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I dunno if Hudson will jump on it at launch. He jumped on Halo Wars then returned it quickly. He's got a laptop bill to pay off still and a girl friend that takes the rest.

We'll miss you, Peter.
We received word that Peter William Marks, known to Bungie fans as Mordia, Lud, and "the guy who built Hang 'em High" (among other things), passed away on September 7th, 2009 at 11:35 p.m. He fought to the very end, and will be missed greatly. The page we set up a couple of years ago to provide him some fan support is still live; you're welcome to leave comments. (Please - be respectful. We won't take a kind view of stupidity. Thanks.) (Louis Wu 17:47:08 UTC) (permalink)

We Are ODST: Full-Length
GameTrailers has posted the HD, full-length 'We Are ODST' short that showed for the first time on Spike TV last night - swing by and check it out! (Louis Wu 17:46:40 UTC) (permalink)

Halo CE and H2V Map Updates
Dennis Powers let us know about new stuff at HaloMaps... The Halo Custom Edition archive jumped by 120 new submissions during August, bringing the total to 4,333 files. Highlights of the new stuff include Maridia (Public Beta) (Metroid total conversion), TM Immolate, and Garden CE (very cool-looking). The Halo 2 Vista Map Archive got 22 new maps, including a remake of Ratrace, another of Hang 'em High, and original stuff like Glass Horizon and Dissemination Beta. Check 'em all out! (Louis Wu 17:35:41 UTC) (permalink)

Someone remind me to give CE and the custom maps a try soon, when I'm up with the new rig. I'm forgetful these days.

Best Buy Selling ODST at Midnight
Looks like Best Buy will be running midnight store openings to celebrate Halo 3: ODST's release on the 22nd - swing by to see if your store is on the list. (Louis Wu 17:16:53 UTC) (permalink)

Firefight in Reach? It's up to you.
Eurogamer got word from Brian Jarrard at PAX that Firefight could be included in Reach... if folks like it enough. Thanks to NeoGAF's enzo_gt (who got this from Joystiq) for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 21:45:28 UTC) Link

That'd rock. It also reminds me that I suspect Bungie may be thinking they have their AI algorithms so far improved that in Reach, for the first and perhaps last time, your AI squadmates will, can credibly be... other Spartans.

That'd truly rock.

Last edited by Bat (2009-09-09 3:37 am)

From the same channel, All Your History: Halo Ep. 1 (Game Development History) follows the history of Bungie more or less accurately (nice pix too) from inception to Halo's first public showing at MWNY '99, missing only a few details like its development on Winders and last-minute porting to MacOS, shortly before the show. Part 2 looks to begin with Bungie's fateful acquisition by MS.

Anyone up for a few games of Gnop?

ViDoc "Terra Incognita"
Prepare to Drop.

720p WMV
360p WMV
720p WMV (Subtitled)
720p QT
360p QT
720p QT (Subtitled)
iPhone

This one's big- the 720p versions push 400MB.

have you guys been playing firefight?

it's _much_ better than Gears of War's horde mode imo.

Not yet, but I'm looking forward to it. It does seem that some of the most intense Campaign fights are like Firefight training, with their multiple reinforcement waves.

It's kind of fun/amusing/sad, getting to the point where I pass through an area and I imagine what kind of gameplay possibilities there are. It was odd the first time. I kept expecting a cutscene, then waves upon waves of enemies pouring out of somewhere. Turns out I'd only get the first part.

Booksley wrote:

Bat wrote:

Not yet, but I'm looking forward to it. It does seem that some of the most intense Campaign fights are like Firefight training, with their multiple reinforcement waves.

It's pretty sweet. Also, I the return of the pistol.

Oh, yeah- <piff> Yay!!! <confetti> PISTOLA! .. I'm puzzled, tho; ODST doesn't even show in your games list. And you jumped off 2 minutes after I sent you a msg Fri evening asking about it. Playing with friends?

Levi & Jr. eventually showed up, tho, so the three of us got our Firefight feet wet, so to speak. Eventually we topped 70k on Crater, and at my suggestion we finished on Crater (night) for some VIZR work ca. 2 AM.

Last night he and I just missed each other first time; I napped out, came back, and joined him, Jr. and Phy on Lost Platoon. I might've taken that, courtesy of some good Chopper work. Then on to Crater, where I shot poorly for some time, warmed up a bit, and played mostly support on Crater Game 2 with 'nades and power weps... low score, but it worked- fewest deaths too, and we scored nearly 300k in a 66 minute game. Taking out Jackal snipers with fuel rods and rockets is fun. No fratricides 'cept by Jr. Now get yer butt on with us; we're looking at Act 2 this evening. Might have enuff fer two teams, few more show up (I'm lookin' at you, Pato ).

Bit more for the Literaristas...

NEWS
Just back from the HALO 3 ODST blowout...

Just back from the HALO 3 ODST blowout at the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle. A huge, energy-filled event! For the last year, I've been talking and meeting and emailing with many of the creative folks behind HALO's games, novels and upcoming videos--and as soon as I finish my new novel, around the first of the year, I'll embark on an odyssey of my own--creating the origin story for the entire HALO universe.

"The Forerunner Trilogy" will be published over a span of at least a year and a half, and will reveal for the first time, in depth, the enigmatic builders of the [Rings], the Forerunners. The series is currently set to begin about a hundred thousand years B.P.E., and will involve human origins, the struggle to avert the first appearance of the Flood, and many other Big Events only lightly sketched out in the Halo games. HALO fans are devoted, detail-oriented, curious, and--I hope--patient! Getting this right will take some time, but it's likely to be great fun. Expect epic adventure, many surprises, and interlinks with MYSTERIOUS FUTURE PROJECTS... -- Greg Bear

http://www.gregbear.com/#

http://www.gregbear.com/news.cfm

elpato84 wrote:

It's kind of fun/amusing/sad, getting to the point where I pass through an area and I imagine what kind of gameplay possibilities there are. It was odd the first time. I kept expecting a cutscene, then waves upon waves of enemies pouring out of somewhere. Turns out I'd only get the first part.

I think I get some of that, but could you elaborate a bit? I'm finding a lot of replay value and different ways of tackling the missions/fights therein.

Booksley wrote:

..and we co-oped through campaign..

All the way?

I'm not sure why I got signed out of Xbox Live... oh well.

I just emailed Levi with brief thoughts on the lines of 'consoles- they just work.' Yeah, sorta; but the more complexified they get, the iffier that is, and more complex. Learing all the ins/outs of even XBL is work... e.g., only one screenie of mine was showing on my fileshare. I've uploaded a fair number over the years, tho never on the order of my output from [MA] Halo days, quantity or quality... turned out they are up, just not visible the other way.

The latest is the last of a number from my earliest surviving ODST movie, currently on my service record 'homepage.' I took a number from just after I'd put a particle beam thru 3 grunts... you can barely see 2 in the distance, methane still outgassing, taken from the default 3rd-person camera view. I took some others from other perspectives, as it's tough to take it all in, even in high res. None of them is my best work; I've not had the time to work with movies and screens much the last couple years.

Here's the epic game from last night. 294,502 points; 66 minutes 7 seconds. Almost half again the 200k need for the Achievement, and great fun.

Gotta go jump on XBL now. Cya there, I hope.

Wait, there was a Halo event up in Seattle recently? Crap, i've been in the area for over a week now and didn't know about it.

LLEVIATHANN wrote:

Bat wrote:

inexplicably no one else did.

RL grabbed me, wouldn't let go.

I pretty much figured that. Gotta keep the priorities straight. We had fun anyhow, just different than expected.

I looked thru your friends list, found Phy on Orange Box so didn't interrupt. It'll all happen again soon enough; e.g. Mon night I had must-do errands. Maybe before bed, anyhow soon, I'll nab that last clip.

Books specifically mentioned some FF soon.

In other news, my VGA cable repair job didn't hold up... I heart not heavy old-style solder guns, poor working conditions and my cheep cable (which I found last Fall to lack strain reliefs in the audio connectors). Bad enough my multiway audio adapter gradually succumbed to age this last year, but now more repairs in order. Might be off a day or two fixing/ working up more thorough fix[es]. You don't appreciate how important audio is until it's broke; with one channel working you can't localize enemies that way, and ODSTs have no motion tracker. You die a lot more... I did the game's final fight w/no sound at all. Not pretty, but at least I still had a Gravity Hammer on Coastal Highway. Found some new stuff earlier on, too.

Also, Saturday's epic on Crater is on my fileshare now for the curious.

Usually someone's gotta do it. Teams are complementary. That game I was fire support/specialty; limited ammo, mostly hanging back doing ranged work 'cept for some hammering.

NightCougar_37 wrote:

Wait, there was a Halo event up in Seattle recently? Crap, i've been in the area for over a week now and didn't know about it.

Claude & Bungie have your back.

A Night with Bungie
aklay47 and friends were at the ODST Launch Event in Seattle last month - and whipped up a 6 minute video capturing the feel of the evening. Well-done piece! Go watch it. (Louis Wu 12:54:27 UTC)