As many people have figured out, super-high-resolution versions of the Halo 2 movie ad are now popping up all over the net. litereddonut points out a Fileplanet link, Adam Pavlacka (online content producer for GamePro.com) points out a pair of versions – a 1920×1080 (yes, again, the aspect ratio is off), 5.1 surround sound version (50 mb) and a smaller, 852×480, 5 mb version – at Gamepro, and there’ll be more links as the day goes on (I doubt i’ll keep up). All of these downloads are WMP9 files; that’s what Microsoft is distributing. I’m currently working on finding a way to convert these massive things to QuickTime.

Tocki writes to point out that Halo Orbit is hosting a hi-res version of the trailer (9.8 mb, 640×480 (yeah, that’s not the right aspect ratio), WMP9 format) that they found at MyXbox.at. QuickTime coming soon… Update: Here’s a 640×360 (aspect-corrected) QuickTime version (and a mirror), 5.8 mb. There MIGHT be higher-res versions coming later… if I can figure out how to work with the truly monstrous files Microsoft has sent me. Update 2: Halo Orbit has put up another mirror of the QuickTime version, for europeans who would rather have this.

In an interview at Inside Mac Games, Al Schilling, product manager at MacSoft, takes a break from talking about Close Combat to mention that they’ve done some testing on the latest build of Halo under MacOSX v10.3.4, and haven’t found it to be slower than performance under 10.3.3. (Some forums have seen reports from people who noticed massive framerate drops upon upgrading the operating system.) He did say, however, that he encourages anyone experiencing these problems to send their machine specs to support@macsoftgames.com, so that they can try and determine whether the problem lies in Halo’s code, or OSX’s. Thanks to JotaRota for pointing this out.

No, no, I was right… it’s Movie Day. Hehe – if you wondered why folks thinking about entering High Impact Halo’s The 3 Towers competition were happy to hear that Dark Helmet was a judge, and couldn’t compete… watch this video (15.3 mb, WMV format) showing how it’s done, with s7yle. (For you WMP-haters out there, I’ve ripped a QT version – 16.8 mb.) Thanks to Ash for pointing this puppy out. Update: Gah. Looks like Dark Helmet posted it himself on our forum, last night. Sorry, DH!

Maybe it’s not Movie Day at HBO, maybe it’s Comic Day. We’ve got a bunch to tell you about. Mr Smiley mentions a new webcomic, The Grunt Brigade, that he found a few days ago – but it’s now on a bigger pipe, so you might actually be able to see the strips this time. Then, this morning, he pointed out that Halo Babies Episode 49 is online – I’ve needed something like this several times during T&R. Right here at home, we’ve got Miniature Halo Episode 23 – in which Sarge goes a little wild with an FRG. The latest One One Se7en tells it like it is, with respect to the Bungie Weekly Updates (let’s see how Frankie does this evening!). And Halo: Resolution, which has been ramping up to this episode all week, bows out. It’s been a good run – 129 episodes, spaced over 10 months – but Fuzzy and DIMagic have decided to call it quits. Give this one a read, and say goodbye.

I think it’s gonna be Movie Day here at HBO. There are quite a number of new films, available at other websites, ready for your downloading pleasure. RaiL sends word of a video he’s made of his clan (Clan IP) showing off their Blood Gulch Multiplayer skillz – you can find a link to the 15.2 mb .mp4 on FileFront. beytah writes to point out Invisible People Suck, a 54.7 mb, 6:56-long QuickTime vid showing gameplay and situations, characterized by the quick-cut style made popular by music videos. And That Weasel lets us know that the next episode of Grunts are People Too!!! (Episode 7 – Mission Im-Chuck-Able) is now up, in both WMP9 and QuickTime6 formats, at the GaPT website, along with three MP3s of Mother’s Tooth’s original music (check the Episodes 6 and 7 pages for download links). There’s more coming in a bit – but this should hold you for now, no?

One of the most hotly-anticipated Halo Custom Edition maps to date, New Mombasa from Mrs Doublefire and crew, is now available for download. It’s 9.6 mb of HaloCE goodness, and there are currently 8 EP Gamers servers running this map. (In fact, there are over 30 different servers hosting this map already, with two of them, at this hour, being full – a heartening situation.) Links for downloads, and some direct server IPs, can be found in this Gearbox Forum post from Mrs Doublefire. If you’ve held off downloading Halo CE, or if you’ve stayed away from the scene for a bit… now might be a good time to check out what’s going on. (For those who’ve kept up on development of this map; this is New Mombasa Classic – it uses standard HaloPC weapons and vehicles. There is a version that will be integrated tightly with NiTrOuSoXiDe’s Halo 2 mod, to provide an experience something like what was seen in the E3 2003 trailer… but this isn’t that. It’s stuff you’re used to, in a gorgeous new setting. Go play.) Thanks to everyone who wrote – it looks like DHalo was first (though there were three within 30 seconds of him – yes, this one was HIGHLY anticipated 🙂 ).

The next level in the Going Nowhere Fast competition, Two Betrayals, is now available for download via BitTorrent. Taylor Jones spends a relatively quick 25 minutes whipping through this level – his handling of a rocket launcher is a joy to watch. He gets a vehicle through the broken door in an amazingly no-fuss manner… but my favorite moment comes at around 22:20 – you get a quick glimpse of how tough Legendary can really be. My vote for best death in a run, period. This puppy is is 182 mb – open that BitTorrent client and grab it!

][-][awaiian pig whipped up another 5 Red vs Blue ‘Set Pieces’, after the great response he got to his first set. These are bigger, by request. Update: The variants on Megabattles just keep coming. Valence tries out an animated one.

Slothboy posts his non-winning pics in the Mountain Dew contest (and a link to a thread on Bungie.net that has pics of the winning entries)… all I can say is, these guys drank a LOT of Dew.

Dan Chosich reminds everyone that today is the last day folks are able to submit content to the Fan Art section of the Making of Halo DVD. If you have content you want the team to consider, send it today or you’re out of the running!

ShotgunGoBOOM found a Flash video called ‘Halo Delight‘ on Flashplayer.com. MC gets down to the 80’s hiphop sounds of the Sugar Hill Gang. Surreal.

Update on yesterday’s elite skin, from Xavier – he’s found a way to make ALL Spec-Ops Elites black (some were coming out with a blue layer over the skin); the downside is that it changes the blue of the regular Blue Elite. Information and the new ppf can be found on the Halo: Modding Evolved forum (and I’ve added a local copy of the ‘fixed’ ppf here).

Dolbex writes to point out that all 61 teams registered for this weekend’s Halo50k3 event in Atlanta are listed up on the MLGPro.com website. If you aren’t sure if your buddies are going, check this out!

I think all of us who’ve suffered over bad internet connections can sympathize with Calvin and Halo today… and I’d like to take this chance to mention that Warbow has chosen to take the rest of the summer off; there won’t be any more Warbow-generated Calvin and Halo strips before fall. (It’s unclear whether Blackstar will continue posting one per week, on Thursdays, or whether he’ll double his output to two per week, to keep up the current schedule, or whether he, too, will take a break, giving Calvin himself a rest for a couple of months. More when we know it.)

A tad later than usual – but never fear, we get to stuff eventually. The Direct Download links for the sixth Going Nowhere Fast video (343 Guilty Spark) are now posted on the Status page. If you aren’t one of the 900 or so BitTorrent downloaders, go grab a copy of this 49.4 mb run via http!

The Comments function for the Fan Fiction section has been turned off for the time being. Shame how the actions of a few can ruin it for the many. (Before anyone who actually USES that section goes ballistic on the individual who caused most of the trouble, be aware that IGNORING THE SITUATION would have made it stop a lot sooner (and likely wouldn’t have gotten someone spoofing ME, which is what set this off).) Stories will still be posted, you just won’t be able to comment on them until someone suggests a better way of maintenance.

Captain Spark took a couple of very nice pics of the Xavier/Tina Leyk Elite skin on AotCR today – check ’em out!

Wow – that’s unique. ][-][awaiian pig has taken the Megabattle screenshot technique in a new direction – he’s reproduced ‘set pieces’ from Red vs Blue episodes. Don’t think I ever would have thought of that one… (Attention to detail is amazing.)