Link
As for the subscription, it doesn't sound unreasonable, but the anti-micro-rapements squad is likely unhappy.
Also:
TRY TO BELIEVE?
Not much new info here, other than the confirmation of what's in Epsilon.The Halo 3 Epsilon includes:
The Forge
Halo 3s 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 maps 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 thats 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 3s Campaign, Tsavo Highway
Win at PAX confirmed.Various U.S. and worldwide enthusiast outlets have played Tsavo Highway now, and you can find their impressions through the Internetz tubes. If youre not inspired to track down the impressions yourself, heres 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 youre 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.
Theres 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.
The B.net features sound awesome. I can't wait to put me sniping Ghaleon in the head as my wallpaper.BUNGIE PRO:
Roger Wolfson, Bungies 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 its 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, 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.
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.
As for the subscription, it doesn't sound unreasonable, but the anti-micro-rapements squad is likely unhappy.
Also:
Dedicated Servers: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.
TRY TO BELIEVE?
More info on Narrows, and some cool info on weapon placement, which Luke said on the podcast sets up some really interesting control points.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). .