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 | November 2012 |  |
November 2012 Archived News
News November 30 2012
Now those are some NICE goodie packs.
It took WAAY longer than I'd expected it to - but the prizes for this year's Guilt O' Lantern contest are FINALLY boxed up and ready to ship. (They'll be going out tomorrow morning, unless something terrible happens.) If you're curious about what actually is going out...swing by the gallery page. (Louis Wu 21:38:02 UTC) (permalink)
Tyrant's Halo 4 Legendary Walkthrough - Forerunners
The Tyrant has released Chapter 3 of his Halo 4 Legendary Walkthrough - this one covers Forerunners. There are some tricks you may not have seen before in this one! Go watch. (Louis Wu 21:34:21 UTC) (permalink)
Out of the Composer GLITCH
The guys over at Ready Up Live found a way out of the map on the level "Composer". There are some interesting spaces that players can check out. Go watch! (colindosaj 20:57:37 UTC) (permalink)
Anoj's Halo 4 Top 10 Episide 4: Lucky Kills
The latest list from Anoj showcases that characteristic that John has above all other Spartans - luck. Number 4 actually seemed more like cleverness than luck... but I still loved it. Thanks, Jordan Bell. (Louis Wu 17:53:08 UTC) (permalink)
Memento Mori (Trailer)
Spartan Ops Episode 5 launches on Monday - but the trailer went live today. Looks like Halsey's narrowing in on what makes the Prometheans... Prometheans! Thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 17:23:20 UTC) (permalink)
TL;DR - because sometimes you WTRL
Anyone who's read this site for any length of time has seen that a lot of good Halo content comes out of the NeoGAF forum - but finding older gems becomes difficult because there is just so much discussion with very little structure. nscuDuncan has decided to start archiving posts he really enjoys, to make them easier to get back to in the future. Keep an eye on the new 'TL;DR' section of HaloGAF.com! First up - a thoughtful what-if post by FyreWulff about Forge. (Louis Wu 15:57:20 UTC) (permalink)
What's the clip size on that bag of Doritos?
The latest G4TV Multiplayer Pro Tips is almost a parody of product integration with videogame content - which would be funny if it HAD been a parody. Unfortunately, it's just a gameplay tips video with copious references to Mountain Dew and Doritos. Thanks to CyReN for noticing. (Louis Wu 15:51:30 UTC) (permalink)
HaloGAF Radio Ep 10: Halo 4, Peeled Back
The HaloGAF Radio crew sat down with Havok (check out his blog for thoughtful - and wordy! - analysis) and discussed Halo 4 - they go through Multiplayer, Spartan Ops, and Campaign, as well as more general news and upcoming events. Two hours long... go listen! (Thanks, nscuDuncan.) (Louis Wu 15:47:23 UTC) (permalink)
A Precursor to have nightmares about
We mentioned Round 4 of Postmortem's Visualizing the Halo Universe contest last weekend - but we haven't seen many entries posted yet. Last night, TDSpiral weighed in with a killer pic - go see! (Louis Wu 15:42:27 UTC) (permalink)
Halo HORSE 103
The Achievement Hunter crew released the latest Halo HORSE episode - it was really a PIG episode, but whatever, the game's the same, just the final score is different. Ray and Michael squared off on new Halo 4 challenge maps - they looked pretty interesting! Go check it out on AchievementHunter.com or YouTube. Thanks, Nikko B201. (Louis Wu 15:38:47 UTC) (permalink)
A sizeable haul from Waypoint's Free Stuff Friday
The Halo Waypoint Twitter offers a 'Free Stuff Friday' contest on an irregular basis - and last month, the giveaway was for a Forward Unto Dawn hoodie. The Lionheart was the lucky winner - and yesterday, the package arrived! It contained more than just a hoodie - check out his post (or this gallery) for the full pot! Not to shabby at all... (Louis Wu 15:35:32 UTC) (permalink)
Beating Halo 4's Campaign, the hard way
RC Master sent word that he's released a couple of new videos - the first is a pretty fast LASO/Mythic run through Dawn (15 minutes or so), while the second is a guide for Forerunner on Solo Legendary - with no deaths. Go watch! (Louis Wu 15:20:02 UTC) (permalink)
News November 29 2012
Somewhere, flying pigs are throwing snowballs.
For years, people have asked if HBO would ever have a Twitter account. For years, I've said it simply would not happen. A bunch of things are in the works, though, that make a Twitter account relatively important... and I was reminded that it doesn't have to be a two-way communication. (That is: one of my biggest problems with the platform is the ability to become seriously unproductive as you try and keep up with those connected to you. But if we're using Twitter as a notification system - and we are, each newspost will be posted to the account, in headline form, with a link to the full post - there's no need to fret about followers, or following, or any of that.) It's there for folks who want an alternative way to be notified when new Halo news goes live here at HBO. Here's hoping that's useful to some of you. So go follow HBOTweets, and you'll never again need to say "what front page?" (Louis Wu 23:12:06 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Bulletin: Pretty Pictures, Soothing Text
The Halo Bulletin went up earlier this afternoon - and it includes even MORE pictures of the three new maps, plus details on changes to Halo 4 matchmaking and pictures of that Forza truck Grim mentioned recently. Go read it! (It's local as well, of course.) (Louis Wu 22:40:45 UTC) (permalink)
Harvesting the fun
Rockslider just can't get enough of the bizarro bits of Halo (the first one, of course) - he's posted another collection of odd and funny moments from his campaign gameplay. Go watch! (Louis Wu 21:50:55 UTC) (permalink)
FUD Producers talk to SF.com
ScienceFiction.com has an interview with the Executive Producers of Forward Unto Dawn - interesting read! (Unfortunately, three out of five of the videos linked below the story don't work - if you haven't seen it, you'll need to buy it when it comes out on DVD next week.) (Louis Wu 21:41:03 UTC) (permalink)
Crimson Map Pack Assets Released
The Crimson Map Pack is the first of three known DLC packs - and it's coming in less than two weeks. We knew this last week - but now there is official info. Swing by the Xbox.com Press Center for promo screenshots and a 90-second HD teaser. (We've put up a local version if you'd like streaming instead of WMV.) Update: Looks like it's already up on YouTube... and our forum is not really happy with what they see. (Louis Wu 20:27:09 UTC) (permalink)
An Unknown Ring
Dark Helmet continues to render stuff - his latest work is a pretty intricate Halo ring, and a ship I've never seen before. Go take a look!
(Louis Wu 19:46:57 UTC) (permalink)
Wait... there are Winnebagos in Halo 4?
u4iX hosted a new Halo Council Top 5 - great gameplay, and some pretty nice commentary, too. Go see! Thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 19:45:35 UTC) (permalink)
Whipping through Halo 4
slYnki stopped in to let us know he's finished a single segment run of Halo 4, incorporating all known shortcuts. (Difficulty was on Easy.) Total time: about an hour and a half. (!!) Go watch! (Louis Wu 19:40:48 UTC) (permalink)
Should The Package be returned?
Looks like McFarlane is coming out with a trio of figures based on Halo: Legends - reaction in our forum is... less than positive. (High heels on a Spartan? Really?) Thanks, tadboz. Update: apparently, they were like that in the original video. I can't believe it didn't raise a ruckus THEN. (Louis Wu 19:31:37 UTC) (permalink)
Joyridin'
agdtinman is back with more Joyride figures for sale on eBay! Stop by his post for details. (Louis Wu 19:27:01 UTC) (permalink)
Beatin' up on SpOps
IGN's pretty down on Halo 4's Spartan Ops - they've been going through the missions in video format (Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3), and yesterday they used it as an object lesson for what NOT to take from television. (Thanks, Avateur.) Ouch! (Louis Wu 19:22:02 UTC) (permalink)
News November 28 2012
Halo Christmas Twitter Backgrounds
Firestream has whipped up a pair of backgrounds you can use on your Twitter page - they're Halo-ey, they're Christmas-ey, they're beautiful. Pick between Master Chief and a Promethean Knight! Great stuff.
(Louis Wu 20:34:44 UTC) (permalink)
Audley Enough: Respawned
Master Theory's Tiberius Audley has a new Audley Enough column discussing (in some depth) the Halo 4 spawn system, and how the weighting works. Worth a read!
(Louis Wu 20:33:19 UTC) (permalink)
Adding to the metagame
Vic Deleon challenged his Twitter followers to find some easter eggs from the latest Spartan Ops episode - Hedgemony gave us the heads-up. Always good to have interaction with the devs! (Louis Wu 20:30:09 UTC) (permalink)
How to lose by dominating
Not sure why you'd want to highlight this video... but CruelLEGACEY pointed us towards a 10-minute gameplay vid on Ragnarok - total mantis domination, but they still lost... because the gametype wasn't Slayer, it was CTF (and the other team actually PLAYED the objective). If you're looking for ways to pad your K/D - this video has useful info. If you want to see some great CTF gameplay... go elsewhere. (Louis Wu 20:20:45 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Quick Tips: Thruster and Jump Tricks
HaloCouncil's Clicked is back with more Thruster tricks on Haven - short and sweet! Thanks, CyReN.
(Louis Wu 20:16:33 UTC) (permalink)
A UNSC Raptor on the Horizon?
According to Xbox360Achievements.org, it looks like the next DLC pack for Forza Horizon will include the "Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Halo Edition", which is said to feature a custom livery designed by 343 Industries. While it's still not the Warthog us combo Halo & Forza fans have been hoping for, it's still pretty cool! (GrimBrother One 19:30:08 UTC) (permalink)
Destiny Awaits, and is Looking Mighty Fine
So the biggest news around these parts (specifically the "B" in HBO) was yesterday's early (and unintended) arrival of some fresh and juicy information on Bungie's upcoming opus, Destiny. News came from a few different sources, including Kotaku and IGN, that show both early concept art as well as some story details. Bungie themselves actually responded in a small but eloquent way, and info should be still considered "early" at the very least until we hear more word straight from them. Either way, the tidbits that trickled out were certainly appetite-whetting. Go and see for yourself! (GrimBrother One 16:13:35 UTC) (permalink)
Freebrawlin'
Up for some Wednesday Night Grifbrawl? The folks over at Grifball Hub hope you are, because they've got a nice double-header this evening featuring a matchup of two former championship teams. More info can be found here. Go look! (GrimBrother One 16:07:05 UTC) (permalink)
Easily Explained with Nanotechnology
MelkorTheGreat wanted to share a little something. No really. You should check it out! (GrimBrother One 16:04:16 UTC) (permalink)
I Think It's Gr'eat
Sl'askia wanted to get some feedback on a concept art piece depicting a Sangeili female. Go and give your thoughts! (GrimBrother One 15:10:08 UTC) (permalink)
News November 27 2012
Halo 4 Mythic - Done.
Lord Friendship stopped in with word of a player who has completed Halo 4 on Mythic (solo, Legendary, all skulls on). Whoa. I learned a new way to deal with Promethean Knights... remains to be seen if iI'm gutsy enough to use it.
(Louis Wu 18:46:08 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Bible Anniversary - Tricking Continues
More Halo Anniversary tricks from Jefferson and HaloCreation - this time, we've got Out of Keyes (plus a tutorial), and The Ultimate Jump (plus a tutorial). Go check 'em out!
(Louis Wu 18:43:56 UTC) (permalink)
Distilling SpOps
A couple of forum-goers have been putting together Spartan Ops-related videos; uberfoop released "Spartan Ops: The Experience: Episode One", which tries to capture the experience of playing, while Bry let us know about a series he's working on (for a friend with no LIVE) that focuses on the story/dialogue (the first episode is up). Go watch! (Louis Wu 18:40:03 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Spartan Ops/Co-op Lag Explained
Nevin 'CruelLEGACEY' Douglas has put up an article explaining Spartan Ops and Co-op lag - give it a read for answers (and suggestions!) if you've been having problems. (It's an updated version of the article he wrote about Reach last year.)
(Louis Wu 18:36:23 UTC) (permalink)
Iconic Instruments of Incineration
How-To Geek found a piece of artwork with 52 sci-fi and video game weapons - do you recognize the one that makes it relevant to this site? Thanks, Cybrfrk. (Louis Wu 18:33:41 UTC) (permalink)
News November 26 2012
Cahds. Lots of Cahds.
This... seems pretty cool. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given who's involved. (Louis Wu 21:09:44 UTC) (permalink)
Spartan Ops Ep 4 Cinematic - now archived
Spartan Ops Episode 4, 'The Didact's Hand', went live this morning - and we've put the cinematic up for viewing (and downloading) in our Halo 4 Spartan Ops Cutscene Library. Enjoy!
(Louis Wu 19:15:22 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4: Looks that Kill
Marisha Ray is hosting a new series from The Stylish called 'Looks that Kill' - it's a study of the costume design of the Forward Unto Dawn webseries. Episode 1 is up - it covers the Master Chief, the cadets' uniforms, and more. Interesting stuff! (Unfortunately, Ray tells viewers 'if you haven't seen the series, go watch it' - this is no longer possible on the web; episodes 3-5 have been pulled down from YouTube and Halo Waypoint.) Thanks, Anton P. Nym. (Louis Wu 19:13:21 UTC) (permalink)
Cheap toys
A couple of Cyber Monday Halo sales, courtesy of Halo Waypoint: McFarlane's online store has 30% off everything storewide (mentioned yesterday), and the Halo Waypoint Store has 30% off toys and figures from McFarlane, Funko, and Jada (mentioned today). Go shopping! (Louis Wu 19:02:04 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Quick Tips - How To Sprint Spring Jump
And still MORE from CyReN - HaloCouncil's u4iX shows you how to sprint spring jump. Intriguing...
(Louis Wu 18:47:16 UTC) (permalink)
The LAN Network: Uncut and Unreleased
Bravo released 'The LAN Network: Uncut and Unreleased' yesterday - it's a half-hour documentary-style tribute to a resource that pro Halo players had access to for a few years. Interesting watch! Thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 18:45:02 UTC) (permalink)
Ops-Cast Ep 3: Giant Lazer Robots
More from MoltenSlowa - Episode 3 of their Spartan Ops-based podcast, Ops-Cast, went live yesterday. This one (not surprisingly) covers Episode 3. (Louis Wu 18:43:11 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Mythbusters Ep 2
The Defend the House crew continues with their awesome Halo 4 Mythbusters series - Episode 2 went up yesterday. I learned cool stuff. Go watch. Thanks, Orochinagis. (Louis Wu 18:40:45 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Ringtones - Batch 1
This came in yesterday, but we just didn't get to it - MoltenSlowa has recorded a bunch of weapon/announcer sounds from Halo 4 that you can use for custom ringtones - grab the entire batch (11mb, zipped) and use what you like! (Louis Wu 18:31:14 UTC) (permalink)
Mmm, mmm, Moa!
Tex found a recipe for Moa Burgers (well, Ostrich, but hey, close enough, right?) - not sure that sauce sounds edible. Check it out! (Louis Wu 18:25:00 UTC) (permalink)
Spartan Map Pack release dates
Looks like the dates for Spartan Map Pack DLC have been leaked (or maybe released) - Crimson will hit on December 10, Majestic on February 25, and Castle on April 1. Not bad! Thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 18:23:09 UTC) (permalink)
News November 25 2012
Halo 4 Cutscene Library: complete
Looks like our bandwidth can handle it - so the rest of the Halo 4 Cutscene Library is now online. Go watch! (Louis Wu 23:30:18 UTC) (permalink)
Glitching out of Midnight
t00lbox stopped in to show you how to get out of Midnight - pretty cool! Go watch. (Louis Wu 23:19:26 UTC) (permalink)
Cavern Megabattle with a Twist
Rockslider has some more fun with an AotCR Hunter - go see what you can tempt him into! (I felt a little sorry for the big guy by the end.) (Louis Wu 23:15:03 UTC) (permalink)
Visualizing the Halo Universe: Round 4
Postmortem announced Round 4 of his 'Visualizing the Halo Universe' contest - this time out, you'll be working towards a Precursor. Start your imagination engines!
(Louis Wu 23:07:40 UTC) (permalink)
Finally
Murtaw said goodbye to Halo: Reach with a bunch of twitchy carnage. (This was released just before Halo 4 hit store shelves, but we didn't hear about it until today - thanks, cardo 8 atl.) Minimal editing - it's just gameplay. (Pretty good gameplay, at that...) Go watch!
(Louis Wu 23:03:33 UTC) (permalink)
Kentucky Fried LAN
Bryan Newman is hosting a LAN in Kentucky next May - maybe the biggest draw is the amazing t-shirt design. Go read about it!
(Louis Wu 22:59:27 UTC) (permalink)
Showing off the beauty in H4MP
More panoramas from Hedge (Part 1 | Part 2) - this is how to make my Sunday complete. (Louis Wu 22:56:45 UTC) (permalink)
Yet more Halo 4 thoughts
Arithmomaniac wrote his own Halo 4 review - I found it interesting! Go see. (Love the art.) (Louis Wu 22:55:06 UTC) (permalink)
Fails of the Weak 114
FotW is up to ep 114 (AH.com | YouTube) - still Reach fails, some are really fun. Get your fill, they'll be switching soon! Thanks, Nikko B201.
(Louis Wu 22:44:06 UTC) (permalink)
Spartan Ops Episode 3, with RUL
Greenskull and ReadyUpLive are back with another run-through of SpartanOps - this time, it's Episode 3. These guys love their Halo, and definitely have fun playing!
(Louis Wu 22:30:35 UTC) (permalink)
More like Multiplayer Common Sense, amirite?
G4TV provided some Halo 4 Multiplayer 'Pro Tips' - CyReN, who told us about them, feels the label might be overselling it. (Louis Wu 22:26:24 UTC) (permalink)
GameOverCast analyzes Halo 4
Here's hoping your Sunday's been productive, even without any Halo news from us! (We do have a little - it's just been a busy time, and we haven't gotten a chance to front-page it.) First up: radarheaf stopped by yesterday to announce an episode of the GameOverCast with a section dedicated to Halo 4. Go listen! (Louis Wu 22:23:39 UTC) (permalink)
News November 24 2012
Harabek's Regicide FFA Tournament
Harabek is hosting a Regicide FFA tournament - top prize is 4000 MS Points! Not too shabby. You can read the details on Facebook (no account needed). Hurry up - he needs to hear from you in the next 5 hours if you're going to participate! (Louis Wu 18:12:15 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Cutscene Library - more releases
I'd like to apologize - I'd meant to post a bunch of new cutscenes from the Halo 4 Cutscene Library yesterday, but got distracted. There are 13 new ones up today, though (all the way through the closing of 'Shutdown'). Go watch! (Louis Wu 16:34:59 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Notebook Competition Results
Last week, we mentioned Shadders' contest to win super-cool Halo-themed Moleskine notebooks - he posted the results yesterday. Congrats to the winners - they were pretty amazing works! (Louis Wu 16:31:26 UTC) (permalink)
Nightline: Making of Hottest New Xbox Game
Last night's Nightline (on ABC) contained a 5+ minute piece on Halo 4 - it focused on Studio Head Bonnie Ross (and so touched on the subject of women in the video game industry), but centered around the idea of video games as the new media blockbusters. Nice to see high-profile press like this! Thanks, jay mee (who found the text-based article summarizing the piece).
(Louis Wu 16:30:51 UTC) (permalink)
In SF, fire means 'I love you'
RedGrimRune let us know about a new 6th Circle comic with a Halo mention... and a life lesson about alcohol and tattoos. (Louis Wu 16:30:35 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4: Assorted Analysis
Tol_Eressea9119 put together a spreadsheet full of stats and answers to gameplay questions. Definitely worth a read!
(Louis Wu 16:30:20 UTC) (permalink)
Fan-made trailers, from a pair of creators
CMNeir put together a new trailer for Halo 4 - see what you think! Be warned - there's material in here that could be considered spoiler-ish. (Halo Waypoint posted one created by LukeRitson on Thursday - compare 'em! It's as if both guys thought the same clips were critical... except one was released two weeks before the other.) (Louis Wu 16:29:59 UTC) (permalink)
News November 23 2012
Spartan Ops Ep 4 Trailer
Spartan Ops Episode 4 will be coming out on Monday - but the trailer (for the cinematic vid) is out now. You can watch it on YouTube, or Halo Waypoint. Thanks, DeadNames and Hypertrooper.
(Louis Wu 19:07:48 UTC) (permalink)
Clean and bright
NeoGAF's sltPoison has been creating Halo 4-themed Windows 8 tiles. They're really cool! (Louis Wu 19:07:28 UTC) (permalink)
CaptFlushGarden brings the art
343 artist John Liberto just kicked off a Twitter account - keep an eye on it if you're interested in Halo 4 art stuff! (Louis Wu 19:06:29 UTC) (permalink)
Anoj's Halo 4 Top 10 Ep 3: Epic Fails
Anoj has a new Top 10 - this one examines what NOT to do in Halo 4. I enjoyed it. Thanks, Jordan Bell. (Louis Wu 19:00:59 UTC) (permalink)
SpartanOps Ep 2 (plus RvB Egg) from RUL
Greenskull asked us to highlight Ready Up Live's latest romp through Spartan Ops (Episode 2) - 10 minutes of silliness and carnage. Go watch!
(Louis Wu 18:57:43 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction (and music)
There's one new piece of Fan Fiction available for you this week - not sure what all the 80s music lyrics are doing in there, but... (Louis Wu 18:53:25 UTC) (permalink)
Revenge of the Pods
It's Podcast Friday again!
- Robowski sent word that Post Game Carnage Report 138 is now live (it's full of Halo 4 impressions, among other things). The big news is that they've joined All Games Network - they were live there last night at 10 EST/7 PST. Nice! (Sorry for the belated news.)
- Podtacular is running a survey to find out what you love - go help 'em out!
- Woaf sent word that Dust and Echoes has released Episode 28 - it's a campaign spoilercast! They're focusing on Halo 4's Campaign - if you don't want spoilers yet, hold off!
I always find it odd when a whole bunch of Halo-related podcasts line up like this - but hey, it's Halo! Go listen. (Louis Wu 18:51:40 UTC) (permalink)
Art and thoughts
Darknesshasfallen stopped in with some thoughts about Halo 4 - which he followed up with a brand-new piece of artwork. Oh, if only EVERY critic would do this! I'd enjoy reviews more. (Louis Wu 18:42:39 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Video Cornucopia
RC Master is on a video streak - check out his forum post for five of his own, plus 8 from other people. Insanity!
(Louis Wu 18:40:44 UTC) (permalink)
The Gospel of John
Thanks to @Grim_Prime for bringing to our attention a very interesting take on the Halo 4 story from a Christian perspective. It's a really cool comparison that looks at the Master Chief's role in saving the galaxy in previous Halo games vs how his role has changed in Halo 4, and how it lines up with the general notion of salvation. No matter your opinion, it's worth a look! (GrimBrother One 17:48:24 UTC) (permalink)
News November 22 2012
I'm Tankful for the Scorpion
We've got a few items to keep you busy throughout the day, but for the most part, we're taking the time to spend with our loved ones, and certainly hope all of you - no matter where you are - can do the same.
- The Halo Bulletin went live last night, and features some hilarious community Thanksgiving-themed photosphops, a feature on the amazing concept artist we all know as "Sparth", and a really great dev interview with the Spartan Ops team. Don't miss it! (It's local, too.)
- Woaf let us know that they now have a brand new episode out for the Dust & Echoes podcast. Check out their fabulous Halo 4 campaign spoilercast! Always a great listen.
- Speaking of podcasts, CruelLEGACEY and yours truly have brought back the Waypoint Modcast, after a bit of a hiatus. Joining us for Episode 31 was Das Kalk and Goosechecka, and we ramble on about all sorts of stuff Halo 4. Tons of fun was had and much editing was needed. Go listen!
- Morpheus let us know about a short feature run by IGN discussing a "What if?" scenario regarding other famous franchises appearing on the newly-released Nintendo WiiU. Go see what they had to say
- Achievement Hunters' Halo HORSE #102 is up, both on YouTube and on their own site. Thanks Chewbaccawakka and Nikko B201.
That's going to do it for us today. From the HBO family to yours, we'd like to wish you all an incredibly wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving. Now go eat something! (GrimBrother One 14:05:54 UTC) (permalink)
News November 21 2012
Zero Punctuation: Halo 4
Yahtzee released his Zero Punctuation Halo 4 review - overall, he's pretty positive! Thanks, Vincent. (Louis Wu 22:19:51 UTC) (permalink)
Musiter #36: Halo 4 Main Menu Music
OboeCrazy has released a new Musiter that recreates the Halo 4 Main Menu music (which is sung, in-game) with her oboe. I love it! (Louis Wu 22:14:08 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Cutscene Library Opens
Cody Miller has once again recorded the latest Halo's cutscenes - in HD, and with Surround Sound. (This is tougher than you might think.) And we have, once again, begun to make these files available to the general public, for downloading, for watching, for the sake of having an easy-to-find record. Swing by our Halo 4 Cutscene Library to see the first 8 scenes! (We'll release them a bit at a time to ensure that our bandwidth isn't completely crushed.) (Louis Wu 19:49:49 UTC) (permalink)
Digital Foundry vs. Halo 4
Looks like we missed this earlier this month when it went live, but Eurogamer's Digital Foundry took a close look at Halo 4's visual tech - they came away impressed. Go read why! Thanks, Hypertrooper. (Louis Wu 19:44:25 UTC) (permalink)
Not quite a panorama
mecka used the recently-announced Screenshot Extractor to pull together enough shots to show off Adrift in an awesome light. Go appreciate!
(Louis Wu 19:39:45 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Quick Tips: Thruster Mancannon Tricks
Clicked posted a new video showing how to combine Thruster Pack and a Grav Lift for some really funky movement options. Thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 19:38:05 UTC) (permalink)
New Fake Real Fake Weapons
Thanks to Robofin117 for linking to three new awesome weapon replications from DaFrontlineTrooper. Check out his awesome take on the new UNSC SAW, and Forerunner Boltshot and Suppressor. Go look! (GrimBrother One 18:35:37 UTC) (permalink)
Just One Flood Dongle is Enough To Infect An Entire Xbox
Quirel brought to our attention an interview from earlier this year between the "Pumping Irony" blog and some of the developers who worked on Halo Wars for Ensemble Studios/Robot Entertainment. It's a fascinating read to see what was planned, and how it differed from what was launched. Check it out! (GrimBrother One 18:16:36 UTC) (permalink)
Bug-sized Bug on Spartan Ops
In strange news, have you seen the Covenant's newest nefarious weapon? MINICOVIES! Multiple people have mentioned this, and I've seen it at least three times personally. Thanks to sarcasmbully for linking to this particular vid. (GrimBrother One 17:36:19 UTC) (permalink)
He Had Something The Others Didn't
CMNeir sent us a really awesome video depicting the relationship of John-117 and Cortana over the years. It's absolutely beautiful. Go watch. (GrimBrother One 17:28:50 UTC) (permalink)
Counter-Intuitive
Thanks to Leisandir for mentioning a new episode from Penny Arcade's Extra Credits series entitled "Counter-Play", which takes a look at how tools and abilities in mutiplayer games should be designed not just for the people using them, but also for the people playing against them. It's a very interesting idea and some excellent points are raised. We'd also encourage you to take a look at Leisandir's post itself for some good thoughts about how this applies to Halo's multiplayer, in both positive and negative ways. Go check it out! (GrimBrother One 17:14:54 UTC) (permalink)
New Runs from haloHISTORY
We've mentioned the drone-riding HaloHISTORY100 before for his antics in Halo 3. This time, Hypertrooper let us know that the speedrunner is back with some new tricks for Halo 4. The "turn-the-tables" assassination was awesome. Go and check them out! (GrimBrother One 16:48:10 UTC) (permalink)
No, His Meals Aren't Any Cheaper Yet
We'd like to kick off the news today by wishing our venerable community forefather, Louis Wu, an incredibly prosperous and happy birthday today. He's played roles as leader, mentor, confidant, teammate, pioneer, and friend to so many of us in this community over the years, and we couldn't be more thankful that he's resided on Erde-Tyrene for yet another one. From all of us in the many communities you've made better, HAPPY BIRTHDAY WU! (GrimBrother One 16:43:03 UTC) (permalink)
News November 20 2012
The Environment Art of Halo 4
Polycount has an article put together by members of 343's Environment Art team - it talks about they went about building those oh-so-pretty environments we've been playing through. Great read! Thanks, TDSpiral. (Louis Wu 21:14:45 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo 4 Concept Art
Postmortem pointed out an artist with three new (and gorgeous) pieces of Halo 4 concept art on his CGHub profile: swing by to see AjTron's Ravine, Crashed, and Bonz. Wonga! (Louis Wu 20:45:01 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Screenshots - on your computer
HaLo2FrEeEk stopped in to announce that he's updated his Halo Screenshot Extractor (read about it on his site) - it now supports grabbing screenshots en masse from Halo 3, ODST, Reach: Beta, Reach, and Halo 4. Nice! (Especially nice since the official tools don't exist yet!) It's a Windows executable, and the source code is available, too.
(Louis Wu 20:43:07 UTC) (permalink)
Spartan Ops Ep 3 Cinematic - now archived
The latest Episode of Spartan Ops went live yesterday, but I was unsuccessful in my attempts to capture the opening cinematic until this morning (probably network issues). Bottom line, though, is the Episode 3 Cinematic is now available, in a variety of streaming and downloadable formats, in our Cutscene Library - go watch it! (I tried to watch it on YouTube yesterday as well, but the Elite subtitles would not show up for me; I had no idea what they were saying. Our copies do not suffer from this problem.) (Louis Wu 20:38:59 UTC) (permalink)
Who Do You Trust?
TrueAchievements takes a looks at 'unreliable narrators' - your favorite nearly-rampant blue AI plays a pretty big part. Thanks, Morpheus.
(Louis Wu 20:35:20 UTC) (permalink)
Knight Hunting
Jimmy Jangles has been working on techniques for taking down Promethean Knights. Go see what he's found!
(Louis Wu 20:33:05 UTC) (permalink)
Say NO to Camo Campers!
Bravo made me smile yesterday. Giggle, even. You should go watch the video, because it'll brighten your day, too. Thanks, CrazY CroaTia. (Louis Wu 20:31:27 UTC) (permalink)
The good and the bad
RCG Tiburon told us that he'd written up a sizeable review of Halo 4 - swing by his blog to read it! (Louis Wu 20:29:18 UTC) (permalink)
Dashing through the snow...
Rockslider stopped in with word of a new Bad Cyborg video - it's just a joyride in the snow on AotCR. We've all been there!
(Louis Wu 20:28:10 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Waypoint Thanksgiving Photoshop Challenge
bs angel has announced a community challenge that involves photoshopping, Thanksgiving, and Halo. Submissions that are featured on the Waypoint Bulletin may receive a nice little gift. So get shopping and be sure to submit your gamertag too! (colindosaj 19:41:03 UTC) (permalink)
Guilt O' Lantern Contest: Results
Nearly a thousand people weighed in on our pumpkins this year (a far cry from the almost 6,000 in 2005, but still a respectable number) - and they've spoken. Third place was decided by a mere 5 votes! (This was close enough that we're going to send a little something-something to padraig08, who ALMOST came in 3rd.) Go check out the full results. And thanks for helping! (Louis Wu 14:04:09 UTC) (permalink)
News November 19 2012
CruelLEGACY's Halo 4 Review
CruelLEGACY wrote a very detailed review of Halo 4. He provides some really interesting feedback on almost every aspect of the game. It is a fantastic read, especially for hardcore fans. Go check it out! (colindosaj 21:51:39 UTC) (permalink)
Pumpkin Voting - Ending Today!
Thanks for everyone who stepped up and voted over the weekend for our Guilt O' Lantern contestants - we're still pretty low, overall, but it's no longer embarrassing. It's time to actually AWARD those cool prizes, so if you haven't voted - today's your last chance! We'll close the polls this evening, and announce the winners in the morning. (Louis Wu 15:24:31 UTC) (permalink)
FLAG Grifsassination
tiny stopped in with a pretty cool pano stitched together from a filler game played during the FLAG Tournament this weekend... what an awesome assassination! (Louis Wu 15:21:42 UTC) (permalink)
Ops-Cast Episode 2: Endless Nickels
MoltenSlowa and friends have released the second episode of their Spartan Ops-themed podcast, Ops-Cast - this one focuses on Episode 2! (Whoa, you'd almost think the numbering system was related to the Spartan Ops release schedule...) (Louis Wu 15:20:30 UTC) (permalink)
The Gym v2.0
Schooly D has revisited his idea of a practice environment (he'd built one for Reach) - swing by his post for screenshots and a video showing off The Gym 2.0, now for Halo 4!
(Louis Wu 15:18:35 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4: Outside Composer
t00lbox found a way out of the Campaign level Composer - some interesting interactions on the outside! Go play. (Louis Wu 15:16:42 UTC) (permalink)
RC Master's Halo 4 Review
RC Master put together a monster review of Halo 4, broken into 4 separate parts. The opening piece is here, but then there are followups on Campaign Levels, Infinity Multiplayer, and Spartan Ops and enemies. Only the Infinity Multiplayer section is fully spoiler-free. Go give it a read! (Louis Wu 15:15:23 UTC) (permalink)
News November 18 2012
Quick Tips: Predicting Ordnance Drops
Halo Council's Clicked wants to help you with Global Ordnance Drops - swing by to watch his video and learn some timing. Thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 19:46:40 UTC) (permalink)
Thruster Busters - Try It Today!
The Halo Forge Epidemic created a pretty cool custom mini-game for Halo 4 called 'Thruster Busters' - I haven't played it, but the video explaining how it works makes it look like an awful lot of fun! Go give it a try. Thanks to NeoGAF's MrBig for the heads-up.
(Louis Wu 16:34:52 UTC) (permalink)
Superfast Ugly Claw Dudes
Hedgemony released ANOTHER batch of panoramic shots - this time, he focuses (mostly) on Multiplayer's Flood mode. Wow. (Louis Wu 16:24:05 UTC) (permalink)
Amazing Campaign Pano
munky-058 put together a really amazing SPOILER-FILLED panorama from the last campaign level; if you haven't played, skip this for now. If you have, join the speculation about the white stuff! (I think Vincent's on to something.) (Louis Wu 16:22:29 UTC) (permalink)
Forgotten Treasures III
Forge Hub wants your remakes! Swing by the Forgotten Treasures III announcement page for full details of this new contest - thanks, ZaneZavin. (Louis Wu 16:17:30 UTC) (permalink)
Elites and Beam Rifles, yup...
LegendaryKRy found a neat little secret on the level "Requiem" where you go up against eight Beam Rifle wielding Elites. EIGHT! Confused as to why these Elites would appear, LegendaryKRy was hoping to find a major easter egg, no luck so far. He is asking for your help to further investigate. Thanks, Pok3R Fac3D (colindosaj 07:05:06 UTC) (permalink)
News November 17 2012
Day One Glyph for early adopters
If you played Halo 4 near the day of release, swing by this post on Reddit for a way to snag an additional 12k XP (and a new emblem). Nice! Thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 21:17:58 UTC) (permalink)
Area rugs... huh.
The Achievement Hunter dudes filmed a fun easter egg from Halo 4's Shutdown level - Andy Richter and Conan O'Brien philosophize about crates, rugs, and ancient aliens. Go watch! Thanks, bs angel. (Louis Wu 19:51:34 UTC) (permalink)
Pano Collection #3
Hedgemony whipped up another batch of Halo 4 panoramas (part 1 | part 2) - I could look at these all day. (Louis Wu 19:46:41 UTC) (permalink)
Fails of the Weak 113
Reach is still the focus of Fails of the Weak 113 (AH.com | YouTube) - might be changing to Halo 4 in the not-too-distant future. Go watch! Thanks, Nikko B201. (Louis Wu 19:45:11 UTC) (permalink)
Arks and Crafts: Hard Light Candy
Tex decided to make Hard Light Candy in honor of the Fight Like a Girl tournament - pretty fun stuff! (Louis Wu 19:43:49 UTC) (permalink)
Crimson, push that button!
Halo Council's VivaciousJazzy put together a short compilation video that might make you laugh. (It also might make you sigh.) I was amused. Thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 19:42:39 UTC) (permalink)
Mantis-hopping
padraig08 showed off a pretty cool scoring technique he and Dielectric pulled off recently - go watch! (I really miss the in-game announcements.) (Louis Wu 19:39:59 UTC) (permalink)
Seekers, Episode 3
Chromium let us know that Seekers Episode 3 is live - they're keeping with their one-ep-every-six-months-or-so schedule. (Ep 1 was here, last November, and Ep 2 was here, in June.) I was confused... but there are new answers. Go watch! (Louis Wu 19:38:08 UTC) (permalink)
News November 16 2012
Please vote!
We've run a pumpkin-carving contest for 7 of the past 8 years... and we've always let the fans decide which pumpkins win prizes. This year, the turnout is low - way low. Not sure if that's due to the fact that we skipped last year, or if folks just don't have time to look through a few dozen pumpkins, or what... but the prize pool this year is huge, and I'd be saddened if we didn't take full advantage of the Halo community in figuring out how to distribute it. Please vote! (Louis Wu 20:50:11 UTC) (permalink)
Grifball Evolved
Goosechecka wanted to let us know that signups for Grifball Hub's first ever Halo 4 Grifball League are now open! You can check out all the details here. If you're into slashing, swinging, and scoring, go get your Grif on! (GrimBrother One 20:11:33 UTC) (permalink)
The very first production copy of Halo 4
We got an email from Chris W, asking us whether the metal numbers on the outside of Halo 4's Limited Edition boxes were actually indicative of anything... because his box had '000001' on it. (Picture here.) We weren't sure, so we asked 343, and they said this:
"While we can't speculate on value, we can share that number tells you that you got an item on a limited run and what number it was when it came off the assembly line."
Are you jealous yet? (Louis Wu 17:47:02 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Analysis: Strafing
Hoovaloov decided to take a really close look at strafing in Halo games - what's different, what's the same? Great read! Swing by Tied the Leader to read it. (Louis Wu 17:43:59 UTC) (permalink)
Can you carry TVs between houses?
Bungie's Harold Ryan was interviewed by Greg Miller on a recent Up At Noon - it's a great discussion of Bungie's side of the birth of Xbox LIVE (along with other fun stuff). Go watch! Thanks, Tashi. (Louis Wu 17:41:02 UTC) (permalink)
The Art of Halo 4, examined
GamingBolt took a look at 'Awakening: The Art of Halo 4' yesterday - if you're on the fence about this gorgeous tome, go check out their review. Thanks, TheOddOne.
(Louis Wu 17:35:01 UTC) (permalink)
Scrambled Eggheads Previewed
If you've been a fan of Halo 4's awesome Spartan Ops series, then don't miss the trailer for Episode 3! What are you still here for? Go watch! (GrimBrother One 17:31:45 UTC) (permalink)
Waypoint Community Spotlight: Pete The Duck
CruelLEGACEY spotlighted pete_the_duck in the latest Waypoint Community Spotlight (now up on Halo Waypoint) - go give it a read to get more insight on our favorite avian Forger!
(Louis Wu 17:30:42 UTC) (permalink)
Halotracker's Halo 4 Weekly Montage 1: Infinity Slayer
HT Edge submitted Halotracker's first Halo 4 Weekly Montage to Halo Waypoint - some great Infinity Slayer gameplay! (The video highlights one of the odder oversights in Halo 4's theater - the lack of in-game Announcer audio. Hopefully, this will be addressed in an upcoming update.) (Louis Wu 17:28:35 UTC) (permalink)
Black Powder Music pays tribute to Halo
8 years ago, we heard from Tony Albert, also known as Black Powder Legend - at that time, he told us about a Halo-inspired tune he'd created. Yesterday, we heard from him again - turns out 3 of the songs on his recently released album (including 'I Always Win') are Halo-inspired. Go listen to PWN3D! (with an intro by Fireb0rn, a name that might be familiar to long-time readers here) and Wasted or Spent (a slower ballad) - or swing by the band's Facebook page to sample all the songs! Awesome to see Halo inspiring new music! (Louis Wu 17:25:08 UTC) (permalink)
An incredible statue collection
We got an email from Tom Garrett, who collects statues. BIG statues. His latest Facebook cover photo shows off his collection - but if you don't have a facebook account, you can see it here. He's currently looking to complete this amazing collection - he needs Carter and Jun from the life-size Reach collection (there are very, very few of them in existence) and the life-size Halo 2 Muckle. If you have any of these, contact him - he'll love you forever! (Louis Wu 17:16:55 UTC) (permalink)
Anoj's Halo 4 Top 10: Multikills.
Anoj has released a second Halo 4 episode of his Top 10 series - this one looks at Multikills. Some great kills in there! Thanks, Jordan Bell. (Louis Wu 17:11:31 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Hockey Jersey
Pete Cooper found a pretty cool Halo jersey - and is looking for folks who might want to go in on a group purchase (to decrease costs). Nice piece of clothing!
(Louis Wu 17:04:06 UTC) (permalink)
VG Battle of the Sexes: Halo vs. Metroid
A couple of geeks at Cracked.com argue about the merits of Halo vs Metroid... fun watch! Thanks, Revenant1988. (Louis Wu 17:02:03 UTC) (permalink)
UrDoingItWrong! Episode 1: Worst Loadout Ever
Halo Council's Clicked occasionally tries user-suggested challenges in Matchmaking; he calls the series 'UrDoingItWrong!' The latest installment (and first Halo 4 episode) is called 'Worst Loadout Ever'. Clicked tries a Regicide match with a Suppressor primary, Plasma Pistol secondary, and Pulse grenades... and nothing else. Check out how he does! Thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 16:59:06 UTC) (permalink)
Mixing Halo with... politics?
I'm not sure this is the best use of government resources... but I applaud the optimism. Thanks, Justin Inman. (Louis Wu 16:55:04 UTC) (permalink)
Talkin' 'bout Halo 4
Cody Miller is known on our forum for his... controversial style. However, I give him props for calling it like he sees it - and his latest critique, looking at Halo 4, highlights the good AND the bad. I enjoyed it! (Louis Wu 16:52:31 UTC) (permalink)
Astounding Kat Armor Build
Tex told us about a recent armor build at the 405th that is, in a word, amazing. LilTyrant kicked off her build in January, and posted painted pics last month - you can swing by Imgur to see a huge gallery (105 images) showing off all the incredible detail. My jaw is still on the floor. (Louis Wu 16:49:46 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
After a few weeks of dribs and drabs, our Fan Fiction section gets three meaty additions this week - go read! (Louis Wu 16:43:38 UTC) (permalink)
News November 15 2012
How long can YOU stay alive?
pete_the_duck discovered a little glitch with Dominion turrets that can lead to some hilarious situations. Go watch! (Louis Wu 21:33:37 UTC) (permalink)
Reflecting On An Online Revolution
GamesIndustry International has its own article on the 10-year anniversary of Xbox LIVE, and it's got its own Halo 2-related quotes in it. Bungie President Harold Ryan said "I think Xbox Live wouldn't have made it without Halo 2", and Certain Affinity's Max Hoberman talked about the influence Halo 2 had on some of the core features of LIVE. Overall, a fascinating read. (Louis Wu 21:12:26 UTC) (permalink)
This time, it's personal.
Almost two years ago, cbwilliams17 told us about Origins Abridged: Part I - today, he's brought the story up to date with Origins Abridged: Part II. Always nice to see a funny take on a serious story!
(Louis Wu 21:07:56 UTC) (permalink)
Iterating on a tank
Gamasutra has taken a look at the art direction of Halo 4 - pretty interesting read! Thanks, Quirel.
(Louis Wu 21:02:33 UTC) (permalink)
Halo HORSE 101
Achievement Hunter posted Halo HORSE 101 (AH.com | YouTube) - it's a bit different than most of them. Prolific mapmaker Edo Sens created a pretty tough racetrack... and a bunch of AH staffers got three shots each at completing it. We won't ruin the surprise by giving you the final results - go watch for yourself! Thanks, Nikko B201. (Louis Wu 20:58:15 UTC) (permalink)
2012 VGA Nominees Posted
Spike's Video Game Awards are gearing up - nominees are posted for 25 separate categories. Halo 4 and 343 have been nominated for seven awards:
- Studio of the Year
- Best Xbox 360 Game
- Best Shooter
- Best Multi-player Game
- Best Original Score
- Best Graphics
- Best Performance by a Human Female
In addition, Master Chief's been nominated in the Viewer Voted Character of the Year category - you'll have to come back on December 7 to vote for him. Thanks to TheOddOne for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 20:51:07 UTC) (permalink)
300-0. Ouch.
Snipedown posted an Oddball game on Solace that shows why you really, really, REALLY don't want to meet Halo pros in Matchmaking. (Snipedown goes 25-0 with 3 Overkills.) Thanks, CyReN.
(Louis Wu 20:39:30 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox LIVE - the first decade
Today is the 10th anniversary of Xbox LIVE - and for a lot of people, some of the earliest memories of that service are Halo-related. Bungie has put up a collection of thoughts from fans around the interwebs - and even though they chose to use this opportunity to take a cheap shot at me, I love 'em for it. Go read... and smile. (Louis Wu 19:14:41 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Bulletin - November 14
Last night, as with most Wednesday nights, the weekly Halo Bulletin was posted at Halo Waypoint - it's chock-full of stats. All kinds of stats. Go explore it! (There's a local copy as well, as always.) (Louis Wu 19:08:30 UTC) (permalink)
A super-cool gift to win
Over at NeoGAF, Shadders mentioned that he's giving away a very cool, you-can't-buy-it Halo 4 Moleskine notebook - swing by his post - or his Little English Halo Blog - to read what you'd need to do to win it! (He's also giving away a Limited Edition copy of Halo 4. I'm amazed that I think that this is a second-tier prize when compared to that notebook... but I do.)
(Louis Wu 19:04:59 UTC) (permalink)
Videogame, Set, Match
Yesterday, Tex mentioned that Halo made a significant appearance in Tuesday's episode of 'Go On' on NBC - I'd forgotten to mention it until Dart3rocks sent us an online link to the episode. Matthew Perry's character is addicted to Reach! Take a look.
(Louis Wu 18:57:29 UTC) (permalink)
Charity Auction Update
Dogiojoe reminded us that all three segments of her charity auction are live - the first part actually finishes up in the next 6 hours! Go look at what's available! Proceeds benefit Child's Play and Idaho Parent's Unlimited. (Louis Wu 18:53:45 UTC) (permalink)
More Reach Knock-Off Fun
Rockslider has expanded his Knock-Off fun in Reach Firefight - go see what's online! (Louis Wu 18:44:51 UTC) (permalink)
Funnies on Fthursday (the F is silent)
It's a day for Halo comics - Postmortem pointed out a recent episode of Dorkly that looks at the merchandizing of Halo, while RedGrimRune announced a new Halo-themed 6th Circle comic highlighting one of the more entertaining skulls. Go read!
(Louis Wu 18:43:32 UTC) (permalink)
Master Chief at Requiem
RC Master let us know about a picture his girlfriend drew - great stuff! (Louis Wu 18:32:11 UTC) (permalink)
A transcendent playing experience outweighs all.
The Atlantic has an article that looks at Halo 4 - the headline is pretty funny:
'Halo 4' Gets Everything Wrong ...except for the gameplay, which—as with the first three multi-billion-dollars-selling Halo first-person shooter games—is really, really fun.
They back up this statement with a lengthy critique of the art design, storytelling, level design... but they keep coming back to how much fun it is to play. Interesting read! (Louis Wu 18:29:15 UTC) (permalink)
Gamers with Jobs Episode 318
Check out the newest Gamers with Jobs ep. 318 with special guest David Ellis. Hint: They talk about Halo 4. Be warned, there is a spoiler section at the end. (colindosaj 04:40:52 UTC) (permalink)
News November 14 2012
IGN's Podcast Unlocked: Makin' Maps
IGN invited 343's Kynan Pearson on their latest Podcast Unlocked - the topic of discussion is the designing of Halo 4 multiplayer maps. Go listen! Thanks, bs angel. (Louis Wu 18:19:36 UTC) (permalink)
Counting the XP
wwm0nkey posted a chart showing what you need to rank up in Halo 4. Useful! (Louis Wu 18:10:33 UTC) (permalink)
Another Halo Tattoo
JamesD let us know that he, too, got a Halo tattoo... really clean! (Louis Wu 18:09:23 UTC) (permalink)
Wasting Company Time at Waypoint
Stuff worth looking at on Halo Waypoint today:
- Halo 4: European Launch Recap - a behind-the-scenes look at the Lichtenstein event, plus glimpses at launch events all over the continent
- Halo 4: Austin Launch Recap - a great overview of the launch event in Austin (Rooster Teeth, Certain Affinity, and the 405th)
- Funko Halo 4 Pop - adorable new Halo 4 toys
Go explore! (Louis Wu 18:05:27 UTC) (permalink)
Going To Invent Forge Home Run Derby Now, BRB
defendthehouse is back with their awesome Halo Mythbusters series with Episode 1 of the Halo 4 edition. Mantis Surfing. That's all I need to say. Thanks to DeepCee for bringing it to our attention. Go watch! (GrimBrother One 16:56:14 UTC) (permalink)
Lowering Weapons, Not Expectations
CMneir wanted us know know about the his latest Halo 4 Tricks video which walks you through lowering your weapons online to aid in making machinima magic. Check it out and get to filming! (GrimBrother One 16:29:32 UTC) (permalink)
FLAGtacular
"Pod Errera", er - DustStorm, let us know that Episode 331 of Podtacular is now live and ready for listening. The Pod crew talks to the Don Won, co-founder of the Fight Like a Girl Halo Tournament to discuss the events in this year's FLAG tourney (which you can find out more about at the link on the right of our own Front Page). Go listen! (GrimBrother One 16:17:43 UTC) (permalink)
News November 13 2012
Halo 4 Domain Terminal Library - Open
Scattered throughout the Halo 4 Campaign are Domain Terminals - these are small constructs that provide valuable bits of story information to players who find them. The problem is... the information is not available in-game. When you find one, you're told that it unlocks on Halo Waypoint (both on your Xbox, and in your Campaign Stats on the website)... if you're on Xbox LIVE when you find it. Otherwise, it doesn't unlock at all. So... We've recorded all 7 of the in-game terminals (as well as the prologue terminal that was made available on Waypoint before the game was released), and made them accessible for online viewing as well as downloading. If you have played through the campaign, but didn't find these and are confused about parts of the story - watch them in our Terminal Library and be less confused! (Louis Wu 21:01:02 UTC) (permalink)
Some from Column A and some from Column B
The Penny Arcade Report took a look at Spartan Ops - and found it lacking. Go see if you agree! Thanks, GhaleonEB. (Louis Wu 20:51:04 UTC) (permalink)
IGN/343 Halo 4 Extraction Mode Walkthrough
I missed this last week - but IGN posted an Extraction Mode walkthrough with 343's Kevin Franklin; if you're not sure how Extraction works, watch this. (Louis Wu 20:47:46 UTC) (permalink)
The Halo Council Top 5 S2E1
The Halo Council's NEXY has commentated their Top 5 Season 2 Episode 1 - there are a pair of Kilimanjaros and more evidence that the Binary Rifle should just be renamed 'DeathBringer'. Thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 20:45:49 UTC) (permalink)
Tyrant's Halo 4 Legendary Walkthrough - Requiem
The next chapter of Tyrant's Halo 4 Legendary Walkthrough is live - he tackles Requiem. Forty-five minutes of carnage! (Louis Wu 20:14:16 UTC) (permalink)
Waypoint Warbles
Good stuff on Waypoint today:
Go read! (Louis Wu 20:12:30 UTC) (permalink)
Wow.
343's Sparth just posted a piece of Halo 4 concept art from a couple of years ago. Go look at it. (Louis Wu 17:29:06 UTC) (permalink)
Buy War Bonds!
Post Game Carnage Report's Gagnon 30 is in the running for Mega Blok's Toymation contest - he needs your vote! Swing by PGCR for the details.
(Louis Wu 17:28:10 UTC) (permalink)
220 Mil in 24 Hours. I want some!
Both CNBC.com and Gamespot have articles up about the early sales of Halo 4 - looks like it's doing okay!
(Louis Wu 17:25:23 UTC) (permalink)
Glitching Shutdown on Legendary
Nak3d Eli has released a speedrun through Shutdown - in under 5 minutes. Looks like you can skip large portions of the level! Thanks, Shadders. (Louis Wu 17:20:22 UTC) (permalink)
Boltshot Reload and Thuster Lift Glitches
The Halo Council's Clicked has another glitch vid for you - this one shows you how to alter the time you remain in a lift, and how to reload the Boltshot super-fast. Here's hoping that last one gets fixed... thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 17:16:38 UTC) (permalink)
Overhead Halo 4 MP maps - with callouts
Someone on Polygon.com scanned flyers available at MLG Dallas - they contain overhead maps for all 10 Halo 4 Multiplayer maps, with callouts. Handy! Thanks, NullPointer.
(Louis Wu 17:07:02 UTC) (permalink)
In Memoriam
padraig08 pointed out a new Halo 3 remix on OCRemix - it's a metal-ized remix of three Halo 3 tunes (Finish the Fight, Halo, and Never Forget). Pretty impressive! Go grab a copy. Update: whoa, Nikko B201 pointed out that not only had we already covered this last year, but we're hosting a local copy! Goodness. Steel trap, indeed. (The OCR version has been updated a bit.)
(Louis Wu 17:04:39 UTC) (permalink)
More Halo Anniversary Tricks
Jefferson is back with another pair of Halo Anniversary trick vids (plus tutorials): The Banshee Trick (and its tutorial) show you some shenanigans involving the first Banshee on AotCR, while Out of 343 Guilty Spark (and its tutorial) help you... well, get out of 343 Guilty Spark. Go watch!
(Louis Wu 17:02:44 UTC) (permalink)
The Panorama Invasion Continues
Beorn added another half-dozen panoramas to his Halo 4 collection (most in this post, but one in here) - lovin' this stuff!
(Louis Wu 16:58:43 UTC) (permalink)
Cortana gets some eyes
Sidola added some eyes to the Hefley Cortana sculpt render we mentioned yesterday (and made a couple of minor adjustments to... some other assets she has). Go see! (Louis Wu 16:57:07 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Green Screen Tutorial
GeneticSpartan stopped in to let us know he'd recorded a green screen tutorial for Halo 4 - including setting up the map you'll need. Watch it, and then get to making some cool machinima! (Louis Wu 16:55:04 UTC) (permalink)
T-Rex Hands!
Captain Spark spent a little time in Shutdown's vehicle bay, and recorded 30 Marine audio clips. Some of them are hilarious! (He's not starting up collecting dialogue again... but that doesn't mean we wouldn't set up a page for it if people started submitting clips.)
(Louis Wu 16:53:52 UTC) (permalink)
Visualizing the Halo Universe: Round 3 Winner
Postmortem announced a winner for Round 3 of his 'Visualizing the Halo Universe' competition - some great entries! Go see. (And congrats to Nikko B201 for the win!) (Louis Wu 16:50:10 UTC) (permalink)
News November 12 2012
One Man's Misery is Another Man's Montage-maker
Xorian brought to our attention today's Penny Arcade comic, which focuses on how Halo's Theater Mode can highlight our lowlights. I know the feeling! (GrimBrother One 22:07:24 UTC) (permalink)
Spartan Ops Cutscene Library - Open
We've decided to kick off our Spartan Ops Cutscene Library - the first two cutscenes are available now. These are already available in streaming format on Halo Waypoint (both on your Xbox and on the web) - but lots of people have shown a desire to download the files, either for easy replay or for use in video projects... so having a source for HD downloads is a good thing for the community. We'll add new cutscenes each week, as they go live. For each cutscene, you'll find download links for 360p and 720p versions of the scene (in both QT and WMV formats), plus a streaming 360p version, for when you just want to check something quickly (just click the thumbnails). Enjoy!
(Louis Wu 20:50:30 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Haven Callouts, by u4iX
u4iX put together a guide showing some Haven callouts - learn 'em, and play better! Thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 20:39:01 UTC) (permalink)
Don't overwrite your work!
pete_the_duck has a warning for you if you're a big Forger... read his post to see how to avoid losing maps. (Louis Wu 20:37:26 UTC) (permalink)
Getting out of Infinity
t00lbox stopped by with a video that shows you how to get out of Infinity. Pretty cool! (Louis Wu 20:36:17 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Lead Designer to Headline Game Design Expo 2013
343's Chris Haluke has been tapped as the first speaker on Industry Speaker Day at Game Design Expo 2013, in Vancouver this coming January. If you're interested in game design, and near Vancouver... don't miss it!
(Louis Wu 20:15:06 UTC) (permalink)
Were It So Easy
Clefton Twain wrote up his thoughts on Halo 4 - swing by his blog to read 'em! (Louis Wu 20:13:11 UTC) (permalink)
Spartan Ops Episode 2 - now active
Episode 2 of Spartan Ops went live today - and you can watch the opening cutscene on Halo Waypoint. Thanks, DHalo. (Louis Wu 20:00:38 UTC) (permalink)
Waypoint Worth Watching
There's a bunch of new stuff up at Halo Waypoint today - swing by!
- G4TV's done another History of Halo - some of the visuals are off, but the audio timeline's spot on.
- Grifball Hub has a new podcast live - Hubcast 131 focuses on Halo 4.
- Parsnipes submitted Multi-Kill Monday Episode 1, a new montage (series?).
Go check it out! (Louis Wu 19:58:16 UTC) (permalink)
HaloCharts.com is back!
Firestream used to run HaloCharts.com - and many, many Halo fans were sorry when it closed down in 2011. He's brought it back - it's offering general Halo 4 stats (not personal stats), that can give you a sense for who's playing and when! Thrilled to see it back. (Louis Wu 19:48:03 UTC) (permalink)
Reclaimer Tattoo
Helveck has been thinking about a Halo-themed tattoo for a long time; he's finally settled on a design. Pretty awesome choice, you ask me!
(Louis Wu 19:46:28 UTC) (permalink)
Ops-Cast Episode 1: Promethean Bread
MoltenSlowa let us know about a new episode of his Spartan Ops-based podcast, Ops-Cast - discussion focuses on Episode 1. You can hear it on TalkShoe or iTunes. Go listen! (Louis Wu 19:43:14 UTC) (permalink)
Remote Detonator Special Delivery
Hedgemony pointed out a short but funny vid he found mentioned on Josh Holmes' Twitter feed. Not all Mongooses are harmless! (Louis Wu 19:41:29 UTC) (permalink)
When in doubt, be controversial
Schooly D has set up what he calls the 'Halo 4 Blunder Database' - maybe a better name would be 'things I don't like in Halo 4'. Go see what you think - and add your own, if you feel like it! (Louis Wu 19:31:30 UTC) (permalink)
Killing Spree Postponed!
Taco Power noticed a small egg on Shutdown - Jeff Steitzer has a few extra tidbits! I grabbed a quick recording. (Louis Wu 19:29:42 UTC) (permalink)
Hallo is out.
Tex was interviewed by her cousin about Halo 4. What a read!
(Louis Wu 19:11:33 UTC) (permalink)
Kyle Hefley Cortana renders
Kyle Hefley, a senior character artist at 343, recently posted some Cortana renders he did for Halo4. The two sculpt previews made me drool. Thanks, Hedgemony.
(Louis Wu 19:08:54 UTC) (permalink)
I think I've experienced Sobbing Mode
Kermit found an article at Conan O'Brien's Team Coco website that made me smile. Go check it out. (Louis Wu 19:07:17 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Achievement Guide(s)
MixMaker1 let us know that he's started a video Halo 4 Achievement Guide - the first installment covers the Terminals. Take a look! (Seraph XXVII pointed out a text-based guide at Xbox360Achievements, if that works better for your brain.) (Louis Wu 19:05:45 UTC) (permalink)
2012 FLAG Tournament - Coming This Weekend!
tiny stopped by to remind everyone that this year's FLAG (Fight Like A Girl) Tournament will kick off next weekend - and you can play Halo 4 to save boobs everywhere. There are lots of cool prizes for participants - check out his post!
(Louis Wu 18:36:15 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Tower, Redux
Dark Helmet continues to tweak his Halo Tower (fully rendered) - check out the latest version! (Louis Wu 18:33:54 UTC) (permalink)
Anoj's Halo 4 Top 10 Ep 1: Amazing Kills
Anoj has his first Top 10 in Halo 4 - he calls it 'Amazing Kills', and some of them are quite impressive! Check it out. Thanks, Jordan Bell.
(Louis Wu 18:32:42 UTC) (permalink)
News November 11 2012
Pan-Cam Guide for Halo 4
GeneticSpartan has put together a Halo 4 Pan-Cam Tutorial (and kindly mentioned it on our forum). From what I can tell, it's not that much different from the Reach Pan-Cam... so if you do better with text-based instructions, remember BlueNinja's guide here on our forum, but if you're a video learner, GeneticSpartan's got your back! (Louis Wu 18:54:48 UTC) (permalink)
Forge Resources come to light
We've mentioned a couple of Certain Affinity Forge tutorials recently - turns out there are 5 so far (and probably more to come). jay mee pointed out the full playlist - and pete_the_duck shared a thread on Halo Waypoint's forums in which he's compiling all the Forge resources he knows about! If you're a Forger, this post is for you. (Louis Wu 18:49:42 UTC) (permalink)
Exploring Longbow
t00lbox is up to his old tricks - this time it's on Longbow. Watch the video to see some of the areas that aren't part of the gameplay - but are still part of the map! (Louis Wu 18:46:52 UTC) (permalink)
Dan Marino makes a Halo 4 appearance
Wow... Clicked showed off a grenade-throwing glitch that has some serious possibilities (as far as changing gameplay goes). Check out the video - and if you're not one of those people who masters this sort of thing, at least you won't have to say "hey, how'd he do that?" the next time it happens to you. Thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 18:40:11 UTC) (permalink)
The Expanded View
The Panorama truck came around twice today - and there's tasty goodies to be had both times! Despite a lack of Screenshot upload functionality so far in Halo 4, Beorn put up a series of gorgeous shots... and Hedgemony followed soon after with his own collection (plus one more). Not that it didn't before... but they make this game look beautiful.
(Louis Wu 18:29:37 UTC) (permalink)
News November 10 2012
Halo 4 Forge Tutorial - Dominion Setup
Certain Affinity has a new Forge tutorial for you - this one will show you how to set up a Dominion game. Awesome! Thanks again to Halo Waypoint. (Louis Wu 19:39:26 UTC) (permalink)
A Fan on a Mission
On Thursday, we mentioned a couple of interviews at Comics Bulletin with fans-turned-343-employees - a new one went live yesterday. Jacob Benton, known to GAFfers or members of Ascendant Justice as Cocopjojo, was hired soon after his blogging partner Jeremy Patenaude came on board - and again, the interview does a fantastic job of giving you a peek into the life of a fan who gets pulled in to work on his favorite game. Awesome read. Thanks to the Halo Waypoint blog for reminding me to look! (Louis Wu 19:27:21 UTC) (permalink)
The Eggs Keep Coming
Chuckthelittlealien thinks he's found Sargeant Johnson in Halo 4 - check out his vid! (Louis Wu 18:16:26 UTC) (permalink)
Getting into the Halo 4 clip game
Greenskull decided he hadn't been filming enough Halo 4 clips (like... none), so he filmed some. A fun splatter clip, a nice Hail Mary stick, and the Green visor, earned by getting a bunch of splatters (a LOT, for one day, that's for sure). Go see!
(Louis Wu 18:14:16 UTC) (permalink)
Fails of the Weak 112
Fails of the Weak 112 went live last night - more Reach fails from the Achievement Hunter guys (AH.com | YouTube). Thanks, Nikko B201. (Louis Wu 18:10:43 UTC) (permalink)
Child's Play's doing well this month
ANOTHER charity auction, also benefitting Child's Play, just kicked off - Laird stopped by to announce his annual goodies have begun to flow. A Halo 4 helmet and a couple of poster-sized prints are the first wave - go see! (Louis Wu 18:07:47 UTC) (permalink)
It's always fastest before the Dawn
The speedrunning has begun - NartFOpc turned in a Legendary run on Dawn that's just over 8 minutes. What will the limit be? (Louis Wu 18:05:48 UTC) (permalink)
A new look at iconic characters
The Penny Arcade Report has a review of Paul Davies' new 'Awakening: The Art of Halo 4' - if you haven't ordered this, read the article, you might want to. Thanks, Flynn J Taggart. (Louis Wu 17:58:57 UTC) (permalink)
Master Chief
Nikko B201 found a pretty nice piece of artwork showing off the Master Chief as drawn by Stuart Ng - take a look!
(Louis Wu 17:57:04 UTC) (permalink)
Top 5 HAVEN Jumps - Halo 4
The Halo Council's Clicked shows off some useful jumps in Haven - study 'em to get a leg up on your opponents! Thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 17:54:12 UTC) (permalink)
Dogiojoe's Charity Auction kicks off
Dogiojoe let us know that the first batch of auctions, benefitting Child's Play, are live now (more details on her blog) - swing by eBay to see a bunch of signed Fall of Reach Boot Camp comics! (I mean SERIOUSLY signed.) More stuff will be coming online today, and more still on Monday - all auctions last 1 week (these are through nearly 2 days already, so you've only got 5 days to bid). Folks who bid and lose will be eligible for a drawing for a Red vs Blue shirt - so you can win even if you don't win! Go see. (Louis Wu 17:52:36 UTC) (permalink)
Meanwhile, at Bungie.net...
While we slept, Bungie.net turned out all sorts of interesting stuff. Two new mail sacks (last week's had secrets, this week's is the best ever), iOS engineer Adam Brown reveals his path to success... and even behind the scenes things coming to light. (Beckx pointed out a Kotaku article that throws light on some Destiny details that were supposed to be in a company-only blog, but was archived by Google.) The dark period isn't over... but we're closer to the light! (Louis Wu 17:47:12 UTC) (permalink)
News November 9 2012
First Halo 4 Grifball Tournament Tonight
Kal, of GrifballHub.com, sent word that they're hosting their very first Halo 4 Grifball tournament tonight. Signups for the event open at 10:00PM EST and the games begin at 10:30PM. All teams are welcome! (Louis Wu 18:45:51 UTC) (permalink)
Spartan Ops Episode 2 Trailer
A trailer for Week 2 of Spartan Ops was released on both Halo Waypoint and YouTube this morning - go watch for a taste of what's coming next week! (I'm excited!) Thanks, Shadders.
(Louis Wu 18:44:28 UTC) (permalink)
Free XP and Armor - only a little cheating
There are a bunch of unlocks for various goodies hidden throughout Halo 4, and the folks on the Halo Waypoint forums are doing a great job of documenting them. However, since the solutions are spread out across a LOT of pages of posts, Shadders was kind enough to gather the info together in a single post on his Little English Halo Blog. Skip this if you like to solve puzzles on your own. Swing by if you're lazy and just want goodies. (Louis Wu 18:37:39 UTC) (permalink)
Dongles
I missed this on Wednesday, when it came out - but I'm caught up now. Penny Arcade was intrigued by the flexibility of our favorite blue AI, when it comes to connecting to unfamiliar networks. I am too... now.
(Louis Wu 18:34:23 UTC) (permalink)
A full line of Strategy 'products'? Weird.
If you're struggling at any stage of the Halo 4 campaign (or want some tips for the Multiplayer side of things), Prima's got you covered - swing by Halo Waypoint for a press release about the Official Strategy Guide (and the different flavors that are available). (Louis Wu 18:33:00 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Emblem Unlocks
If you're wondering about when you might see new emblems (or what you might need to do to see them), CyReN posted a chart at NeoGAF detailing all of the available Halo 4 emblems (and when most of them unlock). Handy! (Louis Wu 18:31:00 UTC) (permalink)
A console exclusive will stay that way
The PA Report opined on the missed opportunity that Microsoft seems to be okay with - the absence of Halo 4 on the PC. Food for thought! (Louis Wu 18:13:33 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 and the DNA of the FPS
Drowned in Sound's Savage Pixels looks at the DNA of the FPS - and how Halo 4 fits into the picture. Interesting read! (There's also sutff you can win at the end of the article... worth sticking it all the way through!)
(Louis Wu 18:09:44 UTC) (permalink)
More Halo 2 Joyride Figs on eBay
agdtinman is back with more special-edition Joyride action figures for sale (if you missed this last month, an explanation post is here) - go see what you can find! (Louis Wu 18:07:05 UTC) (permalink)
Two Sides of a Bullet, Episode 1
Timgie stopped in to announce the first episode of his new Reach-based machinima series, Two Sides of a Bullet. Spartans do film noir! Go check it out. (Louis Wu 18:05:12 UTC) (permalink)
I'm pretty sure you can't call that 'limited'...
Heh - Chewbaccawakka noticed a funny little egg in Halo 4's campaign (and Beorn helped out with better pics) - looks like a tongue-in-cheek mention by 343 of Halo 4's place in history!
(Louis Wu 17:53:51 UTC) (permalink)
Give me Liberto or Give me Death!
Thanks, Hedgemony for letting us know about some of John Liberto's Halo (and other games) concept artwork up for viewing on the web. Gorgeous stuff!
Update: Hypertrooper pointed out that Liberto's image was one of a series of Editors Picks at CGHub related to Halo today - check out these other amazing pieces:
- Halo 4 MP Spartans by bischoff
- Halo 4 trailer by Blur by Maciej
- Bridge 01 by JoshK (check out all of his recent stuff - this reminded me of this)
- Halo 4- Locus Spartan Helmet Concept by koryface
ArtworkMania! (GrimBrother One 17:50:47 UTC) (permalink)
Rolling Forward with Halo News
Just because it's Launch Week for Halo 4 doesn't mean 343 has skimped on the Halo Bulletin content - a new one was released last night. In it you'll find photos from launch events all over the world, plus breaking news about issues you might have encountered in Halo 4 (and things that might solve them for you), plus info about the first playlist updates, coming soon! (It's local, too, if you'd rather read it here.) (Louis Wu 17:48:35 UTC) (permalink)
Zero Bloomberg
Thanks to Brian Bryan Newman for mentioning a new Bloomberg article taking a look at Halo 4's impressive sales numbers. Looks like a lot of hard work is paying off! Check it out! (GrimBrother One 13:44:18 UTC) (permalink)
Betcha Can't Sniff It
Thanks to mrkevinhurd for letting us know about an interesting promotion partnership between AXE bodyspray and Halo 4. Check it out! (GrimBrother One 13:41:18 UTC) (permalink)
News November 8 2012
Voting Open for Guilt O' Lantern!
It took FOREVER... but the voting page for the Guilt O' Lantern 2012 contest is now open! Swing by, browse the entries, pick your top 5... and vote! There are some awesome carvings this year. (Louis Wu 23:53:46 UTC) (permalink)
GameZone talks to Certain Affinity
FyreWulff pointed out a neat behind-the-scenes article about Certain Affinity, and the role they've played in Halo 4's development. (It goes way beyond Forge.) Go give it a read! (Louis Wu 18:58:18 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Co-op playthrough
BoneKin and a friend are working their way through the Halo 4 campaign, cooperatively... and recording the process. If you enjoy the 'Let's Play' style of video, this series is for you! (Louis Wu 18:56:26 UTC) (permalink)
Panoramizing Halo 4
Hedgemony has begun to make Halo 4 panos. As usual, they're awesome.
(Louis Wu 18:55:13 UTC) (permalink)
Play Halo 4 MP, earn MS Points
Xbox Rewards is offering MS points for playing Halo 4 multiplayer in November; you can find the details on their FAQ. Seems like a no-brainer! Thanks, DHalo. (Louis Wu 18:54:18 UTC) (permalink)
An inside look at some 343 faces
Laura Akers, of Comics Bulletin, conducted a very cool interview with Jeremy Patenaude, otherwise known as Mr Vociferous. He used to be part of the team behind Ascendant Justice, one of the best 'thoughtful' Halo fansites out there - until 343 snapped him up a few years ago. Now he's a writer on the franchise team. Go learn a bunch more about him! (I discovered, after reading that interview, that Akers did a similar interview of Jessica 'bs angel' Shea earlier this week, and will be releasing another one with Jacob 'Cocopjojo' Benton tomorrow. Don't miss the bs angel interview - it's awesome to get a view behind the public persona! (I found the original link to Comics Bulletin on Halo Waypoint - but only for Jeremy's interview; there doesn't seem to be a link for Jess. No self-promotion, I guess!) (Louis Wu 18:51:16 UTC) (permalink)
Haliens - now in HD
One of the highlights (for me) of the early days of machinima was Haliens, by c0ld vengeance and demonelite. They're back, now, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of that release... with Haliens HD, remastered with Halo Anniversary. I'm gonna let c0ld describe it to you, because it's his baby. All I'm gonna tell you is those guys ROCK. (Louis Wu 18:44:13 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Forge Tutorial - Forge Basics
Certain Affinity have put together a tutorial vid showing you how to use Forge - go watch it, and make some cool stuff!
(Louis Wu 18:36:27 UTC) (permalink)
And... the speedrunning begins.
RC Master has already found a neat trick to shorten the first level of Halo 4 - considerably. Go watch. (Louis Wu 18:35:02 UTC) (permalink)
Dat Installation Five vibe...
Dark Helmet doesn't have Halo 4 yet, either. He's not putting together a podcast, though - he's creating art. Really cool art. Go check out his Halo tower. (Louis Wu 18:33:59 UTC) (permalink)
PGCR 137: Surprise
Remember how we mentioned that Post Game Carnage Report was gonna take a break to play Halo 4? Yeah, well... break's over. PGCR 137 was posted because Evander hasn't gotten the game yet. Go listen! (Louis Wu 18:30:48 UTC) (permalink)
Halo HORSE 100
Halo HORSE continues - now in Halo 4! Geoff and Jack put together their own maps for challenges - watch it on AchievementHunter.com or YouTube. Thanks, Nikko B201.
(Louis Wu 18:28:54 UTC) (permalink)
The Top 10 Cortana Lines
MixMaker1 put together his top 10 Cortana lines in a nice package - go watch the vid! (Some of the best parts are not Cortana's lines directly, but the responses they elicit.) (Louis Wu 18:21:32 UTC) (permalink)
News November 7 2012
THC's Top 5 is back - submit your clip now!
CyReN let us know that The Halo Council is bringing back their Top 5 - and they want your submissions. Swing by their site to see how to submit - get internet famous! (Louis Wu 21:08:03 UTC) (permalink)
Pumpkin Update
I know it's taking forever, and I apologize - but I hope to have this year's pumpkin entries for the Guilt O' Lantern contest up for voting by tomorrow. Thanks for your patience!
(Louis Wu 19:50:16 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 More Years
RedGrimRune stopped by with word of a new Halo-themed 6th Circle comic. It's almost political! (Not really.) (Louis Wu 19:49:05 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 Game Type Label Guide
More Forge help from pete_the_duck - he's put together a Label Guide for Halo 4 gametypes. Nice!
(Louis Wu 19:47:51 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4 - Out of Requiem
The guys at Alt-Gaming have found an easy way out of Requiem - go explore! (Hurry up - it's easy enough that it might be closed in a Title Update.) Thanks, Chappified. (Louis Wu 19:46:19 UTC) (permalink)
An Introduction to Forge in Halo 4
pete_the_duck has put together a three-part tutorial (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3) to help you learn more about Halo 4's Forge - go check it out!
(Louis Wu 19:45:16 UTC) (permalink)
Ops-Cast Episode 0
MoltenSlowa and friends created a new Spartan Ops podcast, the Ops-Cast. Go listen to the first episode! (Louis Wu 19:43:47 UTC) (permalink)
Reach Logic
Gandemo stopped in with word of 'Reach Logic' - I do NOT understand what i watched.
(Louis Wu 19:42:35 UTC) (permalink)
Puzzles for Goodies
There's a new puzzle available on Halo Waypoint - thanks to DHalo for pointing it out (and simplifying the solving), and to carlosagp for noticing a similar image... what can you glean from these?
(Louis Wu 19:41:29 UTC) (permalink)
Tyrant's Halo 4 Legendary Walkthrough - Dawn
The Tyrant has kicked off his Halo 4 Legendary Walkthrough - Dawn is now online. Go follow along!
(Louis Wu 19:39:12 UTC) (permalink)
Ready Up Live's Halo 4 Launch Event in Lethbridge, Alberta
Greenskull and Minolta had lots of fun at a launch event in Alberta, CA - go watch!
(Louis Wu 19:37:37 UTC) (permalink)
Tank Pinball - back for Halo 4
CMNeir and friends are already busy at work tricking in Halo 4 - check out their Tank Pinball vid! (Louis Wu 19:35:22 UTC) (permalink)
Charity Auction Update
A few weeks ago, Dogiojoe told us about a Halo-themed fundraiser - we got word that auction items will be posted tomorrow, rather than today, due to a death in the family. Our sympathies - and be sure to check out the details tomorrow! (Louis Wu 19:33:27 UTC) (permalink)
Teabag Prevention Closes out FUD
jake108 let us know that the Teabag Prevention team has released their recap/analysis of the final episode of Forward Unto Dawn (a bit late, due to illness) - go read!
(Louis Wu 19:31:07 UTC) (permalink)
The Death of Armor Lock
Layne Thomas wanted us to know about The Death of Armor Lock - will you miss it? (Louis Wu 19:28:06 UTC) (permalink)
PCGR 136 - plus bonuses
Last week, Post Game Carnage Report Episode 136 was released - this is the last podcast for a little bit, while the team enjoys some time with Halo 4. Go listen! (There's also a Double Team video with commentary, and a history of PGCR - they're certainly ensuring you've got some interesting stuff to enjoy during their break! Thanks, Robowski.
(Louis Wu 19:25:12 UTC) (permalink)
News November 6 2012
Launch events in Europe, from a fan
mikimarquez sent us word of launch events in Spain (description here on IGN's spanish site, pictures here on vandal.net - it's Forward Unto Dawn, writ large) and Norway (a fan spraypaints the Chief on a wall in Oslo as a tribute - amazing timelapse). There's good stuff all over the world! (Louis Wu 19:01:20 UTC) (permalink)
Hunters - they're more than just worms with guns
Rockslider isn't worried about Halo 4 - he's still focused on the very first game. And he's posted up a video showing off a variation on an old trick that I've never seen before - amazing. Go check it out!
(Louis Wu 18:52:15 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Comix For Cheap
When he's not causing trouble, Hedge is finding you great deals; Comixology is offering each of the Halo comic series for $7/series, today only. If you don't have 'em, this is an awesome price. (Louis Wu 18:50:46 UTC) (permalink)
It's libel, I tell you. Libel.
Hedgemony is up to his normal tricks. At least I'm a doctor this time. (Louis Wu 18:48:54 UTC) (permalink)
'I knew they could do it.'
Kiki Wolfkill was in London for Halo 4's launch, and CVG interviewed her there. Go read it. (Louis Wu 18:47:46 UTC) (permalink)
Drama in NZ
Heh - looks like New Zealand gamers might be unhappy; NZ chain Trade Me isn't selling the game right now because of classifcation confusion. (Apparently, it's marked as 'M', but should be 'R13'.) Ouch! Thanks, Jimmy Jangles. (Louis Wu 18:45:23 UTC) (permalink)
How to reinvent an icon
Co.CREATE has an interesting interview with Frank O'Connor, discussing what it's like to reinvent an icon. (In this case, the icon is Halo.) Thanks, Hypertrooper. (Louis Wu 18:37:54 UTC) (permalink)
Mechs and Unicorns
NeoGAF's Highlaw whipped up a really cool pic in honor of Halo 4's launch. Take a look! (Louis Wu 18:23:11 UTC) (permalink)
The age of impatience
According to NBCNews, there were more than 10,000 stores that opened at midnight last night to sell Halo 4. Were you at one of them? (Louis Wu 18:14:36 UTC) (permalink)
Don't Say It
If you're stuck at work, and your copy of Halo 4 is waiting for you at home, just taunting you while you can't play it... swing by Rooster Teeth's site for the season finale of Red vs Blue Season 10. It's one heck of a wrapup. (Stick around for the credits, and beyond - there's a taste of something new there.) (Louis Wu 14:20:26 UTC) (permalink)
It's November 6. What are YOU doing today?
If you live in America, vote. No matter where you live, play Halo 4. And check this oddness out - I think Mig's trying to tell us something... (the forum is open again.) (Louis Wu 13:13:52 UTC) (permalink)
News November 5 2012
A Brief History of Halo... Complete
Urban Reflex also wanted to finish up his summary of the history of the Halo universe before Halo 4 hit the shelves for the masses - you can read Part 4: Great Journey and Part 5: Schism on our forum. Again, posting will be reopened tomorrow, so save your feedback! (Louis Wu 22:58:22 UTC) (permalink)
I... uh...
MASSAIKUR bought enough Mountain Dew for the maximum 200 Double XP matches... and then made 8-bit Halo-related cap art from the bottle caps. I'm speechless. (Louis Wu 22:17:16 UTC) (permalink)
Of Ducks and Donuts
pete_the_duck joined a bunch of Forgers at the offices of 343 this weekend - there's a writeup on petetheduck.com. Pictures, impressions, mentions of donuts - what more do you need? Go read! (Louis Wu 21:38:12 UTC) (permalink)
Glad You Came
The Warp Zone guys (remember their last parody?) are back with a new song - Glad You Came, a parody of the hit single by The Wanted. I definitely like it better than the original! Thanks, CyReN. (Louis Wu 21:35:04 UTC) (permalink)
HALO 401K
Brad Sears let us know about Halo 401K, a Halo 4 spoof put together by Smiley Guy Cartoons. We knew the Chief could handle Knights... how about DayTraders? Pretty funny - go watch! (Louis Wu 20:57:34 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 4: The Biggest Game Launch in MS History
If you're looking for a way to ring in the new game with other Halo fans, Halo Waypoint has some information about launch events, taking place all over the world. Check it to see if there's one near you! (Louis Wu 19:25:47 UTC) (permalink)
The War Master
Another HBO community member, TDSpiral, put together a War Master pic to celebrate the impending release. I love it. It's posted on Facebook, but you do not need a Facebook account to view it. (Louis Wu 19:22:57 UTC) (permalink)
Shield and Sword - the Wrapup
There is more Halo 4 content out there than you can shake a Gravity Hammer at - let's start with some local stuff. Leviathan has been posting a series of thought experiments - he calls the project 'Shield and Sword', and it shows, via text, sketches, maps, and more, how he might have gone about making a Halo-related campaign. The final bits were ready to go this weekend - but we were offline. He posted them on his personal blog, but we've put up local copies, so that the full run is visible on our forum, as he intended it to be. Check out Mission Seven: United, and when you're through, jump over to The Final Threads (missions eight and nine, plus an epilogue). The forum is still closed for comments - but it will reopen tomorrow, so you can add your thoughts then! (Louis Wu 19:07:59 UTC) (permalink)
We're back... (sort of)
Our self-imposed break is over (for the most part) - we're back, just in time for tomorrow's launch of Halo 4. Looks like our roundup from Thursday was pretty close to spot-on - we'll re-list the highlights here:
- Forward Unto Dawn Part 5 was pretty amazing. (It's on Halo Waypoint, too, if Silverlight works for you.)
- Forward Unto Dawn (the website) did a great roundup of Halo 4 reviews that have been released in the past few days. Go see what everyone thinks. (NeoGAF has a thread devoted to Halo 4 reviews, if you'd like to discuss with like-minded people.)
- There are tons of spoilers out there - be careful.
- Halo Waypoint has had a complete overhaul - it's still running on Silverlight (which means streaming media still doesn't work for me), but the non-video content is pretty slick. Explore!
- The Rube Goldberg video we posted from pete_the_duck is still amazing - if you haven't watched it, you really, really should.
- Guilt O' Lantern entries aren't ready for voting yet - we'll get these up just as soon as possible!
We'll be back with fresh news very soon - keep your eyes open! (Louis Wu 18:01:08 UTC) (permalink)
| November 2012 | |
