 Like the character designs , Covenant technology , architecture , and design continually changed throughout development , occasionally for practical reasons as well as aesthetics . According to Eric Arroyo , the Covenant cruiser Truth and Reconciliation , which plays a major role in Halo : Combat Evolved , was to be boarded by the player by a long ramp . However , due to technical considerations of having a fully textured ship so close to the player , the designers came up with a " gravity lift " , which allowed the ship to be farther away ( thus not requiring as much processing power for detail ) as well as adding a " visually interesting " component of Covenant technology . 
