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 | June 2004 |  |
June 2004 Archived News
News June 30 2004
WATCH THAT VASE!
Whoa. RunningRiot managed to capture some pretty amazing footage in his living room... (Louis Wu 22:15:59 UTC) (permalink)
More Halo 2 Screenshots from Kikizo.com
Kikizo.com has put up a massive collection of screens - it's all content that's been seen in recent print articles, but it's in digital form. Very nice stuff. Thanks to Zero Flaw for noticing. Update: Higher-resolution versions of some of the renders can also be found at Eurogamer.net (thanks, R.net). You know, of course, that the appearance of all this content on various websites means we'll be seeing higher-res versions from Bungie themselves in the forseeable future... (Louis Wu 19:31:23 UTC) (permalink)
I Screen, You Screen, We All Screen for HUDless Screens
It's been a couple of months since the last batch... but XLNC is back with 10 new HUDless screenshots. These were taken using the detachable camera in Halo CE - which, unfortunately, only works when you're alone. (It's not networkable.) (Louis Wu 18:02:38 UTC) (permalink)
Quashing Typos Before They Matter
Before anyone goes overboard... 1up.com has recently overhauled their website, and one of the things that changed was the listed release date for Halo 2. (They currently have it listed as December 15, 2004.) Normally, silly release dates on random websites are ignored by us... but 1up is a pretty big site (they're the web presence for several major gaming magazines (Electronic Gaming Monthly, Computer Gaming World, Xbox Nation), and this listed date is newly changed, which might lend credence to the date even among people who normally would scoff. Not to worry - Bungie has confirmed (as of about 5 minutes ago) that the date has NOT changed - November 9th is still the day of reckoning. (Louis Wu 17:35:28 UTC) (permalink)
Windows programmers - win Halo 2
Djof points out a contest on Channel 9, site run by Microsoft programmers - the Summer of Express Coding Contest. Create a 'non-business' application using the new Express products, and win one of 6 Xboxes (which come with Xbox Live and Halo 2)! Details are on the contest page. (Louis Wu 17:29:32 UTC) (permalink)
Flying around New Mombasa
GUzz3re points out a thread on the Halo Revolution forum containing a new video showing off New Mombasa, the ambitious mod from Mrs Doublefire, NiTrOuSoXiDe, and company. Last time I posted a link to a New Mombasa vid, I got bombarded with email screaming about how I was making a beta leak worse. (I wasn't, according to the team leaders - but lots of folks didn't know that.) I haven't checked this time, but some posts by Mrs Doublefire at the Gearbox forums make it clear that he, at least, knows about the video, and doesn't seem to be angry that it's out there. It's a large WMP9 vid (640x480, 5:07 long, 36.2 mb), and it's mostly just flying around the level in detached camera mode - but you get a good sense of its layout. (Louis Wu 17:05:37 UTC) (permalink)
XboxOttawa says Bring It
Hehe - the Fire Team Charlie boyz have a whole bunch of goodies to give away, and they've finally settled on how they're gonna do it. Play 'em on XBC, 2v2, and beat 'em, and you win stuff. That simple! There are some very reasonable rules laid out on the contest page - go make sure you're not breaking any! Thanks to Dr Lime, at HaloPlanet, for pointing it out. (Louis Wu 13:30:15 UTC) (permalink)
One Entry That Won't Be Winning GNF...
Today's One One Se7en looks at our Going Nowhere Fast competition, and how Stuntmutt's run stacked up. (In truth, he's in third place, and had some pretty l337 moves near the start... as far as I can tell, he's still in the running for the grand prize.) That said, visual manipulation of photos of me automatically disqualify you from any meaningful compensation, so he's probably right. (Louis Wu 13:04:07 UTC) (permalink)
Observation Is Nescessary For A Succesful Mission
Sometimes, the obvious isn't really enough. That's what I learned from Halo: Resolution today, anyway. (Louis Wu 12:59:57 UTC) (permalink)
Green and Silver
A couple of months ago, Bungie ran a contest called the 'Launch Week Prizetacular' - they gave away cool stuff to randomly-selected B.net members. The second prize was a Limited Edition Xbox Console - and last night, rapture showed up in the #hbo irc channel with pictures. Seems Joyeuse finally received his prize, and posted up shots on the Gearbox forum. A Limited Edition Xbox... signed by all Bungie employees. How cool is that? (Louis Wu 12:56:22 UTC) (permalink)
No, YOUR Mom.
We got word from Dolbex about a fun contest sponsored by MLG: Impress 'Your Mom', win free entrance to 50k3. The details: come up with the coolest multiplayer move ever, and 'Your Mom' (one of the Been Mawed crew, and a staff member of the 50k3 event) will give you a free ticket, an MLG t-shirt, and dogtags. Full rules can be found on the MLG site. Deadline is 3 weeks from now... so get cracking! (Louis Wu 12:48:27 UTC) (permalink)
Cortana.org - RIP
Looks like Cortana.org has gone offline. A visit to the site gives a Denied message... and a visit to Forerunners.org, its parent site, shows a news post stating that it's officially offline, with an explanation coming sometime in the future. Our links page has been updated. (Louis Wu 12:33:15 UTC) (permalink)
Getting out of PoA - the easy way
MireL pointed out a glitch he found at Halo Online some time ago - it's possible to climb out of the Pillar of Autumn, into space, through an airlock door. (The top pane of glass is passable by bodies, though not by bullets.) Goatrope quickly filmed the glitch (DivX format, 1.7 mb - I've also put up a QuickTime version of roughly the same size), and others in the thread confirmed that it works on both Xbox and PC. There's not much to see outside... but it's still fun to find areas like this! (Louis Wu 08:52:50 UTC) (permalink)
HaloPlanet opens officially
Battleground: Halo has become HaloPlanet - an official Gamespy Planet site. A new look, tons of new content (check out the interview with NiTrOuSoXiDe), and lots more to come - there's a welcome message from the site directors explaining where they're hoping to go. Explore! (Louis Wu 08:12:09 UTC) (permalink)
News June 29 2004
Waldo ain't got nothing on the MC
Recently, Saint's been running some fun mini-contests on our forum, called 'Where's The Master Chief?' An invisible MC is placed somewhere in a screenshot of a Halo level, and it becomes your job to find them. (We haven't been front-paging these because the files are pretty huge (a front-page link might swamp psyjnir.org, the host), and because they're being solved fast enough just with forum regulars participating.) Yesterday, he upped the stakes a bit; instead of just the warm glow of knowing you found him fastest, Saint offered to make custom screenshots for the winners of a 6-image contest. The contest is here (with an extra screen here, to fix a mixup) - the 6 winning images are here. A nice change of pace! (Louis Wu 16:10:35 UTC) (permalink)
But I LIKE the sun...
SFGate.com has put together a list of games coming out in the next 6 months that could keep you in your house - forever. (Like that's a GOOD thing.) Halo 2 is on it. (Louis Wu 14:53:31 UTC) (permalink)
HaloTV - Streaming Halo Goodness
A forum member reminded me that I'd been meaning to mention HaloTV again. This is a site which provides streaming versions of many popular Halo vids, including some content not available elsewhere. Recently, they opened a beta Red vs Blue channel... a great way to grab a random dose of the funniest Halo serial on the net. If you haven't looked recently, check 'em out! (Louis Wu 12:15:17 UTC) (permalink)
These Lips Were Made For Talking
Calvin makes Hobbes happy (but not the converse) in today's Calvin and Halo (Louis Wu 10:58:02 UTC) (permalink)
Moon Crater - now available as a beta
A week ago, we mentioned an upcoming mod from Icetiger with low-gravity play and bots - it's now available for beta download from Halomods. (If bandwidth runs out, there's a mirror at Halo World and another at Fileplanet, as well.) If you've got Halo CE - give this map a shot, and send your feedback to Icetiger! Thanks to Battleground: Halo for the heads-up on this one. (Louis Wu 10:42:45 UTC) (permalink)
Going... Going...
This is just a reminder - midnight, EST, on July 1 is just under 64 hours from now. That's the final deadline for all entries to the Going Nowhere Fast contest - if you plan on mailing a tape, now would be a VERY good time to do so. (And you should send it Second Day Air at the very slowest - anything slower, and you're not guaranteed a delivery by the due date.) The more glitchable levels (Silent Cartographer, AotCR) and the foolable levels (PoA, 343GS) are honed down to a razor's edge... but there is plenty of room for improvement on some of the less-attempted levels. For example, in the past 12 hours, we've received not one, but TWO entries for Keyes - both of which beat the existing fast time by many, many minutes. (Times will be posted once we've gotten the films into the hands of the judges.) Show us what you got! Remember, there's lots of little schwag (books, action figures) and some pretty good BIG schwag (a special-edition Xbox) on the line... (Louis Wu 10:28:54 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 Stands Alone
ps2.ign.com has posted an article entitled 'PS2 vs the World: Flagship Crushers', in which they analyze other consoles' top games, and how PS2 equivalents stack up. Page 6 is a look at Halo 2 - and all three reviewers acknowledge that there really is nothing on the PS2 that will compete with it. (All three check out the best contender - Killzone - and come to the conclusion that yeah, it'll be good... but it won't touch Halo 2.) Remember - these are hardcore PS2 fans. Thanks, Mr. Mongoose. (Louis Wu 09:58:36 UTC) (permalink)
Hard, smooth ride
Want some cool wheels? You might just have to wait a few years. Check out the December 2551 issue of Car & Pilot, nicely posted by Frankie over at B.net. I want one of those. (Louis Wu 00:53:48 UTC) (permalink)
News June 28 2004
Now THAT'S gorgeous.
What happens when you take spectacular game art, and let a spectacular wallpaper creator mess with it? You get something SketchFactor calls 'Desktop Coolification'. Check out the Bungie.net Wallpapers section for a fantastic new piece by Zoe, using Lorraine McLees artwork. Thanks to akba for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 22:12:46 UTC) (permalink)
UCDI wrapup
Konrad reminded me I forgot to post links to pictures taken at last weekend's lanfest. (They weren't very exciting... but hey, there were a bunch of HBO regulars there, so...) You can find a set from GT(Juggler) here, and another set from Konrad here. Funny comments from MIguel (who didn't make it) on the GT shots. (Louis Wu 22:02:43 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox Gamer, June 2004
The July issue of Xbox Gamer has hit the newsstands in the UK, so we've put the June Halo 2 article (scanned nicely by broony) into our Press Scans database. Some good stuff in there, though there's obviously a lot of overlap with the other magazine articles published last month... (Louis Wu 20:14:40 UTC) (permalink)
Monday Writing
Fourteen new Fan Fiction pieces since the last update. Are you caught up? (Louis Wu 19:40:36 UTC) (permalink)
New Wallpapers
A nice collection of desktop images have built up in the past couple of weeks - you can find 17 new choices in our Wallpaper section. Two that really stand out for me (mostly because of the custom artwork) are Mr Guy's Boarding Action pic, and Eric Rodrigues' Elite. Go look at everything, though! (Louis Wu 16:03:20 UTC) (permalink)
Back on the Homefront
In keeping with the mod updates, Homefront has posted one, too. Buildings, vehicles, landscapes... go check it out. Thanks, Pballwizard. (Louis Wu 15:06:26 UTC) (permalink)
He Gets The Point.
Poor Grunty in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 13:34:17 UTC) (permalink)
Breadcrumbs... In Space...
Halo: Resolution shows why you shouldn't make EVERYTHING obsolete. (Louis Wu 13:31:59 UTC) (permalink)
All Your Base
Stefander pointed out the third weekly update for the Zanzibar modding team, over at Halomods. Base work, looks like. (Louis Wu 13:12:34 UTC) (permalink)
Update Archived
Friday's Weekly Bungie Update has been added to our database - and a quick search on 'Marty' will show that the last line of his current update might actually be false. Search is good... (Louis Wu 11:42:57 UTC) (permalink)
Powertabbed RvB Theme
Skeletor points out a resource for guitarists:
Powertab Editor is a program that makes arranging songs for the guitar easier. Someone made a tab of the RvB theme recently and uploaded it to the Powertab Archive.
If you use Powertab Editor, go grab this! (And then upload your OWN tabbed version of other Halo songs... (Louis Wu 09:40:25 UTC) (permalink)
More Halogen Info
A few days ago, we mentioned Halogen, the upcoming mod for C&C Generals - yesterday Dispraiser posted Weekly Update One on our forum. The UI looks pretty good, and there's a bit of info about upcoming vehicles and weapons. Take a look! (Louis Wu 09:30:52 UTC) (permalink)
News June 27 2004
New Mombasa Update
NiTrOuSoXiDe posted an update for the New Mombasa mod for Halo CE over on Halo Revolution - DHalo reposted it on Halomods, and scottisonfire found it there and posted it on OUR forum. (Viral marketing at its best.) Very sexy screenshot, and some drool-inducing text. Check it out! (Louis Wu 19:11:17 UTC) (permalink)
Play Halo, benefit a Tulsa hospital
GAH! This came in last week, but got lost. (Sorry, Peter.) The Tulsa Jaycees are hosting a video game contest to benefit a local Tulsa hospital on July 10. Halo is one of 9 games in the lineup (rules can be downloaded here, in pdf format). If you live in or near Tulsa, OK, this might be of interest to you! (Louis Wu 18:52:00 UTC) (permalink)
RvB - in a theatre, with a beer
Red vs Blue will be showing at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX on July 8, 9, and 10. (How they picked 11:49 pm for showtimes, I don't think I want to know.) Ross Mills also points out some extra Sponsor content related to this event in the RvB Sponsors forum. If you're in the area - it should be a good time! (Louis Wu 18:45:34 UTC) (permalink)
Broadcast 8: Mr Rechargeable
rockslider mentions another episode of Frontline with Suzie - this time, the interview is with the Master Chief. Go read! (Louis Wu 17:51:41 UTC) (permalink)
News June 26 2004
Saturday Reading
18 new pieces for you in the Fan Fiction section today - go read. That's the end of the news posts, I think - UCDI: Special Forces starts pretty soon. (Louis Wu 14:50:32 UTC) (permalink)
Now if only it would shoot...
Braxton Colongione made a life-size model (140k) of a plasma pistol - always great to see Halo fans expressing themselves! (Louis Wu 11:52:25 UTC) (permalink)
Joyride Action Figures - Up Close
It's taken me forever and a day to get these posted... but they're worth seeing, so post them I'll do. Miguel Chavez took a bunch of hi-res pics of the Halo 2 prototype action figures (as well as the now-on-sale Series 4 figures) at E3 this year; we've made them available for viewing. There are 640x480 versions for casual viewing, and gigantic 2048x1536 versions for up-close examination. Give 'em a look! (Louis Wu 11:21:46 UTC) (permalink)
Towel Shortage, Ketchup-Flavored Pringles, and Trisquids
The Bungie Weekly Update this week can be found at the forums on the Major League Gaming website - there's lots of good stuff, but what killed me was that Sketchfactor was in New York this week, and didn't call. I would have bought him pancakes! (There's boatloads of more exciting stuff - go read.) Heads-up, surprisingly, came from Frankie. (Usually a fan beats him to the punch.) (Louis Wu 01:34:16 UTC) (permalink)
News June 25 2004
I smell a trap... or a rat. Or a rat in a trap.
Red vs Blue Episode 37, Dealer Incentive, has been posted for sponsors - and it's a whopper. 60 mb in high-res, any flavor. 6:27 worth of totally incompetent negotiations... and other stuff. Some of it's optional. (Louis Wu 19:33:40 UTC) (permalink)
Wireless Lockpick
Halo Babies has updated their comic, and asked a question that's puzzled many a Halo player over the years. There's also some new vectorized fan art. Go look! (Louis Wu 16:29:04 UTC) (permalink)
Prompt!
One One Se7en shows that ODSTs were never the sharpest tacks on the seat... (Louis Wu 16:23:53 UTC) (permalink)
Benefits Don't Cover Probing Anyway
Halo: Resolution puts our heroes in some pretty grave danger... (Louis Wu 16:21:57 UTC) (permalink)
Halo50k3, Baby
In an attempt to dominate the HBO front page, Dolbex sent around a bunch of news about Halo50k3, coming up at the end of July. First off, MLG ran a contest on XBConnect that gave free entry to the whole XBC team, an XBC pro account, and some MLG schwag to the person who could guess the 8 winners of the FFA the closest; this was won by Buu from team SA. Second, Registration is open now (and $40/person for only 3 more days) on the MLG Pro site (check there for hotel info, as well). Third, rapture interviewed dolbex about the event over at Gotfrag. If this isn't enough info for you, the entire collection of details has been written up in an article on the MLG site. (Louis Wu 09:24:13 UTC) (permalink)
Now THAT'S a Halo poster.
Dolbex got a poster he won after E3 back from the framers yesterday - you'll find some cool pics in this forum post. Yeah, those will likely be sold by Bungie/Microsft at some point. No, you can't have Dolbex's. Update: Sketchfactor chimed in to say that the licensing arm is close to making a deal, and that as soon as they know these (or posters like them) are available in stores, there'll be a post on Bungie.net. Nice! (Louis Wu 09:17:32 UTC) (permalink)
That's the last of 'em. Sort of.
The last of the enormous miscart backlog is now posted - you can find another 24 items in the Miscellaneous Art section today. Predictably, there are already NEW items in the queue - but hopefully, I'll be able to keep up on them a bit better. (Louis Wu 09:07:16 UTC) (permalink)
Wait... I thought that shot bullets?
Hehe - pretty cool. ThinkGeek sells a green laser pointer, and accepts 'Action Shots' - the combination led one Halo fan to send in this very slick shot. Thanks, Troy Conrad, for letting us know! (Louis Wu 08:37:54 UTC) (permalink)
News June 24 2004
Command and Conquer Mod coming along
Chronomaw writes to point out that Halogen, the Halo mod for C&C Generals (last mentioned in February, though that website no longer works) will be releasing a new render every day. Swing on by to see their progress! (Louis Wu 20:07:32 UTC) (permalink)
Halo The Miracle
Ultrash, who used to go by the name 'Shrike', has turned in a third piece of Halo Fan Music. This one is called 'Halo The Miracle', and is an 8-minute-long, 9.2 mb mp3 which is great to listen to. Ultrash is happy if someone wants to use this in a fan work - just contact him. (Louis Wu 16:22:30 UTC) (permalink)
Hopefully, it's not next to a 'Baby on Board' sticker.
Dave Writz pointed out the new bumper sticker on his mom's car... (Louis Wu 15:20:14 UTC) (permalink)
Tigers cheat.
Today's Calvin and Halo shows why you should never play games with sneaky tigers. (Or sneaky game documentarians, either... Just ask Dan Chosich.) (Louis Wu 15:08:43 UTC) (permalink)
The Misc Art Flood Continues
The second batch of Miscellaneous Art is now posted - 32 pieces, covering authors beginning with C through P. There is some truly spectacular stuff in this batch; look at ALL of it, but certainly don't miss work by DC, Gruntsbane, Iatro, and NeoFreak. (The first batch, if you missed it, was posted yesterday. The last batch will be posted tomorrow.) (Louis Wu 10:35:14 UTC) (permalink)
Words.
20 new pieces for you in the Fan Fiction section - after I deleted the garbage. It's becoming less and less fun to manage this particular subsection of the site... (Louis Wu 10:28:26 UTC) (permalink)
News June 23 2004
I'd Say More Like Stone Cold...
One One Se7en looks at a recent Bungie Weekly Update - MC shows that you can dress him up, but you can't take him out. (Louis Wu 22:57:04 UTC) (permalink)
Handle With Care Contents Fragile
Bah. I hate forgetting. It's still today... for a little while longer. Today's Halo: Resolution has the cardboard box meeting up with... trouble. (Louis Wu 22:56:32 UTC) (permalink)
MC Bust
Wow. NeoFreak posted some pictures of a Master Chief bust he made a while ago out of Sculpey - I'd find a spot for that in MY home! Beautiful. (Louis Wu 21:38:51 UTC) (permalink)
Miscellaneous Art - The Beginning
Wow. It's been a LONG time since the Miscellaneous Art section was updated. I decided it was time to stop putting it off... I process 86 entries today. Neither the server, nor folks on slower connections, can handle that kind of load, though, so I'm going to release them in 30-image batches. They're currently sorted by author (first name, because many people submit with just a one-name alias), not submission date (it was too much work to figure out what came from where) - so if you've submitted Miscellaneous Art in the past 3 months, and your name begins with A or B, your material is up now. Tomorrow I'll post C through P, and Saturday will be R through Z. It's going to be so nice to have an empty queue! Apologies to EVERYONE involved. This batch is primarily sketches - go see what's there! (Louis Wu 21:28:39 UTC) (permalink)
Bowing to public demand...
Okay, I wasn't going to add yesterday's mini-update to the Weekly Bungie Update Archive... but it turns out Frankie even created new Mister Chief artwork... how could I pass it up? The (tiny) item is now part of the official record. Sheesh. (Thanks, Jager.) (Louis Wu 09:36:26 UTC) (permalink)
Trautmann is moving on
Eric Trautmann has updated his blog with the information that he won't be involved in any future Halo projects for Microsoft. As he says,
"...it feels reaaaaaally weird to know that things like hypothetical novels or comics or whatnot will happen on someone else's watch."
Trautmann has been a guiding force on Halo novels and the like from the beginning; for the fans, too, there will be a shift. We'll miss you, Eric! (Thanks to Narcogen, at Rampancy.net, for finding this.) (Louis Wu 09:02:56 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 Print Ad Redux
TeamXbox has posted higher-res versions of the first Halo 2 ad (we posted lower-res scans on Sunday) - stop by if you want a better look! Thanks, LaMuerte. (Louis Wu 01:29:55 UTC) (permalink)
A close look at Oddball
Sparky has written the second of his series of Guides - this one is a Guide to Oddball. (The first can be found here - it was a guide to vehicle handling.) It (and the rest of the series) has found a permanent home at Rampancy.net - this is ideal, because the format gives people an opportunity to comment and augment. This guide is another great read - there are general tips about Oddball, and then specific comments about each multiplayer map, with respect to the gametype. Good stuff! Thanks to Narcogen for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 01:20:17 UTC) (permalink)
On The Battlefield
Sep7imus has whipped up a fun morale booster for the Covenant home front - a 3:08, 11.2 mb QuickTime video that gives those left behind a reason to cheer for their soldiers! You can find copies on files.bungie.org and mythica.org. (Louis Wu 01:13:32 UTC) (permalink)
News June 22 2004
Tiniest Update Ever!
Hehe - looks like Frankie posted a mini-update over an the Underground forum. One item - but it's great to hear! (Thanks, Jager.) (Louis Wu 22:30:20 UTC) (permalink)
Racing Times
A couple of new times have been added to the Going Nowhere Fast leaderboard - Truth and Reconciliation is now down below 25 minutes, and AotCR is less than 7 minutes. A reminder: The contest ends in a little over a week! That means if you're mailing a tape, it needs to get mailed SOON. (Rule 77 states specifically that the entry 'must be in the hands of a judge' - we're not talking postmarked, we're talking here.) At the moment, the cumulative time for the entire game, start to finish, is 2:46:11... can we get that down to 2:30? Come on, people! (Louis Wu 21:47:41 UTC) (permalink)
Avast ye mateys!
There are lots and lots and LOTS of Bungie fans that would love to see the game played out in today's Calvin and Halo. Hmm... (Louis Wu 15:50:01 UTC) (permalink)
Halo - on an IMAX screen
The third annual Maxgames tournament will take place in the IMAX theater in San Jose next month - a short article about it can be found on 1Up.com. The first iteration of this event was attended by vector40, who wrote up his experience for our audience. Thanks to Fuzion, this time around, for pointing it out. (Louis Wu 14:17:54 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Countdown for OSX
For Mac OSX users, Matt(Uh...#5?) has created a Konfabulator Widget to countdown to Halo 2. Details (pics, links, you name it) can be found in this forum post. Update: both Matt and Sanchezthellama have made available new versions with fixed dates (Matt's also has a different background). Cuts waiting time by a month or so. :) (Louis Wu 13:38:09 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Pro - Tourneys Galore!
Dolbex dropped us a note about a pretty major overhaul to the Major League Gaming website - there is a TON of new Halo content there. In fact, there's an entire Halo subsection, with links to all the fun stuff - but the beauty of this is, it's a whole bunch of sites, bundled into one, all sharing content. If you were a member at any of the following sites:
you should be signed up on the new mlgpro.com site. Current reading should include the writeup for Midwest Mayhem, the 2-day Chicago tourney that took place last weekend (though you can view it in any number of skins, just by picking the look that works best for you). They'll be adding new events every couple of days, so check back regularly! (Louis Wu 12:44:36 UTC) (permalink)
News June 21 2004
It's coming...
smeginfrell has put together a Halo 2 teaser ad, using footage he's created himself using some 3D rendering/animation software. It's short (1:15) but sort of large (9.2 mb in WMP9 format, 9.6 mb in QuickTime format) because of its large screensize: 856x480 pixels. Very nice work, overall. Take a look! (Louis Wu 15:55:02 UTC) (permalink)
Ride of the Valkyries - to the moon, Alice
Icetiger, who plays on HPC as IcetigerMOM (and generally kills me a LOT on HBO Coerce), has released a movie showing his work-in-progress, a moon level. Low gravity, Spartan bots, and a super-powerful sword are some of the fun aspects of this one. You can find links on both Battground: Halo's forum and Halomods' forum. The movie is WMP9 format (divx-encoded), 5:16 long, and a 19.5 mb download. The map is still in beta, and is not available for download. Can't wait to play this one! (Louis Wu 15:33:31 UTC) (permalink)
Xtournaments Halo 4x4 National Tourney - Get Set
A reminder: on August 14, the Xtournaments Halo 4x4 National Tournament will be beginning with qualifying rounds at almost 2 dozen iGames centers around the US. Tournament registration fee is currently $140/team ($35/person), with a $15,000 purse on the line. The Xtournaments website has much more information, and the list of gaming centers hosting the qualifying matches can be found on the iGames site. (Louis Wu 14:11:28 UTC) (permalink)
Date. Up. Week.
Last Friday's Weekly Bungie Update has now been added to our searchable archive; you can use it to discover interesting things. For example, I've always thought of Pete Parsons as a rather classy guy, someone who put a decent face on the rabble that is Bungie. The Sushi Fart comment this week threw me... until I did a quick search for Pete in the database, and discovered that he's a scatalogically inclined, rodent-based murder-obsessed lecher with a lousy car - amazing what you can miss when you're not looking. (Louis Wu 13:27:13 UTC) (permalink)
Hello Darkness My Old Friend...
One One Se7en looks on the bright side of yet another new Halo 2 feature. (Louis Wu 11:44:54 UTC) (permalink)
Irresolution In The Face Of Peril
Joe Staten wants a pony, just like Halo: Resolution... (Louis Wu 11:41:50 UTC) (permalink)
That's a lotta wheels.
rapture found a fun image on Planet Unreal. I'm kinda glad Halo doesn't actually work like that. (Yes, this is Halo-related; the pic comes from a UT version of Blood Gulch.) (Louis Wu 09:30:16 UTC) (permalink)
It's worse than when you are driving...
Dogsounds, a staple on our forum for a long time, went away. Now he's back. How do I know? Oh... it's probably the milk squirting out my nose. (Louis Wu 09:24:30 UTC) (permalink)
Halo + Lego = TOYZ
Thanks again to Fury Three, who's done a wonderful job of summarizing the Halo offerings made of Lego bricks over at the Brickshelf. Check 'em all out! (Louis Wu 09:12:53 UTC) (permalink)
If it's Monday, it must be Fan Fiction
Bunch of writing over the weekend, for the Fan Fiction section - 29 pieces, to be specific. Go get 'em! (Louis Wu 08:36:51 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Game closes, Halo.fr opens
The largest French Halo site has just changed links; Halo-Game has become Halo.fr. They've written up a press release (in French), and sent along the highlights (in English). You can find both here. (Louis Wu 08:06:05 UTC) (permalink)
News June 20 2004
Inside The Helmet
There's a new Livejournal to read - this one is called 'SPARTAN Updates'. It's updated semi-daily (author's terminology), and looks at the day-to-day life of John-117. In light of the negative feelings generated by some peripheral issues with the whole Enkidu presentation, I'd like to make a few things clear:
- This is not being written by anyone at Bungie, or anyone at Bungie.org
- The inclusion of a bungie.org email address for responses is simply to hide the identity of the original author, and does not in any way suggest that this is 'official'
- The inclusion of a bungie.org address does not in any way imply that these are available to anyone who asks
All that said, go and read! (Louis Wu 16:56:42 UTC) (permalink)
Cheap Halo for Auction in GB
Matt_117 points out an interesting eBay auction; you can order a new and sealed copy of Halo 2 for £19.99, free shipping, delivered, VAT included, in your hands within 2 weeks of November 9. If you're on a budget, and live in Great Britain, this might be worth looking at. (Louis Wu 15:17:35 UTC) (permalink)
Say Hello To My Little Friend.
Episode 22 of Miniature Halo has been posted; MC gets some help. w00t! (Louis Wu 14:52:44 UTC) (permalink)
QuickTime Banshees
Yesterday, we mentioned a movie posted by Ducain, showing the Object Overload technique used on the Maw to grab a banshee in Single Player mode. I'd mentioned that a QuickTime version could be made available if needed - a number of people have emailed about this, so you can grab a copy on files.bungie.org. Also, there was a post by Ducain explaining a few things about the movie (including the astounding fact that it took him 5 hours of continual Flood-killing to cause the overload) that is worth reading, for those interested in the technique. Wow! (Louis Wu 14:42:41 UTC) (permalink)
The Media Blitz Commences
tLove scanned a 2-page ad for Halo 2 from the current issue of EGM. It's not very high-resolution, but it doesn't need to be; it gets its point across quite
nicely at any size. (We figure free advertising isn't gonna bother ANYONE, which is why we're okay posting scans from a current issue.) Update: Oops, this was double-posted, and the second post got lots more replies. If you want to contribute, this might be a better thread. (Louis Wu 03:24:24 UTC) (permalink)
You take the Leyk. I look and look at it.
We got a nice note from Tina Leyk this evening, letting us know about a couple of updates on her website; we've added the relevant art to her collections here. There's a new wallpaper using the Fur-Lo characters; you can find it on the Fur-Lo page. There's also a great sketch of an Elite bust on the Fan Art page. This woman ROCKS. (Louis Wu 03:16:34 UTC) (permalink)
News June 19 2004
AdrenaLAN
Pballwizard points out a LAN party being organized in Kalkaska, Michigan on June 25-27. If you're in the area, check it out! (Louis Wu 16:10:55 UTC) (permalink)
Interpretation
Interesting... Ashrak has taken a shot at interpreting a pair of glyphs that appear in Two Betrayals (with a little animated gif and a description). I like it! (Louis Wu 16:06:44 UTC) (permalink)
Of Banshees, and Exploring
A year and a half ago, Frogblast showed us how to use Object Overload to grab a banshee on the Maw. He did it in Co-op mode, because OO is WAAAAY easier that way. However, last October, Mat Noguchi, Tools programmer over at Bungie, explained enough about Object Overload that the route was clear (though far from easy) to do this trick in Single-player mode. Last week, Juggertrout posted a movie (made by some friends) showing this grab in single player - but it was just the grab. There was no explanation of how it was done, or any video footage of the setup. Ducain, in his inimitable style, has not only rectified this situation, he's offered (obliquely) to pass out a checkpointed save to anyone who mails him a memory card and a stamped self-addressed envelope. The movie in that post is 10.5 mb, 3:50 long, in WMP9 format. If anyone needs a a QuickTime version, let me know. It's wonderful to see the dedication that Halo can STILL elicit in its fans. (Louis Wu 14:56:46 UTC) (permalink)
Halo2.com gets updated
Microsoft's Halo 2 splash site (Halo2.com) has been updated - all the new Game Informer screenshots have been added, as well as that amazing Eddie Smith artwork that showed up in the Swedish SuperPlay print article. (It can be found under 'Screenshots', which is sort of silly... but I guess they don't have a 'Wallpaper' section.) There's also a new section on awards and press accolades. Thanks to Fuzion for pointing out the wallpaper (and getting me to look through the site again). Update: there's a higher-res version of the Eddie Smith art (1600x844, with no black border) in the Bungie.net Halo 2 Print Art section. Thanks, Tocki (of Halo Orbit) and Deimos (of Subnova)! (Louis Wu 14:24:12 UTC) (permalink)
RvB Artwork
Red vs Blue has put up a HUGE collection of viewer-submitted artwork; icons, wallpaper, random pics... go check it all out. Thanks to Ross Mills for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 13:47:33 UTC) (permalink)
Ask, and ye shall receive
Holy moley. You whine in an intelligent manner, things happen. I posted a note here earlier about the new story summary at Xbox.com, and complained that it had some non-canon ideas in it. (There was a forum thread that went into more depth, as well.) I sort of wish I'd kept a copy of the original story... because it's been fixed. Check it out! The fans really do count. ;) (Thanks, Frankie.) (Louis Wu 01:32:15 UTC) (permalink)
Beer and Sushi... and other good things
The Weekly Halo Update is over at the 343GS forums today; Frankie says it's short, but man, it seems more to the point (and with more luscious detail than usual) than most. Go read it, it'll make you drool. (Louis Wu 01:06:44 UTC) (permalink)
News June 18 2004
Keep your head down!
New Frontline with Suzie - this week, it's called 'A spot of bother', and has commentary from Suzie in the middle of a rockslide megabattle. Thanks, rockslider... (Louis Wu 22:16:02 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 Storyline Summary at Xbox.com
There's a new article up at Xbox.com - it's called 'Halo 2: Storyline', and it summarizes the plot of Halo for folks who haven't played it. Hardcore story fanatics will be unhappy (it's chock-full of... um, inconsistencies), but as a short summary of where things stand, it's fine. Thanks to Cullen, via irc, for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 16:14:51 UTC) (permalink)
It's What's Inside That Counts
Stuntmutt takes one last shot at our poor, defenseless, maskless grunt in today's One One Se7en. Good thing it's the weekend coming up. That guy needs a break. (Louis Wu 12:35:03 UTC) (permalink)
In The Name Of Indecision
Has Fuzzy run out of ideas for Halo: Resolution? Check today's episode and find out. (Louis Wu 12:33:05 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Babies Update
Bunch of new stuff over at Halo Babies - it IS Friday, after all. There's a new strip, of course (pretty funny, I'd say), a bunch of new artwork, and, in an attempt to clean up their comments section, some pretty stiff rules about abuse. (Given the abuse our Fanfic comments section sees, I can sympathize completely.) Go check it all out! (Louis Wu 12:16:46 UTC) (permalink)
Friday Fiction
Eep - been a few days since I remembered to update the Fan Fiction section - now there are 26 stories for you. Go read! (Louis Wu 12:08:55 UTC) (permalink)
Wallpaper contest
SEspider has fired up another contest in our forum - come up with a Wallpaper using images from Miniature Halo, win some cool action figures. Details are in the post - deadline is July 10. Get cracking! (Louis Wu 09:37:08 UTC) (permalink)
You bought WHAT?
Wow - this is some amazing cojones - selling cheats for Halo 2 on eBay. (Even better - someone paid over $30 to buy 'em.) In case it gets pulled for the fraud that it is, there's a local, no-links copy here. Thanks to IXIGhandiIXI for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 09:32:22 UTC) (permalink)
Of Driving, and Such.
Sparkypinball put together the first of what looks to be a series of How-To guides for Halo; this one is called 'Sparky's Guide to Vehicle Handling'. It covers such topics as Warthog/Ghost jumps without flipping, the differences between Halo PC Hogs, and how to maximize your forward progress in a Ghost. Nice read! (Louis Wu 08:49:07 UTC) (permalink)
XBL Hookup Primer
The MorningStar has written up a guide explaining how to connect your Xbox to the internet for Xbox Live. This gives you plenty of time to absorb the wisdom before Halo 2 is released. (Mind, there's plenty to do on XBL RIGHT NOW, and this information can be used to get you there... but this is a Halo site, so the info is targeted to Halo.) (Louis Wu 08:46:00 UTC) (permalink)
My eyes hurt
moddedcyborg has put together a few 3D screenshots - the kind that need those cheesy red and blue glasses to see properly. Reaction is good, and I'm sure I'll enjoy 'em as soon as I can find my kids' copy of Spy Kids 3D... (Louis Wu 08:42:10 UTC) (permalink)
A Body of Work
Dan Chosich posted a short (52 second) but very sweet movie that basically gives an overview of his body of Halo filmmaking. If you've never seen Dan's work, watch this film - it'll make you want to watch more. If you HAVE seen Dan's work, check this out for a quick thrill. It's 15.5 mb in QuickTime format; Dan posted a Junkyard link for the film in his forum post, but we know what HBO approval does to movie links, so we've tossed up a couple of mirrors - there's one on files.bungie.org and another on mythica.org. Enjoy! (Louis Wu 00:08:45 UTC) (permalink)
HCE/HEK State of Affairs
Cunbelin has posted the second of his weekly bi-weekly updates on the state of Halo Custom Edition and the Editing Kit, over at Bungie.net. Seems a little rushed, but it points out a few very nice maps, and gives a little background on some upcoming stuff. Thanks to haloguesser for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 00:04:23 UTC) (permalink)
News June 17 2004
Extreme Halo
Teehee... Chilton Webb points out the stuntrider on the far right of this concept art. Who says Bungie's not expecting you to have fun? (Louis Wu 18:43:52 UTC) (permalink)
Be careful what you wish for.
Calvin and Halo shows why it's not always a good idea to try and outsmart your parents. (Louis Wu 16:56:43 UTC) (permalink)
RvB Administrivia
Quick note for Red vs Blue Super Sponsors; you should check the Sponsors page for a link to a 'Subscription Serviecs Manager' - you need to make sure they have the right address by June 30. They're printing mailing labels on July 1, and you won't be able to change things after that. (Louis Wu 16:52:54 UTC) (permalink)
Screenshots - the lifeblood of he who waits
The recent release of new hi-res screenshots from Bungie finally got me off my duff to update our Screenshots database; it's finally up-to-date. 193 shots were added today... not a bad day's work! (Louis Wu 16:23:37 UTC) (permalink)
Speculation and Innuendo
mnemesis sent word that he's updated the Halo Story Page again - it's a big 'un. He's been impressed recently with the quality of submissions... keep it up, folks! Update: And Wado explains WHY the quality is up. (Louis Wu 10:28:11 UTC) (permalink)
Links Update - again
Because of the massive influx of new sites in our Links database, we've added a small 'New' graphic to indicate when a site's been added in the last week. (Thanks, Paul!) It seems some of you haven't noticed that your site was added, and submitted again... maybe this will help. (Louis Wu 10:13:29 UTC) (permalink)
New Mombasa gameplay - in a vid
Blade, at Teamhalo.net, put together a 6:26 long video (WMP9 format) showing gameplay on the upcoming New Mombasa map, using the Halo 2 Mod. (This is a huge team effort from a lot of talented people that mostly hang out on the Gearbox forums - a recent update on the project can be found here.) Blade's movie is available in both high (640x480, 35.1 mb) and low (320x240, 15.4 mb) versions. His video card doesn't really do the map the justice it deserves... but you can certainly get a great flavor of its size and scope, as well as how the new weapons work. Registration (free) is required for download. (Louis Wu 03:00:16 UTC) (permalink)
Behind the scenes - Magazine Pimpage
Wow. Frankie has posted an awesome interview/picture cornucopia over on Bungie.net; a discussion with Jeremy Zoss, Associate Editor of Game Informer magazine (about GI's visit to Bungie in preparation of last month's article), and a collection of more than a dozen VERY high resolution images (screenshots and concept art) that were eventually used in the story. If you've read the magazine (or our press scan), you've seen the pictures... but not like this. Go read! First heads-up seems to be from Wolfy, of Sector 7. (Louis Wu 02:38:50 UTC) (permalink)
News June 16 2004
Yo' Grunt...
That maskless grunt has been the talk of our forums today. Even Sarge is getting into the act - check out One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 15:11:38 UTC) (permalink)
I'm Living In A Box...
Halo: Resolution puts a Spartan in orbit... in a non-regulation orbital device. Good thing that armor can withstand hard vacuum! (Louis Wu 15:09:50 UTC) (permalink)
Aim above the head, but then a little lower
Awesome. A week ago, Chilton mentioned a G4TV program in which John Mayer (the musician) was playing Halo with his friends. The thread didn't go anywhere, because you either have G4 on your cable/satellite system, or you don't. We got mail from Brian Graham, asking us WHY it didn't go anywhere, given that anyone could watch this segment. What...? Well, it turns out that a Mayer fan puts up videos like this on his website; this one is available via BitTorrent, as a 63 mb, 640x480 DivX-encoded clip (6:19 long). It's also available via ftp, if you have trouble with the torrent seed... but that bandwidth is pretty limited, you're FAR better off trying to BT it. It's a really fun piece; he spends some of it talking about the video games he grew up in (and, not surprisingly, the music in them), but the last half is all Halo gameplay/player interaction stuff. He's a pretty funny guy, and this is worth watching. (Louis Wu 11:15:28 UTC) (permalink)
Links page update
Wow. Seems like there was some pent-up demand, that's for sure - in the first day and a half since we posted our link submission form, we've added 50 sites to our Links page. We've had to reject a bunch of entries - folks who submitted sites with no Halo content, or sites that aren't running yet, or Seventh Column chapters - and in a couple of cases, sites which take more than 80% of their content from us, and even go so far as to simply LINK TO OUR VERSIONS of that content, rather than host it locally... but in general, I'd have to say this seems like a rousing success, and one that allows us to add your link to our Links page without the delay incurred by having to wait for me to find time to do this. Keep up the submissions! (Louis Wu 10:58:03 UTC) (permalink)
That's one nasty dude.
We posted a magazine article with a tiny picture of a maskless grunt this afternoon - and people complained that they couldn't really see it. Over on the Halo Story Page, mnemesis has heard your cries, and while he deplores whining, he sometimes enjoys serving up surprises. (Louis Wu 00:03:58 UTC) (permalink)
News June 15 2004
Writing, and some suggestions
Fourteen pieces for you today in the Fan Fiction section. To submitters: if you feel the need to stick a huge honking piece of material at the beginning of every chapter, with, say, your cast of characters... make SURE that the actual STORY CONTENT meets our word minimum requirement, or your piece will be rejected. (If, for example, your submission is 800 words, but 300 of those are your cast of characters that showed up in your LAST chapter... we're tossing it.) Sorry - but if you can't find enough to write about to actually FILL 750 words with content, you shouldn't be submitting at all. And to the guy who submitted a 1000+ word story with almost no periods at all... don't do that again. Thanks! (Louis Wu 21:26:49 UTC) (permalink)
Superplay Scans
Thanks go out to Tim Alvner, who scanned an article from last month's Superplay (a Swedish magazine) and sent it in. (The June issue is now on the shelves in Sweden, so we can put this up now.) You can find it in our Press Scans section. The highlight, for me, is a gorgeous Eddie Smith piece that spans a couple of pages... but there's also a small pic of a maskless Grunt, which should ease the pain of the masses not able to find Xbox Gamer in the US. (The Xbox Gamer scans won't go up for a couple of weeks, yet.) Take a look! (For most of us, this one is pictures-only... Swedish is a rough language if you don't know it.) (Louis Wu 18:35:52 UTC) (permalink)
Goodies for Music
Hehe - Xraf posted a note on Bungie.net's Underground forum, with lyrics for a song called 'We Will Frag You', set to Queen's 'We Will Rock You'. Sketchfactor jumped in and offered a bonus:
Someone record it to music and send in an .mp3 of it! I'll send you a prize. =)
Sounds like a deal! (I'd guess that the offer only applies to the first mp3 he receives, though I don't know for sure; you might wanna check with him for details.) (Louis Wu 15:16:50 UTC) (permalink)
G3NEOCIDE
Mike Blanton writes that his clan, GaB, made a montage video recently; pretty much straight gameplay, but with some nice editing touches. It's a big file (40.5 mb, mpeg1 format), and I have no idea how long his clan server can hold out serving it... but he said to post it, so I'm posting it. (Louis Wu 14:32:57 UTC) (permalink)
The Case of the Misplaced Grunts
Weirdness. Ducain has posted a vid he made from a videotape sent to him by TablesandChairs - there are a handful of totally out-of-place grunts on the top of Halo. They're really up there (the vid shows them shooting and yelling, though not moving) - the question is how? Getting to that particular spot is not that hard, and several people (including Ducain) have done it/filmed it, and no grunts have ever been seen up there. So how did these guys get on top? It's a mystery... Update: apparently, they WERE moving, on the original tape; that footage just got cut out. (Louis Wu 13:29:19 UTC) (permalink)
The Zanzibar Project
A new modding team has started up - the Zanzibar Project has posted its first weekly update on both the Halomods forum and the Gearbox forum. (It's pretty interesting reading the comments on the two sites - totally different feel to the communities.) They're reproducing the Zanzibar map for Halo CE. No word yet on a timeline. Thanks to Stefander for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 13:21:42 UTC) (permalink)
Sarge went 404
Sector 7 has put up a new episode of Marines, their local comic strip. It pokes fun at their server's flakey connection. Thanks to Wolfy for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 13:20:48 UTC) (permalink)
Prostrate before the Altar
Calvin and Halo reminds me to remove all the televisions from my house, before my kids get home from school. (Louis Wu 13:15:27 UTC) (permalink)
Reviewing games not yet out...
What the...? Xbox Nation went to a fortuneteller to find out how Halo 2 was going to do. The prediction - there will be legal issues, the ending will be weak, and a third game is in the works. Predicted score: 7/10. This article has got to take the 'silliest article from a respected gaming mag' award. Earliest heads-up goes to Jeremy Hay, who found it last night. (Louis Wu 13:08:07 UTC) (permalink)
Flintstones? I don't think so.
Sketchfactor, over at Bungie.net, has put up their site stats for the past couple of months... and they've been doing some business! 28 million pageviews in 9 weeks; that's some serious bandwidth! (I guess I'd worry more about the 4 death threats in that timeframe, though...) As a measure of how busy their forums are, they've seen 177,000 forum posts since April 13 - HBO's forum, which is pretty darn busy, you ask me, has seen about 30,000 in that time period. Keep 'em going! (Thanks to pilotelite for noticiing the news story.) (Louis Wu 02:13:14 UTC) (permalink)
deviantARTwork
Deimos, of Subnova, spent a LONG time hunting through deviantART and came up with a list of 17 unique wallpapers that aren't also hosted here. Some of them are quite nice!
- My First Car
- Halo -True Soldier-
- Red vs Blue
- Master Chief
- Halo 2
- Halo Sketch
- Halo photograph...nearly...
- 7th Column: We're Everywhere 4
- Earth's Halo
- Falling
- MCGhost
- 7equalsMarathon
- Halo Covenant Wallpaper
- Pelican: Hell's Bird
- Belly of the Pelican
- Halo Bliss 2
- Halo 2 Wallpaper
(There are others, but they were either submitted to HBO as well, or stolen from other sites (unattributed to the original authors), so we haven't linked to them.) (Louis Wu 01:59:30 UTC) (permalink)
Rejected Halo 2 Ideas
Hehe - nice. Owl found a fun Halo-related issue of Aikida, a web comic. Good stuff. (Louis Wu 01:42:06 UTC) (permalink)
News June 14 2004
Link Page - Automated
For a very long time, we've been threatening to automate our Links page; there are new sites all the time, and we've been awful about both posting them on our news page and adding them to our Links page. All that's about to change - because it's an automated system now. If you have a Halo site you'd like to add to our Links page, visit our Links Submission page and drop in your info. We'll do our best to approve submissions at least every day. (It can't be FULLY automated, because of all those yucky people who'd fill the list with porn links and such if we allowed it.) I've gone through the current links page and pruned all the dead ones - if you've submitted your link to us in the past 6 months, you're probably not on this list, so drop an entry on the submission page! (Louis Wu 20:00:25 UTC) (permalink)
Online Halo Tourney
Andy writes to point out a Halo tournament with a $50 grand prize (no entrance fee). It's totally unclear from the documentation, but I'm guessing (since ping is mentioned on one page) that we're talking about an online tourney using Halo PC. (It could be an Xbox tourney using XBC, though - you might want to check with them to be sure. Signup closes in 11 days (June 25th), but there doesn't seem to be an actual contest date posted yet. More information can be found on the tourney site, if you're diligent. (Louis Wu 16:49:05 UTC) (permalink)
Fanfic contest ends SOON
Steve wants to point out that today is the last day for submissions for the First Annual Enkidu Fan Fiction Contest. (Louis Wu 12:50:49 UTC) (permalink)
Update Update
We've added last week's Bungie Weekly Update to our Update archive - it's a good place to find stuff like, say, the fact that Lorraine popped up this week for the first time since E3. (Sorry you're sick, Lorraine!) Sometimes just browsing the entire collection can be fun (careful, thought, it's over 150k of text by now). (Louis Wu 09:49:01 UTC) (permalink)
Behind the Mask
Well, nobody found the Chief and Sarge after that nasty explosion on Friday... but I guess they're like the cat, they just couldn't stay away. MC, at least, is back in today's One One Se7en, and he's met up with a new friend (the Xbox Gamer magazine scans that this guy came from will be posted in a couple of weeks, when that issue is off the shelves). And that wraps up our Comic trilogy for the day. I hope. (Louis Wu 09:23:12 UTC) (permalink)
This Is Why He's Not In The Union
Captain Keyes shows off his unusual thinking in today's Halo: Resolution. (Louis Wu 09:18:30 UTC) (permalink)
Jugglin' Chief
Ack! I forgot to post this yesterday; SESpider submitted the next episode of Miniature Halo. Very nice layout work by PsYcHoDaN, in addition to the photography and story work by Spider himself. Check it out! (Louis Wu 09:16:33 UTC) (permalink)
More shakeycam gameplay
Fuzion found a new gameplay clip over at Kikizo.com, flimed on the sly at E3. It's only 27 seconds long, but you get a decent view of some weapons that haven't gotten a lot of show so far. Clarification: seems my wording might suggest there are new, never-before-seen weapons in this footage; that's not the case. It's just that there are short clips showing the plasma rifle and shotgun clearly in first-person mode, something that other clips haven't shown much of. Sorry to get your hopes up. (Louis Wu 08:45:48 UTC) (permalink)
Are you tired of Wallpaper yet?
Gah. In the mad rush to format 60 wallpaper submissions in the past few days, we managed to skip over a pretty amazing entry; it was released on the Red vs Blue site a few weeks ago - and we asked then if we could include it here. Nesnora said yes, so I added it to the queue - and even got as far as adding it to the 'images to be processed' yesterday. Somehow, though, it didn't get uploaded. Maybe I felt it needed its own entry, on some level. In any case, it's in our Wallpaper section
now. Enjoy! (Louis Wu 08:35:11 UTC) (permalink)
News June 13 2004
Sunday Afternoon Reading
Dunno what the weather's like where you are... but it's pretty darn gorgeous here. I've just come in for a quick Fan Fiction queue-clearing, and there are now 18 new pieces for you to read. Go get 'em! (Louis Wu 20:36:44 UTC) (permalink)
Intermission
Dolbex, of Halo50K fame, has put together a nice retrospective of his local group, Been Mawed. It's mostly interviews of group members, with some screenshots and a tiny bit of gameplay thrown in; if this sounds boring, don't bother downloading it. It is, however, a great view into how groups like this get together, and what the cameraderie can bring to each member - and the composition is quite nice, as well. (These guys are quite good, overall. Not your average clan.) It's sort of long (11:43), and big (64.1 mb, even though I've compressed the hell out of it), in QuickTime format. Some of the visual artifacts were there when I got the film, others were added by the heavy crunching. None of it takes away from the value of the retrospective. We've put up a pair of mirrors, to decrease bandwidth strain - you can find a copy on Mythica.org and another on files.bungie.org. If you decide you can host this as well, send us a link! (Louis Wu 15:24:25 UTC) (permalink)
Picture Invasion, Part 2
Because it's no fun to be a Desktop creator and see 30 desktops get posted and realize that yours wasn't among them, we've posted the NEXT batch of 30 - you can find them in our Wallpaper section. This MOSTLY brings us up-to-date, wallpaper-wise. Hopefully, at some point soon, the Miscellaneous Art queue can be similiarly attacked. (Louis Wu 01:10:16 UTC) (permalink)
News June 12 2004
Mail's here
I posted a new Mailbag update last night, but it took me until now to recover sufficiently to post news about it. Enjoy. (Count Zero 19:27:22 UTC) (permalink)
Cancel Christmas!
There's a new Frontline with Suzie posted, titled 'Cancel Christmas!'; this one is an interview with Sarge. Thanks, heavy shift. (Louis Wu 14:05:54 UTC) (permalink)
The marines know - Cortana is hot
Massive Bungie Weekly Update this week - you can find it over at Forerunners.org. You may THINK there's nothing more to do, when they're so close to wrapping up... but you'd be wrong. They're all pretty busy. Read the update to see HOW busy. Proximity voice? How cool is THAT? (Louis Wu 01:25:57 UTC) (permalink)
Halo on GBA - No Way
A few weeks ago, we mentioned a rumor that had surfaced in a recent issue of EGM - that there was a possibility of a Game Boy Advance Halo title in the works. Today, Frankie puts that rumor to bed over on Bungie.net. Personally, the fact that the ColecoVision talks fell apart is more of a shocker... but things are what they are. Followup: Interesting; there's a note in the IGN Gameboy Mailbag about this very rumor, including an answer to Frankie's post. (Scroll down to 'Mini Master Chief'.)
We, of course, all can go back and forth...but I'm sticking to my guns on this. I've been told by multiple development sources that a Halo GBA project has at least been in the "looking into" stages since before Christmas. Anything can happen between now and then, of course, but don't expect it until 2005 if production moves forward.
I don't think anyone's lying here - but it makes you wonder, is there some Marketing guy somewhere spreading this story around, in an effort to make it happen by fan pressure alone? Fun fun fun. Thanks to Ash, who found this on Shacknews. (Louis Wu 01:17:34 UTC) (permalink)
News June 11 2004
Picture Invasion
Well, I haven't by any means cleared the queue - but I've brought the backlog up to the end of April. There are 30 new desktops available in the Wallpapers section, with about 40 remaining in the queue. It's amazing how fast things build up... (Louis Wu 19:51:50 UTC) (permalink)
Do I LOOK like I'm kidding?
Episode 36 of Red vs Blue has been released for sponsors - check the Season 2 sponsors forum. 'Dr. No-no' is pretty funny - Donut needs martinis or something. (Maybe a Red Bull.) (Louis Wu 14:26:41 UTC) (permalink)
Zanzibaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgh!
Uh oh... today's One One Se7en might have caused a problem. Sarge did something he shouldn't have done... and he and MC seem to have... vanished. They might even have been blown to another site. We'd appreciate it if you'd keep an eye out for them; we need 'em back by Monday (Sunday if Stuntmutt decides to turn in a last-minute strip). Thanks! (Louis Wu 13:52:48 UTC) (permalink)
Is it Friday already?
Eleven new pieces for you today in the Fan Fiction section - stories, poems, the whole shebang. Go read. (Louis Wu 13:46:54 UTC) (permalink)
Back On Topic
Halo: Resolution discusses the important parts of a ship. (Louis Wu 13:30:23 UTC) (permalink)
Sheep in Wolf's Clothing
New content at Halo Babies; a new strip, of course, and 3 new Fan desktops, all quite nice. Check it all out! (Louis Wu 12:19:55 UTC) (permalink)
But does it SOUND annoying?
Nasa may have discovered how something like Guilty Spark came about; their prototype is red, not blue, but it's an answer to the need for environment sensor/webcam/intercom/PDA that doesn't pose a safety risk in free fall. It's cute, to boot. Thanks to Peter M. for pointing it out... should make you think a bit. (Peter adds, "If they start experimenting with that super-mold from MIR I'll have to invest in getting some NightMare armor fitted...") (Louis Wu 01:23:36 UTC) (permalink)
News June 10 2004
Oochy 2 - Ouchy.
Merecatfish has sent us a note about Oochy 2, it's a sequel to Oochy Woochy. It's 13.7 mb, in WMP9 format (4:11 long). It shows... well, I'm not sure. It shows you glitches in maps you've never seen before (and that aren't identified in the movie). You have no clue what's a glitch and what's not - because you don't know how the map USUALLY acts in that situation. To top it off, parts are too dark to see. If this sounds like your cup of tea, you can download it from Coerce.net or Boomerica. But wait - there's more! Mere also created a 3:07, 6.5 mb Outtakes movie that's roughly as exciting to watch as a snake shedding its skin. In slow motion. Again, this is available from Coerce.net and Boomerica. I warned Mere that if he made me announce this, I was going to have to alter the rules we have about movie announcements - he said to go ahead and announce it anyway. The old rule was that if a submitted movie met our hosting guidelines, we would provide bandwidth for it, and announce it on our news page. If it didn't meet our guidelines, we would still announce it if the creator found hosting space elsewhere. Because I fear MORE movies like this being released, I need to change these rules to state that if a movie doesn't meet some minimum standard for general interest, we will not be willing to put up a news post about it, EVEN IF YOU FIND YOUR OWN HOSTING. If that sounds a bit draconian... well, sorry. (Louis Wu 20:57:34 UTC) (permalink)
June GamesMaster Scans posted
The June issue of GamesMaster (a British Gaming mag) contained a 2-page article on Halo; it's mostly content that's been seen in other scans, but ther eare a couple of maps that are nice. Since this issue is now off the newsstands, we can give it to you in our Press Scans section. Thanks to broony for the scans themselves! (Louis Wu 13:45:24 UTC) (permalink)
This is why you beta-test.
Sometimes you wonder how much thought went into level design. Calvin wonders, too, in today's Calvin and Halo. (Louis Wu 13:01:01 UTC) (permalink)
GNF Update
The leaderboard for Going Nowhere Fast has been updated with a couple of new Pillar of Autumn times; that level is now down to 6:08. The contest ends 3 weeks from today - there's still plenty of time to submit runs, but folks should consider some of the less-exploited levels. Pillar of Autumn, Silent Cartographer, AotCR, 343GS, and the Maw are all pretty well-done (the Maw only has a single entry, but it was rather impressive). Truth and Reconciliation, the Library, Two Betrayals, and Keyes are all wide open for folks who want a shot at some of our cool prizes. You're not eligible if you don't participate, though! (Louis Wu 12:13:23 UTC) (permalink)
Warthog Deployed
Very cool. Ben, from XboxOttawa, has put together another Flash game - in this one, you've got to take out Covenant troops with your warthog. Your hog takes damage, so be careful... wipe out the communications pods for a temporary map to the baddies. And stay away from artillery - it'll tear you to pieces! As of right now, you can find it at Newgrounds. (Louis Wu 10:22:02 UTC) (permalink)
News June 9 2004
What was down is now up
Unexpected - but not in the least unwelcome... our Subnova mirror, halosn.bungie.org, is back online. While everyone will benefit from the extra breathing room this gives us, bandwidth-wise, the folks who benefit the most are Fan Fiction readers and writers - that section is back online. Additionally, the 7 stories in the queue when it disappeared have now been posted. Thanks, 3! (Louis Wu 19:56:21 UTC) (permalink)
Halo - The Master Chief
Shrike has sent word about a new Halo track he's created; it's a remix from different parts of the main theme. It's made for listening to while playing Halo - and it works nicely for that! 7:18 long, 8.3 mb big... give it a listen! Update: if you'd like to use this file, please contact Shrike directly. (Louis Wu 16:01:54 UTC) (permalink)
A Display Dilemma
Warbow posted some pics on our forum. The story behind them is in the post. He said they weren't supposed to get front-page mention... but I like 'em. So I'm mentioning 'em. So there. (Louis Wu 13:25:38 UTC) (permalink)
It's still Monday, right?
Not that we've, like, gotten behind or anything... um... but the Bungie Weekly Update Archive is now up-to-date. Again. Finally. Just in time for a new update in about 2 days. Eep. (Louis Wu 12:52:05 UTC) (permalink)
A Quick Mod Of The Right Trigger And...
One One Se7en comes up with a way to make Halo more like Halo 2. Or something. (Make sure your volume is turned up.) (Louis Wu 11:17:31 UTC) (permalink)
And Now For Something Completely Different
When in doubt, reach for a Monty Python Joke. Halo: Resolution did. (Louis Wu 11:14:34 UTC) (permalink)
What Consoles Lack - Massive Multiplayer
There's an editorial over at Gamespot that faults consoles for supporting only 16 players per game, max - it argues that PC games are going past this by an order of magnitude, and the reason is dedicated servers. There are some decent counter-arguments in the forum thread started by 3Suns that brought this to our attention... but the red flags for me went up when I read this line:
The reason PC games can handle so many simultaneous players is because publishers release dedicated server software.
Actually, the reason some PC games can handle so many simultaneous players is because they keep track of fewer variables than Halo does, and therefore require less bandwidth per player. (Compare bandwidth requirements for Battlefield 1942 and the PC version of Halo - which HAS dedicated servers - for a clear example of this.) Right or wrong, though, the article gives folks something to discuss - and that's never a bad thing. (Louis Wu 09:35:41 UTC) (permalink)
Blood Gulf: A Soldier's Story
Interesting article over at Bungie.net, posted late yesterday; Frankie interviewed Sgt. Kelly Hafer, recently back from serving in Iraq, about Halo-playing amongst our armed forces. Google 'camel spiders' for some pretty funky photos... (Louis Wu 09:25:13 UTC) (permalink)
News June 8 2004
Halo 2 cleans up at GCA
Halo 2 took 3 of the four awards it was nominated for at the Best of E3 2004 Game Critics Awards; Best Console game, Best Action Game, and Best Online Multiplayer. (It was nominated for Best of Show, as well, but lost out to the Sony Playstation Portable.) Not bad! Halo 2 tied Splinter Cell 3 for most wins, and accounted for 3 out of 4 wins for Microsoft Gaming Studios (it accounted for 4 of 9 total nominations). Thanks to Eclarap, of Halo-Game, for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 16:27:26 UTC) (permalink)
Too buggy? But I thought...
What's wrong with video games? Calvin and Halo might give you a clue... (Louis Wu 15:48:50 UTC) (permalink)
Speculation and innuendo
mnemesis points out that the Halo Story page inbox has been nudged. It's not empty, by any stretch of the imagination... but a few choice pieces did fall out, and get commented on. first update since April 30... w00t. (Louis Wu 08:42:23 UTC) (permalink)
News June 7 2004
Subnova Woes
Ouch. Subnova has lost its bandwidth, due to lack of payment. Some of its content, like last week's Bungie Update, is still accessible - much is not. A major downside for HBO visitors... the subsections that Subnova hosted for us have to be relocated. This has been done for MOST sections - but Fan Fiction is offline until we can find a way to move it to a different machine. Apologies to all writers out there. (Louis Wu 17:12:04 UTC) (permalink)
They Find Us
Wonga. Blackstar, long-known for his talent at making wonderful Halo spots, has turned his skills to Halo 2. His 29.5 mb, 640x480, 1:04 Halo 2 Spot (QuickTime format) uses Bungie-released Halo 2 footage... but makes you want this game. NOW. Go grab a copy. If this post floods BSP.net with more traffic than it can handle, grab a mirrored copy at Mythica. Thanks to KP for the heads-up. Update: There's now a smaller version (320x240, 4.3 mb) for folks on a tighter connection: mirrors on files.bungie.org and blackstarproductions.net. (Louis Wu 14:25:04 UTC) (permalink)
Fanfic Contest - ending soon
Steve Smith points out that there's less than a week left in the First Annual Enkidu Fan Fiction Contest. Get your submissions in soon! (Louis Wu 12:52:21 UTC) (permalink)
Is This Some Kind Of Joke?
One One Se7en checks out a new Halo 2 feature revealed at E3. I was waiting for the 'Candygram' announcement. (Louis Wu 12:49:40 UTC) (permalink)
Is It Even Considered A Cruiser?
Halo: Resolution discusses the size of your... ship. (Louis Wu 12:47:28 UTC) (permalink)
For the 2 of you that don't have it yet...
Chilton Webb found another site with the E3 Halo 2 demo footage, with no signup required. 320x240, 14 mb total, WMP9 format. Check out GamesRadar. (Louis Wu 12:44:38 UTC) (permalink)
The War of the Worlds, Halo-style
Gre'Thor117 created a Halo movie for an English class; got a pretty good grade. It didn't meet our posting guidelines, but SancheztheLlama was kind enough to host it. It's 10.1 mb, in QuickTime format. Footage from the first two Halo 2 trailers, combined with overlain text and Edgen music. You can grab it on STL.com. Update: wow, looks like this was pretty popular. CJ has run out of bandwidth, and has taken it down. Sorry! (Louis Wu 12:41:26 UTC) (permalink)
Cheap Halo
Price breaks: Halo PC at Circuit City is currently $9.99 (WOW) - thanks, Recoil, and Halo 2, shipped, is only $43.49 at Overstock.com. (The Limited Edition there is $52.49 shipped, a couple of bucks cheaper than most places. It's unlikely you'll get it on November 9, though.) Thanks, rywateska. (Louis Wu 12:33:06 UTC) (permalink)
Homefront progress
The Battlefield: Vietnam mod Homefront has put up a large update over on Battleground: Halo; new weapons, new vehicles, new skins, new map. Go check it out. (Louis Wu 12:24:18 UTC) (permalink)
Ultimate Halo Tricks DVD - finished
Back in March, we mentioned a DVD being put together by XBCTourneys, containing many tricks for Halo multiplayer. We just got word from Annihil8or that it's finished.220 tricks, 1 hour and 5 minutes of content, 4 gb on disc. You can order it here. (I've never seen it, so I can't tell you what's on the disc - and though there are sample links on the main page, they don't work in many browsers.) (Louis Wu 12:21:20 UTC) (permalink)
News June 6 2004
June OXM Halo article now available
July's issue of the Official Xbox Magazine hits the stands today... so we're putting up the Halo 2 article from the June issue. You can find it in our Press Scans area. (As a favor, if you link to this elsewhere, use the link in this news post, not a direct link to the pages or the zip file. Thanks!) (Louis Wu 13:04:56 UTC) (permalink)
Sunday's Fiction
Twelve pieces for you today (mostly fiction chapters, but at least one poem) in the Fan Fiction section. Enjoy on this messy Sunday. (Louis Wu 13:04:12 UTC) (permalink)
Xtournaments - coming in August
Victor, from Xtournaments, wrote to tell us about Xtournaments' $15,000 State vs State 4v4 tournament coming up on August 14 in 15 states in the US. More details can be found at their website. (Louis Wu 10:48:40 UTC) (permalink)
News June 5 2004
A Followup
I hadn't expected this to be necessary, but the email traffic we've been receiving would suggest I was wrong. A few days ago, we mentioned an auction at eBay for what was ostensibly an alpha copy of Halo 2. It was clear that a number of people realized it was a fake; the final bid was just under $100 million. In the forum threads that erupted in the following days, it became clear that the perpetrator had simply used the DVD included with a bundle at Best Buy, not even bothering to alter the graphics. I let it drop there - but many people still want to know what happened, and many others are unaware that this information has been posted several times on our forum and so send it to us for our edification. The auction itself has been yanked by eBay - if you want to see it, you'll have to view our local copy. And that closes that chapter in Halo stupidity. (Louis Wu 15:30:49 UTC) (permalink)
But... but...
Episode 20 of Miniature Halo has been released - and the story takes a twist. Linda - unmasked! (Louis Wu 15:21:06 UTC) (permalink)
The work of Fansites
Another article posted during the E3 flood on Xbox.com was one called 'Xbox Fansites: Keeping it Real'. It takes an overview of the fan community, and what fansites bring to the table, in terms of energizing people about a game. Halo is used as an example. Thanks, mechroneal for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 14:48:45 UTC) (permalink)
Rumors, rumors, and more rumors
Gamespot has posted a Rumor Control article - and Rumor #4 is 'Numerous staffers are planning to leave Bungie following the completion of Halo 2.' After looking at the evidence, they proclaim it bogus. Given that the first I even HEARD of this rumor is this article, I wonder whether they've done something positive... or negative? (Louis Wu 14:40:24 UTC) (permalink)
50 Desktops or Bust
Akba has decided to post 50 Halo 2 wallpapers in the near future; they'll be visible in this thread on our forum. The first one is listed in that post. (Louis Wu 14:23:15 UTC) (permalink)
Sleep is for the weak
If you read the section of this week's update that comes from Nathan 'bentllama' Walpole, you'll find that he's going to be bringing a number of new animators up to speed in the coming weeks. I guess he's in education mode, because if you swing by CGNetworks, you'll find a 3-page article reviewing MotionBuilder 5, a character animation application. There's no Halo content in this review, but reading it might give you some insight into how the bent one thinks. (Hmm... on second thought, that might be a bad idea.) If you're not into 3d modeling or animation, this article is probably not for you. (Louis Wu 04:14:18 UTC) (permalink)
The Calm Before Dora
This week's Bungie Weekly Update is over at Subnova; I'm gonna point to the new site, rather than the old, because the old is much less stable. (You still have to go there if you want to actually POST... but at least you can READ it on a faster machine.) It's a pretty cool update, because it sounds like folks are actually getting closer to done. This is a good thing, given that the release date is just 5 months away. Go read it! (Louis Wu 03:41:49 UTC) (permalink)
News June 4 2004
Spanishland - home of waterslides and salsa
Red vs Blue episode 35 is now out for sponsors - swing on by the Season 2 sponsors forum. Caboose + Donut = twice teh stoopid! Looks like LiteRedDonut noticed first. (Louis Wu 20:02:22 UTC) (permalink)
HB.net updates
Couple of fantastic new desktops and a new strip round out the week's additions to Halo Babies. (Louis Wu 09:50:07 UTC) (permalink)
Gee Whizz.
Too many bad jokes... can affect your gameplay. So says One One Se7en today. (Louis Wu 09:09:16 UTC) (permalink)
Oh You Mean That Other Stain...
Noob, from Halo: Resolution, shows he can't read maps very well. (Louis Wu 09:03:34 UTC) (permalink)
FanFicFriday
Ten pieces for you today in the Fan Fiction section - looks like I should be doing these every-other-day updates more often! Go read... (Louis Wu 08:57:35 UTC) (permalink)
Preparing for Halo 2
Dave Kosak has written a funny little piece over at Gamespy on how he plans to increase his enjoyment of online Halo playing. Since it only took him 4 minutes (by his count) to write it, it shouldn't take you very long to read it. Thanks to Finchmeister, among others, for pointing it out. (Louis Wu 08:06:07 UTC) (permalink)
Offsite Fanfic
another episode of 'Frontline with Suzie' has been posted; Calibrate this! has Suzie talking to Cortana. Thanks, heavy shift. (Louis Wu 07:59:23 UTC) (permalink)
The man is out of control.
Spideroptics might have said it best - "It's Bungie vs. BOLL. Who will win? Stay tuned." BOLL's latest shot over the bow is a custom 3d screenshot... and all I can say is WOW. (Hit left or right arrow, and watch the large plasma bolt's leading edge crackle.) Because BOLL's ISP sharply throttles traffic outside Scandinavian countries, you might want to look at our local mirror of this file (6.1 mb, Flash format), rather than the links in BOLL's forum post. (Louis Wu 02:13:35 UTC) (permalink)
Ladybumps and errant hobo-urine
Bungie's Letters to the Webmaster have been updated again... and it looks like someone spiked his Thunderbird with battery acid again. If you've written a letter to the Webmaster recently, and you have skin that's thinner than, say, the Pillar of Autumn's hull plating, DON'T GO READ THIS. You'll cry. The rest of you - go read. It's like a 16-car pileup on the interstate... ugly, but you can't look away. You HAVE to know if that spot is oil... or blood. (Louis Wu 00:27:04 UTC) (permalink)
That woman RUNS Bungie.
The world missed an awesome picture posted earlier this week in Bungie's Gallery Forum - Alta, the Bungie Princess, wearing the height of Spartan fashion, the pink MC helmet (the Nightmare Armor guys have been working overtime). Achronos wasn't willing to let this go by - so read his post, stop by the thread and add a caption! (Louis Wu 00:16:09 UTC) (permalink)
HCE/HEK update at B.net
Longtime Bungie fan Cunbelin has written a massive summary of the state of Halo Custom Edition and the Halo Editing Kit (though it's missing some of the coolest new creations - you'll have to follow his resource links at the end to find them), and SketchFactor has posted it over at Bungie.net. If you're wondering what's available, this is a great place to start. (Louis Wu 00:08:58 UTC) (permalink)
Contest - artwork for artwork!
There's a fantastic new contest over at Bungie.net, instigated by Stosh and fueled by Lorraine McLees and Eddie Smith. Create a killer avatar for the Bungie.net forums, win some super-cool original, signed, Bungie artwork. Read SketchFactor's summary, or Stosh's full rules and regulations, and get going on creating that perfect avatar! (Louis Wu 00:00:02 UTC) (permalink)
News June 3 2004
Calvin? I thought you said Judas.
Today's Calvin and Halo shows why you shouldn't mistreat your children. (Louis Wu 14:56:47 UTC) (permalink)
Haikuna Matata
Battleground: Halo has posted the results of its Haiku contest from last month. You have to get through a LOT of explanation before you actually get to the contest results... but they're there (along with the winning haikus themselves). Go see if you're going home with MLG schwag! (Louis Wu 10:54:48 UTC) (permalink)
Joyride Update
My bad for not getting to this right away - earlier this week, Joyride updated their site with pictures of the Halo 2 prototypes (Brute and MC). I didn't think it was such a big deal, since these prototypes were shown, pretty nicely, in a LOT of E3 Fanfest writeups. (A good example is Dan Chosich's impressions - Joyride pics are halfway down the page.) However, we've been getting a LOT of mail, and that has only increased since TeamXbox posted a note about this yesterday afternoon... so here's the official HBO news post, Joyride has updated its website, you can stop emailing us now. First heads-up goes to Shinigamiv20, who mentioned it to us several days ago. (Louis Wu 10:32:30 UTC) (permalink)
Kikizo films EVERYTHING
Kikizo Games has put over 5 hours of video from E3 online (including about 20 minutes of Halo 2-related footage). Most of it has already been available from other sources for a while now - but there IS a new file; the 68 mb, 640x480 shakeycam version of the Press briefing, filmed off a Widescreen TV, narrated by SketchFactor, hasn't been seen before. It's the standard demonstration - but for folks who want to watch as many different takes as they can (all are slightly different, of course), this is worth grabbing. Everything is WMP9 format. Thanks to eddie_m for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 10:17:29 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo CE maps for download
Oddworld18 points out a new map designed by Baka - it's called Frost, and it's really quite nice. There's a thread about it on the Gearbox forums, and it can be downloaded from The Imperium Software. Also, we got mail from Fatch about a new release he's created, called Cover Canyon II - an open canyon with very different bases. If the first link in the thread doesn't work, scroll down - there are some mirrors further down. (Louis Wu 10:01:28 UTC) (permalink)
News June 2 2004
CE dividends for HPC users
Wow. Vram has posted a note on the Gearbox forums - grab a pair of dll files from the Halo CE distribution and replace the corresponding files in the Halo PC distribution... and the 'Crash on Map Change' bug will disappear. (This will NOT let you play Halo CE maps in Halo PC - it simply removes one of the more annoying bugs in HPC.) As always, back up your files before replacing anything, in case it doesn't work for you. Thanks to TURBO, on the #hbo irc channel, for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 17:10:00 UTC) (permalink)
A new movie about... warthog jumping?
Gustav Larimore writes that he's released a new movie on Effervescing Blue Productions. It's called EBP Warthog Jumping - and that's just what you get. 4 minutes of it, in fact. All on Silent Cartographer, all in the same stretch of beach. (Different viewpoints, though.) WMP9 format, 40 mb. The beginning gave me flashbacks to early 2002. (Louis Wu 15:56:49 UTC) (permalink)
Intelligence can be scarce
Rampancy.net has put up part 2 of it's Halo: Combat Retrospective piece; this one focuses on Artificial Intelligence. It's an interesting overview of Bungie's approach to enemy responsiveness. Go read! (Louis Wu 12:38:17 UTC) (permalink)
Diamond Dave Would Be Proud.
Musical Humor in today's One One Se7en. Well... musical SOMETHING. (Louis Wu 12:17:04 UTC) (permalink)
Wednesday Words
Light Fan Fiction update for you today - just 9 stories, including Sterfrye36's rewrite of his first series in honor of his one-year anniversary on the site. Go read! (Louis Wu 12:15:01 UTC) (permalink)
I Think I'm Going To Quit Paintball...
Has Halo: Resolution been confusing you recently? Fuzzy helps out today. (Louis Wu 12:10:26 UTC) (permalink)
E3 opinion poll
That Weasel writes that That Weasel Television is running a new poll - 'My favorite part of E3 2004 was...' Swing on by and vote! (Louis Wu 09:31:33 UTC) (permalink)
CTF3 - bandwidth issues
We got word last night that the [-GTC-] CTF3 Downloads page was inaccessible due to bandwidth overages; it's up and running now, but the likelihood is, it'll go down again today. Because of that, we've mirrored the page here (minus a java applet and a very large animated gif) - if you can't get to the original, at least you'll be able to get to the mirrors! (They gained another mirror yesterday; there are now 4 sources for the QuickTime version, and 3 for the DivX version. The original news post can be found here.) (Louis Wu 09:01:10 UTC) (permalink)
News June 1 2004
CTF Tactics 3
[-GTC-] has put up the third in their series of CTF Tactics movies; this one focuses on grenade-assisted flag caps, though it shows a pretty slick technique for long-distance flag-shooting on Battle Creek. These are in some cases team-only techniques; the flag carrier ends up dying, so if there's not a teammate to finish the score, he's wasted a life. It's a small movie (1:20 long, 7 mb in QuickTime, 10.9 mb in DivX format), and multiple mirrors are available on their download page. (I was late getting him HBO mirror links, so our mirrors aren't up yet - but they should be soon.) If the download page is unreachable, send us mail - I'll put up a local copy. (Louis Wu 18:13:50 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Blood Covenant - again
A couple of weeks ago, we mentioned that the 2D sidescroller, Halo: Blood Covenant, had a downloadable demo to play - but their bandwidth ran out pretty quickly, and a lot of people missed it. I grabbed a copy - but I couldn't get it to run properly on my Radeon 9600 (the screen was black). Today, Darker Industries pointed out that the site is back online, and there's a download link at Fileplanet - which should remove the bandwidth problems. I took the opportunity to update my Catalyst drivers to 4.5 - and now I can actually play the game! It's pretty hard - but a lot of fun. At only 6.7 mb to download, what are you waiting for? (Louis Wu 17:35:38 UTC) (permalink)
Colorblind
Hogmasta Chocobo writes to point out a movie of his hosted at GameTrailers - it's called Colorblind, and is available in streaming .mov format (or downloadable .mov and .wmv formats). It's gameplay, set to music. There's a forum thread on our forum if you want to leave him feedback. (Louis Wu 17:22:56 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Game Servers db at UXB
Carnage sends word that UXB Internet has put up a web-based Halo server database; they check several hundred servers each day for uptime, as well as provide a real-time stats page for each server. Currently, it supports Halo PC and Halo CE, though CE servers aren't yet collected automatically. If your server isn't listed, you can add it. (Louis Wu 17:17:05 UTC) (permalink)
CheatCodes looks at Halo 2
CheatCodes.com went to E3 - and posted their discussion of the Halo 2 material on Friday. Bunch of nice photos of the widescreen plasma screen they played on. Thanks, Cortanas_Brother. (Louis Wu 16:49:21 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 Music Transcription
Rampancy.net has posted a transcription of the music from the Halo 2 announcement trailer, courtesy of Poop Scoop. 2.5 mb, due to the 8 pages of hi-res jpegs - and there's also a Finale Notepad file containing the whole score. Nice! (Louis Wu 16:01:33 UTC) (permalink)
Doomba - like Dumbo, only meaner
The Bungie Weekly Updates database has been brought up-to-date, this time on time. Scary... we're on time with something? Ouch. (Louis Wu 15:52:45 UTC) (permalink)
So THAT'S where those quotes come from
Calvin and Halo reveals secrets behind the publicity business... (Louis Wu 15:29:33 UTC) (permalink)
More artwork from a master
Got a note from Tina Leyk - she's put up a bunch of new Halo-related artwork at her Angels of Iron website (which is sporting a new design, btw). We've mirrored it all here, to take the bandwidth hit off her - and added an extra tidbit. If you visit the Art of Tina Leyk page here at HBO, you'll find that it's now broken into sections; this should help with loading times for folks on slower connections (she's got so much artwork that even just loading the thumbs can take a while). Updated pages today are her Fan Art page (there are two new images, an older one I somehow missed and a killer Grunt image, as well as a pair of Character Profile Sheets she and her brother did a while ago) and the Other Creations page, which (finally) contains images of the t-shirt Tina designed for us to wear at E3 this year. (Louis Wu 15:18:05 UTC) (permalink)
Tricks to make you grin
Ducain continues his pattern of taking a known glitch (in this case, two known glitches) and making it his own; he's combined his discovery of partial immunity during warthog jumps (you're invincible for the short time you're actually ENTERING a vehicle - or during the time the engine THINKS you're entering a vehicle) with some cool clipping stuff to get inside the walls of Silent Cartographer - and even to get ON TOP of the map from inside. Very cool. 2:50 long, 9.5 mb, WMP9 format. Check it out. (Louis Wu 13:24:09 UTC) (permalink)
Server Update
Subnova HQ was hit with a pretty major storm this weekend - all power was out for a couple of days. This caused our mirror there to be offline (leading to the inaccessibility of the Fan Fiction section this weekend), and it killed the boot drive on the machine that hosts Subnova Hotline. The webserver is back up (so all HBO subsections are accessible again), but the hotline server is offline for a while. More details are in this post. (Louis Wu 12:41:02 UTC) (permalink)
| June 2004 | |
