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 | September 2006 |  |
September 2006 Archived News
News September 30 2006
H:P has HW
Gawd, quick one I forgot from days ago, my bad. Funkmon pointed out on Wednesday night that Halo: Portable had posted mobile-ready versions of the Halo Wars trailer... I MEANT to post it, but spaced. If you need a copy for your PSP/Pocket PC/iPod, go by now! And that's all from me for a while, folks... (Louis Wu 14:09:51 UTC) (permalink)
Dibs.
Red vs Blue Season 5 has kicked off - Episode 78, 'You Can't Park Here', is now out for sponsors, non-sponsors should be able to download it on Monday. Sometimes, when a series gets older, it gets tireder... no such worries here. I LOVED this ep. Teh Funni is everywhere. Looks like KP was first with this, over at Bungie.net. Will wonders never cease? (Louis Wu 12:06:08 UTC) (permalink)
On the Horizon
GameDaily has written up a review of Halo's upcoming projects, and how they might all fit together. A bit too much speculation for my taste, but hey - it's the internet, right? (Louis Wu 12:05:33 UTC) (permalink)
Mesmerize
Killer 047 announced a huge (30 minutes, more than 400 mb in hi-res format) tricking montage film. I haven't had time to watch it (or download it, even)... but the forum post was pretty fancy. If you've got a large pipe, and a lot of time... check this out! (Louis Wu 11:53:20 UTC) (permalink)
More Eyeballs
MediaPost takes a look at the newly announced Wingnut Interactive ventures from the viewpoint that movies are making less money than they used to, and moviemakers are looking to expand their audiences in other ways. Interesting take. (Louis Wu 11:49:44 UTC) (permalink)
Dolbex puts his thinking cap on
Some quick links your way, before this day gets out of hand here: Dolbex posted a long rant about how Bungie might be spread too thin at this point on his blog - and mentioned it on our forum. (The biggest assumption in his article that should be questioned is 'Bungie is the only one in charge of Halo IP at this point' - ask that, and a lot of his fears go away. Maybe replaced by new ones - but that's a DIFFERENT question...) He also pointed out a bizarre quote mentioned in an EvilAvatar post - but I'm thinking that the MS exec quoted was referring to the popularity of RTSs in Germany, more than anything else. Go read! (Louis Wu 11:47:13 UTC) (permalink)
News September 29 2006
Awesometastic.
The Bungie Weekly Update has been posted - summary of the rather large news out of Barcelona this week, plus a local (well, local for Bungie) spin, a cool cake, and zune photos. (What?) Yeah, go read. If you are scared of Bungie.net, there's always our Weekly Update Archive. (Louis Wu 23:43:51 UTC) (permalink)
M90 Anagram.
Stuntmutt falls back on a tried and true poke in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 14:17:35 UTC) (permalink)
Peter Jackson - Telling Stories
Xboxyde also talked to Peter Jackson about his upcoming Halo stuff - if you were a little fuzzy about what he's got planned, read this - you'll probably get a little MORE fuzzy. Nonetheless, it's an expansion on the ideas he expressed during the press conference, and who knows? Maybe your brain works better than mine, and you'll be able to decipher what he's saying he's going to do. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 14:08:10 UTC) (permalink)
Omega Team V1E1
Random Outburst Productions submitted the extensively-titled 'OMEGA TEAM Volume: 1 Episode: 1 "A More Perfect Federation"' - it's got an RvB vibe (right down to the censorable language). Pretty funny - the MPRRS said 'yep', so we're offering you a WMP9 version (29.1 mb) or a Quicktime version (30.8 mb)... grab your favorite poison. Update: Movies have been pulled at the request of the creator. (Louis Wu 13:43:28 UTC) (permalink)
MS Suits Talk Halo Wars
Xboxyde has posted a Q&A with Phil Spencer (GM of Microsoft Game Studios Publishing) and Dave Luehmann (GM of MGS Internal Developing) about Halo Wars, collected during X06. More than anything posted in the last three days, this makes me a little apprehensive... but read it for yourself. Maybe I'm just overreacting. Thanks to broony for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 12:59:01 UTC) (permalink)
Static (Teaser)
Dennis Powers stopped by to point out a teaser for Static, a new series from Halo CE Chronicles. Film style of the teaser is reminiscent of the Halo 3 trailer, and hints at a darker storyline than earlier HCEC work. Stay tuned! (Louis Wu 12:38:54 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fiction
Ten new stories today in the Fan Fiction section today. And you're waiting for...? (Louis Wu 12:29:30 UTC) (permalink)
Grunt Toon
Retsof-Noraa put together a small Grunt Flash Toon, hosted over at DeviantART... should bring a smile to your face. (Louis Wu 12:23:49 UTC) (permalink)
And now for something completely different.
ESKAY RULZ. That is all. (Louis Wu 12:16:12 UTC) (permalink)
Delivering Halo Through RTS
CanMag has written up a first look at Halo Wars, and what it might mean for the Halo franchise. (It echoes a lot of points made multiple times on our forum, but a forum post doesn't get the same viewing audience, generally, as an article in a big online mag.) Go read. (Louis Wu 12:15:42 UTC) (permalink)
Beating Your Children, Bungie-Style
A REAL Halo Humpday Challenge happened this week after all - offspring of Bungie employees came in and gave Bungie employees a whuppin'. That is - until KP showed up. The first game was a rout - the kids ruled. Games 2 and 3 were a bit different... and the difference wears a red cape, blue tights, and reports to Frankie each morning. Yep... SuperKP! Go read the writeup. (Louis Wu 12:08:50 UTC) (permalink)
News September 28 2006
A kid in the candy store
Great video interview with Marty O'Donnell over at IGN - Marty talks about sound design, and emotion tweaking. Good stuff! Thanks, darthbob. (Louis Wu 22:55:32 UTC) (permalink)
Doodle THIS.
Pinkuh calls them doodles (here and here, on the forum, or here, and here, in her gallery). I say pshaw. (Louis Wu 22:45:38 UTC) (permalink)
Storytelling Roundtable
The roundtable discussion about storytelling in games this morning at X06 between Peter Jackson, Greg Zeschuk (Bioware) and Peter Molyneux (Lionhead) - moderated by Frankie - has been put online, in its entirety, by TeamXbox, in WMP9 format (almost 200mb). I haven't had time to watch more than a couple of minutes - but grab a copy, it sounds like a fascinating discussion! Thanks, Tempus Fugit. (Louis Wu 21:38:41 UTC) (permalink)
Out of the gate at a flat run
Hmm... this is pretty bizarre... Team Xbox has Halo Wars on the list of games arriving in time for the holidays this year; I have a little trouble believing that, since that means they pretty much need to have sent it to the duplicators by now... but hey, stranger things have happened. I say, until Ensemble confirms, count this as a typo. Update: Thanks to Black Six, who noticed an all-but-invisible line (see screenshot) which separates some of the games on this list from the actual Holiday releases - Halo Wars is NOT coming out this year. (Louis Wu 21:27:01 UTC) (permalink)
Unused Halo 2 Animation Clip
I'm not sure how good an idea this is, but... BARBARIC RAGE stumbled across the portfolio of the Treanor Brothers, a 3D Animation and Cinematics company - apparently, they created a a 10 second web trailer for the launch of the Halo 2 website back in 2004. As far as I know, it was never used - but it's pretty cool! Take a look. Update: Tempus Fugit says I'm wrong - he remembers seeing it. (Louis Wu 20:17:17 UTC) (permalink)
Comical Mesh
Paul Maestri writes to say that Halo Heads 13, with a visit from One One Se7en, is now posted; this makes much more sense (and is actually quite funny) if you listened to Podtacular 82. (Louis Wu 20:13:35 UTC) (permalink)
Jackson discussion available as audio
Gah. I grabbed this this morning, but forgot to post it. Microsoft has made the streaming feed from yesterday's press conference available again, for those that missed it live - but the video is so small, and (in the case of the discussion with Peter Jackson) so irrelevant, I simply cut out the audio portion of the Peter Moore/Peter Jackson section - you can grab it in MP3 format (under 2 mb for 6 minutes) here. Listen for yourself to how he describes the upcoming products from Wingnut Interactive. (Louis Wu 18:28:32 UTC) (permalink)
Wikipedia never sleeps
Heh - rapture is amused by how quickly Wikipedia info is compiled - check it out, there's already a pretty comprehensive page on Halo Wars. (rapture also wanted to point out that the new H2 for Windows screens are browsable at halo2pc.org - though if you happen to be browsing in Safari, the page is invisible.) (Louis Wu 15:08:16 UTC) (permalink)
The Life Obstacles of Special Ted, Episode 4
Haloplayer, of Injured Knee Productions, sent the MPRRS 'The Life Obstacles of Special Ted, Episode 4', a video depicting the troubles Ted has in the fast food and automotive sales industries. Poor Ted. Funny stuff - grab a copy in WMP9 format (34.4 mb) or QuickTime format (34.2 mb). (Louis Wu 14:16:59 UTC) (permalink)
X06 Humpday Challenge (sort of)
Sneaking in under the radar, SketchFactor posted a Humpday Challenge writeup yesterday, missed (by our readers, anyway) until this morning, when hnc wondered about it. It's not Halo, this time around - they played Shadowrun and Gears of War - but the end result (Bungie gets battered) was pretty much the same. Well, that's not TOTALLY true. Sketch and Frankie played against bots in Shadowrun... and got demolished. Then Frankie played Sketch in Gears of War - and Frankie won. (Hmm...) Anyway, fun read, take a look! (Louis Wu 13:47:37 UTC) (permalink)
He's hit bottom, and just started digging
Foo Mo Jive points out new content at Podtacular.com. Episode 82 has been posted, with guest host Stuntmutt, who is so self-effacing that the Podtacular boys have started a 'save Stuntmutt' fund. (It also covers stuff like the Bungie Podcast, Halo news, a glitch roundup, and more. This was all recorded on Sunday, which means the X06 revelations from yesterday aren't mentioned.) And Halo News 6 is up, the latest episode of a new parody machinima news show, in both YouTube (Flash) and iPod (mp4) versions. Get to downloading! (Louis Wu 13:39:52 UTC) (permalink)
Down the Road
One of the biggest discussion topics flooding our forum at the moment (and flooding is the right word; we've jumped from an average of about 200 posts/day to about 800 in the last 24 hours) is the idea that Halo content is now being created outside of Bungie's direct control. This may or may not turn out to be a bad thing, in terms of the quality of Halo game content down the road... but many of the issues have been laid out by Hawaiian Pig, on our forum, and Narcogen, at Rampancy.net. Both are good reads; check 'em out. (Louis Wu 13:32:22 UTC) (permalink)
Machinima: Over The Years
TheMaker420 put together a tribute film entitled 'Machinima: Over The Years', looking at some of the better vids out there. The MPRRS reviewers liked it, for the most part... so we're hosting it. It's 50 mb, and comes in WMP9 or QuickTime formats. Grab one! (Louis Wu 01:52:52 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Heads - Gerbil Wars.
Paul Maestri, having no idea that the Halo news scene would get flooded by goodies coming out of Barcelona, sent us a link yesterday for Halo Heads 11, which continued the running gerbil gag. (Made me laugh out loud.) As soon as he saw the treasure from Spain, however, he whipped up a topical strip, Halo Heads 12, and sent it along. I didn't want to confuse anyone with out-of-order episodes, so we're pointing out both at the same time. Enjoy! (Louis Wu 01:18:53 UTC) (permalink)
It's not yesterday anymore.
Just a reminder - if you've been away from the Halo scene for a day or two, you REALLY want to check Wednesday's news; there were quite a lot of tidbits worth reading. (Louis Wu 01:13:42 UTC) (permalink)
HaloOrbit interviews Halogen Leader
Thanks to Oliver "HO Legend" Stopienski, who pointed out an interview with Dispraiser, of the Halogen team, at his website, HaloOrbit. An interesting read, and an interesting choice of release times... (Louis Wu 01:10:22 UTC) (permalink)
News September 27 2006
Halo Wars Trailer in QT
There have been a number of requests for a QuickTime version of the Halo Wars trailer; I doubt there'll be one coming from Ensemble, so I whipped one up myself. It's not the full 720p version - but it's still bigger than the low-res 360p they've made available - it's 480p (852x480), and it weighs in at 24 mb. Grab a copy today if WMP9 sets your teeth on edge. (Louis Wu 22:00:37 UTC) (permalink)
H2Vista Screens
In all the rush to cover Halo Wars and the Wingnuts stuff, we totally forgot that Bungie was going to be talking about Halo 2 for Vista in Barcelona today; if you swing by the Xbox Press section, you can grab a 50 mb zipfile containing a fact sheet, some logos, and 12 hi-res BMP screenshots (thanks, Veegie). Pretty, pretty! Update: H2Vista.net is now hosting these files, if you want to view them without downloading the zip. (They're smaller, too, because they've been resaved as JPEGs.) Thanks, TheGhost. (Louis Wu 21:30:14 UTC) (permalink)
I'm pushing for Flaming Gerbils.
Dolbex, in true Dolbex fashion, has put his own spin on the X06 news; things that make him happy, things that make him worried. My favorite kind of Halo/Bungie fan is one that loves Halo (and/or Bungie) without being blind to potential problems; Dolbex shows he fits this nicely. Go read! (Louis Wu 21:11:56 UTC) (permalink)
Linkslinkslinks
Narcogen, at Rampancy.net, gathered up a bunch of links to stories about today's Halo news. You can also check out ICDedPpl's mention of this CNN Money article. I'm sure there'll be plenty more - but it's time to leave the keyboard for a bit... (Louis Wu 20:08:56 UTC) (permalink)
Wingnut and a Prayer
Xbox.com article on the Peter Jackson venture... still hard to tell what he's planning. (Louis Wu 19:44:55 UTC) (permalink)
More screens
More Halo Wars info here, at Xbox.com - keep searching! (Louis Wu 18:24:17 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Wars and Wingnut - Details
Wow. Tons more info on Halo Wars and the new Peter Jackson project is now available at Bungie.net - go read! (There was an amazing trailer shown at the end of the X06 press conference, of Halo Wars - this should almost certainly be available for download soon, from Halowars.com.) Update: It's up now - in three resolutions. GO DOWNLOAD! (Louis Wu 18:19:02 UTC) (permalink)
Peter Jackson and MS - teaming up for MORE Halo
I was wrong - there's MORE Halo news from Barcelona today, Halo Wars isn't the end. Peter Jackson and Microsoft are teaming up to create Wingnut Interactive (no real website yet) - a new studio that will create "a completely new and original chapter in the Halo universe", according to this 1Up story. No details yet... but stay tuned! (Louis Wu 17:36:49 UTC) (permalink)
Do we need to start HEO?
The really, really big news today from Microsoft is the announcement of 'Halo Wars', from Ensemble Studios (the guys behind Age of Empires, and other similar games) - a Halo Real-Time Strategy game! It hasn't been announced on the live feed yet - but Luke Smith has announced it on 1Up. Stay tuned for more details! (Louis Wu 17:12:24 UTC) (permalink)
X06 Starts NOW.
X06 coverage is going live very soon - the Xbox.com feed seems to be busted for most viewers, but keep trying. In the meantime, Luke Smith, from 1Up.com, is going to be liveblogging (thanks, Morangie), so if you can't SEE what's up, at least you can read about it. We're not positive what's coming from Bungie - but it's a good bet that it's big, and it's Halo-related. Update: Thanks to c0ld vengeance for the direct video feed links (Hi | Lo)! (Low feed might be only audio... beware) (Louis Wu 16:56:25 UTC) (permalink)
ZOMGWTFfloodtanaBBQ!!111!?
Sometimes, Stuntmutt is scary in his ability to mimic real people. Like in today's One One Se7en. I mean... this could have come right out of a forum thread! (Maybe it did...) (Louis Wu 16:30:31 UTC) (permalink)
Trevor Chesler's Mjolnir Armor
Trevor Chesler has embarked on the creation process for a suit of Mjolnir armor - he's shooting for a very high quality finished product. He's just starting out right now, but you can see his gameplan, and the first few photos, on this page. As we get more from him, we'll add them (and let you know). Check it out! (Louis Wu 13:25:35 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Case Mod
Wow - Wolverine Monkey dropped in with word of a really cool Halo case mod he noticed. (Here's hoping we don't kill their bandwidth...) The original can be found at Team Xtender. (Louis Wu 12:24:55 UTC) (permalink)
Brooklyn Tourney Oct 7
TNL Alex stopped by our forum to announce a tourney in Brooklyn coming up on October 7 - FFA and 2v2. Rules, prizes, and directions can all be found in his forum post. (Louis Wu 12:22:35 UTC) (permalink)
News September 26 2006
What Kind of Halo Player Are You?
Over at Bungie.net, KP has written up a great guide to Halo 2 players online (and a quiz, to help show you which type you're most like). What I want to know is... how did it know what kind of underoos I'm wearing? (Louis Wu 23:07:35 UTC) (permalink)
The Birth of a Tattoo
agdTinMan stopped by our forum with the story behind Don Wan's Spartan Tattoo (mentioned, and pictured, in last week's Bungie Weekly Update) - great read! (If you follow the Flickr link he provides, there are other photos in her stream that may or may not look familiar...) (Louis Wu 19:52:49 UTC) (permalink)
The Spartan Effect: Episode 2
The MPRRS went into something of a hibernation over the weekend... but a little kick-start this morning got reviewers reviewing again, and a movie stuck in the queue for 5 days was spit out this afternoon, with pretty high marks. It's 'The Spartan Effect: Episode 2', from Rookie Rabbit Productions, and it continues the story of a team of Spartans faced off against the Covenant in Containment. This episode is as funny as the first one, with very high production values. Looking forward to future episodes! But let's not get ahead of ourselves... grab a copy of Episode 2, in either WMP9 format (61.9 mb) or QuickTime format (53.4 mb), and get laughing! (Louis Wu 17:00:05 UTC) (permalink)
The Mythical 40-Hour Gamer
3Suns ran across an article at Wired about 'the Mythical 40-Hour Gamer', which points out one of the larger difficulties facing developers these days; with more and more older gamers out there, finding ways that make games playable and enjoyable for folks who fit their gaming in between 'real-life' activities while KEEPING it enjoyable for people who have much more time to devote to the activity is tricky. Halo is touted as a game that found the sweet spot - playable in short bursts, but engrossing for much longer periods. It certainly hit home here... go read. (Louis Wu 12:30:33 UTC) (permalink)
Blondi Rocks
Ace Heart noticed a writeup of a local Halo tourney in the Montgomery (AL) Advertiser - puts a smile on my face that a 10-year-old girl came in fourth in her semifinal round. (Louis Wu 12:20:19 UTC) (permalink)
News September 25 2006
Hanah Stuart, Exposed
Kotaku hunted down Hanah Stuart, violinist extraordinaire, who made waves a couple of weeks ago as part of a very cool high school Halo music exhibition. It's a monster interview; it kept coming back to discussion about the music, but it did quite a bit of moving around. Pretty funny stuff - and I'm already feeling sorry for Hanah, who is going to have a scary-sized following of mooning males after this... she's smart, talented, and funny. And hot. Thanks, Florian. (Louis Wu 21:12:43 UTC) (permalink)
When the cabin boy gets cabin fever...
KP's been looking for stuff to do - he updated two somewhat neglected sections of Bungie.net, the Gallery (with a cool ninja-kick screenshot) and the Voting Booth (where you can weigh in on the Bungie Podcast). I'm saddened by early returns in the poll... (Louis Wu 19:07:40 UTC) (permalink)
Helm's Deep.
Stuntmutt takes a novel look at the Ghosts of Onyx cover in today's One One Se7en. There's something for everyone! (Louis Wu 17:21:23 UTC) (permalink)
Schwagalicious.
j41m3z got a bunch of stuff signed at Thursday night's Hollywood Bowl VGL show - he scanned a bunch of it for the forum. Lucky! (Louis Wu 13:50:42 UTC) (permalink)
HBO Staff - we're here for you.
Jillybean took some time out from her busy videogame-playing schedule (mostly because she can't play the games she likes with the video card she has) to process some of the recent story-related content floating around out there (including a pretty intriguing observation from Wado just last night). Check out the Halo Story Page for all the goodies! (Louis Wu 13:03:54 UTC) (permalink)
Interview with a janitor
Major Silva, of UNSCDF, snagged me for a few questions recently. I hate pointing out interviews of myself - makes me look like I'm tooting my own horn. So don't read it! Yeah, that's the ticket! Don't follow the link, skip it. Don't go there. (Louis Wu 12:56:49 UTC) (permalink)
News September 24 2006
Ghosts of Onyx, the Audio CD
Tempus Fugit noticed an entry for an audio version of Ghosts of Onyx... real, or Amazon's mistake? (And if it's real, who's reading it?) Nice. (Louis Wu 21:34:34 UTC) (permalink)
More to see than can ever be seen.
Wonga. Someone synched the song 'Circle of Life', from the Lion King, to the video from the Halo 3 trailer. The amazing part... it works! Go watch at YouTube. Thanks, Retsof-Noraa, for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 21:33:04 UTC) (permalink)
WikiRiot 17
Sigafoos writes to let us know that WikiRiot 17 is now online. 44 minutes, 17.5 mb, covering wiki updates, Bungie's first official full-length podcast, and 'The Game', which you have to listen to to figure out. Go listen. (Louis Wu 18:46:31 UTC) (permalink)
Console Wars
BOLL found a series of vids called 'Console Wars' - they're remakes (hehe, sort of) of Star Wars films, with video game characters sort of grafted on. The Master Chief has a pretty big part. They're pretty funny. (Louis Wu 13:10:42 UTC) (permalink)
Dun Dun Dun Dun
Rockslider describes playing 'Shark' in Assault on the Control Room - sounds like a fun game variant! (Louis Wu 13:06:26 UTC) (permalink)
Braiinnnnnsss
Brannon Boren's blog entry about 'Creating A.I. for Halo' is now live; it's an interesting look at how backstory was developed to explain specific, visible parts of the early game. (This backstory was then used, and further developed, in books, leading to a pretty rich history.) (Louis Wu 13:05:16 UTC) (permalink)
Art Infusion
In the nick of time; one more huge batch of Miscellaneous Art has been added to the collection. There's stuff in here that had gotten lost in the depths of our queue for months; apologies to the artists involved! We should be ALMOST caught up (there are still a bunch of recent pics in the collection). Enjoy - I'm LOVING a ton of these! I'm seeing a couple of artists that should be added to the Gallery pages... (Louis Wu 02:45:36 UTC) (permalink)
News September 23 2006
MC, Sketched
Wow, cool. BOLL found a site called 'TheDailyDrawing.com' that has videos showing someone ('J.W.'?) drawing stuff - and today's artwork is the Master Chief. The video is 4:21 long, and was filmed at 2.5x speed, so this pic took about 11 minutes to complete. Pretty fun to watch! (If you're reading this news post at a later date, I'm not positive whether the movie will be available on the site; there are some movies listed, but almost no information at all, so it's not clear if ALL films are archived, or just some; the direct YouTube link is here, and will get you back to TheDailyDrawing in any case.) (Louis Wu 18:54:44 UTC) (permalink)
New Machinima on the way from Treeskunk
Break Point Halo has interviewed Dan Preuss, the co-creator of Treeskunk Productions (a machinima group that created Outpost: Coagulation' and 'Outpost: Backwash', among other projects. Nice to hear they're gearing up again! Thanks, haphazardly. (Louis Wu 18:45:00 UTC) (permalink)
Boren Dishes The Dirt
Over at Rampancy.net, Narcogen noticed a tasty tidbit in the weblog of Brannon Boren, who was once heavily involved in the maintenance of the Halo Bible - he's going to be discussing some of his professional experience - and he's starting, tomorrow, with 'Creating A.I. for Halo'. Sounds great! (Louis Wu 12:51:18 UTC) (permalink)
VGL Footage
j41m3z noticed that fan-filmed videos from the VGL Hollywood Bowl shows are showing up on YouTube... including one of the Halo 3 Premiere played there. Love the guitar licks! Update: just a quick note; Halo fans should be tickled by the fact that the Cortana part was being performed live at the show by Jen Taylor, those guitar licks were being played by Steve Vai, and the piano was being performed live by Marty O'Donnell. Now aren't you mad you didn't go? (Louis Wu 10:52:11 UTC) (permalink)
Another Halo Tat
_Wheels03 pointed out a tattoo he designed for his friend - pretty hardcore! (Louis Wu 10:49:20 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Logo Wallpaper
Bungie's released a new Wallpaper incorporating their brand-spankin'-new Halo 3 logo (okay, so it's not EXACTLY new, but the finalized version is) - it's available in four resolutions, so go and grab the one that fits your monitor best! KP broke the news first (surprise, surprise). (Louis Wu 10:17:34 UTC) (permalink)
A Cavalcade of Audio Fun
The Bungie Weekly Update has been posted - it's a doozy. A full-length podcast is available (50 mb, 55 minutes); amazing music and dialogue (well, the dialogue's cool, the music is... go listen). On top of that, there's a bizarre 'making the logo' bit (with lots and lots and lots of pictures), and something called the 'Halo Mobile Portal', which means lots of Halo content on your cell phone. (There are lots of pictures of this, too.) Don't look for this unless you have Verizon service - but Cingular, T-Mobile, and Sprint are coming soon. Finally, there's some great news about Halo 3 dev progress, and a nice leg (with a cool tattoo on it, for good measure). You can't go wrong! (All of it, except for the podcast, can also be found in our Weekly Update Archive.) (Louis Wu 00:51:38 UTC) (permalink)
News September 22 2006
Face Facts.
Occasionally, Stuntmutt writes a One One Se7en a few days before it goes live, and then finds that the ideal setup for his punchline is unwittingly posted by a fan; usually, when this happens, it's too late to rearrange strips to match. My apologies this time around; there was a 50-50 chance this strip would have gone live Monday morning, making Stuntmutt look brilliant and on-the-spot clever. It's my fault it's going up on Friday, making him look like it took 4 days to come up with a fair to middling gag. (Louis Wu 19:01:10 UTC) (permalink)
Press Release
Paul Maestri sends word that Halo Heads 10 is up. I think maybe he better not draw any more rodents... (Louis Wu 18:21:40 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fanfic
Eighteen new pieces added to the Fan Fiction section this morning - some doozies. Check 'em out! (Louis Wu 13:21:34 UTC) (permalink)
Free Xbox 360 repairs - a little late
Not strictly Halo-related - but it affects a lot of Halo fans, so it's going up. Dolbex posted a note on our forum, pointing back to his blog, which in turn points to an article at IGN; all of this is about a new policy whereby Microsoft will fix any broken Xbox 360 consoles purchased prior to January 1, 2006. (Actually, the IGN story is a bit ambiguous; at the top of the story, it states that this applies to all units PURCHASED by January 1 - at the bottom, it refers to its source, which claims that it's all boxes MANUFACTURED prior to January 1 - which would imply a later potential purchase date.) In any case, if you have a first-run Xbox 360, and it's been in for repairs or NEEDS to go in for repairs, Microsoft looks like they're doing the right thing. (If you already had it repaired, you can apply for a refund.) Thanks, Dolbex! (Louis Wu 12:57:46 UTC) (permalink)
Tsquared talks to Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile has an interview with Tsquared - he reminisces about the tourneys that got him going in the Halo Pro scene, he discusses the pro circuit, and he tells a fun story about a cop with a Halo-playing son. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 12:09:48 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Sucks.
Wow. Ferrago has a story about online gaming, and mostly, it's just a screed about how crappy Halo 2 multiplayer is, how many problems it has, and how silly Bungie is for not having figured out how to fix those problems yet. (They also blame some of the problems on the "lack of an established and mature fanbase". Face it - you guys suck.) Wow, I guess Bungie wishes it were more like Team Ninja - since they (according to Ferrago) got multiplayer right, with DOA4. I'm trying to figure out what might have happened to the author to generate so much hate... (Louis Wu 11:54:01 UTC) (permalink)
Flowing Alcohol and Face Stabbings
Over at Tied the Leader, there are a couple of new articles - there's a writeup of their Third Annual LAN Party (a shindig involving players from all over the US), and a 22 Questions interview with KP (who knew the guy was also Shishka?). Give 'em a read! Thanks, Dweezle. (Louis Wu 11:38:51 UTC) (permalink)
Crouching Diaper, Hidden Dingdong
Embarrassed that Stuntmutt guessed their Humpday Challenge strategy, the entire Bungie team (except for KP) hid this week when it came time to meet their opponents... so the Challenge never took place. However, KP gets paid by the word (I think he's up to three cheerios per at this point), so in order to earn breakfast, he wrote up a summary anyway. Of course, since there WAS no game, he had to be creative - so he summarized some in-house Halo 3 matches. You can learn more about the playing weaknesses of Bungie employees from this piece than you can about the current state of Halo 3 development, but it's a fun read nonetheless. (You may think all the smacktalk about Bentllama is a put-on... but lemme tell you, it ain't. He's really like that.) Special thanks to 3Suns for the awesome title for this newspost. (Louis Wu 02:41:54 UTC) (permalink)
News September 21 2006
The Spartan Effect: Episode 1 (Redux)
Rookie Rabbit Productions sent along 'The Spartan Effect: Episode 1' for review; they said they didn't need hosting, so we posted a note about this earlier today... but apparently, even just the HTML hits were killing them, so we pulled the post. I've gotten local versions posted, however, so I'm putting this back. It's the story of a rookie Spartan sent to the wrong base on Containment... gotta love the military. The MPRRS found it funny and well-filmed, so we're announcing it - you can grab it in WMP9 format (48 mb) or QuickTime format (49 mb) from us. Please hold off on following any links you find that point to their site - right now, they're dangerously low on bandwidth. Thanks! (Louis Wu 23:13:15 UTC) (permalink)
Return to Innocence
Landon 'LaP' Pratte submitted a somewhat different movie to the MPRRS - it's called 'Return to Innocence', and it's set to Enigma's eponymous song. He used Halo CE to create this film (and did all the acting/filming himself); many of the shots had to be created with camera scripts and AI enemy scripts. There are some interesting mods, and a nicely filmed story! You can grab this in WMP9 format (49.5 mb) or QuickTime format (55.8 mb). (Louis Wu 17:44:40 UTC) (permalink)
The Denial Twist
RipHamilton32 submitted 'The Denial Twist' to the MPRRS - guy tries for girl, blows it, but gets it right the second time. SERIOUS compression - this two and a half minute, full-size movie weighs in at a paltry 7 mb. Grab it in WMP9 format or QuickTime format. (Louis Wu 12:58:14 UTC) (permalink)
As if it were from an old dream...
Ace Heart dug up some pretty cool pictures of Fort Jesus, in Mombasa - they might remind you of something. (Louis Wu 12:55:04 UTC) (permalink)
News September 20 2006
Makin' Money at Fanfic
Not specifically Halo-related, but our Fan Fiction community is reasonably large, so... Looks like this weekend's Wall Street Journal had an article about the rise of fan fiction in popular media - and how Fanfic writers were even, in some cases, getting publishing deals. The article itself is only available to paying subscribers online - but you can listen to a short podcast on the subject from their podcast section. Exciting stuff! Thanks, Marty Duffy. (Louis Wu 22:45:44 UTC) (permalink)
Elegant.
_Wheels03 got his Xbox 360 set up with his (relatively) new Halo faceplate - looks spiffy! (Louis Wu 17:27:19 UTC) (permalink)
Turf Drifting
Halo Heads 9 was posted today - now THAT looks like a fun game! (Louis Wu 17:22:27 UTC) (permalink)
Kittymanjaro.
It's Wednesday, so Bungie will likely be playing a Halo Humpday Challenge against some unsuspecting group tonight. Stuntmutt offers some suggestions on how the selection process works in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 15:33:15 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Nostalgia Trailer
Justin Durban sent us word of a 'Nostalgia Trailer' edited by HolmesG. - which uses Justin's music as the soundtrack. It's a nice piece of work, and quite short - so we're hosting copies here (WMP9 | QuickTime) - 7 mb each. Give it a watching! (Louis Wu 15:14:44 UTC) (permalink)
Who's The Boss?
In his latest blog entry, Narcogen takes a look at 'boss battles', and tries to figure out if any of the existing characters from Halo 2 would make good candidates for a Halo 3 boss battle. Interesting - but maybe the vision is too narrow? (Louis Wu 13:51:44 UTC) (permalink)
Redefining the way we play games
Peter Moore talked to News.com about where Microsoft's console empire stands, and what's in store - Halo, as could probably be predicted, plays a pretty big role. Some of his answers may leave you scratching your head. (Louis Wu 12:39:19 UTC) (permalink)
XerxdeeJ Gains the Lead
Over at Bungie.net, the Community Spotlight has been turned on XerxdeeJ, of Tied the Leader. Don't mind the beads of sweat; that spot is HOT. If you're not a regular reader of TTL, read this to see what you're missing. If you ARE, read this to learn a bit more about TTL's head honcho. (And forgive KP for the rhotic invective of the first paragraph; he posted this yesterday, when sheep the world over were talking like pirates.) (Louis Wu 12:24:49 UTC) (permalink)
News September 19 2006
Arg.
Sigh... I thought I was going to get through today without having to mention that it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day. (Is there also an international Dress Like a Transvestite Day? How about a Snuffle Like an Aardvark Day?) Halo Heads 8 references the 'holiday' specifically, so... thanks, Paul Maestri. (Thanks a LOT.) (Louis Wu 17:56:12 UTC) (permalink)
Romeo, Where's the Art For?
Well, it's not EMPTY, but the Miscellaneous Art queue has just dropped in size by 30 images. Swing by to see a fun collection of sketches, renders, paintings, collages, and more. There's some awesome stuff in there this time! (I'm only 2 weeks behind! w00t!) (Louis Wu 17:15:55 UTC) (permalink)
Pie: Chapter 1
Mike Rouse, of Machine-Enema, submitted 'Pie, Chapter 1' to the MPRRS yesterday. It passed, handily; it's different from a lot of machinima out there. It has a powerful storyline, and a clever use of mods. The video has a distinctive (and intentional) look to it; it adds nicely to the atmosphere of the film. It's rather large - almost 11 minutes, weighing in at a bit over 120 mb in either WMP9 or QuickTime formats - but absolutely worth the download. Grab a copy. (Louis Wu 14:30:14 UTC) (permalink)
VGL Hollywood Bowl Details
The Video Games Live website has a new press release that contains a list of all the 'industry luminaries' that will be present at the VGL Hollywood Bowl show on Thursday night. If you were on the fence about going... check this out. (Louis Wu 14:18:41 UTC) (permalink)
Building something with an impact
Dean Takahashi spent some time with Hamilton Chu, who was the producer for both Halo and Halo 2, before leaving to help found a new studio called Giant Bite. (We mentioned them in March.) He talks about the future of the new studio, and a bit about what made Halo and Halo 2 special. Give it a read! (Louis Wu 14:10:06 UTC) (permalink)
Better than Sock Puppets
A couple of weeks ago, CVG interviewed Matt Hullum of Rooster Teeth about Red vs Blue - 3Suns just found it today. Go read! (Louis Wu 04:14:38 UTC) (permalink)
StickyDooms FTW
Jack Gamber stopped by to let us know that he'd interviewed Kevin Paul, Bungie's newest Content Munkie, over at Game-Spectrum.com. Learn a little more about the man who would as soon stab you in the face as tell you about Halo 3! (Louis Wu 01:05:47 UTC) (permalink)
Hard to Beat
MLGPro.com has a closeup on Karma, and his mastery of Warlock in a 1v1 situation. Fun read! Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 01:02:19 UTC) (permalink)
Christopher Walken Would Approve.
Over on Bungie.net, there's an interview with Tommy Tallarico, in preparation for Thursday night's Video Games Live concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Sounds like it's gonna rock! (Louis Wu 00:58:38 UTC) (permalink)
How NOT to write an article
Heh - Games.net has a 'Winners & Losers' column in which they praise (or take to task) gaming articles around the net; they hammer GameDaily for an article entitled 'Five Reasons Why Halo 3 Might Suck'. I gotta say - I'm behind 'em on this one. (Louis Wu 00:55:55 UTC) (permalink)
News September 18 2006
H3 Concept Art?
Paul Maestri writes to say Halo Heads 7 is now posted... for the second time in a day, I'm speechless. You decide. (Louis Wu 20:34:27 UTC) (permalink)
soundspoof - making fun of hate
Brad from soundspoof points out that his site (which collects conversations with XBL loudmouths, especially as they talk to recorded snippets of Dr. Phil and Mr. Rogers) now has 174 recordings - this one went up today. Go explore! (Louis Wu 19:01:19 UTC) (permalink)
Making it more funner
Words fail me. Slashdot points to an interview at Aeropause that... never mind, go read it. Words fail me. (Louis Wu 17:51:57 UTC) (permalink)
The Director's Cut?
Last week, Peter Jackson talked to Ain't it Cool News about the Halo movie. Today, Stuntmutt gives his unique spin to the conversation; go read One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 13:31:15 UTC) (permalink)
Messin' Around
Luke McKay posted another fun sketch to his RvB profile last week - I forgot to add it to his gallery here. Consider the oversight rectified. (Louis Wu 12:55:02 UTC) (permalink)
WikiRiot 16
Sigafoos points out that WikiRiot Episode 16 is now online. Sappy love poems, Master Chief vs Predator, and more. 26 minutes, under 11 mb. Go listen! (Louis Wu 12:49:10 UTC) (permalink)
Species Ep 1 - now in hi-res
Last week, we posted a note about Species, a series from the MjR37 Team - and we hosted a pair of versions of the first episode. Over the weekend, they released a hi-res version of this episode - so we're hosting that, too. It's not only re-rendered as 720x480 - they've also tweaked it for flow, humor, and improved action. If you didn't download it before, now's a great time. If you DID grab a copy last week, but wished you could see some of those explosions in higher resolution... here's your chance. WMP9 version is 109 mb, QuickTime version is 100 mb. Grab a copy, then swing by the MjR37 website and check out other episodes! (Louis Wu 12:06:10 UTC) (permalink)
News September 17 2006
Dispraiser discusses Halogen Cancellation
Over at GameSetWatch a few days ago, there was an interview with Dispraiser, the leader of the Halogen crew, discussing the shutdown of their project by Bungie and Microsoft. It's a pretty positive read, overall; they don't sound too bitter about the situation, and it's almost certain that SOMETHING will come out of the work they've done - just not something Halo-related. Keep your eyes open! (Louis Wu 15:14:56 UTC) (permalink)
Spartans in San Francisco
Saturday Night must be movie night. We've got one more for you... then it's off to bed. This Spartan Life whipped up a new Video Blog (Blog 6), showing off their trip to San Francisco this summer. Awesome cameo by Marty O'Donnell. (This went up yesterday, but I thought we were waiting for a WMP9 version before announcing it. Apparently not - so it's QuickTime only. 11.6 mb.) (Louis Wu 02:59:10 UTC) (permalink)
Hell Sounds
Incogneto45 submitted 'Hell Sounds' to the MPRRS - it's a clip from the Art Bell radio show 'Coast to Coast', filmed in Halo. A little odd, yeah... but nicely done! Available in WMP9 format (16.2 mb) or QuickTime format (15 mb). (Louis Wu 02:56:03 UTC) (permalink)
Lost: Halostyle Ep 8 - Stale Mate
Lost: Halostyle Episode 8, 'Stale Mate', passed the MPRRS today - they've kept the humor, increased the polish of the production, added some pretty neat effects. Great work - funny episode! Go watch. 43.9 mb in WMP9 format, 44.9 mb in QuickTime format. (Louis Wu 02:40:23 UTC) (permalink)
Private 724
Evan Ryan, of Krad Productions, sent us a link to a movie he'd made - It's called 'Private 724', and you can find it at FileFront. (There's a version at Machinima.com, as well - but it's just a draft render; the FileFront version is the final. If the Machinima page says "36 mb", it hasn't been swapped yet.) An uneasy truce explodes from a single misunderstanding... there is no dialogue in this video, but it doesn't suffer a bit from the absence. Powerful cinematography... give it a look! 43 mb, in WMP9 format. (Louis Wu 02:14:27 UTC) (permalink)
News September 16 2006
Bee-youtiful.
HawaiianPig took some pics of his new prototype Halo faceplate he won in our Faceplate contest - check 'em out! (Louis Wu 21:54:22 UTC) (permalink)
Marathon Logo in Qatar
Schedonnardus noticed a banner that shows up on the main page of the Texas A&M University Campus in Qatar which shows a building which shows a building that contains a design that looks a lot like the Marathon logo. (This really belongs on the Marathon's Story page... but Hamish isn't really updating that any more, so I'm posting this. It doesn't mean I'm gonna post the next 50, though.) (Louis Wu 21:44:17 UTC) (permalink)
H2Vista.net, and the Yoyorast Island Race Contest
TheGhost wrote to remind people about the Yoyorast Island Race Contest - we mentioned it a couple of weeks ago, but it's since moved to a more permanent home, at H2Vista.net. TheGhost would also like to encourage anyone who is interested in Halo 2 Vista modding or map making to sign up at the forums. (Louis Wu 21:32:32 UTC) (permalink)
VGL at the Hollywood Bowl
Video Games Live at the Hollywood Bowl is now less than a week away - and Tommy Tallarico has sent out a note to people on his mailing list with final info. It also includes an offer for 20% the bench seat price in a couple of sections - if you don't have tickets yet, check this out! (Louis Wu 14:10:44 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Overload
3Suns catalogued a BOATLOAD of new content over at MLGPro.com (they should hire that guy as a PR flak) - check out his forum post for details. (Louis Wu 14:07:12 UTC) (permalink)
Halo-Battle
CupiD-082 pointed out Halo-Battle, a Halo-themed MMO-RTS based on the online game Ogame. It's being developed by French fans, so the website is currently in French - but they're planning on making the final version bilingual. Check 'em out! (In light of the recent events surrounding Halogen, we should make clear that we're not publicizing this without the permission of the crew.) (Louis Wu 13:55:46 UTC) (permalink)
Interim Roundup
While you're in a Story state of mind, swing by the Halo Story Page - Jillybean has gathered together a few of the recent baubles sent in by fans and made a pretty story necklace. Put it on! (Louis Wu 13:24:47 UTC) (permalink)
H3DA looks at GoO
The Ephorate has written up an analysis of existing info on Ghosts of Onyx in their Halo 3 Data Archive. They use it to tie GoO into Halo 3 - it's a rather extensive read, so bring your coffee mug. Thanks, ivan. (Louis Wu 13:22:20 UTC) (permalink)
I wanna know what a Leftorium is.
The Bungie Weekly Update has been posted - there is a nice description of the current state of the AI for non-player characters helping you in your warthog, there are a bunch of questions from Bungie.net forumgoers (along with answers, of course)... and there's a depiction of what Frankie would look like if drawn by Mister Chief. All I can say is... that Mister Chief is one hell of an artist - I thought I was looking at a photo. As always, if you don't feel like reading it at Bungie.net, it's available in our Weekly Update Archive. (Louis Wu 01:40:26 UTC) (permalink)
News September 15 2006
KSP SRT Montage 4
KSP SRT submitted another montage to the MPRRS - though it was really heavily loaded with effects, they liked it. You can grab it in WMP9 format (48.5 mb) or QuickTime format (55.5 mb). In this case, the WMP9 version is better - sorry to the QT users! (Louis Wu 19:48:53 UTC) (permalink)
GetScrims
Victor De Leon sends word about GetScrims.com - a service to help halo players hook up with one another, before they get on Xbox Live. Take a look! (Louis Wu 17:33:56 UTC) (permalink)
Radio Activity.
Stuntmutt takes a look at the Bungie Community Team's biggest challenge in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 16:07:48 UTC) (permalink)
A digital pastime prodigy
The New York Post has an article about Lil Poison - and how he's making money tutoring adults to play Halo. Nice! Thanks, Jim Shorts. (Louis Wu 15:44:49 UTC) (permalink)
TTL + DMH = TDTMLH (or something)
XerxdeeJ pointed out that two of the larger Halo-based blogs, Tied the Leader and Dead Man's Hand, are merging - you'll find the newest Dead Man's Hand content over at the Tied the Leader site. (Including, this time around, a 22 Questions interview with a random Halo fansite admin.) (Louis Wu 15:35:44 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fanfic
Sixteen new stories in the Fan Fiction section today - go read! (Louis Wu 14:40:33 UTC) (permalink)
The World's Most Dangerous Gamers
A few days ago, vlad3163 put up a note on our forum that I forgot to mention; the October issue of Electronic Games Monthly contains a feature they call 'The World's Most Dangerous Gamers' - and 3 of the 5 collectible cards they have are Halo-related! Congrats to 'The Damsel' aka Amber Dalton aka Athena Twin PMS, 'The Power Duo' aka Dan and Tom Ryan aka OGREs 1 and 2, and 'The Kid' aka Vector de Leon III aka Lil Poison, for making this exclusive list! (And thanks to Athena Twin for reminding me I hadn't actually posted this.) Go grab a copy of the latest EGM to see these cards! (Louis Wu 13:58:13 UTC) (permalink)
Egg DB online at HIH
Over at High Impact Halo, Ducain posted a notice about a new Halo 2 Easter Egg Database; it's a work in progress, and right now contains (mixed in among the real easter eggs) a bunch of stuff that probably shouldn't be considered 'eggs', per se... but it's a fantastic start, and it'll be polished up as time goes on. For now, give it a look-see; check out some stuff you might have missed, and let THEM know about stuff THEY might have missed! (Louis Wu 13:53:46 UTC) (permalink)
The Depth of the Details
Jordan117 half-jokingly asked Bungie to acknowledge this... they might, or they might not, but it's a pretty interesting read, so I'm putting it here, because I think more people should see it. He's got some interesting theories about Earth-related backstory - stuff that hasn't actually been discussed, but which (if you check out his meticulously gathered evidence) shows up in a LOT of places, suggesting a lot of Bungie artists and modelers have been involved in fleshing this out. Go read 'em - then leave your own commentary. (I'd love to see some screenshots of Earth from Cairo Station, for comparison...) (Louis Wu 02:23:59 UTC) (permalink)
I hate it when they practice.
Bungie's version of the Halo Humpday Challenge is now up - and surprisingly, it matches that of the Video Game Refugees pretty closely. (I think I just saw Miss Piggy float past my window.) Good postmortem, overall - if the rest of the Bungie guys actually READ this, they might learn enough strategy to beat the next group of octogenarians they play... looks like hnc was first. (Louis Wu 02:09:02 UTC) (permalink)
News September 14 2006
Bungie vs VGR - Ouch.
Bungie extends its losing streak in the Halo Humpday Challenges to three - this week, it played the Video Gaming Refugees, another bunch of old guys. Once again, old and crafty proves better than young and fast. Or young and confused. Whatever. VGR swept, 3-0 (plus the warmup game). Nice writeup, overall, from Yaters. The Bungie-spun version will probably be up later today or tomorrow. (Louis Wu 15:38:51 UTC) (permalink)
Pop Goes The Sniper
Paul Maestri let us know that Halo Heads 6 has been posted... it looks at online modding. And I must say... that's a mod I'd actually LIKE to see! (Louis Wu 12:43:19 UTC) (permalink)
Jackson Talks Halo
Over at Ain't it Cool News, Quint has scored an interview with Peter Jackson - and today's installment focuses on Halo. Jackson is excited about Blomkamp, Jackson is excited about the script, Jackson is excited about the effects that are under construction. He's pretty garrulous about it all... it's a great read! Thanks to Mike Smith for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 12:14:14 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Portable is back
Mintz writes to point out that Halo: Portable is back on the update kick - new stuff includes imSuck's HMV Hell, the (late) fourth podcast, xbryboyremix's "Corrupt" vid, and Walshy's Montage. What are you waiting for? Go fill your iPod/PSP/whatever. (Louis Wu 12:05:41 UTC) (permalink)
Halo No-Shot
A long time ago, Mike Miller released a movie showing a shot-free clearing of the top of the gravity lift in Truth & Reconciliation, on Legendary. I was suitably impressed... but remember, it's just one room. Took him 4 minutes. Self Induced has now completed a no-shot run... on the entire level of Halo. No shots fired. On Legendary. The whole level. Insanity. (I don't know that I could do this, even if I had the SKILL for it - just watching him, I was twitching my trigger finger instinctively.) Ducain was impressed enough with this to provide a mirror, just in case. Go watch this... it's really cool. (75 or 100 mb, WMP9 format.) (Louis Wu 02:46:40 UTC) (permalink)
That's just the way it is.
Over at Bungie.net, there's a new article discussing breaking into the industry at large, and Bungie Studios in specific. ('Breaking in' as in 'getting a job', not as in 'stealing all their cool HD monitors'.) There was a lot of stuff about education and experience and such, but what I got out of this was that if you wear a dress, you're in like Flynn. Er, Frankie. There are some good specific "how I got my job" tips from Rob McLees, Joe Staten, and Frankie (though I'm not sure Frankie was telling the truth). The Halo content is really, really sparse... but hey, if you go to work for Bungie right now, the chances are REALLY good you'll be involved, in some way, with Halo. So... yeah. Go read. darthbob was the forumgoer who pointed it out. (Louis Wu 01:25:55 UTC) (permalink)
Ark 'N' Sore.
GAH! I HATE it when I forget to post the day's One One Se7en. No, it has nothing to do with wanting to bury these puns... really. No, really. (Louis Wu 00:58:44 UTC) (permalink)
News September 13 2006
Halo Writer at Austin Film Festival
Looks like Joe Staten will be participating as a panelist at the Austin Film Festival in mid-October - if you're in the area, and have a few hundred bucks ($200 for students, $400 for a regular conference badge, $600 for producers), sign up now! Thanks, Finn. (Louis Wu 23:06:54 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Unyielding
Laird, of Sponsors vs Freeloaders, has spent a significant amount of time recently putting together Halo Unyielding, Part 1 - it does what very little other Halo machinima has done to date; it focuses on a space battle. Using HaloCE, and some great external effects, this one is full of exploding ships and starfield-filled carnage. Very cool stuff! Swing by the Halo: Unyielding website to pick up a copy in WMP9 format (53.8 mb) or QuickTime format (48.3 mb). To make life a bit easier for them, we're mirroring both files (WMP9 | QT) - grab them from whereever's faster for you. Thanks to Yaksha for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 15:35:24 UTC) (permalink)
Terminal Announcements
Jordan117 discovered that the loudspeaker announcements on the multiplayer map Terminal range from the mundane, to the Easter-eggish. I think anyone who's played the map knows that there are a variety of announcements... but nobody (that I know of) has gone to the trouble of transcribing them before. He didn't have any way to record them - but he gave such specific instructions on how to hear the snippets well that it was trivial for me to go in and record a bunch. I only let the recording run for 15 minutes, and captured only 18 of the 25 listed - but it's a fine start, and I'm sure someone else can grab the last 7. Great stuff! Go hear the snippets in our Dialogue Databank. Update: Thanks muchly to Psychophan7, who submitted 6 of the remaining 7 clips. (They're mixed in with the original 18 at this point.) Marty also stopped by to tease everyone with a question... got any answers? (Louis Wu 15:17:02 UTC) (permalink)
Final Boss Does a Postmortem
Over at MLGPro.com, there's an interview with Final Boss. They took a solid look at their loss to Carbon at MLG Orlando - I found the tone of their analysis to be an interesting counterpoint to the attitude Carbon took when they looked at the situation. It's pretty clear why these guys have dominated so long - they take this stuff pretty seriously. While you're there, check out MLG's new site design! (Seems a lot of people are going the VBulletin route these days...) Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 15:16:27 UTC) (permalink)
HDR The Bungie Way
Eastbeast314 noticed that Dave Weller, a Game Developer Community Manager, was providing media from a whole lot of talks at last month's Gamefest 2006 - one of those talks was part of the Graphics Track, and was called 'HDR The Bungie Way'. It was given by Chris Tchou, who works for Bungie doing graphics for Halo 3 - he came to Bungie after working on a program for High Dynamic Range image editing. This talk is really technical - as in, most people will be lost really, really quickly. If you're interested in how games handle lighting, though, it's fascinating. The PowerPoint presentation is 40 mb, the audio for the talk is another 25 - but you have to download the entire 500 mb Graphics Track to get your hands on this. And all actual Halo 3 content shown during the talk has been pruned; what's left are the science slides. Do NOT grab this if you're looking for a sneak peek at Halo 3 - you'll be sorely disappointed. DO grab this if you're involved in game programming (or want to be), and you're wondering why Bungie is making some of the lighting choices it's making for Halo 3. (Louis Wu 13:30:23 UTC) (permalink)
News September 12 2006
Bananas... and screaming.
Over on Bungie.net, there's a new Community Spotlight - KP sat down with Recon #54, known to most Bungie.net forumgoers (because he's a moderator there) and to some HBO forumgoers (because he delurks here sometimes). Go read the story of someone who's been part of the Bungie community since there's BEEN a Bungie community (and no, that doesn't mean 6 months before the release of Halo) - and you'll come to understand WHY he's stayed. (Louis Wu 21:19:38 UTC) (permalink)
Colors
Crossfade, from QsKGlobal.Com, put together 'Colors', a vid that tells the story of a lone soldier who must leave his family and friends to go to war. The MPRRS liked the cinematic effects, and the editing in general. Check it out! 32 mb for the WMP9 version, 31.3 mb for the QuickTime version. (Louis Wu 19:29:11 UTC) (permalink)
Showdown
xbryboyremix submitted 'Showdown' to the MPRRS - it's a samurai movie. A lone samurai that confronts the enemy in a showdown for honor. Nice atmosphere, great camera angles, short, stays on point. Fun film! Grab it in WMP9 format (15.2 mb) or QuickTime format (15.4 mb). (Louis Wu 15:53:14 UTC) (permalink)
Podtacular Ep 80
Foo Mo Jive points out that Podtacular Episode 80 is out (yeah, we were late on 79, but hey, it's nice to catch up) - it's a tip show, focusing on Lockout, and there's an interview with the creators of the Codex machinima series. A bit over an hour, 57 mb. Get to downloading! (Louis Wu 13:59:32 UTC) (permalink)
A Discussion of Halo
A fan calling himself Gravemind has written a massive (45,000 words) look at Halo and Halo 2, with an eye towards making Halo 3 a better game. Anyone interested in looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the first two Halo games, and how they might be optimized going into the third, could probably find SOMETHING they could learn from in this epic. Give it a read. (Narcogen has said he's hoping to mirror it on Rampancy.net, and we'd be happy to, as well, so if this page goes down - it's a GeoCities site, after all - there'll be other options soon.) Comments can go in his forum thread. Update: Heh - went down faster than I thought it would. I've put up a mirror here (it's 40% smaller, though it looks the same - I pulled out some extraneous html code). (Louis Wu 12:26:03 UTC) (permalink)
Libertyville High Halo - Bigger, Badder, Uncompressed
A couple of days ago, we mentioned a performance piece that had been YouTubed - a bunch of folks in high school, playing self-arranged Halo music to their peers. It was a pretty impressive piece; even Marty O'Donnell weighed in with praise. Well, over the next day or so, a bunch of the people involved stopped by the thread (Corey Richardson, on quads, Dave Verlee, on guitar (and the one behind the transcription and arrangement), Hanah Stuart, on violin) - and we have more content for you. Dave pointed out another YouTubed film of the performance - different lighting, different angle, more closeups - and then Corey provided us with a much higher-res version for download. It's 768x576 pixels, and available in either WMP9 format (109 mb) or QuickTime format (107 mb). If you haven't seen it, grab a copy now. If you have - this version's way better. (Louis Wu 09:58:53 UTC) (permalink)
Monsters
imSuck submitted another vid to the MPRRS - this one is set to Matchbook Romance's 'Monsters'. It does a pretty good job at getting into the idea of subjective evil - good and bad being more an issue of the side you're on than absolute positions - and it has some great battle scenes. As should be expected at this point from imSuck, it's a really well-crafted piece of work... and you can grab copies, in WMP9 and QuickTime formats, from HaloGrid's download page. And remember - we are the monsters underneath your bed. (Louis Wu 02:12:50 UTC) (permalink)
News September 11 2006
Podtacular Ep 79
Podtacular Episode 79 was released a week ago - we apologize for the delay in reporting this. Thanks to Laird for letting us know (and we're sure it's not JUST because he was the guest-host!). Go listen. (Louis Wu 22:03:33 UTC) (permalink)
Species Episode 1 - Finally
Several months ago, a movie was submitted to the MPRRS - but the submitters stated in the description of their movie that they had a higher-resolution version they wanted to use if the movie passed. It DID pass, and we sent them a note, asking for that higher-res version. After a few days went by, we tried again. No response, either time. After the second attempt, things got busy - and the movie totally slipped off the radar. Until last week. The submitters - the MjR37 Team - sent along an email, explaining that a drive crash killed all their existing high-res work, which is why we never heard from them. They're working on HD versions of FUTURE episodes of this series, however, and asked us if we'd be willing to point out the website to the Halo community at large. Of course we would - this is a vid that passed the MPRRS, after all! The series is known as 'Species', and all episodes to date can be found on this page. You should start with Episode One, though - that's what was submitted to the MPRRS, and it's what we're hosting. (Save their bandwidth - use ours; we've got both QuickTime format - 44.4 mb - and WMP9 format - 41.2 mb.) It's called 'Where the End Begins', and it looks at a team of soldiers who are suddenly faced with an alien invasion. Great use of mods. If you like the series, they've got Episode Two, as well as a trailer for Episode Three, up for download. Fun stuff, all around! (Louis Wu 20:02:34 UTC) (permalink)
Kashmir Review - and why it matters to you
If you swing over by LatinoReview.com, you'll find a review of a spec script for a project called 'Kashmir'. You might wonder why this is showing up on a Halo website - Kashmir is a drama about some soldiers who go hunting a terrorist. Well... the answer is pretty simple; Kashmir is a project written by DB Weiss, in order to show his ability for scriptwriting... so that he could get the job of rewriting the Halo script. And apparently, it's quite good. Check out the review, along with some information about how the whole system works, over at LR.com. Thanks, El Mayimbe. (Louis Wu 19:05:34 UTC) (permalink)
DropShock Ep 23
DropShock Episode 23 has been posted - 75 minutes, 35 mb. Discussion of the book cover, and the new armor, discussion of future Bungie stuff, and plenty of the standard features. Check it out. (Louis Wu 19:04:36 UTC) (permalink)
The New Guy
Paul Maestri writes to point out Halo Heads 5 - he looks at the new character on the Ghosts of Onyx cover. We still don't know who that guy is... but Paul takes a shot at it. (Louis Wu 18:58:41 UTC) (permalink)
She Speaks For Many...
Today's One One Se7en looks at the Halogen situation. It's good to laugh. Next time we'll use someone other than Stuntmutt. (Louis Wu 16:52:03 UTC) (permalink)
Air's too thin to hold the scent.
Captain Spark turned in another 26 dialogue snippets for your perusal - you can grab them at his (newly-overhauled) website, or browse them individually in our Dialogue Databank. (Louis Wu 15:17:41 UTC) (permalink)
More Jackal Audio
It's been known for a while that Jackal snippets are created from reversed audio (as Halo 1 Elite snippets were) - but decoding them has been a bit more difficult than the Elites were, because they're more tweaked. RVideo took a shot at 6 of them - did a great job, too. (His post contains a link to Halo2Forum.com - or you can check out local versions in this post.) These will eventually find their way into the Dialogue Databank. (Louis Wu 12:35:18 UTC) (permalink)
Why do Helljumpers fall from above?
Luke McKay whipped up a new piece of art this morning - someone should set this to music. He posted it to his RvB image collection - we've added it to his gallery here. (Louis Wu 12:14:19 UTC) (permalink)
DeviantDustbunny
Dustbunny27 stopped by to point out that there's a bunch of Halo-related stuff over in his DeviantART gallery - a cel shaded look with MS Paint, and lots of pixel art. Check it out! (Louis Wu 12:00:41 UTC) (permalink)
News September 10 2006
Halo Theme Song School Talent Show
A bunch of friends put together a pretty cool entry for their high school talent show... great video game music (primarily from Halo). Even Marty liked it! Go watch. Thanks, Eastbeast314. (Louis Wu 21:09:04 UTC) (permalink)
WikiRiot Ep 15
Sigafoos points out WikiRiot Episode 15 - Gestor, Barbie, and matchmaking - what more could you want? 40 minutes, 16 mb. (Louis Wu 21:08:44 UTC) (permalink)
eBayed Action Figures, Again
Havoc737903 wrote to say he has another batch of Halo action figures for sale on eBay. Six figures, current bid is $5, auction ends in 6 and a half days. Check it out. (Louis Wu 21:07:18 UTC) (permalink)
Watch a bunch of guys playing a game - on TV!
The introduction of fantabulous Halo tourneys continues to creep into our living room (I know, slightly redundant!). If you have DirecTV, you can catch a free preview on channel 101 this weekend. Halo 2 is one of 5 different tourney's being showcased. I wonder if they can pull it off? Color me interested! Noticed at Slashdot. (Ding 17:09:30 UTC) (permalink)
Soul Survivor
MaritalBlaze54 continues his series of music videos - this time out it's Soul Survivor, by Akon and Young Jeezy, and it tells the story of a pair of drug dealers jumped by an enemy gang. The MPRRS liked it, so we're hosting it. WMP9 format is 56.4 mb, QuickTime format is 55.6 mb. (Louis Wu 14:42:02 UTC) (permalink)
A Clay Sculpture You Must See
A couple of days ago, a Halo fan from China posted a bunch of pictures over at High Impact Halo. They don't normally post news about fan creations - so Amaroq shot us a heads-up, and I contacted the artist. He gave me permission to put these pics up here, in a format that might be more friendly to the bandwidth-challenged. Check this clay sculpture out (he's included everything from sketch to final product) - it's jaw-dropping. Update: The artist was kind enough to send a whole series of images, more closeups, and other angles; if you looked before this update was posted, the original 9 shots have been expanded to 34. Check out his work! (Louis Wu 01:23:37 UTC) (permalink)
News September 9 2006
Dual Tage Pooh and KSP
KSP SRT and |X|POOHBEAR|X| put together a dual montage - the MPRRS liked it a lot, and with good reason; solid gameplay and nice timing. Lots of BR action, lots of great grenade placement, plenty of multisnipes. 7 and a half minutes long, just over 100 mb in either WMP9 or QuickTime format - go watch it! (Louis Wu 19:41:26 UTC) (permalink)
Putting on Skis for that Slippery Slope
It's not particularly Halo-related - but we mentioned the workshop a couple of weeks ago, so a followup seems in order. Gamasutra has a writeup of the Comedy in Games panel at the Game Writers Conference held recently. Matt Soell had quite a lot to say in it. Go read! Thanks to Narcogen, over at Rampancy.net, for picking this up. (Louis Wu 14:12:58 UTC) (permalink)
Rtas 'Vadumee, Realized
Mister Froggy decided not to wait for Joyride to release a Half-Jaw action figure... he made one himself. Check out the details in this forum post. (Louis Wu 14:05:48 UTC) (permalink)
Ouch.
BJB found a Sunday at Ten episode that gives Rules of Etiquette for Halo 2 LANs. Good stuff. (Louis Wu 13:59:28 UTC) (permalink)
So Hawaii's first?
It's been a busy few days; there've been some recent forum tidbits that got glossed over, but are worth a look. First up: Pixellated stumbled across a site devoted to lenticular clouds that contained an image that was really familiar! (Unfortunately, the larger version on the original site is no longer there.) (Louis Wu 13:54:35 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie Gets Interviewed
Over at IGN, there are a pair of new interviews - Frankie and SketchFactor in one, Lorraine and Robert McLees in the other. I haven't had time to watch these yet (and won't before this afternoon), but there's almost certainly tasty information available for fans here. These are downloadable for IGN Insiders, streamable for everyone else. Thanks to Cocopjojo for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 13:43:47 UTC) (permalink)
Halogen Closes its Doors
We've been reporting on Halogen, the Halo total conversion for C&C Generals, since we first got word of it in August, 2003. Today, however, the news isn't so good - they've received a Cease and Desist order from Microsoft; the mod is being shut down. (Bungie's been making noise about stuff like this for a couple of years now; Halogen's not the first mod to be asked to close down, but it's still a hard blow when a project has been evolving for more than three years, to be told you can no longer work on it.) Our sympathies go out to the Halogen crew! (Louis Wu 13:14:40 UTC) (permalink)
Secret Ninja Stuff, and More
The Bungie Weekly Update is out - and it's pretty darned meaty this time around. There's a great interview with Eric Nylund, mostly about what got him into this whole Halo novel-writing gig in the first place... and there's spectacular Lorraine McLees cover art from the upcoming Ghosts of Onyx novel (including some armor that has more than likely ALREADY gotten our forum in a tizzy - though I don't have time to check right now). What are you reading this for? Go read the update! (You can, as usual, read it in our Weekly Update Archive if that's more convenient.) (Louis Wu 00:56:59 UTC) (permalink)
News September 8 2006
Clarification on the FIFTH Halo novel
Okay, okay, before folks get TOO wound up, I need to clarify something. This morning, I mentioned a tidbit from Dean Takahashi; it looked like there was another Halo novel scheduled for Spring 2007, also written by Eric Nylund. There's a record for it on Amazon, and a record at ISBNdb.com. Official word from Bungie is now in, though - and while nobody's ruling out future novels (in fact, Frankie CONFIRMED them last week), nobody's decided who's writing the next one (after GoO), or when it will be released. Dates you see at Amazon and ISBNdb.com are incorrect, at this point. (Louis Wu 20:33:13 UTC) (permalink)
Repent!
Paul Maestri writes to let us know that Halo Heads 4 is now up - Cliffy Bear? Goodness. (Louis Wu 18:32:29 UTC) (permalink)
Host With The Most.
Sometimes, you can look at the most recent One One Se7en and know exactly what Stuntmutt was doing when he came up with the concept. Today is one of those times. (Louis Wu 16:35:54 UTC) (permalink)
Oh, bloody brilliant, mate.
Hellhawk reminded me that there are still hundreds of dialogue snippets in the queue (I'd completely forgotten about them) - I've posted nearly 100 marine clips today, and will do my best to get through most of the rest soon. Some of these are fantastic - go browsing! Update: Hellhawk just sent in an extra snippet which just needed to be released... sort of not safe for work. (Louis Wu 14:29:51 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fanfic
Only 10 new pieces in the Fan Fiction section today - probably because of the Fanfic contest going on at UNSCDF. Enjoy these! (Louis Wu 13:03:15 UTC) (permalink)
Where do I apply for the 'Contract Jerk' position?
This week's Halo Humpday Challenge was against NeoGAF (as far as I can tell, GAF = "Gaming Age Forums") - GhaleonEB mentioned it (and the Bungie loss) yesterday afternoon, but the Bungie writeup wasn't posted until evening. Bungie brought in a ringer (I'm pretty sure there's no 'Hawt Chik' position on Microsoft's payroll), but even with the help, they were pasted. They lost the warmup, they lost the three games of the actual challenge, they lost the 4th extra game. To be fair, the first and last games were 6-on-5... but all three 'official' matches had even teams - at least number-wise. Sounds like it was a fun series, nonetheless! (Louis Wu 11:33:14 UTC) (permalink)
Dead Man's Hand - The Weekly Goodness
Dead Man's Hand remains a hotbed of Halo discussion and speculation; new articles this week include a writeup of Dead Man's Potluck (a night of gaming I'm really sorry I missed), a discussion on when playing Halo on XBL stops being fun and starts to be stressful, 22 Questions with Wheezin Geezers' Overlord Sunburned Goose and artist extraordinaire Pinkuh, an ode to the beauty that is Halo, and a short look at what can happen when you run out of equipment. All in all, a collection of articles that should keep you entertained for longer than it took me to write this! Dweezle stopped by our forum to point this stuff out, but thanks also to Pinkuh. (Louis Wu 11:19:43 UTC) (permalink)
What's Next for Bungie?
What the heck? Dean Takahashi, who writes books about gaming as well as a column for the Mercury News, has put up a blog entry that discusses what might, or might not, be going on inside Bungie Studios. (He suggests that on top of Halo 3, there's a team working on another game, PLUS a smaller project involving a crew of top talent.) Okay, that stuff's interesting, and may or may not prove to be true over time. Give it a read. What generated my 'what the heck?' response, though, was in the last paragraph:
Amazon.com lists two new novels coming by Eric Nylund. One is Halo: the Ghosts of Onyx, slated for release on Oct. 31. Another is Halo: The Ghosts of Coral, slated for release on April 3, 2007.
He's right - Ghosts of Coral is listed at Amazon, with a release date of April 3, 2007. However, a search of the listed ISBN number comes up blank. Is Amazon off its rocker? Or has Tor simply not filed the proper paperwork for the next book yet? (We know there are at least two more slated after Ghosts of Onyx - and if Amazon knew nothing except a possible release date, I suppose it makes sense that they'd use the placeholder title they had for the LAST one... but there are two pieces of info in this listing which are interesting: that date, and the fact that Nylund's writing it. Is Amazon right?) Update: Looks like someone was busy this morning - that ISBNdb link now works! Thanks to UrsusArctos for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 09:50:54 UTC) (permalink)
News September 7 2006
Halo Heads 3 - Wishlist
Paul Maestri points out that Halo Heads Episode 3 (his webcomic) is now online. Heh - I've felt the same way as his protagonist... (Louis Wu 22:15:05 UTC) (permalink)
Mute Radio Episode 3
Mute Radio (nee MLG PwnCast) has launched a totally new site design, and have released Episode 3, covering the new site, MLG Orlando, and more. Go grab a copy! (Louis Wu 13:38:51 UTC) (permalink)
What Bungie Artists do outside of Bungie
Vironex was doing some poking around at Bungie.net, and found a link to the personal website of Tom Doyle, a Bungie 3D artist. Most of what's visible there is work he did for other games he worked on before Bungie hired him... but a few images look Halo-ish. The floor symbols and door shapes in his Hallway Environment are clearly Halo-related... and his Control Room Environment is pretty slick, as well. Ft. Hannaford Base could be from a number of futuristic FPSs - but the name matches nicely with another Halo artist. Look around the 'Meet the Team' pages... you might find OTHER interesting stuff! (Louis Wu 12:29:17 UTC) (permalink)
Tools and Icons
KP sat down with two new Bungie hires - Josh Rogers, who's been a contractor (which means part-time worker; no more than 9 months/year) for several years, and Stosh - who's been a moderator at Bungie.net, but not paid until recently - about their current jobs, and how they got there. One almost gets the feeling that working at Bungie might be fun! This was apparently posted yesterday afternoon, but nobody noticed until Stuntmutt pointed it out on our forum a few hours ago. (Louis Wu 12:20:42 UTC) (permalink)
HPC4L
BeNjA created a HaloPC tribute video, 'Halo PC 4 Life', or 'HPC4L' for short; it's a twelve and a half minute long montage that includes gameplay from nearly 50 different players. It's a labor of love from someone who finds Halo PC to be one of the best games out there. It's also massive - 218 mb (WMP9 format). You can find a collection of download links on this page at own-age.com. Thanks to both Michael Liu and BeNjA for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 12:06:55 UTC) (permalink)
News September 6 2006
xXx is their water bottle.
Great interview with Carbon, discussing their win over Final Boss in Orlando, up over at MLGPro.com. They're a little cocky... but hey, they just came off a tremendous win, they can be forgiven. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 21:21:02 UTC) (permalink)
Enough for a very large house.
Holy Art Overload, Batman! The Wallpaper section has been updated with 49 new entries (and, if you count variants, over 60 new images) - some have been posted on our forum, but others are brand-spankin-new, and many are GORGEOUS. Go look 'em over - you've got your choice of image sizes ranging from 800x600 up to 1920x1200! I just love some of these. (And I love love LOVE that the queue is empty!) (Louis Wu 20:40:53 UTC) (permalink)
Taken For Granite.
As you can probably guess from the title, Stuntmutt has taken a long, hard look (you might even call it stone-cold) at the title of the newest Halo novel. See what he came up with in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 16:04:21 UTC) (permalink)
MSU Famous Maroon Band plays Halo
The Famous Maroon Band of Mississippi State University played a bunch of video game music for the MSU/SC halftime show on August 31 - and somebody YouTubed it. The whole clip is 7 minutes long, but the Halo bit is over in the first minute. (Nice formation, as well!) Thanks to Alt, in irc.bungie.org's #hbo, for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 15:57:44 UTC) (permalink)
Snow ((Halo))
Spider-Man originally submitted this song to Podtacular, but as far as I can tell, they never released it. It's a song called 'Snow ((Halo))' - a parody to the tune of Snow ((Hey Oh)) by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Quality isn't great - but it's pretty funny! 3.8 mb, mp3 format. (Louis Wu 15:50:24 UTC) (permalink)
On the Seventh Day, Bungie Created...
Heh - fun. Brannon Boren, who, as a consultant with Microsoft, helped oversee the integration of the Halo story into various products, noticed that the Wikipedia entry for Bungie Studios suggests that the Halo Bible is not a real item, but rather a metaphor for the large collection of info about the Haloverse. Due to recent vandalism, he can't even correct the entry. It's real, folks. Thanks to Narcogen, who noticed this on Rampancy.net. (Louis Wu 15:09:17 UTC) (permalink)
Leave the helmet on.
Heh - GFC Danny was reading Nintendo Power magazine, and in the email section, someone had asked the mag staff what Master Chief would look like with his helmet off. Their answer was funny. (Louis Wu 14:37:40 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie Store Inventory Grows
The Series 8 Halo action figures have been available from various retail outlets for a couple of months now, but if you want to support Bungie's plans of world domination, you can buy two of them (a Spartan with a popcorn Flood and a minor Jackal) at the Bungie Store, as of yesterday. Thanks to darthbob for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 13:57:07 UTC) (permalink)
The bottom of the SECOND Halo map.
Before you leave High Impact Halo, swing by this news post - it describes a trick that's been waiting to be completed for years... that the HIH community finally pinned down. Uzny was the guy who finally made it happen - but it was a community effort, through and through. The video's pretty fun - doesn't show the 'getting the banshee to the second map' step, but the writeups contain links. I was suprised by how small the bottom actually is! Check it out. (Louis Wu 13:43:06 UTC) (permalink)
HSH Tribute
Over at High Impact Halo, Ducain pointed out a new tribute vid created to pay homage to the Halo Speedrunners, that group of fans that does their best to make it from the start to the end of a level in as little time as possible. It's long (17 minutes) - but a pretty impressive piece of work! It's available in a lot of sizes - go grab one! (Louis Wu 13:31:01 UTC) (permalink)
News September 5 2006
HaloPC in top 20 PC Games (unit sales)
A month ago, Next Generation ranked the top 100 Games of the 21st century, based on sales volume - and the Halo franchise came in second. last week, they did the same for PC Games - and Halo PC came in 20th. Not too shabby! Thanks, Phan7om. (Louis Wu 22:06:36 UTC) (permalink)
MC Wall Painting
Helveck painted a great Master Chief bust on his garage wall... what a wonderful way to spice up your garage! (Louis Wu 22:02:35 UTC) (permalink)
Audacity Tutorial
QuickTactical has whipped up a basic guide to using Audacity, a cross-platform audio program that lets users record their voice - useful for machinima makers who don't want to record dialogue over XBL. He posted it on Halogrid.com - and we've put up a local mirror for posterity. Give it a read! (Louis Wu 10:41:40 UTC) (permalink)
More Piano Fun
TheGarbageMan has released another bunch of piano variations - some really nice work! Grab the downloads from his forum post, in either .wma or .mp3 format. (Louis Wu 10:37:36 UTC) (permalink)
DropShock Ep 22
DropShock Episode 22 has been posted - bit over an hour. There's Halo content, this time out. (As always, this one is not even remotely G-rated.) (Louis Wu 10:24:36 UTC) (permalink)
News September 4 2006
Frankie am cry.
Sep7imus noticed that there's a bunch of Halo stuff with clearance prices over at Hot Topic - including the Mister Chief t-shirt, which went on sale for the very first time less than 4 months ago. That's like straight-to-video DVDs... poor Frankie. (Louis Wu 12:55:06 UTC) (permalink)
Not The Face, KP!
Stuntmutt uses up all his accumulated goodwill at Bungie with a single One One Se7en. Way to go! (Louis Wu 12:21:57 UTC) (permalink)
808 Guilty Spark
Chris Simpkins sent us a link to a Halo-inspired trance song he'd created called
'808 Guilty Spark'. 8.2 mb in MP3 format... starts slow, speeds up! (Louis Wu 10:52:57 UTC) (permalink)
New Joyride Stuff
Masta Chef noticed a couple of new Halo action figures available for preorder at DieCastExpress.com - a Blue Spartan with a flag (and a large stationary gun), and the Halo 2 Weapons Battle Pack - lots of extras for your existing figures. (You can also grab the Red Spartan with white striping and a Covenant stationary gun, or the Red Spartan with yellow striping.) Lots of goodies! (Louis Wu 10:50:08 UTC) (permalink)
News September 3 2006
WikiRiot Ep 14
Sigafoos let us know that WikiRiot 14 (34 mins, 13.7 mb) is now available. Master Chief fights... Batman? (Louis Wu 17:02:13 UTC) (permalink)
Getting from A to B
Last summer, Bungie's Damián Isla gave a talk at the Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Entertainment Conference entitled "Dude, where's my Warthog? - From Pathfinding to General Spatial Competence'. We don't have audio of the talk - but the slides were pretty fascinating in their own right. If you're interested in the techniques Bungie uses to make your enemies seem smarter, and more aware of their surroundings... give this a read! Some of the multistep slides are presented here as animated gifs; they're labeled as such. If you see such a label, you should be patient an allow the image to fully load; they range in size from a couple of hundred K to about a megabyte, and you'll miss some fun stuff if you page past them too quickly. If you find the in-page slide too hard to read, there's a link to a larger version at the bottom of each page. Thanks to Damián for allowing us to host this - and to Veegie and Zechs GX for pointing it out in the first place! (Louis Wu 11:13:48 UTC) (permalink)
Frontline
Matt6908 sent us a music video for Pillar's 'Frontline' - the MPRRS liked it, for the most part. Some fantastic action shots, and cinematic eye candy. Check it out! Available in both WMP9 format (37.1 mb) and QuickTime format (41.9 mb). (Louis Wu 11:02:39 UTC) (permalink)
Phys Ed - yeah, right
A couple of weeks ago, we mentioned a Halo sighting in the current issue of Wired Magazine - for those who don't actually READ Wired (you should, it's chock-full of good stuff every month), you can see this online at Wired's site. Thanks to ChrisVioxxx for reminding me of this (which made me go check for the online version). Update: KP pointed out that the same issue contains a story about Lil Poison, the world's youngest pro Halo player. Well-known around here - but nice to see the wider coverage in mags like Wired! (Louis Wu 10:58:47 UTC) (permalink)
Should have seen that coming
PlasmaFire pointed out an episode of the webcomic 'This Side Up' that takes a subtle (okay, not so subtle) jab at Halo 2 recently. Give it a read! (Louis Wu 10:41:21 UTC) (permalink)
Tapping the Vein
Over the past month or so, a whole bunch of people known mostly for their presence in the Halo fan community have gotten jobs at Bungie Studios. For a lot of people, going to work for Bungie is a down-the-road goal, but the number of people hired from the fanbase has been meager for a while. Not any more. In rapid succession, Stosh (known mostly on the B.net forums), Cunbelin (an old-school fan for sure), Mrs Doublefire, and NiTrOuSoXiDe (the last two prominent members of the HaloCE community) have all started work with Bungie paychecks - I'm sure there are more I don't know about, as well. Congrats to all these guys, congrats to Bungie for taking advantage of some of the fantastic talent available in the fan community - and to everyone who strives to get a position with Bungie... know that it's possible! Update: Oops, I forgot - Pynion, an artists who posts semi-regularly on our forum, starts in less than two weeks, as well! (Louis Wu 10:26:42 UTC) (permalink)
News September 2 2006
Controllers for GIs
Over at Halo3Forum.com, there's a thread started by someone working at a military base in Kuwait - he's looking for donations of used controllers and copies of Halo 2 (the conditions there are such that controllers don't last long). Swing by and read the details - and help out if you can! Thanks, QuickTactical. (Louis Wu 20:28:39 UTC) (permalink)
I certainly wouldn't tip him...
For those of you who like tribbles, we've put a higher-res version of Pinkuh's Mister Chief pizzaboy in her gallery here. If your brain was warped by the medium-sized version you saw last night... don't look at this. (Louis Wu 19:17:18 UTC) (permalink)
FanFic contest at UNSCDF
LoneRanger 2.5 stopped by to announce a new contest over at UNSCDF - it's a fan fiction contest, and the top few winners will win autographed copies of Eric Nylund's Ghosts of Onyx (and Eric has also agreed to help judge the contest). Full details can be found in the forum thread, and at the UNSCDF website. (Louis Wu 19:02:39 UTC) (permalink)
Virus Of Life 2 trailer
SpartanHunter69 submitted a trailer for his upcoming Virus of Live 2 vid - the MPRRS said 'yea', so here you go. It's quite small - a minute and a half, under 7 mb in either WMP9 or QuickTime formats - watch it and gear up for the actual story! (Louis Wu 18:58:31 UTC) (permalink)
Sipping Brandy in Funny Costumes
Narcogen has grabbed hold of the Joe Staten interview published yesterday, wrapped it around some strawberries, sprinkled it with powdered sugar, and taken a few huge bites. Check out his analysis of the context behind the content over at Rampancy.net. (Louis Wu 14:43:21 UTC) (permalink)
Maestro Cyborg
Nafru submitted the second episode of Maestro Cyborg to the MPRRS for review - it passed. Maestro Cyborg is a live-action series, in which a government experimental prototype (in Nightmare Armor) is tasked with the capture of the enemy flag. They don't need hosting, as this episode, and others, are available (in both WMP9 and QuickTime formats) at the Phat Ass Production Studios website. (If you're a non-paying member, some movies might not be available yet - free content is out 2 weeks after paid content.) Go watch a cyborg struggle with moral quandaries! (And eat cookies!) (Louis Wu 14:14:46 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Pro content at Boost
3Suns ran across a whole bunch of MLG content over at BoostMobileGaming.com - interviews, recaps, the works. The site is really heavy on Flash content, so if you're on a slower machine, beware. You can read an interview with Walshy, an article containing Tips from Pros, three writeups of MLG Chicago (here, here, here) more pro tips (specifically collected at MLG Chicago), and a Chicago recap/Orlando preview. Whew! (Louis Wu 13:49:53 UTC) (permalink)
OoM Part 5 - The Last Chapter
The final chapter of Out of Mind, Rooster Teeth's sideline into the world of Tex, has been posted for sponsors on their website. Yeah, I know they're the big boys of Halo machinima... but man, the production values are astoundingly high on this one. If you're a sponsor, go grab a copy. If you're not, you should be able to download the low-res versions by Monday. I'm sad it's over! (But happy that Season 5 is about to begin...) Thanks to halofreak1991 for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 02:48:41 UTC) (permalink)
I know what you did last... week.
The Bungie weekly Update has been posted - and it's full of quite a bit of varied stuff. There's some interesting discussion (without details, of course) about Halo 3 progress, including some of the thinking behind objective-based multiplayer. (Yeah, if you're one of those people who think Slayer is all there should ever BE to multiplayer, this isn't for you.) There's a preview of a gorgeous new piece of art that will be available soon at the Bungie Store. There's an interesting tidbit about a new scale chart created by Robt McLees, for eventual use by WETA in their model-making endeavors for the Halo movie (I wonder if he could have saved any time by using the charts created by Stephen Loftus?). There's a nice summary of the recent playlist changes, and how they're affecting usage on Xbox Live. There's some pre-podcast interviews to be heard with multiplayer guys... and there's Pinkuh's bizarre and scary Mister Chief - with tribbles in his armpits. What are you waiting for? Go read! (It's at Bungie.net, of course, or in our Weekly Update Archive. Check out that animated icon...) (Louis Wu 01:11:17 UTC) (permalink)
News September 1 2006
oTourneys kicks off
More online tournaments advertised over at Bungie.net - go read for all the details! (Louis Wu 18:53:56 UTC) (permalink)
A Bit Late For Quality Control.
Sometimes, puns are so bad even Stuntmutt tries to distance himself from them. Witness today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 16:34:07 UTC) (permalink)
HoBoCoRe/Razorlyte Dual Montage
HoBoCoRe and Razorlyte got together to put together a montage - the MPRRS reviewers thought it was solid. Just under 6 minutes long - 65.2 mb in WMP9 format, 73.3 mb in QuickTime format. Go watch! (Louis Wu 16:03:24 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fanfic
Twenty two new pieces (poetry and prose) in the Fan Fiction section for you today... check it out! (Louis Wu 15:36:44 UTC) (permalink)
Of ninjas, and hospitals
On our own forum, Darkneshasfallen has started a contest, as well - create the best 'Halo 3 is like' simile, win a drawing of your masterpiece. Check it out! (Louis Wu 15:12:47 UTC) (permalink)
ModHalo Contest - Cash Prize
Phil, from ModHalo, stopped by to point out a contest - build the best Halo model, win $175. Full rules and discussion links are in his forum post. You've got until October 1 to create your masterpiece - so get modeling! (Louis Wu 15:07:38 UTC) (permalink)
It's all about the latex.
mnemesis posted a note on our forum about a special treat we've got for you - a new interview with Joe Staten (with help from Frankie and Robt McLees), focusing on those aspects of the Haloverse that are important to story lovers. Some great stuff in there! (Some pretty weird stuff, too... those guys are odd.) Go read it! (Louis Wu 13:38:03 UTC) (permalink)
Jackson chats about Halo filming
Pete Williamson ran across an interesting article on Stuff (in New Zealand) - Peter Jackson was in a talkative mood. The article is about a new Jackson-produced film called 'Dambusters', but Halo came up:
Jackson said Halo was likely to start shooting early next year - and it was possible Halo and Dambusters could be shot about the same time.Not really surprising, I suppose - but definitely not commented on by any OTHER parties involved, yet. I like this Jackson guy! (Louis Wu 02:21:20 UTC) (permalink)
Clusterfest?
The Halo Humpday Challenge this week was against the 8-bit Brigade; apparently, Bungie thought if they challenged a bunch of old guys, they could win easily. Ha. Old guys rule. (Old guys work together - that's what you should learn from the writeup.) It was a sweep - 3 games to none, 8-Bit Brigade. Better luck next time, Bungie! (Louis Wu 02:16:42 UTC) (permalink)
| September 2006 | |
