My Halo News.com

The latest news about the Halo series of games from Microsoft

  • Farewell to Ju Blaine

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    foomojive

    Back in the day we realized we would need a forum for our fledgeling podcast. Since we didn’t have the spiffy site you see here, we needed a quick fix. So we set up shop as a Bungie.net group. A guy named Ju Blaine approached me saying we should probably have a moderator on the forum. He volunteered to do it because of experience moderating in the past.

    Fast forward to today and it’s been over a year since Ju Blaine began his journey as a forum moderator. We’ve come a long way from those humble beginnings and he stuck with us the whole way, helping to make our forums a fun and safe place to hang out. Recently Ju Blaine ran into some life issues that prevent him from being a “mod” at Podtacular.com any more, so he had to step down.

    While we do still have plenty of hard-working moderators, we’ll miss Ju a whole bunch. So once again we fire off the solemn 21 BR salute to Podtacular’s original moderator. Best of luck to you buddy, and bon voyage! Naturally this is also a topic in the forums.

  • The Godtacular Bible study returns!

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    foomojive

    After a long hiatus and some soul searching, Godtacular is being revived. What is Godtacular? It’s a Bible study done in a Halo 2 lobby. ChuckieJ will be hosting it and I’ll be hangin’ there too. What does are we going to talk about? This time it’s a discussion-oriented study called “Setting you free to make right choices.” It’s pretty sweet because instead of just listening to someone talk, everyone gets to participate. Do you have to be a Christian to get in? Nah, even if you’re just curious about God, an atheist, another religion, or if you’ve been away from God for a while, you’re welcome to join us if we have room. We won’t judge you.

    For more information and to request an invite check out the Godtacular forum topic.

  • The Arbiter Model Project, Part 2

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    halo@bungie.org
    in
    The More Deluded posted another batch of pictures of his Arbiter Model project – it suffered a few setbacks (see the forum post for details), but overall, it’s looking pretty good! Check it out.(Louis Wu 20:53:58 UTC)

  • The Riot 37

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Sigafoos writes to let us know that The Riot 37 is now up – community updates, the upcoming Halo comic, laser tag toys, and more. Enjoy the newly-designed Second Foundation website when you go! 31 minutes, 12.5 mb.(Louis Wu 20:34:44 UTC)

  • Wow Moments

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    halo@bungie.org
    in
    A couple of days ago, Major Silva mentioned a blog post he’d written, in which he lamented the scarcity of ‘Wow moments’ in Halo 2. (I’m not sure I understand what a ‘Wow moment’ is, actually – he says they’re the moments that are more movielike than what’s around them, but also more immersive than what’s around them; for me, those two are totally opposite – when things get dramatic and ‘movielike’, I get pulled OUT of the gameplay, not pushed farther in. However, that’s really neither here nor there.) He uses the E3 2003 demo as an example, and wonders why the actual game wasn’t more like this. Discussion on our forum would suggest that his view is controversial – many people felt the game was BETTER than the demo, while some felt the opposite, and still others didn’t really see the need to place one over the other. Give it a read, see where you fall.(Louis Wu 18:10:56 UTC)

  • All the fun of the fair

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Rockslider has posted a new Frontline with Suzie – sounds like she should be having fun, but I’m not sure she is…(Louis Wu 17:52:23 UTC)

  • Halo Comic Team Announced

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    halo@bungie.org
    in
    New York Comic Con is going on right now – and one of the announcements that was made during the Cup O’ Joe panel last night was that the creative team that will bring the ongoing Halo comic to life had been decided on – Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. (Google ’em for more info.) Stories can be found at Newsarama.com (thanks, James Altman) and Comic Book Resources.(Louis Wu 13:16:52 UTC)

  • Hollywood Arts Auction Update

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    halo@bungie.org
    in
    Two of the three cool Bungie-related auctions benefitting Hollywood Arts ended yesterday – and longtime community member Kornman is taking home the life-sized Master Chief statue and the tour of Bungie Studios. Ding to his wallet: $2700. Nice haul for underprivileged children! The Halo Signed Swag Pack went for $610 – sounds like an awesome price for such a goodie-filled collection! The audio cameo in Halo 3 still has a day left to run, with a bid of $5000 (but don’t expect it to stay there) – overall, this series of auctions is bringing in some serious cash for a great cause!(Louis Wu 12:59:25 UTC)

  • Rainbox Six Vegas added to MLG pro circuit. XBOX 360 debuts. GoW?

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    rapture

    Finally, Major League Gaming (MLG) goes next gen. MLG has added Rainbow Six Vegas as an official game on their circuit. Scores of teams will have the chance to turn “pro” by playing R6V. This also means that MLG is finally incorporating the XBOX 360 platform in their events.

    It’s about time. HALO 2 was released in 2004. The XBOX which is the most dominate platform at MLG was released in 2001. You can bet that this tournament is a “feeler” for the upcoming release of HALO 3, likely to be released in November of 2007. Although HALO 2 is backwards compatible with the XBOX 360, MLG has not made the move to the XBOX 360 platform. HALO 3 will be exclusive to the XBOX 360 platform.

    Rainbow Six Vegas will give MLG a chance to get used to the XBOX 360 platform this season before they adopt HALO 3. R6V supports high definition graphics. MLG is dominated by HALO 2. Moreover, MLG is dominated by players that don’t use the XBOX 360 controller. What will happen to the HALO 2 players once MLG drops that game from HALO 3 on the XBOX 360? Anyone that’s made the jump from the original XBOX to the XBOX 360 recognizes that there controller is very different. More buttons. A different keypad layout. Looser joysticks.

    Will we see HALO 2 pros not be able to adapt to the new controller? Will we see wired controller make a comeback on the XBOX 360? Will we see tampering with the XBOX 360 wireless on/off signals? Will MLG support HD monitors? Will their HALO 3 tournament be playing in HD?

    And what about Gears of War? We don’t know yet, but things aren’t looking good. MLG just can’t go hosting tournaments for any game they want. They have to sign a licensing agreement with Epic before that will happen. Epic may or may not want their game played at MLG for strategic reasons.

    GoW is much more popular than R6V. One would think that it would have a better draw than R6V. However, Gears of War is played at Gamebattles.net, which is owned by MLG. So, for now MLG has some stake in online tournaments for GoW. Does MLG have room for three major XBOX and XBOX 360 games at their tournaments? Still, one must assume negations are going on with Epic at the moment to get that game in before the MLG pro circuit starts in March.

  • Meet the Hired Guns

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Over at IGN.com, there’s a blog written by one of the team members that’s putting together Halo 2 Vista, introducing the Hired Gun team and explaining some of the nuances of the development – give it a read!(Louis Wu 16:09:15 UTC)

  • House of Ideas

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Mister Froggy writes to let us know that Halo Articulated #16 is available for your amusification. Spartan senses… tingling!(mnemesis 05:42:27 UTC)

  • Frankie gets killed by glass

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    halo@bungie.org
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    The Bungie Weekly Update is now available, and basically, it’s a summary of the new and cool features that Halo 3 has gained this week. Tasty stuff! Go read (either at Bungie.net, or in our own Weekly Update Archive).(Louis Wu 02:16:08 UTC)

  • Bungie Weekly Update

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    Bungie.net’s Recent News
    This weeks update is basically me frothing about graphics and features that loads of you don’t care about. But I love graphics. There’s plenty of audio stuff in here too, and shock, a new Halo 3 screenshot. Although it’s not what you think it is…

  • Ghostayame talks tactics

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    halo@bungie.org
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    MLGPro.com has a Player Match Commentary vid from Ghostayame linked on the front page – thanks, 3Suns.(Louis Wu 19:11:38 UTC)

  • The Heretic, Episode 2: Mission Briefing

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    halo@bungie.org
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    As pointed out by both Funkmon, via email, and agenteks, on our forum, Edgeworks Entertainment has released The Heretic Episode 2. Love the effects! Great action sequences, too. Almost 10 minutes long – should hold you over until the next ep is released, in two weeks!(Louis Wu 17:02:55 UTC)

  • This Would Really Bug You.

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Heh – today’s One One Se7en digs back into some classic older work… yeah, like that’s any different than most strips. (Louis Wu 17:00:31 UTC)

  • Friday’s Fanfic

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Six new pieces for you in the Fan Fiction section this week. (There were more in the queue, but it seems that authors are forgetting to read the basic guidelines for formatting and submitting their stories; I had to reject a few large blocks o’ text. Enjoy what’s left! (To authors who don’t see their work here – just make sure you follow the guidelines, and you’re welcome to resubmit.)(Louis Wu 16:52:37 UTC)

  • Master Chiefs of the Night

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Pezcore stopped by yesterday to point out a new blog post, in which he worries that the commercialization of the Halo franchise is a bad thing. Do you agree? (Opinion, at least on our forum, is divided so far.)(Louis Wu 16:16:00 UTC)

  • Halo: Traitors

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Dennis Powers, of HaloMaps, pointed out a thread on their forum about a fan-made Halo game using the Byond game engine. I can’t find any screenshots (and the Mac version of the engine is text-only, no graphics, but apparently, a lot of work has been put into it. Take a look!(Louis Wu 16:00:23 UTC)

  • Halo: Portable Podcast Episode 8

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    mintz
    in

    32mb – 59:29

    Listener mail! Woot! 100 podcast celebration! Machinima! Rockets on Prisoner! FAQs! Jen Taylor! Beta! Red vs Blue! Halo Clix (?)! Brand Identity! Bananaphone! Other stuff! Woot! (in all honesty, I (Funkmon) don’t remember what we talked about, as usual, so I’m just going to say that we spent the last half hour on listener emails.

    Also, secret bonus ending for those who listen past the minute of silence!

    UPDATE: The feed hates us. If you get this via a podcatcher, then it’s like 4 days late. TY.