13 March 2009 Link to this update Original B.net link Return to main page

<<

17 June 2011 10 June 2011 3 June 2011 27 May 2011 6 May 2011 29 April 2011 22 April 2011 15 April 2011 8 April 2011 1 April 2011 25 March 2011 18 March 2011 11 March 2011 4 March 2011 25 February 2011 18 February 2011 11 February 2011 4 February 2011 28 January 2011 21 January 2011 14 January 2011 7 January 2011 17 December 2010 10 December 2010 3 December 2010 19 November 2010 12 November 2010 5 November 2010 29 October 2010 22 October 2010 15 October 2010 8 October 2010 1 October 2010 24 September 2010 17 September 2010 10 September 2010 3 September 2010 27 August 2010 20 August 2010 12 August 2010 6 August 2010 30 July 2010 23 July 2010 16 July 2010 9 July 2010 2 July 2010 25 June 2010 18 June 2010 11 June 2010 4 June 2010 28 May 2010 21 May 2010 14 May 2010 7 May 2010 30 April 2010 23 April 2010 16 April 2010 9 April 2010 2 April 2010 26 March 2010 19 March 2010 12 March 2010 5 March 2010 26 February 2010 19 February 2010 12 February 2010 5 February 2010 29 January 2010 22 January 2010 15 January 2010 8 January 2010 18 December 2009 11 December 2009 4 December 2009 20 November 2009 13 November 2009 6 November 2009 30 October 2009 23 October 2009 16 October 2009 9 October 2009 2 October 2009 25 September 2009 18 September 2009 11 September 2009 4 September 2009 28 August 2009 21 August 2009 14 August 2009 7 August 2009 31 July 2009 24 July 2009 17 July 2009 10 July 2009 3 July 2009 26 June 2009 19 June 2009 12 June 2009 5 June 2009 29 May 2009 22 May 2009 15 May 2009 8 May 2009 1 May 2009 24 April 2009 17 April 2009 10 April 2009 3 April 2009 27 March 2009 20 March 2009 13 March 2009 6 March 2009 27 February 2009 20 February 2009 13 February 2009 6 February 2009 30 January 2009 23 January 2009 16 January 2009 9 January 2009 2 January 2009 26 December 2008 19 December 2008 12 December 2008 21 November 2008 14 November 2008 7 November 2008 31 October 2008 24 October 2008 17 October 2008 10 October 2008 3 October 2008 26 September 2008 18 September 2008 12 September 2008 5 September 2008 29 August 2008 22 August 2008 15 August 2008 8 August 2008 1 August 2008 25 July 2008 18 July 2008 11 July 2008 3 July 2008 27 June 2008 20 June 2008 13 June 2008 6 June 2008 30 May 2008 23 May 2008 16 May 2008 9 May 2008 2 May 2008 25 April 2008 18 April 2008 11 April 2008 4 April 2008 28 March 2008 21 March 2008 14 March 2008 7 March 2008 29 February 2008 22 February 2008 15 February 2008 8 February 2008 1 February 2008 18 January 2008 11 January 2008 4 January 2008 21 December 2007 14 December 2007 7 December 2007 30 November 2007 16 November 2007 9 November 2007 2 November 2007 26 October 2007 19 October 2007 12 October 2007 5 October 2007 28 September 2007 21 September 2007 14 September 2007 7 September 2007 31 August 2007 24 August 2007 17 August 2007 10 August 2007 3 August 2007 27 July 2007 20 July 2007 13 July 2007 6 July 2007 29 June 2007 22 June 2007 15 June 2007 8 June 2007 1 June 2007 25 May 2007 18 May 2007 11 May 2007 4 May 2007 27 April 2007 20 April 2007 13 April 2007 6 April 2007 30 March 2007 23 March 2007 16 March 2007 9 March 2007 2 March 2007 23 February 2007 16 February 2007 9 February 2007 2 February 2007 26 January 2007 19 January 2007 12 January 2007 5 January 2007 29 December 2006 22 December 2006 15 December 2006 8 December 2006 1 December 2006 17 November 2006 10 November 2006 3 November 2006 27 October 2006 20 October 2006 13 October 2006 8 October 2006 29 September 2006 22 September 2006 15 September 2006 8 September 2006 1 September 2006 25 August 2006 18 August 2006 11 August 2006 4 August 2006 28 July 2006 21 July 2006 14 July 2006 7 July 2006 30 June 2006 23 June 2006 16 June 2006 9 June 2006 2 June 2006 26 May 2006 19 May 2006 12 May 2006 5 May 2006 28 April 2006 21 April 2006 14 April 2006 7 April 2006 2 April 2006 31 March 2006 24 March 2006 17 March 2006 10 March 2006 3 March 2006 24 February 2006 17 February 2006 10 February 2006 3 February 2006 27 January 2006 13 January 2006 6 January 2006 16 December 2005 9 December 2005 2 December 2005 18 November 2005 11 November 2005 4 November 2005 28 October 2005 21 October 2005 14 October 2005 7 October 2005 30 September 2005 23 September 2005 16 September 2005 9 September 2005 2 September 2005 26 August 2005 19 August 2005 12 August 2005 5 August 2005 29 July 2005 22 July 2005 15 July 2005 8 July 2005 1 July 2005 17 June 2005 10 June 2005 3 June 2005 27 May 2005 20 May 2005 13 May 2005 6 May 2005 29 April 2005 22 April 2005 15 April 2005 8 April 2005 1 April 2005 25 March 2005 18 March 2005 11 March 2005 4 March 2005 25 February 2005 18 February 2005 11 February 2005 4 February 2005 28 January 2005 23 January 2005 14 January 2005 7 January 2005 30 December 2004 17 December 2004 10 December 2004 3 December 2004 19 November 2004 12 November 2004

>>

Bungie Weekly Update: 03/13/09

Posted by urk at 3/13/2009 3:16 PM PDT

Coming off of last week's towering wall o' text, we're returning to something a bit more manageable. Lighter on words, we hope you understand that though we like to keep you filled in on what's going down, there are a number of things we just can't talk about. As we've said all along, when we can, we will.

And really, who are we kidding? Most of you have already scrambled to check the URL, right-clicked the inline images, and called up the source code, scanning for Mythic Map Pack codes like Cipher staring deeply into the scrolling lines of verdant code.

You remember what happened to Cipher, right?

Mythic Map Pack

There not much news on the Mythic Map Pack front. Word on the streets is that the Halo Wars LCE is, in fact, in limited supply. If you haven't managed to pick it up or snag an early code through some other means, chances are you're in a holding pattern until the Mythic Map Pack is available for purchase on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

If you want something to distract yourself with in the meantime, might we suggest Halo 3's campaign? Not to toot our own horn or anything, but we hear it's pretty sweet (toot, toot). Tell you what, fire it up, snap some screenshots of Scarabs in action, slap 'em in your File Share tagged with "Scarab," and we'll take a look come Monday morning. We'll sift through, pick a good number of favorites, and if your snaps are on the short list of our favorites, we'll let you have a good, close-up look at Covenant Scarabs being assembled. Deal?

If you still demand another distraction to bide the time between now and the release of the Mythic Map Pack, we're continuing our examination of some of the custom content that will eventually make its way into Halo 3's Matchmaking experience sometime in the not-so-distant future. Up this week? Spooky House.

Oddly enough, the name fits the map. This haunted house, mysteriously hovering in the sky over Sandbox, was made for those looking to sink their teeth into some delicious brains. To help us flesh out the description, we've asked the map's creator, Shay, to provide us with some answers to a few brief questions.

Q. What was the core concept behind Spooky House?

A. I wanted to make a Zombie map on Sandbox that would keep everyone in the same area and encourage the defenders to work together. While testing Sandbox we played quite a few Zombie games on the default layout and one of the biggest problems we encountered was that all the defenders would leave the middle area and hang out on the outer edge. If any of the Zombies got too close they could easily backpedal and kill the Zombies before they'd get anywhere near them. With Spooky House that's not an option.

Q. Any special things you did to make it live up to its "spooky" moniker?

A. Using the different objects in Sandbox I tried to make it look as much like a haunted house as I could. I used wood bridges to board up the windows and the gloomy effect to give it a spookier feel. In the gametype I created, the Zombies are forced to the color white and I believe a 25% transparency to give them a ghostly look.

Q. Why did you choose the "Sky Bubble" as the space you wanted to build in?

A. I really didn't want the defenders to have any reason to leave the Spooky House. If you do leave, you'll soon find that there isn't anywhere to go but down, plus you're just going to make it easier for the Zombies to get you. This was also the best way I could get the Zombie spawning to work with the mancannons.

Q. Is this only a Zombies variant, or do you envision it could be utilized for other gametypes?

A. I guess you could potentially play a King of the Hill game on it with each floor being its own hill. One gametype I wasn't able to do was Ghostbusters. I wanted to switch the spawning so the Zombies started in the house and the defenders had Sentinel Beams. Sadly the Sentinel Beam isn't an option for starting weapons.

Q. One of the prominent features of Spooky House is its multiple vertical layers. Why did you decide to build upward instead of outward?

A. I wanted to give the players as much play area as possible in such a confined space and making the house multiple stories just made sense. I also wanted the defenders to be able to set up defense on any floor, so as the defense breaks down they can move to higher ground. Finally, the roof is meant to be a sort of "last stand" area where you can have the option to abandon ship and jump to the ground floor, but then you've got a house full of zombies and nowhere to go.

Q. What about the Mancannons? Seems some fling Zombies to the tip top and others send them to the base and force them to make the climb through the more dangerous inner sanctum. Was that intentional?

A. The mancannon thing came from another map I made, Cubed. I had them on opposite sides and they would send the player up to the top level but I found that if you hit them wrong you'd be sent flying into a wall. When I started making Spooky House I thought it would be cool to make the Zombies fly in from different directions. The mancannons at the back of house were a replacement for some tunnels I originally had there. As far as having Zombies be able to reach the roof, that part wasn't planned but I decided to leave them in. While testing the map we found that for some reason we didn't respawn there as much as we would at the other two, so consider yourself lucky if you spawn there.

Q. What would you say sets Sandbox apart from its warehouse predecessor, Foundry?

A. Well, after discussing this with the rest of the ForeArm team, we came up with a pretty simple answer: EVERYTHING. It's bigger, it's better, and it's nearly limitless.

---

We don't know who or what the ForeArm team is, but we suspect you might be hearing more from them in the near future. We know you'll be hearing more from Shay - another one of his maps, Cubed, is also slated for some Matchmaking play. We'll corner him one more time to give you the goods on it's playable perches before this ride is over.

But those questions and answers are for another week in the not-so-distant future.

From the Feed

Despite warnings and extended bans, people continue to muck around in our news feed. Like pigs in the slop, some of you just aren't satisfied with the other venues we provide for you to communicate with us and instead choose to roll around in the mud until we notice you. Well, you've been noticed, you stinky little oinkers.

halo 3 MYTHIC MAP PACK
Nosey 100 writes: WHEN WILL THE MYTHC MAP PACK WILL COME OUT FOR THE XBOX LIVE MARKET PLACE AS A STAND ALOND DLC PLEASE ANSWER AS FAST AS POSSIBLE

As you can surmise from the absence of an official, personal reply to your query, we were not swayed by your demands. Nor were we goaded into supplying an answer under the crushing weight of your capitalized assault upon our news submission feed. But we do appreciate the "please." Traditional manners are lost upon so many these days.

The truth is - and we've relayed this same info over and over again - that we can't clue you into the date just yet. When will we? Soon™. Maybe next week if all goes to plan. Still, something tells us that plenty of you will skip right past this section of the update to ask about the date anyway. Prove us wrong. Please.

Jonas Brothers Hits an all time Worst!
Britney Fan X10 writes: Pity da fools.
Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience has receive the #1 worst movie on IMDb. Voted by users.

You know what else hit an all time Worst? The news submission feed when it was saddled with your submission. Okay, that's probably a bit harsh (and definitely unfair to the really ugly stuff that shows up in the news feed), but you should really leave the Jonas Brothers alone - they're just a trio of wholesome young lads with silken shocks trying to positively shape the soundscape of pop music. Plus, they're dreamy. And they donate ten percent of their income to charity.

DON'T YOU DARE SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT OUR JONAS BROTHERS.

What is this?
Confused 1137 writes: Why has this appeared?

The question is not one of why "this" has appeared, or even what this is, but rather, it's one of how. Materialization of objects into one's perceived reality, whether they are tangible, mystical, or completely imagined, can be, and often are, born out from an infinitude of mental machinations, including hallucination, mental illness, and actual physical manifestations detected and described by our sensory perceptions. Even the latter, while seemingly the most concrete and universally accepted evidence of the defined "real" state of matter, has been explored and questioned by ages of philosophers to no avail and with no definitive answer.

"Why has this appeared?," you ask. Friend, the only confident answer we can supply in response to your query is simply, because.

Working for the Weekend

If you've made it this far, congrats, take a few days off from your hectic work week. Relax. Fire up your Xbox 360. You've earned it. We have too. Enjoy your weekend, stay safe, and Stay Tuned. We out.