Archive for June, 2003
PC mod starting up
June 30th, 2003
Dispraiser puts in a call for modders - he's starting work on a PC mod. He's got the beginnings of a Halo battle rifle already built - needs skinning, though. Check it out!
The WHAT team?
June 30th, 2003
Wow. Either someone's smoking too much crack... or something got leaked. A representative of ArtSource (a digital media staffing agency with an office in Seattle) posted to the CG Talk Hiring forum, with a request that reads in part:
Are you a SENIOR 3D Max modeler (3+ years of work experience) with multiplayer map experience, texturing and game experience? Are you available for CONTRACT work in Seattle for 3+ months?
If you have an amazing reel of strong environment modeling, we need you to work with the HALO and MARATHON team. These positions start out contract but may convert to direct hire.
Longtime Bungie fans might be going a bit berserk right now, given that 'Marathon team' reference... but remember one thing: right near the top of Bungie's very own Jobs page, there's a disclaimer:
Note to Recruitment Agencies: In accordance with Microsoft's recruitment policies, Bungie does not accept applicants from recruitment agencies and will not pay a recruitment fee for any candidates.
So: Is ArtSource working in a sanctioned way with Bungie (or Microsoft) - or have they flipped? And how real is the 'Marathon team'? Speculation is welcome on our forum, and if we get any harder information than this, we'll be sure to post it right here. (Thanks to Ian Mankowski for finding this gem.) Update: Evil Otto clears up the situation with a flat "there is no Marathon sequel in our plans at this time." Read his post for more details on how this might have come about. Thanks, EO!
Madness in Mad-City
June 30th, 2003
Elliott "zorg" Zastrow writes to point out that the Mad-City Halo Tournament (mentioned about a month ago) is coming along strongly - tournament date looks to be July 19, in Madison, WI. If you're a single player, they've got some resources on their forum for team-matching, to help you find a team to play on. Their website has lots more information. They're shooting for 40 teams - go sign up today!
On The Bubble
June 30th, 2003
Monday's episode of One One Se7en has been posted... and I wanna know, how do those guys have time for tomfoolery?
Safari users – spoiler control is yours, finally!
June 30th, 2003
Months ago, when the first Safari beta was released for OSX users, we discovered we had a problem... our spoiler cookies wouldn't set properly for Safari users. Luckily, a week later, a kind reader sent a fix; you could manually add the cookie to Safari's cookie list. It worked... but if you ever felt like changing your settings, you had to manually delete the cookie - and then re-add it to change it again. Not fun. Well, finally, Safari browsers are treated properly by HBO - thanks to Deimos Fawkes, of Subnova. You'll have to manually delete the platformchoice cookie if you've set it already using our Safari Fix instructions... but once you do, you'll have one-click access to spoiler swapping, just like all other browsers have. And about time!
Halo: The RPG (the update)
June 29th, 2003
Sir Fragula's Halo: The RPG project is coming along nicely - all existing patches (and some non-patch changes) have been bundled into the latest iteration. Visit Lion's mirror site for the latest pics and downloads.
Sunday Reading
June 29th, 2003
13 new Fan Fiction pieces for you today:
- Master Chief Returns, Part 1: Longsword, by Switchback
- Ch 1: Theives in the Night, by TheForsaken
- Chapter One: URTH, by Christopher Kalanderopoulos
- Redemption, and Victory: Part One, by Hunter_Killer
- Attack on Central Command, by The Scribe
- Human vs. Covenant War: Part Two, Hansley's second, by Ronald Maszk
- Defeat at Central Command, by The Scribe
- Halo 2: Chapter 4: Just another day at work..., by Shadowrunner
- Spartans in NYC Chapter2, by Chief-117
- Operation Sunlight Part 2: James, by Gruntkiller
- Critters the Reckoning part 3, by Caleb Generoso
- Human vs. Covenant War: Part Three: Hansley's Guilt, by Ronald Maszk
- Human vs. Covenant War: Part Four: Hansley's Battle, by Ronald Maszk
In the near future, there'll be a change to the Submission form in how you pick your series name. It should remove all confusion (if all goes well).
Another vehicle-aided flag-capturing trick
June 29th, 2003
A couple of days ago, NzadaH posted a quick capture of a flag-capturing trick to our forum. I didn't look closely enough, and thought it was another instance of MaverickJ's warthog gunner trick (where the gunner is popped out by spinning the gun to face the back of the hog and pressing X)... but it was recently pointed out to me that the jumper in NazdaH's video is the DRIVER, not the gunner. This one's a one-person trick... definitely worth a look. (You don't have to have someone below tossing you the flag, either; you can land IN the base, and run back out to the 'hog you just left.) it's not quite as easy as it looks... but once you get the timing down, this one's a killer.
Medals, defined
June 29th, 2003
Over the last couple of years, we've gotten a few emails about the medals on Keyes' uniform. Folks have recognized the Purple Heart, the Medal of Honor, and the Air Force Cross. Today, Brannon Boren laid out ALL of them on our forum - so now you know.
Going it alone – together
June 29th, 2003
Gamespot has posted a list of their choices for the top 10 cooperative games of all time. (They're not ranked among the top 10 - "They're all equal in our eyes, you might say.") Halo makes the list. Nice! Thanks to DT for the heads-up.
Pillar of Art LAN party full!
June 28th, 2003
The LAN party taking place in the latter half of the day during the Pillar of Art Gallery showing has filled up!
I'm sorry if you were hedging on whether or not to sign up for the party, as you have missed out on what is looking to be a really good time, but at least you can still make it to the Gallery itself and check out the cool art!
I'm sorry if you were hedging on whether or not to sign up for the party, as you have missed out on what is looking to be a really good time, but at least you can still make it to the Gallery itself and check out the cool art!
German online Halo tournament
June 28th, 2003
Halo Orbit is organizing an online (via XBC) Halo tournament; check this forum thread or this news article. They suggest you come from a country near Germany, due to internet limitations... but other than that, there aren't any restrictions.
Tribes screenies with MC
June 28th, 2003
There are a significant number of shots of a Halo-related skin in use in Tribes over at the Tribes Battle Room Screenshots Collection; there's no easy way to point them all out, you'll need to go through his collection for yourself. As far as I can tell, these were taken using existing skins (there are at least two sets chronicled in our news database) - but it's fun to see the MC in other games. Thanks to Renzo for the heads-up.
Stick it!
June 28th, 2003
Visitors to the E3 fanfest this year got their hands on a bunch of cool Bungie stickers. For the first time, Bungie is actually SELLING them at the Bungie Store now; there are five, ranging from a standard Bungie logo to the uber-cool Carnage Zone sticker. (You can even get your hands on the Webmaster sticker, which was NOT given out at the fanfest.) To keep it Halo-related, one of the stickers is the 'Flaming Ninja' sticker, inspired by a Jason Jones' quote and the unofficial mascot of Halo 2. Thanks to Jonah for being the first to notice on our forum.
Making more of the Demo
June 28th, 2003
As a number of people have pointed out, the Truth and Reconciliation site has been updated with Part 2 of the E3 demo behind-the-scenes series, as well as additional storyboards from the demo itself.
Halo PC at Gen Con!
June 28th, 2003
Gen Con Indy is taking place about a month from now, and those of you that want a taste of Halo PC have a huge incentive to attend! One of the events listed is a HUGE LAN where many different games will be represented, and Halo PC is going to make an appearance! Not just for standard playing... tournament playing!
More details to come! But in the meantime, if you want to pre-register, you have only a few hours left!
More details to come! But in the meantime, if you want to pre-register, you have only a few hours left!
Vast Volumes of Verbiage
June 27th, 2003
It's been 2 days since I last posted a Fan Fiction update - and after rejecting a couple of entries, there are still 16 pieces for you:
- Operation Sunlight Part 1: Aftermath, by Gruntkiller
- Rebirth - Shadow's Chapter 5 - Impossible Infiltration, by Knightmare Wolf, Archangel's Blade, Spartan 451, Shadow
- Shadow Spartans, Chapter 1: Combat Ready, by Agent Shade and Arinoth Koby
- Halo: The Scythe of Death Part Four, by LordofDestruction
- Halo 2: New Mombasa Part 1 , by Spartan 153
- The Devil's Brigade Prt V, by Spinks
- Halo 2 Part 2, by System Failure
- Halo 2: Chapter 3: Shadow Ops, by Shadowrunner
- Halo:Attack of the Banshees Part 2 , by Super Beast
- The Devil's Brigade prt VI, by Spinks
- Black Knight Pelican Attack: The Tower Chapter 2, by JK Hazard
- The Battle of Berlin Colony, by The Scribe
- Shadow Ops, Chapter 7: The Mine, by Agent Shade
- Spartans in NYC, by Chief-117
- Halo Haikus, by Socrates
- The Chronicles of Eternity Ch2- Ch3, by Corey Lyon
You folks are STILL making an enormous number of mistakes with the 'Series' choice; if you have any suggestions on how to make it less confusing, please let me know. I can't believe you're ALL this careless; there must be something wrong with the system.
What – like a spider?
June 27th, 2003
If you could part with a measly $5, you'd be watching Red vs Blue Episode 11 right now. And jumping out of your chair with fright. Or at least laughter. (Starts slow, but finishes with a bang.) If you can't part with $5, you'll have to wait until Sunday to get this.
Halo 2 summary
June 27th, 2003
Draconfrost has put up a small page containing all the info he could find about Halo 2. He'd like you all to know about it.
Halo Quiz still needs questions
June 27th, 2003
Three weeks ago, we mentioned a Halo quiz being put together by the Sector 7 website. Wolfy writes to say that they're still in need of some VERY hard multiple-choice questions. (See the last news post for details on the format they need.) Help 'em out!
