SketchFactor has posted at Bungie.net that since the introduction of the modified content detection in AutoUpdate 4 yesterday, more than 2,500 permanent matchmaking bans have been issued by the "self-aware automated Banhammer".
Saiyan of Team3d, referred to by the Ogres as the most underrated Halo 2 tournament player, gave a candid (if somewhat terse) interview which is up not at Team3d.net. Thanks Louis Wu at HBO.
Just about a year after hitting the million mark, Xbox Live has doubled in size, hitting two million subscribers, according to Major Nelson. (Nearly all of which are clearly playing Halo 2. Any other games you may see being played by members of your friends list are clearly figments of your imagination--Ed.)
Major League Gaming's website notes that they will hold two Halo 2 mini-tournaments at Giants Stadium in New Jersey this weekend, on July 23. Details including prizes are in MLG's announcement.
On the eve of the autoupdate that is supposed to deal a crushing blow to cheaters in Halo 2 matchmaking on Xbox Live, there have been a variety of discussions on various sites and forums about whether or not the matchmaking model delivers on the "virtual couch" claims that Microsoft makes for the service. The latest of Narc's Retorts asks: is Xbox live creating a digital divan, or a digital divide?
There's been much discussion of late about the way matchmaking works in Halo 2's implementation of Xbox Live, with regards to cheating, griefing, and other misbehaviors, and as compared to other kinds of venues and methods for enjoying networked games, such as LAN Fests and server browser-based PC games.
Dyslexia at Major League Gaming interviews Str8 Rippin. Thanks Louis Wu at HBO.
Players who want to compete in Major League Gaming's Philadelphia events in Halo or Halo 2 need to register online.
Bungie.net has a couple of updates today; SketchFactor has posted that the last Humpday Challenge pitted Bungie against Team Korea where Bungie won a best four of five match; next they'll take on Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Subnova has a new feature called Seeker which you can use to search more than a dozen different Halo sites, including Bungie.net, Halo.Bungie.Org, Rampancy.net, and many others. You can search using Seeker or read about what Seeker does. Thanks Louis Wu at HBO for the heads-up and for using the headline I was going to use.
TeamXbox has a feature on the Xbox 360's probable launch lineup; the games that will make it, those that won't but should, the ones you might not know about, and a category called "where the hell is" games. The article begins by mentioning Halo:
Devin Eastman has transcribed Covenant Dance from the original Halo soundtrack. As usual, you can login (if you haven't already, or register if you don't have an account) and download the archive from the Halo subsection of our Sheet Music page.
Composed by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori
Transcribed and Arranged by Devin Eastman
© 2002 Microsoft Corporation
This folder contains:
PDF file of the score
PrintMusic! 2004 file of the score
MIDI file of the music
and of course this Read Me
Modders of Halo games on the Xbox may be holding their breath while HaloMods is closed pending an upcoming auto update. In the meantime, Gearbox's PC Halo fork, Halo: Custom Edition, is still getting new user-created content. Verdafolio at Demented Puppy Dot Com this week noted the release of two new maps: ColdRush by JackBauer and Dualing Keeps by DOMINATOR.