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 | March 2011 |  |
March 2011 Archived News
News March 31 2011
Bungie vs PMS Clan
I'm not sure I buy it - but Bungie's got a writeup of a Humpday Challenge against the PMS Clan, wherein they won ALL THREE GAMES. Remember - tomorrow is April Fools, and we've already seen a couple of early jokes... (Louis Wu 23:47:56 UTC) (permalink)
Where's The Rocket Launcher?
bs angel graced us with her virtual presence to let us know about a few neat Halo-bits. One of them I found particularly cool was a Halo-inspired Jeep all properly adorned by a loving fan. Go and take a look! (GrimBrother One 20:38:39 UTC) (permalink)
Comm Chatter: Awesome at any Price
If you haven't been to Bungie.net today, swing by - there's a new Map Spotlight from Raaascal (it involve's Howey Do It's Metropolis) and a Reach montage from Just Mad (It's Not Enough). While you're there, check out the writeup on Forge Hub's biweekly community get-together. Whee! (Louis Wu 20:25:18 UTC) (permalink)
Reach: The Intelligent Man(Boy)'s Shooter
Matt Ivy made us aware of an article on Time Magazine's website that highlights a young genius. The 12-year old boy (who was out of high school by 8) is working on an expanded version of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. When he's not teaching himeslf high level calculus, he likes playing Halo: Reach. Interesting article, check it out and see what you think! (GrimBrother One 19:14:20 UTC) (permalink)
Keep Your Friends Close...
Padraig08 found a funny video on YouTube via DeviantArt, which you're seeing via H.B.O. Anyway, it shows some peculiar behavior by an Elite who apparently, just wants to be friends. I thought it was funny. Go watch! (GrimBrother One 14:42:40 UTC) (permalink)
IGN's Reach - Top 10 Kills: (03.30.11)
IGN's Top 10 Kills of the Week for 3/30 is now up - sort of a middling collection this time around, but #3 and #2 are both pretty impressive. (Louis Wu 12:52:05 UTC) (permalink)
Exploring Exodus
Lord Friendship decided to see if he could get back to the beach that Stephen Loftus landed on yesterday - turns out it's easier than it looks! (Louis Wu 12:27:01 UTC) (permalink)
The Return of ODS Steve
ODS Steve is back - you can find him over at the Spirits of Fire website. Thanks, DeepCee!
(Louis Wu 12:26:46 UTC) (permalink)
Dressing for Success (in cold weather)
Black Six noticed that Isaac Hannaford posted some very cool concept art of Katherine Halsey [sic] yesterday - lots of cold weather gear!
(Louis Wu 12:26:29 UTC) (permalink)
Inside HAFT
I missed this when it went live (I'm WAY behind on some of my RvB stuff), but Elnea was interviewed about Halo Action Figure Theater by another RvB member, LuffyMugen. If you've ever wondered what got her going on this stuff... check it out!
(Louis Wu 12:26:09 UTC) (permalink)
Achievement HORSE 17
trappeddark1 was the first to notice that Achievement HORSE Episode 17 is now up. Always hilarious stuff. Go watch it! (GrimBrother One 03:53:17 UTC) (permalink)
News March 30 2011
Domino's Super Grab Bag Winners (the first ones)
Congratulations to gamegamer1 and Hexudus, the first two winners in the latest giveaway from Domino Theory - both of them picked up a code for the Defiant Map Pack! If you want in on some of this action - be sure to sign up on Domino's giveaway page. The list of goodies is ENORMOUS (and includes map pack codes, if that's what you want)! Last drawing for this round will happen on Friday - make sure you're on the list by then! (Louis Wu 21:12:04 UTC) (permalink)
Magnetic Scarab
One new video on Bungie's Comm Chatter today - Anoj released Top 10 Campaign Moments (#18 in his Top 10 Reach series) - most of these are normal glitches or tricks campaign runners see all the time, but #3 was pretty funny. (Louis Wu 16:53:02 UTC) (permalink)
April Matchmaking Changes Live
DOH! Completely forgot to reinforce that the Matchmaking playlist changes for April went live yesterday - I spent a couple of hours 'testing' them last night, but neglected to remind anyone who'd forgotten! The Active Playlists page contains a full rundown of new gametypes and lists, and the March 18 Weekly Update contains the gory details (scroll down to "Matchmaking Updatin'!"). (Louis Wu 15:46:52 UTC) (permalink)
How Halo: Reach Should Have Ended
Naopao Vang was the first to point out the newest offering from the How It Should Have Ended crew (if you've never seen their work, it's worth exploring their website) - Reach would have been a bit shorter if they'd had anything to say about it...
(Louis Wu 11:42:39 UTC) (permalink)
Falcons are NOT Heavy Transport Vehicles
Stephen Loftus discovered (inadvertently) that you need to be careful what you shoot at as you travel through Exodus... (Louis Wu 11:41:52 UTC) (permalink)
GT Countdown: Top 10 System Sellers
afroryan pointed out a GameTrailers Countdown vid showing off the Top 10 System Sellers - Halo comes in at #5, for its impressive effect on the life of the Xbox. (Louis Wu 11:41:23 UTC) (permalink)
Buy your Avatar a Grifball
One of the goodies revealed at the PAX East 2011 Grifball panel was a fun new Xbox LIVE Avatar prop - and now they've made this reveal public for the world. Check it out! Thanks, Taco Power.
(Louis Wu 11:40:49 UTC) (permalink)
Don't just stand there - DANCE!
Okay... what? I thought JACKALS were the chicken-like aliens...
(Louis Wu 11:40:17 UTC) (permalink)
News March 29 2011
Comm Chatter Goodies
Videos worth watching, courtesy of Bungie's Comm Chatter today:
- DewsRandom built an Eiffel Tower in Forge - then filmed it. The fast-forward version is awesome.
- Halo3Productions911 covered Never Forget, from the Halo 3 OST - beautiful.
While you're there, check out the link to Teabag Prevention's latest article - it should help you with the Defiant Map Pack. (Different info than the previous week's article on Condemned alone.) Good stuff all around! Update: our forum seems to be outraged by the fact that the Eiffel Tower vid was faked; the actual map was created by Barbarus Kasse (you can watch a fly-through here), and all DewsRandom did was deconstruct it, then reverse the video. Nevertheless... the original video is pretty cool, and I think if the creator had been more honest about what he'd done, folks would have still appreciated his work. (Even the deconstruction took work to pull off as it was done; each piece was cleanly pulled and stylishly flipped in a consistent way.) (Louis Wu 20:24:48 UTC) (permalink)
Preview Xbox 360 System Update, Get Free Reach
Interesting - there's a post on Major Nelson's blog announcing a preview program for the next Xbox 360 System Update - if you're accepted, you get a free copy of Halo: Reach. Thanks, JDQuackers! (Louis Wu 19:10:14 UTC) (permalink)
Awesome artwork at a sweet price
AlphaGamma let us know about a chance to buy a pretty cool piece of Halo fanart, in poster format - noprips is selling her Six and Four print (we mentioned it in early January), along with some other cool artwork, for $15 plus shipping for an A3-sized poster. Nice! (Louis Wu 19:06:29 UTC) (permalink)
ONI: The Secrets Within
MaxRealflugel let us know that there's a new article up at The Secrets Within, exploring the shadowy world of ONI, the Office of Naval Intelligence. Know your enemy... but don't let him know you! (Louis Wu 18:55:34 UTC) (permalink)
Firelight Studios in the Cruel Spotlight
If you get a chance, stop by and check out the Community Spotlight on Firelight Studios up at CruelLEGACEY Productions. A neat look at one of the Halo community's machinima production teams. Check it out! (GrimBrother One 17:26:29 UTC) (permalink)
Lady Gaga, maybe?
This video from DEEP NNN is just DYING for the right musical soundtrack. You know you want to help... Update: rofl - ZZoMBiE13 took me up on the suggestion (though he balked at the idea of Lady Gaga). (Louis Wu 13:51:26 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SPD: Flash Part Two (Bonus)
Speaking of Halo SPD: Flash, Hedgemony released a bonus four pages this morning on this latest work - it's content that fits better at the end of yesterday's release than it does at the start of next week's offerings. Plus, it's some fantastic Falcon imagery. Go read! (Louis Wu 11:07:50 UTC) (permalink)
Signs of the Apocalypse
Stephen Loftus tossed us 10 new signs for his Halo Signs collection last night - this is the first batch that I can place ALL of them. Pretty amazing; he's now up to four pages' worth! Go check out the end of the Civilian (page 2) and Miscellaneous (pages 2-3) sections for the newest stuff.
(Louis Wu 10:59:45 UTC) (permalink)
Reading Comics More easily
Hedgemony is working to make his comics more accessible to late readers; while it's quite cool that you can read his latest offerings on our forum, as he finishes them, he's also making entire storylines available in one place - he's just set up an Imgur album for Halo: Special Projects Division (the last comic before his current offering). Pages are coming soon for Guard Duty and his newest project, SPD: Flash! (Louis Wu 10:58:44 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Wars DLC for cheap
FyreWulff pointed out that it's Extreme Shopping Sale Week on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, and the Halo Wars DLC offerings (Historical Battle Map Pack and Strategic Options Add-on Pack) are currently 50% off (for the first time!). If you've been holding back because 800 points per pack was too much, you can grab 'em for 400 right now.
(Louis Wu 10:58:17 UTC) (permalink)
L33tly Defiant
cardo 8 atl found us another Defiant review - el33tonline mostly liked the new maps (though they found Highlands a bit boring when objectives weren't involved). Go read!
(Louis Wu 10:57:50 UTC) (permalink)
Marty on Change
Our beloved Marty O'Donnell chatted with IndustryGamers.com about the new creative environment he, and the rest of Bungie, find themselves in. He has some interesting points about the change in focus for the studio, and how adjustments are made in relation to shifts within the industry. Always a good brain to pick. Go and see! (GrimBrother One 03:01:25 UTC) (permalink)
News March 28 2011
Mega Bloks Halo Sweepstakes
Didn't see this earlier today, but Halo Waypoint has news of a giveaway from Mega Bloks - they're giving away 10 huge prize packs over the next few weeks. Go read about it - and see what you can get in on! (Louis Wu 22:08:40 UTC) (permalink)
Domino's Super Grab Bag Giveaway
Domino Theory has been giving away tons of stuff through our website for over two years now... and his latest is pretty cool. Register on his standard giveaway page, and you've got a few chances to win: if your entry gets into the system before Wednesday morning, you are in the running for one of two separate Defiant Map Pack Codes, to be picked on Wednesday. But ALL entries (early ones, and later ones added until Friday morning) are ALSO eligible for an enhanced 'pick your favorite thing' giveaway; Domino's greatly expanded the list of goodies he's willing to ship you, and you get to pick what you want to win. All the details are on his standard Grab Bag Giveaway page - go look! (Louis Wu 21:02:31 UTC) (permalink)
13 panos - Hunters and more
nomis78 stopped in with a nice baker's dozen panoramas... everything from the small to the super-large is covered here! I love the Highlands shot, and that final one. Update: Eddy 071 added two of his own. (Louis Wu 20:01:31 UTC) (permalink)
Campaign Unfrigginbelievable Guide
So, if you want to earn a medal that's nearly unearnable - the 'Unfrigginbelievable' medal in Campaign - RC Master wants to help. He's put together a tutorial guide that can show you what you need to do to get to a place that ALLOWS that many kills in Campaign. (There are other locations - the start of LNoS, for example - where enemies are unlimited... but not many where ammo will hold out, and none that will bring that many kills to you in so little time.) Amazing! (Louis Wu 19:57:53 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo: Faith Concept Art
If you have access to Facebook, the Halo: Faith team has put up a new piece of concept art, this one showing off a Scarab. Gorgeous! Thanks, Dart3rocks. (Louis Wu 18:55:17 UTC) (permalink)
AotCR Bridge Descent Guide
Rockslider, in his typically thorough way, has put together a Bridge Descent Guide for the AotCR first bridge; it incorporates a boatload of information he's compiled over the past year or so, and shows off techniques of a variety of tricksters, going back as far as 9 years. Take a look - it's an impressive piece of work! (Louis Wu 18:52:38 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie All Stars: Week 12
Feeling sad because you still don't have a star next to your name in Matchmaking? Don't fret - you've got another shot; Week 12 of Bungie's All-Stars contest went live this morning. Snap a wallpaper-worthy screenshot (touchups are legal, apparently), and you could win that fabled nameplate. Check the B.net post for all the details! (Louis Wu 17:53:46 UTC) (permalink)
RvB Season 9 Trailer Now Available
Just to remind you, the trailer for Season 9 of Red vs Blue is now up and available for viewing by anyone, in beautiful not-caught-off-screen glory. If you were looking to try and fit in a few more minutes of EPIC in your day, you might want to click that link. Just saying. Go. Watch. Now. (GrimBrother One 17:37:30 UTC) (permalink)
Fails of Reach 7
CruelLEGACEY returns with Episode 7 of his Fails of Reach Series. Always a good laugh in there, even if most of them tend to bring my matchmaking misery into focus. Go give it a look! (GrimBrother One 15:53:10 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SPD: Flash Part Two: Liar
Hedgemony's back with the second part of his newest Special Projects Division comic - I'm not sure I fully understand what was going on during all pieces, but the artwork is gorgeous, and I'm intrigued for Part Three! Go see. (Louis Wu 13:47:31 UTC) (permalink)
The Voice of Halo
Last night, Devin Olsen stumbled across a home video filmed by a friend of Jeff Steitzer in which he demonstrates some of his Voice of God multiplayer announcements for a house full of amused people. Great to put a face to such a powerful voice! (Louis Wu 13:31:38 UTC) (permalink)
Card Sagas Wars - Master Chief VS Samus
Over at NeoGAF, wwm0nkey brought attention to a video showing off a fight between Master Chief and Samus in the upcoming Card Sagas Wars (a fan-driven crossover fighter). Looks amazing! (Louis Wu 13:28:02 UTC) (permalink)
Fleshing out the Halo guard change
Over the course of March, we've a few snippets from an interview with Frank O'Connor posted at CVG - this started almost a month ago, and continued last week (here and here). It looks like the full interview is out now. Am I reading this right? We'll probably get a Grunt plushie this year? Oh, my stars... (Louis Wu 13:24:11 UTC) (permalink)
News March 27 2011
Shotty CTF on Asylum... oh, what I missed
Tex and Schooly D teamed up for a summary of a second Customs experience - Classic Customs was all about maps you know and love from previous versions of Halo. Epic movie was epic. (Louis Wu 20:46:02 UTC) (permalink)
All Signs Say Go
Stephen Loftus dropped ANOTHER 20 signs on us - from from Reach, stuff from Halo 3, stuff from Halo 2. Go explore - see what's in the collection! How many can YOU find in-game? (Louis Wu 18:48:48 UTC) (permalink)
Oh, sh-
Over at NeoGAF, Dani posted a couple of panoramas - the second one, in particular, is a situation you REALLY don't want to find yourself in. (Louis Wu 17:28:44 UTC) (permalink)
Bob and Romeo - a match made in Australia
Hedgemony's been busy - there's a really dramatic panorama highlighting one of the most elusive enemies in Reach... and a teaser for his next comic. Awesome stuff across the board! (Louis Wu 17:26:53 UTC) (permalink)
Customs Highlights, 3/25
Hyokin released a highlights video showing off some customs gameplay from last night - interesting looking maps! (Louis Wu 17:25:13 UTC) (permalink)
Sigma Octanus IV
AngelicLionheart noticed a new piece of Halo art by our own TD Spiral up on Deviant Art. Definitely check out TD's take on Sigma Octanus IV inspired by The Fall of Reach. Simply gorgeous. (Full art page is here.) When you're done, stop by our forums and discuss! Awesome stuff... (GrimBrother One 16:17:08 UTC) (permalink)
And To Dust We Shall Return
Siliconmaster stopped by to give us an update of sorts on a machinima project he used to head up, called "Dust to Dust". We featured the trailer here way back in 2007. Unfortunately, the project never came to fruition, but Siliconmaster recently ran across some footage and demos of the movie, and decided to create a short compilation reel of what he found. The result is a very cool 5 minutes worth of creative talent and obviously hard work. Some of the scenes are REALLY cool. Go and check it out! (GrimBrother One 15:23:07 UTC) (permalink)
News March 26 2011
Skyjacking - the Sport of Kings
Over at NeoGAF, Oozer3993 laid out a pretty nice way of jacking the Falcon that you normally gun from on Tip of the Spear. (The trick seems to be to get the Elite to hijack the Falcon FIRST, instead of just disabling it; pushing him with it seems to help.) Read his instructions, watch his video (it's under 3 minutes)... then give it a go yourself! (You can't travel very far outside the normal lines... but it's still pretty cool.) (Louis Wu 21:33:23 UTC) (permalink)
Arby 'n' The Chief: Hypernews II
Arby 'n' the Chief Season 5 Episode 10 is now up - this one is the second episode of Hypernews, giving Chief a chance to review older video games. I'm glad pixels have gotten better since the 90s. Thanks, Moorpheusl9. (Louis Wu 18:32:00 UTC) (permalink)
Red vs Blue Season 9 Trailer
If you were at PAX East on Saturday, you might have had a chance to see the trailer for Red vs Blue Season 9, at the Rooster Teeth panel. If you WEREN'T there, you could have seen lousy off-screen recordings of this shown on YouTube... but a far, far better choice would have been to wait until today. If you're a Rooster Teeth sponsor, the trailer is up now. If you're not, you'll need to wait until tomorrow (for registered RT site users) or Tuesday (everyone)... but trust me, it's worth it. Simply amazing, where they've come from, and where they're going! (Thanks to MoltenSlowa for starting a discussion thread on our forum.) (Louis Wu 18:22:48 UTC) (permalink)
Awesome Bookmark
Leviathan whipped up a custom double-sided bookmark as a commission for Bry - wow, just wow. (Finished product is shown here.) (Louis Wu 18:08:40 UTC) (permalink)
Respite
AngelicLionheart found a pretty cool piece of Halo artwork at DeviantART - it was a Daily Deviation yesterday. Check out Respite, by Atomic-Chocograph! (Louis Wu 18:04:36 UTC) (permalink)
Fails of the Weak Volume 27
ZZoMBiE13 shot us a note about Achievement Hunter's Fails of the Weak Volume 27 - you gotta love this stuff. Not just for the fails... but for the reactions from Geoff and Jack. Worth your time! (Louis Wu 17:39:03 UTC) (permalink)
I think they need to pick different helmets.
Phoenix_9286 came to our forum with an epic tale of courage and and daring... while riding the Short Bus. Great stuff! (Louis Wu 17:35:58 UTC) (permalink)
Unique Halo goodies at eBay
suircata stopped in yesterday with a list of eBay auctions containing some unique (read: impossible to find elsewhere) shirts from Halo's past. These are new and unworn - check 'em out! (There's also a rare promo Halo 1 standee poster...) (Louis Wu 17:34:29 UTC) (permalink)
Cruel Defiance
CruelLEGACEY let us know that his review of the Defiant Map Pack is now live. Go and check it out! (GrimBrother One 05:06:41 UTC) (permalink)
News March 25 2011
Spawning Another Weekly Update
Don't forget to check out the Bungie Weekly Update. It's amazing what you can do with spawn-points, isn't it? Don't miss some news about Bungie Pro subscriptions, an awesome Blame Stosh, and some AMAZING backgrounds that will be adorning desktops everywhere like they've been adorning the backgrounds of the Reach menus for months. Go look! (GrimBrother One 22:23:35 UTC) (permalink)
Grifball Highlight Frenzy
Goosechecka wanted to make sure you all knew about Grifball Hub's latest awesome collaboration with Halo Waypoint. Definitely take time to check out The Grifball Highlight Frenzy. Some AWESOME ball-exploding, carrier-killing moments in there. Go watch! (GrimBrother One 19:47:22 UTC) (permalink)
Are you ready for The Ultimate Reach Experience?
The second Halo Waypoint auction to raise money for Play Japan is online now; it's called 'The Ultimate Halo Reach Experience', and I don't think that name is too far off! You get a Limited Edition Reach Xbox 360 Slim, a Legendary statue, signed by Todd McFarlane and Bungie, Astro A40s, a second copy of Reach, a copy of Halo Wars, a copy of Halo 3, Xbox avatars, Reach DLC, and a LIVE membership. You've got 6 days - let's hope you've got a big wallet! (Remember: 100% of the final sales price goes to the American Red Cross, for use in Japanese disaster relief.) (Louis Wu 18:56:58 UTC) (permalink)
Divinus Ruina
Over at Forward Unto Dawn, Postmortem has written up 'Divinus Ruina', an overview of the San'Shyuum, known better to most Halo players as Prophets. If you haven't kept up on all the ancillary fiction (or even if you have!), this does a nice job of summmarizing the history of the race. Thanks, Dani. (Louis Wu 15:19:07 UTC) (permalink)
The (near) future of war helmets
Richard Trammell sent a link from Techi - it's a look at in-development military vision technologies that, when combined, end up producing a helmet that should look awfully familiar to Halo fans. Eeeeenteresting... (I wonder if they'll have to unlock them via Waypoint? -Grim) (Louis Wu 14:43:34 UTC) (permalink)
Ambush
TTL Demag0gue drew our attention to the latest Reclaimer - Viper's back, and Reclaimer might have some trouble on his hands. (Louis Wu 14:31:49 UTC) (permalink)
Interview with Director of Halo: Faith
The Examiner has an interview with Jared Pelletier, the director of the upcoming fan-created Halo film, Halo: Faith. Give it a read to see where they're going! Thanks, ElzarTheBam.
(Louis Wu 13:45:23 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Showcase
CrazedOne1988 put together a video showcasing the entire Halo series, in honor of its upcoming 10th anniversary. It worked really well for me - go watch! (Louis Wu 13:43:31 UTC) (permalink)
Special Delivery
Mazz got a great shot of Noble Six from an angle we don't normally see him (or her)... beautiful!
(Louis Wu 13:43:15 UTC) (permalink)
Hedge's Pano Guide
Hedge put together a nice little guide to creating panoramas, assuming you've got Photoshop CS2 or higher (or Elements). Handy!
(Louis Wu 13:42:56 UTC) (permalink)
Memento
RVideo let us know about a brand-new Halo 2 montage from KBlocker - I couldn't get the Halo3Forum to load, but the YouTube link works fine. Ah, memories...
(Louis Wu 13:42:35 UTC) (permalink)
Local Artist Makes Good
Angeliclionheart dropped by with word of Gamespy's Draw Master Chief contest winners - our own TDSpiral was first up! Gorgeous piece - congrats!
(Louis Wu 13:42:16 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
Just two new pieces this week in the Fan Fiction section - go read! (Louis Wu 13:41:42 UTC) (permalink)
News March 24 2011
GDC 2011 talks - for the impatient
kornman00 realizes that Bungie will eventually post the slides from their individual GDC 2011 talks online at Bungie.net - but if you, like korn, can't wait for this to happen, swing by the GDC Vault. He pointed out a number of resources that are already available for download. All are in .pptx format.
- Xi Wang's Automated Level of Detail Generation for HALO: REACH (164 mb)
- David Aldridge's I Shot You First: Networking the Gameplay of HALO: REACH (518 mb)
- Chris Tchou's HALO: REACH Effects Tech (434 mb)
Additionally, Jaime Griesemer gave his Design in Detail talk (the slides (84.5 mb) are different than the ones available on Bungie.net, and Jaime is no longer representing the views of Bungie). Joe Spataro and Tam Armstrong's talk on The Animation of Halo: Reach is represented by the same powerpoint file as you can download from Bungie.net... and Marty O'Donnell's talk entitled "From MYTH to HALO: Marty O'Donnell's Adventures with Adaptive Audio, Creative Collaboration, and Geese" (audio-only) is available to GDC Vault members only. Go grab what interests you! (Louis Wu 22:58:07 UTC) (permalink)
The Secrets Within: Why Does It All Work? Part 2
MaxRealflugel sent word that the second part of his look back at how Halo slots into the gaming universe is now online - go give it a read, and see if you agree with his points. (Louis Wu 22:33:28 UTC) (permalink)
jumprs.org - a home for tricksters (and cabbages)
So we mentioned a few days ago that the time is fast approaching for High Impact Halo to go into cryosleep - and one sub-community is not ready to lose a gathering place. We got word from Reidon (an admin at HIH) that a new site has been set up specifically for the Jumping community - swing by jumprs.org to see what they've got for you! (You're not even limited to talking about jumping. They're not picky.) (Louis Wu 19:39:46 UTC) (permalink)
Play for Japan: The Ultimate Halo Fan Collection
bs angel let us know about a very cool Halo-related auction to raise money for Japan - get TONS of cool stuff, and know that 100% of your bid goes to the American Red Cross, on behalf of Play for Japan (a video game insdustry initaitive to rasie money for earthquake and tsunami relief)! It ain't gonna be cheap; we're still six and a half days from the end of the auction, and the bid's up to $560... but you really are getting an amazing collection of goodies. And hey - keep your eyes peeled; this is only the first of a pair of auctions! (Louis Wu 18:25:54 UTC) (permalink)
CruelLEGACEY's Tip of the Spear Mythic Guide
CruelLEGACEY has posted a Mythic Guide video for Tip of the Spear, for those of you who haven't been able to finish the Weekly Challenge using either Tyrant's Guide or RC Master's runs (there's one we posted about earlier this week, and there's a newer one that's even faster), you might find tips in this one that help you through. (He uses many of the techniques that RC Master and Tyrant developed, but there are places where he runs into trouble that they didn't have, so you can find other options when things don't go well.) You've still got a few days for those 13,000 credits - so check it out! (Louis Wu 17:54:43 UTC) (permalink)
IGN Top 10 Kills - March
Bungie's Comm Chatter pointed out that the IGN Top 10 Kills series hasn't gotten much love - the last couple WE mentioned were back in February! To make up for that, here are direct links to the recent ones - March 17 and March 23. Some fun tidbits in there!
(Louis Wu 17:13:49 UTC) (permalink)
HaloCharts BTB Map Contest - Entries
Halocharts has announced the entries to their BTB Map Making Contest - 46 maps for your playing pleasure! Go see. Thanks, urk.
(Louis Wu 17:13:23 UTC) (permalink)
Map Spotlight Week 17: Sanctum
Raaascal has another Map Spotlight for you - Sanctum was created by D4RKF1R3, a symmetrical map inspired by Halo 2's Sanctuary. Go grab a copy!
(Louis Wu 17:12:54 UTC) (permalink)
Documenting Future History
Stephen Loftus continues in his quest to eradicate all low-res understanding of Halo signs - there are almost two dozen new images up in his Signs collection here today. In case it wasn't clear, Stephen recreates these himself, using vector tools, starting with the low-res versions you can find in-game. "Fueder Construction"? I have NEVER seen this sign in-game. And I'm not sure I ever read all the instructions surrounding Optican MediGel - but I really want 5-minute healing on my current wounds... go see what else you can find. (Louis Wu 14:29:34 UTC) (permalink)
What if the phone... rang?
Industry Gamers scored an interview with Marty O'Donnell - who would love to score the (not "a", but "the" - interesting) Halo movie. He's not too confident of his chances, though. (He would, of course, "certainly answer the phone if somebody called - Spielberg or whoever it might be.") This made its way to our forum via ElzarTheBam, who found it at CVG.
(Louis Wu 14:28:48 UTC) (permalink)
Giant Mega Bloks MC at Toronto WWC
nam was at the Toronto Wizard World Convention, and saw some pretty cool stuff from Halo Mega Bloks. The embedded images he included don't show up (the site doesn't allow deeplinking), but you can follow the link he provided to a lightbox slideshow, or browse more conventionally by starting here, and just navigating forward using the page numbers at the top. (Halo shots are on Page 28, and then 30-36.)
(Louis Wu 14:27:03 UTC) (permalink)
Halo SPD: Flash Part One: HOME
Hedgemony posted a teaser for his next comic series, Halo: SPD last night around 12:30 am Eastern... and then posted the first part of the series itself 8 hours later. I guess Hedge doesn't believe in long teases! There are already 21 pages online (start at the linked post above and just keep going forward), with Part 2 coming next week. A really interesting story so far, and the artwork is fantastic!
(Louis Wu 14:26:07 UTC) (permalink)
Panomatic
Both Hedgemony and Mazz dropped new panoramas on our forum last night - good stuff all around!
(Louis Wu 14:25:08 UTC) (permalink)
Achievement HORSE 16
ZZoMBiE13 let us know about Achievement HORSE #16 - this one has Geoff going up against Rage Quit's Michael. As Mankitten noted on our forum, it's rather profanity-laced. Doesn't make it any less funny, though... and a couple of those maps look pretty fun! Go see.
(Louis Wu 14:24:45 UTC) (permalink)
News March 23 2011
Waypoint Wednesday Will-Call
If you're lax about visiting Halo Waypoint, never fear, bs angel has your back. Stuff you might have missed this week so far:
- A 3D screenshot of a jackal on LNoS (awesome!)
- A Halo 3/Reach montage from HwnT called 'Forever' - loved the clutch exterm on Midship CTF, and the ending repeat on Countdown
- A fan submitted 29 Windows Phone 7 Reach-themed wallpapers - you gotta find SOMETHING you like!
Go explore; there's tons more. (Louis Wu 21:35:03 UTC) (permalink)
G4TV's look at the Defiant Maps
Dart3rocks let us know about another Defiant Map walkthrough series, this time over at G4TV. If you can't get enough, hit 'em up! (Louis Wu 18:07:45 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Reach - The Rhythm of Combat
DJ Rain has begun a series of articles exploring what makes Halo's gameplay different from other shooters. Go check out the first one - The Rhythm of Combat, over at Talking about Games! (Louis Wu 18:06:12 UTC) (permalink)
Cha Cha Ultra
I blame Mankitten for this. He heard the music before it existed. (Louis Wu 15:43:47 UTC) (permalink)
Grifball: Double Agent Trailer
During the PAX East Grifball panel, the crew previewed a trailer for a new Rooster Teeth Grifball miniseries, called 'Double Agent' - I couldn't really tell what was going on, because the acoustics in that room were awful. It's up on Waypoint now, though, and you can watch it for yourself - looks promising! (Louis Wu 15:35:46 UTC) (permalink)
Side Effects
TTL Demag0gue stopped in to tell us about the latest Reclaimer - looks like there's more to Viper's immunity than we thought... (Louis Wu 15:33:37 UTC) (permalink)
A Fistful of Arrows - now with a proper home
Back in October, Leviathan kicked off 'A Fistful of Arrows', a really special piece of work following Jun (and all of Noble Team) before the events of Halo: Reach. Since then, he's been posting new pages in our forum - but our forum is really not worthy of a story like this. Rest assured that a gorgeous new home is being created for this project (based on a mockup by Leviathan himself)... but in the meantime, we've set up a site that lets you read the entire story as it was meant to be read. All of the extras he's released (mostly text-free versions of the artwork, but also several variants of the cover art) can be found along the way (look underneath the individual comic pages). As soon as the final site is finished, we'll let you know! (Louis Wu 14:23:13 UTC) (permalink)
Understanding the Special about Halo
CVG is milking that interview they did with Frankie - a second page is up today, and Frank's talking about going deeper. Next up from 343i: Halo: Inception. (Louis Wu 13:50:55 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Dawn
Kotaku got hold of a machinima made as part of an application to 343's cinematic team. (The creator didn't get the job.) Interesting piece of work... thanks, BlueNinja.
(Louis Wu 13:49:52 UTC) (permalink)
Panomania
nomis78 whipped up 12 Reach panoramas for your viewing pleasure - some really great stuff in here!
(Louis Wu 13:48:49 UTC) (permalink)
News March 22 2011
Halo: CE for cheap
If you're in the market for Halo (the original), as a downloadable game, there ain't no better time than right now (thanks, bs angel) - jump over to Xbox.com and you'll find that masterpiece selling for a mere 800 spacebux (that's $10 to you and me). Hurry, though - the sale's only on this week; it runs through March 28. (Louis Wu 19:05:38 UTC) (permalink)
Asian Halo for cheap - plus you're helping
If you live in Asia, you might want to swing by Play-Asia.com - they're offering some killer deals on Halo: Reach right now, and even with the amazing discounts, money is going to the Japan relief effort. The standard edition of Halo: Reach is currently $14.90, with a dollar going to the relief effort, while the Limited Edition is $28.90, with $3 going to charity. (These are both for the Asia edition of the game - no region protection.) Not bad! Thanks, ElzarTheBam. (Louis Wu 18:47:56 UTC) (permalink)
Marissa's Bunny: Grandma Gives Back
Marissa's Dad told us about yet ANOTHER giveaway at Marissa's Bunny - the winner of the last (absurd) giveaway gave back one Xbox, so you've got another shot at it. (She, in fact, gave away almost EVERYTHING in the prize package... but not all back to the source. Read the details here.) Anyway, you've got until March 30 to enter to win this; swing by and read the details. (Louis Wu 15:26:12 UTC) (permalink)
The Secrets Within: Combat Evolved Revisited
MaxRealflugel has some ideas about how you could remake the original Halo, and still make it new. You can find his musings at The Secrets Within. (Louis Wu 15:25:29 UTC) (permalink)
8 Minutes of Awesome
ZaneZavin put together 8 Minutes of Awesome - it's just a montage of fun clips, but the Blue flagsteal on Highlands at about 1:20 made this a must-see. (There are plenty of fun clips, and some impressive gameplay moments... but that was by far my favorite.)
(Louis Wu 15:23:05 UTC) (permalink)
Forget the fire... look at the smoke.
padraig08 did a little bit of interesting research - and discovered that the color of smoke emanating from a demolished warthog depends more on where that hog met its end than on what killed it. Useless, to be sure... but interesting!
(Louis Wu 15:22:41 UTC) (permalink)
CruelLEGACEY sez: help me make my montage!
CruelLEGACEY is running a new contest - take a cool screenshot, and if he likes it, it'll get used in the next Fails of Reach Fan Fails vid. More details on his site.
(Louis Wu 15:21:49 UTC) (permalink)
Halo and Philosophy - coming at some point
Hedgemony brought our attention to an upcoming book called Halo and Philosophy, by Luke Cuddy - there's a call for abstracts here, which should give you a decent idea of what the book will contain. Looks exciting!
(Louis Wu 15:19:39 UTC) (permalink)
The Scrutiny Might Change
Computer and Videogames has an interview with Frankie today - he's talking about the changing of the guard, as 343 takes over management of Halo from Bungie. Will you notice the change? Well, according to Frankie, that depends on how closely you pay attention. Nice to hear that it'll likely be seamless for most of us! Thanks, Moorpheusl9.
(Louis Wu 15:19:19 UTC) (permalink)
Chief Of The Art Department
TD Spiral wanted to show off a new piece of fan art he created of the Master Chief. As always, great work! Stop by the thread on our forums and let him know what you think! (GrimBrother One 04:30:11 UTC) (permalink)
Aren't You A Little Short For A Spartan?
Certainly an interesting find; it looks like the Tsunami Relief isn't the only good deed the Bungie Foundation has been up to lately. Apparently, they also let a very lucky little guy get a rare glimpse of the hallowed grounds. Very cute, and very cool of Bungie to do! We'll let you know as we learn more about the situation, but for now, give this vid a quick watch! (GrimBrother One 04:25:37 UTC) (permalink)
News March 21 2011
The Future of Halo
Kyle B sent us to Grunts R Us for an article on The Future of Halo - it looks at where Halo has come from, and extrapolates out to where it's going. Go read it and see if you agree! (Louis Wu 18:15:33 UTC) (permalink)
Spawn till you die.
The march for the stars continues at B.net - Week 11's contest was announced this morning. Create a cool pic using only spawn points... and you're eligible for the coveted Star nameplate by the time this week's out. (Louis Wu 17:21:02 UTC) (permalink)
GPT disses ODST
Wow. GamePlayToday put together a list of 360 Exclusives they wish had never been made... and put Halo 3: ODST on it. I'm sad now. (Their explanation is some pretty ridiculous internet rumormill grist.) (Louis Wu 17:18:49 UTC) (permalink)
Map Spotlight Week 16: Precipice
Raaascal is back with another Map Spotlight - this one is Precipice, from Draw the Line. Go read how it came to be, then grab a copy! (Louis Wu 17:16:38 UTC) (permalink)
Teabag Prevention Presents: Condemned
jake_108 has abandoned us for bigger ponds - I have to read about the latest Teabag Prevention article on Bungie.net. Oh, how the middling have fallen! (You should go read it anyway - it will help you get the most out of Condemned, one of the new Defiant maps. It covers weapon spawns (at least for the default gametypes), healthpacks (MAN I could have used this last night), and gameplay tips to keep you alive. Go check it out!) (Louis Wu 16:44:29 UTC) (permalink)
TRR: Grifball Feva!
According to Bungie.net, The next episode of the Running Riot Podcast will be broadcast LIVE this Wednesday night (March 23) at 9:30 pm Eastern. GrifballHub's GooseChecka will be the special guest... go get your fill of Grifball talk! (Don't forget to ask her about her Crankin' skillz.) (Louis Wu 16:35:32 UTC) (permalink)
TotS - Done Quick
You may already have noticed that the Weekly Challenge this week is Tip of the Spear, with most skulls on - as always, Tyrant's got you covered with his Mythic Guide... but if what you're looking for fast over safe, RC Master's your guy. He's got a sub-13-minute run for you (plus a writeup for details that work better via text). You won't be able to run it quite as fast as he does (the running-on-beams section, for example, will cause you a lot of frustration unless you've already practiced his technique) but the tricks he shows you can definitely speed you up. (Louis Wu 15:23:47 UTC) (permalink)
Forge Lesson 45: Pacing
GodlyPerfection picks up his Forge Lessons series with #45 - Pacing. Read this for tips on how timing and speed affect your map's functionality! (Louis Wu 15:04:00 UTC) (permalink)
TSD Sunday Night Fights Vol 1: Double Troubles
Last night, Team Schooly D held the first iteration of Sunday Night Fights (promotional poster visible here) - Foregunners took on Team NartFOpc in an epic best-of-5 competition. If you missed it live, Schooly D announced that the stream replay is available for viewing now. If you just want to watch the action, start about 10 minutes in. Definitely entertaining commentary!
(Louis Wu 14:59:15 UTC) (permalink)
Takedown
TTLDemag0gue stopped by with word of the latest Reclaimer - we're back on target with the main storyline. (Louis Wu 14:58:40 UTC) (permalink)
News March 20 2011
RT Goodness at Waypoint
Halo Waypoint's got a couple of great videos from PAX East 2011 - first up is the Grifball panel. (Four segments long, almost a full hour of Grifball goodness - nobody will believe it, but it's me that bs angel is waving at at the very start...) Video 2: The Rooster Teeth panel, in five parts - an extremely well-attended discussion of what's been, and what's coming. There's tons more at Waypoint - I can't even keep up any more. The Weekly Wrapup will help... but really, you just need to explore. (Louis Wu 23:00:49 UTC) (permalink)
Firewalker... with a touch of Halo
AngelicLionheart ran across a Daily Deviation at DeviantART that... well, contains a few tidbits that might have come from a universe we all know and love. Check it out! (Louis Wu 22:29:49 UTC) (permalink)
Operation Chastity Grand Tournament
The folks over at Operation Chastity wanted to let everyone know about a new Halo Reach Tourney they are hosting. The tournament begins Saturday April 9th through the 18th of June. For more information and details on how you can be one of the 48 teams involved, click the jump! (GrimBrother One 21:56:42 UTC) (permalink)
Hired Company
NeoGAF's Sikamikanico found a Halo comic he'd created in 2007 - not bad! (If you'd rather not deal with Photobucket's Slideshow code, you can page through it quite easily as a regular album.) (Louis Wu 20:34:37 UTC) (permalink)
More Halo Sculpts
Lance Rutledge sent along some more photos of sculpts he's been making out of clay - check them on his gallery page here! (Louis Wu 20:34:09 UTC) (permalink)
A Fistful of Arrows (30-32)
I saved this for last this morning, because it made me all kinds of happy. Leviathan has updated his 'A Fistful of Arrows' graphic novel with 3 more pages... and they're without a doubt the prettiest things I've seen this weekend. Go read. (Louis Wu 15:17:50 UTC) (permalink)
Helping Japan - and yourself
FyreWulff is looking to reward you for donating money to the Japan relief effort... and even boost your effect, in some cases. Read his post for full details. There's potentially a Defiant Map Pack code in it for you! (Louis Wu 15:15:47 UTC) (permalink)
HBO Panos Round One
Hedgemony built some intensely enhanced HBO-populated panoramas - he makes these guys look positively HEROIC! Great stuff. (From the title of the post, there are more coming...) (Louis Wu 15:05:38 UTC) (permalink)
It's like a double rainbow all the way
padraig08 built a spectacular panorama out of the Condemned skybox. (Stephen "WetBlanket" Loftus explained why this is a bad thing. He may be right - but MAN, it's still pretty.) (Louis Wu 15:02:44 UTC) (permalink)
If you can read this you're too close
Stephen Loftus dropped off another batch of Halo signs yesterday - check the Civilian, Miscellaneous, and UNSC sections for the newest goodies. I hvae NEVER seen a few of those - anywhere. Where does he find them all? (Louis Wu 14:55:55 UTC) (permalink)
ODST, All Over Again
Yesterday, DMFanella posted a bunch of pics from a Vidmaster Déjà Vu run that took place Friday night. Gorgeous shots! (Louis Wu 14:52:52 UTC) (permalink)
Elders.TV Tourneys - starting soon
Elders.TV is kicking off a new Tournament series on March 25 - that's next Friday. Swing by their website for full details! (Louis Wu 14:51:10 UTC) (permalink)
Arby 'n' the Chief - Double Trouble
Moorpheusl9 noticed that the latest Arby 'n' the Chief went live this weekend - Double Trouble has Arby and Chief taking on two of Trent's security guards in a challenge match. Tension continues to build towards the wedding... (Louis Wu 14:48:11 UTC) (permalink)
News March 19 2011
Fun in the Swamp
Rockslider stopped in with word of some fun he's having on 343 Guilty Spark - go see! (Louis Wu 19:44:24 UTC) (permalink)
Bzzt! Moves
A few days ago, our main forum was invaded by some UNSC characters from our future - and the game was afoot. Yesterday, some of the participants decided it might be more productive if the interaction moved to the args.bungie.org forum - set up for just this sort of activity, a few years ago. The principals were amenable, so as of now, if you're interested in interacting with ISitInA, Hive, and the others, jump on over and get involved!
(Louis Wu 19:43:11 UTC) (permalink)
Saying goodbye to HIH
Tech Artist and Shad0wflame want to help High Impact Halo go out with a bang; they're trying to get as many people as possible to log in on the final day of action, so that the 'users logged in in the past 24 hours' list is huge for perpetuity. Go read about how you can participate! Thanks, Skulk. (Louis Wu 19:42:43 UTC) (permalink)
CruelLEGACEY Weekly Wrapup
CruelLEGACEY let us know that he's got a weekly wrapup on his site, for all the stuff he's posted this week. Swing by to see if you missed anything. (Looks like he's not going to release any more Fails of Reach videos until the last one (released about a month ago) gets front-paged on Bungie.net. Hmm...)
(Louis Wu 19:42:20 UTC) (permalink)
March 29 Can't Come Fast Enough
The Bungie Weekly Update is live - and it's full of rainbows and unicorns. And charity bracelets, and mappack shilling, and good news about firefightin'. The REALLY awesome news is all about upcoming Matchmaking changes - but don't skip out on the All-Star Contest entries. Or the very humorous Blame Stosh. As always, you can read it in our Weekly Update Archive - but wherever you read it, make sure you do read it. Good stuff. (Louis Wu 02:58:11 UTC) (permalink)
News March 18 2011
Another look at Defiant
NeoGAF's Hitmonchan wrote up a Defiant Map Pack review for The Independent Florida Alligator - pretty good read! (Louis Wu 22:35:09 UTC) (permalink)
Fails of the Weak Volume 26
Achievement Hunter's Fails of the Weak 26 is now online - I think the Elite's head through the barrel is my favorite. Lots of Firefight and Campaign fails this week. Thanks, ZZoMBiE13. (Louis Wu 21:15:55 UTC) (permalink)
Game with 343
Wanna play with the 343 crew? Check this post. Game time is tonight, 5-7pm Pacific (that's about 4.5 hours from the writing of this post). Send that message now, soldier! (Louis Wu 19:30:07 UTC) (permalink)
Frostbite Chapter 2: The Ruins
AlphaGamma stopped in to announce that Frostbite Chapter 2 has been released. In the cold-and-getting-colder world of Frostbite, the mystery of John Eden's death grows. Nice cinematography! (Louis Wu 18:08:30 UTC) (permalink)
Beast-Mode Ep 2: King
John Battle told us about Beast-Mode Episode Two: King. If you didn't watch the pilot, this will make very little sense. Jude takes on Steve King - and amazingly, qualifies for the tournament. (Louis Wu 17:37:35 UTC) (permalink)
A Tale of Defiance to the End
The folks over at Halo Waypoint have put together an awesome piece telling the story behind each of the Defiant maps. And awesome watch, especially for those who like to see certain things tied together. Go watch! (GrimBrother One 15:38:17 UTC) (permalink)
Wake them when you need them.
High Impact Halo has had a pretty good run. Doors opened on April 6, 2004, and for nearly 7 years, they've served the Halo tricking community with grace and panache. But all good things must end... and Ducain's decided that April 6, 2011 - the 7th anniversary of its opening - is as good a time as any. The site's not going offline - just into stasis. Swing by and read all the details... and maybe add your own two cents to the goodbye party! (Louis Wu 15:15:36 UTC) (permalink)
The Shape of History
TTL Demag0gue let us know about the newest Reclaimer - and the end of the Defiant arc. Where will the philosphy go next? (Louis Wu 14:52:20 UTC) (permalink)
Friday Fails... on Thursday
padraig08 posted a preview last night of some Friday Fails - and a few other folks chimed in with their own. Good stuff!
(Louis Wu 13:17:09 UTC) (permalink)
TechDay Defiant Review
TechDay has a review of the Defiant Map Pack - if you haven't read enough about them yet. (Louis Wu 13:16:49 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
Three new pieces are live in the Fan Fiction section this week - go see! (We're still missing a number of pieces from January... I guess the authors don't have backup copies. Bummer.) (Louis Wu 13:15:40 UTC) (permalink)
News March 17 2011
Halo 2: Better Than You Thought
Flugelmeister is back with a new blog entry at The Secrets Within, this time looking back at the importance of Halo 2. An excellent read, go check it out! (GrimBrother One 21:55:11 UTC) (permalink)
HAFT 215: Brewfest Brew
Halo Action Figure Theater has a new comic up - good to see St. Paddy's Day still being celebrated in the future! (Louis Wu 19:45:29 UTC) (permalink)
Korny's Defiant Contest
munky-058 thinks the schwag available in the Bungie Store is a bit limited... and he wants your help in coming up with some clever new options. What's in it for you, you say? Looks like maybe a Defiant Map Code! Read his post, see what he's looking for, and then submit your designs for a chance to win. (Louis Wu 19:07:29 UTC) (permalink)
PanCamuCopia
If you swing by MasterCheifn's DeviantART gallery, you'll see a BOATLOAD of pan cam shots of Reach. Gorgeous. (Louis Wu 15:24:48 UTC) (permalink)
Game Recompleted
CruelLEGACEY Productions is back at it again, this time with a Defiant Map Pack Achievement Guide. Having trouble with those 3 new Achievements? Definitely give this a watch to see if there is something new you can do! (GrimBrother One 15:18:20 UTC) (permalink)
Reach Service Record Android Update
Justin Kolberg sent word that there's been a new update for the Android version of his Reach Service Record mobile app - many bugs fixed. Swing by and grab a copy if you've got an Android phone! (They can't easily troubleshoot via the Android Market comments, so if you run into trouble, contact them directly.) (Louis Wu 15:11:23 UTC) (permalink)
Firelight Studios Machinima Contest
Avcracy let us know that Firelight Studios is hosting a machinima contest - simple guidelines, nice prizes. Swing by the post for full details!
(Louis Wu 13:57:25 UTC) (permalink)
Even Jackals
ZZoMBiE13 watched Anoj's Firefight-based Top Ten, saw the teabagging Jackal... and couldn't help himself.
(Louis Wu 13:53:35 UTC) (permalink)
Achievement HORSE 15
Jack and Geoff are back together with Achievement HORSE 15 - some really awesome looking maps in this round. (Just queued up the Half Pipe for download...) Lots of fun - go watch! Thanks, trappeddark1.
(Louis Wu 13:53:02 UTC) (permalink)
VftE - Community Spotlight
BlueNinja has kicked off a Community Spotlight feature on his panorama-drenched blog, Views from the Edge - HaloGAF's MrBig is the first under the glow. Gorgeous shots!
(Louis Wu 13:52:12 UTC) (permalink)
News March 16 2011
Buy a Wristband, help the Japanese
Yeah, so remember when we mentioned that Bungie cares? Check their front page right now - they're selling wristbands to raise money for Japanese tsunami victims. All of the proceeds from their sale, plus all of the profits from the whole Bungie Store until April 30, go to aid efforts. Buy yourself one! (Louis Wu 21:42:39 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Marathon for Child's Play
We heard from Joshua Stark, the manager of Frags Out Of Love - this group is currently running a Halo marathon for charity. They started this morning, 8 am MST, with Halo - and they're going to continue through Halo 2, Halo 3, ODST, and Reach. They're expecting to be playing for 40+ hours, and money collected by watchers will be donated to Child's Play. Swing by their website to follow the live stream - and toss 'em a few bucks! (Louis Wu 21:39:45 UTC) (permalink)
Beginning of the End
More awesome panos from BlueNinja - go see. (Louis Wu 21:04:07 UTC) (permalink)
More Defiant Codes, this time at EA
It's cold and rainy outside, so ElzarTheBam continues to trawl the internet, scooping up tasty Halo morsels for your dinner plate. EvilAvatar has 5 Defiant codes - post in this thread on their forum, and Friday they'll pick 5 winners at random. (Louis Wu 21:01:34 UTC) (permalink)
It would look even weirder.
Frankie noticed that Toys R Us has a bit of a typo going on the page selling a pair of adorable Halo Minimates... but MAN I'd buy a Mister Chief if someone made one. In fact, I'd buy a dozen. Update: That Grim... always makin' me look bad! (I'd feel less embarrassed if the timestamps on these two posts weren't almost half an hour apart... I've got no excuse at all for missing his update.) (Louis Wu 20:56:31 UTC) (permalink)
Hopes Raised... And Then Dashed
In news not noticed by ElzarTheBam, Frankie found something over at the Toys R Us website that made me inappropriately excited. An ad for a Mister Chief MiniMates figure. Unfortunately, it was just a typo, but a cool little addition to any Halo collection nonetheless. Join us in lamenting what could have been... (GrimBrother One 20:30:18 UTC) (permalink)
Added Verticality and Consistent Quality
NowGamer also published a review of the Defiant Maps - their biggestripe was cost. Thanks (again), ElzarTheBam. (Louis Wu 18:32:04 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Reach: Top 10 Firefight Moments
Episode 17 of Anoj's Top Ten Halo Reach series is live on YouTube now - great Firefight moments are great. Thanks, urk. (Louis Wu 18:24:00 UTC) (permalink)
Watch the BAFTAs live!
Bry reminds us that the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Video Game Awards are being broadcast live from their website at 8:45pm GMT (just an hour and a half from the writing of this post). Reach is up for four awards - good luck! (Louis Wu 18:21:37 UTC) (permalink)
More Defiant Codes, from TheHDRoom
ElzarTheBam wants to dominate the news page today. To that end, he's dug up yet ANOTHER opportunity to snag a free Defiant Map Pack code - follow TheHDRoom on Twitter, or Like them on Facebook. (The first code has been posted already, but there are 4 left.) (Louis Wu 17:51:55 UTC) (permalink)
Doing Good
Those of us who've followed Bungie for a while know that they care a lot about people outside their studio - looks like the world's gonna know that, too. NowGamer noticed that Bungie has filed a new trademark registration - 'Bungie Foundation', with the following description in the 'Goods and Services' section: "Providing grants to charitable, arts, non-profit, and community organizations". Go Bungie! (Thanks to ElzarTheBam for catching this.) (Louis Wu 16:27:31 UTC) (permalink)
Tenth Anniversary MC from McFarlane
Heh - nice. McFarlane will be releasing a 10th Anniversary Master Chief this fall - and it looks like the in-game (blocky) model. Pretty cool! Thanks, ElzarTheBam (who found it at Kotaku). (Louis Wu 16:08:28 UTC) (permalink)
Passing on the Legacey
CruelLEGACEY put together a really nice piece on his thoughts regarding the passing of the Halo torch. A good read by a passionate fan. Check it out! (GrimBrother One 15:02:31 UTC) (permalink)
Time as a Wheel
TTL Demag0gue let us know about the newest Reclaimer... definitely getting philosophical. (Louis Wu 14:02:53 UTC) (permalink)
Affinity for Defiance
XerxdeeJ stopped by to announce that Tied the Leader has awoken from its CoD-induced slumber (okay, I don't know WHAT they were playing recently, but it warn't Halo) - they have words of praise for Certain Affinity, and words of warning for players facing full Gunslinger teams in Matchmaking. Go read!
(Louis Wu 14:02:33 UTC) (permalink)
Video Games are the wave of the future
Been a long time since I saw an article like this one... feels good. (Louis Wu 14:02:11 UTC) (permalink)
Reach Service Record Android Update
Back in January, we mentioned a mobile app called Reach Service Record, that at the time was available for iPhones. It was made available for Android soon after, but with a limited featureset, compared to the iOS version. It's just gotten a big update, and now contains most of the iOS features, plus some bonuses! You can read about it (and download it) from the Android Market. It's free. You can't beat free! (Actually, several recent reviews suggest that the newest update might have broken some stuff... so maybe you want to wait a little bit. Shouldn't be long, though!)
(Louis Wu 14:01:43 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Fan-made Map Walkthroughs
Over at NeoGAF, Tashi0106 pointed out some walkthroughs of the two player-created maps that will be included in the 2011 MLG Pro Circuit. Interesting watch!
(Louis Wu 14:01:25 UTC) (permalink)
Inside the Defiant Map Pack
The Halo Waypoint team has put together some pretty useful info on the Defiant maps; swing by if you're looking for overviews, weapon locations, layout discussions, and more!
(Louis Wu 14:00:23 UTC) (permalink)
Defiant Map Pack Preview and Commentary
Missed this when it went up on Monday, but... ReadyUpLive's Greenskull previewed the Defiant Map Pack, with commentary. Give it a watch!
(Louis Wu 13:58:07 UTC) (permalink)
I just beat Tex
Cody Miller made me laugh.
(Louis Wu 13:57:46 UTC) (permalink)
Pup n' Friends - PAX East 2011
On Friday, at PAX East, during the Grifball panel, a very cool Grifball highlights reel was shown. It contained some truly amazing moves. Bungie.net highlighted this in the Friday news roundup, but I managed to miss it... if you missed it too, go read about it. Then watch it.
(Louis Wu 13:55:16 UTC) (permalink)
Right behind you
Rockslider's back, with a page of Grunt abuse and two new movies for you. He tortures some poor shade gunners... it's almost as if he tied cans to their tails! All the links you'll need are in his forum post.
(Louis Wu 13:54:55 UTC) (permalink)
Unearthing a Gem
GhaleonEB wrote a paean to Unearthed, the Firefight map included with the Defiant Map Pack. Go read why it's so good.
(Louis Wu 13:54:05 UTC) (permalink)
News March 15 2011
Defiant Map Pack FAQ
Bungie's got a Defiant Map Pack FAQ written up - you got questions, they got answers. Go read. (Louis Wu 19:11:04 UTC) (permalink)
Defiant Panos
Bry whipped up a few really gorgeous (and really, really big) Defiant panos - go see! (Louis Wu 19:09:32 UTC) (permalink)
It's all about the knives
MaxRealflugel would love to know more about Fred, SPARTAN-104. Go read The Secrets Within to find out why. (Louis Wu 18:46:29 UTC) (permalink)
Fanboy vs Fanboy
mattroe let us know about Fanboy vs Fanboy - a live-action video he made, showing a fight between a Halo fan and a Harry Potter fan. Great effects, and the Cortana bits made me laugh out loud. I loved this. Go watch! (Louis Wu 14:27:05 UTC) (permalink)
Brothers
ElzarTheBam found a Reach machinima that mimicked the Dead Island trailer - pretty nicely done! (Louis Wu 14:26:41 UTC) (permalink)
Reach - now on GoD
FyreWulff pointed out that Reach is now available for download from Games on Demand - it's $50, which is $10 more than you'll find it for in Gamestop, Wal-Mart, or Amazon right now, but it also removes the need for a disc in your disc tray. Amazing that it's out so soon on this service! (Louis Wu 14:19:21 UTC) (permalink)
Defying the Convenant - Widely
BlueNinja whipped up 4 new panoramas from the Defiant maps - you can view them at Views from the Edge. So pretty... (Louis Wu 14:15:31 UTC) (permalink)
Reach Toy Giveaway
spawn.com is giving away some Halo: Reach figures - just answer a few questions correctly, and you're entered! Thanks, Mr.Sci-Fi.
(Louis Wu 14:15:05 UTC) (permalink)
Just in case it lands, I guess
Stephen Loftus managed to get out of Condemned... looks like the outside of the station was built by an Art Deco fan!
(Louis Wu 14:14:40 UTC) (permalink)
Defiance and Apostasy
TTL Demag0gue stopped in with word of the latest Reclaimer - and an explanation of the oddness that took place over the weekend.
(Louis Wu 14:14:15 UTC) (permalink)
Forge Art - Revealed
Yesterday, we mentioned a piece of Forge art that seemed out of the normal range of possibilities. b0anerges put together a film showing how he created the shot. Amazing!
(Louis Wu 14:13:47 UTC) (permalink)
Goin' Mobile
Bungie.net stats are now available on your mobile phone - check out the new screens in this preview article, and then log in with your smartphone!
(Louis Wu 14:13:23 UTC) (permalink)
More Halo Signs
Stephen Loftus has added another 10 images to his 'Signs of Halo' collection - check the 'Civilian', 'Miscellaneous', and 'UNSC' sections for new goodies. Once again, I'm seeing things I never noticed in-game...
(Louis Wu 14:12:56 UTC) (permalink)
Defiant Desktops
Halo Waypoint has gorgeous desktops based on Defiant concept art, in a multitude of sizes - go pick some!
(Louis Wu 14:12:09 UTC) (permalink)
Defiant Review at X360D
Xbox 360 Digest has a review of the Defiant Map Pack, complete with video. Pretty in-depth. (Louis Wu 14:11:43 UTC) (permalink)
Defiant Map Pack Now Online
The Defiant Map Pack is now available for download from Xbox LIVE Marketplace... 800 spacebucks buys you three of the best Reach maps there are!
(Louis Wu 14:11:16 UTC) (permalink)
News March 14 2011
Fly to Win Winners
Our winners from the Fly to Win contest have been notified, with their codes - congrats to:
Level 1: Hitmonchan, dCon V, ANUBIS x MT
Level 2: SPECLAFRYRICE, Shuntup, theUnjust
Level 3: chris101b, windupharlequin, Pfhrogblast
Level 4: TacoPizzaHunter, Dmorr07, tinytim3501
Level 5: the henery, NartFOpc, Swiftsure
The high score list is still active; let's see how long it takes for those scores to be beaten! (No more codes for the beaters, though... sorry.) (Louis Wu 23:28:02 UTC) (permalink)
More Defiant codes, from WP
Adam Pavlacka let us know that WorthPlaying is giving away Defiant codes on Twitter - no later than end of day tomorrow. Start following! (Louis Wu 23:24:04 UTC) (permalink)
HaloTracker has a pair of codes
Blinkz let us know that HaloTracker has a pair of Defiant codes to give away - one at 8PM EST, the other at 10PM, both in their forum chat box. Codes will be posted with missing characters to give everyone a chance to guess correctly. (Given the response to Waypoint's use of this technique, I'm guessing there'll be a lot of angry people at HaloTracker tonight.) (Louis Wu 22:58:45 UTC) (permalink)
Forging Ahead: Herding Cats
GhaleonEB has gone into great detail about how his most recent map has evolved, and why - the discussion should help almost anyone creating maps with Forge. I don't build maps with Forge, and I found it fascinating - it'll make you look at play spaces differently.
(Louis Wu 22:15:05 UTC) (permalink)
Animating Awesome
Joe Spataro and Tam Armstrong have released the animation talk they gave at the GDC this year - and you can download it from Bungie.net. (Warning: my (older) version of Powerpoint was unable to view the video files, though a 3-year-old version of Apple Keynote had no problem with them.) (Louis Wu 22:10:06 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie All Stars, Week 10
Bungie All Stars is up to Round 10 - and your chance to add that exclusive star to your gamertag involves Halo: Reach, Forge, and a bunch of rocks. Go read about it at B.net! (Louis Wu 20:50:34 UTC) (permalink)
Win a Defiant Code - with Skill
If you're hating the idea of being the fastest Twitter reader, we've got another way for you to win Defiant Map Pack codes - all you need to do is prove your skill at a retro Halo game. Back in 2002, BOLL created a Pelican Flash game - fly that Pelican as far as you can without hitting anything, and you can put yourself on the high score list. Get into the Top 3 list on any of the five levels, and you'll find yourself in possession of a Defiant Map Pack code this evening, at 7:30pm EST. (Yes, that's a bit late for Europeans. Sorry.) You can only win once, even if you show up more often than that. You'll be prompted for a name on the final screen, and an email address and a Gamertag after you submit your score - all of these are optional. If you choose not to submit a name, you'll never even see the email/gt screen. If you choose not to submit a valid email address or gamertag, your entry will not qualify for the prizes. Thanks to BOLL for the addictive game... and to 343 for the codes! Check your engines - and fly straight! (Louis Wu 18:29:26 UTC) (permalink)
Feeling Defiant
TiberiusAudley was another gamer who snagged an early map code - and you can read his impressions at Audley Enough. I'm still waiting to read a negative review... that I've waited this long bodes well for Certain Affinity's craftsmanship. (Louis Wu 17:24:25 UTC) (permalink)
Defiant Walkthrough from RT
Another cool walkthrough of the Defiant Map Pack - this time from the Rooster Teeth crew. Burnie and Geoff show you all of the goodies available. As you might expect, camera control is very clean. Thanks, onebitrocket. (Louis Wu 16:26:24 UTC) (permalink)
Defying The Odds
Dani's got a full writeup of the new maps, as well, over at Forward Unto Dawn. Good read! (Louis Wu 13:35:21 UTC) (permalink)
Defiant Preview from FTZ
FyreWulff wrote up a text-only review of the Defiant Map Pack (he's waiting for the official embargo to end to include screens/videos) - you can find it over at the Fire Team Zulu website. Interesting stuff! (Louis Wu 13:32:53 UTC) (permalink)
24 hour draw-a-thon for Japanese tsunami relief
AngelicLionheart stopped in with word of an artist who's doing a 24 hour draw-a-thon for Japan relief - he'll draw whatever you want, with the money going to the Red Cross tsunami relief effort. We recently mentioned some Halo work he'd done... jump in and get some cool artwork made! (Louis Wu 13:32:04 UTC) (permalink)
A pair or Defiant 'tages
NeoGAF's Tashi put together Ascendancy, a montage of footage from some early Defiant gameplay - and Devin Olsen followed up quickly with his own minitage. Nice work! Update: Tashi also uploaded a full game vid on Highlands (it's the one where his opening predicted rocket double comes from). (Louis Wu 13:31:00 UTC) (permalink)
Forge Art. Really.
I have no idea how he did this... but b0anerges managed to reproduce the Real Salt Lake logo... in Forge. Check it. (Louis Wu 13:30:34 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Artwork surfaces
ChenK had been looking for a piece of Halo 3 artwork - KP helped out. Grab this while it's available! (Louis Wu 13:30:07 UTC) (permalink)
TSL: Extending the Agony of Success
Achievement Hunter's Geoff and Jack hung out with This Spartan Life's Damian Lacedamian - the resulting 10 minute interview is up on Halo: Waypoint's website (thanks, pete_the_duck, who's also in the movie). Great talk, great challenges (they're playing TSL, not HORSE) - go watch! (Louis Wu 13:29:42 UTC) (permalink)
News March 13 2011
Another shot at the Defiant Map Pack
CruelLEGACEY is giving away a Defiant Map Pack code, along with a Gears of War 3 Avatar prop - you'll need to follow him on Twitter to get in on the action. Good luck! (Louis Wu 19:08:27 UTC) (permalink)
RC Warthog - Retro TV Spot
padraig08 found an RC Warthog commercial that could have been aired in the 90s - I laughed in a few places. (Louis Wu 13:25:36 UTC) (permalink)
Arby 'n' the Chief - 'Da Bomb'
The latest Arby 'n' the Chief went live yesterday - the wedding gets closer. A little scary to wonder how badly the Chief's gonna screw things up... Thanks, Moorpheusl9.
(Louis Wu 13:24:58 UTC) (permalink)
News March 12 2011
Telling by the Pixels
The Bungie Weekly Update went live last night, as expected, and even made it into our Weekly Update Archive, though there was no front-page post here. It contains a Q&A with Max Hoberman (always good to hear from Max), a playlist update from Jeremiah, some calming words about the recent Bungie Beta Tester Survey debacle, and submissions for the 9th round of Bungie's All Stars Contest. And a Blame Stosh that made me laugh. Go read! (Louis Wu 20:18:38 UTC) (permalink)
Beast-Mode
John Battle let us know about Beast-Mode, a pilot for a new machinima series. Take a look! (Louis Wu 20:11:05 UTC) (permalink)
Defiant Giveaway at Podtacular
Dust Storm let us know that Podtacular is giving away a bunch of Defiant Map Pack codes - if you're interested in getting in on the action, swing by their site! (Louis Wu 20:09:48 UTC) (permalink)
ChiefCraft
Pepsi let us know that he'd created a Master Chief sprite in Minecraft... gotta put in the Halo love to every game possible! (Louis Wu 20:04:58 UTC) (permalink)
Teabag Prevention Presents - Sword Base
Brian Gilmore sent word of a new Teabag Prevention Presentation - this one gives you the rundown on Sword Base. Locations, tips, tricks... lots of info in here! (Louis Wu 20:00:00 UTC) (permalink)
Defiant Preview Event Footage
Mr.Sci-Fi grabbed some footage from the Defiant Map Pack Preview Event - if you couldn't be there, you can get a sense for what was shown! (Louis Wu 19:57:58 UTC) (permalink)
Tipping the Scales?
Stuff we missed while at PAX - looks like some pretty funky goings-on at the Reclaimer website! (Louis Wu 19:55:40 UTC) (permalink)
News March 11 2011
Fails of the week 25
sqorck found the latest Fails of the Weak on YouTube in the middle of the night... and with that, I bid you adieu. (See below for details.) (Louis Wu 11:02:36 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Covenant At War
Cody Moore pointed out a mod for Star Wars: Empire at War that brings in UNSC and Covenant ships - it's not new, but it's the first I'm seeing it.
(Louis Wu 11:02:10 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
Just one new story in the Fan Fiction section this week - go read! (Louis Wu 11:01:33 UTC) (permalink)
Before I go... eBay'd Halo Stuff
Eep, I lied - time for a few quick updates before I leave. Lessee... I missed this one last night: Crudeoyle posted a bunch of Halo goodies on eBay, if you're in the UK. In-the-box Halo 2 Joyride figures, and a couple of Halo-themed controllers... take a look!
(Louis Wu 11:00:37 UTC) (permalink)
Off to PAX
And... that's it for a bit. I'm headed up to PAX at nothing in the morning tomorrow, and GrimBrother One is already there. That leaves the store untended... if you need something, just leave the money on the counter. We trust you. Normal news coverage should resume by Saturday, or so. (Louis Wu 04:06:45 UTC) (permalink)
NMPost... nice
Another dozen and a half signs went live this evening in Stephen Loftus' Signs of Halo collection (the collection is onto its second page already!). Take a look - I bet there's stuff you never noticed before!
(Louis Wu 04:06:13 UTC) (permalink)
Custom Painted Pink Spartan for Charity
joerhyno sent a link to a custom-painted pink spartan he created to raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. Pretty nice work - and a great cause! Check it out; you've got almost 10 days to bid.
(Louis Wu 04:05:43 UTC) (permalink)
Of Chairs, and Bees
jo's done a nice job of summarizing what we know so far about the Theseus, and the AIs and ONI agents we've met in a series of odd posts. (Things started here.) If you're interested, use this post to catch up!
(Louis Wu 04:04:45 UTC) (permalink)
News March 10 2011
Spartans: Making a Difference?
MaxRealflugel sent word that The Secrets Within has been updated - the latest post looks at how such a small group could make such a big difference. (Louis Wu 21:34:55 UTC) (permalink)
Custom Elite - ooh, shiny
Sl'askia finished a gorgeous paint job on a Gamestop Exclusive Elite... check out the links in this post! Update: That should have read "...paint job based on a Gamestop Exclusive". It started life as a standard Orange Elite. Oops! (Louis Wu 21:33:03 UTC) (permalink)
Map Spotlight Week 15 - New Elysium
Raaascal's latest Map Spotlight covers Crysis Hero's map, New Elysium. Go read the interview, watch the fly-through, download the map! (Louis Wu 21:10:41 UTC) (permalink)
Grifball Signups - March 11-18
If you like Grifball, you should swing by Grifball.com - signups for the 12th season of the American Grifball League of America open tomorrow! Thanks, urk.
(Louis Wu 21:08:35 UTC) (permalink)
You shoulda been in Bellevue...
Last night's Defiant Map Pack Preview Event went down as planned - there's a single shot in Community Manager DMZilla's Twitter feed. Apparently, attendees got map codes. Nice! (Louis Wu 14:11:43 UTC) (permalink)
Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign
Stephen Loftus sent along another 10 high-resolution Halo signs for his ever-growing collection - this time, they're in the Civilian and UNSC sections. I am LOVING this stuff. (Louis Wu 13:40:04 UTC) (permalink)
Achievement HORSE 14
trappeddark1 pointed out that the latest Achievement HORSE is online - Geoff, once again, is out of town, so Jack has pulled in Michael, from Rage Quit, to play along. More like Resigned Quit this time around... (Louis Wu 13:21:09 UTC) (permalink)
Domino's Cryptum Giveaway - Winners Announced
We didn't want to announce this until we'd heard from all of the winners, but Domino's Cryptum Giveaway is finally complete, with all four books out to their new owners. Congratulations to SHADOWJUDGE10, crazy ace91, lostguru585, and XplosiveLugnut - and thanks once again to Domino Theory for his amazing generosity! (Louis Wu 13:20:02 UTC) (permalink)
News March 9 2011
Don't Shake the Light Bulb.
Hedgemony had some issues with his Tumblr site... but he's returned with something new. Check out 'Don't Shake the Light Bulb' for seriously awesome 'shopped screenshots. (Louis Wu 22:54:39 UTC) (permalink)
Bzzt
What? I... what? (Louis Wu 22:36:33 UTC) (permalink)
Thriller
Another funky map/vid combo from NOKYARD - check this post on GAF for links that might elucidate. (Louis Wu 22:34:57 UTC) (permalink)
PGCR 69
SK1LL4XED let us know that Post Game Carnage Report has released Podcast 69 - and yeah, their 'adult-themed' podcast definitely takes advantage of the numerical positioning. Lots of Halo discussion - go listen! (Definitely NSFW.) (Louis Wu 18:41:53 UTC) (permalink)
CJ Cowan to Keynote GDX
Bungie's CJ Cowan will be the keynote speaker at this year's Game Developers eXchange, a conference held at the Savannah College of Art and Design (a school CJ graduated from in 1998). There's no information about what he's going to talk about on the GDX website, but given CJ's recent work history (Cinematic Designer on Halo 2, Cinematic Director on Halo 3, ODST, Reach), it's a good bet Halo will play a role. If you're in Georgia in mid-May, put this on your calendar! (Louis Wu 14:49:23 UTC) (permalink)
Aurora Verendus
padraig08 whipped up a pretty nice panorama outside Anchor 9 (WAAAAY outside)... take a look! (Louis Wu 14:24:33 UTC) (permalink)
Reclaimer Wednesday
Don't forget to check out the new issue of Reclaimer. More mind games and awesomeness Go read!. (GrimBrother One 14:21:26 UTC) (permalink)
HBO Movie Madness
I woke up this morning to a whole passel of videos announced on our forum - they were ALL good, so watch the lot!
- Blinding announced Firelight Studios' newest short, 'Welcome to New Mombasa'. Filmed in ODST, it's a tribute to Helljumpers everywhere.
- AlphaGamma told us about the first episode of Frostbite, by Blood Chain Productions. Interesting premise, fine cinematography; this one shows promise!
- CrazedOne1988 was discussing his recently-released Spartan Support Unit 254, a machinima based on a conversation first published at Dorkly.com. Definitely has a few smile triggers.
It's a machinima morning! (Louis Wu 14:20:33 UTC) (permalink)
Astounding Giveaway from Marissa's Bunny
Marissa's Bunny is the place to be - again - if you're interested in getting your hands on a TON of free stuff. This time, the giveaway contains (and yes, all of this is going to ONE WINNER):
- Reach SE Xbox 360 Slim
- Kinect
- Halo:Reach Legendary Edition
- Playstation3 320GB with Move bundle
- Xbox 360 Arcade with Kinect
- PS3 with Move bundle
Look for the post labeled 'Latest Entries' for full details on how to get in on this one. And thanks to Shana, who won the LAST giveaway but chose not to take a bunch of the prizes, leading to this ridiculous package. Marissa heads in for surgery on Friday the 18th - so that's when this giveaway ends... get your entries in before that! (And hey - if you think this sort of thing is cool, why not toss a few bucks into Marissa's pot? There's a donate link on the right side of the page.) (Louis Wu 14:08:46 UTC) (permalink)
News March 8 2011
That's gonna leave a mark.
}SoC{BrownSound noticed a funny little (very little) stop-motion video highlighted at Kotaku - go check it out. (Louis Wu 20:03:09 UTC) (permalink)
The Signs of Halo
Stephen Loftus has kicked off a new section here at HBO - he's going to be posting high-quality versions of various signs that can be found around the Halo universe. The first 8 are up now - click thumbnails for high-resolution previews, and a download link! He'll be adding new entries regularly. (Louis Wu 19:23:15 UTC) (permalink)
The definition of shoehorning
This made me laugh. (Found it at NeoGAF.) (Louis Wu 15:01:49 UTC) (permalink)
Defiant Goodies!
David Ellis from 343 Industries sent word of two awesome new Defiant media pieces are ready for rabid fan consumption. Check out the Defiant Map Map Behind-The-Scenes ViDoc as well as the new Sparkast! The ever-newsworthy Man's Man, SNIPE 316 also was the originator and sole creator of an awesome forum topic about the ViDoc. Stop in and chime in! (GrimBrother One 14:47:37 UTC) (permalink)
News March 7 2011
Comm Chatter Tasties
It's Monday, so Bungie's Comm Chatter probably has some video material for you... hmm, lessee...
- ASiKK Entertainment put together a community montage from the Australian Cyber League - 5 minutes of MLG action.
- The Good Games League released Week Four Highlights from their current Grifball season - bam.
While you're over there, you should check out the rules for Week 9 of Bungie's All Stars contest - if you want that elusive star on your gamertag, you'll need to take an epic screenshot of a Falcon. (Full instructions in the post.) You've got until Thursday. (Louis Wu 20:52:22 UTC) (permalink)
Off-screen footage of Defiant MP
Mr.Sci-Fi was at the Emerald City Comicon this weekend, and grabbed some videos of the Defiant Map Pack with his phone... quality is what you'd expect, but hey, it's footage, right? (Louis Wu 18:10:27 UTC) (permalink)
Halotracks Screenshot of the Month Contest
Spencermx14 sent word of a new contest up at Halotracks - come up with the bets Mongoose-themed screenshot, win a code to the Arcade game "Poker Smash". Full details on their forum! (Louis Wu 18:04:50 UTC) (permalink)
XForgery's Infection Forging Challenge
Null Parameter, from XForgery, let us know about a new Infection Forging Challenge they're hosting - you've got just a week to put together a cool Infection map. They'll play entries on the night of the 14th, and the best response will win the map creator a code for the Defiant Map Pack! Not bad. Full details are in the linked forum post. (Louis Wu 16:30:57 UTC) (permalink)
All out of Ammo
AngelicLionheart stopped in to announce that the artwork created by his buddy for his birthday is now available for viewing on DeviantART - pretty nice! (Louis Wu 14:48:28 UTC) (permalink)
Just for the heck of it
Hedgemony explored ODST for panorama material recently - and then tossed in a bonus image from Reach's Tip of the Spear. Go see! (Louis Wu 14:48:09 UTC) (permalink)
Building an awesome transmedia franchise
Frank O'Connor talked to Xbox360Achievements - the focus is on how 343 sees the Halo universe evolving as time goes on. Some faulty info about Bungie in there (they made several games before Halo, including Pathways into Darkness, Myth, and Oni, in addition to Marathon, and even published a couple of third-party games)... but that's not Frank, that's Xbox360A. Go read! (Louis Wu 14:45:46 UTC) (permalink)
Greenskull's Forgefest 2
Greenskull whipped up Forgefest 2 - it basically highlights a couple of interesting Forge maps, showing you what gameplay looks like. Nascar looks like an entertaining Infection game, while Indiana Jones might be a blast if your friends don't betray you on a regular basis. (Louis Wu 14:45:16 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Modding Rap 2011
Pepsi and E3pO over at modhalo.net have put together a rap about Halo modding, based on Dr. Dre's 'The Watcher' - you can listen to it (and see the lyrics) at Pepness.com. Times, they are a changin'! (Louis Wu 14:43:29 UTC) (permalink)
Mini Halo Sculpts
Lance Rutledge sent along some pics of some 'Halo-inspired' scupts he did - they're really pretty cute. Go see! (Louis Wu 14:37:19 UTC) (permalink)
News March 6 2011
Even Spartans Are Getting Hit By A Tough Economy
Over at the Grim blog, you guys might be interested in the peculiar sight that greeted me as I was driving home the other day. I did a double-take to say the least! (GrimBrother One 17:42:03 UTC) (permalink)
Tilting The Odds In Your Favor
SoiledSolution over at the BNET forums wanted to share a play-tested theory that activating the Tilt Skull actually makes the game a bit easier, specifically on Legendary or Mythic. He provides some great information and nice evidence over at his BNET thread. Go and check it out and see what you think! (GrimBrother One 17:39:21 UTC) (permalink)
Goodies at a Con
padraig08 visited the Steel City Con a couple of days ago, and ran across some Halo stuff for sale (along with some Firefly stuff). Fun! (Louis Wu 16:41:25 UTC) (permalink)
Waypoint's 'The Return' wins GANG Award
Congratulations to Halo: Waypoint - they picked up 'Best Audio: Other' (for 'The Return') at the 9th Annual Game Audio Network Guild Award Ceremony at the Game Developers Conference last week. (Press release is here.) Halo: Reach was up for 4 awards, but didn't take any home. (Louis Wu 16:18:55 UTC) (permalink)
The One Film to Rule Them All: Halo
MaxRealflugel, as well, is in blog-enhancement mode - his latest entry at The Secrets Within is focused on the on-again, off-again Halo motion picture, and speculates about what it would need to be successful. Check it out!
(Louis Wu 16:18:34 UTC) (permalink)
Composition: Balancing a Powerful Team
ANUBIS x MT told us about a new blog entry written by Audley - it covers the idea of balancing a powerful team. Go read! (Louis Wu 16:18:08 UTC) (permalink)
Crashed Ep 4: Revenge of the Elderly
Paul Shelley sent word that Episode 4 of Crashed, 'Revenge of the Elderly', is now live on Treeskunk's webpage. Enjoy! (Louis Wu 16:17:48 UTC) (permalink)
March Matchmaking Playlist Changes
Jeremiah posted a bunch of playlist changes effective March 1 - read about 'em on Bungie.net! Thanks, FyreWulff.
(Louis Wu 16:17:30 UTC) (permalink)
Defiant Map Pack Preview Event
Vlad356 let us know that there's going to be a Defiant Map Pack Preview Event in Bellevue, WA this coming Wednesday - details are on Major Nelson's blog. Swing by and participate if you're in the area!
(Louis Wu 16:17:10 UTC) (permalink)
News March 5 2011
Looking ahead to Halo's future
Swedish gaming magazine Gamereactor caught up with Frank O'Connor at the GDC - the discussion centers around how the Defiant maps fit into the Halo campaign fiction, how the transfer of control is going, and how philosophies compare between Bungie and 343i. Good talk! Thanks, DJ Lars. (Louis Wu 14:23:04 UTC) (permalink)
Marty doesn't like getting kicked in the stomach
Xbox360Achievements attended Marty O'Donnell's talk at the Game Developer's Conference this week, and put up a summary of what was said (chock-full of quotes). Marty tried to make it clear that creativity and corporations don't often play well together... do you think maybe his experience over the past 10 years might have had something to do with his point of view? Thanks, profhalo. (Louis Wu 14:17:14 UTC) (permalink)
Wide-angle Beauty
BlueNinja continues to experiment with putting together epic photo montages across huge swaths of FOV territory. Check out his latest three at Views from the Edge. (Louis Wu 14:11:55 UTC) (permalink)
Fails of the Weak 24
Mid7night was the first to let us know about Fails of the Weak 24, from the Achievement Hunter crew - funny things happen to people playing Halo, things that might not be so funny if you didn't respawn a few seconds later. Go watch!
(Louis Wu 14:11:28 UTC) (permalink)
It's A Bit Of A Stretch
You've got to check out SPU7N1K's newest fan art creation. Very clean, and VERY cool! (GrimBrother One 13:54:58 UTC) (permalink)
Your Eyes May Never Be The Same
This week's Bungie Weekly Update is full of clarification of statement information, IP transition affirmation, and fowl experimentation. Also, there's a funny Blame Stosh. For the chromatically inverted, you can also find it locally here in our collection. (GrimBrother One 13:46:58 UTC) (permalink)
News March 4 2011
Amazing Faceplate Collection For Sale
Whoa - if you're in the market for a killer faceplate collection for your Xbox 360 (non-Slim), swing by eBay in the next day or so. spaceghost2k is selling off 7 Halo faceplates as a batch (including one signed by Bungie, and some other really rare ones) - current bid is $99. Thanks to Laird for the heads-up on this one. (Louis Wu 20:10:34 UTC) (permalink)
Waypoint Wowzers
bs angel sent word of a couple of worthy bits over at Halo Waypoint's website (now Silverlight-free!). Anoj's Top 10 Reach Kills series is up to Episode 16 - Amazing Kills shows off some jawdropping carnage... and Master Chief Stained Glass is a really cool example of what you can do when you mix Halo love with glassworking skills. Check 'em out! (Louis Wu 19:18:39 UTC) (permalink)
Precious Times
It wouldn't be Comm Chatter without a montage, now would it? Today's roundup includes Precious Times, a nicely timed piece from Just Mad. Go watch. (Louis Wu 19:01:13 UTC) (permalink)
Grifball Goodies
If you're going to PAX East next week, GrifballHub wants to make your visit more productive - check out their guide. (There's actually a Grifball panel taking place on Friday morning - RT's Burnie Burns, 343i's bs angel, and pros from GrifballHub will be there.) Thanks, urk. (Louis Wu 18:58:51 UTC) (permalink)
Custom Elite Officer
More custom work from Kaidon - this time, it's an Elite officer. (It's just a repaint, not a full sculpt - but it's still pretty cool!) (Louis Wu 18:47:46 UTC) (permalink)
Fire Team Zulu: Seasons of Change
FyreWulff sent word of the latest Fire Team Zulu challenge - Seasons of Change is set on Reach's Pillar of Autumn, and has prizes available (worldwide). Go read about it. You've got until March 13 to enter! (Louis Wu 18:02:15 UTC) (permalink)
Mythic Difficulty Guide - Lone Wolf
The final chapter of Tyrant's Mythic Difficulty Guide for Halo: Reach is now online - and it's definitely worth your time. Lone Wolf is a pretty special level, for a lot of reasons - and Tyrant's treatment honors the spirit quite nicely. To Tyrant, I say - well done, sir. (Louis Wu 16:08:56 UTC) (permalink)
Diamond Eyes
AssaultGodzilla is back with another Halo HMV - this one is set to Shinedown's Diamond Eyes. As always, timing and clip choices rock. (Louis Wu 15:59:29 UTC) (permalink)
Experimenting with the Halo Universe
Frank O'Connor told CVG that 343i's not working on a sequel to Halo Wars right now, but if they were, it could work with Kinect. Interesting! (This showed up in my Google feed, but thanks to ElzarTheBam for starting a thread on our forum.) (Louis Wu 15:56:38 UTC) (permalink)
Super Space Gordon and the Robot Ninjas
Pierre Tartaix sent word of Super Space Gordon and the Robot-Ninjas, a pretty awesome Halo 3-based machinima created by TGO GMBH. Fantastic combination of in-game footage and special effects... and an entertaining story, to boot. This was created for a contest on Virtualflicks.net... good luck to the crew! (Louis Wu 12:29:12 UTC) (permalink)
New avatar goodies coming with Defiant
onebitrocket noticed an article at OXM UK showing off screens of new avatar accessories coming with the Defiant Map Pack - a Pelican and a Scarab - along with one new T-shirt, in both male and female flavors. More stuff to spend your points on!
Update: sorry, that's not a Pelican, it's a jetpack. Thanks, Harmanimus (and others). (Louis Wu 12:28:49 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
Two new poems have been posted for your reading enjoyment in the Fan Fiction section... go check 'em out! (Louis Wu 12:27:36 UTC) (permalink)
Only one of us is wearing bulletproof armor...
TCKaos pointed out Part 4 of Modern Warfare 2 meets Metal Gear Solid, a pretty well-done live-action film that's relevant here because of the presence of Master Chief. Nice coreography!
(Louis Wu 12:25:53 UTC) (permalink)
Sparky's Guide to Reach Vehicle Handling
Sparkypinball put together a very nice Guide to Reach Vehicle Handling - read it for tips on how to make your games even better!
(Louis Wu 12:25:04 UTC) (permalink)
Helmets pop up in odd places
kornman00 ran across an interesting reference shot created for the 2012 suite of Autodesk tools... read his post for details. Nice find!
(Louis Wu 12:24:39 UTC) (permalink)
Reach on Games on Demand?
Duncan noticed that Halo: Reach is on Major Nelson's list of games coming to Games on Demand - on March 15. Seems a little early in its life cycle?
(Louis Wu 12:24:07 UTC) (permalink)
Massively Multiplayer, Not So Massively Surprising
IGN posted a news item a bit over an hour ago from the GDC stating that Bungie's next game will indeed be a Massively Multiplayer venture. Injunfett also started a thread on our forums about the news, drop by and offer your opinions. We know you have them. Interesting times are afoot for Bungie fans, for certain! (GrimBrother One 02:35:17 UTC) (permalink)
Having Faith In A Soundtrack
Continuing where we left off from yesterday with news of a new Halo Fan Film: "Faith", we bring you the first original music for it, composed by Daniel Ciurlizza. Definitely worth the listen! (GrimBrother One 02:31:30 UTC) (permalink)
News March 3 2011
Chao - Halo: Reach Montage 1
Chao created his first Halo: Reach montage. We heard about it on Bungie's Comm Chatter. Lots of multikills, and some effort to time the action to the music. Go watch! (Louis Wu 21:06:03 UTC) (permalink)
Machining Beauty
Greenskull has made a lot of Rube Goldberg machines in his day - now he's ready to teach you how to do it. Swing by Xbox.com for a tutorial! Thanks, urk. (Louis Wu 20:39:51 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Faith - coming this fall
I don't generally like to highlight links on Facebook, since they're not, in general, visible to non-Facebook members... but this is pretty cool. hotshot revan pointed out a page devoted to another fan-made Halo movie, this one called 'Halo: Faith'. So far, it's credits and a bunch of pictures, showing off assets... but it's looking great! (Louis Wu 20:34:30 UTC) (permalink)
Achievement HORSE #13
lostguru pointed out that the latest episode of Achievement HORSE went live yesterday - the maps look pretty cool, but it's the commentary that makes this gold. Go watch. (Louis Wu 20:30:20 UTC) (permalink)
CurelLEGACEY adds Community Spotlights
CruelLEGACEY sent word that he's kicked off a new feature - Community Spotlight provides focus for various Halo community groups. The first one, highlighting Halo 360x, a UK site, is online now. (Louis Wu 16:55:00 UTC) (permalink)
How to Pilot a Seraph - Now Easier than Ever
MelkorTheGreat stopped by with word of an updated tutorial on how to pilot a Seraph from the beginning of Long Night of Solace. Pretty cool stuff! (Louis Wu 16:13:43 UTC) (permalink)
Games for Flames, March 12
Such a big Jerk sent word of 'Games for Flames', an upcoming MLG FFA tournament sponsored by Halotracker.com. Sign up for your chance to win a flaming helmet! (Louis Wu 16:13:15 UTC) (permalink)
The Secrets Within
MaxRealflugel let us know that he's kicked off a new Halo blog devoted to exploring the Halo storyline. there's not much there now (just a couple of posts), but there's more coming, and what IS there suggests this will be worth reading. Check it out!
(Louis Wu 16:12:49 UTC) (permalink)
Moonshot ready for their day in the sun
Narcogen, over at Rampancy.net, noticed that Moonshot Games, a company founded by ex-Bungie guys integral in the development of the Halo series, will be showing their first product at PAX East next week. Intriguing!
(Louis Wu 16:12:24 UTC) (permalink)
News March 2 2011
I keep thinking 'Kamchatka'
Lots of movies in today's Comm Chatter offerings at Bungie.net...
- The Bungie All Stars group has put together video slideshows of the Bungie All Stars entries for Week 5 (Elites) and Week 6 (Bungie.net Avatars)
- Raaascal highlights a new map for Week 14 of the Map Spotlight series - Hydra XXIII was put together by superduper66. The interview contains a flythrough video. (And a map download, of course...)
- Man on the Moon is a Reach montage with gameplay from Lunar and editing from Radic. Nice sniping.
Go watch! (Louis Wu 20:39:52 UTC) (permalink)
Custom EOD Spartan
Kaidon is back with another custom Spartan sculpt - this one is an EOD tricked out to match an in-game player. Amazing! (Louis Wu 20:18:42 UTC) (permalink)
Avatar codes... we wanna give 'em to you
Okay, thanks to the generosity of the Waypoint crew, we've got a passel of avatar goodies (armor, t-shirts) for both male and female Xbox LIVE avatars... but we haven't come up with a good way to distribute them. Jump into this thread on our forum, and give us your ideas... if we use 'em, you'll get a freebie from the get-go! (Louis Wu 14:37:03 UTC) (permalink)
Rationalization
TTL Demag0gue is back with the latest episode of Reclaimer - isn't it always about the Benjamins? (Louis Wu 14:25:13 UTC) (permalink)
Panomania
Hedgemony's most recent panos inspired Bry to creat a couple of awesome shots of Anchor 9 and its environs - and Hedge followed up with yet ANOTHER pair of cool pics. It's artucopia! (Louis Wu 14:23:55 UTC) (permalink)
3D Screenies, ODST-style
doober187 noticed the Waypoint-hosted 3D screenshots we mentioned yesterday, and posted a bunch he'd made himself, right after ODST came out. Eye-popping! (Save yourself the headache, and use our local link for downloads.)
(Louis Wu 14:23:18 UTC) (permalink)
Halo MEGA Bloks Chess set
DEEP NNN passed along a link showing off a cool 3D chess set built by his buddy CHA0S Qc. Amazing!
(Louis Wu 14:22:37 UTC) (permalink)
News March 1 2011
Orly - Drinking Halo
weedwacker13 pointed out a Halo version of Wiz Khalifa's Black and Yellow - a drinking game based on Halo 3 gameplay? That seems... dangerous. (Louis Wu 19:50:05 UTC) (permalink)
Forward Unto Dawn: Maptacular
Dani decided to take a statistical look at the multiplayer maps released with each Halo game, breaking down which camp the architecture comes from. Some interesting patterns emerge... (Louis Wu 15:21:15 UTC) (permalink)
Waypoint Goodies
bs angel sent along a couple of pretty cool bits you should check out at Halo Waypoint - Mace Windex is back to creating 3D Screenshots, and there are a pair of cool examples already up (Assassination and Monitor)... and they've highlighted a new machinima short from Firelight Studios called 'The Lone Spartan' - great aesthetics, well-done story. Go explore! (Louis Wu 15:11:42 UTC) (permalink)
Panos... in... SPAAAACCEEE
Hedgemony continues to hone his panorama skills - check this post for two new Anchor9-based shots that'll take your breath away. (Louis Wu 15:02:37 UTC) (permalink)
Filling the Gaps
Gametrailers has an interview with Frankie about the Defiant Map Pack - same content, for the most part, as other interviews... except for a mention of easter eggs, and a confirmation that there are more DLC offerings for Reach in the works. (Nice!) Thanks, NsU Soldier.
(Louis Wu 15:02:12 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Reach Fail
padraig08 told us about a Flash animation at Newgrounds - pretty juvenile, but some folks seem to like it. Artwork's fun.
(Louis Wu 15:01:46 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Art, Livestreamed
AngelicLionheart stopped by yesterday to mention that a friend was drawing a Halo-themed birthday present for him... live. Now, it's obviously not live any more - but the first part of the creation is still online on Zack's (the artist) Livestream page. It's a couple of hours long - go see!
(Louis Wu 15:00:25 UTC) (permalink)
| March 2011 | |
