There's a thread in the HBO forum where mikeman445 pointed out a couple of tricks relating to weapon reloading in Halo; one that he was familiar with, the other he wasn't, but noticed in a tournament video featuring StK vs. TDT.
SketchFactor has posted on Bungie.net that the PC version of Halo is getting a security patch through the auto-update mechanism to keep it in step with a needed security fix for the dedicated server. Both changes are to protect against an exploit on the GameSpy CDKey SDK. Both the Halo PC client and dedicated server will now be version 1.04.
Progamerz has put up a short FAQ on the Halo Editing Kit with answers from Gearbox programmer Hellface. The release of the kit (as with the 1.04 patch) they say is up to Bungie and Microsoft now, and not Gearbox. Thanks rapture via Louis Wu of HBO.
... so pay no attention to those bulletholes in your back. Too often, communication in online games is on that level, especially if you aren't able to use voice services. Halo.fropco.com has a new article up on teamwork in Halo called Sum Utilis Militis. Thanks John "Raider".
Steve at Forerunners.org pointed out a new offer from HomeLAN called HomeLAN Xtreme On Demand; the first 100 customers will get a special price of $99 per month. You have to register for an account with them to get the full pricing plan.
Part Four of the High Ping Bastard's Guide to Halo is up. This one is about the finer points of etiquette when playing on a slow connection-- when to apologize, when not to, when discretion is the better part of valor and when to get the heck out of Dodge... I mean, the server. Salad fork not required.
Pete at Subnova asks why you haven't bought Halo for your Mac or PC. Right now the leading response is "I did get it you insensitive clod." No CowboyNeals were harmed in the making of this survey.
Mhaddy writes to us that the Junkyard recently had a chance to sit down with the two top dogs in charge of putting together Project Halo: Webwar Evolved. PH is an opensource, multiplatform 3D FPS / strategy game based on Halo. Check out their two page interview with CJ Scaminaci and Sam Bantner.
Long proponents of the PC as the proper platform for gaming, Devon "Calvin" Welles and Frank "WyldKard" Torkel at game.ars are coming around to the idea that console games are where it's at, at least for now, and our own favorite game gets part of the credit:
The technological supremacy of PCs compared to consoles is no longer as great as it used to be, and though one might argue about resolution and framerate, there are few titles anymore that can be distinctly called inferior on a console. Mark it up to society's ignorance concerning the beauty of the keyboard/mouse combination for first-person shooters, or to their ignorance of streamlined, customized hardware. The fact remains that console gamers are more secure in their gaming decisions than ever before. And really, why shouldn't they be, given that a first person shooter with modern features (Halo) has become legendary (despite the fact that it requires a controller to play)?
The article also discusses the recently rumored Xbox 2 specs, and both think that removing the hard drive and not bothering with backwards compatibility are OK ideas:
[WyldKard] I'm with Calvin when it comes to backwards compatibility and profit, and I have been shouting this from the rooftops for some time now. Despite arguments to the contrary, I simply do not think lacking backwards compatibility will hurt Microsoft's console business. This will be the case even if Sony and Nintendo decide that supporting an older library is worthwhile. Given the resources required to implement backwards compatibility, I am not sure the difference in cost is justifiable, especially when a console needs to push a new library to make money on new sales.
Personally, I'm still not convinced. Tell the two of them that Half Life 2 will require a new PC that, oh, by the way, can't play any of their old games, and maybe you'd get a different answer.
Charles 'Tru7h' Powell at The Junkyard has interviewed Robert 'Psyrixx' Sogomonian of The Psyjnir Complex in the latest edition of Spotlights.
Corey Tamas posted an editorial at MacGamer at the end of last month that commented on the software piracy issue underlined by MacSoft's decision to require the Halo CD to be in the drive in order for Mac Halo to launch. It's entitled Back When I Stole Games, although "back when" seems to be not that long ago, as the most recently-copied game Tamas cites is the original Unreal.
synide at cookedgamers writes that Angel Munoz of CPL is threatening to cancel the Halo PC tournament portion of their summer event if more teams do not register before February 13. Apparently fewer teams have registered for PC Halo than for all other games.
