Took much longer than I’d hoped (no way to take care of the upload while I was at PAX this afternoon), but the Exile CTF game we posted earlier today is now (again) up on YouTube, in HD format. (Well, YouTube’s HD format. I cringed watching what they did to the original source.) Hope this is useful!(Louis Wu 03:20:21 UTC)

If you read the last newspost, you probably saw that there’s a 35-second video showing direct-feed footage of gameplay on Exile available from Xbox Press. You probably also know that there are a plethora of off-screen videos (in various qualities, ranging from bad to watchable) recorded at the show. What you DON’T have yet is a solid chunk of actual gameplay, recorded via direct feed (so that sounds are included, colors are right, text is readable)… until now. Thanks to the herculean efforts of 343 (I need to call out Alison Stroll, Jay Frechette, Kynan Pearson, and David Ellis in particular, though there were others involved), we’ve got 15 minutes of an actual CTF match between 5 343 developers (well, four plus Bravo) and 5 HaloGAF representatives, recorded at an after-hours party on Friday night. Technical difficulties precluded us showing you the first match of the contest, which is unfortunate, because David Ellis (whose POV was recorded) was ON FIRE that game. He did a little less well in this one (to be honest, HaloGAF rolled over the devs like a Hummer over baby rabbits), but the important thing is, it’s high-quality footage showing off nearly a full game on a brand-new map! What I WANTED to do was release a 720p version of this footage for download – but unfortunately, we don’t have the bandwidth to handle a file of this size, and I wasn’t able to set up a BitTorrent seed (which would allow us to share the load). So for now, we’re making this video available on YouTube – and we will look into other options once I’m back home. Go watch, and enjoy! (And for those who care: HaloGAF took the best-of-three competition in a two-game sweep.) Update: apparently, the YouTube version has screwed-up sound… I need to figure out why. (The original file is fine.) Link is down until I can work this out. Sorry. 🙁 Update 2: This is why I don’t use YouTube. 🙁 Looks like it’s going to be a couple of hours before a new high-quality version can be posted, so in the meantime, I’m posting a smaller, locally-hosted version. It’s not perfect – but it’s watchable. (I hope the server doesn’t melt.) As soon as the HD version is uploaded (and WORKING) on YouTube, I’ll link to that again. This is why we need a home team when we’re at conventions…(Louis Wu 18:10:01 UTC)

Wow. It’s Sunday, I’ve slept a total of 8 hours in the past 72, and we’re so far behind on news I’m not sure we can catch up – especially since there’s been so much juicy stuff here at PAX. There is definitely non-Halo 4 news in the queue – but given our limited resources (mostly time, I guess), I’m going to have to hold off on that stuff for now. (We’ll get back to it, and I apologize in advance for the delay.) Here’s stuff you shouldn’t miss:

• The Xbox Press site has 35 seconds of B-Roll, showing off CTF gameplay on Exile. This is the only direct-feed footage of the map that has been released up until now, and as such is absolutely worth looking at.
• Nak3d Eli posted some commentary of a CTF match on Exile.
• Bravo released two vids: Exile CTF general commentary and a video focused on showing off some specifics (light rifle, thruster pack, sniper).
• A short video recorded at the show shows (badly) how the new Binary Rifle works – it looks to be a one-shot kill no matter WHERE you hit your target (thanks, Rand0m TAG).
• Grifball was formally announced at the Halo 4 panel yesterday afternoon, and GrifballHub’s Kal let us know that they’ve got a full writeup (and a video) all about this well-loved mode.
• Gamespot released “A Hero Awakens“, a behind-the-scenes look at the motion capture aspect of Halo 4’s animation.

There is lots, lots more, and we’ll do our best to round it up soon – but maybe this will hold you for a little bit! (Louis Wu 16:52:02 UTC)

Sorry for the lack of content – the day at PAX has been crazy! More soon, I hope.(Louis Wu 23:58:23 UTC)

The latest Forward Unto Dawn short came out today – you can watch it on Halo Waypoint or on Machinima Prime’s YouTube channel (thanks, zoojoo). Two Corbulo cadets discuss cryosleep… check it out! (I think that’s it for a while; time to get downtown for PAX!)(Louis Wu 15:32:42 UTC)

Old School vs New School is a live action/CG video where some video game heroes take on some… villains. Fun! Thanks, Tawpgun.(Louis Wu 15:32:06 UTC)

CyReN posted a link to an interview with DMAQ, Bravo, and Shibby – Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here. This was recorded at MLG Raleigh, and looks at how Halo 4 will look to the competitive community. Give it a watch!(Louis Wu 15:28:05 UTC)

Alex Garland talked to Edge Magazine about writing – his Halo experience (he wrote at least one commissioned draft of a Halo movie) gets some time. Thanks, Zeouterlimits. (Louis Wu 15:26:49 UTC)

You kids get off our lawn…

The latest Halo Bulletin went live last night – it gives you lots of info about Halo 4 button layouts, contains an interview with Stepto, the marketing guy from GAEMS, the company making that cool Xbox 360 carry system, and provides a single pixelated picture to whet your Halo 4 appetite. Check it out! (It’s local, too, of course.) (Louis Wu 15:53:25 UTC)

NeoGAF’s YourExWife linked to a montage by Element that is chock-full of high-value multikills. Fun watch!(Louis Wu 15:41:17 UTC)

Some fantastic news from MLG – looks like Halo 4 will be featured at their Fall Championship in Dallas, November 2-4. W00t! Thanks, CyReN.(Louis Wu 22:08:48 UTC)

If you’re working on the Weekly Challenge, and need some help on speeding up your time on The Package… check out Nak3d Eli’s latest run – it’s a LASO run in 16:45 (a new record). Wonga! Thanks, Ghouse. (Louis Wu 22:06:29 UTC)

CyReN pointed out some new offscreen footage from Toronto, as well – a decent look at the Carbine, and the Hardlight Shield. Go watch! (Louis Wu 22:02:24 UTC)

Bravo talked to Canadian pro MaD MaX about the gameplay he experienced at Toronto’s Fan Expo last weekend – go listen! Thanks, Slaker117.(Louis Wu 22:00:10 UTC)