17 August 2007 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: 8/17/07

Posted by lukems at 8/17/2007 6:10 PM PDT

Homestretch

Development on Halo 3 is winding down. While there's still a considerable amount of dudes here on site, playing through the game, testing the game, filing bugs and fixing bugs, the game is roughly 99.9% complete. That last .1% percent is pretty important, however. Right now, some testing is being done in a controlled retail environment via our Halo 3 Epsilon. You've probably seen reports online or even folks on your friends' list playing it, so here's the scoop:

The Epsilon is a closed, final phase testing for Halo 3. We won't be making the Epsilon available for public consumption, so while that's immensely disappointing for folks hoping that Friends and Family invites would be extended for the Epsilon, just know that each day you wait in agony is another day closer to September 25.

The Halo 3 Epsilon includes:

The Forge
Halo 3's Forge is a mode that allows for both play and design to co-exist and cooperate. A multiplayer focused tool, Forge will allow players to customize multiplayer maps, changing and resetting spawn points, weapon spawns, weapon timers, vehicle spawns and timers, vehicle spawn points, and add existing geometry to the map's existing structure in the form of crates, boxes, fusion coils, lifts, teleporters and more. The amount of items you can drop is regulated by an economy budget system, with different items having different values and each map having an overall Budget that the items you place cannot exceed. By deleting existing things off of a given map, you can actually place more things. Players can modify and create their versions of maps, save them and share them with their friends, but that's only half or so of what Forge allows.

In addition to functioning as creation-driven tool, Forge is also a playspace. Up to eight players can be on a given map at a time, shifting back and forth between their chosen multiplayer model and the Forge model - a Monitor. Players can play actual games in Forge, goof around, kill each other, play Slayer where each team designates a Monitor to supply weapons, vehicles, equipment and cover on the fly.

The three beta maps plus Last Resort and Sandtrap

A lone mission from Halo 3's Campaign, Tsavo Highway

Various U.S. and worldwide enthusiast outlets have played Tsavo Highway now, and you can find their impressions through the Internetz tubes. If you're not inspired to track down the impressions yourself, here's the skinny on Tsavo Highway.

Beginning in a subterranean labyrinth somewhere in Africa, the Master Chief and a squad of marines need to rendezvous at the semi-nearby city of Voi. Just how long that trip will take depends on if you're going to cross this sun-scorched African savannah, dotted with massive remains of the destroyed space elevator, Covenant outposts and Covenant checkpoints is up to you - you can go by foot, or perhaps more appropriately by Warthog.

There's going to be much more surfacing about Forge all over the Internet soon. Additionally, folks attending the upcoming Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle and the Leipzig Game Convention next week are due for an injection of Infinite Win.

Size Matters
No, this isn't hyperbole about moving units of Halo 3, instead it's about playing Halo 3 on a monstrous iMAX screen early this morning. I met up with a couple of Microsoft marketing dudes down at the Seattle Pacific Science center and fired up the build of Halo 3 I brought chained to my wrist in giant-screen glory.

Before I saw it, I didn't think an iMAX sized presentation would work, I doubted the might of technology and top flight projection software alike. When I booted up Sierra 117, with its God rays streaming through trees, reflecting softly off of the water the kind folks from iMAX and the gentle-hearted Microsoft dudes simultaneously uttered "Holy -blam-"

Rightfully so, I'd say. We were only displaying the game on roughly 70% of the full iMAX screen real estate and I was playing from the back row enjoying the sounds and vision of Halo 3 in dinosaur-like sizes (big dinosaurs, not those crappy little ones that eat vegetables). If I could've made everyone else leave for the weekend, I would've played through the game, but the deal they wanted to make was if I wanted to play through the whole game, they had to sit and watch the whole game. Studio Head and Sith Lord Harold Ryan would've force choked Captain Needa-style if he felt non-Bungie employees seeing Halo 3 in its entirety. Frankie, had he been here, would've been in A/V heaven, but alas he's airborne on an epic flight back from Australia.

How the Pros Do
Roger Wolfson, Bungie's still reining database programmer extraordinaire chimed in to talk about an optional bonus for Halo 3 consumers - Bungie Pro.

Roger sez:

Hey folks, Roger here. The Bungie server-programming team has been working on some cool new features to integrate with Halo 3, and it's time to spill some details (all of which may, of course, change before launch. Or even after, really; anytime we have a whim to mess with you guys.) Topic of the day: file sharing. You saw the basics of this during the public beta: custom game and map variants, screenshots, saved films and film clips can all be uploaded to your personal (but public) file share on our servers. The current plan is that everyone with a copy of Halo 3 and an Xbox Live Gold account gets 6 slots where you can place up to 25MB of these files to share with the world. Saved films take up the most space, and 25MB should be enough to hold several longish 16-player games.  We don't think the average user will be hurting for space.

"But wait!" you exclaim, "I'm not a merely *average* user! I plan to win every motion picture award there is with my exquisitely choreographed, epic-length saved films!" And *that* is where Bungie Pro comes in. "Bungie Pro?" you ask, an eyebrow raised. "I'm listening." While we can't give huge amounts of free storage to every one of our users, (note that unlike webmail sites, Bungie.net remains ad-free,) we're happy to accommodate power users with a premium storage option that we've dubbed Bungie Pro. Inside your file share, you'll find a button that will lead to an Xbox Live Marketplace panel, offering you a one-year "subscription" to Bungie Pro for a planned 750 Points. Buy this, and for the following year, your file share will balloon to 24 slots and 250MB. At the end of the year, you'll be asked to either re-subscribe, or else bring your share back under the default limit before you can upload new content. (750 Points comes to about 78 cents per month, by the way.)

"But wait!" a much smaller set of people calls out. "Why pick 24 / 250MB?" That's really a design decision - we figure that users of the file share don't want to have to page through endless lists of other people's files to see if there's anything good. Keeping it limited will make content authors do their part to keep their shares clean of the less interesting stuff. But if this *still* doesn't sound like enough for you, we have yet another option - while the free file share is restricted to Gold accounts for obvious reasons, we're making Bungie Pro available for purchase for your Silver accounts as well. You've created "mule" accounts in an MMO, right? Betcha never guessed you'd get to do it in Halo, too!

But wait, there's more! (That's me saying "But wait!" this time, not you.) Browsing file shares in-game is one way to find content, but it can get a little cumbersome. That's where Bungie.net comes in. When you visit the website, you'll be able to look at your file share, and everyone else's as well. Saved films and variants, of course, aren't viewable on the PC because they're just a sequence of game data, but you'll be able to pass around links, see the file descriptions, and even click a button to add it to your download queue - next time you sign in to Halo 3, the game will auto-download the files (up to 8, currently) that you selected on the website. Screenshots, though, you can view directly on Bungie.net and save off as wallpaper -- and they look *great*! Add to that features like "copy to my share" where you can import a file you like on someone else's share directly to your space (or your mule's) so you and your friends can find it in-game, file ratings, and discussions, and we think you'll find this to be an essential part of the Halo 3 online experience.

File sharing is only one of the Halo 3 server-side features that we've been working on, so stay tuned over the coming weeks and we'll have even more to discuss.

Bam. Roger, Roger. An additional note, the file share that each Halo 3 user has by default is not the extent of their stored files, just what they choose to upload and share with other players. Players can choose to upload up to six files, be they films, screenshots, map variants or gametypes, to their file share but when they want to share something else, they can replace any of the six currently being shared. The six files are just what is actively being shared, not what is being stored on your hard drive.

Gone 'Kamping
The above image shows just how to scale the Warthog that WETA has been making is - that's a real life human manning the gun. While there's still not too much to talk about regarding the excellent work of Neill Blomkamp, the studio did get a sneak peak of his next short earlier this week. It prompted a number of "Wait, was that a..." and "ZOMGz" from the various folks around here, and needless to say, when it surfaces next, you're in for a gritty and delightful treat.

Finally
We've put up some new screenshots in the Gallery area. In addition to a new image from Tsavo Highway, there's a handful of screenshots from a never before multiplayer map, Narrows.

Previously referred to as both NewMap001 and Long and Lean, Narrows takes place on a large, chilly Forerunner bridge. While symmetrical in nature, that symmetry is slightly interrupted by varied power-ups on either side of the map. A Rocket Launcher rests atop the central bridge, while a Shotgun sits below it on the low bridge. Battle Rifles and an assortment of dual wieldables decorate the bases at either end of the bridge. For fast travel from base to base there are Man Cannons that allow for in-air collision and general hilarity if two people take flight at the same time.

Speaking of general hilarity, next week's special guest on the Bungie Podcast will be none other than the angry one himself: Mat Noguchi. We'll make sure the Noguchi train is driving straight toward fury-town, but in order for him to be appropriately vitriolic, he'll need a little prodding from you folks. So shoot me your questions for Noguchi here at Bungie.net and we'll pick some and see what unfolds (other than a lot of editing). Download the latest episode of the Bungie Podcast here.