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10/1/2009 5:22:47 PM
2177
Glyphs and treasure hunting; the truth about the Sword in ODST
[quote][/quote][b]If you are just joining us, the main discussion of this thread has shifted to unlocking the secret associated with the stonehenge rooms and glyphs around New Mombassa at night. The following info about the sword [i]led to[/i] the idea of an unlockable easter egg in ODST, and is still worty of a read. If you wish to join the treasure hunt (why not!) skip to the last pages of this thread and catch up!
Thanks for your contribution, and have fun![/b][quote][/quote]
Sorry, forgot to include this at first: This is all work done by I adJACENt I, and Pope Rex. Pope started the idea by looking at the Medal Chest, and then we both worked on it from there.
As most of you are aware, there is no Energy Sword in ODST. Except for [url=http://www.bungie.net/Account/profile.aspx?uid=7182993]this guy[/url], but he doesn't count. ;) Energy Swords are the [url=http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Energy_sword]signature weapon of the Sangheili (Elites)[/url], and since all of the Elites featured in ODST are already dead, it's no surprise that you cannot find a Sword anywhere. There is, however, and empty Sword hilt near a bunch of dead Elites and Brutes in the Tayari Plaza level, when Buck asks Dare "What's with all the dead Elites?"
Well, as some of you may know, there are two medal GIFs in the ODST GIF database pertaining to Swords. The [url=http://www.bungie.net/images/halo3stats/odst/medals/gif_large/sword_spree.gif]Sword Spree[/url], and the [url=http://www.bungie.net/images/halo3stats/odst/medals/gif_large/slice_and_dice.gif]Slice and Dice[/url]. In Halo 3, the Sword Spree was obtained by killing 5 enemies in a row with the Sword without dying, and the Slice and Dice bumped that number up to 10.
Those images were obtained by viewing the Page source of a person's [url=http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Halo3/CareerStatsODST.aspx?player=I%20adJACENt%20I]ODST medal chest[/url]. These pics are not to be confused with the [url=http://www.bungie.net/images/halo3stats/medals/fd6bd89a-db65-4f69-997b-631c52596729.gif]Sword Spree[/url] and [url=http://www.bungie.net/images/halo3stats/medals/0bd30346-acfe-4345-88c7-9a8f7c244cf1.gif]Slice and Dice[/url] from Halo 3. Completely different URLs and sizes. If you attempt to go further up on that url, and try to view all medals, you get a [url=http://www.bungie.net/images/halo3stats/odst/medals/gif_large/]"Sorry, but you are not authorized to view this page"[/url] message, which is understandable. Whether there's a secret or not, I doubt Bungie wants us viewing every single little GIF they have for the stats.
So the question is: Why were there Sword Spree medals made up for ODST, if they did not include a Sword in the game? There are three viable options here...
1. The medals were made due to someone initially thinking there was a Sword in the game. Maybe Elites were in the first stages of the game, maybe we could have stumbled on that fight between the Brutes and Elites, and picked up a Sword off a dead Elite. Maybe they were there just in case someone decided to put a Sword in later. Definitely plausible.
2. Two words, three letters: DLC. Maybe a Sword will be included in some DLC further down the road. DLC has not been confirmed at this point, and [url=http://www.gamerzines.com/xbox-360/news/no-dlc-for-odst.html]there are currently no plans to release any[/url]. So...
3. There is a Sword somewhere in the game, that is meant to be either unlocked or found, and this is what I will focus on for the rest of the thread.
Our first clue to there being something unlockable was the ODST Medal Chest. If you [url=http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll319/XGC_Jacen_Solo/ODSTMedalChest.jpg]look at this picture[/url], you will see two areas I wish to draw your attention to. First is the Weapon Spree medals. Notice how there are black boxes to the right of the sprees of 10. Now, on the bottom, after Hero, the medal box ends, and the last two slots are just grayed out. Why would there be black boxes in the Weapon Spree block, but not at the bottom of the chest?
Also, I forgot to add the following in, Pope reminded me of it...
[quote]In the source code of the ODST medal page, the black medal boxes appear as an object type "hidden medal" as part of a "medalblock" class.
Here:
[/quote]
Well, we figured there must be some other medal, that no one else has found and unlocked yet. Since these blocks were next to the Weapon Sprees of 10, we first assumed that there would be a spree of much more than 10. Pope tested this theory out, and found that 100 straight splatters will still not give you any extra medal (we tried that [url=http://www.bungie.net/Stats/ODSTg.aspx?gameid=32032311&player=I%20adJACENt%20I]here[/url]). We next thought that maybe there was something outrageous you had to do, like playing an entire Round/Set on Legendary while only getting Splatters.
So along this line of thinking, we started trying out various URL's to find a GIF of a medal not on the medal chest. At one point, I started trying some of the Halo 3 MM medals, just for the hell of it. Sure enough, I found the Sword Spree and Slice and Dice. As pointed out earlier, these were part of the ODST GIFs, not the Halo 3 GIFs. Two completely separate URLs.
So now we have these two medals, and no way of achieving them. If we are correct in our assumptions, there is a Sword somewhere in this game, most likely Campaign. We scoured the streets of New Mombosa, looking for any sign of this Sword. We found the empty hilt in Tayari Plaza, and we also came across an odd saying from the Superintendent on this same mission. When we first meet a local guy, he sends us into some buildings to flank a few Brutes. While transitioning from one buliding to another, we hear Buck say something like "What the hell happened here?" And the SI responds "Slow down. Final notice: Bill past due." Could this be a clue? Does anyone know why the Si would say that?
Another possible clue is the little "Stonehenge" room with the two dead Elites. It has 6 pillars, with the 'Y' markings on them, two dead Elites, two Engineers floating around, and a Carbine on the floor next to one of the Elites. What are those markings for? Do they show directions to anything, similar to all of the SI symbols around the city that point to Audion Logs and Beacons? Why do they look different, without anything between the prongs?
These same symbols are located in the Tayari Plaza section at night, while playing as the Rookie, where all the dead Elites and Brutes are. Why are these special symbols only where Elites are at?
There are a couple of other similar rooms around, too, all accessible through a Security Door. Some of them have Engineers, some with Audio Logs, some with other enemies. On the VISR map, these rooms show the pillars inside of them, but when you get into the room, all you can see are shadows where the pillars once stood (Mickey's pod crash site is one example). What's the deal with that?
So, we're left with many questions. Why are there spaces for medals next to the Weapon Sprees of 10? Why are there Sword medals when there is no Sword (that we know of) in the game? What are these symbols that only show up near the dead Elites?
[Edited on 10.04.2009 2:25 PM PDT]
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] SV Garlic Here's a great find by Gamesagers [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Gamesagers I just checked and the sword picture is also in the images for the weapons in odst just click view image on one of the weapons and replace the name with sword. [url]http://www.bungie.net/images/halo3stats/odst/weapons/gif_med/sword.gif[/url] I think you're right. okay i also checked and it is a new image heres the halo 3 image url [url=http://www.bungie.net/images/halo3stats/weapons/fdb4005f-45a4-472a-8646-9763ebc75aad.gif]here[/url] notice how the image is different too.[/quote] I just found the [url=http://www.bungie.net/images/halo3stats/odst/medals/gif_large/skyjacker.gif]Skyjacker medal[/url]. Haven't been able to Skyjack a Banshee though.[/quote]There is a glitch to skyjack a Banshee. It's like the Anti Air Wraith glitch. Maybe getting the sword is a glitch.
