Ok ladies and gents, this is everything I know about spawns in the game of Halo 3. Prepare for a long and detailed read. Also, keep in mind, this is just my theory, which (dare I say) may be wrong (but I doubt it). Table of contents: [jumpto=RA]Respawn Areas[/jumpto] [jumpto=RP]Respawn Points[/jumpto] [jumpto=SO]Spawn Order[/jumpto] [aname=RA]Respawn Areas[/aname] Probably the some of the most mystical and intriguing things about the spawn system in Halo 3 are the respawn areas. If various spawn points are placed in a respawn area, they act like a joined unit. If something happens inside of the respawn area, it will affect all of the included spawn points. This is called the spawn point's "weight." Weight refers to the probability that a player will spawn there. Here are the factors that contribute to a spawn point's weight, followed by the estimated weight of each factor: Friendlies nearby +100 Enemies nearby -100 Deaths nearby -500 (for 20 seconds [unknown decay rate]) Spawn order (guessing +250?) All of these things influence a players spawn, so in the following scenarios, we are going to calculate where a player is probably going to spawn. In the following images, the Light Blue circles, are respawn points. Yellow boxes are respawn areas. Red circles are Enemies Blue circles are Friendlies. What point will the player probably spawn on? Because the enemy is in Area "A," he will influence the weight of points "1" and "2." Because the Friendly in in area "B," he will influence points "1" and "3." Making our total look like this: He will probably spawn on point "3." (Note the use of "probably," meaning "'most likely," not "always.") Where will the player probably spawn this time? Note the use of an additional respawn area, area "C," which is inclusive of all the respawn points. Because the Enemy is in areas "A" and "C," he will count twice on points "1" and "2," and once on point "3." Here is our final weight If you are still following me, then you are on the right track. If not, it doesn't get any easier from here... What do the numbers look like this time? Figure it out yet? Note that points "2" and "3" have equal weights, meaning they have equal probabilities of spawning the next player, while point "1" is slightly less. Where is the most probably spawn this time? Remember, if a player is in 2 areas, he counts twice! This is the exact same answer as the first problem, because Area "C" includes both the enemy and the friendly, they cancel each other out. The Red X means the player has recently died there. A dead teammate has a weight of -500 Ok, here is where things get confusing. Where is the most likely place for the player to respawn? To calculate this, make sure you count each player, and dead player for each area they are in. You might want to write this one down! If you got that answer for all the spawn points, then you are already very knowledgeable in the Halo 3 spawn system. But can you figure out this one? Tricky, tricky... Because of the overwhelming negative influence in the spawn areas, the player will probably spawn outside, at the point with 0 weight. [aname=RP]Respawn Points[/aname] Respawn points by themselves seem relatively harmless. But each and every individual one has a radius of influence. This radius is estimated to be about 7.5 meters. So if there are two spawn points within 7.5m of one another, that area will act very much like a respawn area. All of the same properties apply here, with the same values. So let's go through a few more examples with these new orange circles Keep in mind that the game is played in three dimensional space, and as such, my "circles of influence" actually represent "spheres of influence." Where will the player most likely spawn, taking into account the radii of influence? Because he is in the circle for point "2," which is inclusive of point "1," his weight will also count for point "1." He has an equally likely chance of spawning anywhere but point "2." See if you can tackle this one. remember to count twice for players in more than one area. Here is a really tricky one. It will recap everything we have learned so far. If you get this, then you have an amazing comprehension of the respawn system in Halo 3. Take everything into account, friends, foes, and dead teammates. This is why you sometimes spawn right behind/in front of enemies. If you didn't get the answer, figure out why. I'll be watching this thread, to answer questions. I learned most of this from my own experimenting, research, and forging. My Map/gametype UNSC Range1/WeaponsTraining uses most of this stuff in action. Check it out here. Happy Haloing[aname=SO].[/aname]
Spawn Order I purposefully excluded spawn orders from the previous calculations, as there is much debate over this topic. Here is what I have found in my experimenting... "Spawn Order" doesn't always mean the order in which players will spawn. Instead, it puts a base weight on the point that should be "next." This doesn't necessarily mean they will spawn there, however. Use this visual guide as a reference, not fact, as my numbers for this one were educated guesstimates.
Thank you very much! That helped me to understand the spawn system a little better. I wish you could update it with respawn areas, that would add a unique twist.
this really is going to help me out on my map that i'm making. thank you for posting this. i have to do this: " now we know. and knowing is half the battle. G I Joe!"quote taken from g i joe commercial
Thanks for these values, they are really helpful. The last one was all about the overlapping venn in the middle.
Here's something I'm not completely understanding. In CTF, there are respawn areas for 'Flag, Home' and 'Flag, Away'. What are the whole logistics of it? Does it force players to spawn in only those respawn areas in regards to the right conditions?
The "Flag, home" areas function like regular respawn areas when your flag is at home. When it is away (the enemy has it in their hands, it has been dropped, or it is in the process of being returned) the game assigns all of the spawn points in the "Flag, Home" extreme negative weights, and all of the points in the "Flag, Away" positive weights. Pretty much making it definite that the players will respawn within the spawn points of the "Flag, Away" areas. So, if you want to give the defending team an advantage, put their "Flag, Away" points closer to the enemies capture point. If you want the defenders to be punished for dying, put it farther away.
I meant the number the respawn areas go in. They respawn by order. For instance if you have respawned in 1, then you will respawn in 2 next, so on and so forth. That would be cool to see how that is impacted by your guide.
Front page material here. This has to be the best presented thread i have seen on this website. I always understanded this ok, but you have made it much easier for me to take it all in. This will be a great help to alot of people. Thanks.
I'm working on that as we speak. That's why I reserved the 2nd post EDIT: Added Spawn Order to original document. I may post one final problem that incorporates everything we covered in the guide, but I may need to adjust some numbers before doing so.
i feel like your a bit lackin details...mabey some explanitory diagrams would be of help ot the readers...i mean honestly it looks like you jsut threw some numbers together in 5 minutes.
You can't be serious. I really hope you are joking... as there are more than 30 diagrams embedded in the first 2 posts. .....wow.
Okay, that clears it up a bit. I can start adding those into my map then. There should be 'Bomb Arming' respawns in Assault. But meh, just wishful thinking.
I am speechless... I just learned the most I have without having to read something 5 times to figure it out. Excellent thread I am sure a journalist will contact you soon. -Donuts