18 February 2011 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: 02/18/2011

Posted by urk at 2/18/2011 2:10 PM PST

Last week's impromptu meditation on the Internet's affinity for rumor and speculation turned out to be a rather lucid premonition, and on Wednesday evening I found myself shocked for the first time in a very long time by something I saw on the Internet. And yes, I have seen that.

Rumors about our future endeavors are one thing. Typically, they're benign. We expect, and even appreciate, healthy fan speculation about our work. It's great to see our fans interested and energized about the magic tricks we have hidden up our sleeves. We get it, even if we often have to respectfully decline to officially participate in the conversation. It's nothing personal – when we're ready to officially unveil our next title, we intend to make a whole lot of noise. Trust me. We're more excited than anybody to bring you into our new universe.

But after reading the false claims that we'd just unceremoniously terminated thirty contract workers without cause or provocation, we felt compelled to respond. Our ability to conscript industry talent into our global siege engine is the single most important factor in our mission to make kick ass games. Until our synthetic neural network achieves a stable state of self-awareness, Bungie is quite literally made up of the people who work here. That's not just an ideal. We made it a reality by earning our independence, and later by transforming Bungie into an employee owned company. When I say that I own this joint, it's not just with a nudge and a wink – I literally and legally own a piece of Bungie. We all do.

Some people thought I was being "careful" with my words Wednesday night. I was. It was way past my bedtime, I was rocking a sniffling baby in the crook of my arm, and I had my laptop perched precariously on my lap. Let me clarify.

We did not experience layoffs of employees or group terminations of contract workers at Bungie. Activision-Blizzard has never asked us to terminate any of our employees or contract workers. There are still contract employees working here on site, and we are actively seeking more talented folks to come and join our family. In fact, we just recently hired a large group of contract employees, bringing them into the full time fold, and we are still on the hunt to add even more talented folks to our Bungie family.

Hopefully, that's enough clarity to satisfy even the most enthusiastic rumor mongers out there. Going forward, we don't plan on responding to any ill-defined accusations provided by anonymous sources. If concrete details are provided, we'll choose to respond when appropriate, and regardless of what's written about us on the Internet we will never stop finding ways to improve our work environment for every single member of the Bungie family.

Goodbye, Arena. Hello, The Arena!

Speaking of improvements, Jeremiah has been hard at work and the Reach sustain team has now begun working in earnest to bring some significant changes to the Arena. Next week won't be graced with a matchmaking playlist update, so you'll have to sit tight just a little while longer than we'd like. Since that leaves you with a little bit of time, ponder the list of proposed changes below, knowing of course that anything can happen between now and then (whenever then is), and that nothing is ever final until Ninja presses the big green button.

• All of the existing Arena playlists will be replaced with a single playlist called…The Arena.
  • We're simplifying the format of Arena and keeping the core 4v4 configuration.
  • A new competitive Double Team playlist will be created to replace the Doubles Arena.
• The Arena will have Seasonal lengths of 3 months.
  • This will allow you to make a longer investment in maintaining your Divisional placement.
• The Arena will still have Player Ratings to represent your individual skill in each game you play, but this rating will no longer be used to calculate who won the game.
  • Your skill will be judged by whether your team wins or loses.
  • You can still track your daily rating to see how well you're doing.
• The formula for Player Rating will be modified to reduce the value of assists and remove the effects of the loss scalar.
  • Loss scalar will no longer be necessary because the Player Rating will no longer be used for TrueSkill calculations.
• The gametype used will have the following basic settings: DMR/AR/1Frag/Sprint, Evade, Jetpack, and Hologram with Motion Tracker ON.
  • This is closer to the Team Slayer experience, which is the gameplay experience that The Arena is intended to represent.

I have no idea what a loss scalar is. Jeremiah says it's the thing that made the losing team's MVP become even more frustrated with his teammates. Makes sense, I guess. There's math involved, and numbers always make my head hurt.

Oh, and I can't take any of the credit for the new name. It'd take a certified genius to plop a remarkable re-branding like that out of his think box.

In other matchmaking news, we fired up the first batch of our Community Cartographer's findings in an official playtest this afternoon. You're going to be very happy with their work. Good times were had by all. Expect more explicit details in the weeks ahead.

Bungie All Stars Week 6

You're going to have to squint your eyes to inspect this week's collection of finely crafted offerings. If you're reading on mobile, I honestly don't know what's going to happen. You might want to set your phone down and run away to a safe distance while the images below attempt to load.

All of our submissions adhered to the minuscule format demanded by our forum software, which was all the rage back in 2004. Still, even within the exacting constraints, our community artists continue to shine.

Here are my favorite selections from this week's offerings:

Stosh informs me that some of the animated images might have to be scaled down if we ultimately use them on the site. When he decides which of the above live up to his exacting standards, you'll see it live in your profile options. I'll let you know when we pull the trigger. Until then, nice work. Seven of you should now be rocking the Star nameplate.

For those asking about Week 4's winners, we've closed in on final selections and our Visual Design team is giving them all one final visual inspection before they send the winner off to the printer. Hopefully, I'll have more concrete news next week. Keep your fingers crossed. (All weekend.)

Blame Stosh

Stosh has been busy on the Internet this week, too. Check out the clip he came across in his travels. Don't be selfish, kids. Share your toys!

That's all we have to share with you for this week. Thanks for reading. Bungie will be closed on Monday for the holiday, so don't expect to see much chatter out of us until then. Have a great weekend.