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 | June 2006 |  |
June 2006 Archived News
News June 30 2006
To John, With Love...
To John, With Love...
Stuntmutt sets his sights on the Halo 2 Vista port in today's One One Se7en. ...yeah. (Louis Wu 14:50:06 UTC) (permalink)
That seems messy - but harmless.
Dojorkan's been playing with unspawned characters again (potential spoilers ahead)... seems like this particular was never used for good reason; why build a bomb shield around a bomb? (Louis Wu 14:39:46 UTC) (permalink)
Jackson/Washington Speculation
Hrm. There are a couple of stories in the New Zealand Press (NZ Herald - thanks, David Warriner | Stuff - thanks, Custard) about Denzel Washington meeting in New Zealand with Peter Jackson about a new movie that Washington is planning to direct, with Jackson providing special effects. We already know that Jackson's planning to provide special effects for the Halo movie - and it doesn't have a director yet. This is not in any way saying that Washington is the new director for the Halo film - the timing seems off, for one thing (the new movie is supposed to be out in two years, which is longer than the original plan for the Halo flick) - but it's something to think about. (Louis Wu 14:09:16 UTC) (permalink)
End of June, end of the week, time for fanfic
Nineteen new pieces - stories and poems - up for you in the Fan Fiction section today - go see what you can find! (vector40's long-unfinished fanfic (started in December 2004) has its final chapter posted today.) (Louis Wu 13:53:04 UTC) (permalink)
Hi-res Greg Horn
Last year, we mentioned some work by Greg Horn, an artist who created a couple of Halo-related pieces for Toyfare Magazine. Stuntmutt discovered a gallery with very nice higher-res versions of two of his creations - go grab 'em! (Louis Wu 13:27:03 UTC) (permalink)
WSVG PR
We got a press release from the World Series of Video Games folks yesterday - more details about the upcoming tourney (Bungie.net interviewed one of the tourney directors a couple of days ago). Give it a look-see! (Louis Wu 13:19:41 UTC) (permalink)
X-Play says Halo 2 is Tops
A few days ago, HavokBlue mentioned that Halo 2 made the number one spot in an episode of G4's X-Play that looked at the top 10 Xbox games - more recently, it's been posted on their website for online watching. Thanks, rob s. (Louis Wu 13:01:20 UTC) (permalink)
Movers and Shakers
Tsquared, one of MLG's new quarter-million-dollar-contract players, is featured in Stuff magazine, on their 'Power List: 20 under 30' article. Not too shabby! Read about it at MLGPro.com. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 12:57:45 UTC) (permalink)
Questions for the Goat
Looks like the Podtacular team is planning to interview Mothergoat in the near future, and is currently taking questions from the public - swing by and add your own! Thanks, Laird. (Louis Wu 12:39:58 UTC) (permalink)
Smudge Games 2006 - Update
A few days ago, we mentioned an online tourney at Halo Jungle - it's got its own website now. (It seems to have some uptime issues, so try again if you find it down.) (Louis Wu 12:35:46 UTC) (permalink)
Humpday challenge within their own ranks
I suppose with nothing better to do, the Bungie team chose to challenge their own B.net moderators. There are no ties in Halo2, get back in there and finish the fight! Worth noting is that I was unknowingly pulled in so they could warm-up on my bloody corpse, of course the game was already underway. (Cybrfrk 03:22:46 UTC) (permalink)
News June 29 2006
Throw a pitch and win your chance at bat!
Intel is sponsoring a big contest at Machinima.com for aspiring movie makers. Pitch your movie and win a chance to go to Hollywood and make a 3-5 minute short film. The relation to Halo? Consider that the Halo machinima community is large and that I work at the sponsor -- and leave it at that. We recommend you submit your own video-pitch in the form of a Halo machinima. (Cybrfrk 17:17:40 UTC) (permalink)
WSVG - the new dog in town
A couple of months ago, we mentioned the World Series of Video Games, a new tournament featuring a number of games, including Halo 2. Bungie has just interviewed Nick Shellhaas, one of their tournament directors, about the organization and events... go read for more details. Thanks to Hookedonhalo for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 09:16:48 UTC) (permalink)
1337 LIFE Kicks Off
An interesting new series has begun - NutsaQer stopped by our forum to let people know about 1337 LIFE, a game show in which four players compete for the ultimate prize of an Xbox 360. The 'show' will be at least 12 challenges long - this episode has 1 challenge in it, but in theory future episodes could have multiple challenges. It's well-filmed, well-planned, and entertaining - grab a low-res copy (54 mb, wmv format) or wait for a hi-res version to be posted. Be sure to let NutsaQer (and the rest of the crew) know what you think by posting your feedback! (Louis Wu 08:59:21 UTC) (permalink)
War Series Ep 2
Recently, Purebredbrute completed War Series 'Episode 2: Battle for Beaver Creek' - and it's a great piece of work. Wonderful cinematics, solid storyline and fantastic action sequences... this one's worth watching. They're having a bit of trouble with hosting - so we're helping out. You can grab the 10-plus minute long piece in either WMP9 format (117 mb) or QuickTime format (127 mb) from our servers. Swing by halovids.com for more info on the War series. (Louis Wu 08:38:44 UTC) (permalink)
News June 28 2006
The Naked Truth.
Sometimes it's funny - Stuntmutt writes a One One Se7en a week or two before its release date, and in the interim the same joke is covered by someone else. Such an anomaly happened today - Stuntmutt's punchline was usurped by Monday's Sore Thumbs Online. We're not in this business to make Stunt look good, though, so we're publishing this strip anyway. You'll have to take my word for it that he didn't whip it out this morning, in a Glenlivet-induced fog. (He can't generally afford enough Glenlivet to induce a fog, so we should be fine there.) (Louis Wu 15:49:36 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Cover Contest - Winners Announced
Halo Planet's Halo 3 Cover Contest has been over for a bit, and today they've announced the winners. 200 entries, 4 winners, with a bunch of Honorary Mentions to come soon. (Heh - are you as amused as I am that the overall winner is (or shares a name with) the head content monkey at Bungie.net?) Check out the pretty pictures! (Louis Wu 15:18:56 UTC) (permalink)
Colors of the Universe
DMDyet discusses some interesting patterns you may or may not have noticed in the coloring scheme of Halo - in this post, there's even a visual chart. Does this mean the Prophets are somehow separate from the rest of the Covenant? (If you aren't a frequent reader of our forum, you might have missed his last project - a 'vectorization' of the Master Chief (finished here, with a short Q&A here) - it's in the Misc Art queue, but it's definitely worth a separate shout-out.) (Louis Wu 15:01:25 UTC) (permalink)
Setting Ambushes
Rockslider continues to eke out new fun on Halo (the original game's second level), with some new info about Hillside entrance battles. Go read! (Louis Wu 14:52:09 UTC) (permalink)
Stats Reloaded - Reloaded
Over at Bungie.net, there's an article up about StatsReloaded, an online stats tracker that recently relaunched. (We mentioned its original launch back in December.) Swing by and see what's new! Thanks, Masta Chef. (Louis Wu 14:25:55 UTC) (permalink)
Enjoying Sunrises through Bloodshot Eyes
Remember the guy with the Halo room - he had his walls painted for that immersive experience? (We mentioned him here, Bungie put up a story about him a week later.) mrsmiley, over at Halo Babies, has interviewed him, with some new pics and plenty of new comments. I'm not sure I understand how a guy who says he can't afford a gaming computer spent $3500 outfitting his gaming lair... but that's not my problem, really, that's Mrs. Namloco's. Go read! (Louis Wu 14:16:26 UTC) (permalink)
Great Headset for Cheap
Wow, nice deal! The Plantronics Halo 2 headset, originally $50, is now $15 at the Plantronics website ($20 with a Communicator) - plus they'll give a buck to charity for every headset sold! (Ars Technica, where I heard about this great deal, even has a link to a hack that makes this headset work nicely - with volume and mute features - on your Xbox 360.) What are you waiting for? Update: Darkendes pointed out a headset adapter by Datel that allows any headphone with a 2.5 mm jack (this includes this Halo 2 headset) to work with a 360, including volume controls - and it has a built-in splitter, to boot! No hacking necessary. (Louis Wu 05:03:05 UTC) (permalink)
News June 27 2006
His tank must have weighed a few tons.
Heh - if you followed the potentially spoiling newspost yesterday to c0ld's small movie, you might want to read this post - he's back, with a surprisingly credible suggestion about where that creature might have come from. (Louis Wu 18:00:25 UTC) (permalink)
News June 26 2006
The Top Ten Best Weapons
The GT Countdown series continues at GameTrailers, with "Top Ten Best Weapons" - a video listing of the 10 best weapons in video games. Halo 2's energy sword comes in at number 5. Thanks to Keyes86, who submitted this yesterday; I just didn't get to it. (Louis Wu 22:40:58 UTC) (permalink)
Hot-Pocket-Challenged
Halo-related portable media mogul Mintz is the focus of the latest Community Spotlight over at Bungie.net - go read about how far out in the middle of nowhere he actually lives. Dojorkan was first, it seems. (Louis Wu 22:12:13 UTC) (permalink)
Good thing that guy's pretty weak...
c0ld vengeance composited a wonderful shot on High Charity - check out MC's newest nemesis. (I'm not marking this with a spoiler tag, because this creature never actually made it into the game... but technically...) You can also find a 3DVR version in this post. (Louis Wu 22:06:45 UTC) (permalink)
Gaming Naked
Sane Intolerant noticed that the current Sore Thumbs Online comic has some Halo/MLG references... and with that, I'm out for a while. (Louis Wu 18:41:27 UTC) (permalink)
A Tough Scrape.
Today's One One Se7en is a bit gorey... but only if you think about it. (Louis Wu 18:00:46 UTC) (permalink)
Halo-themed Fireworks
FyreWulff is working on a SPNKR remake of a rocket launcher for July 4 - pics are in his forum post. (Louis Wu 17:51:40 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Anaheim Summary
Tons of MLG Anaheim news at MLGPro.com - a wrapup article, a spotlight on Carbon (beaten in their first round match, they STILL came back to face FB in the finals), and the brackets themselves (4x4 | 1x1). Congrats to Karma for taking the 1x1, and Final Boss for the 4x4. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 17:35:54 UTC) (permalink)
2D Dev Team Needs Help
Mastergunnz posted a note on our forum, looking for folks with experience using Game Maker 6; his team is putting together 'Halo: Spartan of Reach', a new top-down Halo-based game. Visit the post for more details! (Louis Wu 17:11:01 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 in August OXM
Jon Campbell points out that the August issue of the Official Xbox 360 Magazine has a huge article on Halo 3 - an indepth look at the teaser trailer, a preview of the HGN, and more. (It got the cover again, as well.) Look for it on newsstands soon! (Louis Wu 17:06:37 UTC) (permalink)
Cheapest Halo... ever.
Wow. Circuit City is having a huge July 4th week sale, and if you visit Cheapassgamers.com (registration required to see the list), there's a list of games scheduled to be part of this sale... and the Halo Triple Pack (Halo, Halo 2, Halo Multiplayer Map Pack) is on the list. $9 - don't miss this! Thanks to Konrad for posting this on our forum. Update: Derik Olsson found a no-registration-needed list.
(Louis Wu 16:53:54 UTC) (permalink)
News June 25 2006
The Black Art of Halo Mods
The latest Halo How-to book from Stephen Cawood is now out; it's called 'The Black Art of Halo Mods', and there's some information about community input over at HaloMods. The news story there says 'click the button on the right to support HaloMods' - you'll need to visit the front page to see that button (which leads you to Amazon.com to buy the book). This book covers lots of info about modding Halo Custom Edition (as well as some console modding tips). Check it out! Thanks, Excal. (Louis Wu 22:30:33 UTC) (permalink)
Trick or Treat, UNSC-style
Christopher T is going out for Halloween this year dressed as a Spartan. He and his dad took their inspiration from Chris Bryan, and are putting together a fiberglass suit for Christopher to grab some goodies in. Visit this page for some shots of some cardboard representations! (Louis Wu 22:24:07 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Custom Map Team releases Halo Singleplayer Mod
The Halo CMT team has finished the conversion of the single player maps to Halo CE; there are several places you can read about it. On the CMT forums, there's a full list of download links (maps, UI, extras, tutorials); the same info was posted on the Gearbox forums as well. There's a thread on our own forum, if you'd like to discuss. (Louis Wu 17:00:48 UTC) (permalink)
The HBO Shirt - All the cool pros are wearing it
Heh - In the photo gallery being built over at MLGPro.com for the MLG Anaheim event, you can see a shot of Foulacy, of Str8 Rippin, wearing the unique Stuntmutt-designed HBO t-shirt! Front | Back in the gallery... Coppermine doesn't seem allow links to remain permanent, so if these stop pointing to the right pics, we'll put up local copies. Thanks, Dustin. Update: Looks like at least the back image is gone - so here are local versions: front | back. (Louis Wu 16:39:52 UTC) (permalink)
HGN Interview at IGN
Over at IGN Comics, there's a nice interview with Brian Jarrard (aka SketchFactor) about the Halo Graphic Novel - including a few new art tidbits. Go learn new stuff about this project. Lots of people sent this in - looks like BitMaP was first. (Louis Wu 03:37:58 UTC) (permalink)
A-kon wrapup from Edgeworks
Sbear pointed out that there are pictures and a sponsors-only video of the recent A-kon event in Texas over at the Edgeworks/Codex web page. Check it out! (Louis Wu 03:31:42 UTC) (permalink)
Online Halo 2 tourney at Halo Jungle
smudge man wrote to point out a big Halo 2 tourney at Halo Jungle - top prize is a full year of free hosting with Web Frenzy. Swing by this forum post for more details and full rules. (Louis Wu 03:28:10 UTC) (permalink)
News June 24 2006
News Collection
Quick word of warning - looks like I'm busier here in Seattle than I'd expected; keeping up on the forum is going to be rough. If you have something you think is newsworthy that's posted on the forum - please, send it via email to halo@bungie.org. Thanks! (Louis Wu 15:22:47 UTC) (permalink)
WikiRiot Ep 4
Sigafoos let us know that Halo2Wiki's podcast, WikiRiot, has released episode 4. You can also download it from iTunes. (Louis Wu 15:20:31 UTC) (permalink)
Halo CE Cornucopia
Dennis Powers pointed out that FireDragon04 has celebrated his 23rd birthday by releasing 6 new Halo CE maps: Desolate, Deceit, Denial, Defy, Ceaseless, and Shockwave. Go check 'em out! (Louis Wu 15:18:02 UTC) (permalink)
Weekly update full of butterflies
While Louis Wu is in transit we bring you cosplay,
graphic novel and butterflies as presented in the Weekly Update? Take a look into the mind of Frankie and run away before the butterflies get you. For those in San Diego this is a must read. Update: The local version is up now, too. (Cybrfrk 02:22:06 UTC) (permalink)
News June 23 2006
French Project Spartan
Oleg stopped by our forum to point out his blog (it's in french), which contains information about a set of spartan armor he's building (follow the 'Projet' link in the navbar). Great start! (Louis Wu 16:19:02 UTC) (permalink)
A Brunt?
In the past couple of weeks, there've been a few debates about some oddly-dressed characters visible for a few seconds in the Behind The Scenes documentary. Stuntmutt lays their identity to rest in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 14:44:00 UTC) (permalink)
7 is Darker. Or, in this case, Lighter.
Over at High Impact Halo, S.O.G. pointed out a scar on Miranda's cheek that looks an awful lot like a '7'. Is this an easter egg? Unofficial word from Bungie: "maybe". (Yeah, I found it unsatisfying, too.) (Louis Wu 14:31:48 UTC) (permalink)
Adding insult to murdery
Over at Rampancy.net, Narcogen spent quite a bit of screenspace today discussing Gravemind, his role in the game (and his role as head of the Flood), and his involvement in the politics of the Halo universe. He asks some really good questions... it's a wonderful read. Spend a few minutes with the man attempting to walk behind the curtain. (Louis Wu 14:24:47 UTC) (permalink)
That's for my little brother!
Captain Spark submitted another couple of dozen dialogue snippets - you can find them on his website, or browse them individually in our Dialogue Databank. Lots of the timid marine today! (Louis Wu 14:07:41 UTC) (permalink)
Lemonaded, shorter
The Player of the Week over at MLGPro.com is Naded - check out this member of Storm Ventures as he prepares for Anaheim. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 13:38:45 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fanfic
Twenty new pieces for you today in the Fan Fiction section - busy week! (Louis Wu 13:18:36 UTC) (permalink)
MLG PwnCast Ep 17
MLG PwnCast has released episode 17 - it focuses on Anaheim, not surprisingly. 11:38 long, 13.4 mb (the 'enhanced' version is a third as big - I'm not sure I understand that). Go listen. (Louis Wu 13:07:56 UTC) (permalink)
Feed me, Seymour.
If you don't keep up on all the forum doings, or you've been chased away recently by spam attacks (we're working on it), you might have missed a thread about Gravemind, and his full size. You would have missed Dojorkan's overview screenshot (or a lightened version), and you would have missed c0ld's rotating movie shot (and the subsequent 3D version), as well. Good stuff! (Louis Wu 12:59:37 UTC) (permalink)
Article Trove
oriol003 suggested swinging by his article collection - there are quite a few of them, mostly looking at strategies or specific weapons. Text suffers from the Block of Doom syndrome (no line breaks), but there's some interesting content there. Take a look! (Louis Wu 12:52:54 UTC) (permalink)
News June 22 2006
Ban them all - you win faster.
Yesterday, Bungie took on the Xbox MVP group in their weekly Humpday Challenge... and for the first time in a long time, they came out on top. The writeup is notably harsh... methinks there's some good-natured ribbin' going on in there. Takeaway message from this set? Don't let Frankie pick the gametypes. (Louis Wu 20:59:47 UTC) (permalink)
Hallo
Charliez, a RedvsBlue community member, sent along this link to Hallo, a new comic that will be coming out every Sunday. Cortana installs Vista... (Louis Wu 14:17:05 UTC) (permalink)
Link Productions Unveils Halo Armor
Over at Halo Planet, I read about another Halo Armor effort - check out LinkProductions (go to 'Props', then 'Halo Props'; there's a full outfit, plus plasma and human pistols. (This is the same plasma pistol as we saw on eBay a few months ago. At that point, I hadn't realized there was more that he was working on.) (Louis Wu 14:09:19 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Anaheim Preview
There's a preview of the upcoming 4v4 action at MLG Anaheim posted on the MLGPro.com website - go read about the top teams! Thanks, KP. (Louis Wu 14:03:01 UTC) (permalink)
News June 21 2006
Brevity is the soul of... lots of things.
There's a great rant by Ducain over at High Impact Halo, taking moviemakers to task for not staying focused. He's specifically talking about trick vids, but his words are equally applicable to other categories of films; I don't even want to think about all the times I've suggested that someone re-edit their video footage (to cut out unnecessary material, to focus on the important parts, whatever), only to be told that "well, I don't have the original content any more, so I'm gonna go with what's here." Making videos should be like almost any artistic endeavor - the first cut is almost NEVER worth showing the world. Go read Ducain's words - and if you're a content creator (video, artwork, fan fiction, whatever), take them to heart. (Louis Wu 18:08:24 UTC) (permalink)
Copy, Right?
Last week, there was a minor ruckus over some Halo content in the cover of a science fiction novel. Stuntmutt weighs in in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 18:00:10 UTC) (permalink)
Halo vs Counter-Strike
spartanerik posted a link to a Newgrounds-based Halo vs Counter-Strike Flash. Go look. (Louis Wu 17:56:56 UTC) (permalink)
Earth City, by Shorewood High School
TraitorJoe (who has submitted a lot of music transcriptions to Rampancy.net under the name Poop Scoop) stopped by our forum last night to point out a video of his high school orchestra performing Earth City (from the Halo 2 Soundtrack, Volume 1). Great stuff - we're mirroring the WMP9 version (28 mb) and providing a QuickTime version as well (29.8 mb). Grab one and watch - they're great! Be sure to let him know what you think in the forum thread. (Louis Wu 17:41:39 UTC) (permalink)
No Elastics Required
Bungie's hiring again! Check out the Top Story on Bungie.net, and their Jobs page, for details on the newest Halo 3-related positions... and send 'em your resume! (Louis Wu 17:31:06 UTC) (permalink)
1.25 Mil for Top Gamers
Wow. Over at Gamasutra, there's a story about the new deals signed by MLG with the top Halo players - Team Final Boss and individual Tsquared; each of the five players involved will be paid a quarter of a million dollars to play exclusively in MLG competitions. Walshy's comment is great:
"Three years ago I never could have imagined that I'd be making more money than my parents playing video games!"
Interestingly, this news is not on MLG's own site yet. Update: It's now up at MLGPro.com - the contracts are 3 years, which makes the money quite a bit more reasonable. Thanks to ZoneManWilf for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 16:30:38 UTC) (permalink)
They're Heeeere
Heh - it's been a really busy morning (and will continue to be an insane day), but I'm posting this because we've already gotten over a dozen emails about it, and I want to stem the future tide. Today's Questionable Content (a webcomic I'd never heard of before, but apparently one widely read by the Halo community) has a subtle Halo reference in it today - last panel. The fact that this is strip 647 frightens me... it means I have a LOT of catching up to do. Looks like boristhespider52 was first with the heads-up. (Louis Wu 16:10:02 UTC) (permalink)
News June 20 2006
Warmongers
The HSE Project Team sent along Warmongers, a short musical piece based off Halo, which will be used on the soundtrack of an upcoming RTS game (release is scheduled for mid-2007). Give it a listen! (Louis Wu 20:39:33 UTC) (permalink)
Turtle Mann's Fourth Montage Trailer
Turtle Mann submitted the trailer for his fourth Montage to the MPRRS - and their biggest complaint was that it was too short. Go watch - WMP9 format is 23.4 mb, QuickTime format is 25 mb. Nice synchronization! (Louis Wu 19:33:10 UTC) (permalink)
Mike Hill - our newest Featured Artist
Our collection of Artist Galleries just expanded - Mike Hill now has a page here. Mike's work has made the news page a few times - but the news moves quickly around these parts, and it's great to finally have a resting place for this gorgeous stuff. There's a new piece for your perusal - Hybrid is what happens when someone with a lot of talent combines a 3D render with a video screencap and a lot of home lovin'... (Louis Wu 18:36:49 UTC) (permalink)
LiLPoison's back in the news
Grey Wolf noticed an interview with LiLPoison, the 8-year-old Halo wonder, on New York 1; the clip is watchable online, if you're not in the NY area. Amazing kid! (Louis Wu 18:27:08 UTC) (permalink)
Damian Lacedamian Saves The Net
Congratulations to This Spartan Life, whose 'Can't Buy Me Net' video blog just won the Pulver.com 'Save the Net' viral ad contest (and a cool $1000). Round II is coming up - and the prize has been upped to $5000! Good luck, Chris! (Louis Wu 18:02:45 UTC) (permalink)
Team MoBDeep
Over at MLGPro.com, there's an interview with Team MoBDeep, a relative unknown that came out of nowhere to finish in the top 8 in Dallas. Go read about who they are. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 13:15:14 UTC) (permalink)
The Five-Minute Spartan
Elnea recently started a drawing class, and one of the assignments was to create 6 sketches in 30 minutes, every day. One of hers recently was a Spartan - I love it. (Louis Wu 11:50:26 UTC) (permalink)
Who planned this?
CAFLORES, of the PromethianGuard, wrote to point out a new comic they've started, called 'Tactic and Cevr... and Caf'. The first episode is up in their forum. Update: Oops, looks like the bandwidth ran out on that comic - and nobody had a local copy. They've posted a beta version, here. Update 2: Caflores DID have another copy - the original is now a couple of posts down. Moral of the story: Try not to host your images on a server that will yank them when the bandwidth runs out. (Louis Wu 11:25:32 UTC) (permalink)
Google says we rock.
Heh - over at Google Video, there was an episode of Google Current that aired about a month ago that looked at the subject of 'net neutrality' - it talked about how this concept (which is concerned with a possible 'tiered' internet, in which higher-paying customers get faster bandwidth) has really only exploded in the last couple of months. During the piece, a recent 'This Spartan Life' video blog was discussed (because its focus, too, was net neutrality - we mentioned it here)... the part that amused me was the end of the Google Current clip. "You can watch the whole thing at thisspartanlife.com, and (for now, at least) that video blog loads very quickly." A throwaway tagline, maybe... but since we're providing the video hosting for This Spartan Life, it's still nice to hear. Thanks, Joshua Ary. (Louis Wu 11:19:58 UTC) (permalink)
Long Form Content
A new Community Spotlight has gone live over at Bungie.net; KP asked a question and a half of Narcogen, and let the guy behind Rampancy.net handle the other 8000 words of the interview. Check it out to see some of the motivation behind one of the longest-running Halo fansites on the web, along with some little-known Bungie history and trivia. As usual when Narc's writing, a great read. (Louis Wu 00:19:41 UTC) (permalink)
News June 19 2006
Father's Day With Frank
TheSneak pointed out a YTMND funni that... actually is funny. Go watch. (Louis Wu 21:34:55 UTC) (permalink)
Gentlemen?
XerxdeeJ stopped by to point out a Reader's Poll on his Tied the Leader blog; are the weapons glitches that were in the news last week going to remain in your arsenal during custom games (or any non-matchmaking games, really)... or are you going to try and 'go straight' across the board? Sound off! (Louis Wu 20:02:59 UTC) (permalink)
Well, he's still got his armor... sort of
Testicleez (what sort of name is that, anyway?) posted a series of images showing what happened to his poor Master Chief action figure while he was away from his desk. Let this be a lesson... don't leave action figures around unattended! (Louis Wu 19:41:47 UTC) (permalink)
Team SWAT for Cash
Team SWAT tourney being organized over at Games In Action, a Seventh Column chapter - you need to join the group to sign up, but that's pretty simple to do if you have a B.net account. There are cash prizes for the top spots. Thanks, Masta Chef (who saw it at Bungie.net). (Louis Wu 19:02:24 UTC) (permalink)
Feedback.
Stuntmutt takes a look at the limitations of the existing feedback system on Xbox Live... and what might NOT be a limitation for some, in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 16:23:39 UTC) (permalink)
VGL to be at GenCon Indy
Gen Con, a national fan convention producer, has teamed up with Video Games live to bring you a VGL concert with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra at Gen Con Indy on August 11 and 12th - the full press release can be found on VGL's website. Tickets are $22 to $62 and available now. (Louis Wu 16:21:29 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Trading Cards - on Multiple Fronts
In the past few days, we've heard about a couple of different projects involving Halo Trading Cards; oriol003 set up a small tutorial showing how to make your own cards (visit his site for a template), and Dain Ironfoot sent along a link to a pretty in-depth website devoted to a customizable game built in the Halo universe. There are hundreds of cards described in these pages; the one thing they're missing are graphics of the cards themselves. (Seems like these two groups could get together and make some cool stuff...) Check out both sites - but beware, the second one is really deep, content-wise, and might suck you in. (Louis Wu 16:11:09 UTC) (permalink)
Resolving Conflicts
Random 15-Year-Old noticed a video on YouTube that purports to be a Halo Intervention - family and friends come together to help a Halo addict remember what's important in his life. I have a little trouble believing this isn't a parody... but I guess you never know. (Louis Wu 10:57:08 UTC) (permalink)
Operation: Clubbed Seal
Slacker Entertainment has released Heroes & Heretics Episode 7, Operation: Clubbed Seal for sponsors (free versions coming in a few days, as usual). Minimal humor this time around, but a finely-executed strategic rescue, and a powerful setup for the next episode. Which you might not see for a little bit; check this page for details on their summer schedule. Commentary vids... can't wait! (Louis Wu 10:48:28 UTC) (permalink)
Halogen needs a DVD cover
Blck, of the Halogen team, sent us a note recently about a new contest being held on their site; they're looking for help in creating a DVD cover, and they're putting some EA games and other schwag on the line to help you do it. Go read for details. (Louis Wu 10:43:39 UTC) (permalink)
News June 18 2006
Happy Father's Day
And that's it for this morning; the rest of this day is devoted to father-related activities here. Go celebrate your own. (Louis Wu 14:34:06 UTC) (permalink)
Quantum Theory Says
Mintz pointed out a Halo-related comic at The Day It Snowed which takes a pretty interesting look at one of the questions of the ages. You know... I'm not gonna argue with that penguin's logic. (If he is, indeed, a penguin.) (Louis Wu 14:30:29 UTC) (permalink)
Wow, wow, lalalala
Okay... this is just...odd. (Louis Wu 14:29:23 UTC) (permalink)
Jump Tactics Mix 3
Over at Halo3Forum.com (the name's changed a little, but most other stuff is the same), Z's put up Jump Tactics Mix 3, a new, pretty amazing collection from a well-known name. Registration (free) required to downlad this monster - 185 mb in zip format. (Louis Wu 14:10:21 UTC) (permalink)
Gruntish Problems
SEspider posted Page 28 of his Miniature Halo series on our forum yesterday - we've added it to the Miniature Halo page, as well. (Louis Wu 14:04:13 UTC) (permalink)
News June 17 2006
Ring around the enforcer
Very nice - c0ld vengeance created a new '3d shot' (sort of - it's a QuickTime movie that rotates around the image) of an Enforcer... gorgeous. He also shows you where the fire's coming from - and it might not be what you'd expect... Update: If you'd rather, you can now grab a copy in QTVR format (3.6 mb) - thanks to Chilton Webb's iStill. (Louis Wu 18:13:09 UTC) (permalink)
The Creepy Guy at Work
MaritalBlaze54 Submitted 'The Creepy Guy at Work' to the MPRRS - a Dane Cook comedy routine, set to Halo. Clever idea, great filming, funny routine - great overall piece. For the most part, the reviewers loved it. (I did, too.) Grab a copy in WMP9 format (34.5 mb) or QuickTime format (33.5 mb). (Louis Wu 10:43:21 UTC) (permalink)
Team Cobra Kai - I should have known, Frankie cheatz
Frankie's sick, so this week's Update is a bit light - but there's still some good stuff in it. (And KP does a great job of ridiculing some random cheaters for good measure.) Go read - either at Bungie.net, or in our own Weekly Update Archive. (Louis Wu 01:21:37 UTC) (permalink)
News June 16 2006
WikiRiot/003
The Creme Savers have released Episode 3 of their WikiRiot podcast - you can read about it at HaloWiki, download it from that same page, or grab it from iTunes. (Louis Wu 20:00:38 UTC) (permalink)
What did he do wrong? ...Just so I know.
Captain Spark posted another 30 dialogue snippets today; you can grab them from his site, or you can browse them individually in our Dialogue Databank. This is the first batch that has all the individual players broken out. (Louis Wu 19:42:42 UTC) (permalink)
Trailer Trash.
I'd find today's One One Se7en much funnier, if my inbox wasn't already chock-full of all of those comments. Sometimes you have to laugh, or you'll cry. (Louis Wu 15:13:44 UTC) (permalink)
Out of Mind
If you have a 360, there's a new Red vs Blue miniseries beginning on XBL Marketplace - 'Out of Mind' apparently tells the story of Tex and Wyoming (and Wyoming's boss). It's free, it's in hi-res (Gus points out that it's the first hi-def video they've created, and he's pretty happy with how it came out), with gorgeous sound... and it's exclusive to Marketplace. (For now, anyway.) Thanks, Endejas. (Louis Wu 15:01:49 UTC) (permalink)
You get down from there!
A little thing... but it made me laugh. Check out Dojorkan's reworking of the Cairo Station battle. (Louis Wu 14:47:40 UTC) (permalink)
Halo CMT Promo Vid
The Halo Custom Mapping Team has released a promo video, giving you a sneak peek at the content of their upcoming release, 'Halo CE: CMT Edition'. (This will be available on June 25.) It's basically a reworkng of the entire Halo (1) single-player game... all 10 levels. Check Wave of Lag's forum post for a link to the promo vid (20.1 mb, WMP9 format). (Louis Wu 14:42:25 UTC) (permalink)
Up and Running Again
XerxdeeJ stopped by to say that Tied The Leader is back to updating - new skin (very pretty!), new focus - or at least, more focused focus. Stop by and say hi! (Louis Wu 14:31:38 UTC) (permalink)
Series 8 Action Figures Now Out
Nox Invictus points out that Joyride Studios has released the Series 8 Action Figures; they're available for purchase now at the DieCastExpress site. (Louis Wu 14:28:53 UTC) (permalink)
He still loves Halo CE.
3Suns points out that PisToL is the Player of the Week over at MLGPro.com; go see why. (Louis Wu 14:21:38 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox World 360 Features Halo
WortWortWort pointed out a blog entry from the guys behind Xbox World 360, a UK gaming magazine, talking about a huge amount of Halo content in the latest issue. Looks like if you have access to this mag, it's worth buying! Update: Feenix clarifies that it's not just a Halo feature, it's a free 82-page Halo Trilogy Magazine, included within issue 40 of Xbox World 360. Almost makes you wish you lived in the UK, doesn't it? (Louis Wu 14:18:47 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fanfic
Fourteen (that's 2x7) new pieces of Fan Fiction for you this Friday - go read! (Louis Wu 13:12:19 UTC) (permalink)
Exams aren't everything.
Jillybean isn't letting her fame go to her head... too fast. She's still willing to slog through the Halo Story Page mailbag and clean off the gems (wash off the blood, wash off the rum). Go see what she found this time out. (Louis Wu 02:39:34 UTC) (permalink)
News June 15 2006
Next game's to 343.
The Halo Humpday Challenge writeup is now up over at Bungie.net; HaloPlanet might have won the overall match, but KP did a fine job of finding people on the other team to ridicule. (To the sniper in the first game - don't worry, I feel your pain.) Go read. I'm guessing, though, that by now he's gotten enough private messages for upcoming matches... you can probably stop writing. Frankie, of course, was first (I'm envisioning something like "KP, go get me coffee, then you can post the update"). (Louis Wu 22:44:25 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Behind the Scenes Transcript Available
Hyp3r grunt dropped us a note - there's a transcript of the Halo 3 'Behind the Scenes' trailer up at Halo Nirvana. Give it a read! (Louis Wu 16:35:20 UTC) (permalink)
Vector Chief How-To
DMDyet put together a small tutorial on converting a base image to a vector representation, using some work he did on the Halo 3 Trailer MC as an example. Comments can be added to the DeviantART page where it's hosted, or to his forum post here (Louis Wu 16:29:35 UTC) (permalink)
Tri Tri Again - Again
Last week we mentioned a Halo-themed parody of the Apple Switch ads - we just got word from Dennis Powers that this movie is now mirrored at HaloMovies.org, and is available in both the original WMP9 format as well as a QuickTime version. If you missed it then, go watch it now! (Louis Wu 16:20:06 UTC) (permalink)
Think the kids will play Halo?
A quick note for the Bungie stalkers out there... John Butkus, a Bungie animator, half of the Cananimators (all stories on B.net about them seem to be gone forever, or I'd link you), and known online as Anim8rJB, proposed recently to Brooke, better known as Brookelyn, of the Fragdolls... and she said yes. No date that we know of. Congrats, you two! (Louis Wu 16:16:40 UTC) (permalink)
Weapons Glitches, Matchmaking, and You
A couple of weeks ago, Ninja 0n Fire, the Bungie playlist designer, posted a note on the Bungie.net forums which stated pretty clearly that weapons glitches (like BXR) and superbouncing were considered cheating in Matchmaking (though not necessarily bannable offenses, per se). As far as I know, this is the first time a Bungie employee has come out and said that this stuff is considered cheating - Sketch has suggested in the past that superbouncing, for example, is poor sportsmanship, but 'cheating' was reserved for activities that Bungie actually banned you for. We missed this - but HaloWiki picked up on it, and LegendaryMark wrote up a nice article on kicking the habit. Thanks, PEZ. (Louis Wu 15:02:42 UTC) (permalink)
Halo immersion
NAMLOCO is a Halo fan who wanted the perfect setting for his Halo playing - so he hired 4 women to paint a pair of Halo murals on his walls (6 ft by 12 ft each). Total cost - $2000. He sent along a few large pics (first | second | third), and there are more thumbnails of the room visible in this forum post at the Lambclan forum. Now THAT'S some dedication. (Louis Wu 13:12:03 UTC) (permalink)
This Spartan Life - Movies Galore
There's quite a bit of new content available over at This Spartan Life - you can find links to two new segments at SpikeTV (an interview with Korn, and another episode of Solid Gold Dancers), and you can find Module 4, Meet Teh Leet, a look at l337-speak in online gaming. Check it out! (Louis Wu 12:53:35 UTC) (permalink)
Lost: Halostyle Episode 4
Haloplayer submitted Lost: Halostyle Episode 4 to the MPRRS (episodes 1-3 are available at ikproductions.net) - the reviewers liked it. Good cinematography, understandable voice acting (that's bigger than you'd think!), interesting effects. Grab a copy in WMP9 format or QuickTime format - 49 mb each, though the WMP9 is a bit sharper this time around. (Louis Wu 12:44:44 UTC) (permalink)
But can Brutes fix starships?
Ars Technica has a short piece comparing the Halo 2 Brute Shot to a Wookie blaster (from the Star Wars universe) - sort of makes sense, doesn't it? (Louis Wu 12:28:03 UTC) (permalink)
Cel-shaded Blood Gulch
Psi Matrix pointed out that he's remapped Blood Gulch with a cel-shaded mod designed by Xavier, who passed away a couple of years ago, as a tribute; you can grab the map in either .rar or .zip format, and he sent along a few screenshots (1 | 2 | MC | layout). (Louis Wu 12:24:51 UTC) (permalink)
And in this corner... Halo Planet
Halo Planet played Bungie last night in a Humpday Challenge - and won. There's a writeup at HP, with game links and plenty of comments from players and other community members, but nothing at Bungie yet. Hmm... is it just a coincidence that Bungie has lost every Humpday Challenge they've held since KP joined the crew? You decide. (Louis Wu 12:16:03 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 Vista Details
Over at Bungie.net, there's a new top story - it's a question and answer session about Halo 2 Vista, with info coming from Jo Clowes, project lead for Halo 2 for Windows Vista. The biggest news, as Frankie's notification post headline might suggest, is that Halo 2 for Vista will support dedicated servers - something that should make a LOT of Halo fans happy. There's more info in the Q&A - go read it! (Put on dark glasses before you get to the end, though... there's some NSFW GatesPr0n at the bottom.) (Louis Wu 00:49:20 UTC) (permalink)
News June 14 2006
Savin' Me
BLackout77x submitted 'Savin' Me', a music video set to Nickleback's eponymous tune; it tells an interesting story. Our hero keeps fading into flashbacks of a breakup in the middle of a firefight - his squadmates keep pulling his fat from the fire, but at the cost of their lives. It's much better if you know what's going on. Nice effects, nice cinematography. The MPRRS said yea, so here you go: WMP9 version is 26.7 mb, QuickTime version is 25.9 mb. (Louis Wu 19:28:37 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Anaheim - First Tier Faceoff
MLGPro.com has posted a preview of MLG Anaheim, coming up in a week and a half. Good read! Thanks, KP. (Louis Wu 19:22:55 UTC) (permalink)
Plagiarized Cover Might Become a Collector's Item
Wow. I wouldn't have expected this... but the latest word on the 'Halo gun on a non-Halo book cover' story has taken a new twist; the author posted this morning that as of now, the publisher is planning on printing future copies (including the paperback edition) with a different cover. (This is unofficial, in the sense that someone could reverse that decision before anything new is actually printed... but it makes sense - and it shows the power a fan community can have, ESPECIALLY if they conduct themselves appropriately.) (Louis Wu 17:06:34 UTC) (permalink)
Gone With The Wind.
Stuntmutt continues to mine the Halo 3 trailer for calembouric gold... today's One One Se7en is actually a puntrocity. (Louis Wu 15:53:32 UTC) (permalink)
MJOLNIR's Child
Elnea's most recent journal entry at Red vs Blue is about MJOLNIR's Child, a song she wrote to explore the idea of children bred as supersoldiers. It's really, really good. It is accompanied by a haunting piece of art - we've added this to her gallery here. We're happy to mirror the song, if her .Mac space runs out of bandwidth. Go listen, go look. (Louis Wu 14:00:41 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Pong
DonVinzone wrote to let us know about Halo Pong, a game he's developing. Pong... with CTF, Oddball, Assault, Territories, and Co-op? You don't see that every day. It's not done yet, but the beta version is playable - if you have a Windows computer, go grab a copy! (Louis Wu 13:56:57 UTC) (permalink)
The Halouvre Pours on the Content
Nightmare 385 noticed some updates over at the Halouvre - check them out, there's some amazing artwork in there! (Louis Wu 13:53:48 UTC) (permalink)
Stuck.
Pixellated found a t-shirt for sale at Split Reason which may or may not be sanctioned by Microsoft... but which would look great on you either way. (A quick run through their inventory shows a Killtrocity shirt with dual SMGs, as well. Update: Boxer pointed out a couple of stickers, as well: Stuck | Body Count. (Louis Wu 13:49:37 UTC) (permalink)
Philosophical Underpinnings?
Wow, there's a connection I've never seen anyone make before... Geoff Chang has found a relevantly-numbered passage from Nietzsche which certainly ties in nicely with certain aspects of the game! This is more Story page material than anything else... but there it was, sitting on the forum, and i was intrigued. Check it out! (Louis Wu 13:41:28 UTC) (permalink)
News June 13 2006
How would you pronounce that?
Roger Wolfson, a database programmer at Bungie, spent a few minutes figuring out the 'average gamertag' - read his Bungie.net forum post if you want to understand what that means. The average tag? 'xArKKAAaEX'. And yes... it's registered, now. (Was registered about an hour after the forum post.) You gotta wonder, sometimes... (Louis Wu 21:31:06 UTC) (permalink)
Picking your brains... mysteriously.
Frankie stopped by our forum to solicit questions for a Q&A. (Don't post them in the thread on OUR forum - follow his link and post them at Bungie.net.) No, he's not saying what it's for. (Louis Wu 17:45:01 UTC) (permalink)
Freelancer: Combat Evolved Teaser Vid
William Sullivan-Angulo writes to point out that Freelancer: Combat Evolved, the Halo mod for Freelancer, has released a teaser video showing off some of their progress to date. You can grab a copy (11.7 mb, WMP9 format) from this forum post. (Louis Wu 14:17:50 UTC) (permalink)
Big Bird on Helium
Northwestern Magazine (the magazine put out by Northwestern University to spotlight the goings-on in its community) wrote up an article on Joe Staten, after he came out to speak a couple of months ago. SleeperQ took photos of the three-page article, which details the road Staten's taken to and within Bungie; you can find links in this forum post. An interesting read - check it out! Update: SleeperQ found the article online at Northwestern; makes for much easier reading. (Louis Wu 14:11:07 UTC) (permalink)
News June 12 2006
HGN Preview online at Marvel, too
As many of you know, we put the Halo Graphic Novel Preview online last week, for anyone who couldn't get a copy in their local comic store (or who don't HAVE a local comic store, or who don't even live in the US). Looks like Marvel's done the same (though you need to register - free - to see it) - they've got a cool flash interface for the whole thing. Thanks, Deimos. (Gotta love that original publication date...) (Louis Wu 21:10:45 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Action Figures - Almost Done
Dielectric posted a note on our forum with some interesting info about Halo 2 action figures; it looks like the last two series (9 and 10 are going to be cancelled, so 8 (upcoming, available for preorder now) will be the last. There's also info about upcoming exclusives... and a name on the Heretic Leader ('Sesa 'Refumee' - that's new, as far as I know). Check it out! (Louis Wu 19:47:57 UTC) (permalink)
HD QT available again from MS
Last week, in an attempt to help out the folks who really, really wanted a copy of the HD QuickTime version of the Behind The Scenes video, we put up a BitTorrent seed and a bunch of bandwidth; 250 people grabbed copies over the weekend. (That's a cool hundred gigs.) Thanks to all who left their torrents open! We're going to shut that down now, though, because Bungie has put up a new, uncorrupted copy on Microsoft's megapipes - you can grab it from the bottom of this page. Thanks, Frankie! (Louis Wu 19:38:16 UTC) (permalink)
General Crumpet... or Major Raver?
I knew we'd reap the benefits of passing off one of our staffers to Bungie.net... the next community spotlight has gone live, and this time around it's Jillybean. She waxes poetic about her uni experience, her introduction to the Halo community, and her current work on the Halo Story page. Don't worry - the next spotlight won't be someone from around here. I don't think. (Louis Wu 17:38:07 UTC) (permalink)
PwnCast Ep 16
MLG PwnCast Episode 16 has been released - it focuses on Xena (of the PMS Clan). Thanks, Bluestrike2. (Louis Wu 16:37:43 UTC) (permalink)
Vampire Earth Update
Another update; yesterday, we mentioned a minor controversy in which the cover art for a sci-fi novel incorporated the Halo Battle Rifle... the thread has expanded quite a bit since yesterday, and it's clear now that the author had nothing at all to do with the cover art, but he has, in fact, stopped by to contribute. An unaffiliated fan suggested that the books are decent pulp sci-fi (if a bit light)... all in all, I think this turned out pretty well, given the potential for ugliness! (Louis Wu 14:58:13 UTC) (permalink)
One Good Burn...
We post most of the Halo-related news that goes up on Bungie.net - there was an article on Friday I let pass by. Stuntmutt wasn't willing to do that - today's One One Se7en is his shot over the bow. Or the dome, I guess. (Louis Wu 13:27:24 UTC) (permalink)
SCC Music Contest Redux
Gah. I posted this yesterday... in my mind. (That is: I wrote up the update post, but somehow got distracted before it actually went live.) We mentioned the SCC Music Contest yesterday - later in the day, the actual entries went online over at Bungiefansonline.com. There are lots and lots and lots of them - and each one has a description of the piece by the author, along with comments on the winning pieces by the judges. Go read, go download, go listen! Thanks to both Gods Prophet and Tazmaniandude for letting us know about these - and apologies for not actually POSTING it when I'd meant to. (Louis Wu 11:27:09 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: The Covenant War Launched
At the end of April, we posted a note about a tabletop RPG in the works; the first version has been released. Read the blog post for details on where to get stuff! (Louis Wu 11:21:07 UTC) (permalink)
DropShock Episode 18
DropShock has posted Episode 18 of their podcast - Halo 3 vehicles, Halo 3 rumor avoidance, Halo 2 playlists, and a review of their earliest online Halo 2 games. 58 mb, 58 minutes. Go listen. (Louis Wu 10:44:27 UTC) (permalink)
Make No Mistake
Narcogen warns against overenthusiasm in his latest rant at Rampancy.net; there are some great arguments to help you keep a level head about what was (and wasn't) revealed in the Halo 3 Behind the Scenes documentary released recently. Go read. (Louis Wu 10:41:39 UTC) (permalink)
News June 11 2006
How to make cheese taste better.
Heh - TragicNocturne noticed a book cover in Barnes and Noble that contained... a pretty interesting weapon. (Here's the listing at Amazon - click the 'See larger image' for a bigger shot; here's a local copy in case that gets yanked at any point.) Blade wrote as well, and sent this version, in case the comparison wasn't obvious enough. Update: looks like QuickTactical was actually first with the notice of this one; he posted a description (one that sounds a lot like TragicNocturne's story, actually) over at HaloGrid a day and a half before TragicNocturne visited our forum. I gotta start reading HaloGrid's forum more often! (Louis Wu 23:48:45 UTC) (permalink)
Hypersoldier's cardboard Armor
And the cardboard stuff continues! Hypersoldier has been putting together a cardboard suit - you can see a series of pics on this page. (They were originally posted on our forum, linked from a DeviantART gallery - but this one should be a little easier to navigate from piece to piece.) (Louis Wu 16:45:24 UTC) (permalink)
Cardboard MA5B Followup
Steve finished up his cardboard MA5B yesterday, and took a few final pictures - check out his forum post! (Louis Wu 13:51:15 UTC) (permalink)
Explicitry Duet - now in QT
A few days ago, we mentioned a trailer for a new Halzred montage, called 'Explictry', being hosted by Halo2Forum. Halzred submitted this file to the MPRRS, as well, for feedback; he didn't want hosting (H2F does a fine job of that), but since the MPRRS passed it (handily), we're offering a QuickTime version for those who need it (33.3 mb). Nice editing! (Louis Wu 13:49:38 UTC) (permalink)
Podtacular PodTV Ep 2
Podtacular has released Episode 2 of PodTV - this one contains a legendary walkthrough of Cairo Station. Thanks to immortalthree for the heads-up (we sort of knew anyway - we're providing the hosting for the downloadable file - but we love it when folks keep us up-to-date on what's going on). (Louis Wu 13:43:47 UTC) (permalink)
SCC's Unofficial Music Competition
Also on B.net is a report of the Unofficial Music Competition recently conducted by Seventh Column Contests, a Seventh Column chapter. There is a summary of the winners and honorable mentions - but no downloadable files. (I've already sent email to the coordinators, offering hosting space for winning entries and honorable mentions, but I'd like to make that offer publicly, as well; we'd love to let the community at large hear these files, so if you're in the winners' list, feel free to send along your file, and we'll share it with the world!) One of the participants that DIDN'T make it into the winners list posted his entry on our forum this morning, and I thought it was quite good. If that's one of the files that DIDN'T win, I REALLY want to hear the top tier! (Louis Wu 13:39:30 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox Live Evolved
B.net has a small note about Xbox Live Evolved, a new forum-based site that advertises that it's there to help you get your clan online, and facilitate clan-based community interaction. Seems like a pretty big claim - check 'em out! (Louis Wu 13:30:47 UTC) (permalink)
News June 10 2006
Halo2 Open
GotFrag has news about the Halo2 Open, an online tourney with a top prize of $5000. It kicks off on Thursday. (Louis Wu 21:32:18 UTC) (permalink)
Hungry Hungry Hippos
Broken Console has returned to their ongoing series, The Squadron - Episode 17, "I'm Not With Him", is available for download from their website in WMP9 format (32.5 mb). The humans are once again outnumbered - but not outmatched. Go watch! (You can grab a QuickTime version - 26.9 mb - from us if you need it.) (Louis Wu 19:14:18 UTC) (permalink)
WikiRiot Episode 2
Sigafoos let us know that Episode 2 of WikiRiot, the podcast devoted to subjects surrounding HaloWiki.net, is now available - 13.6 mb, 34 minutes. Topics include this week's updates, an upcoming clan tourney, and more. Go listen! (Louis Wu 12:21:06 UTC) (permalink)
Portatious Ta-tas
Mintz let us know that Halo: Portable's been updated again; Stephen Loftus' In Amber Clad article is there, as is a readable preview of the Halo Graphic Novel, the Halo 3 Behind The Scenes vid, and the Advanced Warfighter vid, all for your mobile viewer! Check 'em out. (Louis Wu 08:42:51 UTC) (permalink)
Bad Cyborg Tactics
Rockslider doesn't quit - our forum contains a new post from him, detailing new changes to his Bad Cyborg site. Lots of tactics and tips... go read! (Louis Wu 08:35:41 UTC) (permalink)
More Cardboard Models
A couple of days ago, we mentioned some cardboard Halo guns made by a fan; we soon received another batch of pictures from a different fan, who's been building his own cardboard weapons. Swing by this page to see the cardboard weapons of yayap_the_grunt. (Louis Wu 08:22:42 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Documentary - QT HD available
Okay, so here's the deal. A few days ago, a really cool movie was released by Bungie - 'Halo 3: Behind The Scenes'. It came out in lots of flavors, lots of sizes... but the highest-resolution QuickTime, a gorgeous HD 720p version weighing in at 400 mb, had a problem; the last 20 seconds of the video got corrupted every time they tried to upload the file to the servers. The word in the latest Weekly Update is that the problem still isn't solved. Now, 400 MB is WAY too big for us to handle as a direct download - especially if we're the only host, and the file is as popular as this one is. But this is EXACTLY the sort of thing that BitTorrent is good at. And we can certainly spare 20Mbit/sec of seed bandwidth, to help folks get started... so with Bungie's blessing, we're offering the HD QuickTime version of this film as a torrent. If you've been waiting for this version, wait no longer - grab a BitTorrent client and start sharing! (For those who've been waiting for this but cannot or will not use BitTorrent - I really do apologize, but a 400MB file might kill us. Really.) (Louis Wu 01:40:36 UTC) (permalink)
Tumbleweeds and Nonagenarians
Tonight's Weekly Update focuses on the XBL playlists (there are still 20 million games of Halo 2 played each month - WOW!), plus info on what's been going on in the office this week, and another great installment of the Waaahmbulance. Go read - at Bungie.net or in our Weekly Update Archive. Frankie, as usual (though not always) was first - though he's stuck true to his 'no more Firsts' pledge after the Halo 3 trailer came out, and has titled this post 'Free Food' or something. (Louis Wu 01:17:50 UTC) (permalink)
News June 9 2006
Indulge him for a minute.
Hmm... I usually stay away from the Story-related stuff until the Story Page crew picks it up... but this seemed pretty cool to me. Check out bikeman704's speculations on the Ark in the Halo 3 trailer, and where else you might have seen one... (Louis Wu 20:19:07 UTC) (permalink)
He's Deep.
There's a fantastic interview with Marty O'Donnell over at 1Up.com - Halo 3, Bungie, music, movies... and (maybe) what's coming. Go watch! (Flash format, about 38 mb.) If you swing by GameVideos.com, you can actually grab larger versions, in WMP or QuickTime formats (MUCH larger), as well. Thanks, Mark McDonald and Eastbeast314. (Louis Wu 18:54:28 UTC) (permalink)
Help Dupid get to Anaheim
I don't want to make a habit of this... but sometimes, It's nice to lend a hand to folks in need. AJay dropped us a note that a friend of his, Dupid, was headed to MLG Anaheim with an all-girl team, but her sponsor backed out at the last minute, and now she's stuck with no cash and no way to get there. Swing by this forum post if you want to help out. (Louis Wu 17:47:50 UTC) (permalink)
This Is The Way The Room Ends.
Today's One One Se7en explains EXACTLY what was going on during that Halo 3 Trailer. It was so obvious... why couldn't the rest of us see it? (Louis Wu 17:12:31 UTC) (permalink)
Haha - wait... I don't get it.
Captain Spark submitted another couple of dozen dialogue snippets; these are not yet broken down with Marty's new identifiers (that will start next week, apparently), but don't let that stop you. You can grab them from his website, or browse them in our Dialogue Databank. (Louis Wu 16:45:18 UTC) (permalink)
3D Jackal - now REALLY 3D
Chilton Webb made a really nice QuickTime VR (3D screenshot) out of c0ld vengance's dying Jackal - you can find a link in his forum post. (Louis Wu 14:24:37 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fanfic
Seventeen new pieces in the Fan Fiction section today - go read. (Louis Wu 11:39:42 UTC) (permalink)
A Tribute to Halo 2
Top Cat Productions submitted 'A Tribute to Halo 2' to the MPRRS, and its combination of wacky humor, strange situations, and surreal transitions convinced the reviewers to give it a thumbs-up. It's pretty long (almost 19 minutes, but still weighs in at about 50 mb... amazing! Grab a copy in WMP9 format (53.2 mb) or QuickTime format (47.9 mb). (Louis Wu 06:23:59 UTC) (permalink)
Excuses, excuses...
The Humpday Challenges are back, it seems - KP's got a writeup of this week's, against the Podtacular crew, posted at Bungie.net. Nice recap, even though Bungie got beat - congrats, Podtacular! (Louis Wu 06:22:38 UTC) (permalink)
Switch Parody 2
Matt Spenser and Psy Matrix got together and turned out Switch Parody 2, a cute takeoff on Apple's Switch ads. 12 mb, WMP9 format - go watch! Thanks, Laird. (Louis Wu 06:22:14 UTC) (permalink)
Chacun a son gout.
Darkendes found a review of Halo 2 on a site aimed at helping parents find good media for their kids - and MAN, did they not like the game. "A storyline only slightly above average and so-so graphics" - they don't think it's just bad for kids, they think it's bad. Period. Ouch! (Louis Wu 06:21:29 UTC) (permalink)
News June 8 2006
Clan Playing
Over at Bungie.net, KP put up an item that explains how you can still get some clan action going, even though the Clan playlists on XBL have been dropped. (Louis Wu 16:16:24 UTC) (permalink)
Pitiful, eh?
Heh - Weird Al Yankovic's latest song, 'You're Pitiful', takes a shot at Halo 2 players - it's available for download (for now, anyway) on his site. Direct link is in KiGlow's forum post. (Louis Wu 16:14:56 UTC) (permalink)
3D Cardboard Halo Guns
Steve stopped by our forum last night to post a bunch of pictures of Halo guns he'd created out of cardboard - great work! Give it a look. (Louis Wu 16:11:30 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Screensaver Updated
Ciarán posted a note about an upgrade to his Halo Screensaver - it has its own website. Check it out! (Louis Wu 16:06:14 UTC) (permalink)
News June 7 2006
An unpleasant warning
My local connection is having problems; the one of the routers here is seeing lots of errors. My service provider needs to do some 'intrusive testing' to nail down where the problem is; what that means for you is that everything on that connection will be offline from roughly 1 am eastern (5 am UTC) through as late as 5 am eastern. This includes the forum - but does NOT include the main site, or the Story page. (It includes the fan fiction forum, though not the fan fiction section, and it includes the clan forum.) I'm sorry - but the end result should be better for all. (Louis Wu 22:03:52 UTC) (permalink)
ItWasLuck - Scion PotY nominee
Over at MLGPro.com, there's an interview with ItWasLuck, another Scion Player of the Year nominee; go see what drives him! Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 21:42:35 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Documentary - now Mobile
Mintz writes to point out that the Behind the Scenes vid is now available at Halo: Portable, in pocket-sized versions; 33 mb for PSP, 18 mb for iPod, 13 mb for Pocket PC. Go grab a copy! (Louis Wu 21:44:38 UTC) (permalink)
Halo's Golden Rule Episode 3
A movie passed the MPRRS this morning - it actually passed for the second time. The first time, it passed the reviewers, but I refused to host it because the submitter had been part of a couple of plagiarism incidents in the not-too-distant past, and I wasn't even willing to look at it. However, he seems to have learned his lesson - we recently hosted a nice montage he did, because everyone deserves a second chance. He decided to resubmit this vid - and it passed again (I'm not thrilled that one of his clanmates reviewed the film - and gave it a well-above-average score - but the film had a passing score even without that). Halo's Golden Rule Episode 3 is a look at a 1v1 match between the submitter and a trash-talker... and while it seems a little petty to make fun of someone who trash-talks without being able to back it up... it's still pretty satisfying to see the other guy get beat. Go watch - WMP9 format is 62.1 mb, QuickTime format is 63.3 mb. (Louis Wu 20:22:10 UTC) (permalink)
Would That Make Her Katana?
Today's One One Se7en, riffing on a line from the Halo 3 trailer, made me laugh out loud. Then I smacked myself in the head with a board as penance for encouraging Stuntmutt. Go read. (Louis Wu 19:16:37 UTC) (permalink)
A look at the USA Networks/MLG deal
NewsFactor Network wrote up an article on the upcoming TV presentation of MLG matches, and what it might mean for the future. Thanks to CoB Icu, who noticed it at MLGPro.com. (Louis Wu 17:02:49 UTC) (permalink)
Exploding Unicorn Deconstructs Halo 3 Trailer
Joe Larson shows that he's got sharper eyes than all a' yas with his biting analysis of the Halo 3 trailer - there's some good stuff in there. Give it a read! (Then yell at him on our forum.) (Louis Wu 16:52:30 UTC) (permalink)
3D Screenshots - almost
c0ld vengeance and sorahn have both been playing with Xbox7887's trainer again - this time, they've created '3D screenshots' - sort of. (They're actually just QT movies that walk through a rotation around the shot - but it's close enough.) Vids range from about a meg up to about 6 mb. Definite coolness. (Louis Wu 16:40:57 UTC) (permalink)
Cheap Action Figures at Amazon
Clefton Twain pointed out that there are a couple of real bargains in Halo 2 action figures at Amazon right now; you can pick up either the Series 3 Ghost with Brute or the Series 3 Spec Ops Invisible Grunt for $5.29 right now. Nice deal! (The other $5.29 figures Clefton mentions are the Johnny Lightning minifigures - that's a normal price for those.) (Louis Wu 16:14:14 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3: Behind The Scenes
Occasionally, they release me from the chains that hold me to this desk, and take me outside to see the sun. (Or the stars, depending on the hour.) And as welcome as these breaks are, sometimes they come at... inconvenient times. Tonight, Bungie released Halo 3: Behind The Scenes, a new piece from Jim McQuillan. (Jim's the guy behind Film Oasis, the company that made the Halo 2 Making Of documentary that shipped with the Limited Edition Halo 2 discs. Bungie liked him so much they hired him fulltime.) Our forum is awash with discussion, but in case you haven't already seen it, you should go grab a copy - it's seven minutes long (!!), available in WMP9 or QuickTime, in sizes ranging from 320x180 (about 25 mb) up to 1280x720 HD (about 400 mb), and it's fascinating. Go grab the biggest copy you can handle, and see what Bungie themselves think about Halo 3! (I'll toss out a potential warning; it's possible that the QuickTime HD version has its last 20 seconds corrupted; it was that way for me, and for several others. Bungie is aware of the issue, and checking to see whether the file on the server got corrupted during upload; if it did, it'll be replaced soon.) (Louis Wu 03:53:08 UTC) (permalink)
News June 6 2006
Halo PC Mod: Modified PoA
darkster2ongame sent us a note about a single player mod he's release for Halo PC - it's the Pillar of Autumn, except humans and the Covenant have changed places (and the Covenant are mostly grunts). He sent along a small movie (1.5 mb, WMP9 format) to show an example of the gameplay. More details and a download link can be found in his Bungie.net forum post. (Louis Wu 22:36:43 UTC) (permalink)
From splashdown to Lockout
Heh - over at NASA's Scientific and Technical Information website, there's an article about the origins and evolution of Plantronics, a company that specializes these days in headsets. (They grew out of NASA's need for clear communication tools in extreme situations in the 50s and 60s.) And yes, the Plantronics Halo 2 headset is discussed. Even at NASA, Halo makes an appearance. Thanks, bbqturtle. (Louis Wu 20:01:27 UTC) (permalink)
Gauss Montage - now in QuickTime
Yesterday, we mentioned a cool Gauss Hog montage over at Halo2Forum.com, but it was only available in WMP9 format. I just got word from Z that he's okay with us hosting a QuickTime... so if you couldn't see the WMP9, grab this (105mb)! (I hear Mintz is planning on putting a portable-compatible version up at Halo: Portable, as well...) (Louis Wu 19:53:12 UTC) (permalink)
New Playlist Changes Live
Funkmon noticed that the new playlist updates (mentioned in last week's BWU) are now online - KP confirmed they have been since about 10:30 am Pacific time today. You need to log out and log back in to see them, if you were logged in around that time. (Louis Wu 19:31:28 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Cover Contest at Halo Planet
Over at Halo Planet, they're running a new contest - create a cover for the Halo 3 box, win some cool schwag. Read the contest page for all the details - and get your entry in before June 20! (Louis Wu 15:08:48 UTC) (permalink)
Explicitry: The Duet Trailer
Z points out another nice montage over at Halo2Forumcom - it's a trailer for an upcoming vid from Halzred and Typos called 'Explicitry: The Duet'; great editing, as always, from Halzred, and lots of multikills. 48 mb, WMP9 format - check it out! (Louis Wu 14:35:24 UTC) (permalink)
Google Earth-based Halo Player Index
Okay, this one's pretty interesting... lots of potential. Phil "WeaponSkill" McMahon sent word that he's created a small database of Halo 2 players all over the world... in Google Earth. (Sort of like Frappr, but on your own computer.) If you're interested in participating, grab this small zip file (2K); instructions for adding yourself to the database are inside. You need to have Google Earth running on your computer for this to work; there are versions available for both Mac and PC, but it requires a relatively new machine. (Louis Wu 14:29:35 UTC) (permalink)
More Cortana Cosplaying
Remember MsValentine? She just back from MetroCon in Florida, and there's a great pic of her Cortana outfit in her RvB profile. (The journal entry describing the reactions she got is pretty entertaining, as well!) You need to be an RvB member to see this stuff - but hey, it's free! (Louis Wu 14:23:59 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 1 Glory
ShreK sent word of a site with a rather juvenile domain name, but a nice collection of Halo 1 gameplay vids - sort of 'the cream of the crop' of the past few years. This is the work of Fil4, a Polish Halo player who loves Halo more than Halo 2. Go see why! Update: domain name has changed, to avoid possible lawsuits. It's less juvenile now. (Louis Wu 14:09:30 UTC) (permalink)
WikiRiot goes live
Sigafoos sends word that The Creme Savers have released the first episode of WikiRiot, a new podcast from halowiki.net. It's currently available via rss, but an iTunes link is coming soon. Episode 1 is 8.8 mb, 22 minutes long, and it (along with future podcasts) focuses on 'the wiki experience' - updates on the halowiki.net site, clans and squad stuff, discussion of featured articles from the site, and community member interviews. Check it out! (Louis Wu 14:01:17 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Concept video
nof pointed out another Youtube video last night - this one is a concept video for MLG. It shows what a tournament might look like when televised - there's voiceover commentary, instant replays, and multiple points of view. Interesting concept! (Louis Wu 13:51:41 UTC) (permalink)
Gescrow - gaming for bucks
AJay wrote to point out Gescrow, a website that lets you register and play for cash against others in a variety of games (including Halo 2, which is why he sent this to us). From what I can tell, they look like a gaming escrow company (hence the name) - you deposit cash with them, so that your 'Funded Matches' are guaranteed to have a payout if you lose. I can't find any information at all on their website that talks about what cut they take of all this - registration is free, the terms and conditions don't mention a fee at all for playing. If you're interested in putting your money where your mouth is in a Halo match (and you're over 18), this might be the place for you! They've got a commercial running on Youtube. (Louis Wu 13:44:52 UTC) (permalink)
Wow, does that look good!
Another one of our poster winners, Indutiomarus, just got his prize back from the frame shop... and wow. (He says the angle's to avoid the glare.) Makes me wish I'd entered! (The pic is by Mike Hill, if you don't recognize it.) (Louis Wu 07:32:48 UTC) (permalink)
The Little Picture
There's a nice feature over at 1Up.com, focusing on the emergence of machinima as a solid art form - and it includes a nice tutorial from the team behind Red vs Blue. If you're looking for tips... check this out! Thanks, insaneidiot. (Louis Wu 07:27:37 UTC) (permalink)
Flashback 5: The McCleod Group
Slacker Entertainment has posted Heretics & Heroes Flashback 5: The McCleod Group over at their website, for sponsors (it'll be up for the general public in a few days. That McLeod is one angry dude... and this whole series has some really, really nice production values. If you haven't checked these out, you really should - they're great! (Louis Wu 07:12:38 UTC) (permalink)
Creepin' up on Micky D's.
Frankie put up a note about a pretty cool milestone passed yesterday - half a billion Halo 2 games played on XBL to date. (This is not 'player sessions' - 3.3 billion of those were played by last week.) A neat stat - looks like the average gamesize on Xbox Live is about 7 players. (Makes sense, I suppose - most of the popular gametypes are 4v4, and while double-team and rumble pit exist, so do 12 and 16 player types.) Half a billion... that seems like a lot. (Louis Wu 07:10:12 UTC) (permalink)
Fan-sponsored Halo Fanfic contest back online
There was a Fan Fiction contest being sponsored by BungieFansOnline.com - but then the site went down. It's back up, and they're looking for submissions again. (All of the original ones were lost.) Read more at Bungie.net. (Louis Wu 07:05:45 UTC) (permalink)
News June 5 2006
Who's The Boss?
There's a powerful writeup of the MLG Dallas finals over at MLGPro.com - Final Boss continues to dominate, Str8 Rippin continues to nip at their heels, everyone else continues to try and stay in the money. Thanks to KP, over at Bungie.net, for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 20:04:54 UTC) (permalink)
Senoj Anaidni.
Stuntmutt is back behind the wheel at One One Se7en. How can you tell? Yeah, that's right... you can smell the puns from across the ocean. (Louis Wu 19:57:37 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox7887's Trainer Leads to a Screenshot Cornucopia
So about a week ago, we mentioned a new screenshot trainer developed by xbox7887 (well, sort of - we mentioned the pictures synide took with it). Turns out a LOT of people have been playing with this - a few days ago, Dojorkan took a bunch of really cool shots of Cortana, the Prophet of Truth, and Delta Halo (if you don't like RAR files, we're hosting all of these locally - you can find his originals in a folder labeled 'originals-darker', but we've also added some color-corrected ones, for folks who find the originals TOO dark), and Sorahn has been playing with a panoramic picture stitcher - check out these ridiculously high-res shots. (He added another set of pics later on - not scenery, so much, but some cool hi-res stuff nonetheless, plus some fun interface pics.) (Louis Wu 18:09:27 UTC) (permalink)
Halo, Legendary - in 1:42:54.
Wow - time marches on. Over at High Speed Halo, the final speed record set by the winners of our Going Nowhere Fast contest has fallen - Truth and Reconciliation has now been completed (on Legendary) in 18:21. Congrats to Riptor for closing the book on this one! Thanks, Ducain. (Louis Wu 14:12:46 UTC) (permalink)
Gauss Montage
Montages might be getting a bit old... but over at Halo2Forum.com, there's a Gauss Montage (well, both hogs are featured, but it's predominately the Gauss), and it's really, really nicely done. 124 mb, WMP9 format. (I've whipped up a QuickTime version for those who can't deal with WMP9 - but I haven't heard whether I'm allowed to post it or not, so it needs to wait.) Check it out - there's some awesome footage, and plenty of interesting effects. (And a HILARIOUS accidental triple betrayal near the end...) (Louis Wu 04:12:58 UTC) (permalink)
News June 4 2006
Contest Winnings
He's not the first to receive one - but he IS the first to send us a picture. Laird was one of the poster winners in our E3 contest - and it looks like the first thing he did was unroll it from its tube and snap a photo. He's looking forward to getting it framed - and I agree, it should look incredible on the wall! (Louis Wu 19:12:37 UTC) (permalink)
Call That Gratitude?
Stuntmutt has a special Sunday One One Se7en for you today - or rather, it's for the folks who filled in for him these past two weeks. Check it out. And while you're in that Stuntmutt state of mind (sort of like a New York state of mind, but slightly seedier, and without all the good food), check out his blog - he's done a wonderful job of recapping the last couple of weeks... wedding stuff, cool shirts, user-submitted strips, and some hilarious blackmail material on Jillybean and c0ld vengeance. Those two can't hold their liquor, it seems... (Louis Wu 12:03:35 UTC) (permalink)
Move Along
Execution1013, of Clan 0kinawa, turned in 'Move Along' - a Halo music video set to reproduce the real video created by The All American Rejects. Great quality, nice syncing - the MPRRS liked it, so give it a look! WMP9 version, 61.5 mb, or QuickTime version, 62.2 mb. (Louis Wu 10:41:06 UTC) (permalink)
Kill Phil
BlueHunter has been submitting versions of 'Kill Phil' to the MPRRS for quite some time - it took a while for reviewers to get over the fact that the film is in French, with English subtitles, but along the way, he's refined it into a really polished piece of work. It's (in the words of the creator) "a very free adaptation of Kill Bill" - and he ain't just whistlin' dixie. That said, it's a really interesting piece - if you can handle the 100 mb download (it's 16 minutes long), grab a copy! I had trouble converting this to WMP9 format from its original .AVI - so your choices this time around are a 98.2 mb .AVI (I'm not sure which codec) or a 94.4 mb QuickTime. This is a great example of how the MPRRS can help a filmmaker turn out a great piece - if they don't give up! (Louis Wu 10:28:14 UTC) (permalink)
Stained Glass Gorilla
Spartan Jag pointed out a small news story on Bungie.net - a forumgoer over there has posted some pictures of a piece of stained glass he made in the image of the Webmaster. Cool! (Louis Wu 10:14:46 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Babies Returns
We got word from mrsmiley that while there might not be 'official' strips coming out any time soon, Halo Babies is back open for business; they've got a couple of art forums set up to encourage the development of Halo artwork. Check it out! (Louis Wu 09:38:27 UTC) (permalink)
News June 3 2006
HGN Preview - for everybody
The Halo Graphic Novel preview hit comic stores in the US a few days ago (Wednesday was the release date); I hadn't realized this, but it was supposed to be a freebie. My local comic store was charging $.99/copy (not much, but when you want to grab enough for your buddies in Europe...), and comic stores elsewhere were doing similar things. Our policy on scans is that we will not put them up until the magazine they're from is off the shelves - because we're not interested in eating into anyone's legitimate profits. In this case, however, it was supposed to be free to begin with. So we're making it free. The scans aren't super-high-res - but they're big enough to read, and that should be a start, no? Go read. Or download. This stuff rocks. (Louis Wu 21:35:10 UTC) (permalink)
Marine Sassy? Really?
Marty, taking pity on us poor fans, posted a list of all the individual characters in Halo 2, and the actors who played them. We've added this list to our Names behind the Voices page - thanks, Marty! (At some point in the not-too-distant future, there'll probably be some reclassification going on in our Halo 2 Dialogue Databank.) (Louis Wu 19:45:27 UTC) (permalink)
Knowledge
Dan Chosich put together a pretty cool montage of his E3/D3 (Dean's post-E3 lanfest) experience; it does a wonderful job of showing the insanity that is E3, and has a few Halo-related clips from the lanfest to boot. Two versions are available - a 'small' version, 87 mb, QuickTime format, 640x360... and an HDV version, 128 mb, 1280x720, H.264 encoding (be sure your computer is up to this before grabbing it). Presentation is spectacular. (Louis Wu 18:44:03 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 still on top on XBL
Major Nelson posted the Top Live Games lists again, broken out by platform (Xbox/Xbox 360)... but also pointed out that on a combined list, Halo 2 would be number 1, followed by all 10 Xbox 360 titles. Thanks, Smandon. (Louis Wu 18:36:47 UTC) (permalink)
VGL in Philly - Halo (and more) Onstage
A reminder - Video Games Live will be onstage in Philadelphia tonight, with lots and lots of extra goodies (including the chance to meet your favorite Halo soundtrack composers). tyguy101a, from the RvB community, swung by to invite people as well - if you're in the area, there are still tickets left... go! (Louis Wu 14:07:23 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox 360 Camera and Halo 3?
insaneidiot found this article that had been linked off the Xbox.com forums - it's a discussion of the Xbox Live Vision Camera, built by GestureTek, coming out this fall. The company that made it, according to the article
"earlier hinted something about the camera being put into use in Halo 3 gaming wherein once a player turns his/her head to a particular direction, the in-game camera will turn respectively, paving the way to innovative gameplay."
Some googling turned up the info that this claim was made during their presentation at E3 this year (sounds like they were down in Kentia Hall...). Until you hear more from Bungie, this is a rumor, nothing more - someone's idea of the potential of the device. (Louis Wu 14:01:57 UTC) (permalink)
QsK King's First Montage Trailer
QsK King submitted a trailer for the first montage from QsKGlobal.com - the MPRRS liked it. This is the rebirth of someone who was banned for plagiarism a while back; it warms me to see solid, non-stolen work being produced. (There are some very nice editing touches in this vid.) It's short - only 1:23, under 20 mb in both flavors - grab a copy! WMP9 version is 19.3 mb, QuickTime version is 18.5 mb. (Louis Wu 13:07:56 UTC) (permalink)
Memo 2 Bungie
Davidgojr put together 'Memo 2 Bungie: Halo 2 BS Montage' - a look at some of the humorous stuff that can happen on Xbox Live. Humorous, that is, if it's not happening to YOU. It's one of those 'you gotta laugh so you don't cry' things. Nicely filmed, and the MPRRS reviewers said yea, so grab a copy in WMP9 or QuickTime formats. (It's rather large - almost 110 mb - so be warned.) (Louis Wu 00:27:09 UTC) (permalink)
Tasty Weekly Update
The Weekly Update is up over at Bungie.net, even though they had a major power outage today (probably that enormous bank of cooling fans in the back going rampant) - info about Video Games Live (and PLAY!, a different series altogether, though you wouldn't know it from the way Frankie wrote it up tonight), plus much more about playlist changes, and some really tantalizing stuff about an upcoming documentary short. And a really cool ASCII Mister Chief. Go read! (Or read it in our Weekly Update Archive, where it's actually formatted better. OMG it's update 77!) (Louis Wu 00:16:31 UTC) (permalink)
News June 2 2006
Enigmatic Observation.
The One One Se7en guest strips come to a close today - the final strip was created by BOLL. It requires a bit of knowledge of the Halo novels (specifically First Strike) to make sense... and, like all stuff BOLL does, is more than it seems at first. Enjoy. (Louis Wu 16:42:17 UTC) (permalink)
More Kind Words
I'm lovin' the thank-you notes we've been getting from the Soundtrack Contest winners; this hasn't really happened before, but it's cool. The latest comes from SnowVapor - take a look! (Louis Wu 16:39:05 UTC) (permalink)
Fiction Friday
Thirteen new stories are available in the Fan Fiction section today - I had to toss a few of the submissions. In today's day and age, there is absolutely no excuse for misspelling more than 25% of the words in a submitted story (I'm NOT exaggerating) - even if you don't have an app that can spellcheck for you, there are free online ones. If I can't read it, I won't post it. Hope that seems reasonable. (Louis Wu 16:27:59 UTC) (permalink)
Enjoy the future - today!
Heh - weirdness. Wikipedia not only has a featured story every day... they queue them up a couple of weeks in advance. Not only do they do that - but they MAKE PUBLIC what the upcoming featured stories are. Laird noticed that next Saturday's Featured Story (June 10) is going to be Red vs Blue. Read it now, before the rush! (Louis Wu 13:58:00 UTC) (permalink)
Advanced Warfighter
MaritalBlaze54 submitted 'Advanced Warfighter' to the MPRRS, and they loved it - enough that it made into the Top 10 passing scores. It's an adaptation of the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter release trailer (google it if you've never seen it), and uses the GRAW HUD really well - among other niceties. Great cinematography, great effects... this one's worth watching! Grab the WMP9 version (25.9 mb) or the QuickTime version (26.7 mb). (Louis Wu 13:11:46 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Graphic Novel Preview now out
Stephen Loftus pointed out that the Halo Graphic Novel comic, the 16-page preview meant to whet your appetite for the real thing (due out on July 12) was released a couple of days go (May 31), but nobody on the forum's been discussing it. (Stephen says that it's got plenty of spoiler material in it, so he's not willing to START a discussion. Just a heads-up, if you'd been meaning to swing by a comic shop... (Louis Wu 12:29:30 UTC) (permalink)
Marty Talks Halo 3 at PLAY!
Very nice. Spartan Jag pointed out a tidbit in an interview over at Xbox Evolved - Marty O'Donnell discussed Bungie, Chicago, and Halo 3 with one of their staffers before the PLAY! concert a couple of days ago. (The tidbit is cool - apparently, there was a chance for some press folks to play a little multiplayer at E3; I hadn't heard anything about that before.) The interview, in its entirety, is actually pretty nice - give it a read! (Louis Wu 02:56:51 UTC) (permalink)
News June 1 2006
Artwork, Updated
The Miscellaneous Art queue has been sadly neglected for over a month - I didn't have time to fully clear it out today, but i DID manage to put up 20 new images (well, 22, if you count the variants). There's some killer stuff in there - go look! (Louis Wu 21:40:27 UTC) (permalink)
Helix Canyon
FireDragon04 points out a new map for Halo Custom Edition entitled Helix Canyon. You can find a discussion thread (with screens) on the Gearbox forums, and another on the Halomods forum. Give it a look - and a download! (Louis Wu 21:39:15 UTC) (permalink)
The Halo Brothers Tag Mario Melee Event
We got word of a tournament in Orlando, Florida, coming up on June 17. It's sponsored by Gamestop - $20 to get in, lots of prizes. Halo is one of several games. Check out The Trades website for more details. (Louis Wu 20:38:50 UTC) (permalink)
Cortana, Breathing
MsValentine, a regular over at Red vs Blue, has been cosplaying as Cortana at various conventions - and tweaking the costume as she goes - here's a recent shot of the outfit (there should be more coming soon). If you are a member at RvB, you can check out her images section for older pics, as well - and feel free to stop by our forum if you have any comments for her! (Louis Wu 20:16:09 UTC) (permalink)
Deconstructing The Movie Process
Over at Rampancy.net, Narcogen has written up the first installment of a piece he entitled 'Halo Movie Dos and Don'ts'. It's nothing that hasn't been hashed out dozens of times on Halo forums across the net - but it's nicely organized, well-thought-out, and backed up with solid arguments. Definitely worth a read. (Louis Wu 13:04:27 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Marine Tales
Over at Newgrounds, there's a very NSFW Flash animation called 'Halo: Marine Tales' - parts are quite funny, parts are totally silly, spelling is atrocious, profanity is WAY overused. Artwork is quite good. Worth a look - if you can do so without getting in trouble. Thanks, Naburu. (Louis Wu 12:53:48 UTC) (permalink)
| June 2006 | |
