There are a couple of significant changes implemented in the Beta that may cause a little confusion at first. We should start by reminding you that all of these settings are implemented for the duration of the Beta, and while they are considered part of our testing process, we expect these items to cause a lot of fuss. So here they are, plainly described with a simple caveat: This is Beta software. These are a work in progress. Relax. But get used to RB to pick stuff up, board vehicles, open doors and use objects.

Control Schemes

The controls for Halo 3 have changed significantly with the advent of the 360 controller. Although many things remain the same, the addition of the “bumper” buttons allows us to implement independent reloading of weapons (via LB and RB) as well as freeing up the X button for equipment. It will take some getting used to of course, since you’ve had three years to become accustomed to the Halo 2 scheme, but an hour or two of play should make it feel like second nature. Of course, you might have some trouble going back to Halo 2. The default scheme is pictured below, and the following schemes are implemented in the Beta. All of these are of course subject to change and some voice and control customization options are not available in the Beta. NOTE: One additional control option is “Hold to Crouch/Toggle Crouch” which is exactly what it sounds like – a way to save thumb strain while creeping around, if you so desire.

The default button layout is one of four available in the Beta. There are notable changes from Halo 2.

Beta Stick Layouts:

• Default
• Southpaw
• Legacy
• Legacy/Southpaw

Beta Button Layouts:

• Default
• Southpaw
• Boxer
• Green Thumb

The Default stick layout remains unchanged from Halo 2.

Voice and Chat

In the Halo 3 Public Beta, the default voice setting is that you can hear and talk to All. However, it is important to note that in ranked games, you can only communicate with Team and Party Members in-game. In ranked matches, this means you can’t hear smack talk or proximity voice from strangers. You will still be able to communicate with everyone, including non-team strangers in the post-game lobby, unless you change your settings to avoid that.

Remember this is a setting for the Beta and is subject to change. In unranked social matches, you can hear everyone, if you so wish. There are also several customizable voice settings. You can mute everyone, limit all chat to Team and Party (no matter which playlist you’re in) or, while actually in-game, mute an annoying individual (press the Back button, use the right stick to select the offending player, and press X to mute them instantly - with practice, it takes about a second).

Play around with these settings until you find a level of communication that you’re comfortable with and remember, these are the Beta options. They can and will change.

For the duration of the Beta, the “Push to Talk” button, which more accurately is a “Tap To Talk” button, is on the D-pad – tap any direction to open a team broadcast channel (which will automatically shut off after a short period of silence). Remember, this feature can be overridden depending on other settings chosen in the UI or Matchmaking rules. Voice and chat settings are of course subject to the normal rules of Beta software – they are in development and may change before the game launches in fall.

Note: It is also important to remember that changes made in the Xbox 360 Guide override any game settings, including those of Halo 3. So if something seems amiss when you’re playing, make sure you don’t have a conflicting setting activated in the Guide.

It may seem complex, but in most real-life situations it’s very simple; players are going to pick a level of settings they’re happy with, and use those for the duration of their Halo 3 experience. We just want to give you the most options possible. One of the things we've tried to do deliberately is make better use of morons: We don’t ignore the fact that online gaming has its share of rude, immature and persnickety players. We’ve given the Halo 3 player a vast range of control over who they do and don’t have to hear or talk to in games. In short, you can turn a profanity spewing maroon into a silent, harmless opponent, with a quick press of a button. You can choose to hear everyone, just your friends, a mix of your Team and your Party, or enjoy blessed silence. The choice is yours. And if there’s just one bad apple, you can silence him or her with a button press too. It's designed to let you play more people, with fewer problems.

Read about Matchmaking and Parties in the Halo 3 Beta HERE
Return to the Halo 3 Beta Index HERE