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JaggedSac on 21 December 2008
http://www.halowars.com/

Barracks

This is no UNSC academy.  The Barracks is a rustic shack compared to the comforts of a real training center, but then again a Marine in the field isn’t generally thinking about creature comforts.  They make you soft.

The Barracks simply houses the raw recruits and equipment needed to field squads of UNSC Marines.  A quick briefing, visit to the armory, and you’ve got boots on the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marines

“Boots on the ground.”

The backbone of UNSC ground forces is the Marine.  The UNSC Marine Corps can trace its roots back all the way to the United States Marine Corp, formed in the 18th century.  The people behind the triggers haven’t changed a great deal in all these years, far less so than the theaters of operation.  Marines first started setting foot on other planets during the Interplanetary War (2160-2170), taking the fight to Mars and officially becoming the UNSC Marine Corps after their victory in that conflict.

Marines come equipped with a variety of weapons, but generally it’s the MA5 series of rifles.  A squad of marines can lay down some impressive firepower, and can even damage armored vehicles with a volley of grenades or rockets if they’re available.  Versatile, relatively cheap to equip, and fast get on the ground, Marines are a potentially strong force to put into action.  En masse, they haul around enough firepower to put the hurt on just about anything an enemy can field.

Armament:
MA5 series battle rifle

Grenades
 Crew:
5 person squad
 Role:
All purpose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 






Flamethrower

“Hellbringers” 

These specialized Marines are outfitted with a Napalm spewing NA4 Flamethrower.  First seeing action during World War I, flamethrowers have changed remarkably little since those early days in the trenches.  These specialized Marines carry a potent mixture with them in a tank that is spewed through a gun onto the target.  A variety of mixtures have been created for work in various atmospheric and gravitational conditions, but they all work similarly to fry just about anything. 

Squads of Flame Marines aren’t particularly common in the UNSC arsenal.  Usually they are only called in to exterminate the most firmly entrenched enemies, which means that they also take plenty of casualties themselves.  They know it’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

Armament:
NA4 Flamethrower

Flash Bang		 Crew:
2 person squad
 Role:
Anti-infantry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Spartan

“If they want war, we’ll give ‘em war.”

The Master Chief, John-117, didn’t always fight alone. He was part of the SPARTAN-II program that started with 150 child candidates, 33 of which made it through the intensive training and physical augmentation procedures. On November 1, 2525, the program was accelerated with the discovery of the Covenant threat and the Spartans adopted their MJOLNIR armor. The war was underway, and the UNSC had over thirty of these super soldiers at their disposal.

Summoning a Spartan to the battlefield is not a guarantee of victory, nor is it something to be taken lightly. It requires a significant investment of time and energy to field Spartans, so they’re not a commonplace sight. When they do end up on the scene though your opponent will have to learn to take the threat of a Spartan on the battlefield seriously, or suffer the consequences.

Armament:
MA5 series rifle
MJOLNIR armor

 Role:
Special Forces

 

 

 

 

 


UNSC Firebase

The UNSC firebase combines the needs of a tactical communication command center and expansion into both a barrack and a production facility capable of assembling combat vehicles. The firebase itself is a variant of the old colony starter units constructed out of polycrete and powered by a small hydrogen reactor. Because gaining a foothold quickly was key to fighting insurrection throughout the colonies, Spirit of Fire can directly deploy the entire assembly unit of a firebase making it immediately useful. That ability has also proven invaluable in the ongoing war with the Covenant and is often considered a key advantage of the UNSC on the ground. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Turret

"The best offence..." (MBT)

Turret defenses are available for Command Centers only, while battlefield commanders will have to defend their Fire Bases with their military units. Turrets are assembled below ground and then elevated into one of four available slots. A virtually unlimited supply of ammunition flows to the turret from below the base, allowing it keep firing as long as it’s exposed tower and weapon remains intact.

The base turret mount supports the very versatile M202 XP Machine Gun. It can be upgraded to the vastly superior M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun that is found on most Warthogs, firing the 12.7x99mm rounds. They can also be upgraded with Anti-Air Missles, Anti-Personel Flame Mortors, and Rail Cannons

Armament:
M202 XP Machine Gun
Bombard Rail Cannon

 Crew:
Automated
Role:
Anti-Armor

 

 

 

 

 

 


Field Armory

The UNSC's Field Armory is a cross beatwean a machine \ fabrication shop, and a research labratory. This is where the most advanced technology for the UNSC is created by dedicated engineers and scientists.

UNSC can increase it's population cap here, as well as improve the turrets, and boost the speed of its infantry. There are also special technology that can only be researched by individual leaders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reactor

Power is everything. A UNSC firebase is powered by a small hydrogen reactor which allows it to operate some pretty sophisticated systems. In order to set up a base quickly, it has to be small, but these power plants are modular. As you expand your base of operations and field more complicated weapon systems you are going to need more power. Base sockets can facilitate the addition of larger hydrogen reactor units which provide the juice to allow you to field more and more sophisticated weaponry. These additional reactors built into your base sockets are even modular and can be upgraded, but at great expense, to double their output.

Protect your base reactors. They are prime targets for enemy raids. When they are destroyed, you will no longer be able to field your heavy hitting Scorpions or Vultures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supply Pad

The UNSC Supply Pad allows a base to recieve shipments from orbiting ships. The supplies are dropped shipped onto the pads where they are gathered by robot cranes and brought into the base. These crates contain the resources needed to build units, reasearch upgrades. Supply Pads are the economy behind the war machine of the UNSC, and can be upgraded to produce more resources faster.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warthog - M12 LRV

Even the most minimal of firebases is able to produce the Warthog, and for good reason.  These versatile vehicles are incredibly valuable for reconnaissance and can be refitted to fill a number of supporting roles for UNSC forces.  The most basic of these variants doesn’t have the standard M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun equipped, sacrificing this firepower for speed, vital for recon patrols.  Fire Bases have the ability to not only add the M41, but also the M68 Gauss Cannon to seriously boost the firepower of this unit against armored vehicles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AirPad

Air superiority can be of vital importance, not only for intelligence gathering but also for tactical strikes at your enemy’s weak points.  A UNSC Airpad is a surprisingly sophisticated structure that not only houses the maintenance crews required to refit, repair, and rearm Hornets, it also houses banks of simulation pods to train pilots in everything from the basics to advanced tactical maneuvers.  Desperate times can call for desperate measures, and on more than a few occasions Fire Base Commanders have thrown any able bodies they’ve had at their disposal into the simulators for a crash course in operating the Attack VTOL-14.  With the Spirit of Fire at your disposal to provide trained air crews, chances are you won’t have to resort to these sorts of unorthodox procedures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vulture

"Death From Above"

The Vulture is one of the UNSC's most powerful units. Basically a highly armed flying assault tank packed to the brim with weapons. The UNSC Vulture is the largest aircraft fielded by the UNSC. It is designed to deliver massive damage to enemy ground troops after air superiority has been achieved. It is slow moving but carries an impressive armament of 2 twin-autocannons and rocket silos that can be used to deliver a devastating barrage to enemies in a wide area.

Crewed by highly trained UNSC pilot and gunners, the Vulture is an expensive unit and is usually reserved for difficult or lengthy battles. Being slow, it is vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire and enemy aircraft, but it is surprisingly resilient.

Armament:Dual Autocannon Turrets, Rocket Barrage Ability

Crew:6 Crew Members

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hornet

Hornet - Attack VTOL-14

These single-seat support aircraft are tremendously versatile.  The Hornet is often used as close air support to UNSC forces and can also be seen flying alongside larger craft such as the Pelican in a supporting role. 

This fast attack vehicle is a versatile anti air unit, but can also take the fight directly to the enemies ground units.  Having a few hornets in a battle can really change the battle in favor of the UNSC. 

Armament:
Twin Heavy Machine Guns

Missile Pods		 Crew:
1 Pilot

2 Marine gunners		 Role:
Antipersonnel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Vehicle Depot

A Vehicle Depot contains the heavy equipment and crew to assemble vehicle kits. Hydraulic cranes serve as the muscle to move everything from Cobra chassis, Scorpion armored plates, and the impressive selection of weaponry that these vehicles can bring to bear. The parts may take awhile to arrive, but when the engine from a new Scorpion fires up in the Vehicle Depot, the rumble is felt all across the base.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scorpion Tank

M808B Main Anti Air Tank (MAAT)

The Scorpion Main Battle Tank is a mainstay of UNSC forces. It is a flexible weapons platform that can take a beating as well as dish out a great deal of damage, although its main gun can have difficulty penetrating some heavy armor vehicles. Some would call it a jack of all trades, but a Scorpion can truly be the ace up your sleeve when it comes to breaking through an enemy position.

The Scorpion can be upgraded with a variety of technologies that allow it to pack more of a punch. Whatever flavor they come in, your enemy will learn to respect the Scorpion or end up under its treads.

Armament:
90mm Main gun
7.62mm Machine Gun

 Crew:
1 Driver
1-2 Gunner(s)

 Role:
Main Battle Tank

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




Wolverine

Wolverine – MAA-9 Wolverine(MBT)

Wolverine is a fast moving maneuverable anti-air vehicle. In its arsenal are two pods of Argent V Missiles that are located on the left and right of the driver and gunner seats. These missiles are specialized to target and deliver their warhead to an aircraft with great speed and maneuverability. The missile pods are quite large and can be reloaded via a mechanical system in the Wolverine, which stores a small supply of missiles onboard.

The targeting systems and anti-air capabilities of the Wolverine are second to none, but it can also angle its missile pods to launch missiles at ground targets. Stationary targets and buildings are your best bets for actually hitting anything. Although air vehicles generally know to steer clear, the Wolverine is quite vulnerable to anti-armor attacks both from vehicles or heavily upgraded infantry. The driver has the use of a XM511 Heavy Grenade Launcher for defense from ground attacks, which can potentially wreck soft targets, but truly this support vehicle relies on heavier units to defend it from a determined attack.

Armament:
Argent V Missile Pod X 2
XM511 Heavy Grenade Launcher

 Crew:
1 Driver
1 Gunner(s)

 Role:
Anti-Air

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




Cobra

Cobra – SP42 Cobra (MBT)

Although the Cobra has the ability to fill two roles, it is a specialized fighting vehicle. It has specialized armored panels that are designed to deflect hardened projectiles and absorb massive amounts of damage from explosive shells. Although it is not particularly fast, the Cobra is highly maneuverable. It totes around a pair of Rail Cannons on its turret that fire a high-density slug designed to penetrate enemy armor.

Alternately the Cobra crew can choose to lockdown the vehicle and deploy the larger Rail Cannon which fires a more high velocity explosive artillery shell. The sacrifice of mobility is made up for in the range advantage that elevating the big gun can offer. The artillery round is multipurpose and can cause a great amount of damage to just about anything it hits, including enemy fortifications.

Armament:
2 X Rail Cannons
Bombard Rail Cannon

 Crew:
1 Driver
1 Gunner(s)

 Role:
Anti-Armor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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JaggedSac on 21 December 2008

Hall

The Covenant Barracks is home to the Well-trained and numerous infantry of the Covenant Forces. Grunts lead by Elites, Jackals and Hunters are trained here. The different races are housed separately according to their status in the caste system. Grunts, the lowest of the caste system performs many of the more demining tasks. The lone Jackals tend to only socialize amongst themselves, while the solitary hunter’s communicate with each other via their collective consciousness.

The powerful covenant upgrades are researched here as well, augmenting the covenant infantry with better energy weapons and armor.


Jackal

The Kig-Yar, or Jackals, is an Avian species often seen with shields and longer range weapons. They make up the bulk of the Covenant ground forces (after the Grunts). The Jackals are often used in scouting or sniping roles, using their superior senses to their advantage.

Armament: Beam Rifle

Homeworld: Eayn

 

 



Grunt

The Grunts, or Unggoy, are the foot soldiers of Covenant ground forces. Used in large numbers to overwhelm enemy positions, Grunts are weak as individuals but are a force to be reckoned with in groups. Almost always lead by a higher-caste Covenant infantry unit, such as a Brute or Elite, they can wield most Covenant weapons.

The methane tanks that they breath from sometimes explode with funny results.

Armament: Plasma Pistols, Needler



Hunter

The Hunters, or Mgalekgolo, are massive colonies of small work-like created known as Lekgolo. These colonies of many smaller creatures take the form of huge, heavily-armored bipedal infantry. Carrying a massive shield and a Fuel Rod Gun, Hunters occupy a strong anti-vehicle role. Always appearing in pairs, they are more than a match for most UNSC Vehicles.

Armament: Special Hunter Shield

 

 

Citadel

"All hail the Great Journey"

The seat of power in the Covenant. This is the main nerve center for the interplanetary warfare of the covenant. It offers a modular system that makes aggressive colinization and rapid deployment of troops and armor effective.

This is the where the political and religious leaders of the Covenant or the Covenant issue orders to the various races and cultures that create the Covenant.

 

 

 

Shield Generator

One of the main advantages that the Covenant possesses over the UNSC is that they are able to field shield equipment on infantry, vehicles, space craft and structures. The Covenant Shield Generator occupies a building slot at the Citadel and provides a powerful shield over all of the Citadel’s structures, vastly increasing the defensive strength.

Covenant shield technology is repurposed Forerunner technology and requires vast amounts of power to use. Once the shield is drained, the buildings underneath the shield begin to take structural damage. Over time though, the shield will begin to regenerate back up to full strength. Expensive, and taking up a build slot, commanders who wish to use the Shield generator must choose between a strong defense, and other options.


Warehouse

You Store Things Here

The Covenant Warehouse utilizes gravity lifts to bring down supplies to Covenant bases. From here, workers move the supplies to the proper area for further use by the Covenant commander. The Warehouse can be upgraded to increase the rate of incoming supplies.



Turret

The Covenant Citadel comes with four available turret slots. These slots have room for light, medium and heavy turrets and can be further upgraded with specific anti-vehicle, anti-air, and anti–infantry turrents. The plasma mortar, fuel rod, and Needler upgrades can prove devastating against their opposing units. Approaching enemy units would be wise to take our Turrets quickly or risk their forces being decimated.

Turrets are expensive, and while they provide a very effective defense, they cannot hold out forever and will need military support in order to ensure victory. Turrets are very effective against Leader units and aircraft. Armament: Plasma Turrets

Crew: Automated

Role: Anti-Armor, Anti-Infantry, Anti-Air

 



Temple

The Temple is the main cultural and scientific building of the Covenant. This is where Prophets go to meditate upon Forerunner artifacts and how to best erradicate humanity. The upgrades that the Covenant research here are very expensive, however they are also very effective and powerful.

 



Scarab

The Scarab is the most frightening weapon in the Covenant arsenal. Repurposed heavy mining equipment, the Scarab’s mining laser can inflict massive damage across the battlefield. With anti-air turrets on top and a colossal laser, the Scarab is the most feared Covenant vehicle. It can climb over any terrain and although a slow, it is often the center of any battle it finds. Incredible expensive and slow to build, the Scarab is often seen late in battles and is often a deciding factor.

Something as big as the Scarab would be too expensive to conduct battlefield upgrade to, so there are no upgrades available.

Armament: Heavy Mining Laser, Anti Aircraft Plasma Cannons

Crew: A Lekgolo colony directs the Scarab from within.

 

 


Summit

The Summit is the roost for all the the Covenants powerful air force. The quick Banshee, the deadly Vampire and the versatile Engineers are all built here. The upgrades that make the Covenant Air Force even more fierce are available here.

 



Banshee

The most frequently seen Covenant Aircraft is the Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft, or Banshee. Carrying one pilot, this versatile and nimble aircraft is used to scout and harass enemy forces. Carrying twin plasma cannons and a fuel rod cannon, the Banshee can deal serious damage to both ground and air forces. It also has been known to have a speed boost ability.

Armament: Twin-Plasma Cannons, Fuel Rod Cannon

 



Engineer

The Engineer, known as the Huragok by the Covenant, is a race of gas-filled alien creatures created by the Forerunners to perform maintenance on Forerunner structures. The Engineers are the only way for the Covenant to repair their building and vehicles during combat and are very effective, especially once upgraded. They automatically search out damaged machinery to repair. They have no defenses or weapons and are easily killed, although they can repair each other, but not themselves.

They can be upgraded to the State of Grace which increases their repair rate and to give them Harmonious Digestion increases their movement speed. The Engineers have the ability of taking apart random technological objects without issue and being able to put them back together exactly how they found them. This is probably their way of studying and understanding new technologies. Role:Healing

 



Vampire

The Vampire is the mainstay of Covenant anti-air aircraft. With a heavy Needler turret, the Vampire can quickly overwhelm enemy air forces with a large barrage. Very effective in groups, it can bring an opposing aircraft down in seconds. When upgraded, the Vampire can drain enemy aircraft of their energy and cause it to crash to the ground, although this causes the Vampire to take damage as well.

The Vampire’s upgrades can be a game-changing element in air battles. The Stasis drain can lock down enemy air units while the stasis bomb can freeze enemy ground units for Covenant forces to pick off.

Armament: Heavy Needler, Stasis Drain Cannon, Stasis Bomb

Crew: 1 or 2 man crew pods

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Factory

The Factory is the manufacturing facility for Ghost scouts, Wraith Tanks and Locust walkers. This building serves as a sophisticated warehouse for all of the land based vehicles in the Covenants arsenal, and the powerful upgrades for all of the units are also researched here.

The Covenant can build the Factory immediately from the get-go without having to upgrade the Citadel giving them early land based firepower.

 



Locust

The Locust, like the Scarab, is another converted mining vehicle repurposed for military use. The Locust uses a powerful mining laser to inflict great damage to buildings. Although slow and expensive, the Locust is still a serious threat to UNSC forces, and buildings. It has an incredible range and can hit enemy forces when even their longest range units cannot strike back. Once upgraded, a pack of Locusts can quickly decimate an enemy base in only a few seconds.

The Locust has two upgrades that can make it a more effective fighting machine, Overdrive to increase movement speed and a shield amplifier to increase how much punishment it can take.

Armament: Charged Plasma Cannon

 



Ghost

The Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle, called the Ghost by the UNSC, is a very commonly used scout vehicle by the Covenant. It is lightly armored and carries twin plasma cannons for armament. It is quick and excellent for harassing infantry and even UNSC tanks have trouble hitting it since it is so agile. Piloted by an Elite, it is very effective as a light vehicle.

The Ghost has very powerful upgrades such as a boost ability, additional thrusters allowing it to strafe and juke incoming enemy fire, and finally an energy shield that deflects incoming damage.

Armament:
2 X Plasma Cannons

Crew:
1 Driver

Role:
Scouting



Wraith

The Type-25 Assault Gun Carriage, also known as the Covenant Wraith is their main battle vehicle. Heaviy armored, it functions more like a tank than it’s artillery-like cannon would imply. It fires a heavy plasma blast at targets causing area of effect damage, and melting through enemy armor. The Wraith is fairly quick and can devastate enemy armor columns and infantry at range. It is also equipped with anti-personnel plasma cannons. They carry thick armor that is almost invulnerable to small-arms fire.

It’s upgrades include a heavier shield providing more defensive strength, a Scorch ability that allows it to set the very ground on fire causing extra damage and finally a plasma modulation upgrade that vastly increases the firepower of the main gun.

Armament: Plasma Mortar Cannon

 

 



JaggedSac on 21 December 2008

 

 

 



colonelstubbs on 21 December 2008

Oh man, cannot wait for this game. In your face covenant people!



I hope my 360 doesn't RRoD
         "Suck my balls!" - Tag courtesy of Fkusmot

sinha on 21 December 2008

Looks great.
I almost hate to ask because I don't think I'll like the answer: What about the Flood?



We don't provide the 'easy to program for' console that they [developers] want, because 'easy to program for' means that anybody will be able to take advantage of pretty much what the hardware can do, so the question is what do you do for the rest of the nine and half years? It's a learning process. - SCEI president Kaz Hirai

It's a virus where you buy it and you play it with your friends and they're like, "Oh my God that's so cool, I'm gonna go buy it." So you stop playing it after two months, but they buy it and they stop playing it after two months but they've showed it to someone else who then go out and buy it and so on. Everyone I know bought one and nobody turns it on. - Epic Games president Mike Capps

We have a real culture of thrift. The goal that I had in bringing a lot of the packaged goods folks into Activision about 10 years ago was to take all the fun out of making video games. - Activision CEO Bobby Kotick

 

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CaptDS9E on 21 December 2008

The Flood are in the game in some way



Twitter:CaptDS9E

sinha on 21 December 2008
CaptDS9E said:
The Flood are in the game in some way

 

But are they at least a third playable race in multiplayer?

Jeez, come on Ensemble, how hard is it to completely mirror Starcraft when you're already 90% of the way there?



We don't provide the 'easy to program for' console that they [developers] want, because 'easy to program for' means that anybody will be able to take advantage of pretty much what the hardware can do, so the question is what do you do for the rest of the nine and half years? It's a learning process. - SCEI president Kaz Hirai

It's a virus where you buy it and you play it with your friends and they're like, "Oh my God that's so cool, I'm gonna go buy it." So you stop playing it after two months, but they buy it and they stop playing it after two months but they've showed it to someone else who then go out and buy it and so on. Everyone I know bought one and nobody turns it on. - Epic Games president Mike Capps

We have a real culture of thrift. The goal that I had in bringing a lot of the packaged goods folks into Activision about 10 years ago was to take all the fun out of making video games. - Activision CEO Bobby Kotick

 

badgenome on 21 December 2008

So awesome. I cry for you, Ensemble.

@sinha: The Flood aren't playable, but are in the game.



SHMUPGurus on 21 December 2008
sinha said:
CaptDS9E said:
The Flood are in the game in some way

 

But are they at least a third playable race in multiplayer?

Jeez, come on Ensemble, how hard is it to completely mirror Starcraft when you're already 90% of the way there?

If it happened, would it really be a bad thing? Doesn't Starcraft have that huge "cult" following anyways? ;)



Random game thought :
Why is Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 getting so much hate? We finally get a real game and they're not even satisfied... I'm starting to hate the gaming community so f****** much...

Watch my insane gameplay videos on my YouTube page!

DirtyP2002 on 21 December 2008

Flood might be DLC? Well wouldn't surprise me at all. MS loves the idea of DLC. A lot of the big games will get DLC.

  • Fable2
  • GTA IV
  • Fallout 3
  • Gears of War2
  • Halo ODST
  • Last Remnant

So why not Halo Wars? Let's see. But checking thos pics, Halo Wars will be epic. Maybe THE game that makes RTS on a console possible.



Imagine not having GamePass on your console...