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 | January 2004 |  |
January 2004 Archived News
News January 31 2004
Halfway through...
Yeah, we had all sorts of plans; webcams from multiple places through the house, rotating Halo PC entrants, and on and on... everything fell by the wayside when the playing started. Offensive Tetraboxing kicked off last night; the first of almost 40 guests showed up a bit after midnight, and the first round of Halo gaming continued until 3 am. 4 hours later, folks rolled out of bed, munched through breakfast, and set up gear... and by 10:30, we had more than 30 people playing. Film Oasis, the house that made the DIscovery Channel Halo documentary last year (and that is making a Halo 2 documentary right now) is here, and filming the fans, the action, the food... it's a blast. We don't have a lot of content to pass along right now, because frankly, we're just playing too much... but we'll at least shoot along a group shot of a subset of the visitors. (They couldn't all fit in the frame.) There aren't any names yet - but we'll add 'em in the writeups. (You SHOULD notice KP standing up in the back - pretty neat, since he has only one knee.) (Louis Wu 22:58:02 UTC) (permalink)
News January 30 2004
Frankie's Bungie Update
This week's Frankie's Bungie Update is here at HBO - and contains some rather momentous news. A Halo 2 release timeframe has been set - for Fall, 2004. You'll have to decide for yourself whether the relief at knowing overcomes the disappointment of having to wait another several months... (And congrats to those who procrastinated about c0ld's release date contest - your chances are much, much better now.) (Louis Wu 18:49:51 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2: Strike First? Halo 2: Flood The?
Sep7imus was the first to point out this news item on Truth and Reconciliation:
Halo 2 will ship in Fall, 2004.The news item also includes a brand new multiplayer screenshot. Mmm, bumpmapping... (Note: A number of people have been confused by the title of this news item. The game is NOT named "Halo 2: In Reach of Fall". This is just a reference to the title of novel The Fall of Reach.) (Count Zero 18:43:07 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 - Free
Hehe - c0ld vengeance is offering to pre-order Halo 2 for one lucky forumgoer. Guess the release date, win the game. Read the rules in his forum post. (Louis Wu 13:57:26 UTC) (permalink)
Game Types, Roles, and Tactics
Narcogen has posted Part Three of the High Ping Bastard's Guide to Halo over at Rampancy.net - this one looks at gametypes, and how high-ping players can benefit from certain strategies. An interesting read. (Louis Wu 13:25:31 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Flash Game makes progress
Hey - we stopped mentioning the incremental updates on the Halo Flash game under development over at 343GS.com some time ago... but the new features in it now merit another look. A Silent Cartographer-like intro, new sounds, plasma grenades... it's getting there! (Check the Projects page.) (Louis Wu 11:49:53 UTC) (permalink)
Sex And the Earthcity
One One Se7en comes back to Linda - who might be dangerous with more than just a sniper rifle... (Louis Wu 10:42:26 UTC) (permalink)
Don't Argue, Manipulate Your Words!
Halo: Resolution continues its Matrix-like theme... but the corn is coming. (Louis Wu 10:38:58 UTC) (permalink)
Friday Stories
Eight Fan Fiction pieces today:
- Scope (Prologue), by The Silver Spartan
- The dank, dank, swamp: a comedy poem, by crashedwarthog
- A Killing Glare (Part 1): Cadet 787, by MadJackal
- Neverland: Plans for an assault, by SOS.Odin
- Halo:Sgt.Johnson's War Chapter 1:Earth , by Sgt.Johnson
- Forced Betrayal (Chapter 5: A New Ally), by CoLd BlooDed
- Getting to Ones Mind, by CoLd BlooDed
- Air Force Wing: Part 3, Consequences, by teemus
I'm likin' this new submission frequency... (Louis Wu 10:36:40 UTC) (permalink)
More Halo-related sketching
elmatto dropped by our forum to point out an old comic he started drawing about him and some friends playing Halo. It ends rather suddenly (he put it down to lack of interest), but the art style is pretty interesting to me. (Louis Wu 10:29:13 UTC) (permalink)
News January 29 2004
How do you shoot at a moving target?
Hijack found an interesting article about game marketing over at the Hollywood Reporter, via EvilAvatar.com. Beth Featherstone, Director of Marketing of Microsoft Games, talks about how much trouble it can be to market a game with no fixed release date, using Halo 2 as an example. (There are tidbits of nice info in there, too - like the fact that Halo 2 has over 20,000 lines of dialogue in it already.) Give it a read - but don't look for a fixed date yet! (Louis Wu 19:19:25 UTC) (permalink)
Price Drop on the Xbox - coming soon?
Recently, Nintendo cut the price on its Gamecube to $99 (making it cheaper, amusingly, than its Gameboy Advance SP product), in an attempt to regain market share. (It worked; Nintendo sold more Gamecubes in the US in 2003 than Microsoft sold Xboxes.) There's an article on CNN Money today that suggests that MS might be considering a price drop to the same level by Labor Day - preparing the market for the Xbox 2, maybe as early as next year. (An intermediate drop - to $129 - might happen between now and E3, in May.) Good news for Bungie gamers, anyway... the platform your developer favors is that much cheaper to snarf up! (Thanks to Mr Yun for the heads-up.) (Louis Wu 14:57:52 UTC) (permalink)
I Play at HBO.
Comics, Part II: Today's Guest One One Se7en comes from Gram shows why taunting in multiplayer isn't always a good idea. (Louis Wu 14:41:25 UTC) (permalink)
Comics, Part I
Today's Calvin and Halo (from Blackstar) looks at obsessions, and their effects on your outlook on life. (Obsessions? What are those?) (Louis Wu 14:39:44 UTC) (permalink)
Banshee Handling II: Crash and Flow
A month ago, vector40 wrote an article on Banshee flight tactics. Today, he's released part 2. It's entitled 'Crash and Flow', and covers more advanced techniques and strategies. Read the first one, if you missed it... then read this one. It's currently hosted at Rampancy.net (link above), but should be available at the Junkyard and Subnova in the not-too-distant future. (Louis Wu 14:37:58 UTC) (permalink)
Why have nightmares, when you can daydream?
We got an interesting note from Halojunky yesterday:
Inspired by the 'Nighmare' real armour created a few weeks ago, i made this 117 helmet. It's made out of corregated plastic card, tin foil and stickytape. I also added a light and a mission camera.
If anyone wants to buy it, im selling it for £499. A bargain for such a high quality item that took 19 years to complete.
We couldn't decide on which of the pics he sent us was best - but they were small enough that we thought we'd show you ALL of them (26k). (Louis Wu 14:02:36 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Babies - now with 70% more corn!
Halo Babies has released content a day early this week, because mrsmiley is getting on an airplane tomorrow to come HERE and play some Halo. There are a pair of strips; the first is Gruntsbane's entry in the Plinth of Art contest (which I liked a lot, but which didn't get a lot of points due to its lack of Art focus) - the other is a Stuntmutt-submitted One One Se7en/HaloBabies crossover. It's pretty funny stuff... and you won't find it in the One One Se7en section here, so go check it out! (Louis Wu 13:53:31 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 speculation at BGH
Battleground: Halo is running a two-part series called 'Halo 2: Precognition'. Part 1, released today, speculates about the characters and races we might see in Halo 2. It is based on information gleaned from the Halo novels and the game itself, and contains spoilers for both. Before anyone gets bent out of shape, remember that Viper is NOT claiming this info to be fact. (Louis Wu 13:48:44 UTC) (permalink)
Pictures needed
SESpider wrote to ask for input for his Miniature Halo series. This time, though, he needs pictures. In his words:
I need fans, that can, to get images of the inside of a Covenant Cruiser's Hallways and Cells (and maybe bridge Room).
The Halls:
The Halls can be Empty or with Covenant In them. There can be NO weapon fire, simply because it'll take too long to edit out. The views can be from above the ceiling or from a walking position. NO Humans whatsoever! But I can edit out Master Chief's gun if need be.
The Cell Room:
These have to be somewhat well-lit (but normal like) with Covenant walking about. The views can also be from any angle you choose as long as the Covenant inside are not always in the same spot (unless sleeping).
The Cell:
I need a few good low shots from inside the cells (with or without plasma doors). These shots have to have the cell itself empty and looking out toward the Plasma Door or/and ceiling.
I would get these images myself, but I don't have any decent program to make them large, clean and clear enough for use.
Send to:
Send all images to SEspider2@yahoo.com in Jpeg or Gif Form ONLY. And provide the name you want used when given credit. Once again, Thank you all for the help and ideas you've provided.
Well... you heard the man! Send him some pics! (Louis Wu 13:42:34 UTC) (permalink)
PCMag: HaloPC among best of 2003
=DFA=HK HUNTR-KILLR writes to point out that PC Magazine included Halo PC in their roundup of the best products of 2003 (games category) in the January 2004 issue. (It's the only pure first-person shooter on the list.) An article showing a small review of the game is online; you'll have to buy the mag for the rest. (Louis Wu 13:36:53 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Toys
Richard White Jr sent us some information about the 2004 toy lineup from JoyRide, straight from its distributor (he's a retailer). We have no way of confirming this information right now - but it seemed reasonable... It's too big for a front-page news post, so you can find the list in our MIscellaneous section. (Louis Wu 12:00:15 UTC) (permalink)
News January 28 2004
HBO - on Homelan!
It took a little while, but the kinks have been worked out - and HBO is very proud to announce the presence of two more HBO Halo PC dedicated servers! Thanks to Homelan, those looking for the somewhat different flavor of gameplay on the HBO servers (no-shields BC Shotties, anyone?) can find what they crave at Homelan_HBO_East and Homelan_HBO_West, so named because of their geographical location. Try 'em out, see how good the gameplay is; low ping, low lag - these servers rock! (As with other HBO-branded servers, you can see a status report by clicking the link at the top of our main page. We'll be setting up a 32-seat Ventrilo server in the next couple of days, so that players can always jump into voice chat when they want to. Come Play With Us! (And don't forget to let Homelan know that they rock.) (Louis Wu 21:20:40 UTC) (permalink)
Whoa - who's on what side?
Today we have another Miniature Halo for you from SESpider... the plot thickens. So much so, in fact, that he needs your help in advancing it. (Louis Wu 18:52:54 UTC) (permalink)
Yeah, I really should be.
There's a new collection of letters. Argh. (Count Zero 16:59:16 UTC) (permalink)
Legendary in 3 hours?
The community has been abuzz with Bungie's newly released title and for those who have asking for help, your prayers have been answered.
(Ding 16:15:26 UTC) (permalink)Halo 2 Mod updated
Obsidian CZ writes to point out a new build of a Halo 2 mod that's been under development for a while by NiTrOuSoXiDe; it brings a gravity gun, a covenant sniper, SMG, faster warthog, and a powerful plasma cannon (turret) to the game. You can grab a copy from this thread in the Gearbox forums. (The listed server is no longer running this mod, but the mod still works.) (Louis Wu 11:17:13 UTC) (permalink)
I Thought We Outlawed Puns In Episode 15!
Halo: Resolution says... whoa. (Louis Wu 11:11:41 UTC) (permalink)
What's Old Is New Again
(GT)Juggler has posted GT6 - It's a Boy!, the newest in a series of tricks/glitches films. This one is full of really early stunts; grabbing the banshees on AotCR, color glitches, unlimited ammo... I felt like a younger man, watching it. (Well, okay, only a couple of years younger, but...) It's a 33.4 mb 3ivx-encoded MP4; go grab it from HaloGT.com! (Louis Wu 11:09:59 UTC) (permalink)
Pictures at 343GS.com
IXIGhandiIXI points out that over at 343gs.com, there's a new wallpaper in the Downloads section (I find it to be a pretty impressive picture, though I doubt I could ever actually use it as a desktop), and a new Art section has opened up (though only one of the two images shown is actually viewable). Check 'em out! (Louis Wu 10:58:46 UTC) (permalink)
Two for the price of one
Wow, I'm not doing very well; I managed to forget yesterday's Guest One One Se7en strip. Rather than simply skip it, I'm posting it anyway - along with today's main strip, from Stuntmutt. Yesterday's, 'Fr@med', was Guest number 77, and was created by Someone2die... while today's, entitled 'Insult to Injury', might explain why the MC doesn't always take as much care saving those marines as he could... (Louis Wu 10:53:07 UTC) (permalink)
There's even talk of a sequel?
Finally, after dozens of man-years in development, the long-secret title from Bungie has been revealed!
Behold, the Quest for the Crown!
Yes, this is a spoof!
(Ding 04:44:44 UTC) (permalink)
News January 27 2004
HPC for $40
For those looking for a decent price on Halo PC, Best Buy currently has it on sale for $39.99; about $10 off its regular price. (Thanks, Opie.) (Louis Wu 21:50:03 UTC) (permalink)
HOX talks to BGH, on the IRT in USA
Battleground: Halo has posted an interview with PTM, of Halo Online. And stuff. (Louis Wu 21:06:13 UTC) (permalink)
Around the Halo Community
Lots and lots of links:
- UGS is expanding - vote for Halo
- Generals Halo Mod - C&C mod
- RF Halo Mod - Red Faction mod
- analytical delusionist - Halo 2 info
- PtO - Xbox Halo clan (LOUD)
- Halo 2-Hub - Halo 2 info
Whew - I'm sure I forgot a few, but that's the bulk of recent ones. (Louis Wu 12:01:28 UTC) (permalink)
Parasite
new1nab113 stopped by our forum to mention a comic he's created called Parasite. I keep remembering some advice my mother gave me... (Louis Wu 11:32:40 UTC) (permalink)
A pair of vids
A couple of movies folks asked us to tell you about: First, a movie that MereCatfish wanted us to announce a couple of weeks ago; we managed to miss the email. It's called 'Fun, Yet Useless', and it's a Halo PC glitch/stunt film - title pretty much covers it. It's hosted by nukedude in WMP9 format (26.1 mb). (Apparently, there's also a DivX version at www.blam-halo.co.uk... but the link passed on to me doesn't work, and navigating the site directly turns up nothing.) A second movie comes from SpaceGhost2k, and is hosted by a buddy of his from the TeamXbox forums. it's called 'Halo Music Video', and weighs in at 50.6 mb in WMP9 format; it's stock footage from the two Halo 2 movies (almost uncut), set to Queen's 'Another One Bites the Dust'. Um... okay. (Louis Wu 11:27:07 UTC) (permalink)
Toast
Today's Calvin and Halo strip was mentioned on our forum, sort of, last week. Having young children myself, I hardly find this funny. In fact, I may have to sue Warbow for the return of this twitch in my eye... (Louis Wu 10:17:18 UTC) (permalink)
Tuesday Stories
Ten Fan Fiction pieces today:
- Tel Amir, by Steve
- Forced Betrayal (Chapter 4: Vulnerable but Vital), by CoLd BlooDed
- On A Pale Horse: Frozen Typhoon, by Silent Hunter
- Air Force Wing: Part 2, The Assault, by teemus
- The Flood: A Force to be reckoned with (Part 6), by crashedwarthog
- In Chaos and Despair: Bellerophon 3, by Maraxus6
- Long Time Gone Part 10, by grylsy
- A Series of Weird Events - Sequel, Part Two[COLD BLOODED], by Hunter_Killer
- A Series of Wierd Events, Part Seven[H_K], by Hunter_Killer
- Athenienses-II: Chapter 5 : Secrets Within, by ZackDark
The load's getting manageable... (Louis Wu 10:14:40 UTC) (permalink)
Crazy Or Just Lucky
Oops - forgot to post yesterday's Halo: Resolution. Too much to do! Wait... maybe I'm just lagging... (Louis Wu 01:49:30 UTC) (permalink)
News January 26 2004
Four kills a minute... forever
Wow. Rapture posted a screen from a Halo PC game last Friday... this was about 5 hours in. That's a LOT of kills. (Louis Wu 22:14:19 UTC) (permalink)
Mac software piracy - and a Mac Halo demo
There's an interesting article on software piracy (and how it relates to Mac gaming) over on Yahoo news today. Peter Tamte participated in a round-table discussion on piracy, and reiterated that in the month since Mac Halo's release, more people have stolen it than bought it. "From what we've been able to extrapolate, the lost sales are already in the millions." This is pretty bad news for gamers in general; if a software company can't make any money selling its product, it's not going to MAKE any products... and there won't be any games to pirate. (This argument has been scoffed at in the past - but in those days, pirated copies were a relatively small fraction of the total copies out there, not more than half the total.) Buried deep in the discussion is a nugget that might make some Mac gamers happy:
"Now that Halo is finished and has been updated to version 1.03, Tamte said that MacSoft is focused on bringing forth a demo version of Halo."
This is good news for gamers who've been wanting to TRY Halo, but haven't wanted to plunk down $50 to do so. Thanks to Sep7imus for noticing both the article, and the demo mention. (Louis Wu 15:05:50 UTC) (permalink)
Halo for cheap - in the UK, too
Yesterday, we mentioned that Circuit City is selling Halo for $19.99. kapowaz pointed out that Tesco, in Great Britain, has made it available for £19.99, as well; still more than the US price, but a significant markdown from its normal rate in GB. Never been a better time to buy Halo - on EITHER side of the Atlantic! (Louis Wu 14:07:43 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 Updates db updated
We've added last Friday's Bungie Update (originally at Subnova) to our Frankie's Bungie Updates database. There's a small note over at Subnova explaining the problems this weekend; it was a hardware problem, not a network or software one. Here's hoping it doesn't happen again! (Louis Wu 13:24:07 UTC) (permalink)
Weapons... at a remove
Rampancy.net has put up the second part of its 'High Ping Bastard's Guide to Halo' - this one focuses on Weapons. Again, there is information in here of value even to those on fast connections; lag in Halo PC is an unfortunate fact of life, and while it's worse for dialup (or faraway) visitors, it's present for ALL of us. Thanks to Narcogen for the heads-up (and for writing the article). (Louis Wu 12:48:08 UTC) (permalink)
Number One One Se7en
So the buildup to One One Se7en number 117 has been pretty big; last week's (Stuntmutt-drawn) strips have all been teasers for it. Several people on our forum speculated that it would be tied, somehow, to the Plinth of Art announcement we made yesterday... but it was noted that main strips don't come out on Sundays. (I was amused that the Sunday strip that DID comment on the Plinth of Art, and that preceded the 117th strip, was number 17... you just can't get away from that stuff.) Anyway, the fact of the matter is, Stuntmutt DID go all out for this one. It's a special 4-page comic; I'm pretty sure he takes the prize in 'Halo on Legendary at Lightning Speed'. Go check it for yourself... (Louis Wu 03:06:19 UTC) (permalink)
Sword Battle, part 2
SESpider has sent along Page 13 of his Miniature Halo comic. Way cool the way weather in the comic tracks weather in the US in the present day... (Louis Wu 02:42:57 UTC) (permalink)
News January 25 2004
Sniper in the hills
Wow. XLNC continues to make hudless screens - and this time, they're from a pretty amazing vantagepoint. Check 'em out on our forum! (Louis Wu 21:25:12 UTC) (permalink)
Halo - for cheap
In December, Halo's price dropped to $29.99 - and a lot got sold. Konrad9 mentions that Circuit City is now selling them for $20 - might be a good time to buy! (It's unknown how long this price will last.) (Louis Wu 16:01:57 UTC) (permalink)
Another pair, set to classics
Yesterday, we posted the movie Cheers, a stock Halo music vid with decent timing. Almost a thousand of you have grabbed a copy, and we haven't gotten any death threats or hatemail about it... so we're going to continue with the plan; today, we've got a pair of these for you. They're both put together from Halo 2 trailer footage, and both nicely synchronized to their respective music. Summer Wind, submitted by Fortune a couple of weeks ago, is set to (not surprisingly) Frank Sinatra's 'Summer Wind', and weighs in at 4.8 mb in WMP7 format. The Boys Are Back was submitted by Erik Vogt (who previously created Wonderboy, no longer available at its original location, but which can be found here), and it uses the Thin Lizzy song with the same title as its soundtrack. (Eric offered a larger, less 'small and gritty' version... but I think this one fits nicely.) It's in QuickTime format, and is a lightweight 6.6 mb. I THINK that clears out the queue of movies I felt we could host, despite their not meeting the letter of our Movie Posting Guidelines... but you never know, there might be more. (Louis Wu 13:24:39 UTC) (permalink)
Judgement Day
Stuntmutt weighs in with his own thoughts about the Plinth contest in today's One One Se7en. I'm gonna let the strip speak for itself. Update: Oops; in the translation from Stuntmutt's submitted strip to what appeared on the page, a (rather critical) piece got missed. My bad. Fixed, now. (Louis Wu 12:40:19 UTC) (permalink)
Homefront 1.1 beta patch
Homefront, the Battleground 1942 Halo mod, has posted a big patch; it includes bug fixes, a new pistol model, a new map, and new controls for the dropships. Read the details at their site, or download the patch from FilePlanet. (It's 11.3 mb.) (Louis Wu 12:31:42 UTC) (permalink)
Project Halo Update
SanchezTheLlama posted a status update for Project Halo, a Halo-like game under development. Lots of pics of early models... (Louis Wu 11:41:00 UTC) (permalink)
Presenting... The Plinth Of Art Results
On December 6, 2003, we announced the Plinth of Art - a contest for the rest of us, conceived of by Stuntmutt as a way to promote his One One Se7en strip in an ostensibly more elegant manner. On January 17, 2004, the contest ended - and today, we bring you the results. Congratulations to our winners - you can find full details, as well as all the entries, on the Plinth website. Enjoy, and have a great evening! (Louis Wu 03:21:58 UTC) (permalink)
News January 24 2004
EDBIS previews Halo 2
EDBIS.com has previewed Halo 2; some questionable statements, but a preview is a preview. Info seems to come from a combination of online movies and print articles. Thanks to Battleground: Halo for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 15:22:03 UTC) (permalink)
Techniques for the HPB
Narcogen, over at Rampancy.net, has begun a series of articles dedicated to helping those with less-than-stellar net connections still have fun playing Halo. The first installment of the High Ping Bastard's Guide to Halo, focusing on vehicles, is up now. This is worth a read, even if your connection is good; all of us have experienced lag on Halo servers, and some of the suggestions are as applicable to LPBs on laggy servers as they are to HBPs everywhere. (Louis Wu 15:16:51 UTC) (permalink)
Update shenanigans
Last night, Frankie posted the Weekly Bungie Update over at Subnova. The idea of the updates, beyond bringing a few morsels of Halo 2 goodness to the masses, is to introduce those very same masses to the various sites in the Halo universe. Lots of traffic is directed to the site by an update, and a certain percentage of those visitors stick around and check out what ELSE is available. During the yearlong period of Matt's Halo 1 Updates, a policy was worked out whereby the site receiving the update would have it, exclusively, from Friday night when it was posted through Sunday night. At that point, any site that wished to archive the updates was welcome to do so. Because of this policy, I declined to allow anyone to post the full text of the update in our forum last night, even though Subnova was having problems. However, this morning the site is STILL down, and some of the larger Halo sites have put the update online already - so I'm going to bow to common sense and suggest that if you want to read it, you visit Rampancy.net or the Junkyard while Subnova is still offline. (We have it, as well, but I'm going to hold off until Monday to post it; I simply don't feel comfortable doing it now.) I'm really hoping this doesn't change the way the updates have worked; I really believe that the spreading around of information (and bringing people to sites they might not otherwise have visited) is at least as important as the info itself. Long after these updates have been relegated to irrelevancy by the game's release, the sites themselves will be up and running, bringing you Halo goodness. Something to think about. (Louis Wu 15:10:45 UTC) (permalink)
Cheers
There've been a number of movie submissions recently that have gone back to the roots of Halo fan movies; gameplay (or sometimes just cutscene action) set to music. Normally, these would simply be passed over; they don't meet our movie posting guidelines, the concept isn't original, and (in most cases), the music is either poorly chosen or not integrated into the actual footage. However, these recent creations don't suffer from this latter problem... and I found myself enjoying watching them. For that reason, I'm going to release a few of them. This isn't an open invitation to submit hundreds more - we still abide by our standards most of the time. These are small movies, though, and in each case, brings something fun to the table. First up: a movie from Joe S., set to Cheers, by the Trytones. 3:29 long, 320x240, 11.5 mb, in QuickTime format. We're hosting this on our new files2.bungie.org. Enjoy! (Louis Wu 12:02:49 UTC) (permalink)
The Color of Love.
Today's Guest One One Se7en comes from Owen Walsh... and it's just disturbing. (Louis Wu 11:52:30 UTC) (permalink)
Play Halo, walk away with $15K
The CPL has announced the cash prize distribution for the Cyberathlete Extreme World Championships 2004, a 4-title tournament taking place at the end of July. The Halo portion has a total purse of $50,000, with $15,000 going to the winner. The entrance fee is 25% off ($60/head vs $80) until January 30. More details can be found on the CPL website. Thanks for the heads-up from CobaltNova. (Louis Wu 11:39:24 UTC) (permalink)
Didja ever wonder...?
Bren the n00b did some messing around with character swapping... came out with some interesting screenshots. (He also discovered that if you swap a Camo elite into Captain Keyes' body... he ends up behaving as though he's human. Weirdness.) (Louis Wu 11:15:22 UTC) (permalink)
Writing - but less
I can't explain it... but maybe it's not a bad thing. Fan Fiction entries today are only 7 (for a 2-day stretch).
- Out of Phase 4, by BlackValkyire
- The fight for Omega Centauri. Part 2: At the speed of fear., by Aonghus Maher
- The Tru7h, by Sherveen Mashayekhi
- I Shall Tell You, by Frensa Geran
- Something Wicked This Way Comes, pt. 1, by Silent Death Sorrow
- Survival of the Fittest: A friendship forged, by MasterCD
- Long Time Gone Part 9, by grylsy
Go read 'em! (Louis Wu 11:05:03 UTC) (permalink)
Receiving on Demand
A new Subzero Rivalries comic has been posted - as usual, artwork rocks. (The strip itself, this time around... lots of potential, but I thought the closer was weak. In its defense: the fact that I'm judging it at ALL says something pretty positive. :) ) Thanks to MarkHawk for pointing it out. (Louis Wu 11:00:25 UTC) (permalink)
Encrushenating? Encrushenating!
Frankie takes a break from the humilia..er, fun that the Winter Pentathalon certainly must be to post an article on Bungie.Net elaborating on recent Halo sales figures. Four million. That's a whole lot of pancakes. (mnemesis 01:23:22 UTC) (permalink)
News January 23 2004
Ubercon - 3 days of gaming
Halo tourney (with a host of other games) in Secaucus, NJ at the end of February. If you're in the area, check out the website! Thanks to Viscily II for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 21:59:36 UTC) (permalink)
The Evil One
New EchoFourNineTeen over at 343GS.com today. Features a new character I hope never to meet. Thanks to IXIGhandiIXI for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 21:44:54 UTC) (permalink)
Gamespy - still waiting for HL2 and Doom.
Gamespy has posted their 'Most Wanted Games of 2004' list... and (as usual), they rank Halo 2 up near the top, behind Half-Life 2 and Doom 3. And that's all we'll say about that. (Credit goes to... um... Finch, for pointing the countdown out several days ago, and Pico for pointing out Halo 2's position. (Louis Wu 20:00:27 UTC) (permalink)
A Fairy of Peanut-flavored Light
This week's Bungie Weekly Update went to Subnova.com. Once again, Frankie favors us with his awesome artwork... but the meat is in the text. Artwork, new maps, AI improvements... it's all there. Go read. (Thanks to 3of9 for the heads-up.) (Louis Wu 19:01:34 UTC) (permalink)
Grenade Jumping
Just so it doesn't get buried, it's getting its own news post; Halo Babies has put up a new comic for the week. I found it hilarious... but you probably had to be here in the early days of Halo tricksterism to appreciate it. (Louis Wu 17:59:29 UTC) (permalink)
Pretty, pretty
Some very nice screenshots from XLNC - he's getting really good at the no HUD thing. Check 'em out! (Louis Wu 17:53:03 UTC) (permalink)
Red vs Bleu
Red vs Blue episode 22 is up for sponsors. This one's surreal. I'm kinda sorry for Grif... but I still laughed. Go get it (or, if you're not a sponsor, wait 48 hours and THEN go get it). Pointed out on our forum by gryphon. (Louis Wu 17:09:03 UTC) (permalink)
Tourneys on a pair of West Coasts
Chris Frost writes to point out California Lan, a site devoted to tournaments in Santa Cruz, California, and East Kilbride, Scotland. (Yeah, surprised me, too.) If you're local to either of those places... go check it out! (Louis Wu 14:46:36 UTC) (permalink)
The Fall Guy.
One One Se7en is not funny today. Not funny at all. (Louis Wu 12:52:27 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Babies - back online!
Halo Babies came back online yesterday, as scheduled. (I forgot to visit; went by this morning to see, and lo and behold, there they were.) There'll be a new comic online today, but right now, they've got last week's comic up, and some new fan art. Go check 'em out! (Or, maybe, better if you wait until today's comic is up. :) ) (Louis Wu 12:49:40 UTC) (permalink)
Always Watch Where You're Standing
Halo: Resolution shows why faulty Forerunner technology can be a hassle... interesting, actually, now that I think about it, that there aren't any of those in multiplayer levels. (Louis Wu 12:42:49 UTC) (permalink)
HaloDojo says hi
Glen Greb points out HaloDojo, a new Halo site. (Maybe not so new; news goes back to October.) (Louis Wu 12:32:49 UTC) (permalink)
News January 22 2004
Nylund in the Spotlight
Over at Xbox.com, Marty Greene has written up a short interview with Eric Nylund, focusing on the author's experience writing his two Halo novels, as well as a look at why he declined to write the middle book. Fans will be happy to know that he reads the forums to find out what people think of his work (though I must say he's smart enough not to actually POST on any, to the best of my knowledge ;) ), and he hasn't ruled out the possibility of a fourth novel. (He didn't promise anything, either, so try not to put words into his mouth.) Go read it! (Credit goes to someone who emailed us as 'Eric Nylund', though the email address itself would suggest a different name...) (Louis Wu 18:08:13 UTC) (permalink)
More Halo 2 discussion at BGH
Over at Battleground: Halo, Banshee Ace has written part 2 of his Halo 2 Roundup; this time, he's looking at new abilities, characters, and multiplayer. Great way to catch up. (Louis Wu 18:01:27 UTC) (permalink)
RvB Season 1 available again
Red vs Blue has put their entire Season 1 archive online at Fileplanet. If you missed any episodes, but haven't been able to find them (because RvB's bandwidth has been sucked up by Episode 2 releases), head on over and get in line! Thanks, kst. (Louis Wu 17:58:58 UTC) (permalink)
Hide the Hammers
Blackstar's Calvin and Halo today rang such a chord in me... been there, done that. (Louis Wu 14:54:29 UTC) (permalink)
Fan Fiction again
The Fan Fiction section was offline for a bit; folks seemed to stop writing, because even now, after it's been back up for a couple of days, there are only 11 pieces for posting:
- The Final Meeting - Part 2, by Bluestone
- It can't be right, by Awacar
- Part 1: On Angel's Wings, by Aonghus Maher
- Eternal War: Chapter 1: Threatened, by Awacar
- The Darkness: An Elite's Tale, by MadJackal
- On A Pale Horse: Calm Before the Storm, by Silent Hunter
- Bravo Team pt. 1, by Plague
- On the Run: The Story of Kelly 087 and Dr. Hasley, by Winfield Willis the Weasel King
- Battle for Tectron: Chapter 8, by Helljumper
- Ringworld, Part 1, by cheeseman
- Flood of Blood, by Neil Meyers
Go read 'em... I'm sure there'll be more tomorrow. (Louis Wu 14:53:48 UTC) (permalink)
The End Of The Forerunner.
Another Guest One One Se7en from Lt Devon... you have to be up on forum trivia to get this one. (Louis Wu 14:46:49 UTC) (permalink)
X Tournament Update
The Free For All seatings for the 3 vs 3 tournament at X Tournaments this Saturday have been posted; if you've signed up, go check out where you stand. (Louis Wu 10:12:55 UTC) (permalink)
Around the Halo community
A few Halo-related links that have come in recently, but not been posted... Xfire is a game server browser/chat app for coordinating with your buddies. The Dark Phoenixx Clan had new forums running - on Saturday, when they mailed us. (They seem to be down now.) And Halo.Fropco came online yesterday - it's part of the Fropco Gaming Network, and joins Half-Life 2 Fropco and Age of Mythology Fropco in the stable. Apologies to folks looking for a link update; we're hoping for the time to put up a solution at some point soon. Update: oops, forgot one; it came in yesterday afternoon. Coldzero.net has been under construction for some time... unique content includes their Encyclopedia. (Louis Wu 09:49:32 UTC) (permalink)
Things sound better in Japanese
Ooh... almost missed the note from Finn... looks like the Halo Story page has been updated. Some intriguing stuff in there... good to have the boys back in harness. (Well, one of 'em, anyway.) (Louis Wu 08:58:47 UTC) (permalink)
Can we put Hunters up there?
Wow. nukedude pointed out some screenshots of a multiplayer level he's working on (in gmax); it's a part of Assault in the Control Room, and looks to be pretty interesting when it's finished! Check it out, drop off your suggestions in the thread. (Louis Wu 08:52:40 UTC) (permalink)
Bonus RvB content on Xbox demo disc
Interesting - EvilMonkey reports that the new demo disc for the Xbox instore demo at electronic retailers contains some new 'exclusive' Red vs Blue content - short clips that only show up when the disc is in Attract mode. (That is - you have to leave the Xbox alone for a few minutes to see them.) Now the question is... can anyone get copies? And will RvB (and Microsoft) be okay with their display? (Louis Wu 08:43:17 UTC) (permalink)
News January 21 2004
Hang 'em High - from scratch
Ragnarock sent us a couple of pictures of a 3dsmax version of Hang 'em High he built for a class last year. They look amazing. (He was planning on using the model in a cg movie... but got busy.) Take a look at these shots; they're great! (Louis Wu 20:26:01 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Dogtags, Redux
Way back when, when the Xbox was new in Japan, you could get a set of promotional dogtags in a cool pencil case by pre-ordering Halo. Over the years, these tags have shown up on eBay from time to time; there's another set there now. The writeup says "LAST ONE OR YOU WILL NEVER GET IT" - but I'm not sure what this means, there will ALWAYS be people wanting to sell theirs. In any case, if you're interested, the auction is on for another 5 days or so. There are no bids yet, but the Buy It Now price is $50 (a tad steep, as these things go). Thanks to Kyle Finlan for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 19:59:10 UTC) (permalink)
That'll Be Drool All Over My Computer Then...
One One Se7en plays with foreshadowing. It's as subtle as the rest of One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 17:01:25 UTC) (permalink)
That Trick's Old Hat
Halo: Resolution looks at trickster Spartans... but I gotta say, they're gonna need a lot more than that to succeed. (Louis Wu 16:59:29 UTC) (permalink)
Aquaduct 2 - closer still
Hehe - PfhorSlayer tempts the Macheads in the audience with screenshots of Aquaduct 2 - even though you can't actually download the app yet. Looks like a dream... I might even have to try XboxConnect again. :) (Louis Wu 16:48:06 UTC) (permalink)
Lorraine McLees shares secrets of creation
Whoa - take the night off, miss some pretty big stuff. SketchFactor interviewed Lorraine McLees over at Bungie.net - and if the timestamp is to be believed, it happened on MONDAY NIGHT! And it wasn't until yesterday that anybody on our forum noticed this. (Thanks, Scimitarex.) It's a pretty specific interview; Lorraine discusses what's involved in creating Cover/Box art. As someone who's never been on the inside of this industry, it's fascinating to hear the process of how an image is created; what elements are needed, and what they should convey. Go read it. It's fun. (Louis Wu 16:41:04 UTC) (permalink)
Peter Tamte talks about Piracy
A couple of days ago, the Mac version of Halo was updated to 1.03, allowing Mac users to play with their PC brethren. The update also added a copy-protection scheme that required that the CD be in the machine in order to play Halo - a major change from the previous version. This change has caused quite a stir in the Mac community... with most people expressing displeasure. Yesterday, Inside Mac Games interviewed Peter Tamte, head of MacSoft, about why this change was made. If you're a disgruntled Mac user... go read this. I was amazed by this snippet:
[...] we have physically tracked more units of Halo being stolen on the Internet than have been sold through stores so far.
Ouch! (Louis Wu 15:42:34 UTC) (permalink)
46 Minutes? No way!
SESpider has turned in Episode 12 of his Miniature Halo comic; check out that rockin' plasma sword! (Louis Wu 01:08:58 UTC) (permalink)
News January 20 2004
Macosxhints says yes to Halo
Macosxhints.com has made Mac Halo their software pick of the week, giving it a rating of 9/10 and writing a pretty positive review. Thanks to Jarvis Badgley for the heads-up! (Louis Wu 18:38:56 UTC) (permalink)
Six vs Five.
Today's Guest One One Se7en comes from Dark Impaler... and checks out the advantages of the MC's new armor. (Louis Wu 18:08:30 UTC) (permalink)
That's gonna leave a mark.
Eep - we forgot about our Comic updates today! FIrst up is Calvin and Halo - this time it's the Warbow half of the tag team... and I gotta say, I was just IN that situation yesterday. Ouch. (Louis Wu 18:05:41 UTC) (permalink)
Mod Voting
On-X points out that halo-mods.com is holding a poll for your favorite mod; right now, MonoxideC's Library Multiplayer map is winning, but there haven't been many votes. If you mod your box, go add your vote! Update: I misunderstood - the voting is not just your average poll, it's to determine the winner of their modding contest; the winner walks home with $1000. NOW do you want to vote? (Thanks to Plaz for clearing this up.) (Louis Wu 17:58:44 UTC) (permalink)
FTC10 now available via direct download
Though we'd still love it if you used BitTorrent for your downloads, we've supplied the FTC team with a bunch of direct download links for FTC10. A pair of them are linked on their downloads page - go grab the 56 mb divx-encoded low-res avi (352x224), or a higher-quality-but-smaller QuickTime (400x260, 45 mb) from their site. We've got to be careful with some of that bandwidth; if the links stop working, come back here; we'll have posted new ones. (Louis Wu 17:39:09 UTC) (permalink)
Sponsors-only goodies at RvB
gutupio pointed out new content (sponsors-only) at RedvsBlue.com. There's a rejected version of the SpikeTV Video Game Awards trailer, and scripts for the first two Season 2 episodes. If you've tossed 'em a few bucks, jump on and grab this stuff! (Louis Wu 11:50:03 UTC) (permalink)
New info at Halo.bungie.net
Nice find by Mantis819 - Bungie has put up an official page about their HPC server hosting. (The servers aren't new - just the credit to Homelan is.) What's odd is that you can't rent a server from Homelan directly! (Well, that's not completely true. You can rent a 16-player Halo server from them for $0.98/hour... but Halo is not currently on their dedicated server list.) That may change, so if you're happy with the quality of gameplay on the Bungie servers, keep an eye on these guys! Update: There is now an official news post from Homelan on the subject, as well. Check it out! (Louis Wu 11:37:25 UTC) (permalink)
The REAL Master Chief
Wow, very cool. DocOctavius started with a shot from the Halo 2 announcement trailer... and morphed into the Nightmare Armor. Electronic to real, in 16 seconds. Movie link is in the forum post. (1.4 mb, quicktime format.) (Louis Wu 11:07:31 UTC) (permalink)
Homelan interviews Nightmare Armor founder
Oops, careless - Homelan interviewed the leader of the Nightmare Armor team yesterday, and we forgot to post it! Some new pictures, and some tidbits that didn't make it into the interview with Frankie at Bungie.net... worth a read! (Thanks to Battleground: Halo, where I saw this first.) (Louis Wu 10:13:59 UTC) (permalink)
Keeping Healthy
Evilburger has released the second of his 'Subzero Rivalries' comics; I'm a little worried about the mental health of at least one of the characters. He should be releasing one or two comics every other week - so we've added a link to the bottom of our Comics page, for easy access. Thanks to MarkHawk for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 10:07:53 UTC) (permalink)
Bugs fixed for Radeon users
For Windows XP users with Radeon cards - Nick points out that ATI has released a new version of its Catalyst drivers (4.1) that fixes a couple of Halo PC bugs. Grab this if you're affected! (Louis Wu 09:37:09 UTC) (permalink)
HBO-Subnova back up to 1.03
The HBO-Subnova Halo PC server has been updated to 1.03 again - what this means is that the wild and whacky gametypes pioneered on the HBO-GameDaemons server (but not playable there now - it's offline) can be enjoyed by Mac and PC users alike! Go shoot some people. (And don't forget to let Deimos know you're grateful. I sure am.) If you're a Mac user that's just logging on for the day, and thinking "huh?" - go grab the 1.03 updater for Mac Halo! (Louis Wu 00:38:28 UTC) (permalink)
News January 19 2004
Mac Halo 1.03 - OUT NOW!
On September 30, PC owners got the chance to play Halo on their computers. Mac users had to wait until December 12... but right at the time that Mac Halo was released, the PC version was PATCHED - and Mac and PC users couldn't meet each other on the field of battle. It's taken quite a while... but the Mac Halo 1.03 patch is being released now; you can grab a copy of it from our mirror list. The press release for this update can be found here. (Louis Wu 22:39:01 UTC) (permalink)
Hurry up, before these guys learn how to shoot!
The long-awaited Episode 10 of Fire Team Charlie has been released. If you're a member, you can grab the very large (95 mb) Hi-res version... but for everyone else, what you want is the low-res (320x240, DivX-encoded) version; it's available right now as a BitTorrent seed, and should be available by tomorrow morning as a direct download. QuickTime is coming soon, as well. This is a killer film; it ties together many, many episodes of FTC (including episodes that weren't even part of the series!), and does so with some really nice film work. The low-res version is 56 mb (not bad for a movie that's 11:30 long). (Louis Wu 19:51:26 UTC) (permalink)
STA now looking for Halo gamers
The Strong Than All gaming league has begun to talk Halo. Read an introductory blurb on our forum, or visit the site directly; If you've got a 5-man team, this might just be for you! Thanks to T3muJin for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 19:37:10 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 Roundup Part 1
If you feel like you've been left behind in terms of what's known about Halo 2, head on over to Battleground: Halo; Banshee Ace has writted the first part of a series of articles spelling out where we are. (Louis Wu 18:53:24 UTC) (permalink)
What Do You Get If You Cross...?
One One Se7en looks ahead... let's hope we make it. (Louis Wu 13:54:07 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Pc Blues
Halo: Resolution has finally gotten away from the lag gag... oh, wait, no, it hasn't. (Louis Wu 13:42:07 UTC) (permalink)
More toy fighting
The Stop-motion vid we mentioned yesterday has been updated quite a bit; it's still short, but now it's a complete fight. (Still only 640K.) Very nice work! (Read about the new version, or comment on it, in this thread.) (Louis Wu 13:30:15 UTC) (permalink)
News January 18 2004
Toy Action, Baby!
DocOctavious created a pretty nice stop-motion film, MC against a covenant. (A MUCH smaller - but equivalent quality - version can be found in this post.) It's really nice to see the Action figures being used so much! (Louis Wu 22:23:58 UTC) (permalink)
Miniature Halo
A few days ago, SEspider popped on to our forum to mention a comic he's been creating for a couple of months now, using Halo action figures. I thought they were great, but I was afraid of posting the link on the front page; they were being hosted on a Geocities site. I wrote to him, offering him space here; he accepted. The Geocities site will continue to be updated, because it has other links and information - but the images will be housed here, because... well, because we can provide more bandwidth than Geocities. It was simple enough to port his images into one of our existing comic pages; We've added the link to our Comics page, and as new strips come in, we'll point 'em out. All that said, go and read the first 11 episodes of Miniature Halo! (Louis Wu 15:35:30 UTC) (permalink)
Big Heads, Big Heads, Roly Poly Big Heads...
Recently, we mentioned an Xbox Halo mod that gave players big heads... nukedude points out that he's modified it for every map for Halo PC. Now everyone can join in! Update: Oops, MT pointed out that he, also, posted a ppf for Bighead in the original Halomods thread. You have multiple ways of getting this puppy! (Louis Wu 03:34:33 UTC) (permalink)
Don't belly up to the Plinth; it's closed.
I'm pretty amused by the fact that we had two entries for the Plinth of Art contest submitted under the wire this evening... and both are Jackson Pollock jokes. I'm gonna have to find out if the guy was perpetually late or something. In any case, the contest is now closed. Over the next few days, Stuntmutt and I will take some close looks at the submissions, and then get out the dartboa - um, magnifying glass - and choose 3 winners out of the nearly 50 entries. Never fear; all entries will be on permanent display once we've announced the winners. I have to get Stuntmutt sober, first, though - that might take a little while. Thanks to all who participated! More when we know it. (Louis Wu 02:57:13 UTC) (permalink)
News January 17 2004
The Cup! The Cup!
Woohoo! Bungie's Annual Winter Pentathlon is coming around this Friday... they're looking for predictions. Games on the agenda this year are Halo 2, Mario Kart Double Dash, Top Spin, Eye Toy, and Pictionary. The teams, as they have been for a few years, are The Grizzled Ancients, Old School, Middle School, and Newbies. Swing on by Bungie.net, and vote! (Right now, folks are pulling for the new guys... but I'm guessing that might change as more votes come in. Remember, The Grizzled Ancients rolled over all competition last year, badly enough that there are still tire marks on the side of Dave Dunn's face. Go vote! (Louis Wu 19:40:34 UTC) (permalink)
T-Shirt Contest
MeatSaw is holding an interesting contest; design a T-Shirt, and if you win, he'll print it on a high-quality shirt, and mail it to you. Details are in this thread on the Gearbox forum. You must be registered there by tomorrow to enter, and entries must be in by February 17, 2004. There's no word on what happens to the design after the contest ends... Thanks to Chumley for pointing this out. (Louis Wu 17:37:24 UTC) (permalink)
Going, going...
Speaking of One One Se7en - just a reminder that The Plinth Of Art closes today; any submissions not in our mailbox by 11:59 pm (UTC) will not be considered. That means you have... um... ::carry the 1...:: about 11 hours and 45 minutes to get that strip in! (Louis Wu 12:14:10 UTC) (permalink)
What He's NOT Good At...
Today's Guest One One Se7en, from Lt. Devon, looks at what is NOT a primary strength of one of the Halo characters... (Louis Wu 12:10:31 UTC) (permalink)
Words again
Seventeen pieces for you today in Fan Fiction:
- The Final Meeting - Part 1, by Bluestone
- Something of a poem, by Inept Zombie
- A Series of Wierd Events - Sequel, Part Five, by Hunter_Killer
- A Series of Wierd Events - Sequel, Part Six, by Hunter_Killer
- A Marine Named Peters: The Finale, Part One, by GLADIATRRR3000
- Earth's Destruction Chapter 6: Flying Solo Part 2: One Vs Many, by Sentinel
- Manufactured Destiny :: Chapter 1.5, by MoZ
- the jackal brothers:episode 1, by new1nab113
- Stalingrad [part I], by thindog
- The Corporal: Part 1, by The Scribe
- Desecrating Providence (Prologue Part 2), by Marty
- Survival of the Fittest: The price for being nosy, by MasterCD
- Johnson's War (vignette/drabble), by witelancer
- Halo Installation 01, by FOrunnER
- The Corporal: Part 2, by The Scribe
- The Earth Tears, by Frensa Geran
- Air Force Wing: Part 1, First Contact, by teemus
And you're waiting for... what? (Louis Wu 12:05:06 UTC) (permalink)
Freedom Isn't Free
Episode 0 of Freedom Isn't Free is released over at Clan [WSD], to celebrate their one year anniversary. Unfortunately, it's in a format that isn't viewable on a Mac. (It's also not readable by TMPGEnc, so I can't CONVERT it to something viewable on a Mac.) If you've got a PC, though, WMP can view it. (It's a 10.2 mb download; the movie is compressed with the WMV3 codec.) It's the story of a bunch of criminals... some of which are smarter than others. Cinematography is quite good; I'm looking forward to the rest of the episodes. Thanks to [WSD]-Porsj, who gave us the heads-up in our forum. (Happy Birthday, guys!) (Louis Wu 02:49:13 UTC) (permalink)
Remember these in Oni?
BIG HEADS! I love 'em. See 'em in this forum thread at halomods.com, and download 'em from there, as well. Xbox only, I guess... Thanks to Mr-T for pointing this out (and making it, for that matter). (Louis Wu 02:32:05 UTC) (permalink)
The Second Coming
Hehe - Bachus pointed out that the latest d+pad (a web comic) has a Halo 2 theme to it. Got a chuckle out of me... (Louis Wu 02:19:14 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Ice Fields Trailer Released
MarkHawk dropped by to let folks know that The new Halo: Ice Fields trailer has been released (visit the Movies section). It's 43 seconds, 11.2 mb in DivX-encoded AVI. It's a tad different from your average Halo movie... there's a lot of non-Halo footage. Like... the whole thing. There's no release date on the movie itself... but this trailer looks pretty intriguing! (Louis Wu 02:13:28 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Tourney in NY, in one week
X Tournaments is running a 3 vs 3 Halo Tournament in New York, on January 24 (that's next Saturday) - with $1500 in prizes. Tournament fee is $90/team, but you can lock in your slot for $10/player. Check out the site for more details. (Louis Wu 02:06:18 UTC) (permalink)
Of lightsabers, and snakes
And so it starts. Frankie has posted the very first Halo 2 Weekly Update on our forum - it's a little light on content, but it's HEAVY on attitude, and the artwork has to be seen to be believed. That man is a future Van Gogh. (Well, maybe just the ear part. Or the insanity thing.) Go read it... and look forward to this being a weekly event (though not always here; as he makes clear in his Bungie.net writeup, these (as was true with the Halo 1 Updates, back in the day) will be spread around to a collection of websites, to better acquaint the average Halo fan with the full Halo community. (Louis Wu 00:01:14 UTC) (permalink)
News January 16 2004
Screensaver, info about 343GS.com
Bluestone posted a bunch of info about 343GS.com on our forum; most of it is 'this is coming in the future', but for right now, there 's a new screensaver for download on their site. Go visit and see. (And read the forum post for the rest.) (Louis Wu 21:07:42 UTC) (permalink)
Eatin' a machine gun sandwich
Red vs Blue Episode 21 has been posted for sponsors - you know how sometimes sequels (or second albums, or second seasons) don't quite live up to the promise of the debut version? Yeah, well, these guys have nothing to worry about in that department. This is hilarious. If you're not a sponsor, you'll have to wait until Sunday to grab this - but for $10, you can grab it now! (And in hi-res, to boot!) No, I don't get a cut if you join... i just like their stuff. (Thanks to gutupio for the heads-up.) (Louis Wu 20:54:53 UTC) (permalink)
I got your six, man
Devin Olsen put up a couple of movies he made while playing on The Library last night. One is just a Sidewinder Sneak used to get the nuke without going through the maze... the other one is pretty cool. He managed to confuse the engine to the point where it thought he was flying two ghosts at once. Bizarre stuff. Thanks to nukedude for the hosting! (Louis Wu 20:47:44 UTC) (permalink)
Final Realise, indeed
Interesting piece on piracy in northern Asia over at Rampancy.net - Narcogen (who currently lives in Kazakhstan) points out a problem that ALL software companies have to deal with... and shows a pretty interesting looking cover of a pirated Halo PC disc. Places the BSA can't reach... (Louis Wu 13:01:49 UTC) (permalink)
Biggest Screen... Ever
As we mentioned yesterday, Halo Babies is offline for another week or so, due to bandwidth excesses. However, Gruntsbane had actually finished the week's strip, and felt that their audience deserved to see it... and we're happy to help out. You can read the weekly strip here (112K). (Louis Wu 12:15:53 UTC) (permalink)
Pay Attention Double One Se7en
Stuntmutt looks at the logical extrapolation of the modding craze in today's One One Se7en. Let's hope it never gets this bad. (Louis Wu 12:10:13 UTC) (permalink)
Extremely Inefficient
The lag joke continues on today's Halo: Resolution... (Louis Wu 12:08:23 UTC) (permalink)
A contest - to find a contest
A Red vs Blue fan has started up a two-phase contest over on the RvB forums. Chris Short is offering one Season 2 Super Sponsorship ($20) to the best idea for a contest... and then the winner's idea will become phase two, with another super sponsorship (and one standard sponsorship) on the line for the winners. Pretty interesting way to hold a contest when you don't know what the contest should be... rules and stuff can be found in this RvB forum thread. (Louis Wu 12:06:42 UTC) (permalink)
tJy talks to BGH Bigwig
Rams, of Battleground: Halo, has been spotlighted over at the Junkyard; read up on what makes him tick. I'm pretty sure an addiction to mini-sausages doesn't count as a hobby... but hey, with the right mustard, they can make a meal! (Louis Wu 12:01:28 UTC) (permalink)
The Name Of The Game
There's a new Halo comic, called Subzero Rivalries, created by Evilburger; there's something familiar about it. Thanks to MarkHawk for pointing it out. (Louis Wu 02:10:15 UTC) (permalink)
News January 15 2004
Bunches o' Pictures
Clearing out the Miscellaneous Art queue built up since Christmas... some fun stuff here. Sketches, comics, concept art. Go take a look! (Louis Wu 13:52:55 UTC) (permalink)
Homefront Preview at BGH
If you've been curious about the Battleground 1942 mod Homefront, Framerate has written up an in-depth preview over at Battleground: Halo. Check it out! (Louis Wu 13:09:52 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Babies - taking a nap
mrsmiley wrote last night to let us know that though Halo Babies is down again (bandwidth excess), they'll be back online on the 22nd with new material. They're also hoping to have their move (to bigger digs) up and running by the end of the month; new design, better host, the works! (Louis Wu 12:25:34 UTC) (permalink)
RvB Subscriptions in place
Red vs Blue has set up a much slicker subscription process than they had in the past; Hi-res stuff is now password-protected, and linked to your username. $10 gets you access to the hi-res files, a couple of days before the public gets the low-res ones, and $20 gets you the DVD at the end of the season, as well. Give 'em your money. You know you were just gonna spend it on something frivolous anyway... (Louis Wu 12:03:05 UTC) (permalink)
The Library - ONLINE
Wow. MonoxideC has created a multiplayer version of the Library. This forum post from Nick includes links to both the level itself (with a readme on how to install it) and a 36 mb movie (WMP9 format) showing 7 minutes of gameplay. This map looks incredible. So incredible, in fact, that gwdpto (the man behind the HBO-COERCE server) has set up a dedicated server for it; you can play it right now. (Information on how is in that forum thread, as well.) This opens all sorts of doors for multiplayer maps, I'd guess... (Louis Wu 10:13:03 UTC) (permalink)
Thursday Reading
9 pieces for you this time around in the Fan Fiction section...
- The Death of Eden, by Mainevent
- Countdown Earth: Hour Four, by Mainevent
- Deep below the skies (Halo 2: Chapter 15), by Shadowrunner
- (Part 14/15) M31: First Blood, by Greg and Wes Foutch
- Manufactured Destiny: Chapter 1, by MoZ
- The Sands of Derelict Chapter 2 Takeoff, by monitor101
- A Series of Wierd Events - Sequel, Part Seven, by Hunter_Killer
- Forgotten Angel Chapter 1 The Prophecy, by CovieKilla
- Battle for Tectron Chapter 7 : Caught, by Helljumper
You might notice this update is smaller than most. There are some no-nos that are being violated; here's how you can avoid having your story deleted... 1) Keep your story at least nominally about Halo. Random fanfic is not appropriate here. 2) If you are submitting a series segment, and you need to add 10 paragraphs from your LAST chapter to bring the current one up to the 750 word minimum... wait, and combine it with the NEXT chapter. (The story in question is lucky the next chapter was in the queue, so I could combine them - otherwise, I would have simply deleted it.) 3) If you write a 750 word story with no punctuation, capitalization, or linebreaks, don't expect to find it in the section. (Louis Wu 09:49:53 UTC) (permalink)
Me and Shishka? We'd whup his butt.
Another Blackstar-created Calvin and Halo - helps to know the forum regulars for the full humor of the strip. (Louis Wu 09:26:55 UTC) (permalink)
halo.exe
The rapture-created Guest One One Se7en strips continue; once again, homage is paid to StrongBad. This time, though, the inspiration is an all-too-common occurance... (Louis Wu 09:14:06 UTC) (permalink)
Offensive TetraBoxing
I don't have any easy way of pointing this out to everyone who needs to see it - so I'm posting it here. It's irrelevant to most of you, except that (as usual) Blackstar will likely make a cool wrapup vid for everyone to see... but hey, it's good to be the king. The next HBO Junkies lanfest is happening here, at HBO HQ, on January 31. This one has a LOT of Halo community luminaries slated to come... so while access is open to the public, the number of folks I'm gonna be able to handle is MUCH smaller than usual. Please don't be offended if you don't get invited. You will definitely NOT get invited if I don't receive a signup from you - the form is linked in the writeup over at the HBO Junkies 7th Column chapter. Even if I do receive a signup from you, I might STILL have to say no - because my house is only so big. So if you're planning on coming, go sign up now - but don't buy plane tickets until you get a response. (Louis Wu 00:31:35 UTC) (permalink)
News January 14 2004
Oooh... Weekly Updates
Cool news from SketchFactor in our forum today; looks like Frankie will be starting Halo 2 Weekly Updates, a la Matt Soell's Halo 1 Updates in 2001. I'm getting goosebumps! (Louis Wu 22:38:08 UTC) (permalink)
He's back...
Blade writes to say that he's back, with his own domain. Go visit TeamHalo.net for details! (Louis Wu 18:59:41 UTC) (permalink)
Run away! Run away!
We got mail from 'pimp' of the Ptown_Players, an online Halo clan based in the Southwest US. They've put together a bunch of sounds they use with XboxConnect, and wanted to share them with the world. The collection (7 sounds) is about a quarter-meg, zipped, and you can grab it from our Miscellaneous section. (Louis Wu 18:24:43 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 Leagues - already!
Joshua Rhoads writes to tell us about Halo 2 Leagues; no games yet (obviously, since the game's not out yet), but they're ready! (Louis Wu 18:18:48 UTC) (permalink)
Now that's not a fair matchup...
Catching up on email - sorry folks. Several people wrote in (or posted on our forum) about the Gamespy Grudge match going on right now; Halo Warthog vs U.S. M1A1 Abrams tank. The tank is kicking butt right now... but maybe that's as it should be? (Grudge match is down at the bottom of the left column, if you haven't voted yet.) Seems like the Scorpion would have been a fairer choice. (Louis Wu 18:17:32 UTC) (permalink)
New Mombassa - impressive map in progress
The buzz around Halo sites this morning (besides the egg on my face) is a mod being created by Mrs_Doublefire, over at the Gearbox Forums. The thread's been going for quite some time... but recently, there have been some very impressive screenshots posted. An easy place to see them (without wading through dozens of forum pages) is over at CobaltNova. Thanks to Murdoc517, who pointed out the thread in our forum, and Rams, of Battleground: Halo, who pointed out the CN writeup. (Louis Wu 16:31:18 UTC) (permalink)
Two of the Best Straight Men In The Business.
So when Stuntmutt runs out of material, where does he go? Why, to the pros, of course! Read today's One One Se7en. (The sound effects are what make it.) (Louis Wu 15:01:54 UTC) (permalink)
This Is Going To Be A Looong Segment
Monday's Halo: Resolution dealt with lag. Did you think, given the subject, that the jokes would end quickly? Think again. (Louis Wu 14:10:25 UTC) (permalink)
TGHSH prizes arriving now!
To the folks who've been sending us mail, asking us when (or even if) they're going to get their prizes for the Great Halo Scavenger Hunt - they should be on their way. Ciarán Walsh just got his - and he lives in Ireland. SketchFactor apologized a few days ago for the delay - better late than never, right? (Louis Wu 14:04:29 UTC) (permalink)
Hey, put down that shotgun!
Some pretty negative responses to my wording of the Xbox Addict interview that didn't happen - turns out Reclaimer posted an explanation of the situation (which I neglected to look for) on Monday night. It appears to have been a miscommunication - but the XBA forumgoers were pretty offended that I misjudged. Sorry about that. The bottom line, for me: I would be THRILLED if every Xbox site out there got an interview with Bungie; I'm as anxious as the rest of you for a lifting of this media grey-out about Halo 2. (Louis Wu 13:34:25 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Puzzles For Prizes
The puzzle team of Skavenger, BOLL, c0ld vengeance, and MorningStar have cooked up a new challenge for you. (It was first announced on our forum just before Christmas, although it doesn't actually begin, for real, until January 15th.) It's an email-based game for points and prizes; you sign up at the Yahoo Group halo_puzzles, and you get puzzles emailed to you. Send your answers back to win! (More details can be found at the site.) These guys know what they're doing... give it a shot! (Louis Wu 00:17:10 UTC) (permalink)
News January 13 2004
Bad XBA, Good TXB
Interview news: in case you missed it, the call for interview questions (that we posted in good faith yesterday) was a load of hogwash; they'd never gotten any permission from anyone at Bungie to do anything LIKE what they said they were planning. I guess the ploy worked, however, insofar as they were probably looking for site hits, and that's just what they got. (The forum thread we linked to no longer exists.) On the REAL interview front, however, TeamXbox has put up a request for questions for Frank O'Connor, formerly of Official Xbox Magazine (with ties to TXB), now with Bungie... and this one is legit. Go ahead, fill out the form on that page with your question. These will really GET to Frank. Update: For those who run across this news post and miss our followup - XBA's motives were unfairly called into question here; the situation (explained in the followup forum thread on XBA's forums) was far less cynical than I made it out to be. (Louis Wu 22:39:31 UTC) (permalink)
Fries steps down
Wonga. Ed Fries, Microsoft's VP of Game Publishing, and a huge Xbox promoter (and Halo advocate) from the very start, resigned today. What will this mean for Microsoft in general, and Bungie in specific, in the future? Too soon to tell... Thanks to Lophan for sending in the Bloomberg update. (I couldn't find a web version at Bloomberg's site, so here's a story at TeamXbox.com. (Louis Wu 20:01:51 UTC) (permalink)
Man, why can't people paint these for ME?
A note came in last week, just in time for me to read before leaving for San Francisco. I'd hoped it would make it into the next Miscellaneous Art update, which (I'd also hoped) would be coming soon. Well, it can STILL make it into the update, but that update isn't coming right away, and this picture is pretty slick, so I'm putting it up now. The note came from Ryan Sellers, whose wife Heather painted this life-size Master Chief (well over 6 feet tall, 181k image) on a friend's wall. Now THAT would be something interesting to wake up to! (Louis Wu 15:27:40 UTC) (permalink)
I'm not getting you down, am I?
Oh, my goodness. Somehow, I missed this the first time round, and so did everyone else here. Ouch. Blackstar put together a short (55 second, 6.7 mb) QuickTime MP4 vid using footage from a single cutscene in Halo and audio from The BBC's version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It works beautifully. Thanks to Narcogen, at Rampancy.net, for pointing it out. (Louis Wu 10:41:02 UTC) (permalink)
Clan spam
And, of course, your daily dose of One One Se7en - today from rapture, who must be reading my email again. (Louis Wu 10:30:02 UTC) (permalink)
It's all his fault.
Today we've got another Calvin and Halo for you - this one is Warbow's, and it's bringing back memories... (Louis Wu 10:28:12 UTC) (permalink)
I want him on MY team.
Synide has put together a rambling, 6+ minute long film showing... well, lots of stuff. It's called 'WTF LAG', and even starts out showing a few clips explaining this expression in humorous fashion... but quickly moves on to gameplay tricks, funny situations, and downright awesome skillz on the battlefield. (There's a 20 second segment where synide takes out two full jeeploads of enemies AND returns the flag, while under continuous attack from the other two members of the opposing team... and he does it alone.) Some of this will make you wonder why you're watching it. Other chunks you'll want to watch again. It's huge (82 mb, for a 640x480 film; some segments are in 4-player splitscreen mode, so I didn't feel comfortable shrinking it down), and as I said, it rambles... but if you've got the patience, it's a lot of fun. Mythica's hosting it, though if things get ugly we'll toss up some other mirrors. (If you've got space, feel free to grab a copy and send us the link...) Update: That Weasel writes to say that not only has he mirrored this movie, but he's made a 320x240 QT6 version of it (22.1 mb), and mirrored Blackstar's Marvin movie. Check his HBO Mirror page for details. Update 2: Thanks to KP, who took time out from his busy schedule of waxing his legs to put up another mirror on his website. (Louis Wu 10:25:43 UTC) (permalink)
HEK - coming... well, sometime
Mad Cow pointed out a thread over on the Gearbox forums; Hellface made it clear, a couple of days ago, that the Halo Editing Kit is still a little ways away. On the plus side, the delay is due in part to some 'huge new features' in the app itself... Okay, I'm sitting on my hands again. I'll be good. (Louis Wu 10:12:04 UTC) (permalink)
Tuesday Fiction Update
24 pieces for you in today's Fan Fiction update; that's what happens when I skip a day or two.
- Life Workin for HBO, Part Seven, by Hunter_Killer
- All Roads Lead To Sol...Just Make Sure To Bypass Mars: Chapter 19, by S7N
- ODST Marching Cadence, by Helljumper
- Marooned Chapter 12, by Steve Ollett
- Return to the Ring : part1, by MasterCD
- Prologue - Jungle Raid, by Tyrian
- A Series of Wierd Events - Sequel, Part Three[STERFRYE], by Hunter_Killer
- A Series of Weird Events - Sequel, Part One[COLD BLOODED], by Hunter_Killer
- A Marine Named Peters: Get Ready, Get set, Reminisce!, by GLADIATRRR3000
- A Spartan's Path - chapter 12, by Myth
- In My Mind, by Frensa Geran
- Aurora Squadron-Part 4, by RogueFox
- Return to the Ring2 : Some secrets revealed, by MasterCD
- Halo Poem/Rap, by Solidus
- Shadow Ops II: Chapter Ten, by Agent Shade
- War, by Cerebro
- Desecrating Providence (Prologue Part 1), by Marty
- Galaxy 07 - Part 8 - Family, by Jillybean
- Fall of friends, by Shadowrunner
- The Master Chief Chronicles, by The Guys At the xbox.com forums.
- On A Pale Horse: Rescue, by Silent Hunter
- Survival of the Fittest: The beginning, by MasterCD
- In Chaos and Despair: The 2nd Fall of Harvest, by Maraxus6
- Survival of the Fittest: All in a day's work (for a Marine), by MasterCD
Note of warning - if an author makes himself completely and utterly unreachable to the admins of this site, they're playing with fire; if we don't need to reach you, no problem. If we do... well, it becomes your problem. (Louis Wu 10:05:50 UTC) (permalink)
Videogame Violence
GLADIATRRR3000 has created a new Halo Flash animation - you can find it on his Freewebs site. (Comments can be found in this forum thread.) (Louis Wu 09:51:33 UTC) (permalink)
Mink Fur, huh?
Frankie has posted a pretty jaw-dropping article over at Bungie.net on the Nightmare Armor guys - including a very first look at the Helmet (with glowing lights!). Wonga. I'm trying to figure out how many of my children I'd need to sell for the $4000 they're asking... (Louis Wu 02:13:01 UTC) (permalink)
Boxed Set - coming in a while
Sharp eyes on sirBoB - he noticed an entry called 'Halo MM Boxed Set' on the Random House site. Due out September 2004, it's likely all three Halo novels (price is about right for three mass-market paperbacks...), but we'll know more when they post it. (Louis Wu 01:17:07 UTC) (permalink)
Sector 7's Halo Quiz, v2
Wolfy dropped off a note in our forum - Sector 7 is running a new version of its Halo Quiz; 45 questions about Halo. If you get stuck, there are a couple of answers (and hints to others) in the thread on our forum. (Louis Wu 01:11:41 UTC) (permalink)
News January 12 2004
That jackal had no chance.
Devin Olsen has created another stop-motion movie using the Halo action figures; this one is called 'Red Sucks, Blue Rules'. It's hosted by nukedude. It's not very big - 1.6 mb, 37 seconds, in WMP9 format. Take a look! (Louis Wu 20:07:56 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox Addict - looking for questions (soon)
nof points out that XboxAddict has been given the go-ahead to interview Bungie, and has decided to collect questions from the Xbox Addict forum members. They're not accepting questions yet - but the final interview (25 questions) will be submitted by February 1, so they'll have to start pretty soon. Keep an eye on the forum thread to know when to submit. (Louis Wu 19:27:50 UTC) (permalink)
Wearable Suit gets a breastplate
Chris Bryan has sent us a few more shots of his wearable MC suit - he's hard at work on the main part of the body. Check out the details (scroll to the bottom of the page; images are added as they come in). (Louis Wu 18:56:14 UTC) (permalink)
Halo GT adding Online Members
Halo GT has opened up an Online Members section of its clan. At the moment, membership is open only to Aquaduct users, since he has to play you first before you can be included - but once Aquaduct 2 comes out, it's open to anyone. If you're interested, swing by the site and join up! (Louis Wu 18:37:50 UTC) (permalink)
We love you, Ar.
Last year, we said goodbye to a good friend, Brian Morden. Recently, there was a guestbook set up so that people could discuss their memories of Brian. (He would have turned 20 on January 10, 2004.) If you'd like to contribute, simply follow the link! (Tirion, who pointed it out to us, also mentioned that you might want to pay attention to the possibly hard to see checkbox that makes the entry private; if you want others to be able to read your thoughts, be sure this isn't checked.) (Louis Wu 18:25:13 UTC) (permalink)
Ask a Banshee
Battleground: Halo has posted a new article today; Banshee Ace discusses the ins and outs of Banshee flying. If you're having trouble living through Banshee encounters, you might want to read this. (Louis Wu 18:16:32 UTC) (permalink)
Fuzzy Logic
Today's One One Se7en is a crossover strip, using Halo: Resolution characters. Er, character. Er... something. (The strip is Stuntmutt's - just didn't want to confuse anyone. The credit for the strip is referring to the artwork on the HR MC.) (Louis Wu 17:11:58 UTC) (permalink)
Noobs Aren't The Only Ones Who Get Impatient
Halo: Resolution looks at what is definitely a problem in HPC online play these days... (Louis Wu 15:42:59 UTC) (permalink)
CTF Pro League at TeamWarfare
progamerz points out that TeamWarfare is kicking off its CTF Pro League ladder soon - if you're interested, swing by and sign up! (Louis Wu 15:40:51 UTC) (permalink)
Put a flamethrower on the Tuareg.
Jamirus99 noticed a Gamespy article a couple of days ago ripping on Volkswagon for imitating Halo's Warthog with their latest concept car. The thread even includes a couple of recolored versions of the shot involving the mounted LAAG gun; it should be green, right? (We received many more emails about this article this morning... but that thread happened Saturday on our forum.) (Louis Wu 13:08:59 UTC) (permalink)
News January 11 2004
Damn, that was awful!
Andrew, from XboxOttawa.ca (the FTC boys), writes to point out a new Halo Flash game they've put up to distract you from the fact that FTC10 isn't out yet. Go play. (Louis Wu 19:53:23 UTC) (permalink)
Project Halo: The Update
SanchezTheLlama dropped by to post an update of their upcoming Project Halo (we mentioned it back in late November). Lots of progress; interfaces for Mac, Linux, AND Windows are coming along, and they've got a new gunship (pictures in the post). Check it out! (Louis Wu 19:21:59 UTC) (permalink)
Hide and Peek
Marine12 points out that 343GS.com has put up another EchoFourNineteen comic. Check the downloads section to see it. (Louis Wu 19:17:27 UTC) (permalink)
RvB Season 2 Premiere: Official Version
If anyone missed it, Red vs Blue has released the lo-res version of their Season 2 premiere; hi-res versions will presumably be available to sponsors; sponsorships will be accepted mid-week. BitTorrent links are coming soon. (There's also a boatload of pics and a long text writeup of the event, for those of us who couldn't be there.) They haven't lost it, folks... (Louis Wu 18:52:13 UTC) (permalink)
I Never Forget A Face, But In Your Case I'll Be Glad To Make An Exception
One Week! You've got one week before the Plinth of Art contest is over, thank good... er, I mean, Hey! Check out Stuntmutt's hilarious new One One Se7en! *whew* (mnemesis 05:31:34 UTC) (permalink)
Gird Your Loins
Gah! I click the wrong link and find that I've inadvertently updated the Comics section with Warbow's latest Calvin and Halo. Obviously, Calvin hasn't found CafePress yet. Update: Ooops. This wasn't supposed to go live before Tuesday, and it was supposed to be accompanied by a big welcome to Blackstar, who's joined Warbow on the Calvin and Halo team. (There's a new banner at the top of the page, making this clear.) Warbow and Blackstar want to make it very clear that they're not accepting ANY guest strips for this comic; Warbow, in fact, was forced to add Blackstar to the crew BECAUSE he needed the strips being submitted, but couldn't accept them since they were guest strips. (They're not adding anyone new to the team, either, so don't even try.) Strips without attribution are submitted by Warbow, while Blackstar's creations will be signed by him. He's done a great job of maintaining the high standards Warbow set - enjoy! (mnemesis 05:23:42 UTC) (permalink)
News January 10 2004
Llama Campers.
Today's Guest One One Se7en is from rapture, and what makes this even more hilarious is that we were discussing this exact concept just last night. (Okay, that's not hilarious to anyone but the 5 or 6 people there. Too bad for the rest of you.) (Louis Wu 01:23:59 UTC) (permalink)
Harmless When Armless
Halo Babies has put up a new strip today - we call 'em Floodcicles, Gruntsbane has another view. (Minor spoilers for anyone who hasn't played more than half the game...) Check it out! (There's also new artwork available to site members.) (Louis Wu 00:44:22 UTC) (permalink)
News January 9 2004
Prophet of Regret
Interesting. As noted in this forum post, there is an entry for Halo 2 (Video Game) on the Internet Movie Database (hush up, Halo movie fanatics! ;-)). The interesting thing is that a new character is detailed in the cast list of voice actors. The actor (Robin Atkin Downes) has worked on quite a few other games, and is also listed as a co-director of an as-yet-unreleased film. The plot thickens! (mnemesis 19:24:50 UTC) (permalink)
Oh Magoo.
Today's One One Se7en looks at the dangers of failing eyesight in older soldiers... (Louis Wu 19:09:01 UTC) (permalink)
Let's Just Call It An Experience
Hey, what's Keyes' doing with that blue guy? Check Halo: Resolution for details. (Louis Wu 19:02:18 UTC) (permalink)
A pacifist? Season two of RedvsBlue begins!
The mirrors have started pouring in!
The folks at RedvsBlue are still working on going live with a new season of wacky RvB episodes. They did premiere the first two episodes over at Lincoln Center here in New York City. Armed with my trusty camcorder, I recorded them and now offer them in my patented 'shaky-cam' version. Faithful viewers will be sure to check out the official release that is sure to come soon, but for now click below to check out the goodies!
The folks at mythica, omnight, blackstarproductions, coerce, subnova, and cybrfrk have offered space on their servers for the movie! Kisses them on both cheeks, euro-style
It's a 20MB .mp4 file, at quarter-screen size, playable on both PCs and Macs. When the Wu returns, we'll have more movies, in different formats and sizes, at least until the the official movie is released.
Right-click on any of the links above and "Save as..." to your hard drive. Then sit back and bask in the yuks!
And yes, there is more actual content to come. The whole RvB crew stuck around for a very funny and interesting Q&A session. So stay tuned!
(Ding 02:57:18 UTC) (permalink)News January 8 2004
Request for mirrors
The venerable Mr. Wu has left for a few days, but that doesn't mean the fun stops around here! I've been working on a page with pics and video of RedvsBlue at Lincoln Center this past Saturday. As a treat, I'd love to release the 20MB video file (mp4) of the first 2 new episodes of Season Two that premiered that night.
However, the box the file is sitting in right now can't take any sustained file requests. So if you'd like to host the file, please let me know.
I can list links here on the front page until Mr. Wu returns and we make it all nice and neat.
If you're interested, email me at ding@bungie.org
(Ding 20:25:39 UTC) (permalink)Apologies to the Websites
To all the people who've sent in links for us to post recently - I'm sorry. I've been really, really behind and they're not up. Not only that, but I can't PUT 'em up right now; I'm leaving for the airport (again) in about half an hour. Back this weekend... so updates will be sparse in the next couple of days. I'd like to put up a web interface for submitting new links for posting; if this happens, I'd ask that folks who sent links but didn't get them posted REsubmit. Yeah, I know, that stinks. Sorry. (Louis Wu 07:22:32 UTC) (permalink)
You forgot boobs.
And there's a new Calvin and Halo today, as well. Nails down the success of RvB pretty well! (Louis Wu 07:16:23 UTC) (permalink)
Free Your M7nd
Today's Guest One One Se7en comes from N3cr0n0mIV. Um... yeah. (Louis Wu 07:14:10 UTC) (permalink)
Stories and Poems
Eleven pieces for you today in the Fan Fiction section:
- Earth Taken Part 2: Defense, by Inept Zombie
- Jake A Model Four: Chapter Six: Six Feet Below, by Slipping Knot
- A Marine Named Peters: Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here, by GLADIATRRR3000
- Alcatraz Choronicles--chapter 1 , by Nazgul
- Jake A Model IV: Chapter Seven: His Heart Bleeds, by Slipping Knot
- The Norinthian: First Contact, by Deathhead666
- By The Sword, by Frensa Geran
- Athenienses-II: Chapter 4 : Pay Back Time, by ZackDark
- Enemy of our Enemy, as told by Elites, Part 1, by FOrunnER (inspired by Wraith)
- VENGEANCE[3], by GLADIATRRR3000
- Battle for Tectron: Chapter 6, by Helljumper
To the person who submitted nine segments of a DOOM fanfic - sorry... but this is a Halo site. I'm sure there's a place for DOOM-based fan fiction, but this isn't it. (Louis Wu 07:12:08 UTC) (permalink)
Of Lush Jungles, and Pants
Nice find by Dan Chosich; Bungie has posted a new Job opening - Finishing Artist. (I'm assuming this is for Halo 2; if Bungie is working on another project at the moment, I'd be surprised if it were far enough along to require a 'Finishing Artist'. But then... who knows.) (Louis Wu 06:44:52 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 coming... some time.
Reuters interviewed Robbie Bach, Chief Xbox Officer, according to TeamXbox. There was a brief mention of Halo 2:
"We're going to ship it when it's ready. That might be the first half of 2004, it might not. You have to be careful with franchises like this."
Hmm... Thanks, op_ivy. (Louis Wu 01:17:29 UTC) (permalink)
The New Guy
Bungie welcomes Frank O'Connor, former Executive Editor for the Official Xbox Magazine, as its newest member of the Community team - and kicks it all off with an interview. Go read about the guy who's gonna be bringing you juicy Halo 2 tidbits in the coming months! (Louis Wu 00:28:29 UTC) (permalink)
News January 7 2004
Corn to the 22nd Power
I lied... today's One One Se7en Archive update is 22 strips, not 21 (one more came in about 5 hours ago). As requested, there are now next/previous links on the strip display itself (so you don't have to come back to the main page to see the next strip). Some of these have been seen before (on our forum), some have not; some are weak, and some are hilarious. It's a grab bag. Go grab. (Next major One One Se7en event, so that everyone remembers, is the Plinth of Art contest, closing in 10 days. If you've been meaning to submit a strip... do it!) Update: Looks like I forgot one; Wado submitted one the week before Christmas, and I missed it in the roundup. It's been added in to its proper location... sorry for the confusion. (If the thumbnails seem to repeat for you, you're caching the old information. Force your browser to reload, and all should be well.) (Louis Wu 11:51:34 UTC) (permalink)
Like No Other
goatrope posted news of a new movie today on our forum. There are a pair of links for download; grab whichever works best for you. It's in XviD format (links to the codec are in the post, as well, if you don't have it), and weighs in at 21.3 mb for a 3:14, 640x480 movie. It consists of tricks performed on HPC multiplayer maps; mostly getting out of levels. My understanding is that this wasn't supposed to be released yet... but then, my understanding isn't always clear, and it's there for all to see on our forum, so go see it. (Louis Wu 11:41:49 UTC) (permalink)
I Hung My Head
Team Hogan has put together a very moving video; It's set to Johnny Cash's version of Sting's 'I Hung My Head', and follows the music quite closely. Gorgeous cinematics, beautiful timing. There's a thread going on in our forum about it; response is really positive. The original version is 730x480, 23.5 mb, in DivX-encoded AVI format (v4.5, so if you're not up-to-date, you won't be able to watch it); however, the vast majority of the image is simply black space. (The actual content fits into a 360x125 window...) I re-encoded it into QuickTime (v5-compatible), and chopped out all the empty stuff; my version (TH Sloth-approved) comes in at a bit over 13 mb. (It's currently mirrored on files.bungie.org and mythica.org.) Worth watching, and then toss your two cents in to the forum thread! (Louis Wu 10:57:00 UTC) (permalink)
Let's Call the Whole Thing Off.
Yeah, it's true, later today there will be a massive One One Se7en Archive update (21 strips). However, that doesn't change the fact that it's Wednesday, and there's a Stuntmutt strip just waiting to be posted. That Stuntmutt... I think he's lucky most folks don't know where he lives. Tomahto indeed. Lots of 'em. (Louis Wu 03:14:38 UTC) (permalink)
Strategies? Bah!
Halo: Resolution looks at the OTHER side of the Grunt/Elite relationship... (careful where you party, that's all I can say.) (Louis Wu 03:08:15 UTC) (permalink)
Wow, how cool.
PfhorSlayer popped into our forum this afternoon to mention that Aquaduct, the Mac Xbox Tunneling app, had been updated. Majorly updated. It now talks to Xbox Connect... so it's gonna be a race; will the Postpose team finish first, and allow PC and Mac users to play together on Xbox Halo... or will Westlake finish first, and allow PC and Mac users to play together on Mac/PC Halo? Keep an eye on this space to find out. (Louis Wu 00:14:41 UTC) (permalink)
Making your life easier, one link at a time
By popular demand, a new link has been added to the left navbar here; one that contains all the comics we host, plus the two biggies we don't. (I'm sure there are others out there - I remember one that Stosh used to do, for example, and Bungie does some awesome ones - but they're not very coherent; the former is defunct, as far as I know, and the latter set doesn't really have a theme.) Hopefully, this will make your life easier, as you only need one hand to navigate to your daily sketched fix. (Louis Wu 00:03:08 UTC) (permalink)
News January 6 2004
Identity Theft - Subnova Style
It was just a matter of time... Boxer points out that the latest Subnova.comic totally rips off - um, pays homage to Stuntmutt's One One Se7en. Wow. It could even BE a One One Se7en... except it's not here. Check it out. (Louis Wu 18:55:32 UTC) (permalink)
Lincoln Center Teaser
Miguel Chavez has tossed up a teaser of what's coming up with respect to his Red vs Blue at Lincoln Center coverage... check out the post, and let him know what you want to see! (Louis Wu 17:56:56 UTC) (permalink)
Kings of Cooperation
rendar points out that Xbox.com has another article up that praises Halo - this time, for its ability to bring friends together (in Coop mode). And on and on... (Louis Wu 17:01:35 UTC) (permalink)
Ooh... change of focus
Strykerwolf popped into our forum with a slick little animation of the Master Chief (as modeled by him). Go take a look! (Louis Wu 12:24:12 UTC) (permalink)
Guilty Is Right.
Today's Guest One One Se7en comes from The Rat, and has a slightly different look than your average One One Se7en. I gotta say, though, I've felt the same way as the MC on the Library... (Louis Wu 10:50:59 UTC) (permalink)
Never sleep with a tiger.
Warbow continues to send in inspired Calvin and Halo comics; there's a new one live today. Ooh... I just wouldn't want to be there. (Louis Wu 09:52:14 UTC) (permalink)
No, no - kill me NEXT!
SketchFactor stopped by the forum this evening, once again looking for YOUR input. Concept du jour: Kill In Order Slayer games. (There's one on the HBO servers, called targetpractice... all players are invisible, to boot.) Do you like these? Hate 'em? Have a particular peeve about 'em (like, say, if all players are invisible, and it's set for a team game, and there are no friend indicators... RANDY)? Chime into the thread! (Louis Wu 03:24:11 UTC) (permalink)
HBO-Subnova - now for Macs!
It's taking a bit longer than I'd expected to get the 1.03 patch for Mac Halo out to the fans... so in the meantime, we've decided to run HBO-Subnova as a 1.02 server, with a mapcycle that mirrors HBO-GameDaemons. (We've also removed the password for it.) If you have Mac Halo, and you feel left out of the whacky HBO gametypes... come on by! (Louis Wu 03:17:31 UTC) (permalink)
Video Hijinx
Hehe - I read the article this morning, but managed to overlook the fact that it was Halo news. Ouch! Thanks to Rams, of BGH, and Dinky, for pointing out the error of my ways. Gamespy posted a 'Year in Video' article, in which they ranked what they considered to be the top 10 game videos of 2003. Halo 2's E3 trailer came in at number 2, trailing only the Half-Life 2 E3 gameplay video. Not too shabby! (Louis Wu 03:04:47 UTC) (permalink)
News January 5 2004
I want to cut you.
Ooh... see what happens when i go through the unread forum posts? Shishka pointed out a project of his over at The Silent Cartographers; as soon as that Halo Editing Kit is available, you should be able to melee your buddies with a pretty gorgeous energy sword. Wonga. (Louis Wu 20:30:36 UTC) (permalink)
Words, words, and still MORE words
Eighteen new pieces for you today in the Fan Fiction section:
- Jake A Model IV: Chapter Five: There Are Two Meanings To Full Metal Jacket, by Slipping Knot
- Forced Betrayal (Chapter 3: Destruction of 09), by CoLd BlooDed
- End of the Forerunner // Chapter 2 , by MarcusP
- Marooned Chapter 11, by Steve Ollett
- Neu Haven: Chapter One, by Blue Jaguar
- Halo the Book: Part's 1 and 2, by SPARTAN 053
- The Fall of Fate: Special Edition(Part 5), by 'Nosolee
- Part I: The Arriaval, by Matt Battaglia
- Life Wrokin for HBO, Part Six, by Hunter_Killer
- On A Pale Horse: Against All Odds, by Silent Hunter
- A John Before Halo: Part 16: Chapter 1, by J-117
- Forever - Adeus Ex Machina?, by Dispraiser
- Halo 2: The Fallen Chp 6 Sct 4- Claiming Territory pt 2, by Hikaru-119
- Aurora Squadron-Part 3, by RogueFox
- The Sands of Derelict Chapter 1 The Final Jihad, by monitor101
- Earth Part 1: Arrival, by Inept Zombie
- Killing blow, by Matt Battaglia
- Spartan-X Chapter 4, by SilentStrider
Enjoy! (Louis Wu 19:24:56 UTC) (permalink)
The Continuing Saga...
In the last couple of weeks, there have been two new episodes of 343 Guilty Stick sent in; I'm just now getting to them. (Sorry.) Episode 5 looks at the Halo 2 Announcement trailer... and will be continued in the future. Timberland is sort of an interlude. Enjoy! (Louis Wu 15:58:33 UTC) (permalink)
LEGO my model!
One of the 'lost in the flood' emails that came in during my trip was a message from Justin 'Saber-Scorpion' Stebbins, who pointed out a bunch of cool LEGO constructions over at his site. I particularly liked the Pillar of Autumn! Sorry for the delay... (Louis Wu 12:05:57 UTC) (permalink)
Bonus goodies on Platinum Halo discs
Almost forgot... we got some cool news from Blackstar recently. For Christmas, he got a spare copy of Halo (Xbox) - everyone should grab this, because it's really cheap right now. For the heck of it, he went to the "Game Demo" options to see if there was anything new... and what should he find but both the E3 Demo trailer and the Making Of video! So, for folks who don't have fast internet connections, or who have better sound systems hooked up to their TV than their computer... you can get these in DVD format on a new copy of Halo! (Louis Wu 11:28:29 UTC) (permalink)
MC Wearable Suit - now with a helmet
We've been chronicling the construction of a wearable Master Chief suit, as created by Chris Bryan. A couple of days ago, he sent along the latest shots; the helmet is finished. What a beautiful paint job! Just scroll to the bottom of the project page to see the latest update. (Louis Wu 10:44:08 UTC) (permalink)
RvB - Impressions Begin
Dark Impaler posted some impressions of the Red vs Blue Season 2 premiere at Lincoln Center a couple of nights ago; read through for some hints about what's to come. (And stay tuned; our very own Miguel Chavez has a pretty serious report in the works, though the video portion might take a while to process fully...) For current pictures, head on over to Red vs Blue; they've put up the beginnings of a gallery of the event. (Louis Wu 10:12:12 UTC) (permalink)
Footrest Fires Back
someone that you don't know has pointed out a Flash Halo movie on the net; it's got pretty nice artwork in it! It's less than a meg, and shows a pretty slick battle between Spartans and Elites. Take a look! (Louis Wu 10:01:34 UTC) (permalink)
Beaten To The Punch
Stuntmutt laments the loss of good material in today's One One Se7en. Okay, 'good' might not be the right word... (Louis Wu 09:54:32 UTC) (permalink)
A Mystery Indeed
Today's Halo: Resolution tackles the thorny question of Elite reproduction. No snickering, now. Baby Elites have to come from SOMEWHERE. (Louis Wu 09:49:13 UTC) (permalink)
First Strike - via Halo PC
Running Riot has started a website devoted to a mod for Halo PC based on the novel First Strike. He's looking for lots of enthusiastic people to help out; visit the site, check out the project details, and see if you fit into the 'How Can I Help?' page! (There's also a forum thread on our forum where you can chime in.) (Louis Wu 09:46:46 UTC) (permalink)
HPC update info - from the source
A few days ago, Randy Pitchford posted a note on the Gearbox forums, saying that he'd answer as many questions as possible before the new year. Read the whole thread for questions, or start with Randy's first answer. Lots and lots and LOTS of good info in there. Thanks to progamerz for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 01:36:22 UTC) (permalink)
Longest, revisited
Back in July, we posted a preview for a Counter-Strike version of Longest. Its creator, Dylan Velasquez, wrote again so that we could give this map another home. You can grab a copy right here (252k, zipped, with the preview). Enjoy! (Louis Wu 01:31:10 UTC) (permalink)
The online multiplayer fps Shangri-La
Some of you might remember kapowaz, who once frequented our forums. He hasn't been around much recently, but a couple of days ago, he wrote a very eloquent paean to the multiplayer portion of Halo PC - go take a look. (If you're at all interested in good web design, check out the rest of his site, as well...) Thanks to Ghôlsbane for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 01:16:15 UTC) (permalink)
News January 4 2004
It's after New Year's, but...
Biomonky dropped off a photo of his Halloween (Haloween) Grunt hat and plasma pistol, made with acrylic paint, a cardboard box, newspaper, tape, and glue. Pretty nice! (Louis Wu 22:19:57 UTC) (permalink)
Scavenger Hunt
Back. Sort of. Man... don't go to Disneyworld if you're not in top shape... at least not if you're trying to see the whole place in 4 days with 3 kids. Anyway, I'm gonna be spending the next few days figuring out what got missed because people mailed stuff to me, personally, instead of to halo@bungie.org, and fixing coding that I managed to screw up before I left. In the meantime, you should go enjoy TheGladiator's Guest One One Se7en strip. (Interestingly enough, this one has nothing to do with any of the scavenger hunts that have been running around here recently...) (Louis Wu 21:28:35 UTC) (permalink)
News January 3 2004
I AM the I in AI... er, not.
And another comic gets an update, this time it's Halo Babies. Go take a look, and, if you're not a member, sign up so you can check out Gruntsbane's cool new wallpaper. Apologies to mrsmiley, who sent in this info... a while ago. See, there's a reason why Louis does this stuff. ;-) (mnemesis 22:45:56 UTC) (permalink)
Billions and billions... of words...
I've finally managed to dig myself out from under the crushing weight of the fan fiction. Safe until another day...
- Relic, Part 1, by Inept Zombie
- All For Nothing., by Liam Quigley
- The Exchange - Part 3 - Espesa, by Dispraiser
- Witness of Death, by Sergeant B
- Aurora Squadron-Part 2, by RogueFox
- End of the Forerunner // Chapter1 , by MarcusP
- Nemesis I : Mission X, by Sherveen Mashayekhi
- The Battle for Phi Delta: Chapter Four (revised edition), by witelancer
- Eternal War: Prologue: The Reason for War, by Awacar
- Mysteries Part One, by Horror
- Aurora Squadron-Part 2 remake, by RogueFox
- The Seventh Battalion: Prologue, by Ajax
- All Roads Lead To Sol...Just Make Sure To Bypass Mars: Chapter 18, by S7N
- Tides of Destruction (Part 8, End of Ends), by teemus
- Manors Maketh Man: Part 2, by S7N
- ES07 - Eternal Sunder (part 07): Tomorrow's Sorrows , by Wado
- Athenienses-II: Chapter 3 : Assault Part 2, by ZackDark
(mnemesis 08:26:38 UTC) (permalink)
Flash Halo and a new E419
IXIGhandiIXI writes in to mention that 343GS.com has a new episode of EchoFourNineteen up in their downloads section. While you're there, you might also want to check out the projects section, and the newly updated Halo flash game they've been working on. Nice! (mnemesis 07:53:46 UTC) (permalink)
56k
Today's guest One One Se7en looks at the exciting, thrilling, yet ultimately frustrating world of online Halo... over a modem.Update: Whoa! I screwed something up back there! You'll notice that the previous guest strip peeks out on the right, and the links are messed up at the bottom. Ah, well, Louis can fix it if... er, when he gets back. He loves to have little tasks like that to keep his mind occupied. (mnemesis 05:52:42 UTC) (permalink)
News January 2 2004
The Other Halo Resolution
Oops. I flaked yesterday, when this One One Se7en was supposed to run, but it still makes enough sense. It's corn after all. How difficult is corn? ;-) (mnemesis 06:16:56 UTC) (permalink)
It finally happened.
As you probably know, I answer most of the email sent to this site. And I've done this for the past 3 years. Well... I snapped. So we have a new section here. It'll be updated every so often. Welcome to my world. (Count Zero 05:52:07 UTC) (permalink)
No Wonder They Need Help
What better way to start off the new year than with Halo: Resolution. They might need more than just help. (mnemesis 06:07:12 UTC) (permalink)
Flashbacks, indeed.
Out of town... offline, for most of the time... seriously enjoying my New Year's vacation... but STILL with time for a quick Calvin and Halo update. Thanks, Warbow! (And thanks, publicly, to the whole HBO crew, for filling in!) Online time costs cash per minute here, so this is it for me for a couple of days; be good, and don't leave your keys in the warthog! (Louis Wu 03:06:47 UTC) (permalink)
| January 2004 | |
