Terminal (level)

Terminal
Game
Game	Halo 2
Features
Location	New Mombasa, Earth
Terrain	Train Station
Details
Weapons	Battle Rifle Carbine Energy Sword Magnum Plasma Pistol Plasma Rifle Rocket Launcher Shotgun SMG Sniper Rifle Fragmentation Grenades Plasma Grenades
Vehicles	Warthog Ghost Wraith
Power-ups	Overshield
Gametypes	Slayer CTF Assault Oddball Territories King of the Hill Juggernaut
Recommended players	6-16

Were you looking for the series of seven easter eggs in Halo 3, the Terminals?

The CTMS made New Mombasa's rail system one of the safest on Earth; unfortunately it was one of the Covenant's first targets.

Terminal is a fairly large asymmetrical multiplayer map in Halo 2. Terminal was added to Halo 2 in the Maptacular Pack.

Description

It is set on Earth, in the city of New Mombasa, in a huge train station called Liwitoni Station. MagLev trains speed through the level at regular intervals. This map includes the Wraith as the default heavy for multiplayer.

There is a thunderstorm either to the north or to the south of the station, although the skyscrapers mostly hide it.

Gameplay

Territories

• Train Crossing
• Station Courtyard
• Lower Garage

Terminal PA Announcements

In Terminal Station Level there are PA announcements to add a bit of realism to the map. The announcements, instead of being dry and generic bulletins, are in fact a relatively amusing source of in-jokes, Easter eggs, and Bungie references.

To hear the announcements clearly enough you can stand on the ramp that goes from the raised area inside the terminal up to the station platform. Look at the column with the scrolling "*STATION CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE*" sign. Just above that sign is an inclined setback. Jump from the ramp to the part of the setback just to the right of the megaphone (you may have to crouch jump to make it). It'll take a few tries, but once you land there without slipping off, you stay there. Now the announcements are loud and clear. The best sound quality can be had by looking towards the map of New Mombasa near the floor.

Or you can listen to the announcements themselves at the HBO Halo 2 Dialog database.

Male Announcer

"A child’s My Pet Blind Wolf stuffed toy has been found. Will the owner please claim it at the lost and found." Reference to the Blind Wolf ridable Halo creature that was cut from Halo: Combat Evolved. "The station cafeteria is now open. Today’s specials feature Bentllama Burgers, Phlegm Brulee, and Scooter Pie." Bentllama is the nickname for Bungie animator, Nathan Walpole Phlegm Brulee is the nickname for storyboard artist, Lee Wilson Scooter is the nickname for Steven Scott, Effects artist "Attention passengers: the Old Mombasa 4:18 is running several minutes ahead of schedule." "Will the owner of the brown Über chassis, license code P0-WND, please return to your vehicle." Uberchassis is the in game name for the car that's sitting on the pedestal in the offensive base, as well as in various places in Outskirts and Metropolis and the license code if you sound it out is "Pwned," a common gamer-ism. "Security warning: track section 27 to 45. Please dispatch security detail." Track section 27 to 45 is probably the playable area and there is a lot of action going on. "Janitorial please report to parking level 2 with a mop and bucket. Janitorial to parking level 2." All the fighting has created quite a mess... "Mr. Jones to the white phone, please. Mr. Jones to the white phone." Most likely a reference to Bungie co-founder Jason Jones and to the movie 'Airplane!'.

Female Announcer

"Smoking is prohibited at all transit facilities." Possible reference to the burning wreckage of vehicles and players. Also a normal train announcement. "The New Mombasa Transit Authority asks all customers to be aware of their surroundings. If you see any suspicious activity, or unattended packages, please call the New Mombasa transit security hotline" Ironic considering that there is a little bit of an ongoing battle in the Station. "Please note: online fare increases will be in effect April 19th." A reference to Bicycle Day. "Mind the gap." A reference to the infamous Mind the gap announcement in the London Underground and the Toronto TTC. "Warning: for safety and comfort, passengers should be in good health, and free from heart, back, or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by high-speed rail travel." Normal train announcement and a reference to all the injuries received by the other players. "All passengers are advised to wait in designated areas only." Normal train announcement. "Always use overhead walkway when crossing tracks." Normal train announcement. "Thank you for riding with New Mombasa Transit. For any questions or concerns, please contact the transit hotline." Normal train announcement. "Due to security restrictions, the following stations will not be in service until further notice: Liwitoni, Kilindini, Manyimbo, Nyali, Mtongwe. We appreciate your patience." All of these are the names of actual neighborhoods in modern-day Mombasa. Liwitoni is where Terminal is, Kilindini is the area near the Metropolis level, Manyimbo is the area around the space elevator, Nyali is behind the elevator, on the other side of the river, and Mtongwe is further north up the coast. "Possession of firearms at any transit facility is a federal offense." Normal train announcement. A little bit ironic though since all players have weapons... "Upon request, all passengers are required to present their valid transit pass to Transit Authority personnel." Normal train announcement. "Parking lot Station Plaza is prohibited." Normal train announcement. "Passengers connecting to Orbital Shuttle Hub board westbound trains." Gives a little glimpse into Earth's transportation network: people use maglev trains to reach their local Orbital Shuttle Hub, then board a shuttle to fly to distant cities. "Safety is everyone’s responsibility." A joke directed towards the constant fighting throughout the terminal. "Attention: inbound train." Normal train announcement. "Welcome to Station 7: Liwitoni. Please refer to video monitors for current information." Another 7 reference. Also, all the video monitors are tuned to channel 7. "Children must be monitored at all times. Do not leave children unattended in station." Normal train announcement, ironic though as there are so many pre-teens that play in Matchmaking. "Please be aware of incoming trains, and stand clear of the tracks until trains have come to a complete stop." Normal train announcement, ironic because the train never stops.

Strategies

A map of Terminal.

In CTF, it's a good idea to attempt to draw the enemy with the flag onto the tracks so you don't waste your ammo.

In a capture the flag match, it would be best if you are attacking, to jump into a Warthog (a Gauss Warthog) and get a gunner. Do not wait for other teammates to get in the passenger seat. Instead of going up the ramp, go in between the ramp, and the train wall, and take out the Wraith as quickly as possible. It does not matter if nobody is in it. Just destroy it; this will help your team a lot.

• If you are the defending team you have three priorities besides guarding the flag...

1. Get the Energy Sword. Should the offensive team have it, neutralize the wielder as fast as possible and then take it for your own use. One of the reasons to do so is the Wraith. Should someone on your team be manning it, and a sword wielder sword-cancels or just swords the Wraith, the sword will glide safely right up to it and instantly be able to board the vehicle and possibly kill the driver.
2. Kill the enemy rocket-man and steal the Rocket launcher. Even if the Rocket Launcher has one round left, keep it! Don't let it respawn! If you fire the last one, still hold on to it and prevent it from respawning, as doing this will slow the offense down. Give it to some one who is good with it or drives your team's Wraith.
3. Keep the Wraith Tank in one piece! This is obvious; the Wraith is the ultimate vehicle based weapon platform in the map. Do not lose it! If it is destroyed, defense will be twice as hard since enemy Ghosts and Warthogs can roll right up to your base and give you hell.
4. If you manage to grab the sniper rifle, you can generally stop most of an assault on your own, as you can destroy Ghosts with shots to the fuel tank, kill any driver if you are skilled enough, and kill ground troops before they even see you.
5. If you are skilled enough with both the energy sword and rocket launcher or the energy sword and the sniper rifle, you may go on the offensive and take out all of the vehicle spawn protectors if there are any and take their vehicles.

• If you are on the offensive team you have a lot more to do such as:

1. Drive a Warthog and cause chaos.
2. Grab the Rocket Launcher. This should be obvious, Rocket(s) + Wraith = Wraith destroyed. Do not let the enemy team steal it and hog it for themselves. Most defenders are wise enough to shoot the rocket guy before any one else, so try and stick with a friend to have some cover.
3. Shotgun, simple also. Charging into the enemy base with a shotgun is the best way to counter a Wraith besides disabling it. The Wraith can't normally hit you when in doors so take care of its weakness. Also, most people don't easily see the shotgun, but they do and almost always notice a sniper or rocket-wielder.
4. Sniper Rifle. One or two shots to down any basic shielded foe. Until the Wraith or Overshield could be a problem. The Overshield can be taken down with a whole magazine and the Wraith will have to be taken care of by the rocket wielder in your team. But if you can snipe him out of the Wraith because the roof is blown open, do so. Make sure to get to nice cover, and move often. A good sniper can support the team incredibly for assaults against the defenders. If the defenders have the rocket launcher and/or sword, prioritize them, and make sure a teammate can get to the weapon.
5. Ghost, though not impressive, drive it. Infantry will envy you and will scurry away upon seeing you rush them. You can also act as a distraction, harassing the Wraith so the Gauss Warthog or Rocket Launcher can destroy it.
6. Energy Sword, if the defenders were foolish enough to leave it lying around. Take it, they'll regret their mistake soon enough. But be warned, if you are not good with it, you might get a lucky kill before some one takes you down and liberate the close range weapon from you. So give the sword to someone skilled.
7. If possible and you are skilled enough with both the energy sword and rocket launcher or the energy sword and the sniper rifle can be a lethal combo for the offensive team since you can attack from short, medium, and long range or protect the vehicles or take out any stolen vehicles (easiest with the rocket launcher).

An excellent game mode to try is slayer with Brute Shots and Carbines. The map has an excellent variety of open ground and elaborate buildings that are excellent for such a game style. While I do not suggest the Wraith, Ghosts provide an interesting touch.

Development

Terminal was designed by Chris Carney (who was inspired by the SkyTrain in Wikipedia:Vancouver), and the artist for the map was Mike Zak. Robert McLees provided the fictional transit map for this map.

Jaime Griesemer had come up with two ideas that became the central design elements of the map: a vehicle focused, asymmetrical 4v4 map, and a map where the flag return would be contested.

Early on, the Rocket Launcher was replaced with a Banshee to counter the Wraith. However, the Rocket Launcher was eventually brought back.

In the early design of Terminal, the light rail train was originally going to be engulfed in flames and people screaming could be heard from the inside as it passed by. The flames were later removed, probably because it was assumed to be too harsh, even for a multiplayer map. The screaming of panicked passengers can still sometimes be heard if you are attentive, as well as the conductor sounding the horn of the train, although much easier to hear. It can be heard in the "Passengers connecting to Orbital Shuttle Hub board westbound trains" file from here.

Many of the assets, such as the windows and building designs, created for the campaign level Metropolis were finally used in this level because Bungie ran out of time during the development of the campaign.

Trivia

• The storm above the map has a resemblance to The Storm of Halo 3.
• There is a way to glitch yourself out of the map using the energy sword glitch and a Wraith/Warthog, making the skyscrapers and ledges fully accessible. You can also see a hidden area behind one of the stations, although this area is, as of yet unconfirmed, unreachable.
• Sometimes if the train smashes a Warthog, the turret will face the other direction.
• There are two UNSC recruiting posters on this level.
• All the phone booths in this level are booth number 7.
• If you get hit by a train, it is an instant death, even when inside a vehicle.
  • If you do get hit by a train it will say "Killed by the Guardians."
• Just one of the glass panels can stop a Sniper round, which will normally go through infantry armor without a problem.
• A Tri-gate can be found outside the map.
• Strangely, If the booth in the parking lot is shot with a gauss cannon, Elite blood will appear yet will disappear in a while.
• There is a Sniper spot above the parking garage. You can get up there by putting a Scorpion on the map (not recommended because it would take a LONG time to get the Scorpion in the garage). Go into the garage and jump on the Scorpion, or another player. This is also a possible spawn point.
• By parking a Warthog underneath the tracks and leaving, enemies may attempt to get in the Warthog, only to be hit by the over-passing train.
• The train is strong enough to smash all kinds of vehicles on the map, including Scorpions and Wraiths.
• If you time it right you can get the warthog going full speed and the train will hit the back end of it, putting you in a very fast spin without killing you.
• Picking up the Overshield for invincibility while it still charges up and then getting hit by the train will result in you getting sent flying quite a distance.
• There is an ad for the gold-colored Civilian Warthog in the map, just like on Headlong and Turf.
• It is also possible to survive being hit by the train by jumping and grazing its top edge as it passes. This will cause the player to be launched into the air, draining their shields but not killing them.
• Terminal is used as the setting of a popular machinima called "Frequency," by the popular Hollywood Halo.
• The train is indestructible, nothing can destroy it, not even a Scorpion.
• The train can disappear by lag but will come back when scripted.
• The dumpster near the Wraith will disappear in CTF.

Videos

Halo Multiplayer Maps - Halo 2 Terminal

Gallery