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 | October 2001 |  |
October 2001 Archived News
News October 31 2001
Halo Center comes back
Halo Center, a large Halo fansite that's been dormant since August, is up and running again. Updated content, new newsie (Corven)... good to see 'em back, just in time for the Xbox version of Halo! (Kudos to Narcogen, of Rampancy.net, for picking up on the resurrection.) (Louis Wu 19:21:14 UTC) (permalink)
Interview with Eric Nylund
I'd like to apologize - HBO (and the rest of bungie.org, for that matter) is experiencing some pretty funky network activity. Apparently, Lucent decided to perform software upgrades on all the routing equipment at our upstream provider... but they forgot to iron out the bugs first. They're working on it. In the meantime, we thought we'd pass along a little interview we conducted recently. Eric Nylund, author of 'Halo: The Fall of Reach', was kind enough to answer seven questions for us - and we think you might find some interesting tidbits in there. Feel free to post your comments on the forum. (Louis Wu 05:32:19 UTC) (permalink)
Hack that Xbox!
You know, one of the coolest things about Bungie employees is that sometimes, they think like fans. :) Yesterday, a forum visitor asked about IPX through IP tunneling, as a way to connect Xboxes across the net (while making them think they're LAN-connected) - and the response of a Bungie network programmer?
my thoughts are I'm glad to hear people considering this :O)
Heh - and to think someone told me this evening how easy it is for an innocent comment to spin out of control on these boards... (Louis Wu 05:25:42 UTC) (permalink)
Men in Grey
'Tis the evening for artwork submissions... Arch Angel sends us a greyscale Marine for our Miscellaneous Art section. (Louis Wu 04:09:16 UTC) (permalink)
Excerpt of Fall of Reach posted
A couple of days ago, Hamish Sinclair wondered about the eBook version of Eric Nylund's novel, Halo: The Fall of Reach. Well, today, Random House put up an excerpt from it - for those who were unsure of buying it, go read this; you can make up your own mind, instead of relying on the reviews of others. (Louis Wu 03:17:20 UTC) (permalink)
5 new wallpapers...
Glug... we're DROWNING in desktops! Evilbum sends us not one, not two... FIVE new ones for our Wallpaper section. Go get 'em. (Louis Wu 03:16:26 UTC) (permalink)
binary wallpaper
Gah! First it's ascii art in html format... now it's ascii art as... ART! Well, desktops, anyway. Blizzard turns in a pair of desktop images for our Wallpaper section, and for good measure throws in the Halo logo, in binary code. (You'll find that last in our Logos section.) (Louis Wu 02:53:49 UTC) (permalink)
Dots R Us
Not satisfied with yesterday's ascii logo, [SE]X-Com has submitted an even more elaborate image: the Halo marine. (427K) God help us... (Louis Wu 02:35:58 UTC) (permalink)
Halo at CNN
The Sci-Tech section of CNN.com looked at consoles yesterday in the article, 'Which new game console should you buy?' Nine editors from Gamepro.com looked at the available options... recommendations for a Dreamcast came, disturbingly, from MORE THAN ONE OF THEM. Despite this, it was fun to read their views of the Xbox - most thought Halo was a solid plus for the platform, though one was skeptical:
Are you willing to take a risk on a brand-new, unproven game system (Xbox) with a large variety of unproven game titles (Amped, Fuzion Frenzy, Halo, etc.) or do you choose the granddaddy of video gaming and buy Nintendo's GameCube [...]?
Guh. Star Dingo has it right:
I have spent more time with the Xbox, and realize that I find myself willing to commit unspeakable acts in order to play more Halo.
Go read the whole thing - laugh at some of it, and realize that in the outside world (the world of CNN readers, as opposed to hardcore gamers), the Xbox has a tough road ahead. Thanks to Lophan for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 02:32:25 UTC) (permalink)
Multiplayer Guide open to all
First up - it seems like the IGN Insider Multiplayer Guide mentioned yesterday has been opened to the public. Go check it out here - and don't say they never gave you nuthin'. (Thanks to Erick Delgado for the heads-up.) (Louis Wu 02:18:59 UTC) (permalink)
News October 30 2001
Playable Halo in stores
A couple of threads over on the TeamXbox forums suggest that Halo is beginning to show up in retail kiosks - one in Orlando, FL and another in Exton, PA (both in Babbages stores) have playable versions. Gameplay reports are always welcome. :) (Louis Wu 18:41:52 UTC) (permalink)
Strategy Guide grows, a little
Rampancy.net uncovered some more details about the Halo Strategy Guide, due soon from Prima Games. Prima has a listing for it now (they didn't in August when we first noticed this)... the release date is unchanged (November 11), but the book's gotten longer (160 vs the previously reported 144 pages). Bigger is better, right? It's $14.99... but hey, strategy doesn't come cheap! (Louis Wu 17:10:46 UTC) (permalink)
Halo... logo, sort of
Hehe - [SE]X-Com, editor over at Socket Error, sent in a Halo logo... well, you just gotta see it. (136K) The time some people have... (Louis Wu 15:35:32 UTC) (permalink)
Homemade Xbox
Philip Palermo submits a pair of images he rendered with TrueSpace 5 (they took about an hour each). Pretty nice work... We've placed them in the Miscellaneous Art section, but these are more or less the right size for a small desktop (800x578 or so each). (Louis Wu 15:13:26 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox Odyssey info
W00t! Heads-up kudos to Cesar, from TeamXbox - Xbox.com has put up an information page about the Xbox Odyssey (which TeamXbox mentioned last week) - one of the photos shows an ENORMOUS plasma screen, running Halo... if you live in (or near) San Fransisco, LA, San Diego, or Phoenix, GET YOURSELF INTO THIS THING. (It's coming to 40 cities - this is just the first leg.) (Louis Wu 10:44:11 UTC) (permalink)
Multiplayer Guide at IGNinsider
IGN Insider has posted a Multiplayer Halo Guide (or at least the first part of one) - it's only available to Insiders, those who pay the subscription fee for their premium service. (Insider access costs $10/3 months or $20/year, but there are several ways of getting it free.) 13 multiplayer maps are described, with a screenshot of each one in action. Apparently, one of our forum-goers decided to post the text from this article on our forum. For future reference - we'd rather this didn't happen. Hopefully, IGN will release this information on their non-subscription site in the not-too-distant future. (Louis Wu 10:35:10 UTC) (permalink)
Halo preview at Gamers.com
Thanks to Bob Blandeburgo, who pointed out a new Halo preview at Gamers.com - it's a good read. The control scheme is described in detail, for those who have been curious, and there aren't any spoilers, for those trying to avoid too much information. They complain about the standard thing PC gamers complain about - lack of mouse and keyboard support - and they mention framerate stutters, though they point out that they have a pre-gold release of the game... generally, they liked it. Also included are 25 screen captures, many showing areas not seen before. These are 640x480; it's clear, however, that these were grabbed from a 320x240 movie and blown up to double-size. However, they're still worth a look; some are just plain fun. (Louis Wu 09:56:06 UTC) (permalink)
Halomedia comes online
Speaking of new sites, Nartin Spitzenberg points out that Halomedia (also German) is now online. Nice design! (Louis Wu 01:55:04 UTC) (permalink)
A pair of desktops
[lw]Reicheraltermann sends in a pair of desktops for our Wallpaper section - pretty nice to look at. One of them advertises a Halo site (German) we've never heard of: haLoXpEriEnCe.multipalyer.de (not fully online yet, it would appear). In any case, check out the images! (Louis Wu 01:51:10 UTC) (permalink)
News October 29 2001
That's a little bright
[SE]X-Com, from Socket Error, turns in another desktop image for our Wallpaper collection. Neon... (Louis Wu 16:48:30 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI Team 7 day stats posted
The Halo SETI Marines take a hit from the loss of Luke Brannon... but charleya and Int_21 continue their astounding crunching rates, nearly making up for the slackage in the rest of the team. Total crunching is down significantly - are YOU helping find the Covenant, before they find us? Check the 7 day stats to see! (Louis Wu 16:44:12 UTC) (permalink)
VE continues the Halo love
Thanks to CubanB, who noticed more Halo commentary at VoodooExtreme; seems Apache finished it this weekend, and he's
sticking with my "best first person shooter ever" statement, as the game kicks ass from start to finish.
He goes on to explain why. In case you weren't already having trouble waiting... (Louis Wu 16:21:57 UTC) (permalink)
Penny Arcade looks at Xboxmania
Today's Penny Arcade news rant has Tycho wondering whether someone who really HATES the Xbox could sit down and do a solid review - he's afraid that the good news is coming from people who were already convinced, and the negative press is coming from people who have a grudge against Microsoft, or the Xbox, or SOMEONE. It's a good rant. (Thanks to Forensic and Bachus for the heads-up... seems a post Matt Soell made on our forum made the rant.) (Louis Wu 16:09:55 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Winamp Skin to download
Djoey.154 has created a new Halo Winamp skin; we've stuck it in our Miscellaneous Art section. (We don't really have a 'downloads' section...) Pretty nice looking! (Louis Wu 15:41:25 UTC) (permalink)
News October 28 2001
IGN editor reviews Halo
Thanks to Zypper, who pointed out a Halo review from the IGN Xbox boards written by the IGN DVD editor, ManaByte. I'll refrain from quoting from it, since my favorite snippets would inflame some regulars here... go read it for yourself. (Louis Wu 21:51:15 UTC) (permalink)
Movies page updated
Our Movies listing has been brought up-to-date... all movies released in the last month or so (and it's a sizeable list) have been added, along with all known (current) mirrors. If we missed something, let us know! (Louis Wu 21:45:44 UTC) (permalink)
Halo gets Gamespotted
Thanks to Mr. Temper, who brought to our attention the current episode of Gamespotting at (where else?) GameSpot. Three sections rave about Halo: Joe Fielder gushes:
So it's good. How good? You'll have to wait until my review to find out, but suffice it to say, I think that Microsoft's purchase of Bungie was one of the smartest moves that it's ever made in the games industry. I was a big fan of Marathon on the Mac and enjoyed Myth II: Soulblighter for the PC, but I think that this game could be the defining moment in the developer's career.
Shahed Ahmed is more subdued, but still quite positive:
Halo hasn't received as much attention from the console gaming enthusiast as it should.
And Shane Satterfield puts Halo in the 'Sure Bets' category:
If you're a fan of first-person shooters, or action games in general, don't think twice about picking up this game. It's the Xbox's killer app and it does not disappoint.
All in all, the Gamespot editors are pretty impressed with this game. (Louis Wu 03:45:35 UTC) (permalink)
EGM on Halo
Thanks to Noctavis, of Rampancy.net, who uploaded a preview of Halo from the December 2001 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly. The scan is small (540x706, 403K), but readable... Halo is top-rated among the Xbox launch titles - EGM loved it. (For those wondering about our posting this, given our general policy of allowing the issue off the newsstands first - this is part of a 34-page spread on the Xbox; there's more Halo goodness elsewhere in the mag. This scan shouldn't stop you from buying the dead tree edition.) (Louis Wu 03:29:10 UTC) (permalink)
Misc Art and Wallpaper
A bunch of new art recently - one Miscellaneous Art submission from Matt Baker, and three pretty slick desktop images from AEon. (These last can be found in our Wallpaper section.) Some days, you just get behind... (Louis Wu 03:17:33 UTC) (permalink)
Reach Falls at last
Thanks to Chanan, who was the first to point out that the Halo novel, 'The Fall of Reach', is appearing in bookstores around the nation. And it's already receiving positive reviews on our forum. (Count Zero 02:22:25 UTC) (permalink)
News October 27 2001
Fun content, lousy presentation
Very interesting movie out there - FULL OF SPOILER MATERIAL. It's filmed with a handheld off a small TV screen, with no sound... but it has some very interesting content, such as interface screens, help screens, the fact that you can have closed captioning of spoken text... It starts with the player turning over an upturned Ghost - and later an overturned Warthog. (How is not clear.) It's hosted by an Italian site with a VERY fast connection... which is good, because it's 42 megabytes. (Thanks to incude-stdlib, on the IGN Xbox forums, for the heads-up.) Update: Matt Soell points out that what I noted as 'closed captioning' is, in fact, the result of a developer build - some of the text is even status messages. (This suggests that pressing 'X' to overturn an upended vehicle might not actually work in the game you bring home... don't get your hopes up.) (Louis Wu 02:30:01 UTC) (permalink)
Faulty video library crashing Xboxes
Wow - the stories circulating around the internet about crashing Xbox kiosks might just have some basis in reality! Matt Soell passed on this tidbit:
Stefan just heard this from one of the MS testers...apparently some of the software on the demo discs was accidentally built with an old video library. A conflict between the finished hardware and the old library will, under certain conditions, manifest itself as the weirdness reported over the last few days.
That probably doesn't make the MS boys happy... but at least it's easily fixed! (Read the rest of Matt's post for more details.) (Louis Wu 01:44:11 UTC) (permalink)
RSVP for HLP
Thanks to Mavruss, for the heads-up: Matt Soell has posted a note over on the Bungie Sightings forums, giving details about the RSVP situation for the Halo Launch Party. He needs the standard stuff - who, when, why... okay, maybe not why. Go read it at BS, or wait a bit for it to show up on Bungie.net. (Louis Wu 01:37:55 UTC) (permalink)
Screen caps from OXM DVD
Whoa - very cool. Chanan has sent in 15 screen captures (720x480) from the features movies on the December 2001 DVD bundled with the Official Xbox Magazine - there are a few Halo snippets in there. Some of the shots are similar to what's been seen before, some are mediocre... and some just make your mind spin. (This one, for example...) Check 'em out... and remember how cool the Halo community can be sometimes! (Louis Wu 01:21:06 UTC) (permalink)
News October 26 2001
Halo on TechTV
Halo showed up on TechTV today (a little after 4 pm Eastern Time). A couple of minutes of smooth gameplay... nice exposure! (Louis Wu 20:14:29 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox Odyssey Tour
TeamXbox has a story about the Xbox "Odyssey" Tour - a 40-city rolling Xbox circus; 50 Xboxes with plasma monitors and giant projection screens. There are a few pics, including one of a Halo game in progress. (Thanks to TomeOne for the heads-up.) (Louis Wu 19:46:18 UTC) (permalink)
New old wallpaper
AEon wrote to let us know of a Halo desktop he submitted to Fileplanet last year. We've added it to our Wallpaper collection. (Louis Wu 18:41:37 UTC) (permalink)
German PC Games to review Halo
Uriel notes that the next issue of the German PC Games will have a 'huge special about halo' - it should be on the shelves on the 7th, and he expects to see it by next weekend. We'll keep you posted! (Louis Wu 17:18:24 UTC) (permalink)
New movie at Fileplanet
Well... the Cinematics team said not to watch intro films posted to the net, because they would spoil the 'first-time' experience of playing for yourself... but many have said they're waiting for the PC version of Halo, and in any case, we would be remiss if we didn't tell you what's out there. Fileplanet has posted what they call a 'Halo Intro and Gameplay Movie' - it's a 50 MB, 6 and a half minute film that contains footage similar to the GameSpot films released a week ago. It starts with the Halo opening sequence - this makes up half the movie. The rest gets the Master Chief from his cryo tube to the bridge. The player is very much a novice - in all the running around, they NEVER pick up a weapon of any kind! In a way, this is nice - your view of the scenery is not hampered by the gun in front of you... but a good chunk of the time is spent trying to get through obviously locked doors, and the like. Bottom line: it's out there, it hasn't been seen before. There - we've told you. (Louis Wu 17:12:43 UTC) (permalink)
Halo IS on OXM DVD
Now this is interesting. Several subscribers have reported that there was no Halo trailer on the December 2001 Official Xbox Magazine DVD... but greatdayne27, over at the TeamXbox forums, says it's just a little harder to find:
While they are not in the trailers section if you watch the special feature "The Xbox difference" with Seamus Blackley you will see several nice, new clips of the afformentioned titles. They are really sharp and vibrant. I was disappointed in the trailers on the dvd it seems as they were rushed and are lacking punch that I have seen on mpegs.
('titles' refers to Halo and Oddworld.) Very nice - anyone want to describe these clips? (Louis Wu 15:24:38 UTC) (permalink)
Ship and Ring
Peter Askam sends in a pair of desktop images, based on the recent Craig Mullins piece - these are variations on a theme, and include the Pillar of Autumn, as well. Check 'em out in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 13:33:57 UTC) (permalink)
Easy to lose track
Robert "Apache" Howarth, of VoodooExtreme, presents some comments about Halo, and its length:
I'm still hacking away in Halo, and thankfully it's continuing to kick major ass. I'm deep into the game at this point (chapter 7 out of 11) and well past what I can talk about without spoiling it for you, so I'll just leave it at that. So, it should take me three days to win (not sure how many hours that translates into as I lost track, but its big).
11 chapters... that sounds good. The three day thing, though... well, maybe he's playing EVERY WAKING HOUR. (Louis Wu 12:50:49 UTC) (permalink)
Never forget what you've done.
An epilogue, of sorts... Vector40 turns in 'Hawk Chronicles: Supplemental', to wrap up the series. Check it out in our Fan Fiction section. Don't forget to let him know what you think of it! (Louis Wu 01:54:36 UTC) (permalink)
News October 25 2001
Aussie Xbox: January 2002
Thanks to Geordie McCabe, who pointed out that some Xbox posters around his University campus are listing an Australian release date in January 2002, with the slogan "The Game is Over - Reality Begins." Looks like folks Down Under will be playing before those in Japan (February 22) and those in Europe (March 14)! (Louis Wu 21:12:55 UTC) (permalink)
Fan art in the oddest of places
Heh - sometimes, you just gotta get your content where you can find it... I was hunting through the Xbox.com.au site to see if I could find an official release date for the Xbox in Australia (no luck there) - and I happened across the Halo page. They have a pretty fun little Flash animation to show off some of the cool stuff in Halo... but the funny part was, it finishes up with a copy of this desktop image, created by a fan way back in 1999! Ken, if you're still out there... you're famous! :) (Louis Wu 21:05:11 UTC) (permalink)
Maxim snippet scanned
OrangeWarp mentioned yesterday that there was a Halo blurb in the November 2001 issue of Maxim magazine. He took pity on HBO and scanned it for us (45K). They call Halo a "staggeringly polished first-person shooter"... which almost makes up for calling the Xbox "an overgrown Atari". Take a look! (OW also scanned in the cover of the mag... but as we're not Incite, we aren't gonna show you any breasts.) (Louis Wu 20:06:59 UTC) (permalink)
Praise be
New desktop from Enforcer, paying tribute to the Bungie programmers. Check it out in our Wallpaper section. (Crux Fidelis 20:00:00 UTC) (permalink)
Another Hands-on at TeamXbox
Another one... TeamXbox has put up an 'Early Hands-On Halo Preview' as well. Like VoodooExtreme, they liked it - a lot:
If any of you had any doubts that Halo would live up to the hype, you can put all that to rest. Period.
There are also three .asf clips showing gameplay - all new, as far as I can tell. They're short enough that they shouldn't spoil much for anyone, but you DO get a look at splitscreen coop in the last two (with actual gunplay this time!). Definitely worth a look! (Louis Wu 13:36:26 UTC) (permalink)
Halo preview at VoodooExtreme
VoodooExtreme has posted a hands-on Halo preview - they took issue with the controller, and mentioned the framerate concerns, but mostly, they just liked the game:
The writing is great, the story is solid, and to be honest, Halo is hands-down the best action game I've ever played in my life.
A full review will be coming on November 15 (heh - VE and 80 million other sites) - go read the preview now! (Louis Wu 09:15:09 UTC) (permalink)
Do you remember Blam?
Thanks to Lophan, for starting a pretty fun thread on our forum yesterday. What is your favorite "waiting for Halo" memory? Add your thoughts, now that the light at the end of the tunnel has been shown not to be a train! (Louis Wu 01:00:19 UTC) (permalink)
StC is Infinite
Halo "Start to Crate" value: infinite. So says Gothmog, and he should know. As one of the faithful forumgoers says, that's worth celebrating. (Louis Wu 00:54:29 UTC) (permalink)
Halo is gold!
WOOHOO! Halo is gold! Matt stopped by our forum to confirm that certification was passed yesterday, the manufacturing plant got the gold master today, and they are 'pressing up a zillion Halo discs as I type this'. There's more - read it. (Louis Wu 00:23:06 UTC) (permalink)
News October 24 2001
Another mirror for OXM scans
Thanks to Hyperium, on the IGN Forums - here are some new links for the OXM Halo preview scans:
To be clear - this is a new home, not a new set of scans; the pics are the same. (Louis Wu 16:35:52 UTC) (permalink)
Halo in Maxim
OrangeWarp writes to say that the newest issue of Maxim magazine has a Halo blurb in it. If we get ahold of it, we'll let you know what it says! (Louis Wu 14:59:20 UTC) (permalink)
TeamXbox back up
TeamXbox is back up and running, thanks to the largesse of EB Games. Go check out one of the best overall Xbox information sites on the net! Glad to see the money troubles were solveable...
Bob finds God
The Hermes Trismegistus saga takes a distinctly religious turn with Chapter 14... check out Tursas' latest offering in our Fan Fiction section. (Louis Wu 04:09:11 UTC) (permalink)
New home for OXM scans
Though the OXM scans mentioned yesterday were pulled from the IGN Xbox General Board post (or, more accurately, from the aol account they were being hosted from), HBO Forum regular Funky J has once again stepped up to help - you can find them on his Hotline server. The address can be found easily in this thread. (Louis Wu 03:58:43 UTC) (permalink)
Don't worry, be happy
A number of posts on other boards have commented on frozen or malfunctioning Xbox units in stores - Matt Soell steps into one discussion to allay fears on this subject. The good news is, he's probably right. (Louis Wu 03:55:36 UTC) (permalink)
News October 23 2001
OXBM December preview scanned
Over on the IGN Xbox General Board, game132 has scanned in the Halo preview from the December 2001 issue of the Official Xbox Magazine. Colors are a little funky, and text can be hard to read in sections... but the screens are amazing! The verdict? They liked it (9.5/10):
This, then, is Halo, for my money the best game of the year on any system.
Go check out the thread! (Louis Wu 22:17:34 UTC) (permalink)
On the other hand...
Dave Candland, part of the Bungie Online Team, stopped by to pass along the news that lefties will have to watch themselves shooting as righties; there is no lefty display option. However, there is a left-handed controller option for both the trigger/button and joystick configurations. Speaking as a lefty, I think I'll live. (Louis Wu 21:44:53 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox Xtravaganzas in UK
Thanks to NaliGun, who pointed out an article at Eurogamer stating that a series of UK Xbox Xperience events will kick off on November 17. Gamers in various UK cities will get the chance to play Xbox games and wallow in Xbox paraphernalia several months before the console is actually released there. (The article suggests that this is Microsoft's way of providing Sony with some unwanted competition for its PlayStation2 during the holiday season.) Likely, these events will feature Halo (among other titles) - so UK gamers, take note! (Louis Wu 16:15:38 UTC) (permalink)
More Desktops 4 U
Like your Mullins unadulterated? Or maybe with different adulteration? Skeletor played around with Paint Shop Pro, and turned out three different versions of yesterday's cool desktop: the first has no logo at all; it's just the Halo (and Threshold in the background). The second has the old-style blue Halo logo. The third is the same as the released version... except the words 'Combat Evolved' have been... um, removed. You can find all three flavors in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 12:10:39 UTC) (permalink)
http mirror for Halo theme stuff
B-Sharp mentions that he's mirrored the MS Halo theme package discovered yesterday - this is the broken-out sounds and images, not the installable theme. Fast connection, http protocol... this is worth a grab, if you didn't get it yesterday! (Louis Wu 08:18:18 UTC) (permalink)
Gamespot movies at Fileplanet
Doh! Nearly missed this. (I can't be held responsible for missing it the first time - I was out of state, and off the net.) Battleground: Halo has managed to mirror all 10 of the Gamespot movies at Fileplanet - you can find the links here. (Remember, Marty and Joe said don't watch these.) Thanks, Bounty. (Louis Wu 01:38:08 UTC) (permalink)
How to write a Halo novel
Eric Trautmann passes along a few details about the upcoming Halo novel, 'Fall of Reach'... and in the process passes on a bit more. Cortana will play a major role in the book... but more interestingly, Eric describes the 'Story Bible':
The story bible was written by yours truly (with some help from Eric Nylund, Doug Zartman, and Brannon Boren, all Microsoft employees). It is designed as a "reference guide" for authors, comic book writers, etc., so that they can build new stories set in the "Halo" universe without contradicting the game or each other. It also clearly identifies areas that are "hands off" -- the province of Bungie for potential future game development.
Very nice to see that Doug Zartmann is involved... and also very nice to see that Bungie keeps their options open. Thanks, Eric! Updated: Toned down the wording a bit, thanks to Eric's rebuttal. --CZ (Louis Wu 01:02:26 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Launch Party RSVP coming
Matt Soell dropped in to reassure folks about the upcoming Halo Launch Party:
I'm 90% done with a FAQ which I intend to post along with details of how to RSVP. Expect something online in the next couple days. But don't get too worried in the interim.
Good to hear! (Louis Wu 01:01:58 UTC) (permalink)
MS Halo Theme contents on HL
Wow - the demand for the Halo Theme distributed by Microsoft is huge - and for those who can't get it from Skeletor's web page, Funky J has made it available via Hotline - details can be found in this forum post. Again - even in its stripped-out form, it's full of goodies, including a high-quality M60 round sound (all you CS fanatics, take note) and some Craig Mullins artwork. (Louis Wu 01:00:14 UTC) (permalink)
Poll: Top 25 in 2001
Ruzhyo points out an article at IGN Xbox: you get to pick what you think are the top three games of 2001 (released or not) - the top 25 will be announced on November 12. Go make sure Halo is there! (Louis Wu 00:51:30 UTC) (permalink)
Galactic Habitable Zone
Anonymous Coward finds an online version of the Scientific American article mentioned yesterday. No need for scanning... thanks, AC! (Warning - this is REAL science.) (Louis Wu 00:49:12 UTC) (permalink)
News October 22 2001
Earth makes the shortlist
Daniel alerts us to the cover story in the current Scientific American; it should be interesting to Halo fans:
It describes a ring shaped area within/around the Milky Way galaxy which appears to be the only area containing planets capable of supporting any advanced life. The most interesting quote mentions that if an alien race were looking for a new home, Earth would be near the top on a pretty short list.
Anyone want to scan this for us? (Louis Wu 20:53:34 UTC) (permalink)
No spoilers in Halo novel
Eric Trautmann confirms that great effort was made to keep Halo spoilers out of 'The Fall of Reach', the Eric Nylund prequel due out next week. You can safely read it without worrying about ruining your gaming experience. Thanks, Eric! (Louis Wu 20:46:19 UTC) (permalink)
Very cool new desktops
We've added the two desktop images from the Halo theme mentioned earlier - one of them has Craig Mullins artwork in it. You'll find them both in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 20:42:14 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo Theme for Windows
Paul Roberts points out a Microsoft Quiz on Windows XP. Get 100% (or cheat) and you can download an exclusive Halo Theme for Windows... Update: Skeletor has extracted all the Halo stuff and re-zipped it, for the benefit of Mac users... very cool! (Louis Wu 20:24:54 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI Team 7 day stats posted
charleya continues the crunching mania, churning out 306 units for the Halo SETI Marines this week. Int_21 puts in a very respectable 190... but can't keep up. Watch out for Bjlake, though - almost doubling your output in a week is pretty impressive! How are you doing? Check the 7 day stats page to see! (Louis Wu 14:22:53 UTC) (permalink)
Who's got monitors like that?
New, very oddly-sized desktop image in our Wallpaper section - check it out. (Louis Wu 13:38:48 UTC) (permalink)
Lots o' movies at the Junkyard
Ryan 'Mhaddy' Matthews writes to let us know that all of the new Gamespot movies (and the one free IGN movie) have been mirrored at the Junkyard - check the downloads page. If you're having trouble with the original sources, this should be a boon to you! (Louis Wu 00:40:55 UTC) (permalink)
No jeeps for Bob
Bob can't drive? It's true! Well, for Warthogs, anyway. Chris Butcher explains. Update: no Bob-driven Scorpions, either. There goes my platoon... (Louis Wu 00:33:20 UTC) (permalink)
News October 21 2001
Anything but Futile
Omniscient takes a break from writing Fan Fiction to send in a new desktop image for our Wallpaper collection. Nice artwork, and nice sentiment! (Louis Wu 20:18:46 UTC) (permalink)
Marine model nearly finished
JoKeR has finished up the basic outline of his Halo Marine model - he's still tweaking, but it's mostly done. It's based on the old-style Marine, not the new... but it's pretty slick in any case.) Check it out in our Miscellaneous Art section. (Louis Wu 14:33:49 UTC) (permalink)
Poll Smash at IGN
Thanks to Ruzhyo, who pointed out a new poll at IGN Xbox - What game are you most excited about? (Based on recent information, of course...) Halo is currently well in the lead... if you haven't voted, go make sure it stays there! (Louis Wu 14:28:29 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie.de online
Acidburn sends word that we've been lax about mentioning Bungie.de, a German Bungie fansite (the Halo section is the only part online at the moment). There was a news mention a few months ago (they'd mirrored a Halo movie in July), but we apologize for not paying more attention to the rest of the site. Go take a look! (Louis Wu 13:35:13 UTC) (permalink)
News October 20 2001
Marty to win that new Game Music Grammy?
Marty to win that new Game Music Grammy? Matt says it could happen and it couldn't happen to a nicer old fella. Matt also says there are several new pieces of Halo Swag in development for the revitalized Bungie Store. Go, Go, Go! (Wirehead 19:23:37 UTC) (permalink)
TeamXbox.com to ride again!
TeamXbox.com to ride again! Thanks to the support of EBgames.com TeamXbox is due to make a comeback. Check their site for more info. Thanks to tarehart for the heads up. (Ding 16:44:46 UTC) (permalink)
Bob don't drive!
Bob don't drive! According to an Xbox IGN article on the driving aspects of Halo the NPCs don't drive. Here's the beef:
But if you decide that you're NPC gunner isn't getting the job done and you're in a place where you can afford to be stationary, you, as the Mark V Master Chief, can hop out of the driver's seat, hit the X button to kindly ask your Marine buddy to move and take over the turret yourself. Same thing if you decide to take over the passenger seat yourself and ride shotgun. The catch is, the NPCs don't drive, and really as talented as they are, you wouldn't want them to. So they simply stand next to the Jeep and watch you get busy.
I don't think I'll be the only person disappointed by this if true. Thanks to Harry "Could drive but isn't allowed to" Al-Shakarchi for the heads up earlier this morning. (Ding 16:37:10 UTC) (permalink)
Eight new Halo movies
Kudos to Blizzard for spotting eight new Halo movies over at IGN. Check his forum post for the details. UPDATE Charles D. Clifford noted these movies first on our forum. Sorry Charles. (Ding 16:21:22 UTC) (permalink)
How Marines Fight
The monastery is calling, and I must leave you... but before I go, I'd like to point out one other post on our forum - this one from Chris Butcher, who programmed a lot of the AI in Halo. He explains a bit about how the other soldiers will respond with respect to you, and how you can use their programming to the best advantage. Worth a read! Pax. Updated: Sorry this post was in error for so long; everyone else seems to have flown the coop. The post in question is here. -CZ (Crux Fidelis 00:03:34 UTC) (permalink)
Futureshop art is old
While I'm here... Matt Soell cleared up the mystery of the bizarre box art:
That was Microsoft's first stab at box art, before Lorraine stepped in and did some stabbing of her own.
Ahh... THAT makes more sense. Thanks, Matt! Pax. (Crux Fidelis 00:02:01 UTC) (permalink)
Louis went riding
Just a quick note to let our readers know - Louis is out of town for the next day or so. There MAY be updates from the rest of us... but I wouldn't count on it. (Most of us are pretty lazy these days - blame Louis for that.) If there's absolutely critical Halo news, post it in the forum; hopefully most of our viewers will see it there. Pax. (Crux Fidelis 00:01:24 UTC) (permalink)
News October 19 2001
A sorry day
TeamXbox dies! Yes folks. Sad news indeed. But unlike bungie.org which is back by millionaire Louis Wu TeamXbox enjoyed no such luxury. Kudos to Gary Coleman for the heads up on this sad day! (Wirehead 20:10:39 UTC) (permalink)
Someone's been smoking something...
Huh? Take a look at this page, see if anything strikes you as... odd. If not (either because they've changed it, or because... well, because, check this local page.) Thanks to Harry "I live for ChibiToys" Al-Shakarchi for the heads-up! (Louis Wu 19:20:32 UTC) (permalink)
Updated logo submitted
Justin Brimm sends in an updated version of his rust-colored Halo logo - recolored and larger. You'll find it in our Logos section. (Louis Wu 13:27:14 UTC) (permalink)
Arny Staten lays it down
Joseph Staten stopped in to rag on Marty's anility, and to second Marty's suggestion that you ignore (if you can) the Gamespot movies, to keep from becoming jaded. He also, almost as an aside, passed along the tidbit that the Certification that Microsoft is putting Halo through at the moment is a two-week process... so that Gold Master isn't as close as we thought. Hmm... two weeks... started on the 16th, or so... that means assuming no problems, they've got just over two weeks for manufacturing and distribution of at least 350,000 DVDs. Wow. (That number, btw, came from Ed Fries' estimation that 70% of Xbox preorders include Halo, coupled with a WAG of 500,000 units available at launch.) (Louis Wu 02:06:05 UTC) (permalink)
Joe is NOT Stanley Kubrick
The Ancient One Speaketh: Marty O'Donnell stopped in this evening to discover the Gamespot movies for the first time... and his words to Halo fans: RUN AND DON'T LOOK BACK. Don't watch these movies, sez Marty... and Marty has a decent argument. Go read it. (Louis Wu 00:22:44 UTC) (permalink)
News October 18 2001
Alternate server for 2 largest GS movies
Thanks to Korrupt, who has made the two largest Gamespot movies available on a personal server - these are numbers 1 and 5, and weigh in at 40 and 24 megs respectively. If you're having trouble with Gamespot's servers, give this a try! (Louis Wu 18:58:33 UTC) (permalink)
MS starts Xbox Usenet groups
Thanks to Harry Al-Shakarchi - seems Microsoft has started a bunch of new Usenet news groups, including microsoft.public.xbox.halo. Doesn't show up yet on my server... but I'll keep looking! Update: Thanks again to Harry "I'm planning to infiltrate every news post today" Al-Shakarchi, who noted that you can use Microsoft's news server to see this group. Not a lot there yet... (Louis Wu 14:35:43 UTC) (permalink)
Screen caps up
For those on slower connections, we've thrown up a page of screen captures from the movies. They're predominantly taken from the intro movie and the cutscene, since the PoA level was already shown quite nicely in the Staten/O'Donnell discussion video a few weeks ago. They're dark because... well, the movies are dark. :) Enjoy! (Louis Wu 14:11:47 UTC) (permalink)
More Marathon
B-Sharp noticed that the captain of the Pillar of Autumn has a Marathon symbol on his chest. Matches the one outside the ship nicely... While we're here, does anyone else think that the captain and Joe Staten could have made it into Spy Magazine's Separated at Birth column?
Just curious... Update: TomeOne did a little enlarging and clarifying, and ended up with this. (Louis Wu 12:22:48 UTC) (permalink)
Shortened intro at IGN
IGN Xbox has put up a shortened version of the intro movie - if 40 megs is too large for you, you can grab the first 40 seconds (it's only 1.6 megs) of it here. The rest of the films are in their Insider section - you need to pay to get 'em. (Louis Wu 09:43:46 UTC) (permalink)
More new wallpaper added
A handful of desktop images came our way recently - two more from Enforcer (variations on a theme) and one from [SE]Eye_of_the_Tiger. You can find 'em in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 09:29:33 UTC) (permalink)
GM here we come
Rampancy.net is stating that Halo is currently being certified, and unless a major problem pops up, it should be certified as Gold Master. So: stick a fork in it - it's done. (Louis Wu 09:21:28 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Movie Overload
Holy mother of... Looks like the whole first level (and more!) has just been made available by Gamespot. 9 movies, a total of 115 megs if you grab the mpegs... I (obviously) haven't had time to watch 'em all... but the first couple are jaw-dropping enough. Bad news - Cortana's still the same voice as was used at E3, so those that didn't like her there will still not like her. Geez - stop reading and DOWNLOAD! (A huge shout out to Draikin for the heads-up.) Update for those who don't want spoilers: The first movie (the biggest) contains the opening sequence of Halo - the Pillar of Autumn entering the Halo system. (You'll see this first thing when you play the game.) The second through the fourth are gameplay sequences from the first level. The fifth is a cutscene - banter between Cortana and Master Chief, and the decision to abandon the Pillar of Autumn. The next two are more gameplay sequences on the ship. The last pair show splitscreen coop play on the Halo itself, but have very little action in them. They're good for a look at what splitscreen coop might feel like (green arrows over your partner's head, etc). On the page, they're listed from newest to oldest... so 'the last pair', for example, refers to Movie 17 and 18. (Louis Wu 02:26:43 UTC) (permalink)
No Monitors with the Xbox
Nice snag by Narcogen over at Rampancy.net - seems the FAQ that's up now at xbox.com is ruling out Xbox output to monitors:
Can the Xbox hook up to a Computer Monitor?
The Xbox video game system is intended for use with television sets. This focus allows gamers to enjoy the superior visual and sound capacity of high-definition and high-resolution television sets.
Ouch - that's a 180 from their old promise of VGA output... (Louis Wu 00:30:10 UTC) (permalink)
Mongo Fanfic
Never let 'em tell you Vector only writes one-liners. Though he's brief on the forum, his fiction's a little... meatier. His latest offering, the fourth installment of the Hawk Chronicles (it's really Chapter 2b, but who's checking?), can be found in our Fan Fiction section. Pull up a chair and get to it! (Louis Wu 00:08:27 UTC) (permalink)
News October 17 2001
Halo showcased at wm.com
Thanks to Harry Al-Shakarchi, who noted that Halo has a good showing on the official WindowsMedia.com Media Guide - it's number 2 in the showcase (after WWF, of all things), and in the top position just to the left of that list (in both low and high-bandwidth versions). In fact - it's the only game in both sections! Not bad... (Louis Wu 20:48:53 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox = more bucks for Europeans
As reported by every Xbox site under the sun, the news out of Cannes yesterday was that the European Xbox release will be on March 14, 2002, and it will retail for 479 euros (about $435, at today's rates). Games will run 69 euros (about $63). Ouch! (Louis Wu 14:23:17 UTC) (permalink)
Look out, Bob!
Bob's in trouble... go read Chapter 13 of the Hermes Trismegistus saga in our Fan Fiction section. Don't forget to let Tursas know what you think! (Louis Wu 02:25:12 UTC) (permalink)
No day-to-night shifts
Bounty, of Battleground: Halo, learned a bit about diurnal transitions in Halo from Matt Soell today - apparently, there won't be any situations where you can see the change. Hmm... guess that means that sunset scene mentioned in Xboxweb's preview is gonna be pretty short... Swing by BGH to read the full quote. (Louis Wu 02:12:14 UTC) (permalink)
Time to question Marty
Got a burning question to ask Marty O'Donnell? Stop by TeamXbox's forums and add it to this thread - apparently, the webmaster of Score Central will be conducting that interview next week, and is happy to pass along fan questions. Just remember... don't ask Marty how old he is. (Louis Wu 00:37:16 UTC) (permalink)
Bigger != better
An interesting little elucidation about level design, from Bungie's Tyson Green, aka Ferrex (Dead). Bigger levels are better, right? Not always... sometimes, spending more of your finite development resources on making smaller levels cooler is more advantageous than creating huge, boring levels. Nice insight! Check the details (and throw in your own two cents) on our forum. (Louis Wu 00:31:28 UTC) (permalink)
News October 16 2001
Build more walls, Mabel!
Wow - a wallpaper bonanza. Enforcer has uploaded no fewer than seven new images, in two major themes. I've grouped them, since they're so similar - you'll find descriptions of the variations on the main page for each theme. Just go visit our Wallpaper section and it'll be made clear. (Louis Wu 15:02:30 UTC) (permalink)
Slayer - you're it
Thanks to a random, 6-month-old thread on the IGN Xbox forum, a new tidbit has come to light - in an interview that IGN Xbox did with John Howard and Joe Staten in April, Joe mentioned a multiplayer mode we haven't heard of before:
I just got done whupping arse in a game of split-screen "Slayer" with some programmer chumps (it's all about over-charging the Covenant Plasma Rifle btw), and I can assure you Halo multiplayer is alive and well and definitely a part of the final product.
Slayer... hmm. Wonder how we all missed that when the interview was first noticed? (Louis Wu 14:30:51 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox meets anime
Thanks to Uriel, who pointed out on the forum that dom, an artist for Megatokyo, has posted an Xbox/GameCube rant. (Scroll down the page to the area below the comic - look for dom's column.) After reaming the controller, and running down some of the good and bad stuff he saw recently, he hit on Halo:
Finally, the little aliens in Halo may just be the most fun bastards to shoot in a while.Ê They give you such crap when you die ("Not so tough NOW, are ya?") that you can't wait to respawn and pop a few more of them so they start scattering and screaming "Run!ÊIt's him!".Ê When Cortana buys himself an Xbox for DoA3 and Halo, I'll spend some time with Halo.
Someone with issues, certainly... but a fun read nonetheless. (Louis Wu 13:20:47 UTC) (permalink)
You want Fries with that?
Narcogen, over at Rampancy.net, noticed an interview with Ed Fries and (Japanese Xbox division manager) Yutaka Haruki at Coremagazine.com. Fries believes that the Japanese will embrace Halo (and other US offerings):
In the United States, 70% of the people who have reserved an Xbox also reserved the game Halo. We expect a similar figure in the Japanese market.
Time will tell... (Louis Wu 10:14:34 UTC) (permalink)
IGN on Halo at TGS
Harry Al-Shakarchi pointed out this article on TGS 2001 over at IGN Xbox - it's an overview of the feel of the show. They were taken by the Japanese reaction to Halo:
On a side note, it's particularly cool to watch Japanese gamers play Halo, trying to figure out the controls as if holding a violin for the first time. The whole concept of playing a first-person shooter seems as odd as playing an in-depth horse racing simulation does to us (sorry, no first-day impressions of Jockey's Dream).
We'll see if Halo has what it takes to break through that barrier! (Louis Wu 09:55:43 UTC) (permalink)
Uncluttered wallpaper
Josh Hampton decided that much of the wallpaper out there was too cluttered for actual desktop images... he's taken the clean approach. You'll find his entry in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 09:51:54 UTC) (permalink)
Nice hand-drawn marine
Aaacourt22 sends in a hand-drawn Marine, suitable for inclusion in wallpaper, if you so choose. Check it out in our Miscellaneous Art section. (Louis Wu 09:48:36 UTC) (permalink)
fan fan fiction
The fan fiction of Gordi has attracted a following, as can be seen by reading his comments. Mr Bill Jr V thought enough of it that he set his most recent story in Gordi's universe - it gives a bit of the backstory of the 6th fleet. Now THIS is cool... fan fiction for fan fiction! Read 'The 6th' in our Fan Fiction section, and be sure to tell Mr Bill what you think! (Louis Wu 09:48:13 UTC) (permalink)
The Junkyard needs help
Ryan 'Mhaddy' Matthews dropped us a note about needing fresh blood at the Junkyard. The boilerplate was a bit too long for our front page... but it's a good cause, so we've put it here. If you're interested in working on a solid gaming site, check it out! (Louis Wu 09:39:42 UTC) (permalink)
Ogre still in... sort of
A couple of weeks ago, a site called Xboxweb put up a Halo preview, and in it, they mentioned a multiplayer mode called 'Ogre'. Ogre first surfaced in a print preview in the July 2000 issue of PC Gamer UK, which hit the newsstands on June 6, 2000. It was described as a unique multiplayer mode:
"For example, Halo features a mode named Ogre, where one player takes the role of a massively powerful bio-mechanical character covered in weapons who has to take out a series of objectives. Meanwhile, everyone else has to try to kill them. If someone manages to zero the creature, they take the role next time. If no-one does, he keeps it and continues to enjoy the megalomaniacal power rush. Muhahahahaha."
Understandably, folks got excited. In an attempt to clarify whether this mode (which was never mentioned again, after this article) actually made it into the game, Matt Soell was pestered... and he replied with this:
No, Ogre didn't make it in. You can set up a similar game (where one person is "it" and has some special feature or handicap which is transferred to the player who kills him) but there is no suit of weapons and no "objectives to take out."
Matt sounded rather disappointed as he relayed this info... but to me, the basic gamestyle seems quite similar. So - in the torrent of hoped-for features whose demise we've recently been learning about, a rock in the river - Ogre, or something a lot like it, IS still in the game. Thanks, Matt! (Louis Wu 02:26:30 UTC) (permalink)
White Meat or Dark?
Just in time for Halloween and Thanksgiving, Tom Van Sinden sends in a pair of holiday-themed desktop images, in a couple of resolutions each... Trick or Treat is gonna be on MY desktop for a bit! Check 'em out in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 01:37:16 UTC) (permalink)
Book plot points
Eric Trautmann, MS Content Developer, drops by to pass along a tantalizing tidbit about the Halo backstory - there had been some forum speculation about the credibility of the plot - why, for example, would the Covenant go to the trouble of a ground war against the inhabitants of Reach, rather than simply wiping the human population out from space, and then just going down and taking the information they needed from remaining computers? Someone suggested that maybe the humans had wiped their navigational databases, to prevent this information from falling into Covenant hands... and Eric confirmed that this, indeed, is what happened - the process was named the Cole Protocol, after the admiral who implemented it. Slowly, it comes... The book will be on shelves in two weeks. (Louis Wu 01:27:28 UTC) (permalink)
Game Informer review - 2 thumbs up
Mr. Temper points out on our forum a new print review of Halo, in Game Informer magazine - he supplies links to scanned pages, and includes written text for those who can't read the small print in the pics. The upshot - they liked it... (Louis Wu 01:19:08 UTC) (permalink)
Marty's gonna scalp someone...
A boatload of updates coming... bear with me as I write 'em up, one by one. First up: the TGS movie. Many people have been complaining about a couple of features of this movie - first, that there are three separate cov kills at the start that use the same bit of soundtrack (same covenant grunt, same background chatter), and second, that the Covenant commander who's taken down with a pair of sniper rounds (and a miss between them, to boot) doesn't show a lot of smarts in terms of saving his own hide. Matt Soell was kind enough to jump into our forum with a pair of responses - here's what he had to say about the repetitive soundtrack, and here was his AI reply. Hope this clarifies a bit! (And for those who were wondering about the much-vaunted Covenant commander, taken down with a measly pair of sniper rounds:
Which brings up another point: whoever was playing in this footage was playing at something less than the normal difficulty level. It's not that easy, folks.
Heh - makes me wish even more for a film mode. :) Go read 'em for yourself! (Louis Wu 01:16:07 UTC) (permalink)
News October 15 2001
Halo SETI Team 7 day stats posted
And the battle for leadership of the Halo SETI Marines continues... this week, charleya tops Int_21, 265 to 212 units (and to think, there was a time when the entire TEAM didnt' crunch that many units in a week) for La Crunch Honneur, and cdm3 leaps over 38 team members for the Frogblast Award. How are you doing? Check the 7 day stats page! (Louis Wu 14:44:38 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo Preview at Halonetwork.de
JimPa|NsE drops us a note to let us know that he's written a new Halo preview for Halo Network - Babelfish tortured it, but if you read German, you should go visit. (Louis Wu 14:10:27 UTC) (permalink)
TGS .wmv at Fileplanet
Down, but not out... Battleground: Halo has mirrored the .wmv version of the new TGS film on Fileplanet - grab it there if you're having trouble with Gamespot's servers. Thanks for the heads-up, Bounty! (Louis Wu 03:13:49 UTC) (permalink)
BGH having technical difficulties
Quick note from Bounty, over at Battleground: Halo - they're not ignoring all the weekend's news, or sleeping; they're having technical difficulties. The news system seems to have stopped taking submissions (since Thursday night)... he's hoping all will be back on track by tomorrow. Hang in there! (Louis Wu 00:51:14 UTC) (permalink)
News October 14 2001
Screen caps from GS TGS movie
For those having trouble getting through to Gamespot's servers, or simply on lower-bandwidth connections, we've put together a screen capture page, showing some of the more interesting features of the movie. You can check it out here. Enjoy! (Louis Wu 19:51:52 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo movie at Gamespot
Thanks to vein13, who pointed out a new movie at Gamespot. (It's the Halo Trailer 1 - Direct-Feed entry on their Media Index.) It seems to be an extended version of the IGN movie mentioned yesterday. It's available as a downloadable wmv file, a downloadable mpeg, or streamed .asf formats (in several speeds). It's 320x240, and just under a minute long... and it has some very nice footage. There are a couple of points brought up in this post, and this one... I'll probably be putting up a screen capture page in the near future. Check it out! (Louis Wu 18:20:33 UTC) (permalink)
Against the Enemy
And the money keeps rolling in... from every side. Fanatic sends in another desktop image for our overflowing Wallpaper coffers... check it out!
DoA3 over Halo
Thanks to Harry Al-Shakarchi, who noticed an article over at IGN Xbox, on the Game of Show at TGS 2001. The winner was Dead or Alive 3... but the article asks:
You were thinking Halo, right? Unfortunately, in terms of what's being shown at TGS for the Xbox, the Halo demo is pretty conservative, especially considering some of the more epic outdoor environments they could have chosen for a show demo. Still suffering from some frame stutters, the game offers some incredible moments at the show, but not the guaranteed gaming promise of Dead or Alive.
Those pesky frame stutters... Thanks for the heads-up, Harry! (Louis Wu 14:38:05 UTC) (permalink)
Halo in Wired
Thanks to Noah "MigraineBoy" Brimhall, who pointed out that Halo got a couple of mentions in the November issue of Wired Magazine, during a story on Flextronics, the company that Microsoft outsourced the manufacturing of the Xbox to. (Eep - ending sentences with prepositions again...) I'd found it a pretty interesting article, but not all that Halo-related... but Noah noticed a quote I managed to miss:
So what about the games? Though the console pushes the envelope graphically, its first line of games isn't nearly as inventive. With the exception of Halo and Fusion Frenzy, most of the launch titles feel like souped-up versions of the games you know by other names.
(Fusion Frenzy has been mentioned the past as a game that has sucked up the spare time of Halo Dev Team members... Jaime Griesemer, in particular.) They also picked a Halo screen as a representative Xbox screen... nice exposure! (Louis Wu 14:32:53 UTC) (permalink)
Lots more wallpaper...
Once again, new screens means new desktop images. Three came in overnight - one from Sikora, two from Shaun Brookman. You'll find all three in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 14:27:08 UTC) (permalink)
News October 13 2001
He wants you...
Come Get Some... another new desktop, this time from Deimos™, poison crazy lush from Subnova.com. Find it in our Wallpaper section! (Louis Wu 23:44:03 UTC) (permalink)
FunkySketches
Hand-drawn desktop from RAZORBACK - check for it in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 23:17:31 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo clips at IGN
Thanks to Fuolornis Fire Dragon, who noticed that IGN has a new Halo movie from the Tokyo Game Show. His post will give you a nice rundown on the contents - you can grab the film from this page (the Halo link is here, but there are other goodies you might want to snag). (Louis Wu 22:08:14 UTC) (permalink)
Blue to Brown
Funky color shifts in RAZORBACK's latest desktop, Binary Code - you'll find it in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 18:01:43 UTC) (permalink)
Hi-res Combat Evolved logo
We've added the new, hi-res version of the 'Combat Evolved' Halo logo to our Logos page, in a couple of resolutions - these might be helpful for those thinking about creating new artwork with it. (Louis Wu 10:57:02 UTC) (permalink)
Screenshots section updated
Okay, we lied. We decided to put the new screens up after all - they're just so nice to look at... The Screenshots section has been updated. The first 13 shots are brand-spankin' new, never seen before. (They're a lot more reasonably-sized here than they were in Tokyo, because they're no longer TIFF files.) The remaining four have been seen before, but never at this size, or without text obscuring the image. (The cover art is included because 1) details show up better, and 2) It's not cluttered with lots of text.) Enjoy! (Side note: TeamXbox has also extracted some of the shots - they've picked 9 of the new ones, and put them up here.) (Louis Wu 10:26:39 UTC) (permalink)
No Update... for good reason
Okay... once you've caught your breath and stopped drooling over all that new Halo goodness to come out of Tokyo... Matt dropped by our forum to let us know that there wouldn't be a Halo Update tonight. The good news, though... is that Halo might go Gold Master next week. (That would leave them almost four weeks to burn several hundred thousand DVDs, package 'em up, and distribute them througout the US - I don't envy the crew doing that.) A few other goodies in the post... go read it. (Louis Wu 01:25:59 UTC) (permalink)
Halo out the yin-yang
Boatloads (and I mean BOATLOADS of new screens at the official Xbox Japan Press Information site... there's no WAY we'll get 'em up tonight (too damn many to thumbnail and categorize), so go and grab 'em for yourself! 8 zipped archives, a total of 27 megabytes (yeah, you read that right) of Halo goodness. GO! (Thanks to TeamXbox for the general heads-up.) Followup: Read this forum post to see what's what, and maybe save yourself a little downloading. (Louis Wu 01:06:15 UTC) (permalink)
Call the Orkin Man!
Is there no stopping this man? Michael Maddux sends in yet ANOTHER desktop, following his recent theme. You'll find it (and all 5 of his other images) in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 00:41:48 UTC) (permalink)
News October 12 2001
Evolve THIS!
Is he on a roll, or what? Michael Maddux submits ANOTHER desktop image, 'Evolve THIS!', in three resolutions. Nice blast! Check it out in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 21:10:33 UTC) (permalink)
What DOES that say, anyway?
Michael Maddux, on a desktop-creation kick, turns in his fourth image in as many days. I'm inclined to say that the text in the background is not Halo-related... but I wouldn't swear to it. :) You'll find it, in three resolutions, in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 18:50:58 UTC) (permalink)
Gaming Age covers Xbox Exposed
Jason Simrany sends word that Gaming Age has posted an article describing one person's experience at an Xbox Exposed event, a series of retail demonstrations going on right now. (You have to be an employee of a retail establishment selling Xboxes to get in.) Several of these have already been published, on the TeamXbox Forums, the IGN Xbox forums (that's one of MANY threads), and elsewhere... but there's a bit of gameplay description here. Worth a look... (Louis Wu 17:37:14 UTC) (permalink)
Summary of Halo at TGS
Thanks to Zypper, who posted a description of the Halo presentation at the Tokyo Game Show last night. Lo-res, but full of promise... nice summation. :) Go read his description for yourself! (Louis Wu 14:43:50 UTC) (permalink)
Watch the fog!
Albino Joe sends in a nicely hazy desktop image for our Wallpaper section. Check it out! (Louis Wu 14:16:09 UTC) (permalink)
News October 11 2001
Halo Wallpaper redux
Fanatic sends us a new image - he lists it as a logo, but it's desktop-sized, really... we've added it to our Wallpaper collection. Check it out! (Louis Wu 20:30:06 UTC) (permalink)
XboxAddict talks to Mike Salmon
Mike "my aim is to be interviewed by every Xbox site" Salmon, Editor in Chief of the Official Xbox Magazine, has talked to XboxAddict... and true to form, has played up Halo:
XBA: What is the most anticipated game by OXM staff? Which game do you guys think will be THE console seller?
OXM: Halo and DoA3 are two of the best reasons to buy an Xbox. After playing final reviewable versions, I can say with confidence that Halo and DoA3 simply couldn't be done on any other system. And I'm not just talking about graphics. The whole package is so stunning and the immersion is so incredible that you really get a different feeling than any other console. You have to play'em to believe it.
It's unclear from the context... but I think he means consoles when he says "any other system" - Mike used to run PC Accelerator mag, and probably still plays a PC game or two. Go read the rest! (Louis Wu 12:42:56 UTC) (permalink)
Details about cover art
Eep, nearly missed this. Eric followed up his submission of the Fall of Reach cover with some information about the artwork, posted to our forum. Check it out! (Louis Wu 09:48:14 UTC) (permalink)
Official Fall of Reach Cover
Goodness... every once in a while, we get lucky. Eric Trautmann, Content Developer with Microsoft's Licensing Group, sent along a MUCH nicer version of the cover of the upcoming novel, 'Fall of Reach'. We've added it to our Miscellaneous Art section, because... well, it's art. The text on the back matches the content of Random House's online catalog entry for the book. The front cover describes it as 'The official prequel to the explosive Xbox™ game!' Take a look for yourself! (And check out the gun on the second cyborg from the left...) (Louis Wu 09:23:18 UTC) (permalink)
FAQ overhauled
Major overhauls to the HBO FAQ, by Mark Levin - many pages have been worked on. Weapons and vehicles updated, and much info on game content has been updated. Check it out! (Thanks, Mark!) (Louis Wu 09:13:09 UTC) (permalink)
More Wallpaper and Misc Art
More uploaded art from the fans - Matt (uh...#5?) sends in a rockin' Covenant for our Miscellaneous Art section, and Joker continues his Marine modeling - this time we get the head and upper torso, both as a separate render, and blended into a nice desktop for our Wallpaper section. Good stuff! (Louis Wu 08:39:36 UTC) (permalink)
Patriotic Wallpaper
In honor of those who fell on September 11, and those who are now fighting, Michael Maddox sends in a patriotic Halo desktop. You'll find it in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 00:49:12 UTC) (permalink)
News October 10 2001
Departing Twilight... worth the read
Wow. Go read Gordi's latest story, 'Departing Twilight', the second chapter of his as-yet-untitled series. This one's good. (Be sure to comment on it, and other Fan Fiction, so that authors can get a feel for how their work is percieved.) (Louis Wu 18:17:41 UTC) (permalink)
Rampancy.net troubles
Ouch! Rampancy.net, as some may have noticed, is mostly down right now. A hard drive died today... and the replacement won't be there for at least a day, maybe two. In the meantime, news will be moved to http://synfibers.com/rampancy/. Folks are welcome to use the forums there, as well, though you should be warned that anything you post will probably end up getting wiped out when they import all the old content from the other site. Hardware troubles are never fun... (Louis Wu 17:22:48 UTC) (permalink)
Evihcra says yes to Halo archive
Goodness... we didn't notice this last week, but it's GREAT news: Evihcra.com, a large file archive site (they started as the Mill, for Myth files, and have expanded to Marathon, Unreal Tournament, and the Sims), has pledged the creation of a Halo archive site, to be opened the day Halo ships for the Mac/PC. If you're a modmaker... there WILL be mods for the Mac and PC version, whether or not Bungie releases tools (previous experience with the Bungie community shows that), and now you know you'll have a place to showcase your work. Thanks, Fm! (Louis Wu 15:23:47 UTC) (permalink)
No in-game content control in Halo
Matt passed this info along yesterday, but Jester pointed out that I hadn't made it front page news yet... Seems that Halo has no in-game content control. (Myth had content control - you could set it to show stars instead of blood.) The reason for this is simple, and two-fold: 1) the Xbox already has a control built into it - you can lock out games above a certain rating, and 2) the ESRB assigns its ratings on the most extreme version of the game - if there is M content, and in-game content control that would tone it down to T-level content... they'll still give it an 'M'. Because of this, Bungie gains very little by adding in-game content control, for a lot of extra work. (Louis Wu 14:27:59 UTC) (permalink)
Bob comes back
The resurrection of Bob... Tursas sends in Chapter 12 of the Hermes Trismegistus saga. You'll find it (and all previous parts) in our Fan Fiction section - don't forget to let Tursas know how you like it, in the comments section! (Louis Wu 13:33:31 UTC) (permalink)
Buried in Wallpaper
Whoa... go to sleep for a couple of hours, and the mailbox fills up! Two new desktops came in last night, the collection continues to fill. You'll find these new entries in our Wallpaper section. Back with Fan Fiction in a bit. (Louis Wu 12:28:41 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Launch Party Details
The Halo Launch Party is here! Bungie.net has the details... Saturday, November 10 at the Hotel Monaco, in Chicago, for those who HAVE TO KNOW NOW... the rest of you, head over to bungie.net and read Matt's little parable. (And get even more details, like what you might win if you show up...) It's 5 days before the Xbox is gonna be released, for Pete's sake! (Louis Wu 01:50:17 UTC) (permalink)
Even more Wallpaper
Michael Maddux sends us a tasty desktop for our Wallpaper collection, in three flavors. Check it out! (Louis Wu 01:44:08 UTC) (permalink)
News October 9 2001
The Book
Ask, and ye shall receive. In an unprecedented fifth Matt Soell-generated news post, we bring you... the cover of Halo: The Fall of Reach, available from Random House later this month. Blam! (Louis Wu 23:04:59 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Launch Party - Chicago!
Took much longer than they wanted... but Matt has announced that the venue for the Halo launch party has finally been secured. It's in Chicago... on a weekend. More than that, and you'll need to tune in to www.bungie.net over the next few hours. (Louis Wu 22:46:08 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Movie?
A Halo movie? Matt says they've been approached, and though no deals have been struck yet, the possibility is there... (Louis Wu 18:43:35 UTC) (permalink)
M rating for Halo after all
Shocker of the week - the rumors are true. Halo's ESRB rating has been raised from Teen to Mature; apparently, ESRB changed their minds. (Maybe in the wake of the September 11 tragedy?) In any case, Matt Soell explains a bit in this post to our forum. Apologies to all who were counting on the Teen rating to be able to buy the game! (Louis Wu 18:17:07 UTC) (permalink)
Halo preview in Portuguese
Thanks to Razorback, who pointed out a Halo preview in Portuguese, at GameOver. Babelfish did a pretty nasty job with this... but it seems to be relatively accurate. If you speak Portuguese, go take a look! (Louis Wu 14:39:00 UTC) (permalink)
Halo preview at XboxWeb
Looks like we missed a new Halo preview at XboxWeb - showed up this weekend. Nothing mindboggling, but it sums up game features pretty nicely. Take a look! (Louis Wu 09:20:20 UTC) (permalink)
Psyjnir Complex on the way back
Psyrixx wrote to let us know that the Psyjnir Complex is back online, sort of. The links aren't working yet... but you can check out the basic page design. Be warned - IE 5+, Opera 5+, or NS 6+ REQUIRED. Take a look, and be sure to let him know if you've got suggestions! (Louis Wu 01:33:22 UTC) (permalink)
PoA just keeps getting better
The Pillar of Autumn desktops continue to pour in. Michael Maddux sends us a gorgeously hi-tech version in three resolutions. Grab it from our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 01:25:11 UTC) (permalink)
New Wallpaper, dying for modification
Eric 'Siva' Salzman adds another entry to his 'Curves' collection - and this one has been left mostly open, so that someone could add a "stats" sidbar about the Pillar of Autumn to the image. (If you're interested, contact Eric and he'll get you a layered Photoshop file to work with.) The recent Wallpaper additions have been gorgeous! (Nothing like fantastic screens to start with...) (Louis Wu 00:25:18 UTC) (permalink)
MPZ Halo is back
fAt1 drops us a note to let us know that 1) MPZ Halo is back, with a brand-new makeover, and 2) MPZ as a whole is now open to the web - no login required. Check 'em out! (Louis Wu 00:02:18 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox Halo self-contained
Interesting tidbit - as of now, the Xbox Halo app is not capable of using downloaded levels. This means that (unless Bungie supplies a patch that allows this) even IF the PC version ships with a level editor, the Xbox version won't be able to take advantage of any created mods. (It also means that Bungie wasn't considering releasing Xbox-version-compatible mods anytime soon.) (Louis Wu 00:00:39 UTC) (permalink)
News October 8 2001
Umm... okay.
Hmm... this one's a bit odd... Sikora sends in a new 'combination' image for our Miscellaneous Art section. Take a look... (Louis Wu 20:42:21 UTC) (permalink)
Halo on your desktop
The artwork continues to pour in. This morning, we received another desktop using the Pillar of Autumn shot (in 6 resolutions!), and a 3ds max-rendered marine helmet (made into a cool Halo desktop) - you'll find both in our Wallpaper section. Keep 'em coming! (Louis Wu 15:18:56 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI Team 7 day stats posted
Blam!... The Halo SETI Marines climb a notch to number 52 in the Battle of the Teams. Int_21 pours on the steam, as 243 units crunched bring in la Crunch Honneur AND the Frogblast Award for this week's top performer. How are YOU doing? Check the 7 day stats to see! (Louis Wu 14:37:28 UTC) (permalink)
PLAY IT
The final (?) Weekly Halo Update, capping a full year of updates, has been added to the Halo Update Database. A fine tradition... we'll be sorry to see it end. Word of the week - 'Chucky'. Known only as The Bear in weekly updates since June 29, he's finally Chucky again... we missed you, Chuck. The two new screenshots have been added to the Screenshots section, as well - filesizes are a bit different than the versions available at Haloplayers, because we recompressed them from the originals - they're a bit cleaner than before. (We're not taking anything away from HP - they did a fine job. We were just willing to spend a bit more time. :) 99% of our visitors won't be able to tell the difference.) (Louis Wu 00:47:06 UTC) (permalink)
Art inspires art
New screenshots, especially ones this cinematic, inspire new desktops. We got two today - check 'em out in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 00:17:15 UTC) (permalink)
Yeah, yeah, we know.
I didn't think this was anything that folks didn't know, so I didn't report it - but I want the mail to stop now. Various people in various forums posted information about the Marathon symbol on the side of the Pillar of Autumn in the latest screenshot - Harry Al-Shakarchi was one of the first to make a nice graphic for it. The first public comment came within 10 minutes of the shot first hitting the web, and discussions have been raging for two days about it. Please - no more mail, telling us you've found it, okay? (Louis Wu 00:09:50 UTC) (permalink)
News October 7 2001
The End is Near
Joseph E. Haake sends in an interesting modification of the Pillar of Autumn screenshot released last week. We've added it to the Miscellaneous Art section, though in retrospect, it would probably make a great desktop image... (Louis Wu 21:26:33 UTC) (permalink)
New Wallpaper submitted
Shaun Brookman sends in a Halo collage, in three sizes - see the range of where Halo has been, and how far it's come! It's available in our Wallpaper section. (Louis Wu 13:40:21 UTC) (permalink)
News October 6 2001
Halo Update... mmmm
MASSIVE Halo update, finally, at Haloplayers - GO NOW. Two gorgeous screenshots (in two resolutions each, to be nice to the bandwidth impaired and the broadband-enabled both), an entertaining tale giving you a bit of the backstory behind the halo updates, and, finally, a few tidbits that might be recognizable as a Halo Update (but mostly not). They've gone out with a bang, folks - go read and enjoy it. Thanks, Matt! (Update: Louis doesn't seem to be around, so I fixed the links myself. --CZ) (Louis Wu 14:25:52 UTC) (permalink)
Poll smash at VoodooExtreme
Thanks to Aginor, who pointed out a new poll over at VoodooExtreme - 'What Xbox game are you most looking forward to?' Let 'em know what you think of Halo... but remember, keep it clean and honest. Remember the LAST VE poll... (Halo is currently leading this one, with 43% ofr more than 800 votes.) (Louis Wu 14:06:13 UTC) (permalink)
Never the same...
Putting the new 'Commander' shot to good use, Allenthar creates a new wallpaper for your desktop - you'll find it in our Wallpaper section, in 4 sizes. Enjoy! (Louis Wu 10:19:51 UTC) (permalink)
News October 5 2001
New Wallpaper uploaded
Joker111481@aol.com sends us a monochromatic desktop for our Wallpaper collection. Similar to, but different from, an older submission by genohunter... check it out! (Louis Wu 20:36:48 UTC) (permalink)
Screenshot requests!
Wonga - we're probably too late, but you never know... Joseph Staten jumped onto our forum about an hour ago, and asked for requests for tonight's screenshot subject. It's likely that the job is done... but add to the thread if you'd like! (The update, if all goes according to plan, should be at Haloplayers tonight.) (Louis Wu 19:10:20 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo spoof available
Dorram posts on our forum that a new Halo spoof/rant has gone live - it's two and a half minute long MPEG, available as a 44 meg, 320x240 format, or an 8.4 meg, 144x120 format. Footage from a number of different films has been spliced together, and put to a new soundtrack, with a very cool 3D logo animation thrown in for good measure. Warning - the javascript on the page is pretty Netscape-unfriendly; I was unable to follow the movie link using Netscape (or iCab). Opera and IE work fine, though... A big thanks to Psyrixx and B-Sharp for their generous mirroring of this movie. (The mirror links hold a zipped version of the large movie - it's 32 MB.) Go take a look! (Louis Wu 15:57:52 UTC) (permalink)
Saving money, Bungie-style
A tidbit of good news, in the face of the disappointments yesterday: Matt Soell, in defiance of Microsoft corporate policy to milk gamers of every possible dollar, points out that the 'System Link Cable' that Microsoft packages for the XBox (sold separately for, generally, $15) is, in reality, just a 20' crossover cable. These are generally available for much less than $15 - for example, a quick web search turned up this company, selling them for $5. Interestingly, they're no longer listed in the hardware list at xbox.com. (Louis Wu 14:12:58 UTC) (permalink)
Coop = splitscreen, sorry
Details on gameplay continue to emerge - Rampancy.net gets confirmation from Matt Soell (via email) that cooperative mode is limited to two players, on a single XBox in splitscreen mode. This is the only multiplayer mode with this restriction - all others can handle up to 16 players with a maximum of 4 linked XBoxes, with no splitscreen requirements. (Of course, if you're putting 16 players on 4 boxes, you have to employ splitscreen... but you can play 4 players on 4 screens if you choose. Coop play, in contrast, cannot be played on two screens.) (Louis Wu 13:50:25 UTC) (permalink)
Fan Fiction - lost one, gained two
Lots of action on the Fan Fiction front today. Mr Bill Jr V has asked us to pull his story, 'The Answers', because he didn't think it was up to snuff... but he's submitted a new one, 'Escape', to replace it. Almost simultaneously, Jasper, whose last story came in back in May, dropped us another fun one - 'Elevator'. Be sure to use the comments system to let the authors know what you think! (Louis Wu 13:45:06 UTC) (permalink)
News October 4 2001
What - no films??
Aaauuggghhhh! No films. :( Matt Soell dashed hopes for one of the most commonly desired features today - Halo will NOT have a method for saving films. A sad, sad day for Bungie fans... (Louis Wu 19:00:42 UTC) (permalink)
It's MUCH older than last year
Not that you should listen to the man, or anything - and it's not as though it's the first time he's said this - but Matt Soell steps into a thread about Halo's gameplay to smack down the theory that Halo was converted to a first person view (from third person) in order to fit better with the Xbox controller. As Matt says,
The decision to go first-person was made before MS entered the picture.
But Matt, you know, is full of it - he's just making it up because he already sold his soul to Bill Gates. Or something. (Louis Wu 18:41:24 UTC) (permalink)
Hmm...
Not sure how long this thread will exist... or how many of you want to read it if it's full of spoilers... but someone who obviously playtested Halo recently has broken his NDA and described his experience on the IGN Forum. The link (for now) is here. It's all multiplayer stuff... (Louis Wu 09:38:49 UTC) (permalink)
Gamespot pics are OLD
Before we get MORE mail about it - it seems that Gamespot has updated their Halo screenshots recently (yesterday, actually)... but all the new shots are OLD. There are some from October 1999... others that are screen captures from the E3 2000 movie... they're ALL old. (Interestingly enough, the screen grabs from E3 2001, listed as having been posted May 18, have some very nice shots in the collection... The fun stuff starts on page 4, and runs through the top of page 7.) (Louis Wu 09:29:42 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Developer Diary 4 at PlanetXbox
PlanetXbox has published Part 4 of their Halo Developer's Diary, and this one is chock-full of details about what makes Halo different from other games of its genre. There are some really fun bug-discovering snippets:
Two days ago some crazy (but diligent) tester stacked enough Warthogs to jump on top of an 'unclimbable' cliff on one of my levels.
There are descriptions of the complexity of gameplay, in both solo and multiplayer modes:
The guy riding shotgun in your warthog during a multiplayer game can toss a grenade into the enemy base from his seat, then leap out of the warthog, grab the flag, use the flag to smack another defender and jump back in without you even letting up on the accelerator.
And there are accounts of the dramatic nature of Halo:
I've seen a warthog drive out of a second story window, do a complete back flip and land right in the middle of a squad of Covenant just as one of them said "Does anybody see him?"
All in all, chock full of good info. (Unfortunately, it seems to confirm that cooperative play is limited to two players.) Go read the whole thing! (Louis Wu 08:50:15 UTC) (permalink)
New Fan Fiction
Death and destruction on the Halo fill Mr Bill Jr V's latest story, 'The Answers'. Related to previous works... yet different. You'll find it (and many others) in our Fan Fiction section. It appears that the new comments feature is a success! (Louis Wu 08:49:32 UTC) (permalink)
Where's Ripley when you need her?
Yesterday the Marathon's Story page mentioned an interesting little comparison between the Covenant and the Pfhor, from the Marathon series, created by fan Joseph E. Haake. Today, Joseph points out a modified version... which implies a different connection. (Louis Wu 08:40:10 UTC) (permalink)
More mirrors for the TeamXbox movie
Seems we missed a source for the TeamXbox movie yesterday - you can find another two mirrors of the 20 MB mpeg at 3D Gamers. Thanks, Frans! (Louis Wu 00:05:33 UTC) (permalink)
News October 3 2001
German Fan Fiction... Ach!
In a first for HBO, we're putting up Fan Fiction in a non-English language - Uriel has submitted 'Beyond the Paradise, part 1', in German. Be sure to let us know how this works for you - the Comments page can be found in our Fan Fiction section. (Louis Wu 20:24:16 UTC) (permalink)
Movie list finally updated
Took us long enough... but we've finally added the two latest movies (the Bungie Commentary movie available at Microsoft's official Halo site and the TeamXbox gameplay movie) to our Movie list. You'll find all the current mirrors (in all the various formats) that were still active as of this morning, as well as links to screen captures for the bandwidth-impaired. If you haven't seen these films... grab them now! (Louis Wu 17:19:39 UTC) (permalink)
News October 2 2001
Gotta watch them Covs...
Drawing over the shattered, and dying SolCore vessel, the mammoth alien cruiser slowly begins to pull Percipere up into it's giant docking bay, her hull turning green in the eerie glow of the ships interior. The bridge command crew, watching in terror through the transparent titanium viewports as they are sucked into the belly of the proverbial beast. Captain Ricter, wincing from cracked ribs, and a broken nose, slowly stands, and turns to his crew.
Gordi sends in 'Backstory', an early history lesson for Halo-ites. You'll find it (and be able to comment on it) in our Fan Fiction section. (Louis Wu 19:13:36 UTC) (permalink)
Nordichardware preview translated into English
Thanks to Vid Boi, who sent in a translation of the Swedish Halo preview mentioned earlier. Lots o' work... check it out! (Louis Wu 13:21:19 UTC) (permalink)
Command THIS!
Occasionally, mention is made of Halo's ability to take absurdly high-resolution screenshots. We thought, when we saw the 1920x1440 shots posted by Daily Radar in March, we thought we were seeing an example of this. How silly we were... Bungie has kindly sent along an absurdly high-resolution shot - the original (440K) is 2664x2562 - and this one is obviously shrunk from its original size. Here's the new yellow commander, in all his multi-toothed glory... for those who want more manageable sizes, we've created a 1024x768 version (92K) and a 1280x1024 version (178K) - both padded with black to make the non-standard size fit your desktop. Enjoy!
(Louis Wu 09:17:25 UTC) (permalink)
Swedish Halo preview at Nordichardware
Magnus Esko, aka Dead Glory, an HBO Forum regular, has written a preview of Halo for the Swedish gaming site Nordichardware. We'd give him a hard time about how he got the story all wrong, just on principle, except... well, it's in Swedish, so we have no idea what he said. There's one part, though, that seems to suggest that the Covenant are really refugees from the planet Zebulon... we think that might be a stretch. If you're Swedish, or can read Swedish... go take a look! (It's probably right on target - we're just joshin' DG.) (Louis Wu 01:05:48 UTC) (permalink)
News October 1 2001
Halo SETI Team 7 day stats posted
There's a fight at the top of the Halo SETI Marines! charleya and Int_21 duke it out for top crunching honors, with Charleya narrowly edging Int_21 out, 168 to 165. (Int_21 takes the consolation prize of the Frogblast Award, leaping over 101 of his fellow crunchers to climb to 168th position.) The Marines lose ground to SETI's math-munging servers, but remain undaunted. Are YOU crunching your best? Check the 7 day stats page to see. (Louis Wu 14:20:30 UTC) (permalink)
Halo. Halo. Halo.
Everyone's getting in on the Mike Salmon action - TeamXbox has just posted an interview with the OXM Editor in Chief. Most of the questions are pretty general... but this one made us smile:
Having played nearly all the Xbox launch games, which ones are your favorites? Mike S: Halo. Halo. Halo. The latest build of Halo is so much more then we ever thought it would be. Amazing. It is very rare that a game (or a movie for that matter) not only lives up to the hype, but blows it away. DOA3 is also astonishing (best fighting game ever, without a doubt), and we've been having a lot of fun with Transworld Surf (surprising, but true).
Not only lives up to the hype, but blows it away... nice words. Thanks, Harry, for the heads-up! (Louis Wu 12:53:19 UTC) (permalink)
HUD and Screenshots updated
Last week's Halo Update has been added to the Halo Update Database... word of the week is 'screenshot'. Not bad - only two updates between the promised screen and its appearance! (The shot itself has been added to the Screenshots section, as well.) (Louis Wu 00:35:29 UTC) (permalink)
| October 2001 | |
