Old news but still good news!

Halo 2 announcement at E3?
News catch-up... Peter Haughie points out that the latest issue of Xgamer, a UK Xbox mag, has some speculation about a Halo 2 announcement at E3 next month (they state that 'an inside source has confirmed that Halo 2 exists'):

The timing is everything. Xbox is off to a rip-roaring start but Microsoft needs to keep the momentum going. And what better way to keep the good times rolling than by announcing the follow-up to the game that's got people pulling Xboxes off the shelves as fast as their hands can move? That announcement will take place at videogaming's biggest industry event of the year - E3 in Los Angeles, between May 21st and 24th.

The rest of the article is pretty interesting, as well - once it's off the shelves, we'll be sure to put it up in our Press Scans section! (Louis Wu 17:32:40 UTC)

Mirror list for HTM Teaser 3 started
Halo-game has mirrored the newest Halo movie teaser from Blackstar productions - we've created a mirror list for it; as more come in, we'll add them. Off to update the movies page... Update: Not to be outdone, today's other release, The Pillar of Autumn with No Weapons, has also acquired a mirror list. Collect the whole set! (Louis Wu 13:24:53 UTC)

Screens... lots of screens
Slacking again... we've finally caught up on Halo Screenshots - four new collections have been added to the Screenshots Database. (Time to come up with a less awkward navigation system, I think...) The path to completeness continues. (Louis Wu 22:33:20 UTC)

Psyjnir Complex HL gets movies
A boatload of movies have just been uploaded to the Psyjnir Complex Hotline server (in Halo -> Movies) - if you're having trouble finding a film, this isn't a bad place to start! (We'll be adding more as time goes on.) Thanks, Psyrixx and *Ar! (Louis Wu 21:33:18 UTC)

Store... coming sooner
Heh - da5id noticed that the Bungie Store front page is up again (but requires a login to get past that screen) - shouldn't be too long before this puppy is open! (Louis Wu 16:24:05 UTC)

MC on a WinXP login screen
Bob Henegar has created a replacement login screen for Windows XP, featuring the Master Chief. We've added it to our Miscellaneous Art section, for lack of a better place - a preview can be seen there. Enjoy! (Louis Wu 17:34:53 UTC)

Halo CTF designs recreated
Team Overkill has created a pair of images based on the designs on the multiplayer flags in Halo - you can see the originals in this screenshot, and find TO's representations in our Miscellaneous Art section. (Louis Wu 09:32:31 UTC)

Halo Multiplayer Maps... already
A couple of days ago, This Side Up mentioned on our forum that he'd begun work on some Halo multiplayer map designs. He's turned them over to us, and we've put them up for you to look at - there's no guarantee anyone can ever make them... but it's an intriguing start. (Louis Wu 19:20:10 UTC)

Major Tru7h and Recon update
Whoa. Major update at Bungie's Tru7h and Reconciliation site. New Screenshots (12 of 'em, not a mediocre one in the bunch - but beware spoilers in at least one), and new Concept Art (early Hunters and guns). Thanks to Tarrsk for the speedy heads-up! (Louis Wu 02:06:08 UTC)

Roadkill, huh?
Wow. That's all I have to say. Update: Credit where credit is due: Jester asked this, then this, a couple of weeks ago. Thanks, Psyrixx. (Louis Wu 09:33:37 UTC)

xbox.com interviews Max
xbox.com has posted a small interview with Max Hoberman, our friendly neighbourhood Online Guy. Here's a quote:

S: What were some of the greatest challenges to overcome during production?

MH: Two things come to mind. First, switching from the PC to the Xbox necessitated a huge change in the direction we were going with Halo. Traditionally we implement the multiplayer game first, then single player. When we started developing on the Xbox we changed our primary focus to single player. Fortunately the team did a great job, and the multiplayer implementation didn't suffer too much. Second, getting the interface right just the controls, but the way information is delivered to the player. If we do the job well, you'll barely notice the user interface at all if we blow it, it's something everyone complains about.

Hurricane mirror list started
Thanks muchly to SonicStorm and the Battleground: Halo crew - the latest movie, 'Halo Hurricane', now has another set of download links at FilePlanet. We've started a mirror list, to provide easy access to existing mirrors. More as we hear about 'em! Update: Alan Wu (no relation) points out that his Project MJOLNIR now has mirrors for both Hurricane Halo and the .wmv version of 'Halo: The Movie'. Links have been added to the respective mirror pages. Thanks, Alan! (Louis Wu 11:34:02 UTC)

Girl, you're my angel
Just a small note of concern... this peep stuff is getting a little out of hand; you people are starting to scare me. (Louis Wu 01:23:54 UTC)

Halo 'announcement' this week?
Apologies for the news blackout of the last 36 hours - HBO HQ was host to a 15-player lanfest yesterday (guests started arriving at 9 am, we closed the last door around 11 pm), so updating took a second seat. :) In that time, Computer Gaming World columnist Jeff Green put up an article at Gamers.com in which he (once again) called into question the PC versions of Halo. Bungie's own Matt Soell commented on Mr. Green's words on our forum this morning... but we're still intrigued about the Halo 'announcement' happening at a Microsoft party in San Francisco this week. More details when we find them... (Thanks to Cesar Berardini, of TeamXbox, who provided us with the first heads-up on this issue.) (Louis Wu 17:24:45 UTC)

Three guns in Halo - Confirmed!
Heh - it's not every day that fans find out something that BUNGIE didn't know... three weeks ago, Matt Soell created the Rumor Control Database in an effort to debunk the most common (false) rumors concerning Halo that have been circulating the internet. One of the most persistent has been "If you beat the game on Normal, then on Legendary, all in 3 hours, you'll get a third weapon." Matt's response?

"Nope. You'll always have a two-weapon limit."

Heh - today, Reckless Angel posted a note to our forum stating that this was not true... and 12 hours and 8 minutes later, Frogblast posted video proof of his claim. Turns out it's a timing issue, and getting that third weapon depends on beating a timed checkpoint... but apparently, it's not so tough to beat. The fans of this game continue to amaze me. (In all fairness, this glitch will turn up on no other level, because there is nowhere else that you start with no weapons. However, you CAN play an entire level of Halo - 10% of the game - with three weapons instead of two... and that's just plain cool.) (Louis Wu 21:24:43 UTC)

Do the Rocket Dance!
When it rains, it pours... we've got another one, and this one's worth watching, too! It's a gameplay vid, not a cinematic piece... but it's got some laugh-out-loud footage in it. It was recorded by Ian Haddock during last weekend's Battle of the Bay... and man, now I wanna play 16-player rockets-only on Blood Gulch! There are two versions: A 10 meg, 320x240 version and a 6 meg, 160x120 version. The originals can be found on Ian's mac.com filespace - and we've started the ball rolling with one mirror each; b.org is handling the large version, and Mythica is handling the small one. More mirrors are, of course, seriously welcome - we know how tight space is right now, with Halo: The Movie making the rounds. (Louis Wu 02:54:00 UTC)

Serious influx of FF
We wish you peace on this day, in a world gone mad... and we offer you a new batch of Fan Fiction:

Movies are fun
ShdwPnthr points out a pair of movies he's made - one shows the carnage you can wreak with the chaingun on the Warthog (I'd have done a bit more driving damage before getting in the back; you suffer less personal damage that way, but the wreckage is undeniably vast in any case), and the second shows a pretty slick start to the Maw Run. They're in QT5 format, and weigh in at 1.5 mb and 900k, respectively. Check 'em out! (Louis Wu 13:23:40 UTC)

Cool new Misc Art
Two new (and very cool) bits of artwork came in recently - bikeman704 sent in a screenshot of a Halo Pelican, built in Worldcraft... and StormSinger sent along a slick rendering of the sniper rifle ammo. Check 'em both out in our Miscellaneous Art section! (More news coming soon - been afk for the last 18 hours or so...) (Louis Wu 14:51:01 UTC)

Starcraft maps now have pics
Thanks to craZy, who (in answer to my plea for pictures), sent in a few screenshots of the Halo maps for Starcraft that have been coming in recently. Now you can see images and grab the maps in one convenient location! (Louis Wu 05:19:09 UTC)

Arrival converted for Starcraft
The Halo-to-Starcraft conversions continue - Alan Wu sends along Arrival, based on the first part of the Halo mission. (All we need now are in-game screenshots, for those of us without Starcraft...) (Louis Wu 10:06:23 UTC)

X VGA Box reviewed at TXB
Cesar Berardini, of Team Xbox, has put up a review of the X VGA Box (an Xbox-to-VGA solution). If you've been dying to play Halo on your computer screen... check this out. (Louis Wu 10:02:34 UTC)

Mirrors for Hogball begin to surface
Mirror, mirror, on the net... halo-game.com (in France) and That Weasel Television (in the US) have both stepped up to provide Hogball mirrors - and That Weasel also created a much smaller version, for those on slower connections - screensize is 160x120, but filesize is only 6 megs. Grab 'em while they're hot! Update: Two more mirrors: Mr. Zarquon and The Repertory both house this puppy now. (Louis Wu 00:16:21 UTC)

Truth and Recon screenies added
We've added the 33 screenshots that go along with the Legendary Walkthrough posted a couple of days ago at Bungie's Tru7h and Reconciliation site to our Screenshots Database. Needless to say, some of these contain spoilers. (However, some are simply astounding.) (Louis Wu 03:50:50 UTC)

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