HaloJuggaloProductions has redone the site (again). There’s a little bit of new content, even.

Just a couple of Fan Fiction pieces for you today:

• Outlaw, part 3, by Chris Cassani
• Halo 2: Return of Death, part 3, by Lord Dagon

Go get ’em…

One Miscellaneous Art submission today…

Today’s desktop submissions can now be found in our Wallpaper section.

Pretty cool pic added to the Phoenix Posthumous Artwork page – though I’d have to question the text that goes along with it. look for dosaphoenix.jpg if the link doesn’t take you all the way down to the bottom…

dolbex points out that the Halo50K preregistration database is now online. It starts with a survey – they’re trying to get an idea about how much interest there is. (After the survey, you’re given a chance to preregister your team; this isn’t the stage at which you need to pay or anything.) Stop by and fill it out!

Gotta love it when the big boys are months behind. Today, Macworld UK posted an article about a talk they had ‘recently’ with Peter Tamte, president of Destineer Studios, and Bold, the company that will publish the Mac version of Halo. The information seems a tad out of date:

“Halo for the Mac will be released in summer 2003 simultaneously with the PC release, and will very much be a multiplayer thing. PC and Mac users will be able to play Halo online against each other. It’s unclear yet whether it will be possible to play against Xbox users, because the Xbox uses a different set of controls.”

Tamte went on to confirm that the Bungie team responsible for Halo is now working on Halo 2, and discussed the way the game is being ported: “Westlake is doing the Mac port. The company is working with the PC code produced by Gearbox for the PC port of the title. Westlake will begin work in mid-September”.

That’s what he told bungie.org’s Freewill in July, Inside Mac Games in August, and MacGamer in September… and what’s with the future tense about the Westlake start date? (Well, to be fair, the possibility that the PC and Xbox versions might be able to play together is new; up until now, the answer has been a flat-out ‘no’.) Thanks to Harry Al-Shakarchi for the heads-up on this one.

Since the Xbox Live Bootcamp summary went online yesterday, two other writeups have come to light. (One was just published, the other I just found.) We’ll be keeping up on these; as new ones come up, we’ll add them to the list. In theory, there will be about a dozen when all is said and done. Right now there are 8.

Dang, and it’s times like these I wish I had a webcam. BOLL has created yet another Flash masterpiece; this one’s a bit larger (640K), and requires that you have a webcam attached to your PC… but if you do, you can put your own face behind the visor of the Master Chief! (Three different image options.) Check it out.

Emildux has written up the Running Riot Invitational Summary, complete with pictures – this was the $1000 first prize competition we mentioned recently. Take a look!

This came in a little while ago, but I forgot about it. 🙁 Jiberish Halo Productions has put together a little vid called ‘Halo – Session‘. It’s in .wmv format, 2:31 long, and weighs in at 12.5 mb. Mostly, it’s a demonstration of what you can do with 400% health, a lot of rockets and grenades, and some careful shooting. We’ve put it up on mythica.org. If you like this, visit Jiberish’s video page; there are a number of other similar films.

A happy birthday wish to Stefan Sinclair! (Earlier today, the Bungie webcam text read ‘HappyBD2me :O)’ – it’s since been shortened to ‘:O)’. *Ar-Isildur speculated from the smiley that this was written by Stefan… and a quick check confirmed this.) Have a Surly Dwarf Ale for all the fans!

Took way too long (what else is new?), but the Xbox Live Bootcamp article is finally online. I was invited (along with 14 or so other people from around the country) for ‘Xbox Live Bootcamp’, an in-depth look at the Xbox Live gaming service, and what it means for Microsoft. A day in Seattle (plus two days traveling) last week… read my thoughts on the subject! Comments, as always, are welcome on our forum.

Not really Halo-related, but PBO doesn’t have a news-posting mechanism (and even I’m not stupid enough to build something like that for a game that’s already been canned) – Rampancy.net has posted a short Q&A with Matt Soell about Phoenix, and the project that has replaced it. Check it out!

New video at Blackstar Productions this morning. It’s by Ben Dussault, and it’s in the vein of BSP’s Halo movies; inspiring music and Halo gameplay. 480×274, 1:30 long, 19.1 mb big, in QT format. Check it out! (There are a couple of movies we’ll be posting soon, as well.)

Sometimes, people just get too attached to what they’re doing. Pity them.

Heh – another Xbox Live Bootcamp writeup comes online – this time from Billy, at PlanetGameCube. It’s an interesting view of the whole shebang; he picked up on a lot of negative stuff I never even saw, one of the advantages of multiple viewpoints and backgrounds. It’s Halo-related only in the fact that some of the pics have Bungie personnel in them. (The picture labeled ‘Inside Bungie’ shows Chris Butcher giving an impromptu talk on the Halo 2 AI, with Marcus Lehto (seated, all the way in the back) looking on. That’s Ed Fries right in front of the big geeky-looking old guy. There’s also a shot of Marty that should never, ever have seen the light of day. Thanks to Freewill (and Infininight) for pointing this puppy out. (Yes, the HBO writeup will be up soon. Really.)

Ferrago.co.uk has put up a Halo 2 preview – a nice overview of the current info. Take a look!

Bungie.net has put up an interview with Jesse Tribby, a Halo fan and Psyjnir Complex staffer who has been working really hard to make the iGames Halo Winter Season come together. If you’re curious about how some of the decisions were made, read this. It’s not often that a major competition like this is actually organized by hardcore gamers… usually it’s the money boys, looking for the angle.

Recent Fan Fiction:

• An Elites Legend, part 1, by Neco Divad
• Death Dealers, part 2 (chapter 1, though), by Havok
• Shadows of Archon II, part 24, by Wado
• Have Design, Will Build, part 2, by hipboyscott
• Halo 2: Return of Death, part 2, by Lord Dagon
• Liberation, part 7, by Hoju
• Revolution 2 Return of the Forerunner, part 1, by Gruntkiller

If the torrent of stories and artwork ever slows, I might even get a chance to finish the writeup on Xbox Live Bootcamp. 🙁