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 | June 2000 |  |
June 2000 Archived News
News June 30 2000
Some good stuff going down over at the Marathon's Story page
Some good stuff going down over at the Marathon's Story page. A review of Iain M. Banks' new novel Look To Windward. Halo is clearly influenced by Banks' scifi novels. There's also more Halo backstory, some comments on Bungie's third game Phoenix, the Xbox keyboard or lack of it,the amusing The Official SA Guide to Making a Successful FPS and Marathon pants. Anyone know what the 't' in 'storytpagepants.html' URL stands for? (Ding 21:30:36 UTC) (permalink)
The full E3 Halo movie release confirmed!
The full E3 Halo movie release confirmed! Thanks to nikozomofor writing to tell us that his issue of PC Gamer (Aug 2000) arrived and the cover CD contained a 160 MB Halo movie (9 mins 42 seconds long). (Ding 20:11:21 UTC) (permalink)
No stickers for you
Seems the Halo-Net Store was laboring under a misimpression... in this forum post, they suggest that the situation might not be as they'd understood it. Bungie licensing still costs money. (Louis Wu 19:36:09 UTC) (permalink)
Full E3 Halo movie released.
According to a Hard|Forum post the full E3 Halo movie has been released. It's claimed to be 150MBs and 10mins long. HBO staff haven't been able to verify this yet though. (Ding 19:20:13 UTC) (permalink)
Caveat Emptor
Matt Soell dropped into our forum to say that he seriously doubts the Halo-Net Store actually has permission to market their products. He's looking into it... but if you were thinking about buying a sticker today, you might want to hold off a few hours, or until the issue is clarified. (Louis Wu 15:13:48 UTC) (permalink)
CVG article says no keyboard for you!
Kudos to Bagman, who found a small article about the XBox controller, posted two weeks before the Bungie/MS deal went public. Seems it's been known for quite some time that a keyboard will not be a standard feature on the XBox... makes you wonder how Bungie thinks the fan community is going to stay together. (Makes me wonder, too.) (Louis Wu 13:47:06 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo scans on the web
ARMAGEDDON informs us on our forumsthat he has made the Halo scans from PC Gamer (Aug 2000) available on the web at http://armageddon.gamehappy.com/halo/. These scans were originally from the Rampancy.net Hotline server, scanned and upped by Isolder. Thanks ARMAGEDDON and thanks Rampancy.net. (Crux Fidelis 06:51:18 UTC) (permalink)
News June 29 2000
Halo-Net Shop opens... but shelves are bare
I'm totally unclear on the concept... but it seems a Halo paraphernalia shop has sprung up. The Halo-Net Shop offers... well, nothing at the moment. But you can read about the shirts, stickers, and info packets (?) it WILL have for sale at some point. Seriously bare-bones site, so even if you (as I) don't get it, you'll be in and out in a matter of minutes. Check it out! (Louis Wu 21:21:32 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI Marines hang on to position #46
SETI techs update their team rankings page and the Halo SETI Marines find themselves still holding on to position #46 in the Battle of the Teams.Banzif hits 7777 units and knocks Jjaro tech off the #1 spot. Team membership rises to an all time high of 432 recruits. We need more marines though to replace the combined crunchin' power of Banzif and Jjaro tech. Join up today for a better future in space. (Wirehead 13:56:44 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox... no keyboard, no mouse... no chat
IGN Xbox have posted an interview with J. Allard, General Manager of Xbox. Allard's insights into the Xbox are quite revealing. Here's a piece that caught our attention:
IGN Xbox: So first critics were saying that Microsoft was going to create a mini PC in the living room, and then it switched to a console that crashes. What's your definition of what makes a console?
JA: You turn it on, and it blows your mind. We're not confused. It doesn't boot, there is no install, there are no patches, it's not an opportunity to port PC games, there's not a keyboard jack, there's not a mouse jack. You put it in the living room, you put it in the bedroom, you put it on the biggest TV you've in the house and the biggest sound system you've got, and you plug in not one, not two but four controllers. You invite your buddies over, and you have the best time you've ever had in any form of digital entertainment ever. And you'll have experiences that you'll never forget. That's our focus.
No keyboard, no mouse... thus no means to chat while online. (Ding 13:42:26 UTC) (permalink)
Gamespot glances at the Phoenix Project
Not strictly Halo-related... except that its engine is Halo's. GameSpot posted a tidbit about the game being worked on by The Team Formerly Known As Myth2... "The Phoenix Project." Interesting little read. Thanks to NexZ, who mentioned it on our forum. Pax. (Crux Fidelis 09:05:41 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo IRC channel
There's another IRC channel devoted to Halo... #halo on Irc.EnterTheGame.Com. This is probably the same channel mentioned a couple of days ago in bungie.net's news... anyone know what network this is? In any case, if you're looking for a place to hang out and talk Halo, try this one. Pax. (Crux Fidelis 08:37:15 UTC) (permalink)
PC Gamer scans on R.net HL server
A bunch of scans from the August 2000 PC Gamer have been uploaded to the Rampancy.net Hotline server. (Downloads -> August 2000 PC Gamer) Quality is questionable (as is legality), but the content is very interesting, to say the least. (Louis Wu 01:40:38 UTC) (permalink)
News June 28 2000
Halo Mystic comes online
Seen over at Halo Center: a new French site, Halo Mystic, has come online. The site of the Mystic Angels... take a look! (Louis Wu 18:57:19 UTC) (permalink)
DR Interview with Mark Rein about Consoles
Daily Radar has an interesting article with Mark Rein, VP of Epic Games, about the future of gaming as he sees it. Apparently, Epic has no plans to move to a console paradigm anytime soon. A pair of intriguing quotes:
We have no problem with people shifting their focus away from the PC or watering their PC product down to the lowest common denominator -- it just leaves more opportunity for us!
I can't see any logical reason why the PC platform is going to be any less vibrant than it is today. I don't see anything stepping up to the plate to replace the PC I own now or the next one I'm going to buy, or the next one after or the next one after that, or even the next one after that. I think that covers me being a devoted PC user for the next four or five years. So as long as I have a PC that can play games, I'm going to be playing games on my PC. I want a keyboard, I want a mouse, I even want a video camera.
The rest of the article is definitely worth a read. Thanks to Harry Al-Shakarchi for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 16:11:05 UTC) (permalink)
GCA online
King of War sends word that GCA (German Cosmonautio Army), a new German Halo clan, is now online. Check 'em out! (Louis Wu 15:40:11 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie Store to stop taking orders
Bungie store to close? As noted first on the Marathon's Story page the Bungie Store is to stop taking orders as of this Friday. Jim Ruiz posted a farewell letter to Bungie Store customers and stated he was moving on. The Microsoft assimilation begins in earnest. Doug, Jim... who next? And what about my Bungie Points? (Ding 07:58:32 UTC) (permalink)
"What do you think of Microsoft buying out Bungie?" poll
noddy99 sends us this news item:
There is a poll at www.insidemacgames.com asking the question, "What do you think of Microsoft buying out Bungie?" and the overwhelming majority of respondents show their dislike for the purchase.
Thanks noddy99. Since this is a Mac site no big surprises on the outcome. (Ding 07:49:42 UTC) (permalink)
Halo thumbs not taken from E3 trailer
Jeremy Roush comments upon the Halo thumbs we posted yesterday:
Just so ya know... neither thumb is from the trailer shown at E3, as the Green Marine is never among the other troops in such a fashion. He snipes the aliens in the opening shots, and then reappears to save the lone surviving Bob in the final few shots. He never appears in any shot with the jeep.
Thanks Jeremy. (Ding 07:45:46 UTC) (permalink)
News June 27 2000
There is always a Plan B
Matt expands on his comments of last night in this forum post. Once again, it's not a promise to do ANYTHING, but a common sense argument that if the X-box fails, PC/Mac development is always there as a fallback. And while the inference can be made that "since it IS a fallback position, it won't be implemented unless it's needed," this would be just an inference... nothing of the kind has been said. Bungie's official position is still "we haven't made a decision yet." (Louis Wu 19:22:25 UTC) (permalink)
Marathon's Story scoops
Marathon's Story scoops with a concept art pic of new Halo aliens. The pic comes from PCZone Benelux (Dutch gaming mag). D'n'A mentioned this mag on our forums last Thursday and we're working on bringing you the official pics courtesy of PCZone themselves. The mag also features a Halo developer's diary. Lots of meat for Halo starved fans. Head on over to the Story page for a look-see at those fun loving aliens. (Ding 16:26:25 UTC) (permalink)
Close, but no cee-gar
That Wirehead has sharp eyes. He noticed that the thumbnail included in last week's PC Gamer buyout analysis was close, but not the same as, the thumbnail included in last month's Newsweek article. Seems both groups had access to the base material (probably the E3 trailer). Here's the two shots, for you to compare on your own:
 |  |
| Newsweek, May 29 | PC Gamer, June 19 |
Soon, we hope to see the entire trailer! (Louis Wu 13:00:41 UTC) (permalink)
John Scott comments on John Carmack's X-box comments
John Scott of Raven Software commenting on John Carmack's X-box comments atSlashdot said:
Cross platform compatibility is exactly what MS do not want. They wantexclusivity to their console, or at the very least exclusivity to their OSes. They will make money from XBox game sales, and do not make any from PC game sales. MS could kill OpenGL support on the XBox for exactly this reason.
While this is a worst case scenario the fact that it IS a possible scenario is scary. (Ding 06:32:23 UTC) (permalink)
XBox not a requirement
It's not gonna happen... but it's nice to know it COULD. In response to a question on our forum about what Microsoft would do if Bungie decided that Halo wouldn't work as an XBox title, Matt Soell said this:
This question actually came up when we were discussing the deal. According to Alex, we'd make no friends at MS if we avoided XBox development completely, but we'd have the freedom to do it.
Check the full context here. (Louis Wu 01:25:54 UTC) (permalink)
Incite Mag to close down
Seen at Blue's News: Incite, the magazine that has brought us several of the juiciest Halo bits over the past few months, is closing its doors. Who's next? (Louis Wu 01:17:20 UTC) (permalink)
Carmack on the X-box
Spotted at Halo Vault: John Carmack commented on the X-box over at Slashdot. Here's his first post, and his second. One interesting excerpt, which might explain how Microsoft hopes to compete against PC hardware one year out:
The X-Box should be able to keep up for a while, because you can usually expect to get about twice the performance out of a fixed platform as you would when shooting for the broad PC space, just because you can code much more specifically.
Lots more there... interesting thread! (Louis Wu 01:09:42 UTC) (permalink)
One Total Halo goes down, another comes up
Total Halo, once a source of unique Halo news and art, has gone offline. We'll miss you, guys. In totally unrelated news, a new site, coincidentally namedTotal Halo, has come online... not much there yet, but growing. (Louis Wu 00:58:19 UTC) (permalink)
News June 26 2000
Wallpaper page updated
HazardOpC has sent in a new desktop for our Wallpaper page. Good to know the artwork continues unabated! (Louis Wu 15:30:46 UTC) (permalink)
Double Blam! from the Halo SETI Marines
Double Blam! The Halo SETI Marines climb to position #46 in the Battle of the Teams. SETI techs final update the team rankings page. Team membership also rises to 429 recruits. Keep the pressure on marines! Help in the search for the Covenant! (Wirehead 13:16:26 UTC) (permalink)
PC Gamer says hmmmm....
Kudos to Yrro, at Halo Center, who noticed that PC Gamer had put up an article on the MS/Bungie issue. What is most interesting to me about this is the tone of betrayal expressed by Rob Smith, Editor-in-Chief of PC Gamer:
That's right. The subject of an in-depth three page preview in the August issue of PC Gamer, the game that's on the July cover of our sister publication in the UK, and the game that's on the cover of another magazine in the US may come to the PC. Would it be cynical to suggest that the push for this slew of coverage for a game still at least a year from release all raised Bungie's stock with the Microsoft deal in the making? That's another story...
Sounds like they feel burned... (Louis Wu 05:57:07 UTC) (permalink)
News June 25 2000
22,000+ say Halo for Mac and PC please
More than 22,000 have now signed the Halo petitionto urge the Bungie Halo team to continue and complete development of the PC and Mac versions of Halo. Please aid the cause. (Wirehead 15:34:59 UTC) (permalink)
Join the Halo SETI Marines
The Halo SETI Marines keep crunchin' away but the SETI team rankingshaven't been updated since last Tuesday. What's up with that? Team membership stands at 426 recruits and Banzif is heading for that magic 7777 unit number. Help in the search for the Covenant! (Wirehead 15:30:56 UTC) (permalink)
Viceland looks at the deal
Mentioned on R.net yesterday, but we slipped until Douglas Long tweaked us... Viceland has put up their take on the MS/Bungie deal. Hmm. Warning: if you work at a puritanical company, don't visit this site from there. (Louis Wu 04:56:09 UTC) (permalink)
News June 24 2000
Story page shirts available only at fanfest
Man, that Crux... first he's off by an order of magnitude on the petition (understandable, he's using a 9" screen, and has it set to 1600x1200), now he gets the Shirt Story wrong. Seems the Story page t-shirts aren't sold out... they aren't sold, period. Jon Chang isn't allowed to sell them by mail, so you HAVE to come to New York and buy one at the fanfest. Hope this straightens things out. (Louis Wu 20:26:09 UTC) (permalink)
Fan Fiction page updated
Antares has posted part 2 of an ongoing story on our forum... you can also read it on our Fan Fiction page. And remember... the 'More by this author' link on that page will allow you to read all segments sequentially. (Louis Wu 20:15:16 UTC) (permalink)
20000+ signatures at http://www.game-over.net/halo/.
Thanks to Majid "X" Manzarpour who points out on our forums that there are now 20000+ signatures at http://www.game-over.net/halo/. We have to agree with Majid it's a "landmark figure". Go sign up if you haven't already. Bungie are paying close attention to it. Let them know we want Halo for the PC and Mac. (Crux Fidelis 14:01:34 UTC) (permalink)
Story page t-shirts sold out
"Story page t-shirts sold out" says Hamish. All 49 of the shirts for the Macworld New York Bungie Fanfest 2000have been pre-ordered. Let's hope they do another print run. Go read the seven reasons why you should have a Marathon's Story t-shirt. (Crux Fidelis 13:58:41 UTC) (permalink)
More Halo fun at Penny Arcade
Don't miss out on the Halo fun over at Penny Arcade The last two strips have been Halo related. Check theJune 21th and June 23rd strips. (Crux Fidelis 13:48:27 UTC) (permalink)
Majority say "NO" at PlanetXbox
Should Halo be Xbox only? 82% presently say NO at PlanetXbox. Make your voice heard! (Crux Fidelis 13:40:37 UTC) (permalink)
News June 23 2000
Should Halo be Xbox only? Poll
Should Halo be Xbox only? PlanetXbox are running a poll with the question "Should Halo be Xbox only?". Time to vote with your finger. Make your voice heard. Thanks to MakeMineRed for the heads up. (Ding 17:51:53 UTC) (permalink)
The Bungie Gathering in on!
The Bungie Gathering in on! Freewill announces on our forums that they'll be a Bungie fanfest to coincide with Macworld Expo New York. Details of the event can be found at bs.bungie.org. Alex Seropian, Max Hoberman, and Matt Soell are slated to appear as is Hamish Sinclair of theMarathon's Story page all the way from Ireland. (Ding 06:20:05 UTC) (permalink)
Matt says they got it wrong
If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Mark Levin asked Matt Soell about the PCFormat quote on our forum... and Matt set the record straight. There's no word yet on whether a PC version will ever come out. That's not a no, it's not a yes. It's a resounding "We don't know!" (Louis Wu 05:05:44 UTC) (permalink)
News June 22 2000
Halo ambient lifeform spotted in PCZone Benelux!
Kudos to D'n'A for posting more info about the Halo preview in the July issue of PCZone Benelux (Dutch gaming mag). It's going to have a monthly Halo diary featuring new and exclusive never-seen-before pictures and interviews with the designers. Here's how D'n'A describes one of the new pics in the article:
There's concept art showing the strange ambient lifeform we saw in the BTV day three movie...the rolling one(maybe it was day four). On it's back there's some sort of jet-engine so it may also be concept are of a still to be shown Covenant race.
Go read the full thing on our forums. Thanks D'n'A. (Ding 15:48:51 UTC) (permalink)
PCFormat says PC Halo, at least
PCFormat Daily, the website of British mag PCFormat, suggests that at the very least, a PC version of Halo is still on the table.
Microsoft actually rang us yesterday to give us the bottom line on what's going on. Bungie will *definitely* remain an independent group within Microsoft - getting access to the big M's marketing clout and cash pile - whilst Gates' company gets some top game talent. Halo will still arrive as planned on the PC - but will also be released on X-Box.
No word on Macs... but hey, it's better than X-box only! Thanks to MoBill, who posted the link on our forum. (Louis Wu 15:27:24 UTC) (permalink)
PCZone Benelux has exclusive Halo pics
D'n'A writes to say that the new issue of PCZone Benelux is out, with exclusive Halo stuff. The Red Covenant vehicle firing, a new sniper-rifle-type Covenant weapon, and more. Info as we get it. (Louis Wu 11:34:07 UTC) (permalink)
Microsoft Games VP Ed Fries tells it like it is!
In an interview with MCV NowMicrosoft Games VP Ed Fries gives his views on the Bungie buyout and their "properties". Here's part of the interview:
No decisions have been made about which Bungie properties besides Halo will be developed for Xbox. As to whether Halo will be released for PC or Mac, Fries is coy, telling MCV that with the three teams moving to Redmond and work on the games continuing, no official decisions have been made concerning specific platform plans.
"Halo isn't the only game we are making for Xbox, but to be honest, we haven't decided which titles in the Bungie library will be released for any specific platforms. We will be deciding that later. I can tell you that one of the main reasons we decided to move the entire Bungie group in-house is that we want to have the entire Halo team close to the Xbox team," Fries says. "We think that Halo has a lot of potential as an Xbox game, or we wouldn't be interested in it. Both teams are excited about working together to make the Xbox a stronger platform."
You can read the full interview here. (Ding 09:27:07 UTC) (permalink)
It's official no Bungie booth at Macworld Expo.
It's official no Bungie booth at Macworld Expo. As reported on MacCentralBungie won't have a booth at next month's Macworld Expo according to CEO Alexander Seropian. They'll be Bungie people there though. MacCentral report:
Bungie founder and CEO Alexander Seropian confirms that while his company won't have a booth at the show, it will still exhibit -- Seropian wasn't able to provide specific details, however. "There will Bungie people at Macworld Expo," said the Bungie CEO. "Oni will be shown."
Spotted this on the MS page first. (Ding 08:30:57 UTC) (permalink)
Joseph Staten to head fourth development team at Bungie
As reported on r.net Bungie's Joseph Staten will be moving to Redmond to head a fourth development team that will focus on creating all the cinematics for HALO and future titles. Here's what he had to say:
In case you're curious, I am going to Redmond. It's a great opportunity for me. I'll be heading up a fourth development team that will focus on creating all the cinematics for HALO and future titles. If you enjoyed the stuff Marty and I put together in the last year or so, just wait 'til you see what we've got up our sleeves. Metal Gear Solid 2 eat your heart out.
Good to hear. (Ding 08:24:13 UTC) (permalink)
Fanfest taking shape
Syburwolf wrote to Matt Soell with a couple of questions, and got this response:
>Will the deal with Microsoft put the games(and thus the Macintosh versions >:->) into the main stream stores a.k.a. -Walmart, Best Buy- or will it just >mean an ugly (pardon my bias) Microsoft logo on the box... Also, will you >be attending MWNY ? Obviously a big part of the appeal of this deal is Microsoft's distribution might. Whether or not stores carry the Mac versions of titles is entirely up to the individual stores; not even MS can force them to carry titles they don't want to. But we think they'll want to carry our stuff. We probably won't be exhibiting at MacWorld NY (although last-minute miracles have been known to happen) but at the very least some Bungie folk should show up at the fan gathering there to hang out with Hamish Sinclair. -Matt
We got word from Freewill tonight, as well... the location for the fanfest is shaping up. Look for more info coming soon! (Louis Wu 03:07:25 UTC) (permalink)
PlanetCrap says
Worried about a Mac version? So is PlanetCrap. (Thanks to Luxor, of Halo Vault, for the heads-up.) (Louis Wu 03:03:08 UTC) (permalink)
What does MS REALLY think of Macs?
Matthew Rothenberg opines about the message Microsoft is sending to Mac users in an article entitled "Bungie's Mac Ties" on ZDNet. Worth a read. Thanks to Jonathan Haas (formerly of the Myth II team) for the heads-up on our forum. (Louis Wu 00:31:32 UTC) (permalink)
Mac/PC Halo Dev Petition moved because of demand
When we mentioned the petition to keep up Halo development for Mac/PC 6 hours ago, there were 196 signatures on the page. Now, that number has grown to over 6500, and continues to climb. It's moved to a more stable server, to handle the incredible load. If you haven't signed it yet, you might want to consider it. It might have no effect... but it can't hurt to show Bungie (and Microsoft) just how much demand there is for a non-console version of this game. (Louis Wu 00:22:34 UTC) (permalink)
Exclusive Halo shot
An exclusive Halo shot has found its way into our inbox. You can see it here. (Louis Wu 00:21:43 UTC) (permalink)
Halo HQ back up
Stryker writes to tell us that Halo HQ is back online after a brief unscheduled outage. (Louis Wu 00:19:54 UTC) (permalink)
News June 21 2000
Petition for PC/Mac Halo online
Michael Maddux writes to let us know that a petition to keep up development of Halo for Mac/PC is online, and currently has almost 200 signatures. Stop by and let Bungie know how you feel! Pax. (Crux Fidelis 18:22:28 UTC) (permalink)
Info roundup on the acquisition
Neko-chan points out the MacCentral interview with Alex Seropian, which is hard to read without serious misgivings about future Mac development of Halo. To recap, here's a list of interviews, chats, and official releases over the past few days.
Bungie employee interviews:
- Daily Radar's 2nd interview with Jason Jones
- PG IGN interview with Ed Fries (Microsoft) and Alex Seropian
- GameSpot's interview with Alex Seropian
- Gamespy interview with Alex Seropian and Ed Fries
- Blue's News interview with Doug Zartman
- Daily Radar's 1st interview with Jason Jones
- MacCentral's interview with Alex Seropian
- MacCentral's interview with Take 2
- Inside Mac Games' interview with Alex Seropian
- Q&As with Doug Zartman at Inside Mac Games
Chats with the fans:
Press releases/info for fans:
(Louis Wu 16:10:00 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie's new digs
A secret CIA source who asked not to be identified sent along this aerial reconnaissance photo of the Microsoft complex in Redmond. Seems the Bungie offices have already been added. Pax. (Crux Fidelis 15:34:01 UTC) (permalink)
Final Halo SETI team stats posted
The end is here. The Halo SETI Marines lost another big member today (DarthFlounder, with 1210 units), increasing the hemorrhage total to over 2000 units in 2 days. We've been processing stats for this team since late October of last year, and we've watched it grow from a small group of Halo fanatics to one of the top 50 club teams and one of the top 100 overall teams. That's nothing to sneeze at... but we aren't willing to chronicle the descent as people drop out. Therefore, today's 24 hour stats are the last we'll put up. The team is far from dead, and could conceivably continue to grow (if, for example, the Bungie team decided to merge with it), but we're gonna go back to focusing on Halo news. Thanks to all for the last 8 months! (Louis Wu 14:49:48 UTC) (permalink)
MacGamer's Ledge post Microsoft experiences
MacGamer's Ledge have posted a feature called "Former Access Software Employee speaks out on Microsoft relationship"in which a former Access Software employee shares his own experiences after his employer, also a game developer, was purchased by Microsoft. Note: Bungie maintain that they have a different relationship with Microsoft and that Microsoft have learnt from previous disasters. (Ding 13:25:33 UTC) (permalink)
More Microsoft/Bungie humor from Penny Arcade
More Microsoft/Bungie humor from Penny Arcade. Click on the Latest Comic link to see the strip. Thanks to Forensic for the heads up in our forums (Ding 12:46:53 UTC) (permalink)
'Halo will be an X-Box exclusive for a few months'
PlanetXbox posted the following to their main page:
With the recent announcement of Microsoft buying Bungie we can all look forward to playing Halo on the Xbox! With Halo becoming an X-box title,will it make it to PC at all? Word from inside the company is that Halo will be an X-Box exclusive for a few months, before being released for the PC at a later date.
News to us. (Ding 11:06:52 UTC) (permalink)
IRC log in HTML format available
A far more easily read version of the IRC log from yesterday's chat is now available. This has had much of the extraneous info deleted (comings and goings, nick changes, etc), so if you're interested in that sort of thing, Halo Vault has put up a complete log, with all that data in it. (Louis Wu 04:20:38 UTC) (permalink)
transcript of bungie irc discussion posted
Max Hoberman (yeroen), Matt Soell (Proudfles), and ol_dirtae (name pending) showed up in irc channel #bungie this afternoon, and a couple of hours discussed the future of Bungie with the nearly 100 people who attended. Thanks to everyone who showed up... and for those who couldn't be there, we've put up a raw irc log of the event. Hopefully, we'll manage to format it more attractively in the near future. (Thanks to Harry Al-Shakarchi and James Hastings-Trew, who did a great job keeping the discussion on-target and under control.) (Louis Wu 01:50:07 UTC) (permalink)
Fan Fiction page updated
Something about the shock of the last few days has brought out the writer in several. The Fan Fiction page has been updated with not one, not two, but three new stories... go check 'em out! (Thanks to Vap, Myndreach, and Antares for the submissions.) (Louis Wu 01:43:21 UTC) (permalink)
News June 20 2000
Seropian Interview at Gamefan
Yet another Seropian interview... this time with Gamefan. Not a lot new... but how many times can you say "we think we're doing the right thing" without sounding repetitive? Thanks to Luxor of Halo Vault for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 20:37:25 UTC) (permalink)
MS to buy Eidos?
Shugashack and Daily Radar are both reporting that Eidos is shopping around for a buyer, and Microsoft is high on the list. That monopolistic tendency just won't settle down, will it? Pax. (Crux Fidelis 15:11:53 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI Team 24 hour stats posted
Blam!... The Halo SETI Marines scrape into 48th place, despite heavy losses. Banzif and Maxaminus take top honors... but it feels wrong. Check the 24 hour stats. (Louis Wu 14:23:59 UTC) (permalink)
Site Traffic responds to news
Just for kicks, we compared our traffic yesterday to a random day last week. Seems like a lot of folks stopped by for the MS news. :)
| June 12 | | June 19 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Visits | 2890 | 7604 | |
| Total Pages | 5536 | 13,252 | |
| Total Requests | 32,291 | 77,352 | |
| Total Unique Visitors | 1754 | 4491 |
Why Microsoft can't be trusted
Robert X. Cringely, a columnist for Oregon Public Broadcasting (and the Public Broadcasting System), wrote an interesting article last year entitled "Be Careful What You Wish For." It suggests that being acquired by Microsoft is not always what the acquiree thinks it's going to be; it looks at Hotmail as an example. It's definitely worth a read by anyone who firmly believes that Microsoft will stay totally hands-off of Bungie. Thanks to Peter Kyme for the heads-up on this one. (Louis Wu 12:15:06 UTC) (permalink)
b.net chat transcript at R.net
Rampancy.net has put up a transcript of last night's b.net chat with Matt and Max. Some interesting stuff in there... seems like it was a little more freeform than the R.net chat earlier in the evening. A snippet:
Why not commit to games for Mac?
Jones is in charge of Halo, and is only willing to commit to possibilities. There's still a lot for us to learn, and we don't like making false promises. As for other games, it's impossible to say what platforms they'll be on. We made promises when we believed we were being completely honest. This situation changes the circumstances. At the time we didn't forsee it.
There's been an awful lot of ranting on our forum about Bungie's abandonment of the Mac market... It's important to remember that Microsoft is not saying "you can't do a mac version" here. (Louis Wu 11:38:41 UTC) (permalink)
Daily Radar interview with Jason Jones
Halo: Xbox Only? Jason Jones, Bungie's co-founder and the guiding developer behind Halo,talks about Halo and XBox in a Daily Radar interview. Here's a snippet:
Daily Radar: What platforms is Halo going to appear on besides the Xbox?
Jason Jones: To be honest, we haven't decided yet.
Daily Radar: Will it be possible to play multiplayer Halo on the Xbox? How many total players at a time?
Jason Jones: Absolutely, yes. And this isn't a promise, but I don't see any reason why the Xbox couldn't handle as many players in a game as a PC.
Daily Radar: Halo was originally designed to be played on a PC. What have you done to handle the transition to gamepads?
Jason Jones: There are a lot of issues, and we're nowhere near figuring out all of them, but we've been playing net games with Interact's Hammerhead controller for two weeks now -- that's similar to the PS/2controller: dual analog sticks, six buttons, four triggers, etc. -- and it's going great.
Daily Radar: Will multiplayer Halo only be playable on The Zone?
Jason Jones: Nope. Halo will be playable on bungie.net.
Thanks to Blue's News for the heads up. (Ding 11:11:57 UTC) (permalink)
The Mac strikes back!
The Mac strikes back! As reported on Mac OS Rumors, Foundation Imaging, the company that did Starship Troopers:Roughneck Chronicles TV show (Sci-Fi 6:30AM CST), is to replace all of their NT rendering machines with G4s. Why? They're faster. Halo fans will notice the similarity between the Roughneck TV show and Halo. Here's a few pics from their image gallery:
(Ding 09:30:01 UTC) (permalink)
R.net chat log updated
Thanks to a kind Hotliner, we've added most of what was missing from the R.net chat this evening. Some very interesting questions (and answers) early on... so check it again! (Louis Wu 03:06:25 UTC) (permalink)
IGNPC Interview with Alex Seropian up
Vincent Lopez, of IGNPC, got a chance to speak to Alex Seropian about the changes. You can find the interview here. (Thanks to Luxor of Halo Vault for pointing it out.) (Louis Wu 02:47:00 UTC) (permalink)
HL Chat with Max on R.net
The Question and Answer session on Rampancy.net's Hotline server got off to a rocky start, but eventually settled down. We missed the very beginning of the actual questions, but we managed to record a large chunk of the discussion. There are some interesting tidbits in here. Visit irc channel #bungie (on EFNET) for another go-round. Thanks to Max, for his graciousness! (Louis Wu 00:46:43 UTC) (permalink)
News June 19 2000
Blue's News posts new Halo Screen
Wow. New screenshot at Blue's News. Who said Bungie couldn't do trees? (Louis Wu 22:06:48 UTC) (permalink)
At least one answer from the R.net QandA
Rampancy.net's Hotline server was set to host a Q&A session, but apparently the crowd was too big, so they've gone private. Hopefully, the admins will post the information gotten from Matt Soell and Max Hoberman publicly... but before it was shut down, this question was asked and answered:
CyberBob (#4 : Ok first question:
CyberBob (#4 : Mumbles asks:
CyberBob (#4 : "Do you still plan on creating editors for Halo and if so how iwll that work on the X-Box?"
yeroen: Hmmm... we're not sure if we'll ship editors if we ship an Xbox version--there are some obvious limitations. However, if we ship a PC/Mac version there will most likely be editors.
Not an outright "yes" or "no"... but info nonetheless. (Louis Wu 21:31:33 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Network analyzes deal
Massa writes to let us know that Halo Network has an article up, summarizing the situation and adding a bit of analysis. It's all in German, and Babelfish isn't being very cooperative with the tokens that HN is using... so you'll have to read it for yourself. (Louis Wu 21:28:11 UTC) (permalink)
Redherring.com and the future of b.net
Other sources today explained that Take 2 got Oni and Myth in exchange for their 19.9% of Bungie. Now, Redherring.com points out that Broadband Sudios, a subsidiary of Take 2, has another connection to the deal. The strategic alliance announced today between Microsoft and Broadband gives Microsoft a ready-made broadband network for upcoming multiplayer Xbox titles... like Halo. (Louis Wu 20:58:22 UTC) (permalink)
Top cruncher clocks up 7777th SETI unit, quits.
Hamish calls it quits! In a dramatic countup which started early this morning the Story page's SETI client "Powered by Jjaro tech" clocked up its 7777th SETI units on the very day that the Microsoft-Bungie buyout is announced. Coincidence? We think not. We've also learnt that Hamish doesn't intend to continue crunching SETI units which should be good news for Banzif. The Marathon's Story page lives on though. This is what the page had to say:
Marathon lives on. And the "heart and soul" of the Marathon's Story page is not Bungie but its fans. As long as there are fans there will be a Story page. Veritatem Dies Aperit.
Anyone know what that last bit means? (Ding 20:43:29 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Center has Dukes of Halo
The halobungie.com spoof site went offline earlier today, due to huge bandwidth excesses. The Dukes of Halo movie available there, though, has been mirrored by Halo Center... so swing on by if you haven't seen it! (Louis Wu 19:59:04 UTC) (permalink)
Interview with Alex Seropian at GameSpot
GameSpot has put up a news article of the Bungie acquisition, as well as an interesting 4 page interview with Alex Seropian. Absolutely worth a read. (Louis Wu 17:32:17 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie posts Letter To Our Fans
Dear Fans. Bungie posts Letter To Our Fans from Alex and Jason and Acquisition FAQ. Here's the last part of the letter:
We're diving into this with our eyes wide open, and are eager to make it succeed. The last seven years have been a real blast. We hope you'll join us for the next seven, after which we'll blow up the world.
- Alex and Jason
Thanks to Matt Soell for the heads up in our forums. (Ding 16:20:16 UTC) (permalink)
Inside Mac Games weighs in
The 9-5's at Inside Mac Games weigh in on the Microsoft-Bungie buyout. There's also a short Q&As with Doug Zartmanconcerning the future of Mac games from Bungie. Bottom line no commitments as of yet. :( (Ding 14:37:39 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI 24 hour team stats posted
Blam! The Halo SETI Marinestake our Microsoft... oh wait... that was just a dream. :(Here are the 24 hour stats on this fateful day. Why am I the only one at the HBO offices today? (Ding 14:22:09 UTC) (permalink)
Some Bungie humor at utterer.com
Some good natured humor on the Microsoft-Bungie buyout at utterer.com. Check out that "Reasons Why Microsoft Bought Bungie" Infographic. ;) (Ding 12:37:36 UTC) (permalink)
Gamespy interview with Alex Seropian and Ed Fries
"I am really concerned as to how our PC and Mac fans are going to view this deal..." says Alex Seropian. Gamespy have posted aninterview with Alex Seropian, founder and CEO of Bungie, and Ed Fries, vice president of Microsoft Games Group. Make sure you read this one. Alex is quoted as saying the following:
"I am really concerned as to how our PC and Mac fans are going to view this deal," Seropian said. "Our fans have brought us to this point and are the reasons why we exist. In the short term, especially the Mac fans have a lot of fears about what this might mean. We are still going to make decisions the way we have always made them. It is about what makes most business sense and what is good for the game. In the long term if what our fans want, is to make games that push the envelope of technology and are fun to play. Then there is no question this deal will be awesome for them."
(Ding 11:33:28 UTC) (permalink)
Doug Zartman to leave Bungie!
Doug Zartman to leave Bungie! We've just learnt that Doug "the voice of Bob" Zartman is leaving Bungie software. Microsoft are taking over Bungie's marketing and the whole Dept are out the door. Gawd I'm depressed Doug was Bungie's oldest employee. Looks like Jim Ruiz and the Bungie Store are next in line for the chop! We'll keep you up-to-date on events as they unfold. (Ding 11:19:12 UTC) (permalink)
Microsoft to Acquire Bungie Software press release
Microsoft make it official! Thanks to Blue's News once again for posting the Microsoft's official press release on their acquisition of Bungie:
Microsoft to Acquire Bungie Software
REDMOND, Wash. - June 19, 2000 - Microsoft Corp. today announced it acquired Chicago-based Bungie Software Products Corp., a leading independent developer of action oriented computer and video games. As a result of this acquisition, Microsoft gains exclusive publishing and distribution rights to select Bungie-developed titles, including the highly anticipated sci-fi action epic "Halo."
Go read the full press release here. (Ding 10:56:52 UTC) (permalink)
Blue's News interview with Bungie's Doug Zartman
"We cannot promise that a Windows or Mac version of Halo will ship, but we can't rule it out either."says Doug Zartman. Our good friends over at Blue's News have scored an interview with Bungie's Doug Zartman. The voice of Bob tells it like it is! (Ding 10:48:14 UTC) (permalink)
Marathon's Story page to close?
Marathon's Story page to close? We can't believe it?We're seeking confirmation on this one folks. There's an announcement coming linked to some countdown thingie. Gawd! (Ding 09:58:58 UTC) (permalink)
Oni Central to stay!
Oni Central the premiere Oni site run by Harry Al-Shakarchi is committed to staying. Here's the announcement:
Oni Central is here to stay as your source for Oni information and news. I hope you will join me when Oni is released and we can finally enjoy the fruits of Bungie West's labour.
(Ding 09:43:13 UTC) (permalink)
"The Mill" closes
The Bungie fan community begins to crumble. The premiere Myth files site "The Mill" run by long time Bungie fan Randall Shaw has closed its doors due to the Microsoft buy out of Bungie. Sad news for Myth fans. Thanks to Bagman on our forums. (Ding 09:43:13 UTC) (permalink)
Daily Raider gets the scoop
Daily Raider gets the scoop with a total of four pieces on the Microsoft-Bungie buyout:
Microsoft buys Bungie: Confirmed
5 Things You Must Know About Microsoft's Buying Bungie
(Ding 08:16:37 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie-Microsoft humor from Penny Arcade
Some Bungie-Microsoft humor from Penny Arcade to brighten your day. Thanks to Jagu on our forums. (Ding 07:28:02 UTC) (permalink)
"We do care about our fans and about the Mac" says Jason Jones
"We do care about our fans and about the Mac" says Bungie's Jason Jones. In an exclusive interviewwith Daily Raider Jason reiterated Bungie's continued support for their fans and the Mac:
Daily Raider: Do you feel, as many people are claiming on forums, that you are stabbing an icy dagger through the hearts of your most stalwart fans by selling out, quite literally,to Microsoft?
Jason Jones: Hmmm... I think our whole point is, and has always been, to make great games. Faced with the direction the games market is going and the opportunity to be the premiere developer on a new game console system -- we're doing what's best for the games and for Bungie. We do care about our fans and about the Mac.
According to Jason the decision about which platforms to develop for remains Bungie's. Bungie will decide if they'll be a Mac or PC version of Halo. (Ding 07:14:19 UTC) (permalink)
Microsoft buys Bungie to boost X-Box development
"Microsoft buys Bungie to bolster its development of games for personal computers and its planned X-Box video-game console" says Microsoft. Here's a quote from the press release:
"Bungie is going to move up to Redmond and create great games for the PC and X-Box and really help us shape X-Box as the games platform of the future,'' said Ed Fries, vice president of Microsoft's games division.
As part of the purchase, Microsoft acquired Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s 20 percent stake in Bungie. Take-Two, Bungie's current distributor, has acquired ownership of one of Bungie's two upcoming releases, a game called "Oni," as well as the rights to "Myth" games.
(Ding 06:58:12 UTC) (permalink)
Microsoft buy Bungie.
Microsoft buy Bungie. Halo for X-box. The rumors were true. 'Nuff said. (Ding 06:47:26 UTC) (permalink)
News June 18 2000
Halo SETI 24 hour team stats posted
Blam! The Halo SETI Marinestake out the SETI-Hispano team and move up to position #48 in the Battle of the Teams. Hey some good news this weekend. Banzif and Rival go hell for leather and take top honors. FunkyB (48 units) and Shockadelica (17 units) enter the top 300. Full details on the 24 hour stats page. (Wirehead 15:04:30 UTC) (permalink)
halobungie.com comes online
Woohoo! In this time of stress for Bungie fans Pax Nimbus has created a wonderful smile-inducer... halobungie.com! Check it out.
"It's absolutely, positively, a website."
- Salon
Pax. (Crux Fidelis 12:43:54 UTC) (permalink)
Ferrex Interview at the Corporation
The Corporation, a UK gaming site with a twist, has interviewed Tyson Green, aka Ferrex (Dead), of Rampancy.net, on the Microsoft/Bungie situation. Definitely worth a read. Pax. (Crux Fidelis 12:43:16 UTC) (permalink)
www.planet-halo.de updated
Another German Halo site, www.planet-halo.de (not to be confused with www.planethalo.de, which came online yesterday), has updated their design. Take a look! Pax. (Crux Fidelis 12:42:46 UTC) (permalink)
MGL says MS for sure
MacGamers' Ledge has done some sleuthing, and reports that they've 'confirmed many of the details' of the MS acquisition rumors. Their news article contains information on what might be happening with some of the larger players. Thanks to Tom Bridge for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 03:44:02 UTC) (permalink)
Fan Fiction page updated
$erial-ki!!A has added a fifth chapter to his ongoing Halo saga; you'll find "The First Wave" on our Fan Fiction page. This might be the last chapter for a bit... summer holidays and all. (Louis Wu 03:30:24 UTC) (permalink)
Ex-Bungie employee opines on our forum
Jonathan Haas, a former Bungie employee (who left a few months ago to join a startup), weighs in on the MS/Bungie firestorm, with some very level-headed views. Worth a read by all... (Louis Wu 00:46:32 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Mac comes online (sort of)
Jerry Nummi writes to tell us that Halo Mac is a new clan page. There doesn't seem to be anything there but a Flash front page so far, but maybe the other pages are coming soon. (Louis Wu 00:36:41 UTC) (permalink)
News June 17 2000
Planethalo.de comes online
Scytale writes to tell us that Planethalo.de is online. Check it out! (Louis Wu 20:27:08 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI 24 hour team stats posted
The Halo SETI Marineshold tight to position #49 in the Battle of the Teams. We might take the SETI-Hispano team this weekend but we need more marines in the field. Still only a third of the team on active service. Jjaro tech and ABordner take top honors again. Full details on the 24 hour stats page. (Wirehead 14:03:05 UTC) (permalink)
More rumors for your money.
More rumors for your money. Thanks to PUnk for spotting two alternative views to the rumored Microsoft-Bungie buyout one at PS2IGN and the other at XBoxIGN. (Ding 12:34:46 UTC) (permalink)
Halo in PCGamer (UK)
Halo in PCGamer (UK). Haloplayers have posted a small pic of the cover of the July edition of PCGamer (UK). It sports the Halo marine in action. According to Jenkz of Haloplayers the July edition will have some exclusive Halo coverage. (Ding 12:00:17 UTC) (permalink)
Daily Radar pipes up
Daily Radar weighs in, too. (Louis Wu 04:19:29 UTC) (permalink)
GameSpy joins the MS speculation crowd
Speculation intensifies about the Microsoft rumors. GameSpy devoted almost its full news page to the conjecture. (Thanks to ax for the heads-up.) (Louis Wu 03:21:38 UTC) (permalink)
News June 16 2000
Halo in MacFormat (UK)
Halo in MacFormat (UK). Kudos to Phish who sends word that Halo features in the latest issue of MacFormat (UK). Not only that but Phish scanned in the front cover and transcribed the text. We can't put it all up but here's the first paragraph:
The game that generated the most excitement at last month's E3 show in Los Angeles was undoubtedly Halo, Bungie Software's eagerly anticipated sci-fi combat spectacular. The good new is that, despite many rumors to the contrary, Halo is definitely real and definitely coming to the Mac - a simultaneous Mac/PC release is expected early next year.
Thanks Phish. :) (Crux Fidelis 17:46:18 UTC) (permalink)
pcgames.de gaming poll
Edgecrusher sends word that pcgames.de have a gaming poll to crush. Lots of games to choose from but there can be only one! (Ding 15:45:35 UTC) (permalink)
HBO user stats: 45.4% MacOS, 50.8% Windows, 3.8% Other.
Louis did some HBO server stats and posted the percentage of Windows and Mac OS users to theforums. We felt the figures were worth repeating here:
45.4% MacOS
50.8% Windows (31% Win98, 11% Win95, 7% NT, 2% Win2000)
The remainder is various flavors of Unix, and 6 WebTV hits, and 3 Amiga hits. (!!)
Ok who has the Amiga? ;) (Ding 14:44:23 UTC) (permalink)
macslash.com hacked?
Believe it or not! Matthew Liebhold reports thatmacslash.com claim they were hacked last night and their Bungie-MS buyout details were deleted from their server. Yeah right. Smoke 'em if you've got 'em. (Wirehead 14:15:14 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI 24 hour team stats posted
The SETI team ranks still haven't been updated so we don't know where the Halo SETI Marinesare placed at the moment. Some fine crunchin' by Jjaro tech and ABordner takes the Frogblast award. Still only a third of marines are doing active service. We could do with some back-up people. Full details on the 24 hour stats page. (Wirehead 14:15:14 UTC) (permalink)
MS Rumor Analysis at Clan MacGaming
Joel Page (aka Ironfist) has written an interesting article on the MS rumors. Worth a read, just for the level-headedness. (Louis Wu 12:36:58 UTC) (permalink)
Even MacAddict getting into the act
The MS rumors have made it as far as MacAddict, a major Mac print magazine. No new info, but they point to As The Apple Turns for a distinctly Mac viewpoint on the potential truth to the rumors. Thanks to Formerly Wu, over at the R.net forum, for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 00:39:22 UTC) (permalink)
News June 15 2000
E3 teaser mirror list compiled
The Movies page has been updated with a list of mirrors for the E3 teaser. All locations currently known, in one convenient place! Enjoy. (Louis Wu 21:31:16 UTC) (permalink)
PCGameWorld adds a teaser mirror
Fire Phoenix drops us a line to let us know that PCGameWorld is also mirroring the teaser; both the hi-res and low-res versions are available. (Louis Wu 20:12:07 UTC) (permalink)
Wallpapers page updated
Manuel Blaschek has sent in another wallpaper for our Wallpapers page. Does it seem like the Halo-Marathon links are getting stronger? (Louis Wu 19:14:59 UTC) (permalink)
Rumors, rumors... who's got a fact?
Geez... first Macintouch, now MacSlash... the MS rumor is spreading. (Louis Wu 19:03:52 UTC) (permalink)
low-bandwidth version of teaser available
JosephAW, who brought you low-bandwidth streaming versions of the bTV broadcasts, now brings you a low-bandwidth streaming version (removed) of the E3 teaser. Thanks, Joseph! (Louis Wu 18:56:06 UTC) (permalink)
Happy Happy Halo Halo 4th July
Happy Happy Halo Halo 4th July. Madfishwrites to tell us that the August issue of PCGamer will be out on the 4th July. We should have the full Halo movie... soon(tm). Thanks Madfish. (Crux Fidelis 18:23:29 UTC) (permalink)
Halo wins Blue's News Best of E3 2000
Halo wins Blue's News Best of E3 2000. Thanks to Kamikaze who posts to our forums thatBlue's News have posted their Best of E3 2000awards. Halo won "Best of Show". This is what Stephen "Blue" Heaslip had to say:
Best of Show
Halo. Combining state-of-the-art graphics, with state-of-the-art teamplay, this is TRIBES meets Quake III Arena, and more. If gameplay lives up to this year's demonstration, then the only thing that stands between Halo and being the all-time great multiplayer game is how the netcode turns out.
(Ding 18:08:52 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Characters section update
The Characters section in our FAQ has been up updated to reflect the new info from the Halo movie trailer. If you've got comments/suggestions about the FAQ please send them to halofaq@bungie.org. Thanks. (Crux Fidelis 16:55:17 UTC) (permalink)
Fan Fiction page updated
$erial-ki!!A has added another chapter to his work-in-progress about the Halo Marine. You can check out 'Awakening' on our Fan Fiction page. Remember, the "more by this author" link at the end of each entry is a convenient way to read all the chapters sequentially. (Louis Wu 14:48:42 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI Team 24 hour stats posted
Weird goings-on at the SETI server... Club Rankings haven't been updated in 3 days, and the Halo SETI Marines are being consistently credited 200+ fewer units than what's actually crunched. No matter, the crunching goes on! Jjaro Tech and Rival take top honors today. Check the 24 hour stats for details. (Louis Wu 14:26:55 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Center mirrors E3 teaser
Yrro writes to say that Halo Center has put up the teaser, as well... the mirror list grows some more. You can get the file here. Pax. (Crux Fidelis 08:59:36 UTC) (permalink)
Halo HQ is up and running
Stryker sends word that Halo HQ, an early Halo site that closed a while back, is up and running in its new digs at haloplayers.net. As he says,
Halo HQ is dedicated to the Halo team community, allowing Halo fans an instant link to many Halo teams.
Stop by and sign up today! Pax. (Crux Fidelis 08:57:04 UTC) (permalink)
Screen Grabs of Teaser available
Matt Martinez writes to let us know that for those of you on a slower connection, there's now an alternative to the multi-meg movies for getting your Halo fix. He's snapped 35 screenshots from the trailer for you to drool over. Go check 'em out! (Louis Wu 02:30:23 UTC) (permalink)
PC Gamer named as US Trailer distributor
Oops, we missed this... thanks to R.net for noticing. The Daily Radar Teaser page specifies that it's PC Gamer that will have the E3 Trailer on its cover CD, ending speculation about which gaming mag would host the US version. (Louis Wu 02:25:42 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Vault also mirroring teaser
Luxor writes to tell us that Halo Vault can be added to the fast-growing list of mirrors for the teaser. In his words, "awesome bandwidth (for now)." ;) (Louis Wu 01:54:44 UTC) (permalink)
Full Trailer Release to bring surprises
SiliconDream =PN= points out on the R.net forum that one of the scenes in the teaser was NOT in the E3 trailer... so we can probably look forward to footage that even those at E3 didn't see. Thanks, Sili! (Louis Wu 01:53:00 UTC) (permalink)
More mirrors for the E3 Trailer Teaser
More mirrors for the Hi-res version of the E3 Trailer Teaser: Rampancy.net reports that they have it on their hotline site, under Uploads ->Halo->halo_e3_preview_hires[1].mpg, and Battleground: Halo reports that they'll be putting a copy up as soon as they get it downloaded. (Louis Wu 01:50:29 UTC) (permalink)
Battleground: Halo weighs in on the MS rumors
Battleground: Halo is reporting that Doug Zartman answered Planet X-Box about the Microsoft/Bungie rumors. Visit BGH to read the quote for yourself. (Louis Wu 01:28:05 UTC) (permalink)
Teaser, not full Trailer
Clarification: Seems what Daily Radar and 3D Action Gamers are distributing is a teaser for the full trailer, not the Trailer itself. Still pretty awesome, though... Absolutely worth the download. (Louis Wu 01:17:32 UTC) (permalink)
E3 Trailer available
Halo Trailer Available: Jeremy Roush sends word that Daily Radar has put up the E3 Trailer. It's quite small, compared to what we were told... there's a 26 meg version and a 13 meg version. Go grab it now! And we just received word that 3D Action Gamers has put up a mirror for it, if traffic gets too heavy at DR. GET THIS! (Louis Wu 01:07:59 UTC) (permalink)
News June 14 2000
Fatbabies says maybe
You want fat rumors, go to fatbabies.com. Seems the MS buyout rumor has made it out of the Bungie fansite community. (As fatbabies says, "Bungie has not commented on the rumor.") Thanks to Darcy Brockbank for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 19:03:39 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI 24 hour team stats posted
The Halo SETI Marinesare 50 units behind HardwareCentral in the Battle of the Teams. A big push and we can take them. The team lost a marine today ReddyStupidity[Moof!][G3] (290 units). If you find him report him to your nearest Halo fire base. Jjaro tech and Nick-Danger take top honors. Full details on the 24 hour stats page. (Wirehead 14:37:50 UTC) (permalink)
Wallpaper page updated
More submissions from fire phoenix... this time, it's a pair of nice desktops for our Wallpaper page. These were originally created for Halo Center... but he can't find them there. Tasty! (Louis Wu 04:04:06 UTC) (permalink)
SETI@Home improves personal stats
Thanks to Banzif, who points out on our forum that the personal stats pages on the SETI@Home server have been vastly improved. You can now see your last 10 workunits submitted (including spikes and gaussians found). Very cool! Maybe this will energize those team members who haven't been submitting units? Pax. (Crux Fidelis 03:11:49 UTC) (permalink)
Logos page updated
Fire Phoenix sends along another logo for us... pretty spiffy, I'd say! Check it out on our Logos page. (Louis Wu 02:16:54 UTC) (permalink)
Even developers want Halo!
You knew the world loves 'em, but it never hurts to hear it again. Massa, of Halo Network, sends along word that the July issue of GameStar magazine (in Germany) contains a small feature, in which 50 top developers were asked "What game are you looking forward to?" Halo placed third, with 6 votes... beaten only by Black and White (7 votes) and Metal Gear Solid 2 (for the PS2, with 8 votes). Even the developers are waiting for it! (Louis Wu 00:24:53 UTC) (permalink)
News June 13 2000
Fan Fiction page updated
$erial-ki!!A has submitted the first three chapters of what looks to be a very long work of fan fiction... you'll find them on our Fan Fiction page. (You can read them sequentially by following the "More by this author" link at the end of each entry.) If you like it, send him mail... he'll release the rest! (Louis Wu 17:32:30 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI Team 24 hour stats posted
The Halo SETI Marines crunch valiantly, but lose almost 250 units to the SETI Black Hole. Banzif and Dash take top honors... details on the 24 hour stats page. (Louis Wu 14:13:28 UTC) (permalink)
PCGamer UK to release E3 Trailer in UK
Haloplayers has gotten confirmation from PCGamer UK that the September issue (on sale July 31) will contain the E3 trailer. UK Halo fans now know where they're getting the trailer from! (No word yet on the US carrier.) (Louis Wu 13:19:44 UTC) (permalink)
European Halo League wants you!
Tim Jenks PR Officer at Haloplayers sends us this PR snippet:
After noticing a large increase in European based Halo squads, we're just reminding people of the European Halo League - a league ready to go as soon as the game is here. - We currently have a large number of European squads already signed up for places in the league, and hope to see a few more interested. You can sign-up for a provisional place in the EHL at http://www.haloplayers.net/ehl/ and for the other leagues by mailing us at halo@haloplayers.com. We also hope to get everyone in the community involved in these leagues, and many other ladders, cups, and international tournaments once Halo is finally here.
(Crux Fidelis 10:01:00 UTC) (permalink)
Best Action Game, says Game Critics Awards
As mentioned on R.net, Game Critics Awards planned on announcing their Best of E3 awards tonight. They're up... and Halo got a mention or two. Best Action Game and Runner-Up for Best Game, PC, specifically. Here's what they had to say:
Shown to only a select few at E3 '99, Halo has been building buzz all year long. So it was no wonder that people waited in line for up to an hour to see game designer and uber-brain Jason Jones show off the Halo engine and a movie that left every jaw in the room on the floor. Everyone with a pulse who saw Halo at E3 2000 is feverishly anticipating its release. We were no exception.
Go check out the rest of the awards... if you can get past the Black and White mentions, there's some interesting stuff there! (Louis Wu 01:19:18 UTC) (permalink)
Time, once again, for poetry
Another poetry thread has started up on our forum. Go and contribute! (I particularly like this one. It's fun.) (Louis Wu 00:18:24 UTC) (permalink)
News June 12 2000
Halo SETI Team 24 hour stats posted
Dink!... The Halo SETI Marines lose a spot int the Club Rankings to the fast-climbing Hardware Central team. Can they get it back? Still only a third of the team turning in units... Banzif easily takes la Crunch Honneur, and Dr. Raw Stag Footrot FRACS and PunkRocker tie for the Frogblast award. Full details on the 24 hour stats page. (Louis Wu 14:27:45 UTC) (permalink)
Orbit's been dead for a while
This has come up a few times, so it bears mentioning here. Orbit, a site which started up in early January, closed its doors on May 2nd, 2000. We neglected to mention the closure on our front page, but we DID move the Orbit link to the Static section at that point. (You can read Haloplayer's news item here.) Unfortunately, Orbit seems to have left a server-side date tag on their main page... so that the date shown above the "Abandoned" message is always close to the current date. This means that folks stumbling across the page read the note, and think Orbit closed yesterday. They didn't. :) Hope this helps. (Louis Wu 13:18:45 UTC) (permalink)
Halo mod website goes live
Posted to our forum yesterday, but we missed it amongst the rumor-mongering and name-calling. Jex has put up a website for what seems to be the first announced Halo mod... Macross + Halo. Not much there yet... but he's looking for lots of help. Coders, modellers, texture guys, level designers, sound guys... and someone to fetch coffee. Sign up today! (Louis Wu 04:27:00 UTC) (permalink)
Wallpaper page updated
Mhaddy, of the Junkyard, has submitted a wallpaper for our Wallpaper page. Not strictly Halo... but then, neither is the Junkyard. Available in more sizes than you'll know what to do with. (Louis Wu 04:25:59 UTC) (permalink)
News June 11 2000
Halo font abuse on the Marathon's Story page
More Halo font impropriety spotted over at the Marathon's Story page. Harry "the Tome" Al-Shakarchi found a German web page forAxe Phoenix deodorant which uses the Halo font. The Story page has been reporting about this flagrant abuse of Bungie's Halo font for some time now. Go get 'em Bungie! (Ding 15:07:29 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI 24 hour team stats posted
The Halo SETI Marineshang on to position #48 in the Battle of the Teamsbut HardwareCentral are right behind us. Some good crunchin' by one third of the team but is it enough? Can we hold out?Team membership rises to 414 marines. Banzif and SkyHook take top honors. Full details on the 24 hour stats page. (Wirehead 14:48:17 UTC) (permalink)
Lots of German Halo news
Thanks to our HBO offices in Berlin (Germany) we've got some German Halo news for you.
First off HaloNews noted a Halo preview at Krawall Gaming Network. Three pages long and quite detailed but no new screenshots and some are actually scans taken fromHaloplayers. What's Jenkz going to do about that?
Halo Network report a German Halo clan site called DarkCide.
We've also got two new German Halo sites on the register: Halo-Fans and Halo Zone.
(Ding 11:56:08 UTC) (permalink)
Pixar and Bungie to make movies?
More interesting rumors. Roger Maxwell has posted a couple of idea-filled missives on our forum, postulating that Pixar and Bungie are working together to release an animated movie to complement the game's storyline. You can find the original post here, and Roger's followup (with more details) here. Intriguing stuff! (Louis Wu 00:05:18 UTC) (permalink)
News June 10 2000
Jjaro textures in Halo says Marathon's Story page
Even with all the rumors flying around the Marathon's Story page is still churning out the Halo theories. Jjaro textures (Marathon Infinity) in Halo? The parallels may be more coincidental than anything but nice work by Alan Greene. (Ding 17:59:12 UTC) (permalink)
MacAddict says Where's the Beef?
There's a small blurb about Halo and Oni in the latest (July) MacAddict, titled "Bungie almost got game". While they are excited about both titles, they feel that "Bungie has left us hanging" too long without a release. As they say, though... "strangely enough, your mom was right - patience is a virtue, and good things do come to those who wait." Thanks to Mojo of Halam for the heads-up on this one. (Louis Wu 16:24:16 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI 24 hour team stats posted
Looks like the Halo SETI Marinesare going to lose their 48th spot in the Battle of the Teams. HardwareCentral are chasing our tail. Only a major all out effort can stop those hardware crunchers! Big welcome to Twizzler who brings 204 badly needed units to the war effort. While we've got over 400 marines in the field only a third are actually doing anything! :(More gory details on the 24 hour stats page. (Wirehead 14:21:24 UTC) (permalink)
New Fan Fiction
Tycho has posted another fan fiction piece on our forum. We've added it to the Fiction page. If you're in a vengeful mood, this is a good story for you. (Louis Wu 13:56:34 UTC) (permalink)
News June 9 2000
Rumors abound
We would be remiss if we ignored this altogether, since it's potentially very big news. We want to stress, however, that it's nothing more than rumor at this point. A rather large thread is running on our forum, revolving around a potential deal between Bungie and Microsoft. If true (even in part), it means major shifts for Bungie (obviously), and for sites which cover Bungie (not quite so obviously). We'd like to stress that we have NO official word from Bungie on any of this (confirming or denying, or even acknowledging), and all of the actual details are being posted anonymously. I WILL say that the two posters are new to our forum (these are the first posts from those IP addresses), and that neither one is in a physical location known to be common for either Bungie or Microsoft. (Not that that means anything.) Hopefully, we'll hear one way or another soon, from someone with authority. (Louis Wu 18:30:20 UTC) (permalink)
Something Awful looks at Halo
septimus posted a link to a Something Awful article on Halo on our forum... definitely worth a read. Inside Bungie... deep and dirty! (Louis Wu 15:09:48 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie on X-box?
Daily Radar put up a list of developers currently supporting the X-box, and those who Daily Radar think will support it. Bungie's on the second list. (Louis Wu 14:55:08 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI Team 24 hour stats posted
The Halo SETI Marines are closing in on spot 97 on the overall Teams Rankings... tomorrow? Banzif and Skyhook take top honors today in the 24 hour stats. (Louis Wu 14:33:53 UTC) (permalink)
Short Bungie Blurbs in NextGen
"Short Bungie Blurbs in NextGen" says Strykerin our forums. Here's the full quote from page 19:
Bungling Bungie:
The smarty-pants developer behind Halo and Oni planned to announce a third title at E3, but then changed its mind and opted not to. Still, Next Generation learned that the game would be a fantasy-based siege warfare title that featured both realtime and turn-based gameplay. The cool part? It will be built on the Halo engine.
Thanks Stryker. (Ding 11:05:57 UTC) (permalink)
Screenshots section updated
Thanks to Joedaphish, who cleaned up our "Bobs in action" shot from a couple of days ago for us. We've posted it (and the other unique PC Gamer screen) in our Screenshots section. Looks nice, Phish! (Louis Wu 03:50:33 UTC) (permalink)
Halo-au comes online
Seen at Haloplayers... a new Halo site comes on the scene, this one dedicated to down-under Halo! Halo-au (Halo Australia) is now online. Swing by and check 'em out! (Louis Wu 03:20:27 UTC) (permalink)
News June 8 2000
Halo SETI 24 hour team stats posted
The Halo SETI Marinesclose the gap in the Battle of the Teams. Team membership rises to 408 marines. SkyHook and "Dr Raw Stag Footrot FRACS" share the Frogblast award and Banzif takes top crunchin' honors once more. Full details on the 24 hour stats page. (Wirehead 15:49:40 UTC) (permalink)
Early web release of PC Gamer content
Wow. Those Haloplayers boys really rate. PC Gamer has put some of the content from their July print mag up on their website, before the mag is off the shelves... "as a special favour to Haloplayers". Nice going, guys! (Louis Wu 12:44:55 UTC) (permalink)
Week-long wait for PCZone Benelux
D'n'A posts to our forum that the July issue of PCZone Benelux won't be out until June 22. Guess we have a bit of time to wait for that new article! (Louis Wu 12:44:36 UTC) (permalink)
Wallpaper page updated
$erial-ki!! A has submitted some wallpaper which shows his feelings on the Marathon-Halo link. You'll find it on our Wallpaper page. (Louis Wu 12:35:45 UTC) (permalink)
News June 7 2000
More Halo in Dutch mag
Over at the Haloplayers general forum, anno domini posts that the July issue of PC Zone Benelux (a Dutch PC gaming mag) contains a four page Halo article, "as well as four previously unreleased and exclusive screenshots, differing from those in the July issue of PC Gamer UK!" We're talking to our agent in Holland about getting hold of a copy of this mag. Stay tuned. (Louis Wu 20:35:36 UTC) (permalink)
German PC Games translation posted
The July 2000 issue of PC Games also contains a Halo article, and Christoph Schmidt was kind enough to scan it in for us. We don't have permission yet to post it... but since there are no new pictures anyway, we're going to give you the translated text now, courtesy of Harry "Halo, Halo, Halo... I want my ONI!" Al-Shakarchi. Not much new info here, but another estimation of an early-next-year release date, and some nice descriptions of the graphics. ;) Thanks, Christoph and Harry! (Louis Wu 19:24:45 UTC) (permalink)
Story page analyzes PC Gamer
The Marathon's Story page could be renamed the "PC Gamer analysis page" today... lots of good stuff from the new article. Great quotes, and a better scan from Jenkz of the Marathon-like symbol on the commander's hat. Hamish has out-Haloed us! (Louis Wu 19:16:25 UTC) (permalink)
PC Gamer UK Highlights
mad.max has posted some of the highlights from the PC Gamer UK article to the R.net forum. Lots of useful little snippets... worth a read! Pax. (Crux Fidelis 19:10:47 UTC) (permalink)
Total freedom in Halo is impossible!
Total freedom is impossible? According to a forum postby Bagman PC Gamer UK is claiming that Bungie have decided that total freedom in Halo is impossible. Here's the full quote as posted by Bagman:
"Bungie have decided that 'Total Freedom' is impossible, so have to border their levels in natural ways (for example, mountain ranges or the edge of the ringworld)."
What happens if you grab a Covenant flyer? (Ding 16:44:11 UTC) (permalink)
PC Gamer UK says March 01 too
The March 2001 date mentioned by Take 2 has been echoed by PC Gamer UK, who included an article entitled "Slippage Central" in the latest issue (page 37):
Despite our 'Done When It's Done' column reading "April" for Halo last month, a release date for Bungie's handsome project has never been particularly clear. But Kieron did some poking around with his investigating stick at E3 and discovered that not only is the official release date now around Christmas, but that the likelihood of Bungie actually hitting it is minimal. An insider source says, confidently, March next year.
Looks like bad news for those expecting Halo in their Christmas stockings! (Louis Wu 16:29:36 UTC) (permalink)
Take 2 says March 2001
Massa, from Halo Network, sends word that he contacted Take 2 recently to clarify the GameStar reported release date of "early 2001", and they told him that the current date was March 2001. Ouch! (Louis Wu 16:28:34 UTC) (permalink)
Yes ANOTHER new Halo screenshot
Whoa! The London offices of HBO snagged us a copy of PC Gamer UK July 2000. We're not worthy... we're not worthy! They also scanned in a full page Halo marine pic not previously seen on the net. Go grab it here before we're raided! Much to our amazement they ripped the mag apart to bring you a FULL shot of the Halo "Bobs" in action. Now you can see the unseen left half. It's pretty clear from this scan that the logo on the cap is not a Marathon logo. (Wirehead 14:20:17 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI 24 hour team stats posted
No movement by the Halo SETI Marinesin the SETI league. We keep crunchin' but so dothe other teams. It's tough in the top 50. Team memberships still remains at 404 marines. Banzif and SkyHook take top credits again. Full details on the 24 hour stats page. (Wirehead 14:15:15 UTC) (permalink)
Marathon... or not?
Came in last night... but we were slacking. Joseph Haake did a bit of image enhancement work on the Bob commander's hat, posted yesterday at Haloplayers. It's his opinion that the symbol there is not the Marathon symbol. He reminds us, though, that it was a small image, seen from only one angle. Decide for yourselves! (127K) (Louis Wu 13:02:57 UTC) (permalink)
Wallpaper page updated
Another pair of screens from Private Meowman... quite the prolific screenmaker! You'll find them on our Wallpaper page. (Louis Wu 03:27:36 UTC) (permalink)
Halo-based Fantasy
A "fantasy-based siege warfare title" based on the Halo engine? That's what NextGen says Bungie is working on, according to ZeroRage on our forum. Interesting stuff... (Louis Wu 03:05:41 UTC) (permalink)
News June 6 2000
Marathon-like logo on Commander's hat
The Marathon-Halo link again... silverfox, on the R.net forum, has noticed a Marathon-like logo on the hat in one of the new PC Gamer screens. What's going on here? (Louis Wu 22:31:10 UTC) (permalink)
New Screens at Haloplayers
Haloplayers has posted small scans of the new PC Gamer screenshots... these seem to be screen grabs from the E3 trailer. Take a look! (And when you're done, swing by Rampancy.net, where Ferrex has posted a quick synopsis of the four pics.) (Louis Wu 22:30:44 UTC) (permalink)
Jones FPP quote expanded
Jenkz of Haloplayers has posted the rest of the paragraph that Jason Jones quote came from.
"One fundamental change from the game's initial announcement concerns its viewpoint. While originally it was promised to be a third-person game, now a more hybrid approach has been chosen. The exact ration of the two modes hasn't been finalised - clearly, without using Delta Force's window approach, it's impossible to use a sniper rifle in third-person, while driving the bouncing jeeps without the peripheral vision allowed by third-person makes things less enjoyable - but Jason believes that the balance is moving increasingly towards the first-person model."
That clears things up a bit... but Bungie might take pause at the firestorms raging at sites like Shugashack, Stomped, and Blues News over this quote. (Louis Wu 22:18:01 UTC) (permalink)
Doug says Tools: Yes!
A post on our forum which announces a new mod team for Halo contains this phrase:
"After [...] a e-mail from Doug Zartman saying Halo ships with everything needed to make a mod..."
Bad grammar aside, confirmation that tools WILL ship with Halo is a positive thing. :) (Louis Wu 18:26:19 UTC) (permalink)
Latest PCGamer UK has Halo spread
Haloplayers has gotten their hands on the latest issue of PCGamer UK... with a 5-page Halo spread inside. Four new screenshots, and some interesting info, including this quote:
"Jason [Jones] believes that the balance is moving increasingly towards the first person model."
Now THERE'S a switch. Here's hoping Haloplayers gets permission to post this soon. (Louis Wu 17:32:57 UTC) (permalink)
July PC Games (german) has Halo preview
Christoph Schmidt points out that the latest (July) issue of the German PC Games is devoted to E3, and will contain a preview of Halo. Looking forward to seeing this! (Louis Wu 16:54:23 UTC) (permalink)
More grist for the Fan Fiction page
An impressive piece of fiction showed up this morning... took a while to format it, but it was worth it. Take a look at Storm, from Alan Seawright, on our Fan Fiction page! We're loving that the fan fiction section has come alive again. (Louis Wu 16:10:10 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI 24 hour team stats posted.
The Halo SETI Marinesare 2189 units behind the SETI-Hispano team in the SETI team ranks. Got some crunchin' to do to get past these guys. Team memberships remains at 404 marines. Banzif and SkyHook takes top credits this time round. Full details on the 24 hour stats page. (Wirehead 14:14:23 UTC) (permalink)
Wallpaper page updated
Another pair of desktops from Joel Loukus... nice space-type pics. You can find them on our Wallpaper page. (Louis Wu 00:49:32 UTC) (permalink)
News June 5 2000
Halo preview at ActionTrip.com
Uros Jojic (IGNPC European Content Editor) sends us word of a new Halo preview at ActionTrip.com. The basis for the preview is the E3 trailer, so the info's not that new... but the perspective is. Here you have a review written by a hardcore gamer who's excited not because Halo looks great or has kickass guns... but because of its story potential. The tide is turning. Check it out! (Louis Wu 18:23:52 UTC) (permalink)
Halo-related image at the Story page
Over at the Marathon's Story page, another interesting picture has surfaced. An alternate cover of a book called "Armor" (one of the original codenames for Halo) has an image of soldiers dropping from a dropship with no parachutes... quite a lot like we understand Halo works. Hmm... Pax. (Crux Fidelis 16:09:38 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI Team 24 hour stats posted
The Halo SETI Marines dig in at position 48 on the Club Rankings... but with the growth of the team (three new members today), it won't be long! Jjaro Tech crunches again, Skyhook frogblasts past another 28... Where are YOU? Check the 24 hour stats! (Louis Wu 14:17:02 UTC) (permalink)
YA Fan Fiction update
Goodness, we missed one. There was ANOTHER fanfic posted to the forum this morning... Thanks, Octavio! We've added it, as well, to the Fan Fiction page. (Louis Wu 13:34:35 UTC) (permalink)
Fan Fiction page updated again
The field is alive again! Tycho has posted another piece of fan fiction, on our forum, which has been added to our Fan Fiction page. Take a look! (Louis Wu 13:14:24 UTC) (permalink)
Fan Fiction updated
arctic wolf submits another piece of Fan Fiction, via our forum. The field is warming up again! (Louis Wu 01:06:23 UTC) (permalink)
Wallpaper page updated
Joel Loukus sends in another desktop image for our Wallpaper page. Take a look! (Louis Wu 01:04:37 UTC) (permalink)
News June 4 2000
Halo SETI Team 24 hour stats posted
Blam!... The Halo SETI Marines crash into 48th place in the Club Standings, and 98th place in overall standings... and the SETI server begins to return a few lost units. Jjaro Tech proves once again that weekends are more reliable times to find aliens, handily taking La Crunch Honneur. Skyhook vaults past 21 teammates to take the Frogblast award. Check out the 24 hour stats! (Louis Wu 14:15:36 UTC) (permalink)
Fan Fiction updated
New Fan Fiction today from Tycho [OSC]. Short, but sweet... there is already feedback on our forum asking for more! Enjoy. Pax. (Crux Fidelis 08:11:18 UTC) (permalink)
Poll Smash at Gamertech
Rampancy.net has made note of another poll to smash... Gamertech is asking "What game are you most looking forward to?" (Gee, where have we heard that question before?) Currently, Halo holds a commanding lead, but only 60 people have voted. Do your part to keep Halo where it belongs! (Louis Wu 02:55:01 UTC) (permalink)
News June 3 2000
Halo SETI 24 hour team stats posted
Blam!... but they just don't know it yet! The Halo SETI Marinestake down Team 3DNow! but the SETI team ranks server hasn't recorded it yet. Team membership rises to over 400 marines! A big welcome to Shard (208 units), Josh S (192 units), Agent Cooper (111 units), Fred (17 units), and Psyjnir Complex (12 units)who enter the top 300. JackMech takes the Frogblast award for the third day in a row and Jjaro tech pumps up the volume. Check the 24 hour stats page for the gory details. The Halo team should reach 77777 units this weekend. Who'll up that 77777th unit? (Wirehead 14:20:22 UTC) (permalink)
News June 2 2000
Mesoamericans influenced by the ringbuilders?
The logo on the right side of the new Halo pic scanned by R.net was mentioned by them last night... but the weird glyphs along the bottom were not. They look vaguely mesoamerican... can anyone place them? Does this suggest that Aztec or Mayan glyphs were created by non-earth-dwellers? Thanks to The Marathon's Story page for noticing this. Pax. (Crux Fidelis 18:33:42 UTC) (permalink)
Halo != Myth III
Matt Soell once again clears up the "Halo is just Myth III repackaged" rumor, with some history of Armor, the codename of the game that Halo evolved from. Thanks, Matt! (Louis Wu 16:36:30 UTC) (permalink)
GameStar says Halo best of E3
Also from Massa: GameStar has released a large E3 report (I couldn't find it on their web page, so it must be in the print edition) which fingers Halo as the best thing they saw at the show. Massa points out that Tribes2 wasn't even in the top 10. (Louis Wu 16:29:03 UTC) (permalink)
No Halo before 2001
Haloplayers reports that someone from Barrysworld talked to Take2 yesterday, and was told that Halo won't be out before 2001. Not a huge surprise, but Take2 should probably be in the loop here. As this news post was being put up, word came from Massa, at Halo Network... apparently, GameStar is also suggesting a date in early 2001. (Louis Wu 16:19:21 UTC) (permalink)
Halo breaks into Top 100
Wow! Thanks to Allenthar, who points out that the recent advance of the Halo SETI Marines not only propelled them into the top 50 Club Teams... but into the top 100 Teams of any kind! Congrats, folks. (Louis Wu 15:04:26 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI 24 hour team stats posted
For A Few Units More. The Halo SETI Marinesneed an extra 200+ units to take out Team 3DNow! in the Battle of the Teams. They're going down! ;) Banzif and JackMech take the La Crunch and Frogblast awards. Find out more on the24 hour stats page. (Wirehead 14:22:30 UTC) (permalink)
E3 Banner scan from Incite
Noctavis, over at R.net, has scanned in a beautiful shot of the E3 Banner, which showed up in the July 2000 issue of Incite Magazine. Look at the detail of that shot! Gotta go out and buy me one of those tomorrow. (Louis Wu 05:22:58 UTC) (permalink)
News June 1 2000
Take-Two Interactive Software looking healthy
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. who own a 19.9% equity interest in Bungie Software have announced a 60% growth in net sales for its fiscal second quarter ended April 30, 2000. For the three months, net sales were 70 million U.S. dollars, a 34 percent increase from 52million for the quarter ended April 30, 1999. Net income was 3.3 million, a 115 percent increase over 1.5 million for the same period a year ago. You did buy shares right? Take-Two will be distributing Halo and Oni in Europe. Rockstar Games who were recently acquired by Take-Two will be publishing Oni on PlayStation 2 (Ding 18:38:22 UTC) (permalink)
Poll smash at TiberiumSun.com
Mentioned a couple of days ago at Battleground: Halo, but we slipped until Edgecrusher sent us mail: TiberiumSun.com has a poll up... "What caught your eye at E3?" Red Alert is still in first place (not surprising, given where the poll is), but Halo is a close second. See what you can do, okay? Pax. (Crux Fidelis 14:48:26 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI 24 hour team stats posted
The Halo SETI Marines dig in in their push to be top dog. A solid effort today... 463 units crunched, almost all accounted for. Welcome to SeanA, and congratulations to JackMech,who vaulted over 26 teammates to take the Frogblast award. Congratulations, too, to Banzif,who crushed the competition for La Crunch Honneur. How are YOU doing? Check the 24 hour stats! (Louis Wu 14:19:20 UTC) (permalink)
Halo noticed in WRE E3 Awards
Well-Rounded Entertainment has posted their E3 Awards, and Halo garnered a Runner-up award in the Action category. (The category was won by Alice.) In addition, they came in second (with 44% of the vote, compared to Deus Ex's 46%) in the Reader's Choice awards. Thanks to R.net, who noticed the awards. (Louis Wu 12:49:29 UTC) (permalink)
Story page says Kortana no bomb
Seen on the Story page... seems the report a few days ago of a bomb with a nickname of "Kortana" might not be true after all. The makers of the bomb in question have said that no nickname has been given to it either by them or by the USAF customer. Hmm... oh, well, it seemed too good to be true, anyway. (Louis Wu 00:18:45 UTC) (permalink)
| June 2000 | |
