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January 4, 2005 Link to this post
Widescreen video... end to end
TheTaintedOne has been working for some time on an 'end-to-end widescreen process' - a technique to capture Halo gameplay footage in true Widescreen mode. His proof of concept is a video called Rocket Festival - taking advantage of a funny glitch in how homing rockets deal with a target on a high point of land, he's melded nice video cuts with great music and an environment that really shines in Widescreen mode. There are two versions - a 7.2 mb WMP9 vid and an 8.2 mb QuickTime vid. (Both are a compromise for Taint - his original movie used anamorphic video (non-square pixels) for true Widescreen - but this requires Windows Media Player 9 on Windows XP to view; the Mac WMP9 ignores the rectangular pixels, and scrunches the film. He re-converted, after changing to square pixels, so that everyone could see the final product.) Comments can go in this (already lively) forum thread. (Louis Wu 21:20:10 UTC)
January 4, 2005 Link to this post
CAL Halo 2 Season Kicks Off
HALOChat points out that the CyberAthlete Amateur League is starting its Halo 2 season - maps, gametypes, and preseason schedules have been posted. Get your game on! (Louis Wu 14:57:35 UTC)
January 4, 2005 Link to this post
Halo 2 The Movie
WINBIG24 sent word about a trailer for download over at HaloMods. It was created by ShadowX, and it uses our Cutscene Library (and a War of the Worlds trailer) to paint a grim picture of invasion. 5.9 mb, in WMP9 format. (Might have been better to keep the widescreen aspect of the originals, though...) Update: Seems ShadowX posted a link on our own forum - silly me for not checking first. (Louis Wu 14:50:56 UTC)
January 3, 2005 Link to this post
Halo Wiki - now with Solo tips
Goose241 writes to mention that the Halo 2 Wiki started up recently now contains a section for Campaign strategy tips; visit to add your own, or see what's there. (Louis Wu 15:42:42 UTC)
January 2, 2005 Link to this post
Cutscene Library Grows Again
Another pair of cutscenes have been added to the Cutscene Library - Testament reveals some of the Prophet's plans in Regret, and Objects in Mirror gets us started in the Quarantine Zone. Go grab 'em! (I'm gonna have to reformat the page soon... too many images for a single page.) Update: Oops - looks like I missed a bunch. I'm pulling the Quarantine Zone one for now - we'll repost it later. As soon as I can, I'll put up the One Way Ticket scene that leads to the Prophet on Regret. Sorry about this! Update 2: One Way Ticket is now posted. Again, sorry for the confusion! (Louis Wu 16:00:09 UTC)
January 1, 2005 Link to this post
Helljumpers in the Cutscene Library
One last bit before I leave for the day: we've got the next entry in our Cutscene Library for you. It's the Helljumpers cutscene, the beginning of Delta Halo, and there are two files: there's the cutscene itself (2:30 long), and a small composite file that shows the one change that occurs, depending on the difficulty you're playing at. It's a very short bit, so I didn't think it was worth releasing 4 separate versions of the cutscene - it made more sense to simply snip out the difference. As the Covenant guard the ancient ruins, there's a short clip where a Jackal dances in front of a Grunt - and what the Grunt is doing depends on how hard the game is for you. On Easy and Normal, he's just rubbing his hand in the dirt. On Heroic, he's playing with fire. And on Legendary, he's fiddling with what looks like a Grunt doll - maybe the fabled plushie that never got made! Thanks to BOLL for the difficulty help, and as always, thanks to Sniper 058 for getting this section started in the first place. And that - as they say - is that. I'm gone. Update: Ename nep (among others) pointed out that it's not just a Grunt doll that Grunt is playing with... his left hand is holding a Master Chief doll! Nice. (Louis Wu 16:50:30 UTC)
December 31, 2004 Link to this post
Now THAT would be cool on a mantel.
A 13 inch, 4 pound metal statue of the Master Chief is now for sale on eBay. Starting bid is $100, but reserve is higher than that. If you bid, notice that shipping will be from Paris, France, so take that cost into account. The fact that Frankie weighed in on the thread suggests that this puppy is real. Thanks, Zerostar. (Louis Wu 20:50:17 UTC)
December 31, 2004 Link to this post
THEM vs US
Another Machinima series starting up - THEM vs US: A Zanzibar Story. Currently there's just a teaser up on the page, but they promise more to come. Their hook - it's all being done over XBL. The performers have never met in real life. Give it a look! (Louis Wu 00:14:09 UTC)
December 26, 2004 Link to this post
Happy Holidays... from the fans.
A number of people sent along holiday wishes - XLNC created a new HUDless shot, Dennis Powers put together his own Halo CE Christmas Video (broadband and dialup), and Hawaiian Pig put up a nice RvB-themed image. I'm sure there are others that i managed to miss - if I find them, I'll update this news post. (Louis Wu 15:35:06 UTC)
December 24, 2004 Link to this post
Getting Started All Over Again
Gruntsbane is back at Halo Babies, and there's a new strip up - the first of 3, it seems. (There's also a new Baby Sarge concept sketch.) Go check it out! (Louis Wu 13:53:02 UTC)
December 24, 2004 Link to this post
Things you can win
Couple of contest notes: the Xtournaments Crew writes to point out that they're starting their Halo 2 Tourney (4v4) in February, with $15,000 on the line. Visit their website for more details. And ZATZAi is pretty insistent that we mention an update to his Coagulation Christmas Tree Challenge (we noted it last week) - the deadline has been extended, and a Halo 2 soundtrack has been added to the prize pool. Check his post at High Impact Halo for details. (Louis Wu 01:18:59 UTC)
December 24, 2004 Link to this post
Zombies eat brains, don't they?
Got another movie for you. Remember the Dawn of the Dead gametype we mentioned a couple of days ago? Clan Tricking IT put together a fun movie, 'Beach of the Dead' with an eye to the cinematic. It's large (large-format, and large filesize), but the quality is a little lacking... don't let that get in the way of your enjoyment. 640x480, 7:08 long. By the end, you're really rooting for the remaining spartan! Clan Tricking IT is hosting a 50 mb WMP10 version - here's hoping their bandwidth holds out. I've put up a QuickTime version (same screensize, about 43 mb) - this one will last for a bit. If you simply can't get enough of this gametype, there's an older movie, created by spesalfred, and posted on our forum a couple of days ago. (The link in that post is now dead, but you can grab a copy off Mythica.) It's WMP9 format, 17.5 mb; I found the action harder to follow than Tricking IT's vid. Whatever footage you grab, use it to get inspired - jump on XBL and play this game yourself! (Louis Wu 00:42:16 UTC)
December 23, 2004 Link to this post
Movies, movies
We're doing okay, bandwidth-wise, this month... so I thought I'd go through the movie submissions we've received and put up some of the more interesting stuff. A HUGE percentage of what we got were tricking vids - these don't have a home here yet. Another significant percentage were gameplay vids - there must be 2 or 3 dozen 'here's my clan in Blood Gulch TS' vids waiting to be viewed. Ouch! I found a couple of fun ones, though - one was made by the Last Surviving Spartans, a Halo 2 clan. They put a fun spin on the Sword Flying Glitch, and the resultant film (7 mb in WMP9 format, 7.4 mb in QuickTime format) is an enjoyable 2:00 romp. (Thanks, KP, for the hosting help.) A second one was created by Smeginfrell - it's a nicely rendered animation short, expressing some heartfelt emotion about the release date. (Work on this started before November 9.) It, too, is available in WMP9 format or QuickTime format - both are 5.3 mb, and 1:03 long. More video to come a bit later! In the meantime, give these a view. (Louis Wu 13:36:59 UTC)
December 23, 2004 Link to this post
Cinematic dialogue at Gamefaqs
It's not the same as a full level transcript - but it's a decent start, and our own effort seems to have stalled. Over on Gamefaqs is a file with all the dialogue from the cutscenes in Halo 2, created by Rachel Maille. There are a few missing pieces, and it's unclear what difficulty level this compilation was collected on - but it's certainly a good place to begin. Thanks, Stefin Hehman. Update: Apparently, Gamefaqs doesn't allow direct linking to files on their servers at all. You can find the script guide linked from this page. (It's listed as 'Game Script'.) Thanks, Drew. (Louis Wu 11:14:10 UTC)
December 22, 2004 Link to this post
The rumor that just won't die.
In November, we mentioned yet another rumor about a Halo movie, posted on Ain't It Cool News. It was CLEARLY rumor-material then... but that didn't stop IGN from writing up a speculative news post about it. From there, movies.com tossed up their own totally sketchy page (crediting Film Force with the prerelease buzz - can you see where this is going?). A day later, there's a page on IMDB.com. Again - zero information (past what's speculated on in that original RUMOR post at AICN). Gets people excited, though... and that's all that matters. So - IS this just a rumor that won't die... or is it real? Today, front page of Variety:
"While the tech giant declined to comment, numerous sources indicate Microsoft is developing its own script for a "Halo" movie inhouse and has contacted agencies to bring an A-list screenwriter onboard to help work on it. Plan calls for Microsoft to create its own script and then, if it and subsid Bungie - developer of "Halo" - are happy with the result, shop it as a finished product to producers or studios. That's a big "if," though, and Microsoft and Bungie could decide not to go ahead with development for any number of reasons."
No real info there, either... but man, it's front-page in Variety! SOMEONE is keeping this rumor from dying. (Thanks, MthDirector.) (Louis Wu 18:54:50 UTC)
December 20, 2004 Link to this post
Clan PMS gives Bungie a Headache
Two new stories up at Bungie.net right now; not surprising they tried to bury one. Last week's Halo Humpday Challenge didn't actually happen until Friday - and when it did, they almost lost to Clan PMS. Read all the gory details, written by He Who Died A Lot (otherwise known as Frankie). You can tell they wanted to hide this story, because the current top story, put up 8 minutes later and bumping the HHC writeup off the visible spectrum, was an article called 'Getting Started with Halo 2' - an article that's already been the Top Story at least twice. Hmm... (Louis Wu 23:14:42 UTC)
December 20, 2004 Link to this post
Cheating, and Glitches, and You.
A quick note to the community in general; occasionally, someone will come up with a glitch that has the potential to be exploited in online play. Yesterday, this happened; we mentioned the 'spectator mode' Devin Olsen and friends managed to film. In that post, I said I wasn't sure I could see how the glitch could be successfully exploited in actual netplay - thanks for all the folks who pointed out ways. (Some of the key features of this mode, once you get it to work, is that while you're in spectator mode you are invisible and invincible, and once you step out of the warthog, you warp back instantly to where you got in; many people sent films or screenshots showing how a teammate could drop a flag right outside the hog, and the Spectator could step out and grab it, and instantly be warped back to their OWN base.) Clearly, this is a problem - one that Bungie will either have to fix or police. However, I'm writing this news post because I received a rather large number of emails from people suggesting that I should delete all mention of this glitch from this website, and ban people who tried to talk about it. Folks - the only people who benefit from this sort of behavior are those looking to exploit the glitch in netplay. When a potentially game-ruining glitch is uncovered, it's in EVERYBODY'S interest that EVERYONE knows about it. It's nearly impossible to cover up this sort of cheating; if you look at the Game Viewer on Bungie.net after you've used this cheat, you'll find that the flag capture is marked as WHERE YOU WARPED TO, not where you picked it up - this makes it trivial for Bungie (or anyone else) to see that cheating was involved, and reporting the offender to them will get them banned from XBL. Doesn't this make more sense than trying to hide the fact that the glitch exists in the first place? (Thanks, Gil27, for the image.) (Louis Wu 11:14:43 UTC)
December 19, 2004 Link to this post
Halo 2: Mediocre Start in Gamespot's Best Of
Gamespot has kicked off its Best and Worst of 2004 - there's a recap of the year (surprisingly, Halo 2's $125 million first day didn't make the list of notable events), and a bunch of Special Achievement awards. Halo 2 was up for Best Original Music, but lost; Best Sound Effects, but lost; Best Original Game Mechanic, but lost; they weren't even in the running for Best Story, or Best Graphics. They DID take home Best Multiplayer Game, so that's something. There's still more to come on this one - but the intro isn't very promising. Thanks, MiD33. (Louis Wu 15:38:40 UTC)
December 19, 2004 Link to this post
ONI S3 Up and Running
Zero Flaw has been working on O.N.I. Section Three for quite a long time - it's starting to look fleshed out. Explore it for a look into (one fan's view of) the Office of Naval Intelligence. (Louis Wu 14:58:18 UTC)
December 17, 2004 Link to this post
UK Tourney
And... a UK tourney, too. Vagusnet.com is hosting an online Halo 2 tourney, starting in about a month, open to all residents of the UK. More details can be found on their web page. Thanks, GameSHOUT. (Louis Wu 19:44:20 UTC)
December 15, 2004 Link to this post
Older maps, and where they fit
I've turned off the poll we started last week (Which map would you like to see return for Halo 2?) - the results are still up, and it's clear that the two favorite choices were Hang 'em High and Sidewinder, but it's also clear that almost EVERY map in Halo had its proponents. Please be aware that this poll has no binding effect on ANYTHING - Bungie saw it, but they're not obligated in any way to follow it. If they choose to release Halo maps, redone for the Halo 2 engine, you can be sure that they'll take this information into account - but there are other factors (like the new weapon balance, and so on) that are possibly more important; the choices they make will take into account ALL the factors, not just what some of us would LIKE to see. (Louis Wu 16:55:19 UTC)
December 15, 2004 Link to this post
Awards for all
Wow, I guess it's Awards time. As many people might remember, last night was the broadcast of SpikeTV's Video Game Awards 2004 - Halo 2 was up for a bunch of stuff, but GTA: San Andreas took most of it home. Jason Jones won Designer of the Year for the game, and Halo 2 won Best First Person Action. (An easier place to view the entire list of winners is Australia's The Age - thanks, Brett C.) Interestingly, Ron Perlman accepted the Shooter award on behalf of Bungie - thanks, Spike. The Gaming Big Boys did awards stuff too, last night:
- IGN's Best of 2004: Halo 2 takes home Best First-Person Shooter, Best Xbox Live Game, Best Soundtrack, Best Use of Sound, Most Innovative Design (for Bungie.net's XBL stats), and Xbox Game of the Year, with a Runner-Up prize in Best Graphics. (There's also some wallpaper to download.) Thanks, Jonathan Rivas.
- Gamespot has announced their Best and Worst of 2004 (the actual countdown starts on Friday), and Halo 2 is nominated for Best Original Music, Best Sound Effects, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Original Game Mechanic, Biggest Disappointment, Best Shooter, and Best Xbox Game. Thanks, KP.
And if all that awards stuff isn't enough for you, Voodoo Extreme is holding another Halo 2 vs Half-Life 2 poll - I guess Gamespy's ridiculous months-long one recently wasn't enough. (Half-Life 2 is currently kicking booty.) (Louis Wu 14:17:09 UTC)
December 14, 2004 Link to this post
Stryke Force Starts Up
Feenix dropped us a line about a new machinima series known as Stryke Force - a promo video and the first full episode are now posted. Video quality is quite good, and the story is intriguing... can't wait for the next episode! Take a look. (WMP9 format, 20.5 mb for Episode 1 - the promo vid is DivX format, and 9 mb. The Opening credits are included in the first episode, so unless you HAVE to have the hi-res version of them, you can save yourself the 8 mb download.) And don't forget to stop by their forum and let 'em know what you think! Update: well, that didn't last long. We got word about 2 hours after we posted this that the site had gone down for exceeding its bandwidth. (I'd have posted this note earlier had I noticed, sorry.) I can't do anything about helping out right now - but it's possible I can get a copy of the vid up later today. (Louis Wu 02:14:25 UTC)
December 13, 2004 Link to this post
I got a Dancin' Jones...
Hmm. A couple of days ago, Mr. Mojo Risin posted a note on our forum about a sighting of a nearly-naked Jason Jones in a cutscene in Halo 2. (Full details are in the forum post.) It wasn't until today that BOLL managed to snag a decent screenshot of this... and with the help of Tsmola, who pointed out the origin of the image, another Halo 2 egg is fully revealed. (Also, BOLL pulls down the coveted PostTacular with this news item - 4 in a day.) Warning - the thread contains story spoilers, to some degree. (Louis Wu 22:14:50 UTC)
December 12, 2004 Link to this post
Upping the quality, and a Kilimanjaro to boot!
TheTaintedOne posted a true widescreen (16:9) video (WMP9 format) captured of a game of FFA Melee Ball (the rules are explained in the forum post). He explained how he created the film in this thread on the HaloTV forum. Takes some higher-end video-editing software... but the results are quite nice! (Louis Wu 03:07:56 UTC)
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