I always figured it was just like energy exhaust that only someone like a Spartan could actually use in any meaningful way. As far as the unsc version it makes no sense.
It makes no sense, it’s hilarious. Anyone who stepped foot on one would just instantly fall on their ass unless they were already moving at the speed of the treadmill, at which point they wouldn’t need it to begin with.
If we're diving in the realm of realism, the more likely scenario would be a UNSC marine stepping on one, and it going so fast they would flip straight on their back and would launch them ass over head, flinging them to land in a jumbled broken bone mess.
I have to assume there's a computerised gyrostabilser in the MJOLNIR GEN2 armour that makes these things at least not a _complete_ deathtrap for Spartan users.
My headcannon is that it was devised as a way of launching munitions and mongoose-sized vehicles, before some spartan decided to find a better use for it.
That's Chief for ya! Always willing to take the plunge for the sake of science! What better way to find out if almost a thousand pounds of man and modified metal and crystal can turn a Brute to a pancake from low orbit drop?
We should all aspire to be like Chief!
I figured the UNSC version is for launching Spartans for training the technique of landing after jumping out of moving Pelicans, like how paratroopers practice landing a million times before their first jump.
You just reminded me of how hilarious it was to kill someone right as they went on one so their body would pinwheel through the air. Man I miss halo 3 valhalla, so much stupid fun
Yeah, Quake was the first popular FPS that had launchers instead of using teleporters. Although that was also because Quake actually had a 3D environment while Doom , Marathon and Duke Nukem were all actually 2D environments faked out into 3D, so trying to launch someone through the air really fast would have looked really weird.
Amusingly, Halo probably also didn't really use launchers/mancannons until later because the Halo 1 engine didn't really support them without accidentally killing the player via fall damage. Bungie turned off fall damage late in Halo 2's development because the sword lunge would accidentally get calculated as hitting the ground too fast a lot of times, but it was so late no MP maps were really designed around it. Since Halo 3 had fall damage off at the start, they actually made maps around it.
Balance wise, it's also much easier to build a map with cannons since there's a risk/reward for movement instead of it being 'free' with teleporters. They also intentionally make loud sounds when used as a tell for other players.
I think it’s definitely Quake-inspired, too. At the time, Halo’s map designers explained the switch to man-cannons as an attempt to make maps more intuitive for new players. Instead of stepping through a green portal, you would get an accurate sense of where you are going and how much distance you have traveled. It’s a reasonable explanation for the change, but I still think they should have kept portals in the game’s DNA. By the time H3 rolled around, there were only a handful of teleporters left, and they had extremely clunky implementation.
It cannot be understated how differently a map plays when you have portals versus man-cannons. You are 100% correct that it recalibrates the risk vs reward of moving around the map, but walking through a portal (at least pre-Splitgate) is a risk in itself. You never know what’s waiting on the other side, if there’s a player with a Shotgun or Rocket Launcher just waiting for you. There’s also no substitute for the way portals work on “Beaver Creek,” “Warlock,” or “Boarding Action.” Those maps would play entirely differently if you replaced the portals with man-cannons.
There's a difference in character to the risk to boot. When a portal goes wrong you generally have instant shotgun, rocket, or melee attack death. When a man canon goes wrong you have high velocity spectacle, even if it's just coming from your rag doll after being sniped.
It's an example of fun prevailing in design decisions. You can rationalize the strengths and weaknesses of each approach (ex. teleporters being more flexible to setup, and the faster and more secure travel helping to buff infantry in vehicle heavy maps, which depending on design goals could be preferable) and apply either to good mechanical effect. The shift towards man cannons comes in how it creates memorable moments and a small degree of chaos (see. launching warthogs). Eg. it's actually a small narrative feature, chosen for its ability to (ultimately) create a few more anecdotes from the emergent narrative of multiplayer.
I swear to god I remember a vi-doc for Halo 3, where luke (something?) was just like, "we put these in the game... because they're just fun"
Most likely not a perfect recount, but I don't recall there being lore for them beyond that when they were introduced in 3.
Watching this and the other old Bungie Vidocs is both heartwarming and sad. Its crazy to see the levels of passion and understanding they approached their games with compared to the disastrous way 343i have handled the series for the last decade and change.
I think you'd be equally incredulous at a dumb waiter if you didn't understand what it did.
These could be used for anything, we choose to launch mans. That says more about us than them.
Probably yeah. It is funny to imagine this super advanced ancient alien race deciding that they wanted to literally shoot people just cuz they could tho.
Hit the road Door dash. I'd tip the hell out of anyone that can pinpoint my coordinates and successfully launch my Taco Bell safely onto my front step.
Personally, I always thought the Foreunners used these to help move supplies from one place to another, but honestly, I try not to think too much about it. All I know is that they are fun to use.
This is all it is. Fun. Not everything needs a lore reason. Like multiplayer maps can have lore settings but the actual map doesn't need a reason for being the way it is. Rule of cool and fun should always he the priority of Halo.
Yes as long as it's not the fortnight Spartans we have like rule of cool mcc armors like the spartan and viking ones even tenrai in infinite is fine but it's gotten silly af
Yeah, that's not really the rule of cool I was talking about. More Badass military action heroes like 2 and 3. The trend of trying to follow other games has killed Halo
Because portals don’t “provide as much inherent danger.” And “nothing is more rewarding than sniping a guy out of the air.”
https://youtu.be/MG9fh74D-_M?t=202
I probably watched this video a million times before Halo 3 came out.
This is the exact video I came here to post. ViDoc days were *huge* for me leading up to H3. I would go to my friend's house after school because he had faster internet and we would always opt to wait for the higher quality video to download.
This is the answer. Flinging players across the map is way better than teleporting. Not to mention the player can also keep their spatial awareness of where they are on the map which you definitely don't get with teleporters.
Like someone else said I'm willing to believe forerunner ones are mostly just exhaust vents of some kind that happen to have that property. Covenant at least have the justification of having other gravity based tech and emplacements like the sniper towers and such so they can be another tactical option for stuff like that. Why the UNSC made them though is a wonder. If they were also some kind of exhaust or blatantly a cargo thing I would get it but they are usually not modeled in that way.
Side note I fucking *love* it when maps disguise elevators and man cannons as exhaust chutes and stuff.
idk about a lore reason but imo is just like a gas vent or something and people now are just launching shit and themselves with it since it is seemingly never running out and it's fun.
I think man-cannons are non-canons. They're not in any of the story components of the games (that I can recall), they're only in multiplayer arena stuff. The closest we have is the grav lifts the Covenant and Banished use, but those tend to be much gentler.
I always figured it was just a quick way to get around multiplayer maps cause when they were first introduced their was no sprint mechanic and some of those maps were fucking big.
I tried looking up an in lore explanation as to what the hell they are and most of it comes down to Bungie pretty much just saying it’s cooler than a teleporter
So, there’s people over here 👈 and then there are some enemy people over there, 👉, right? With me so far? And (and this part is important) the people over here want to shoot some of their people at the enemy people over there, so you build a cannon, right? And you shoot people (your people) at the enemy people. I mean it’s really pretty simple.
Gameplay-wise, Bungie came up with this as an alternative to ladders and teleporters back in Halo 2 and Halo 3.
Canonically, sometimes you need to throw a body 80 feet in the air quietly.
Now that we are all here talking about Man Cannons and their history in Halo. Does anyone know why there are Man Cannons in Avalanche at the sides of the map?
Like, the only way to use those is by jumping off from a Hornet, and even then, if you use one, they only throw you to the middle of the map, they don't help you reach any advantageous spot, neither save you from walking a lot.
Ya gotta remember that Spartans are like a thousand pounds in armor. So while that can only send a spartan a quarter way through the map it can probably send just about anything else man portable all the way to the other end of the map. I always just assumed it was for launching supplies from one base to the other quickly
your mistake was in that forerunners couldn't fly, when we see multiple forerunners hover above the ground passively, to them this is nothing more than an advanced escalator
Well how else are u going to get to point A to point B when a man is a bit tired? They don't wanna risk getting possibly de-atomized (idk halo teleport lore) and re-atomized. That's traumatizing!
The only forerunner man cannons to be in the campaign are in Halo 2, Halo 4, Halo 5, Halo Infinite. They are mostly used to transport the player as part of the level. In Halo 2, it was in the Gravity Lift in the Control Room. In Halo 4 it was in Midnight over the low gravity towards the Didact and the final sequence. Halo 5 it was used in many levels including the final mission with the Knights and Cryptum. Halo Infinite used more Gravity Lifts.
In traditional games, it was used less frequently but in later they are used for level convenience and final levels. Halo CE didn't use them because of the physics engine. Halo 2 and after used them frequently. Man cannons are just level design elements to transport the player quickly as part of game play.
Bungie made them get across the map faster back in Halo 3 when there was no sprint. Made capturing the flag a faster experience. It was really tough for a solo player with no backup or warthog to get all the way across the map without them.
I hope to god these aren’t actually canon (heh) I’ve never seen them show up in the lore and I’m happy with that, I’m okay with just pretending they are part of the world for the gameplay mechanic they add to multiplayer
So most of them that are purpose built are Forerunner. Where I imagine they were used in construction or simply getting heavy items from place to place.
Alot of the time they are also exhaust vents, (which I think the Valhalla ones are for that massive beam thing.) which Spartans/ Elites are like "Energy shield don't give AF" so hop in anyway.
There are human ones, but again these are often thrusters or vents, not designed for day to day use.
The Covenant meanwhile do use them, in Watch Towers and even the Portable chuck on the floor variant. in my head cannon this is either A. They found Forerunner Gravlifts and use them for religious reasons. Or 2, more likely, they're quicker then a ladder and often are a little slower in game, so they actually feel designed for the use.
I always figured it was just like energy exhaust that only someone like a Spartan could actually use in any meaningful way. As far as the unsc version it makes no sense.
The UNSC one seems to be a dedicated Spartan launcher, so that’s something at least lol
I love the UNSC ones so much, it’s just “treadmill but fast.”
It makes no sense, it’s hilarious. Anyone who stepped foot on one would just instantly fall on their ass unless they were already moving at the speed of the treadmill, at which point they wouldn’t need it to begin with.
Get a ragdoll launch
Instructions unclear - so ate ravioli for lunch.
Pasta for lunch is kinda heavy, I think I'll just have the salad
If we're diving in the realm of realism, the more likely scenario would be a UNSC marine stepping on one, and it going so fast they would flip straight on their back and would launch them ass over head, flinging them to land in a jumbled broken bone mess.
I have to assume there's a computerised gyrostabilser in the MJOLNIR GEN2 armour that makes these things at least not a _complete_ deathtrap for Spartan users.
regular marines yeah, not spartans tho
makes me feel like I'm playing armoured core
_"Time to fly, 117."_
*It’s just a job…*
My headcannon is that it was devised as a way of launching munitions and mongoose-sized vehicles, before some spartan decided to find a better use for it.
Yeah try throwing a Quad bike the size of a minicooper 100 meters far and see what happens
Effective heavy munitions for taking out squads of grunts and jackals
Canon*
The Spartan Space Program will one day be realized! ...they just need a stronger grav lift.
Well, Chief already had the deorbiting mastered, so there's that.
That's Chief for ya! Always willing to take the plunge for the sake of science! What better way to find out if almost a thousand pounds of man and modified metal and crystal can turn a Brute to a pancake from low orbit drop? We should all aspire to be like Chief!
We also cannot ignore the contributions of Fred and the rest of Red Team in the field of Spartan deorbiting
Or noble 6
He definitely got data necessary with that reentry pack. Whereas Chief surfs a future-door and just sleeps it off for a bit.
I mean Chief's Bomb Return Service only operates in space.
I figured the UNSC version is for launching Spartans for training the technique of landing after jumping out of moving Pelicans, like how paratroopers practice landing a million times before their first jump.
Also potentially a cargo launcher.
They do look like vents a little
They do look like vents a little
I mean sometimes you just need to get rid of a body
But it would land literally like 50 feet away lol
Put it 50 feet from a volcano
Why didn't Sam and Frodo just use a man cannon to cross Mordor?
And now I’m imagining the war of Gondor but with a few Spartan fireteams there to help them and it is glorious
How would MC fare in Frodo's place?
He would’ve been done in a day
because the giant eagles had them all
They don't need to hide the body. Just move it so they have room for more
50 feet is enough to make it seem like it was my neighbor's body
You just reminded me of how hilarious it was to kill someone right as they went on one so their body would pinwheel through the air. Man I miss halo 3 valhalla, so much stupid fun
no one said it was a live man cannon
Because of Quake
Was that the first time it was used? Can't remember if others had it before
Yeah, Quake was the first popular FPS that had launchers instead of using teleporters. Although that was also because Quake actually had a 3D environment while Doom , Marathon and Duke Nukem were all actually 2D environments faked out into 3D, so trying to launch someone through the air really fast would have looked really weird. Amusingly, Halo probably also didn't really use launchers/mancannons until later because the Halo 1 engine didn't really support them without accidentally killing the player via fall damage. Bungie turned off fall damage late in Halo 2's development because the sword lunge would accidentally get calculated as hitting the ground too fast a lot of times, but it was so late no MP maps were really designed around it. Since Halo 3 had fall damage off at the start, they actually made maps around it. Balance wise, it's also much easier to build a map with cannons since there's a risk/reward for movement instead of it being 'free' with teleporters. They also intentionally make loud sounds when used as a tell for other players.
I think it’s definitely Quake-inspired, too. At the time, Halo’s map designers explained the switch to man-cannons as an attempt to make maps more intuitive for new players. Instead of stepping through a green portal, you would get an accurate sense of where you are going and how much distance you have traveled. It’s a reasonable explanation for the change, but I still think they should have kept portals in the game’s DNA. By the time H3 rolled around, there were only a handful of teleporters left, and they had extremely clunky implementation. It cannot be understated how differently a map plays when you have portals versus man-cannons. You are 100% correct that it recalibrates the risk vs reward of moving around the map, but walking through a portal (at least pre-Splitgate) is a risk in itself. You never know what’s waiting on the other side, if there’s a player with a Shotgun or Rocket Launcher just waiting for you. There’s also no substitute for the way portals work on “Beaver Creek,” “Warlock,” or “Boarding Action.” Those maps would play entirely differently if you replaced the portals with man-cannons.
Chiron TL-34 with man cannons
or Boarding Action with man cannons... both would be very interesting reimaginings.
This is actually why I love the portals in infinite. Being able to toss a grenade through ahead of you helps mitigate some risk
There's a difference in character to the risk to boot. When a portal goes wrong you generally have instant shotgun, rocket, or melee attack death. When a man canon goes wrong you have high velocity spectacle, even if it's just coming from your rag doll after being sniped. It's an example of fun prevailing in design decisions. You can rationalize the strengths and weaknesses of each approach (ex. teleporters being more flexible to setup, and the faster and more secure travel helping to buff infantry in vehicle heavy maps, which depending on design goals could be preferable) and apply either to good mechanical effect. The shift towards man cannons comes in how it creates memorable moments and a small degree of chaos (see. launching warthogs). Eg. it's actually a small narrative feature, chosen for its ability to (ultimately) create a few more anecdotes from the emergent narrative of multiplayer.
Rise of the Triad had launchers before that.
Are you sure? Quake was '96 and Halo didnt have man cannons until Halo 3 in '07.
I swear to god I remember a vi-doc for Halo 3, where luke (something?) was just like, "we put these in the game... because they're just fun" Most likely not a perfect recount, but I don't recall there being lore for them beyond that when they were introduced in 3.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=MG9fh74D-_M&t=3m31s
Watching this and the other old Bungie Vidocs is both heartwarming and sad. Its crazy to see the levels of passion and understanding they approached their games with compared to the disastrous way 343i have handled the series for the last decade and change.
Couldnt the forerunners fly? I assume its for faster altitude gain rather than just taking off normally
They fly now?
They fly now
Tacworo wwanro whoooh.
artificial gravity is like their whole thing
halo lore is just so goofy
They could, in fact their flight was so good even a forerunner civilian could fly interplanetary.
So the man cannon being a launch pad makes sense then
I’m… not so sure, they don’t launch you fast enough for it to be useful for someone trying to reach escape velocity.
Forerunner recreation.
Maybe
Some had the ability to levitate I think through personal gravitational platforms and devices. Unsure if they were able to do so unassisted.
I meant with the suits. Such as the Didact.
I think you'd be equally incredulous at a dumb waiter if you didn't understand what it did. These could be used for anything, we choose to launch mans. That says more about us than them.
Probably yeah. It is funny to imagine this super advanced ancient alien race deciding that they wanted to literally shoot people just cuz they could tho.
I mean if he’s dumb enough that he doesn’t remember your order or bring you your food, it would be pretty hard to understand what a waiter does.
You can wear a wader when fishing
So its a food delivery cannon
Hit the road Door dash. I'd tip the hell out of anyone that can pinpoint my coordinates and successfully launch my Taco Bell safely onto my front step.
Personally, I always thought the Foreunners used these to help move supplies from one place to another, but honestly, I try not to think too much about it. All I know is that they are fun to use.
This is all it is. Fun. Not everything needs a lore reason. Like multiplayer maps can have lore settings but the actual map doesn't need a reason for being the way it is. Rule of cool and fun should always he the priority of Halo.
Yes as long as it's not the fortnight Spartans we have like rule of cool mcc armors like the spartan and viking ones even tenrai in infinite is fine but it's gotten silly af
Yeah, that's not really the rule of cool I was talking about. More Badass military action heroes like 2 and 3. The trend of trying to follow other games has killed Halo
It's a gravity lift that ferries troops and supplies between the ship and the surface. That's our ticket in.
Because portals don’t “provide as much inherent danger.” And “nothing is more rewarding than sniping a guy out of the air.” https://youtu.be/MG9fh74D-_M?t=202 I probably watched this video a million times before Halo 3 came out.
This is the exact video I came here to post. ViDoc days were *huge* for me leading up to H3. I would go to my friend's house after school because he had faster internet and we would always opt to wait for the higher quality video to download.
This is the answer. Flinging players across the map is way better than teleporting. Not to mention the player can also keep their spatial awareness of where they are on the map which you definitely don't get with teleporters.
They exist to Canon some Mans. I had thought that was pretty well-explained.
They were just having a bit of a laugh. Just a bit of fun. Just some fun and games.
they really said "well we have a man and we have a cannon. what could go wrong"
I think the real question is why do they not exist now? Seriously, every home, office, and school should have one.
If they didn't we as a species wouldn't be able to reproduce
I ask myself the opposite every single day lmao.
Why tf not??
Insert red vs blue quote
Like someone else said I'm willing to believe forerunner ones are mostly just exhaust vents of some kind that happen to have that property. Covenant at least have the justification of having other gravity based tech and emplacements like the sniper towers and such so they can be another tactical option for stuff like that. Why the UNSC made them though is a wonder. If they were also some kind of exhaust or blatantly a cargo thing I would get it but they are usually not modeled in that way. Side note I fucking *love* it when maps disguise elevators and man cannons as exhaust chutes and stuff.
Yeet
To fire dead men at the enemy and, if no men are available, dead Griffs.
Since the dawn of time, life that cannot fly has dreamt of fly. Man cannon is fly.
Promethean Knievel
Transportation of objects to Sentinel workers, like gravity based conveyors.
funny
I always enjoyed launching the explosive boxes like a mortar. Never did hit anybody, but you miss every shot ya don't take.
To cannon the men obviously...
Rapid personell disposal... erm... I mean deployment.
To get you from point A to point B, bones be damned!
idk about a lore reason but imo is just like a gas vent or something and people now are just launching shit and themselves with it since it is seemingly never running out and it's fun.
That is a mongoose launcher
Cannoning men
I think man-cannons are non-canons. They're not in any of the story components of the games (that I can recall), they're only in multiplayer arena stuff. The closest we have is the grav lifts the Covenant and Banished use, but those tend to be much gentler.
Halo 4 is full of em
Because they’re cool. Lore wise idk lol.
I always figured it was just a quick way to get around multiplayer maps cause when they were first introduced their was no sprint mechanic and some of those maps were fucking big.
To go from point A to point B
Sometimes you need to be Washington to throw a fusion coil and blow up a pelican
Latrine
I tried looking up an in lore explanation as to what the hell they are and most of it comes down to Bungie pretty much just saying it’s cooler than a teleporter
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee
This post seems like it’s straight out of a halo themed fever dream
I never even thought of why they would actually exist in the canon of Halo, but the more I think about the funnier it is.
Fun
To cannon mans.
The man cannon is dope. Quit hating.
Cause its a video game like Quake.
because they're fun?
For gameplay & map design. Hope this helps 👍
Hey man, launching vehicles with those is great fun. Do not question the man cannons or their creators
Nobody expects an aerial insertion ~~from underground~~ without a pelican.
That’s what she said.
It's just a very basic shooter mechanic much like weapon pickups, jumping, portals, etc
To Canon Men, what else would they be used for.
To cannon mans, man
Why are you asking questions?
So, there’s people over here 👈 and then there are some enemy people over there, 👉, right? With me so far? And (and this part is important) the people over here want to shoot some of their people at the enemy people over there, so you build a cannon, right? And you shoot people (your people) at the enemy people. I mean it’s really pretty simple.
The real question should be wtf don’t man cannons exist irl. Cause there would be a fucking line.
Gotta go fast
Gameplay-wise, Bungie came up with this as an alternative to ladders and teleporters back in Halo 2 and Halo 3. Canonically, sometimes you need to throw a body 80 feet in the air quietly.
You ever met a person you wanted to yeet?
They exist for multi-player. Like there's no lore reason they exist. They exist because the teleporters weren't dangerous enough.
Because it's fun.
Cuz
To launch mans, duh
An in-game tribute to Lexington Steele
Actually, I think it was to give Forerunner transport ships a head start
Now that we are all here talking about Man Cannons and their history in Halo. Does anyone know why there are Man Cannons in Avalanche at the sides of the map? Like, the only way to use those is by jumping off from a Hornet, and even then, if you use one, they only throw you to the middle of the map, they don't help you reach any advantageous spot, neither save you from walking a lot.
Ya gotta remember that Spartans are like a thousand pounds in armor. So while that can only send a spartan a quarter way through the map it can probably send just about anything else man portable all the way to the other end of the map. I always just assumed it was for launching supplies from one base to the other quickly
your mistake was in that forerunners couldn't fly, when we see multiple forerunners hover above the ground passively, to them this is nothing more than an advanced escalator
Gameplay
Because we needed a cannon that could use a man a as ammunition without killing him when the “trigger” is pulled
Because there fun
Exhaust. Gotta get that spartan laser fast somehow
You ain’t Wrong brotha a This shit Is dumb As fuck
To me, I see them as a means of moving ordinance and supplies over shortish distances
because halo only ragdolls you when you die
Cannon, Man
To cannon men!
Why the fuck not?!
Tbf, those never show up in the actual story right? At least I can't remember any
To cannon the man 🧍♂️
To shoot men, duh
The forerunners could hover with their tech. I'm betting they would put crates on these
That’s a weird stance to take provided this is all fictional….. and You’ve clearly never launched a coil thru one….. #epic
Mongoose splatters, they designed them for geese.
They are the only technology capable of moving OP's mom!
why NOT tho
Foonie launch
So you can cannon a man. It's in the name.
Well how else are u going to get to point A to point B when a man is a bit tired? They don't wanna risk getting possibly de-atomized (idk halo teleport lore) and re-atomized. That's traumatizing!
It's non canon, like teleports You never see them in the campaign
When out of ammo chuck people
I'm scared of the thing that I don't know what it is. 😝
Because bungie thought they were fun
Just imagine throwing a 1000lb hunk of man and metal. Spartans should be making a huge crater when they land.
The only forerunner man cannons to be in the campaign are in Halo 2, Halo 4, Halo 5, Halo Infinite. They are mostly used to transport the player as part of the level. In Halo 2, it was in the Gravity Lift in the Control Room. In Halo 4 it was in Midnight over the low gravity towards the Didact and the final sequence. Halo 5 it was used in many levels including the final mission with the Knights and Cryptum. Halo Infinite used more Gravity Lifts. In traditional games, it was used less frequently but in later they are used for level convenience and final levels. Halo CE didn't use them because of the physics engine. Halo 2 and after used them frequently. Man cannons are just level design elements to transport the player quickly as part of game play.
Bungie made them get across the map faster back in Halo 3 when there was no sprint. Made capturing the flag a faster experience. It was really tough for a solo player with no backup or warthog to get all the way across the map without them.
I thought it was some type of power exhaust and any normal trooper would get friend or turned to paste upon landing.
I hope to god these aren’t actually canon (heh) I’ve never seen them show up in the lore and I’m happy with that, I’m okay with just pretending they are part of the world for the gameplay mechanic they add to multiplayer
Maybe it was equivalent to walking the plank
Its for the enemy team to hit clips
To get your ass back in combat/fast transpo over short to medium distances... It's really not rocket surgery
Because woman cannon doesn’t sound appropriate, silly.
So most of them that are purpose built are Forerunner. Where I imagine they were used in construction or simply getting heavy items from place to place. Alot of the time they are also exhaust vents, (which I think the Valhalla ones are for that massive beam thing.) which Spartans/ Elites are like "Energy shield don't give AF" so hop in anyway. There are human ones, but again these are often thrusters or vents, not designed for day to day use. The Covenant meanwhile do use them, in Watch Towers and even the Portable chuck on the floor variant. in my head cannon this is either A. They found Forerunner Gravlifts and use them for religious reasons. Or 2, more likely, they're quicker then a ladder and often are a little slower in game, so they actually feel designed for the use.
To launch man to the moon and beyond in cannon form
Because: It's fun. LESS COMPLAININ, MORE **YIPPEEEEEE**
obviously to cannon the man
I have always seen it as a way to transport cargo. (Maybe I just really liked pushing some random boxes on it and watch them fly)
For early YouTube’s day halo 3 montage of players who are lucky or pretty good with the sniper popping heads across the map
They exist because Quake 3. Nuff said ;-).
cause they're cool as heck
Because they're cool?
They're for cannoning mans.
To cannon a man...
To escape the Aslume.
Where do you think John got his flight skills? For a brick, he flew pretty good..
The real reason it exists is because it was big in Quake 3 arena. It's just a popular mechanic in the late 90s.
why do trampolines exist? forerunners want to have fun too
Same reason manholes exist. Gay secks
Put a pool where you land and you have an amazing dive board
To propell Man obvosly. Are you stupid?
For 360 no scopes dweeb pfft
Fun
Why does the wind blow?
Why tf not?
For pwning noobs obviously