At last, a tutorial for the original megabattle! Only took 17 years.

(7:20) Level 2 ('Halo') on Heroic. So after 17 years of movie-making, I finally get around to doing a tutorial for the rockslide megabattle, the scenario for which I actually created my website. Crazy that it's taken me this long, but there we are. What I show here is a very easy simple routine for setting up. Just what you want if you're new to things. You'll likely end up short of a few Marines or covies compared to doing things a more refined way (which I expect to show later), but it should deliver a load of great battling, with up to 34 covies on Heroic. There are two plays included, and more to come, to show some of the possibilities. Not that I haven't already shown plenty of rockslide megabattle carnage!

Released June 28th 2026, gameplay recorded June 24th 2026.

00:02 (Setting up) The tutorial is rather simple and self-explanatory so I don't have a whole lot extra to say here, but here are a few remarks on specific things.

01:04 When it comes to entering the dropship trigger zone, I let the hog arc left for the exit. That's a nice fluid way of doing things, and guarantees that you entered the zone. You could instead cross the line than about-face and exit, but there's often a danger of splattering covies as you go.

01:14 Gratuitous jump sequence in the hog, heh heh! But I wasn't in a rush, so why not?

01:28 Aussie nabs the chain-gun, hah! Obviously keen. Strictly speaking, I would've done better to get the armoured guy on the gun (the original gunner), because he can last longer in battle. But I actually wanted the Aussie on the gun, as I like his accent and calls.

02:38 When I get the entry checkpoint, that's the set-up routine finished.

02:39 (Actual first play) Having got the checkpoint, I continue straight on to try a first battle. I opt to head up to the Marine plateau, which is partly so I can see what the situation with the Marines is. I've got a good few, so that's fine. As it turns out, at the start of this set-up the covies and Marines tend to be having a scuffle, as the Marines apparently haven't all fallen back (sometimes one or more of them gets quickly killed).

Up on the plateau (where I basically do an ad-hoc mix between plateau back defence and plateau front defence), I get a bit too gung-ho, almost getting killed by Jackals a few times, but it makes for good spectacle at least. I think my opening frag throw may've killed a Marine when it went slightly short and bounced off a rock. Whoops!

At 3:55, I think that's my Aussie gunner who gets whacked by the Elite. But when I later reboard the hog, it seems that another hat-wearing Aussie takes the gun. You can't keep these guys down!

05:57 (Bonus splatter-fest) I later added this bonus play for fun, and for the comedy ending when a grunty hero looms out of nowhere with a plasma grenade. Pesky critter! Must've got a medal for that. Posthumous of course.

Closing remarks As mentioned in the movie itself, I got 31 covies in this set-up. Only 3 Grunts were lost, in fighting with the Marines. Just to mention, I'd earlier tested the routine four times to check on the covie counts I'd get. I twice got the full 34 covies, and the other times I was just a Grunt or two short. Also I was getting a decent number of Marines, so the routine seems good.

It's actually sort of new. In my previous advice on setting up relatively easily, I'd focused on either helping out the Marines (by sniping some covies) or helping the covies (by sniping some Marines), according to whether you were more interested in preserving the Marines or the covies. But in considering how to structure a tutorial which covered those two options, and feeling unhappy with the complication that brought, I was lead to try out this new simpler routine, where things are just left to chance in regard to early fighting. It turned out to be fine, and certainly I wanted things to be as simple as possible for newcomers to the topic. I've now revised my set-up advice accordingly (while still covering the options of helping the Marines or covies).

Anyway, more plays coming up next, in a couple of sequels!

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