25 June 2010 Link to this update Original B.net link Return to main page

<<

17 June 2011 10 June 2011 3 June 2011 27 May 2011 6 May 2011 29 April 2011 22 April 2011 15 April 2011 8 April 2011 1 April 2011 25 March 2011 18 March 2011 11 March 2011 4 March 2011 25 February 2011 18 February 2011 11 February 2011 4 February 2011 28 January 2011 21 January 2011 14 January 2011 7 January 2011 17 December 2010 10 December 2010 3 December 2010 19 November 2010 12 November 2010 5 November 2010 29 October 2010 22 October 2010 15 October 2010 8 October 2010 1 October 2010 24 September 2010 17 September 2010 10 September 2010 3 September 2010 27 August 2010 20 August 2010 12 August 2010 6 August 2010 30 July 2010 23 July 2010 16 July 2010 9 July 2010 2 July 2010 25 June 2010 18 June 2010 11 June 2010 4 June 2010 28 May 2010 21 May 2010 14 May 2010 7 May 2010 30 April 2010 23 April 2010 16 April 2010 9 April 2010 2 April 2010 26 March 2010 19 March 2010 12 March 2010 5 March 2010 26 February 2010 19 February 2010 12 February 2010 5 February 2010 29 January 2010 22 January 2010 15 January 2010 8 January 2010 18 December 2009 11 December 2009 4 December 2009 20 November 2009 13 November 2009 6 November 2009 30 October 2009 23 October 2009 16 October 2009 9 October 2009 2 October 2009 25 September 2009 18 September 2009 11 September 2009 4 September 2009 28 August 2009 21 August 2009 14 August 2009 7 August 2009 31 July 2009 24 July 2009 17 July 2009 10 July 2009 3 July 2009 26 June 2009 19 June 2009 12 June 2009 5 June 2009 29 May 2009 22 May 2009 15 May 2009 8 May 2009 1 May 2009 24 April 2009 17 April 2009 10 April 2009 3 April 2009 27 March 2009 20 March 2009 13 March 2009 6 March 2009 27 February 2009 20 February 2009 13 February 2009 6 February 2009 30 January 2009 23 January 2009 16 January 2009 9 January 2009 2 January 2009 26 December 2008 19 December 2008 12 December 2008 21 November 2008 14 November 2008 7 November 2008 31 October 2008 24 October 2008 17 October 2008 10 October 2008 3 October 2008 26 September 2008 18 September 2008 12 September 2008 5 September 2008 29 August 2008 22 August 2008 15 August 2008 8 August 2008 1 August 2008 25 July 2008 18 July 2008 11 July 2008 3 July 2008 27 June 2008 20 June 2008 13 June 2008 6 June 2008 30 May 2008 23 May 2008 16 May 2008 9 May 2008 2 May 2008 25 April 2008 18 April 2008 11 April 2008 4 April 2008 28 March 2008 21 March 2008 14 March 2008 7 March 2008 29 February 2008 22 February 2008 15 February 2008 8 February 2008 1 February 2008 18 January 2008 11 January 2008 4 January 2008 21 December 2007 14 December 2007 7 December 2007 30 November 2007 16 November 2007 9 November 2007 2 November 2007 26 October 2007 19 October 2007 12 October 2007 5 October 2007 28 September 2007 21 September 2007 14 September 2007 7 September 2007 31 August 2007 24 August 2007 17 August 2007 10 August 2007 3 August 2007 27 July 2007 20 July 2007 13 July 2007 6 July 2007 29 June 2007 22 June 2007 15 June 2007 8 June 2007 1 June 2007 25 May 2007 18 May 2007 11 May 2007 4 May 2007 27 April 2007 20 April 2007 13 April 2007 6 April 2007 30 March 2007 23 March 2007 16 March 2007 9 March 2007 2 March 2007 23 February 2007 16 February 2007 9 February 2007 2 February 2007 26 January 2007 19 January 2007 12 January 2007 5 January 2007 29 December 2006 22 December 2006 15 December 2006 8 December 2006 1 December 2006 17 November 2006 10 November 2006 3 November 2006 27 October 2006 20 October 2006 13 October 2006 8 October 2006 29 September 2006 22 September 2006 15 September 2006 8 September 2006 1 September 2006 25 August 2006 18 August 2006 11 August 2006 4 August 2006 28 July 2006 21 July 2006 14 July 2006 7 July 2006 30 June 2006 23 June 2006 16 June 2006 9 June 2006 2 June 2006 26 May 2006 19 May 2006 12 May 2006 5 May 2006 28 April 2006 21 April 2006 14 April 2006 7 April 2006 2 April 2006 31 March 2006 24 March 2006 17 March 2006 10 March 2006 3 March 2006 24 February 2006 17 February 2006 10 February 2006 3 February 2006 27 January 2006 13 January 2006 6 January 2006 16 December 2005 9 December 2005 2 December 2005 18 November 2005 11 November 2005 4 November 2005 28 October 2005 21 October 2005 14 October 2005 7 October 2005 30 September 2005 23 September 2005 16 September 2005 9 September 2005 2 September 2005 26 August 2005 19 August 2005 12 August 2005 5 August 2005 29 July 2005 22 July 2005 15 July 2005 8 July 2005 1 July 2005 17 June 2005 10 June 2005 3 June 2005 27 May 2005 20 May 2005 13 May 2005 6 May 2005 29 April 2005 22 April 2005 15 April 2005 8 April 2005 1 April 2005 25 March 2005 18 March 2005 11 March 2005 4 March 2005 25 February 2005 18 February 2005 11 February 2005 4 February 2005 28 January 2005 23 January 2005 14 January 2005 7 January 2005 30 December 2004 17 December 2004 10 December 2004 3 December 2004 19 November 2004 12 November 2004

>>

Bungie Weekly Update: 06.25.10

Posted by urk at 6/25/2010 4:53 PM PDT

Rewind!

It's Tuesday morning, bright and early. My security badge doesn't register and the studio door won't budge when I yank the handle. I turn back to swipe it again and catch Harold in conference room "Halo" out of the corner of my eye. The lights are out, he has one foot propped on a chair, and he's looking right at me. I try to remain absolutely still.

"Haven't seen you in Committee in a while..."

He smiles. It's a joke, of course. I have no business in there and I'm glad of it. The twenty forty hours after this brief encounter will be filled with tough calls. Not everything makes the grade. Not every bug can be fixed.

To wit: the squirrel, dear friends, is deceased. Passed on. He is no more. He has, in the immortal words of some guy whose name I can't remember, shuffled off this mortal coil.

But that's all in the past now. If you follow us on Twitter or on Noble Actual, you already know we hit Zero Bug Release as of midnight last Wednesday. Bugs were squashed. Clocks were smashed. Sleeps, finally, were had.

So what's next?

Executive Producer, Joe Tung:

"ZBR is just one of the milestones we use to stabilize the game for ship. Post-ZBR we will do a series of Release Candidates leading up to RTX (aka release to certification), all the while fixing the most egregious bugs and adding that final layer of polish that can only happen when large areas of the game are stable. Upon passing the certification process, the game is effectively out of our hands and on its way to being manufactured and distributed all over the world to get into retail in time for our 9/14 launch. As of right now, the Environment Art, 3D Art and Animation departments are effectively done with the game. Engineering will continue to smash bugs that bounced past ZBR, while FX, Cinematics, Audio and Mission Design take advantage of a slightly extended timeline to sweeten their areas."

I also asked some other Bungie peeps to weigh in on ZBR. As expected, I got a handful of much less serious responses.

Marty O'Donnell

Jon Cable

We were a hair's breadth away from cutting [redacted] (not sure if we're talking about that yet)...

Editor's Note: Nope, we're definitely not!

Paul Lewellen

now it's tomorrow
why am I still fixing bugs?
I'll try for one more

Andrew Davis

UI Screen file totals:

• Halo 1: 79
• Halo 2: Unknown
• Halo 3: 103
• Halo 3: ODST: 104
  
  
• Halo Reach: 434

(Caveat: this includes templates, some unused/cut screens, etc. etc. etc. Not a good representation of final in-game menu count, but what went into them.)

Jon "I Love Dr. Becker's" Weisnewski

Closing comments from bug 56396:

"Shoot me in the face."

Blake Low

From one of the environment art groups entitled "Team Cotton-balls."

Brad Fish

Bug 55893 was one of the craziest and most hilarious bugs I saw pass my way during the last 2 weeks.

Description:

UI: START MENU: ARMORY: MODEL: The feet don't rotate with the Elite when examining him.

Repro:
1. Launch the main menu.
2. Go into the Armory->Player.
3. Change the Preferred Species to Elite.
4. Zoom the camera out and rotate the Elite around.

Actual:

The Elite's feet/legs don't rotate with the pelvis.

Expected:
The entire Elite rotates.

This bug came to UI engineering because it involved the Armory. In this case I'm not sure what the problem ended up being, because it didn't repro in later builds and we simply resolved as "No repro."

Still, it provided some great laughs!

Shishka

Here's a few of my favorite bugs (All of which have been fixed):

42748: The "Mongooses Only" vehicle set turned every vehicle object into a mongoose. The security cameras in Sword Base are technically vehicles so they can be made to move. Thus: "Mongooses Only" on Sword Base caused Gooses to hang out of the walls and ceilings of the map.

40750: A new tester submitted a bug that the Falcon could not be flown on a particular map, but instead would drag along the ground. Upon review of the bug it was determined that the Falcon itself was fine, but the tester was holding down the wrong button thus keeping the Falcon grounded. The map itself is, of course, quite alright.

14579: The female MP Spartan model would, when her shields were popped, suddenly become the male Spartan model. IT'S A TRAP.

And Beyond!

Post ZBR, more and more monitors are now filled with all of Reach's glamorous game modes as a good portion of the studio gets to bask in a brief, but well deserved break from the madness. Plenty are using the slower pace to evaluate all the work that's been done as of late. In many cases, that means playing the game from start to finish. Jealous? You should be. Reach is looking and playing like a dream, hard work is paying off, and with risk of coming off as arrogant, I'm just gonna go ahead and say it - this game will sell hundreds of copies, easy.

And though there's a bit more time for fun and games now, playtest time and space is still at a premium, with the Mutliplayer and Firefight teams both slugging it out in a world where conference rooms remain almost impossible to secure. Still, we endure. For you. We do it all for you.

Lars' partner in crime and new addition to the Bungie team, James, wants us all to play some super top secret Firefight stuff. Carney's looking for some folks to test out some even more super top secret multiplayer action. And Derek, well, Derek wants us all to play Race. In fact, I just heard him shouting from his desk. "Yes! Boosted by the mine!"

Earlier in the week, he called me a "Race Hater." I've only played his baby once or twice since I learned of its existence. And since Race didn't get any love at E3, I figured we'd put it through its paces in today's update.

Rubbin' is Racin'

So, uh. Hey, Derek. Tell us about Race.

Ever since Silent Cartographer, one of my favorite things to do in any Halo game is to tool around in the 'Hog, just tearing up the map and making a mess of the place. It's incredibly satisfying, and a nice break from serious running and gunning. Racing for me is like a vacation from the Arena. It's still competitive, but it uses a totally different skillset. Awesome vehicle driving is one of the things that sets Halo apart from other shooters, and it only makes sense to me to have a gametype or two that highlights that aspect of Reach.

Bringing back Race "for real" is also about supporting the absolutely insane creative energy that people have for making racetracks. If you've spent any time on checking out the courses people have put in their file shares on Bungie.net, I think you'll agree that they are among the best examples of Forge pushed to its limits.

I mean, seriously?

Race in the original Halo was pretty bare bones. On a scale of that to Forza, where does Reach's Race simulation fall?

Racing in Reach will be a bit more comprehensive than the original Halo gametype...the icon is the same, but that's about it. The basic Race is done checkpoint-style, with numbered gates set around the course to direct the flow of the race. We show the next gate number and distance in the HUD, as well as your current lap time. Race courses can be any number of checkpoints, and in custom games, you can set the race length to whatever number of Laps you want (up to 100!). We do some cool stuff like resetting you at the last checkpoint you hit if you fall out of the map, already in your vehicle, ready to roll. All in all, it's a blast to play. The racing we did the night before ZBR was filled with as much screaming and profanity as you'd get from a Team Headhunter game, so I think we've got something here.

Oh yeah, there's also an option to turn on Land Mines. As cool as it is, I don't think Forza has mines. Advantage: Halo.

Why did you call me a "Race Hater?" You never even invite me to your Race playtests!

I call 'em like I see 'em. All the trash talk, all the "oh, our big E3 reveal should be Race"...You're a hater, but you're always welcome in our playtests, because we know you can't help it.

---

Could you imagine how awesome that would have been? Marcus takes the stage, the lights go dim, and bam...Race at E3!

And since Derek mentioned Forge, I should note that Cotton stopped me in the hall to ask me whether I've made a sweet new map variant yet. I haven't, but I'm thinking Sword Base could use a heaping helping of Brute Spiker Rifles. Of course, that's all I can say about that.

I wanted to give you all some updated shots of the vastly improved Sword Base, too, but Brian says we need to hold back for now. Dark, bro. Pretty sure he's collecting assets for his next update. I has a sad.

Soon™.

We Got the Look

One of the biggest changes from build to build lately has been found in the cinematic moments between missions. Spartans have never looked better. Hell, Halo has never looked better. From camera direction to facial animation to character performances and environments, this beauty really is a sight to behold.

According to Lee Wilson, our Lead Cinematic Designer, the process of bringing our characters to life for Halo: Reach was made possible by some significant leaps in both technology and technique. To make sure Noble Team's journey was as engaging as possible, allowing players to become immersed in our Spartan's story, the Cinematics team focused early on making sure they nailed what Lee calls the "subtle, human details" like body language and facial expressions.

For facial animation, hired actors and the Bungie players performed on camera to ensure the close ups were believable and lifelike. For full body, motion capture was used to pace and time scenes early on in the production cycle, giving the team more complete performances to work from earlier than ever before. According to Wilson, the extra time and upgraded technology was "priceless."

"The cinematics are always driven by the game's script. They're only as elaborate as they need to be, giving us the opportunity to tell a story outside of the gameplay inside the natural lulls that serve as a sort of reward for completion or a setup for the next part of the game. Getting the player invested into our characters was a big focus for Reach. Having motion capture up and running so early on - as far back as pre-visualization - allowed us to see exactly how our scenes were going to play out and get exactly what we wanted from the start."

You already got a small taste of what you can expect from Reach's cinematics during the E3 Sabre launch sequence, but wait until you see what's going on under the helmet. Lee's not lying. The new tools and techniques definitely paid dividends and the cinematics look astounding.

Inclement Weather

Well, lookee here. Seems the vehicle powered by a violent thunderstorm isn't the only thing in Halo: Reach that's discharging vibrant blue bolts of energy. I just had a look at something else Steve Scott has wrapped in a warm embrace of electricity. Something you won't expect.

Thor would be pleased.

Man in the Mirror

And while we're on the subject of getting glimpses, Ken Taya wants to know when we're gonna reveal one of the multiplayer maps he's been working on to our lovely at home audience. I keep telling him that Reflection just might be at the top of my Best Looking Halo Maps of All Time list, but he's not happy with personal praise alone. He wants you to see it in its entire gob smacking glory. The warm wood floors, polished to a high gloss finish. The metal, the marble, and the mountains just outside the massive glass windows. The vibrant, turning hologram of planet Reach suspended above the central hall. The revelation that though this space has a spectacular new aesthetic - it's all ensconced around a space you're already intimately familiar with.

Did I tell you that when Marcus noted Reach's multiplayer maps were taken straight from the campaign that we weren't telling you the full story?

Ken tells me Reflection has the biggest cube map in the game. I have no idea what that means, but I'm not lying when I tell you that this sucker looks spectacular.

Take a Good, Long Look

I suspect this is about the moment you've realized that I'm not going to be revealing too much in the way of new information today. That you're once again being teased mercilessly. Yeah, sorry about that. No big reveals today. It can't be helped. Don't worry, though. We'll be making some noise sooner than you might think.

And with that, we're done here. Before we kick off for the weekend, I want to remind you that Bungie Day is fast approaching. Wouldn't be right if you weren't here to celebrate with us. Mark your calendars, please. We'll make it worth your while.

Blame Stosh

Stosh is back. With a vengeance!

See you soon. Stay tuned.

Oh, and the "Flak Cannon" from the Firefight options listed in last week's update is indeed the Fuel Rod Gun of international fame. Internal names die hard around this joint.