatsuMagnatsa]

For me, it was the sense of wonder. The feeling of mystery. The beauty that the Old Art Style has mesmerized me. Enchanted me. Halo 4 was a turning point, showcasing the transition from the Old to the New. Halo 5, which I only played once, was truly Alien to me, as if it Alienated me from the game, the environments were too Alien for me and how people just showed complete disdain for Spartans and the UNSC, the Only line of Defense against the Covenant and Extinction. Who were once hailed as Heroes, now belittled and cursed as Villains. The Promethean approach was a little off putting. I know that there was a difference between the Builder's Art Style and the Warrior's Art Style in the Architecture, where one shows an ancient Bronze and Gold architecture and one that shows pristine chrome and silver architecture despite the amount of time that it has been neglected.

[@hype8343]

I really like the forerunner structures because they feel distinct and alien. It’s mesmerizing to walk in a stronghold built by a godlike race so long ago, and it makes me wish that we didn’t really see how they looked like in Halo 4. Takes away that “alien” feel for me. I always loved the mysterious nature and atmosphere of the forerunners, and their structures really exemplified that feeling. This was especially when I was new to halo. And by new I mean really new. I was introduced to halo around the time halo 4 came out but I knew nothing about it. All I kept seeing were images of the forerunner structures and that really stuck in my mind and made me love it. Note: I’m new to halo and adopted the 343 style first, but I prefer bungie’s style. Feels more iconic

[@greenbean2222]

I feel as though the Halo 3 take on the Forerunner design worked well, and Halo 2 Anniversary also looks incredible and should be the defining way 343 designs their forerunner constructs in the future. They should definitely use old buildings and specifics from older games in the future, to add a bit of consistency to the Forerunners, and it'd be nice to see "that" place from another Halo and remember it fondly.