HALO 3

[sanjoy]

the countdown begins 41 days to go

[Chaztin]

I hope atleast this game doesnt get those stock related prob during release...!

[sanjoy]

its an MS game forget about it.. we getting it on 25th

[MarketTantrik]

Behold the Halo 3 manual!

 

From Xbox360 Fanboy

 

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/08/17/be...-halo-3-manual/

 

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We don't know how the hell the denizens of the internet do it, but it seems that someone has uncovered some scans of the Halo 3 manual. Now, before you click through to digitally rifle through the pages yourself, know that there are spoilers ahead. In particular, there is one piece of info concerning a certain weapon. We won't tell you what that info is, but hopefully it will lessen the cries of "N00B" that fill your average game of Halo. Of course, the story-related parts of the manual should be familiar to those who have played through the first two games, but we know there are plenty of fans out there wishing to keep their experience completely pure. Anywho, if you don't care, or if your curiosity gets the better of you, hit the "read" link for some glorious manual goodness.

 

Also, keep in mind that we have no idea how recent this manual is, or if it's even real for that matter. Best to take any factual info (including the weapon details) with a healthy chunk of salt.

 

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Eat it up folks !!!!

[MarketTantrik]

Bungie profiles Halo 3 UNSC weapons

 

 

Bungie.net has posted some new weapon profiles from Halo 3. This time, we get a long, hard look at some of the human weaponry available in Halo 3. In total, we get a look at the M6G pistol, the M9 frag grenade, the M7 SMG, and the M90A shotgun. In addition to all the specifications for each weapon, the profiles are again filled with quotes from soldiers in the field. Our favorite this time refers to the M9 grenade: "Well it's a grenade innit? It blows up." In an interesting twist, the pistol profile hints at different types of ammunition available for the weapon. Whether or not this is featured in the game remains to be seen. Follow the links below to check out each weapon in detail.

[MarketTantrik]

Halo 3 theme for your Windows Live Space

 

 

If you've cursed MySpace, Blogger, Facebook or any of those other "hip and trendy" online communities and opted to go with Windows Live Spaces, then we've got just the thing for you. Available for Windows Live Space installation is a shiny new Halo 3 theme to show your support and love for the upcoming blockbuster of a game. If properly applied, you'll not only be the envy of all twelve Windows Live Space users, but we know Bungie will applaud your dedication to Master Chief. Go ahead, skin your Windows Live Space page with Halo 3 goodness or go for some generic brand support and apply the Xbox 360 theme if you wish. Both are equally lovely

[SchizoidFreud]

MT u gone berserk

[MarketTantrik]

MT u gone berserk

 

Good or what ?

[MarketTantrik]

BUY HALO 3's PLASMA PISTOL and PLASMA RIFLE

 

Buying Link

 

 

For a limited time only, reserve the full-size Halo 3 Plasma Rifle and Pistol replica weapons. Just like the ones used by Covenant forces, these replicate the same functions used in the game - lights, sounds, vibrations, recoiling and pausing! The pistol is about 4" x 16" x 12" and the rifle is about 7" x 24" x 15". Made of high-quality translucent, glossy rubber and plastic, they'll be gone before you know it. Reserve up to two of each laser gun weapon now! Each gun sold separately.

 

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This is freaking cool. Up there with the Big Daddy figurine included in Collector's Edition sets of Bioshock.

 

Anybody considering buying them ??

[MarketTantrik]

Kotaku talks Halo 3 and beyond with Bungie

 

Since they were in town the other night, and we were talking all things Halo 3, figured it was a good time to sit down with Bungies' "man of the people" Frank O'Connor, along with game designer Lars Bakken. Talk about Halo 3, talk about Halo 3's Forge, talk about microstransactions, downloadable content, boss battles, what they're up to in the impending post-Halo 3 world. Basically, talk about a whole lotta things.

 

First up, Forge. We'd heard whispers on the wind about it, but just what exactly was it? Frankie explains that it's an in-game mission editor, which to me sounds a little like Crackdown's "Keys to the City" mode. Players are able to edit things like objects, weapons, maps, vehicles, placements and MP game settings (almost like a basic mod editor), but this is all performed in-game by players who take the role of "monitors". If indeed this plays like Keys to the City, but in Halo, it should be awesome.

 

The addition of Forge gives Halo 3 essentially three game modes, and the pair continually refer to it as such (mentioning SP, MP and Forge when discussing game options, setups, etc). Which gives the player more game time. But just how much game time can players expect from the singleplayer campaign? "It's tough to put a hard figure on it", says Frankie. Understandable, since Halo's always been a game that lets you approach battles at your own pace, but a rough idea would be great. "Well, we don't really know if it's physically longer than the last one, but if you're an average Halo player, it should take you around the same time as it took to finish the previous two games, since they were about the same."

 

Finishing the last game? Reminded me of something. Fighting your way through Halo 2 only to end up in some old-school boss battle pissed a whole lot of people off. "Yeah, we found that pissed people off" Frankie says as they both chuckle. "You know, sometimes there are sets of cliches in games you can use, and use well, but...there will be huge encounters, like the battle with the Scarab, and there will be large enemies with weak-points, but no, we're not going to have any stereotypical boss encounters".

 

Turning things toward their own roles with the game, O'Connor says that his job is just getting started. With what he calls his "own development period" ("We don't call it marketing, we like to call what we're doing here tonight another stage of development"), he's already toured Europe, has popped in to Sydney and will keep the Halo hype-train chugging along through the United States in the leadup to the game's retail release. Busy boy.

 

But Bakken? He's done. Done with Halo 3, anyways. After a brief break, he says he and other Bungie team members have already moved onto their next projects. "Since the game is, aside from a few tweaks here and there essentially done, some of the guys are working on the game's downloadable content" Bakken says. They couldn't/wouldn't talk specifics on this "major" DLC, but what I did learn was that there will be microtransactions present in at least some small form for the game, with players able to purchase additional storage and display spaces for the game's file-sharing facilities, which allow the user to show off their favourite movies, screenshots, MP game settings, etc.

 

"We're still deciding on how we're going to implement this", Bakken says, meaning they haven't worked out how much it's going to cost you, but I'm assured that the space you get for "free" (six storage slots, a max file size of around 10-15MB and a total storage allocation of 50MB) should be fine for the average user. If you're going to be playing clan MP every day, or engaging in amateur machinima, then you can pony up for the extra space.

 

I notice Bakken said "some of the team" were working on DLC. What about the rest? "They're working on two projects", he says. One is Peter Jackson's Halo title. The other? A mystery. It's an unnamed, unannounced game that's "in the prototype and planning stage". Is it Halo? I get a smile and a "no comment". Is it not Halo? A smile, a "no comment". Ah well. Worth a shot

[MarketTantrik]

REVIEW OF GAME FUEL - The Halo 3 edition of Mountain Dew

 

From Ars Technica.

 

 

Halo 3 is enjoying one of the biggest promotional blitzes for any game, well, ever. Imagine the amount of products you get from a new Shrek release, then make them all XTREME to suit the "gaming demographic." It's not a pretty thought. Of course, when I saw Mountain Dew's new "Game Fuel" flavor at my local convenience store, I had to see what Master Chief tasted like.

 

Before I opened it to take a swig, though, I was curious about the color. It's a red that's almost pink in the light, with a gray cap. Does that seem to match Halo to you? What about green? Or monk-colored? Something other than red. If you asked me to describe the colors that match that Halo feelin', I would never have put red in the top five... unless this is a spoiler, and under that helmet Master Chief is a refreshing rouge color.

 

The nutritional information on the bottle is orange on a black background, which looks way too Halloween-y. The graphic artists who designed this must have looked at a single picture of Master Chief, slapped it on the bottle, and called it a day. No matter how "limited edition" this bottle is, it doesn't really grab me as a Halo product. Call me crazy.

 

The taste isn't much better. It's Mountain Dew with a sort of... grapefruit flavor? I don't know. It's pretty vile, though. I can see hardcore fans of the series grabbing a few of these to store away to impress their children with, but if anyone is actually looking for a tasty beverage, they'll be let down.

 

My Game does not feel Fueled.

[KnackChap]

hopefully the game will turn out better than the drink

[Anmolsc]

NO DOUBT THIS GAME WILL be good

MUST BUY

[Daedalus]

sure sure

[MarketTantrik]

Got my PM Anksam ?

[SchizoidFreud]

 

New multiplayer map and single-player shots jump from the Bungie man cannon

 

Continuing its worldwide tour of corpse humping and pink death, Bungie has rolled out a new batch of Halo 3 screenshots showing both single-player and a brand new multiplayer map.

 

 

The screens emanate from the Australian league of the press tour, where lucky Oz journos got to play the Narrows map, a Forerunner structure embedded in giant cliff wall.

 

According to men on the field, it's a bit like Halo 1's Assault on the Control Room bridge, with a man cannon on each side so opposing teams can meet in the air and fight over the central power weapons.

 

We look forward to caning it all day long when the full game finally comes out next month. We're trying not to count the days...

[Anmolsc]

New Halo 3 Screenshots

 

Bungie has released eight new screenshots. Among them are images from the Tsavo Highway and a newly announced multiplayer map titled Narrows. In addition, the update features a new live-action shot with a warthog manned by real people

 

Bungie Weekly Update: 8/17/07

 

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

. 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).

 

http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?ty...s&cid=12718

 

 

tons of new screenshots can be found here http://www.bungie.net/projects/halo3/asset...at=59&cc=21

[K'dash]

Great work anmol!!!

[MarketTantrik]

The pic in the Anmol's post is that of the real life working Warthog built by Peter Jackson's Weta Workshop in New Zealand. This prototype was used in the "Arms Race" short film that was showcased by M$ at E3 2007. It was an actual working prototype complete with quad steering and a workign machine gun that fired pyrotechnic rounds, not real bullets.

[K'dash]

So it could be possible that a Halo movie is infact in the works