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Tuesday, October 30, 2007 |  |
Halo 3 Cutscenes: The Ark (and a fix)
Today's update for the Halo 3 Cutscene Library contains the cutscenes from the level 'The Ark' - but it also contains a cleaned-up version of the closing cutscene for 'The Storm'. A number of people noticed that there was overlapping music in the first version we uploaded, so Cody kindly went back and re-recorded the cutscene. He had to do it a LOT of times; it seems that overlap is common. The version up now has a tiny bit of overlap, but it's way better than it was. Enjoy - and enjoy the Ark scenes! (Louis Wu 22:40:36 UTC) (permalink)
Leaderboards for the meta-game
ninjakilpirate let us know about HaloUnofficial.com, which has leaderboards for the Campaign meta-game scores. Submit your scores, and see where you stand!
(Louis Wu 22:38:55 UTC) (permalink)
Arby - all wrapped up
This is actually quite cool - The More Deluded created a sculpture of the Arbiter... in wire. Artistic! (Louis Wu 22:26:26 UTC) (permalink)
FS2H is Back
Devrous stopped by for the first time in a while - looks like he had a pretty rough summer! He's back on track with his Freespace 2: Halo total conversion, and has a new website online. Take a look! (Louis Wu 22:17:44 UTC) (permalink)
A great novel, full stop.
Zeouterlimits pointed out yet ANOTHER Staten interview - this time at 1UP. Short - but solid! (Louis Wu 20:49:15 UTC) (permalink)
I'm SO Sorry
ZZoMBiE13 has a new funni for you today, over at Another Halo Comic Strip - a mystery of the ages... solved. (Louis Wu 18:26:38 UTC) (permalink)
Playlist of the Living Dead
Last Friday's Bungie Weekly Update hinted at fun changes to the playlist roster around Halloween. Swing by Bungie.net right now for full details - they're putting up an Infection-based playlist for 27 hours, starting tonight at midnight (PST). Full details (including ways you can use this information to get some of the harder-to-grab achievements out there, and neat tricks for downloading the gametypes for future use) are in the interview with Ferrex. Thanks, ViralSyris. (Louis Wu 17:52:01 UTC) (permalink)
Going behind the scenes of the Covenant
It's clearly Joe Staten day (not surprising, since it's the day Contact Harvest is officially released) - we got word that GameTap has an interview with him, as well. Well, Part 1 of an interview, anyway. It's pretty meaty already - and there is more coming! Thanks, Jared Rea. (Louis Wu 17:46:07 UTC) (permalink)
Contact Harvest Prologue on B.net
Bungie has posted the prologue from Contact Harvest - if you didn't get a chance to read this in the current issue of Official Xbox Magazine, you can read it here, for nothin'. Thanks, Dry Ice. (Louis Wu 16:33:20 UTC) (permalink)
Go right, mess him up.
Heh - there's an interesting piece at the Weekly Dig; it originally appeared in Willamette Week, an alternative weekly newspaper in Portland, Oregon (my old stomping grounds). It's a writeup of a grudge match between Michael Evans (who worked on Halo and Halo 2, but not Halo 3) and a friend of his (who plays Halo, apparently, about as well as I do). Some great quotes I can't use here without breaking language filters for some readers... thanks, Pete. (Louis Wu 16:28:21 UTC) (permalink)
TTL Tuesday
Hoovaloov stopped by to point out the newest content at Tied the Leader - there's an article from your favorite Halo General, XerxdeeJ, about the importance of rank, and a vid from Hoovaloov himself, LagtaculaR, a hilarious look at the vagaries of internet connections. (Louis Wu 16:16:22 UTC) (permalink)
Joe Staten talks about Contact Harvest
IGN has a podcast called 'Three Red Lights' - Episode 12 contains an interview with Joe Staten, about Contact Harvest (which is officially released today, don't forget!). The interview kicks off about 53 minutes into the podcast, and has a lot of info about the book and how it was written. There are some silly questions ("While you were writing it, were you working close with the guys at Bungie?"), but mostly it's a pretty interesting interview. Go listen! I found out about this at Planet Halo.
(Louis Wu 15:57:39 UTC) (permalink)
I guess it could point at the ground...
Heh - Kotaku points out a Halo billboard that's... not really pulling its weight, advertising-wise. Thanks, KP. (Louis Wu 15:42:59 UTC) (permalink)
Elite Armor - A Must-See
We've posted a lot of fan-made armor over the years - everything from paper to injection-molded plastic. Spartans, mostly, but also Elites, Grunts, Hunters, Flood. Yesterday we got mail from Frank Carradine, who created an Elite costume for Halloween this year... it's amazing. You've got to see it. I wish we had more pics. (Louis Wu 14:23:58 UTC) (permalink)
This ring is yours.
We got word from Tim '343 Guilty Spark' Dadabo - he's willing to create, as he has in years past, a recording (using the voice of Spark) for the answering machine/voicemail of the winner of our Guilt O' Lantern pumpkin-carving contest; if you thought the first-place prize package was just a little too small to tempt you to submit an entry... think again! You've still got well over a day - submissions close at midnight (ET) tomorrow. (Here's an example from a couple of years ago - this one was for Michael Coffing, and was recorded by both Dadabo and Steve Downes.) (Louis Wu 13:57:44 UTC) (permalink)
Shut Up and Listen
TTL Demag0gue has posted the next episode of his Reclaimer comic - Chapter One, Part 2 is called 'Shut Up and Listen'. I'm already jonesin' for the next ep!
(Louis Wu 13:46:14 UTC) (permalink)
Puzzleball 01
c0ld vengeance has created a new game called 'Puzzleball'. He's built a map (download link in that forum post) which has an oddball... that's hard to reach. Figure it out, film it, post the film. No prizes - do it for the glory. What are you waiting for? Update: we got a note from Shock Theta that he's been creating maps like this, as well; there are currently two (Puzzle Time and Puzzle Time II), along with corresponding gametypes, in his File Share. Objectives are in the descriptions. Try 'em out! (Louis Wu 13:42:25 UTC) (permalink)
Battle Flow Chart
This made me smile. Except for the mauler part. Maulers rock. (Louis Wu 13:32:01 UTC) (permalink)
Podtacular 132
Big Goalie Dan let us know that Podtacular 132 is up - it's full of tips for Guardian, the map of the month. Just under an hour, 29.2 mb. And a... somewhat unexplainable (but hilarious) video. Go listen! (Louis Wu 13:21:07 UTC) (permalink)
Custom action figure - with a twist
Hawty "I'll get back on top of the eBay pile, you know I will" McBloggy found a guy selling a custom Spartan action figure on eBay. What makes this one unique? Well, it's a model of "'MASTER CHIEF' from the hit PlayStation 3 game 'HALO'" (the seller's words, not Hawty's). Beyond that silliness, though, it's actually a pretty cool piece - the base has a dead marine and a brute (both custom), and it comes with a bunch of swappable guns. You've got until November 2 - go look!
(Louis Wu 12:21:24 UTC) (permalink)
Injured Knee Productions Interview
TheShadyGnome, of Flem Productions, did a podcast with a bunch of the folks from Injured Knee Productions - details about the group, as well as tidbits from upcoming episodes of Lost Cause, can be heard. 47 minutes, 21.3 mb. Go listen!
(Louis Wu 12:16:45 UTC) (permalink)
HaloTube Opens its Doors
a32ozSlurpee let us know that HaloTube is now online - it's a YouTube-like site with a Halo feel. (Higher quality, too, in the live stream and fullscreen versions.) There's a bunch of stuff there now, with more all the time - go see!
(Louis Wu 12:13:50 UTC) (permalink)
More armor pics from James Falcon
James Falcon let us know that he's finished up his glove plates and started on the fusion pack for his armor - you can find the new pics on his progress page. He also told us that future pics will be going to his personal blog at the 405th Mjolnir Armor forum - you'll need to register to see them. (Louis Wu 12:11:08 UTC) (permalink)
Gaming4Others raises money for sick kids
Awesomesauce. kilaMOMjaro let us know about the Gaming4Others charity tournament - money raised will go to Child's Play, a charity set up by Penny Arcade a few years ago to bring video games, toys, and movies to sick kids. They're running two ladders - one for GRAW2, the other for Halo 3. It's a 4v4 tourney, but teams can have 5 people on them. Registration is $50/team, and the top team in each game will go home with 5 1-year Xbox Live subscriptions. Go read more on the G4O website... you've got until November 10 to register! Even if you don't want to play, you can still sponsor a team, or simply make a donation directly to Child's Play. (Visit the Donations link on the G4O website.) (Louis Wu 11:17:27 UTC) (permalink)
CPL breaks down the prizes
The Cyberathlete Professional League has released details about their million-dollar Halo 3 tournament coming up in December - check out the payout schedule. (Most Halo 3 tourneys only have cash prizes for the top few teams - I've rarely seen money for anyone below 8th place. Even the 64th-place team goes home with $2500 at this one!) (Louis Wu 10:55:32 UTC) (permalink)
Blame Halo 3
Heh. Dark Helmet found a great song at Break.com - these folks went to great lengths to make a funny video, go watch it. (Louis Wu 10:52:50 UTC) (permalink)
Woody as Master Chief
Saber-Scorpion, best known for his amazing Lego creations, put together a Halo comic that ties together Halo 3 with Toy Story. (This contains Halo 3 spoilers; don't follow the link to the comic unless you've finished the game.) Pretty funny! Thanks, GoldenElite0. (Louis Wu 10:52:03 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Hellraiser
grantix is working on a 2-D computer game called Hellraiser - Halo sprites, blended plot. A screenshot is included in the forum post. (Louis Wu 10:48:59 UTC) (permalink)
Halo-related Facebook App
Schedonnardus pointed out a new service at Facebook - you can add your Halo 3 Service Record to your profile. Funky! (Louis Wu 10:48:27 UTC) (permalink)
Egg Hunt at GR
mjolnir15 noticed an article on Halo 3 eggs at GamesRadar; they've been culled from around the net, and some aren't really eggs at all... but it's a nice collection. (Louis Wu 10:41:58 UTC) (permalink)
Teaming Up with Halo's AI
There's a great article at AiGameDev.com that summarizes the artificial intelligence lessons Bungie learned (and taught) from the Halo series, in the context of making a better video game. It's really interesting to see how things have evolved; a great example is number 13:
"Early versions of Halo's AI had a short pause between seeing you and recognizing that you were an enemy. This was to allow people to get the jump on the AI or retreat if they were getting in over their heads. Playtest feedback showed that players assumed this Feature was a Bug and they all said it made the AI look dumb."
Ironically, adding this pause back in for Jackal snipers turned one of the most frustrating points of Halo 2 into a far more enjoyable experience in Halo 3. There are 42 points in all; they provide advice for game developers looking to make smarter AI, and fascinating reading for fans looking to understand how the magic works. Give this a read! Thanks, alexjc. (Louis Wu 10:33:28 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Movie News - Back on the Table?
s_tygard55 was the first to point out an article suggesting that Microsoft and Peter Jackson might be back at trying to find funding to continue work on the Halo movie. (The one he found is at GamesRadar.) There's a discussion about this on our forum - MasterChief2829 noticed an article at Computer and Video Games, and Charley117 followed up with an article at Kotaku (who found it at Play). They're all based on the same basic info - a Jackson representative is telling their side of the story, claiming that the Universal/Fox deal fell apart because the studios asked Microsoft to take a smaller cut at the last minute. If we get more on this, we'll let you know! (Louis Wu 10:15:52 UTC) (permalink)
Innocent Minds Soundtrack
Zukan has released the original music he did for the Innocent Minds film (we mentioned it back in August). You can grab the music from a post on the GamingTV forum - but you'll have to be registered to see it. Five tracks (two are bonus). Thanks, trigger119. Update: trigger119 has fixed it so that you no longer need to be logged in to view this. (Louis Wu 10:11:29 UTC) (permalink)
Film Clip contest - one day left
Mukelo wanted to remind everyone that the contest at Invalid Mob Gaming for best File Share clip (we mentioned it a couple of weeks ago) is over tomorrow - you've still got time, and there are only 18 entries so far! Get your clip in, and you've got a shot at a 1-month XBL Gold code (good for a new account, or to extend an existing one). (Louis Wu 10:10:52 UTC) (permalink)
Monday's news in brief:
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Halo 3 Cutscene Library: Floodgate How Rumours Get Started. Mmmmmm... Pudding RvB's Recovery One kicks off on the web One Small Step for a Spartan... Forerunner text? |
Sunday's news in brief:
