Halo fans in the U.S. were over the moon when Microsoft announced a new touring fan event dubbed “Halo: Outpost Discovery.” So we headed back to the Anaheim Convention Center to check out the Halo-themed attractions, VR, laser tag, and more.
Halo Outpost Discovery is all the right kind of meta. The setting is a sort of UNSC (United Nations Space Command) educational center on Earth after the events of Halo 3. In that narrative, we the attendees are “recruits”, and we’re here to be informed about the Covenant, Flood, and Forerunners. The UNSC has all these experiences set up to be both informative and fun. It’s like a mini Halo World’s Fair.
Hall of History
The Hall of History is your Instagram one-stop-shop. It’s full of life-size sculptures and photo ops of various elements of the Halo lore. The detail is quite impressive here. Of course, one of the first things you’ll find is a full sculpture of the game’s protagonist, the Master Chief.
The beating heart of Halo: Outpost Discovery is the Hall of History, where you immerse yourself in the achievements and tribulations of humanity through a combination of informative graphics, artifacts, and tangible visuals pulled directly from the Halo franchise. Featuring everything from United Nations Space Command (UNSC) weapons and accessories, uniforms, an iconic to-scale Warthog vehicle, life-sized sculptures, and more. This exuberant, visceral tour of the Halo universe is the perfect introduction to your journey. In the Hall of History, new and experienced Halo fans alike find something to discover.
Directly flanking Chief, a Covenant Elite bearing down on you with an energy sword.
There was a great photo op showing the size of each of the alien members of the Covenant. Some of these suckers are big.
This thing definitely gives you an idea of why these guys are scary in a way that blasting through them playing as the Master Chief does not. If you’re not a walking tank like Chief, some of these things would rip you apart like tissue paper.
The Hall of History is full of all the most iconic pieces from the series, anything pre-Halo 4.
Halo: Reach is even represented here.
The Ring Experience
An extension of the Hall of History, The Ring Experience is definitely one of the tentpole attractions of the outpost. It’s a little like going to a museum, you get headphones and you’re led through a guided tour of several artifacts from the Halo rings.
The Ring Experience lets attendees explore the story of the mysterious Halo Array through artifacts that leap off the levels and pages of some of your favorite Halo titles. At the center of the Ring Experience is a visually immersive, multi-projector, dome-based theatrical experience, featuring a never-before-seen exploration of a Halo ring, giving fans a brand-new appreciation for the sheer scale and magnitude of these ancient installations.
A lot of the things shown here were built to scale, minus the scale model of a section of the Halo ring. Don’t know what any of the jargon I’m talking about is? This is the place to learn. Gabriela will tell you all you need to know about how the rings work.
You’re taken through four rooms, one with a model of the Halo ring, one with an Aggressor Sentinel, and one with an Activation Index, 343 Guilty Spark, and a horrifying Flood Infection Form. If you didn’t want to touch one of those things before, you definitely wouldn’t want to now.
Finally, you’re taken into a dome-shaped room with a big screen on top of it. It’s here where you get a “live feed” from the Honeybee drones that are flying around a Halo ring, giving you a look at several scenes. Think modern Circlevision 360°, as the fast-flying made me reach for the railing in front of me many times to steady myself. For fans excited for the upcoming Halo: Infinite, it’s very Infinite in design, as you pass landscapes similar to those seen in the trailer for that game. That in and of itself is enough to be excited about, but the experience was beautifully done, a huge shout out to Falcon’s Media for putting so much love and care into it.
I couldn’t take pictures in the dome, but I do have pictures in a gallery below from The Ring experience panel where they showed final images of what you could see here.
Covenant Escape
Test your puzzle skills in this escape-room themed to a Covenant ship. Small groups were sent into a decommissioned Covenant ship for training on how to escape the alien spacecraft.
Explore a reclaimed section of a Covenant ship in this escape-room-style experience. Here, attendees aim to familiarize themselves on various high-risk boarding maneuvers and strategies commonly undertaken by the UNSC. As the challenges intensify, guests must work together to disable the Covenant technology as quickly as possible in order to set themselves free!
Recruits are led through three separate rooms in this escape…craft, each having some sort of puzzle that needs to be solved to open the next door.
All of the puzzles were physical. Examples included flipping switches, hitting buttons in the correct order, and finding hidden objects.
We had a large group when we went through, probably about 8 people, and the rooms are small. The overall atmosphere was interesting, but with so many people in the room, we escaped in less than five minutes. Either my group was really smart, or the puzzles were too easy.
Covenant Escape is definitely a fun experience, although a bit short if you happen to have clever people in your group. I’d love to see a more difficult experience in the future, hopefully, one with more capacity. Maybe they could even offer multiple escape rooms so they could be operated simultaneously.
Combat Deck
To put it simply, this is Halo laser tag. It has everything you’d expect from a laser tag game, but with a Halo theme to it.
Experience the rush of playing Halo in “real life” with this Halo-themed laser tag Combat Deck. Danger is present around every corner, as attendees and their squadmates must use their cunning and coordination to win this fast-paced, team-based, pulse-pounding activity. Two teams of up to twenty go head-to-head for a chance to claim victory in the ultimate “Big Team Battle” experience!
Broken out into teams of about 15, you’re holding what looks very much like a BR55 Battle Rifle with a nice little red-dot sight on it, with your hit detecting band on your head. Then you’re thrown into an arena for some classic Big Team Battle Slayer.
Forgetting that we were playing Halo and the players have shields and health, the first round we played went poorly and I only got one kill. This experience plays similar to the video game, you don’t kill someone just because you shot them, you have to deplete their shield and then their health before they’ll die. And just like the game, it’s hard when you only have such a small window to hit them, creating an interesting and satisfying skill gap. Our team did win both rounds, but the second round I contributed more with 7 kills. Maybe the “rules” of this could be explained a little bit more clearly for first-timers.
We do wonder how fun this could be if an objective was added in a future version, just to mix things up. I’ve always wanted to grab one of those ridiculously huge flags in Capture the Flag.
Training Grounds (VR)
This was the one we were most excited for and it did not disappoint. Training Grounds is a 3v3 Team Slayer game and it’s plasma pistols only. You’re strapped into a VR kit consisting of a vest, HTC Vive, and the Vive’s wand controller. There are two games of 3v3 going at the same time, and they’re already suiting up the next group while the current group is playing (meaning the line moved much quicker here than many other experiences). The whole thing is surprisingly efficient. Once you’re strapped in and booted into the game, you’re now a Spartan standing on a floating platform above Halo 3’s Valhalla multiplayer map.
Through the lens of virtual reality, teams of three will simulate what it takes to be a Spartan, in an immersive, Halo themed combat training environment.
Once the game begins, you’re welcome to freely walk the small square arena. The plasma pistol was an interesting choice because you can charge shots for more damage, but the thing overheats, making it useless if you’re not careful with it. There were many moments where my gun was overheated and I was defenseless. Strategy and skill are important here, which I appreciate.
My Kill/Death ratio of 0.6 (4/6) is definitely lower than my usual Halo games, there’s a bit of a learning curve here. Still, the immersion of the headset and just some nice old-school arena gameplay is incredible. I love that they have a live commentator like a classic Halo tournament as well (and you can hear him through your headset in-game). When you’re waiting in line or just passing by, you can see a live feed of the gameplay from outside the play area, which was a great touch.
While they’re using Vive hardware, this doesn’t seem like something you could just play at home, either, making it a bit more special than common VR experiences. It’s not quite The Void, but it’s definitely in a league of its own considering the logistics of a local multiplayer VR game where hit detection, tracking, and accuracy are so important. I don’t think I’ve ever played something quite like it, yet somehow they pulled it all off and…it’s fantastic. If the line’s long, it’s still worth the wait.
Pelican Training
I have a few nicknames I could give this one. Teamwork: the Game. Smuggler’s Run: Halo Edition (or maybe Halo Ohnaka Solutions?). Whatever it is, Pelican Training is a team-based simulator where it’s your job to keep the Pelican in working order.
Step into the Pelican Training simulation, an interactive experience that gives you an opportunity to get hands-on with some of the UNSC’s most battle-hardened hardware through teamwork and deft decision-making.
We found this experience to both be one of the most interesting in concept and also most likely to be a wash for the participants. See, I make jokes that this is like Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run, but one of the ways I’ve explained it as if “everyone’s an Engineer and the buttons are actually important.” You’re thrown into one of two “Pelicans” (faithful creations of the troop area of a Pelican) with 7 other people and you’re all required to work together and listen to the audible instructions to operate the Pelican properly.
That’s where that sticky “work together” thing comes in. There were 7 of us in this pod and while we were instructed with what to do, some of the participants really didn’t get it. It didn’t help that those of us who did understand were on one side while the others were on the other. Most of the “simulation” is to hit the switches, buttons, and levers in the correct order. Simple, right? Well, each station has a number and not every station is doing the same thing. Station 1 and 2 have completely different instructions and opportunities to operate their panel than Station 3 or 4 (and so on).
Round 1 of the simulation is a freebie, if you fail, then you get to try again. Round 2, though, is the real deal and if you fail then the simulation ends before you get to continue. This thing is very unforgiving, like a military simulator (it’s meant to be), so if you screw up, you lose. That means there are 8 individual fail points on the Pelican. And indeed, we received two teammates who did not do their tasks, which is frustrating. What makes that worse for those people is that there are indicators on each panel telling you who are doing (or not doing) their job (the corresponding number lights up indicating that they’ve done their task). It’s very awkward having a whole Pelican shouting “hey, station 1 what the heck are you doing? Flip the synchronous switch!”
This all led to a very short Pelican Training session for us, as we failed out almost immediately. I applaud the Outpost team for being brave enough to include something a little more skill-based and including the possibility of failure. Failure as a possible outcome makes sense in an audience made up of gamers. Regardless, this would be a fun repeat experience if more capacity is added in the future to keep the line shorter, as I didn’t have time to give it another try (although I did find out, later on, there is a single rider line).
Target Range & Combat Training
These experiences are simply Halo dart gun games. Target Range uses a digital screen you shoot at with either a toy dart M7 Submachine Gun or an M6 Magnum. Targets pop up on the screen, you shoot at them, simple as that. There’s even an Outpost-wide scoreboard so you know who’s the best shot.
A challenging, interactive target range lets attendees see if they have what it takes to defend humanity. This fast and fun test of skill features UNSC and Covenant-themed blasters, target alleys, and integrated touch panels that allows attendees to choose from a variety of game difficulties and target profiles. After each match, attendees can view and compare their speed and accuracy with each other to see which recruit reigns supreme!
Combat Training, on the other hand, is a lot like a classic Nerf war. Several people are put in a room with a few boxes for cover and you just shoot darts at each other with M6 Magnums for three minutes. This was added just for Anaheim and it’s a decent time-waster (also fun for kids).
Gaming Arenas
There were two arenas full of Xboxes and PCs where attendees could play new and old games alike. In one corner, just for Anaheim, they were playtesting the Horde mode of the upcoming Gears 5 (it’s great btw). There were several rows of Xboxes set to either Halo 5 or Halo 3 where competitions and tournaments were being held.
Finally, the PCs were set up to play an early version of Halo: Master Chief Collection for PC. The first game in that collection, Halo: Reach, was available to play. I was able to try the “Tip of the Spear” mission in glorious 4K 60fps with mouse and keyboard controls. For those PC players who care, it’s crisp looking and feels great. I’m excited to try this one at home (I may even have to drop my controller for mouse and keyboard).
Also, if you did happen to be around the nearby stage at various points in the day, the 343i team were playing Halo 5 live on Mixer. They were even pulling people from the VR line to play on their teams made up of 343i employees and Halo pros.
The Armory/Cosplay
Halo has a huge prop and cosplay community, so there was plenty of custom made armor sets and weapons to check out. Here are a few awesome cosplayers we saw:
Of course, one of our favorites was Halo story writer Jeff Easterling’s “Master Beef” cosplay, made up of Arby’s wrappers, cups, and boxes.
HE ACTUALLY DID IT! @Arbys pic.twitter.com/mWaVxfTfTT
— John Junyszek (@Unyshek) September 1, 2019
The Armory itself had the 405th and Anvil Station on hand, both hosting props and cosplayers to take photos with. The 405th even had a cosplay repair station to help any attendees who might be having wardrobe malfunctions.
This is also where the Armory stage was. A few panels were in this corner, mostly focused on community-driven subjects. I do wonder how many attendees really sat in on these panels due to the low-traffic location, though. Regardless, the topics were neat.
Post Exchange and Marketplace
It’s a merch shop! Halo has the fortune of having cool merch and there was plenty of it on hand to pick up at Halo: Discovery Outpost.
I was surprised to see just how many designs and options were available that were exclusive to the event. And yes, we did have to buy a few things, who can resist that adorable Master Chief plushie? While I think they could definitely expand this in the future, the shop seemed to understand what most of the fans wanted.
Panel Discussions
There were a handful of panels throughout the weekend, with a wide variety of topics, but all related to Halo. We really appreciated how many were related to game development and community, those were very interesting. Here are a couple we attended:
The Road to Zanzibar
As huge Halo 2 fans, we loved this panel dedicated entirely to the multiplayer of that game, hosted by some developer veterans. They had Max Hoberman from Certain Affinity (who was a lead on Halo 2), Frank O’Connor (Halo’s Franchise Development Director), Brian Jarrard (Halo’s Community Director), with the host, Halo-pro Bravo.
The discussion was entirely about Halo 2’s multiplayer, complete with some old documents from the actual development. Max actually had quite a few things to say about the rushed development. Apparently, the developers had planned a 16v16 mode and the arena-style gameplay we have today was meant to be a sort of side party game. We definitely think this was one of the best, if not the best panel because it dug down into the history of such a beloved title.
Making of The Ring Experience
The Ring Experience was created by Falcon’s Digital Media, a part of Falcon’s Creative Group (you might recognize them as the developers of Curse of DarKastle at SeaWorld). They had a panel going over the development process of how something with a massive scale like the Ring Experience is done.
Teaming with the development team at 343 Industries, they were able to re-use actual Halo game assets and increase the resolution of the textures to meet the high resolution needed for such a big screen. They also got a little creative freedom with creating spaces that we had never seen before in any other Halo media.
The entire render process for The Ring Experience took nearly 25,000 hours, even with their large GPU rendering farm. The level of detail is obvious when you actually see the film.
There was a lot of technical stuff I’m not qualified to explain, so I’ve included a gallery of the slide decks below to check out for yourself.
We appreciated this one for similar reasons to the Zanzibar one, it went in-depth into the intricacies of the development of the experience. We really hope there’s more like this and the Zanzibar panel in the future.
There’s Two of Us In Here
A conversation-style panel with the voices of Master Chief and Cortana, Steve Downes and Jen Taylor. There was a great mixture of thoughtful and funny questions, but it’s always interesting to hear these two bounce off each other considering their character’s relationship in-game.
Some of the more interesting topics included an awkward moment at a convention where a fan smelled Jen Taylor’s hair, a discussion on how difficult it is to sit down in full armor, and apparently, Jen Taylor is never on the release party lists.
Halo Game Shows
Somehow this ended up being one of the favorite experiences of the night. It was hosted by Ske7ch from 343 Industries, Halo-pro Bravo, and run by Dust Storm from Podtacular, all some of the funniest people in the Halo community. There were two Halo-themed game shows, Family Feud and Wheel of Fortune, and they picked members of the audience to play on stage.
I don’t know what happened but at some point, that entire half of the convention center just exploded with people to watch this thing and the crowd was getting rowdy. The crowd and the hosts were what made this so great and…well that’s really what makes the Halo community great, isn’t it?
We about died during the segment on “what would two Spartans do on the first date?” I don’t know who they polled for these questions, but the answers created some hilarious moments.
The VIP Experience
I’m sure some people are interested in how the different prices and levels of tickets worked. Here were the prices for tickets:
- Single Day General Admission – $60
- Single Day VIP – $140
- 3-Day General Admission – $130
- 3-Day VIP Ticket – $320
The main differences between general admission and VIP are the two exclusive hours (one in the morning, another at the end), a swag bag, and access to the VIP lounge. The VIP hours are definitely the selling point, they’re a bit like Extra Magic Hours at Disneyland. Since it’s only VIPs, the lines for things are shorter than they would be during the rest of the day, so obviously you wait less and see more. I can’t say much for the swag bag, that wasn’t a part of my media credentials, but a lot of people were wearing their Outpost VIP shirts.
The VIP lounge originally sounded like just a place to grab snacks and sit down for a little while, but it was a little bit more than that. Firstly, they had two Xboxes to play split-screen Halo and two Halo: Fireteam Raven arcade machines set to freeplay (the latter is set up on the show floor as well, but there are large lines for it). I hadn’t had a chance to go to Dave and Busters to try out Fireteam Raven so that was a nice surprise.
The best perk was something that wasn’t advertised: celebrities and members of the development team could come in to meet and greet. Some were scheduled, like a meet and greet with the 343 Industries team, and others spontaneous like our chance to see Steve Downes (Master Chief) and Jen Taylor (Cortana/Dr. Halsey).
Is it valuable enough to you to pay $80+ more? I think that’s something you’ll have to answer for yourself. I could see them tweaking the VIP perks, starting with putting it behind security so I wouldn’t have to keep getting my bag checked every time I wanted a snack.
Final Thoughts
Since this is the first year of Halo Outpost Discovery, we were a bit skeptical of growing pains, but in the end, we found it to be a well thought out fan event. I’m not entirely sure what kind of demand they were expecting, but there was certainly a lot. The true charm seemed to come through in the little things, though. The staff was having fun (and making it fun), both those manning booths and the 343 Industries employees running content on stages. They even had a secret mini-game of sorts that would net you dog tags for completing various challenges.
There are a few things that I would suggest to the Outpost staff, should they decide to do this again (and they really should!). First off, the panels were amazing and I had no idea they were happening until about a week before when I was sent the schedule. Even still, many were well attended, so expanding them both physically in size and in number would be wonderful. Each experience also could use more capacity to keep lines shorter by either increasing the number of experiences and/or duplicating some so they could be run simultaneously. Finally, I feel like the things that really shined were either community-driven like the Halo Game Show, or felt more connected to the games like The Ring experience, Training Grounds, or any of the panels about the development. Consider this a formal request for more things like The Ring experience, seeing the world from a different perspective is what made Halo Outpost Discovery unique!
As it stands, it seems like the staff at the Outpost have a handle on what it is Halo fans want. I could definitely see this expanding into a really big deal in the future with the team at 343i’s continued dedication to the community and their finger directly on the pulse.
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