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 | December 1999 |  |
December 1999 Archived News
News December 31 1999
Thanks a million to Ferrex (Dead), who sent along the fix for the forum cookie expiry problem. You'll need to actually post a message to get your cookie back, but the problem is solved (for 11 years, at least). Thanks again, Ferrex! (Louis Wu 21:07:36 UTC) (permalink)
Ugh! The alt.games.diablo SETI team trounce the Halo SETI marines in the SETI club rankings by churning out over 3 times the number of units in the last 24 hours. Come on Marines! Let's go to work. (Wirehead 16:27:18 UTC) (permalink)
Mike Wessler has put up a new version of his java applet that simulates a halo orbit... and this one shows much more stable movements. Go take a look! (Mac users: you'll need either Internet Explorer, or the Applet Runner that Apple distributes with all system software to run this, Netscape's java implementation is broken.) Thanks, Mike. Pax. (Crux Fidelis 16:05:28 UTC) (permalink)
SETI Marines continue to crunch, gain two new members! Go check out the 24 hour stats. (Louis Wu 15:10:11 UTC) (permalink)
Flasback writes to let us know that HALO-NET has received YET ANOTHER makeover (emphasis his, although appropriate ;) )... go check 'em out! (Louis Wu 04:32:14 UTC) (permalink)
News December 30 1999
Marty O'Donnell (Total Audio) to speak at next year's Game Developers Conference so the Marathon's Story page points out. Music to our ears. Check the Music page for details on Marty, Total Audio and Halo's music. (Wirehead 21:15:20 UTC) (permalink)
Today is a good day! The Halo team moved 6 units ahead of alt.games.diablo in the SETI club rankings. Help us stay ahead by joining up today. (Wirehead 16:14:14 UTC) (permalink)
SETI returns all missing units! The Halo Marines jump 6 places in the club standings, to 126. Check out the 24 hour stats. (Louis Wu 15:23:12 UTC) (permalink)
SonicStorm writes to let us know that Battleground:Halo will be making use of the two weeks preceding its launch to put up a "species series"; different images each day, giving details of various aspects of Halo. The current one is a Human image, and old versions will be archived and available. Go check it out! (Louis Wu 04:50:32 UTC) (permalink)
News December 29 1999
The winter break is taking its toll... the SETI Marines are crunching fewer units. See who's slacking in the 24 hour stats! (Louis Wu 15:12:33 UTC) (permalink)
More thanks to Robert Cox, who sends us yet another Halo logo for our Logos page. Seems he's trying out a new graphics program. (Louis Wu 04:12:44 UTC) (permalink)
News December 28 1999
Thanks to Robert Cox, who sends us another Halo logo for our Logos page. Hmm... gonna have to come up with another organization scheme soon... suggestions? Pax. (Crux Fidelis 20:05:23 UTC) (permalink)
A bigger overview of the movers on the Halo SETI team can be found in the 14 day stats, compiled today. (Louis Wu 15:49:01 UTC) (permalink)
SETI crunching continues unabated, the Marines undaunted by the prospect of Y2K. Go check the 24 hour stats. (Louis Wu 15:13:33 UTC) (permalink)
Leave it to the MIT boys... Mike Wessler has written a java applet to demonstrate what a Halo orbit is. (Pretty easy to understand, even.) Read about it on our forum. Thanks, Mike! (Wirehead 07:21:44 UTC) (permalink)
Robert Cox writes to let us know that 100% HALO will be going down again. When it comes back, it can be similar to what it is, or an order site, or nothing... send him mail and let him know what you think. (Louis Wu 02:43:21 UTC) (permalink)
News December 27 1999
Oops... things slip through on Holiday weekends. Mojo posted this yesterday on our forums... Guess Halam isn't completely out of the picture. We're getting back to work... really! (Wirehead 20:56:50 UTC) (permalink)
Need a free, web-based email account? Flashback writes to tell us that Freemail at HALO-NET is up and running. Stop by and sign up today! Pax. (Crux Fidelis 20:06:11 UTC) (permalink)
Welcome to Chris Barker, whose addition to the SETI Marine ranks this weekend swelled our units coffers by 215. 72 hour stats posted... see who continued crunching over the Christmas weekend! (Louis Wu 15:15:15 UTC) (permalink)
Thanks to Dead Glory, who sends in a halo-inspired screen for our Miscellaneous Art page. (You can find it at the end of the Bungie section.) (Louis Wu 02:09:07 UTC) (permalink)
News December 25 1999
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
From the HBO crew and our families, to you and yours, we wish you the merriest of holiday seasons. Pax.
(We'll be back updating on Sunday, the 26th.)
News December 24 1999
Roberta Garca writes to remind us that SoundJam MP comes with a Winamp converter program. So that Winamp skin mentioned earlier today can simply be converted to a SoundJam skin. Thanks for the info, Roberta! (Louis Wu 20:43:58 UTC) (permalink)
Chris Earle sends us word of the GameSpy.com Year 2000 Preview, which (of course) mentions Halo. The most notable line in the short blurb is
It will contain a short single-player-training scenario, though the meat of the game will focus on the multi-player element."
Short? SHORT? Hmm. We can only hope that GameSpy is incorrect. Thanks, Chris! (Louis Wu 16:05:33 UTC) (permalink)
Those SETI Marines just don't stop. Check out the 24 hour stats. (These will be the last stats posted until Monday. Look for 72 hour stats then.) Pax. (Crux Fidelis 16:00:00 UTC) (permalink)
"No playable Halo demo at MacWorld Expo SF" says Matt Soell in our forums. Looks like they'll be a Halo movie though. Who's taking a video camera? (Wirehead 10:30:46 UTC) (permalink)
"Just updated my hompage and put out my Winamp skin Halo AMP" says Dead Glory. Right who's going to do one for SoundJam? (Wirehead 10:28:21 UTC) (permalink)
Ghetto Astronaut sends in a new desktop he made for his b&w G3. You'll find it on the Wallpaper page. Enjoy! (Louis Wu 07:00:58 UTC) (permalink)
SonicStorm writes to tell us that BattleGround: Halo, a new Gamespy site, will be going live on January 15. There's a teaser page up now. (Louis Wu 06:58:34 UTC) (permalink)
News December 23 1999
A Christmas bonus from Daniel Speed, who sends us his interpretation of the marine assault rifle. We've added it to the Miscellaneous Art section (it's at the end of the Original Art pages). Thanks, Daniel! (Louis Wu 19:55:03 UTC) (permalink)
THanks to Mark Mezzetta, who sends us a tidbit from MacGamer's Ledge. In a news item about the National Macintosh Gaming Championship to be held at next month's MacWorld SF, MacLedge says that Bungie "will be simulcasting a MACWORLD show over the Internet right from their booth and talking about the latest developments in Oni and Halo." We'll be there to hear what they say... will you? Thanks, Mark! (Louis Wu 19:29:33 UTC) (permalink)
Christmas? Bah humbug! Halo SETI marines don't stop for Christmas. The 24 hour stats prove it. What's your computer doing over the holidays? Put it to a good use. Join the Halo SETI marines into the new Millennium. (Wirehead 15:18:11 UTC) (permalink)
Dalan Galma sends in his thoughts on that shoulder-mounted device visible on some versions of the marine. You can read it on the Theories page. Thanks, Dalan! (Louis Wu 05:16:32 UTC) (permalink)
News December 22 1999
We've added Bravehamster's very nice Halo Christmas Card to our Miscellaneous Art collection. (It's at the end of the Bungie section.) Merry Christmas! (Louis Wu 21:07:15 UTC) (permalink)
Bravehamster sends us all a Christmas cheer in the form of A Halo Christmas Card. The staff at HBO wish Bravehamster and the rest of the Pax Nimbus gang a Merry Christmas. (Wirehead 15:57:27 UTC) (permalink)
John Houlihan of GameSpot UK asks you to head on over to their Top 100 Games of the Millennium feature. What is the best game of the past Millennium? Will your favorites be there? If not you'll have a chance to vote for your own personal favorite. (Wirehead 15:48:22 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI Marines still crunching, even with SETI server problems. Check out the movers and shakers on the 48-hour stats page. Pax. (Crux Fidelis 15:27:54 UTC) (permalink)
Kudos to Andre, who dropped off two new pieces of artwork; one logo for our Logos page, and one nifty collage for our Miscellaneous Art page. (Look at the end of the Bungie section.) Thanks, Andre! (Louis Wu 01:22:34 UTC) (permalink)
A happy holiday season, to you and yours! (Louis Wu 07:28:11 UTC) (permalink)
News December 21 1999
As reported on the Marathon's Story page today Marathon is 5 years old. Happy Birthday Marathon from the boys (and girl) at HBO. (Wirehead 17:49:28 UTC) (permalink)
No SETI stats today... the SETI server seems to be having problems. 48 hour stats tomorrow. (Louis Wu 15:36:54 UTC) (permalink)
L. Tankersley passes on an interesting link to a java ringworld simulator on our forums. Check it out... it's kinda fun! Pax. (Crux Fidelis 04:21:43 UTC) (permalink)
Kudos to Daft Shadow =PN=, who passes on word of a Halo mention in Gameslice's 2000 Platinum: The Millenium's Biggest Games. Press coverage is press coverage! Thanks, DS. (Louis Wu 04:11:32 UTC) (permalink)
News December 20 1999
"Oni Project Leader leaves Bungie" says Inside Mac Games. Brent is gone honey! (Wirehead 10:08:13 UTC) (permalink)
Even though he's not currently part of the Halo team, Nathan Bitner can still get the brain cells ticking about unanswered questions... Thought about what it takes to get a 10,000 kilometer ring spinning lately? Intriguing concepts, buried deep within our forum... check it out! (Let us know if you have any thoughts on the subject.) (Louis Wu 16:57:33 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SETI team 48 hour stats posted. Who did what over the weekend? (Wirehead 15:37:32 UTC) (permalink)
"You may have noticed that we have passed the 10000 unit mark! (as of about 1 pm GMT)" says Max Dyckhoff. Check our current standing in the top SETI Clubs. (Wirehead 15:37:32 UTC) (permalink)
News December 19 1999
Psyrixx writes to tell us that Psyjnir Complex has moved to <http://psyjnir.hypermart.net/>. Go take a look... the page is fleshing out! (Louis Wu 22:14:25 UTC) (permalink)
Not really Halo-related, but of interest to many of our readers... Courtney Evans has put his resume online, and within it can be found a great deal of hitherto-unknown information about the now-defunct Duality. Go take a look at what might have been! Thanks to the Marathon's Story page for the link. Pax. (Crux Fidelis 16:40:15 UTC) (permalink)
Talmadge Bangalore writes to tell us of the existence of another Halo (Clan? Ring? Order? He calls it a ring), called Rogue Omega. The site isn't fully fleshed out yet (the basic background shows up for most of the links), but there's more substance there than "we wanna kill people!". Check it out! (Louis Wu 09:11:25 UTC) (permalink)
Jason Hall writes with some interesting ideas for Halo realism. We've added them to our Theories page. Thanks, Jason! (Louis Wu 01:46:22 UTC) (permalink)
News December 18 1999
The Halo SETI marines are getting close to 10,000 units. 24 hour stats reveal all. (Wirehead 15:12:56 UTC) (permalink)
News December 17 1999
"Armor turns out to be a military sci-fi book" says Marathon's Story page. Coincidence or... (Wirehead 17:21:39 UTC) (permalink)
Covenant threat looms
SETI marines keep crunching
Current stats posted
Haiku by Louis Wu. (Wirehead 15:17:50 UTC) (permalink)
Poetry abounds
Our forum grows literate
Pity I don't too
The thread started here. (Louis Wu 07:40:14 UTC) (permalink)
News December 16 1999
Divide Overflow writes to tell us that The Brotherhood of Steel has been online since early October, but he hadn't advertised it yet. In the light of so many clan registrations, though... Go check 'em out. (Louis Wu 17:03:30 UTC) (permalink)
Ghalidrim writes to tell us that the Radioactive Squirrels, a new Halo battalion (his word), is now online. Go visit and see for yourself! (Louis Wu 16:29:03 UTC) (permalink)
DON'T READ THIS KAZEM... oops sorry about the caps! The Halo SETI marines were decimated today! Find out what happened on the 24-hour Halo SETI stats page. (Wirehead 15:19:08 UTC) (permalink)
Forum Funnies: The forum made me laugh tonight (here, here, here... other places too, but that's what hit first). Go read and enjoy. (Louis Wu 07:32:33 UTC) (permalink)
Alex Dillard writes to ask if anyone's noticed the smiilarities between the Covenant aliens and the Drej in the upcoming animated movie Titan AE. You can download the trailer and see for yourself... or you can check out a few screenshots of the Drej. He has a point... Thanks, Alex! (Louis Wu 01:55:35 UTC) (permalink)
News December 15 1999
A day late, but still relevant... SETI 7-day stats for the past week posted. (Louis Wu 16:27:01 UTC) (permalink)
We're still getting back units owed us... but the rate is slowing. Go see how the SETI Marines are faring! 24-hour stats posted. (Louis Wu 15:17:35 UTC) (permalink)
Thanks to Ryan Rea, who sends us another Halo logo for our Logos page. Thanks, Ryan! (Louis Wu 14:27:44 UTC) (permalink)
Psyrixx writes to tell us that another Halo clan, the Psyjnir Complex, is now online. Still in progress, but alive. Welcome to the community! (Louis Wu 13:12:37 UTC) (permalink)
News December 14 1999
Get that man a cee-gar! Harry Al-Shakarchi, otherwise known as "the fastest translator in the... um... north", has submitted translations of both german articles mentioned today. You can read the GAMEZ translation, and the Game Captain translation, thanks to his quick fingers. Thanks, Harry! (Louis Wu 19:31:32 UTC) (permalink)
One wonders if there's something in the air... we just received word of a German fansite devoted to Halo. It's titled "Halo Network", which could cause some confusion with the American site that has the same name... maybe we should refer to it by its URL, halo.gamesweb.de. Go take a look! Pax. (Crux Fidelis 16:31:14 UTC) (permalink)
Germans really love their Halo. The German site Game Captain also has a Halo preview. Translation coming! (Wirehead 15:56:21 UTC) (permalink)
Yet another German Halo preview! Kudos to Phex for pointing out the German PC magazine GAMEZ has a Halo preview. Check out the details in his forum post. Translation coming! (Wirehead 15:47:24 UTC) (permalink)
SETI techs return more units to the Halo SETI marines. Check the team stats for the last 24 hours. (Wirehead 15:40:23 UTC) (permalink)
Thanks to DeathGuru, who sends us a pair of desktops for ourWallpaper page. Ethereal. Thanks, DG! (Louis Wu 14:49:04 UTC) (permalink)
Cosmic Muffet writes to point out that although there isn't much on line about them right now, the Nether Legion is another Covenant clan that's been conceived of for a little while now. Membership is by invitation. (Louis Wu 14:40:37 UTC) (permalink)
Randy Boquet, {SS}Kasias, Overlord of the Sa' ik Sect, writes to tell us that the first-ever Covenant Clan is now online. Alien warriors are invited to stop by. (Louis Wu 00:57:32 UTC) (permalink)
News December 13 1999
Full and frank discussion on the Marathon's Story page about the 'low tech' look of the vehicles and weapons used by the marines in Halo. Bring some popcorn! (Wirehead 18:49:28 UTC) (permalink)
The recovery rate accelerates... almost 400 previously-lost units back in Halo SETI Marine fold! Check out the 48-hour stats. (Louis Wu 15:26:01 UTC) (permalink)
A fond farewell to Mojo, who announces tonight that Halam is (closing? hibernating? giving up?) ceasing to maintain its news coverage. He may be back... but in the meantime, take care, Mojo! Pax. (Crux Fidelis 05:14:37 UTC) (permalink)
Noctavis writes to tell us that the Pax Nimbus website is now online. There was a big long press release, but our dog ate it. You can read most of it on their site, though. Thanks, Noctavis! (Louis Wu 04:46:34 UTC) (permalink)
News December 12 1999
"In an age of interstellar space travel, AIs and military cybernetics would we still be driving around in ground based tanks and four wheeled vehicles?" asks the Marathon's Story page. Help us Nathan from the unholy one! Pax. (Crux Fidelis 05:25:03 UTC) (permalink)
Apologies for our forum problems... seems the server that houses them came under attack this evening. Things should be back to normal soon. (Hopefully, most will never have noticed the outage.) (Louis Wu 01:35:22 UTC) (permalink)
News December 11 1999
Kudos to coldyx and TomeOne for pointing out that Playstation 2 Central has posted a Halo PS2 Preview. One notable quote:
Potential PS2 owners should consider themselves lucky that this beauty title is coming their way.
(Wirehead 19:15:08 UTC) (permalink)
When the going gets tough the Halo SETI marines... get mean. Over 200 points recovered. The Halo SETI team stats reveal all! (Wirehead 15:19:40 UTC) (permalink)
News December 10 1999
Major gains by the Halo SETI marines. Check out those Halo SETI team stats for the last 24 hours. This time we get to win! (Wirehead 15:14:22 UTC) (permalink)
Matt Soell clears up the Armor mystery... just a case of bad codenames. Thanks, Matt! Pax. (Crux Fidelis 05:25:03 UTC) (permalink)
Thanks to Loren Petrich, who pointed out on our forum that Gamecenter.com includes Halo in an article entitled "Top 10 Game Predictions for 2000." One tidbit from that piece will be of interest to the many people who want to know about system requirements for Halo...
Bungie came to our offices and showed Halo in real time on a 400-MHz Pentium II with a standard 3D card, and we've been fervent Halo believers ever since.
Good news, for those with older machines. Thanks, Loren! (Press page updated.) (Louis Wu 02:33:10 UTC) (permalink)
Bryan Giordano writes in with some fascinating research. The US Patent and Trademark Office has a database of trademark text and images. A search on the word Bungie turns up 24 patents. Five of these belong to Bungie Software; one each for the name Bungie, Myth TFL, Halo, Oni, and Armor. Armor? This last patent was filed for on September 24, 1997... right around the time the Myth patent was registered. Clues on the meaning? Send in your theories! (Louis Wu 15:21:14 UTC) (permalink)
News December 9 1999
The recovery of units continues apace. Halo SETI team 24 hour stats posted... 100 units, back where they belong. Welcome, too, to Maraphile, and his 86 units. ;) (Louis Wu 15:21:14 UTC) (permalink)
Flashback writes to tell us that HALO-NET now has a flash intro added, explaining the story of HALO-NET. Go check it out... (Louis Wu 00:07:43 UTC) (permalink)
News December 8 1999
Hey! For the first time in a long time, we're gaining lost units! Check out the current 24 hour SETI stats! (Louis Wu 15:20:19 UTC) (permalink)
"It takes an unusual creative talent to know how an inscrutable alien race would have designed the interior structure of their ancient space relic." says a Bungie job advert. A reference to Halo? Join the discussion in our forums. Pax. (Crux Fidelis 08:46:41 UTC) (permalink)
Thanks to Dan Lacy, who sent in another desktop pic for our Wallpaper page. They're coming in fast and furious these days! Thanks, Dan. (Louis Wu 08:02:09 UTC) (permalink)
News December 7 1999
Sunny side up... SETI stats are ready. 24 Hour flavor, or the 7-day variety. Come 'n get 'em! (Louis Wu 15:49:02 UTC) (permalink)
News December 6 1999
Lies, damn lies and Halo SETI team stats for the last 24 hours. You got to luv 'em. (Wirehead 17:37:27 UTC) (permalink)
At midday today (Universal Time) the Halo SETI team hit 7777 units. (Wirehead 12:41:38 UTC) (permalink)
An editorial in the January 2000 edition of Incite PC Gaming (yeah, that issue) shows that the Bungie fanbase isn't alone in longing for a real storyline. Go and see what Wil O'Neal had to say! (Louis Wu 01:25:11 UTC) (permalink)
Kudos to DeathGuru, who sent us a new desktop for our Wallpaper page. Wow, that's four, in three days! Thanks, DG. (Louis Wu 01:04:32 UTC) (permalink)
News December 5 1999
Thanks to cosmufet, who uploaded a new desktop for our Wallpaper page. Enjoy! Thanks, cosmufet. (Louis Wu 15:50:30 UTC) (permalink)
Who are the Jjaro? (Formerly Jjaro Computer, Inc.) has added a single unit to climb to 777 units in the SETI Halo Team stats. This, and other interesting tidbits can be found on the 24 hour Stats page for the team. If you're not a member, go join today! (Louis Wu 15:32:02 UTC) (permalink)
"The Halo clan site NAVCON gets a redesign." says =NAV=Shadow. (Wirehead 12:20:13 UTC) (permalink)
Kudos to Bravehamster for posting 16 screenshots from the Incite Halo movie. Read the details in his post on our Forums. (Wirehead 12:08:55 UTC) (permalink)
News December 4 1999
We can't show you the movie, but you can read the transcript of it... It's easily worth the $3 or $4 it'll cost to buy. (Louis Wu 22:19:46 UTC) (permalink)
Oops, my bad. The Incite movie was uploaded to our uploads folder... but it's not ours to distribute. :( We've been asked to pull it, so pull it we will. Sorry... go out and grab the new issue of Incite, and see it for yourself! (Louis Wu 21:07:37 UTC) (permalink)
The Incite Halo movie described on our forums. Check here and here. Anyone got screenshots? (Wirehead 20:51:05 UTC) (permalink)
News December 3 1999
Those SETI Marines keep losing earned units. Someone better figure out why that is! 24 hour stats posted. (Louis Wu 15:24:22 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo movie confirmed by Synox of Halo World (German Halo site). (Wirehead 15:10:55 UTC) (permalink)
Rumors of another Halo movie on our forums. This one is on another German PC games magazine. (Wirehead 11:04:36 UTC) (permalink)
Bummer... Nathan says no wedding scans... he doesn't trust us. C'mon, Nathan! (Louis Wu 03:55:24 UTC) (permalink)
News December 2 1999
Halo SETI team stats are up! Better late than never. But what's happened to Jjaro Computers Inc.? (Wirehead 18:34:21 UTC) (permalink)
"Cortana reference found in Oni notepaper" says Marathon's Story page. A Halo/Oni tie-in? (Wirehead 13:15:19 UTC) (permalink)
Nathan Bitner wades in about "Halo on consoles" on our Forums. (Wirehead 12:03:34 UTC) (permalink)
"Consoles are entirely up in the air. We'd love to get Halo on consoles, but nothing is guaranteed yet. Nothing." says Matt Soell on our Forums. (Wirehead 12:03:12 UTC) (permalink)
News December 1 1999
Wow... scooped by the Core from our own forum! We must be asleep at the switch. Congratulations to Nathan Bitner, who announced his engagement, new screenshots, and a new job (in that order). Now all we need are the screens! Pax. (Crux Fidelis 17:07:41 UTC) (permalink)
Didn't get to them yesterday, but last week's 7 day SETI stats are now posted. (Louis Wu 15:26:01 UTC) (permalink)
Seems the SETI server is having troubles... hard to connect. This could explain why the SETI Marines are crunching less than normal... 24 hour stats posted. (Louis Wu 15:17:44 UTC) (permalink)
Sorry we had to restrain Wirehead again! The new shot Lars describes below sounds very like the one in the recent Next Generation two page spread (263K). Pax. (Crux Fidelis 12:19:38 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo screenshots in the German Game Magazine PC-Player! Kudos to Lars for this Halo report:
In Issue 1/2000 of the German Game Magazine PC-Player, is a Preview Report about Halo, there aren't any really new facts but there are some new shots. One is showing a Covenant firing with an Beam Weapon (a very big green beam) onto a jeep. And the Jeep slides down a cliff or hill when evading the beam.
Grab the scans Lars! Grab the scans! WooHaa!!! (Wirehead 12:09:36 UTC) (permalink)
Ryan Bruels sends in a nice Desktop picture for our Wallpaper page. Longtime Bungie fans will recognize the two Marathon fonts (and the much more obvious Marathon logo). Thanks, Ryan! (Louis Wu 05:12:32 UTC) (permalink)
Daniel Sandberg weighs in with some interesting evidence on the Halo/Marathon tie-in issue. Check our Theories page. Thanks, Daniel! (Louis Wu 01:34:47 UTC) (permalink)
| December 1999 | |
