Bungie Update Makes Individual Exp Per Playlist

So Bungie announced that their new update to the Halo 3 Matchmaking Playlist will include individual experience points and ranks per Playlist. So players will now see that some players are Generals in Lone Wolfs, but a Sgt in Team Slayer Social.

I think this is cool. I've noticed that some Generals and Brigadiers aren't that good in Big Team Social. This should give players a better understanding of how experienced a player is in certain game types rather than the broad ranking and experience system that is currently in place.

If Shane and I join up in Rocket Race, then we'll be Generals in no time. For those that don't know, we are pretty good at Rocket Race.

Also there will be some Banhammer updates since people are abusing the file share system. It's amazing how people figured out to upload nudy pictures to their Halo file share for others to enjoy.

No Bungie Update This Week?

Sadly Bungie won't be doing a big reveal this week. Harold Ryan has just posted the following:

From: Harold Ryan
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 7:00 PM
Subject: E3 Announce

For the last several months, we've been building toward a reveal of something exciting that Bungie is working on. We were looking forward to sharing that with our fan community during the week of E3. However, those plans were just changed by our publisher.

We realize that many of our fans are disappointed by this turn of events; members of the Bungie team share that disappointment.

When the right time comes, we look forward to sharing this exciting announcement with you. Until then, we appreciate your continued support and patience.


Harold Ryan
President
Bungie LLC

That's a little upsetting, but there is so much cool stuff coming out of E3 it will be cool to save some stuff for after the event.

But this also could be a trick. The clock is stopped at 12 hours exact. We shall see.

Update: The forums are lighting up at BNet, but it's not the "Oh shit Bungie fail". It's the "oh crap we are solving your riddles". Lots of hardcore fans are already putting pieces together and stating that the delay is to be expected as told by the Superintendent. There are messages being sent out by the Superintendent that say:

KEEP IT CLEAN
PLEASE REMAIN CALM
THERE WILL BE DELAYS

More to most likely come.

Bungies Started to Go Viral

Looks like Bungie has started their viral marketing or whatever you want to call it. Their home page has been converted into a error or warning screen with a clock that seems to be counting down to Friday. Once you click statistical processing continues it takes you to the normal Bungie site, but it's not completely normal.

It looks like Bungie removed the news section from the front. You can still find the news by digging through the links. The rumors on the forums are pretty weak as to what the big changes will be to Halo 3 online. Some speculate rank resets, which honestly is only a big deal to the hardcore players. Others believe there will be some changes to the Battle Rifle, while others hope that they have some new hosting and network code (maybe dedicated servers as one person suggest).

We won't know, it seems, until Friday though. I guess this is the change that Luke was referring to in the podcast. Hopefully when he uses the words "Major changes to the Halo 3 online experience" he's not exaggerating and it just turns out to be some new armor colors. Then again Luke Smith did talk up Halo 3 to be this insanely great game and it wasn't.

More Bungie News Coming July 14th

The Bungie Podcast yesterday spoke of big news coming next week at the beginning of E3. What could it be?

Well it's definitely going to be a game announcement, but what will they announce. Some believe it will be the Peter Jackson Halo game, while others believe it to be another arc to the Halo story since Halo 3 left us asking what planet is Master Chief heading to?

Also there is another viral marketing site out that is believed to be Bungie and/or Halo related called 1019foxfm.net/. Notice all the sevens. Well I'll definitely be tuning in Monday and I'll post whatever news and rumors are out there as they come out (unless Andy beats me to it).

Happy Bungie Day!

July 7th is the official Bungie Day! There are free downloads on the Xbox Live marketplace for everyone. The free downloads include a picture pack, a theme and the free map of Cold Storage for Halo 3. These downloads are only supposed to be available today so get to downloading!

Cold Storage will be put into gaming lists that require the Legendary Map pack.

Speaking of which, today also marks a price reduction in the Legendary Map pack from 800 Microsoft Points($10) to 600 Microsoft Points($6.50).

Halo 3 Maps Now Free

Just in case you live under a rock(or don't get Josh's e-mails(why he doesn't post instead I'll never know), the Halo 3 Heroic Map Pack is now free. You can download it off of Xbox Live.

There are three maps in the pack: Standoff, Rat's Nest and Foundry. It also includes some new items for you to play with in Forge as well. I bought them when they were 800 points($10). They're pretty fun. (And for some reason, Josh wouldn't download them even when I gave him points.)

The next Halo 3 map pack - the Legendary Map Pack - will be released April 15th for 800 points($10).

Halo 3 Is Fair Now

Some people thought it was a myth, but I experienced the unfair melee lag in Halo 3 plenty of times. Yesterday Bungie announced that the auto update went up and the melee should be fixed. Now the player with the "sizeable health advantage" will win and if both players have low health then both players will have to go back into the respawn queue. About time.

Now I can get back to playing some Halo 3, but until I get service in my living room, it looks like I'll have to be playing on the Hello Kitty TV. Also expect lag for the first couple of weeks as Bungie's servers figure out which players have the best connections. This always happens with each reset.

I'm Heroic!

I know many of you will be upset, but I gave Bungie another $10. I bought the Heroic Map Pack today. And I don't regret it!

Rat's Nest is pretty fun. Santana and I were able to dominate on the outer track with a Warthog and when that got destroyed, I was able to jack a Ghost and continue to rain destruction upon the other team. The interior middle can get pretty intense with the various bridges and passages. There's even a hammer in the middle, but I SUCK with the hammer.

Stand Off is very big. On Capture the Flag, I was able to defend the base almost entirely by myself with a shotgun and some plasmas. We were able to score at the last second to win. Regular slayer is fun here too. You can see far across the map on this one. Which is apparently why there are no snipers on the map. There are battle rifles, shotguns, lasers, rocket launchers, Warthogs and Mongooses, though.

Santana really liked Foundry, but I was constantly killed. It's definitely an intense map because the enemy could be in any direction and it's not really that big. The cramped areas definitely make for some interesting situations.

But one of the main reasons I wanted to buy the Heroic Map Pack was for the extra stuff in Forge. I spent a good portion of today making a map on Foundry by deleting everything and building from scratch. There's a lot of options. I did play with a soccer ball for a while, but it didn't make it into my final design.

So go ahead and flame away. I can take it. After all, I'm heroic!

(BTW, this is our 300th post! Hoorah!)

Bungie Announces Halo 3 DLC

Starting December 11th, you can download the first DLC for Halo 3: a map pack of three new multiplayer maps for 800 Microsoft Points($10).

The first map is called Standoff. It is described as a two base map with some vehicles and turrets.


The second map is named Rat's Nest. It was inspired by the campaign level Crow's Nest and is a primarily indoor map. There are vehicles on the map but expect some tight spaces as well. Ideal for 6-16 players and should be added into the Big Team Battle games.


And the last map is Foundry. Developers expect gamers to have a lot of fun with how much you can change this map in Forge. This level was inspired by the campaign level where you fight the Flood in the warehouse(the level where you should definitely NOT kill the wounded Marines, Josh). Developers say this is a good map for 4-12 players.

Bungie is Independent Now

It's official! Bungie and Microsoft have agreed to allow Bungie to return to it's independent status and will now be known as Bungie, LLC. According to the Bungie Weekly Update:

Bungie has long been built on creativity, originality and the freedom to pursue ideas. Microsoft agreed, and rather than stifle our imagination, they decided it was in both our best interests to unleash it. We’ll continue to make Xbox 360 games, and we’ll continue to make amazing games for MGS. In that regard, nothing has changed. All that has changed is that now Bungie Studios is once again, the property of the folks of Bungie Studios. Microsoft is and will continue to be, a brilliant, inventive and creatively collaborative publishing partner. Practically speaking, nothing has changed and you guys won’t see much, if any difference, for a while unless you come to work for us, that is – we’re hiring at http://www.bungie.net/inside/jobs.aspx

It's good to see that it was a friendly-looking split and that the Halo franchise is still in good hands. I can't wait to see what new stuff Bungie brings to the fans.

Rumor :|: Bungie Leaving M$

There is a rumor going around that Bungie and Microsoft are getting a divorce. A blogger posted a supposed email from a person close to Bungie and apparently the real split will take place on Oct. 6th of 2007.

"So heres my big secret. You should google Bungie + Microsoft + separation this week.
You know that big ol BILLION dollar franchise Bungie has created for Microsoft, to show their appreciate Microsoft is letting Bungie leave. Of course Microsoft gets to keep all rights to the Halo franchise, but as today Bungie no longer part of Microsoft. Ask anyone who works there to search the global address book, they're no longer in there. Microsoft was supposed to release the press release today but if they wait till the 10/6 the impact wont effect the quarterly results. However today is the actual official date and the day the NDAs expire, however you still didn't hear this from me."

"Apparently MS just wants Bungie to make Halo for the rest of their natural days, and Bungie doesn't like how MS is constantly trying to "handle" everything they do; the way they market their games, the way they interact with their fans (basically the fact that they do appreciate their fans), and how stingie they are with the profits (comparable to the rest of the industry). So as of today they are their own independent entity. They'll probably make Halo 4 for Microsoft, however hey are also free to create new intellectual properties for whatever system they want. (Even though they prefer the xbox platform)"

"What a way to say thank you."

Gaming journalist have been in contact with Bungie and Microsoft and both parties are stating "no comment" instead of putting the rumor to bed. What do you all think? If the split is true, then who will handle all future Halo 3 add-ons, like maps?

The Halo Leaks Have Begun

Looks like the leaks have begun, so I will be getting off the Halo 3 boat until Sept 25th. No spoilers after the jump.

There were several copies of a PAL version of Halo 3 being sold on eBay that are being "confirmed" as real. 2 of the Halo 3 copies have been removed. Forums are saying that you could e-mail the seller for proof and the seller would e-mail you some images from the first cut scenes. HBO said they would shut down the forums to prevent any spoilers from getting out, but they are still up and running.

Apparently the eBay sellers are also posting links to Halo 3 spoilers. I will avoid the forums, even though the forum ninjas are on full alert. I imagine they won't be able to stop the Halo 3 storm that will be taking place in the next 2 weeks. I should probably put in my time off request. Master Chief dies at the end, but not before traveling back in time to stop the Covies.

Halo 3 Has Gone Golden

With only 27 days until the official release, Halo 3 officially went gold today. You hear that sound? That's millions of fans crying with relief and joy. Xbox.com announced the news today.

"This is the game we've always wanted to make and certainly the best game our studio has developed. We can't wait for gamers to get their hands on it on September 25." said Harold Ryan, Studio Head at Bungie Studios.

I've been watching a ton of leaked footage and it's been very impressive. Everything from the flamethrower to forge to the new vehicles, like Hornet and Elephant. Thanks to the leaks there are less speculations flying around and this should reduce the over hype that happened with Halo 2 (where's my boat fights?)

One cool theory that's been going around is that there will be two campaigns. One you play as the Master Chief and the other that you play through as the Arbiter. This came about due to the secret achievements list for Halo 3. We shall see in 27 days.

More Halo 3 Swag!

All excited about the upcoming release of Halo 3 but worried that the replica helmet won't be enough to satisfy your love of swag? Have no fear! GameStop has introduced some new Halo 3 accessories to spruce up your gaming lair.

Behold the Halo 3 Missile Case! It retails for about $20 and looks like it holds one or two wireless controllers and some games.

While I usually scoff at gaming swag, this doesn't look too bad. I don't know that I'll get it, but it's interesting. What other swag can we expect as the hype for some of these games reaches boiling point?

Halo 3 Co-op Update

Lukems has updated the Bungie site with some great news about the Halo 3 co-op mode. The game has been tested and polished and will definitely have co-op mode with up to 4 players. Beware the SPOILERS. Here are some of the details:

* Players Can Not Jump In Mid Game
* Players Can Start on Any Level that Has Been Completed by Host
* Each Player Will Have Their Own Character (see below for characters)
* Each Race Starts with Different Weapons (Humans get Human Weapons, Covie Get Covie Equivalent)
* This Will Definitely Change the Way Halo Campaign is Played
* Max 2 Players on Split Screen Co-Op

To keep with the story line and not break the visual continuity there will not be 2 Master Chiefs. Instead each player will be their own character: The Master Chief, The Arbiter, N’tho ‘Sraom, and Usze ‘Taham. Bungie gives a little summary of the two new characters and more should be revealed during the game play.

Gears of War had great co-op moments, but now with 4 players and the large environments that the Halo games usually have, this game is sure to be epic with lots of epic moments. I will definitely need to get a second harddrive to store all the great moments. Boo yaka

4 Player Co-op in Halo 3 Confirmed

Bungie has announced in Amsterdam today that yes online co-op is in and yes 4 player co-op is in. This comes after leaked information about online co-op was looking rocky. Bungie is going to update their site later today going into more details.

Bungie Podcast Now on iTunes

Bungie announced yesterday that their newly revived podcast is now on iTunes and has an RSS feed separate from their news feed. The first podcast was released on 09.22.06, the second one came 9 months later on 07.11.07 with the help of Luke Smith. After a couple of weeks of working on the podcast it now has it's own feed and seems to be coming out weekly with news about Halo 3 release and other Bungie happenings.

I've enjoyed each episode, but unfortunately they haven't been that long and Luke Smith, from 1upyours, is not as lively as he was on that show. Other than that it's a great podcast to subscribe to.

This is great news, but I do recall that Microsoft and Bungie got together and made a Halo 3 Zune. There's no mention if the podcast is in the Zune Store. That would make more sense and help get more users using that service. But since iTunes has a larger audience I guess it makes more sense to just say iTunes. Guess who else is on iTunes? We are.

No Online Co-op for Halo 3

In a disappointing announcement, Bungie says that there will not be online co-op for the Halo 3 campaign mode. While the lack of online co-op was the biggest complaint abotu Halo 2, the developers are saying they are having too many problems implementing online co-op and are cutting it(for now) to make their deadline.

Bungie has not ruled out the possibility that they would release a downloadable update which would implement online co-op sometime after the game's release. This announcement also squashes the online four player co-op rumors which have been circulating.

Halo 3 will still have a co-op mode, but it will be like Halo 2 - gamers can choose either split screens or a LAN connection.

There's a small possibility the developers could get the online co-op working before release, but most of them have turned their attentions to polishing up everything else to make the September deadline.

I'm definitely disappointed. I figured with a number of other games including two player online co-op nowadays, it wouldn't be a problem for Bungie. After all, they created one of the best online party systems for Halo 2. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but I'm not holding my breath...

Happy Bungie Day

July 7th marks "Bungie Day" in the Bungie.net community. In honor of this world wide celebrated holiday all state employees should be off of work today as well as most employees in the private sector. Also Bungie has posted some great 3D Quicktime movies giving fans the ability to see the new C.Q.B. and E.V.A. armor from almost all angles. The Brute Chopper is the most interesting because it is set in the new map Shrine, so you're able to see more of that map than in the past.

If you have a 360 with an online account, be sure to check the themes and gamer pics area because there is content that will be there for today only (07.07.07) and then they will be gone forever.

Bungie Server for Saving Films

Frankie mentioned in his weekly Bungie update that Bungie will be supporting the Saved Films feature. To prove it he posted a screenshot of the server size which is a humongous 70.9 terabytes. Thats a good amount of space, but will it be for the hundreds of thousands of players who will use it on a daily bases saving their films? Most likely we'll all get an alloted amount, like we did during the beta. Lets just hope its more than 25 megs.

For those of you who don't know what the Saved Films feature is, basically you can save your game data after each MP match you play. This game data is then rendered to play the game again and will allow the user to pause and hopefully move the camera to other areas of the game to study how they died or why they survived so well. Frankie mentions in an older post that they also want to include the ability to trim the movie.

The game data can be saved to your 360 harddrive as much as your harddrive will allow, but now you'll be able to save it online where your friends can download it and watch it.

Another interesting thing is that Frankie mentions it will be used for saving screenshots as well. So we'll be able to pull stills from the footage as well, which is pretty cool. Remember kids, Halo 3 comes out Sept 25 and Sept 19th for the French.