Death by intelligence.
News Roundup For July 2, 2005
- Bungie's latest What's What Update is all about cheating and assuring players that the situation is going to improve; apparently another auto-update is on the way.
- Bungie is also looking to hire artists, animators, and programmers.
More New Map Information Released
A lot of goings-on in the Halo 2 Map world recently. Of course, the Killtacular Pack which was released as a split between two free maps and two premium maps is now available in its entirety for free from Xbox Live; Containment, Warlock, Turf and Sanctuary.
Geezer Gamers Film Matchmaking Cheaters
Torlough of the Geezer Gamers has put up a story and a video on cheating in Containment; XBL players with modded Xboxes are apparently modifying the downloaded map files to produce various effects such as flying Warthogs and an incredibly fast Master Chief, and using them to cheat in matchmaking. Thanks HBO.
Girl Gamers Harassed, Insulted On Xbox Live
J. Paradise confesses that being a "girl gamer" means being harassed and insulted. But isn't that the treatment everybody is getting these days on Xbox Live? Should the experience of being a "girl gamer" be any different? Is it important or meaningful to know the gender of your opponents while playing-- or to make sure they know yours?
Is XBL A Breeding Ground For Sexism?
J. Paradise recently began a series over at DailyGame called Confessions of a Girl Gamer, cataloguing some of the less-fun aspects of multiplayer gaming on Xbox Live. As a female gamer, she noted some of the less pleasant behaviors of the majority of the other gamers on the system, who presumably are male, if common sense and all known statistics can be trusted.
While most of her complaints are entirely valid and each of the behaviors she describes is undoubtedly annoying, I thought there were one or two points which deserved to be responded to, given the criticism the gaming industry receives almost daily in the current political climate for promoting sex and violence. Before this and other articles get referred to in an attempt to heap the charge of promoting sexism among America's youth gets piled onto the heap, it might be worth thinking a little further on some of the topics J. Paradise raises.
Angry Zen Master Dances Up A Storm
Ok, shoot us for not knowing this, but there are apparently two Angry Zen Masters-- Mat "MSN" Noguchi over at Bungie, and his brother Jamie "jamihn" Noguchi, who since late March of this year has been doing a webcomic called (appropriately enough) Angry Zen Master, which occasionally features both himself and his brother, Mat.
Female Gamers Courted By Industry, Abused By Male Gamers
Kotaku today asks if female gamers are going to generate the extra revenue needed for the industry to grow, based on
Xbox Live Friends For OS X Updates
Mindquirk Software has released version 2.02 of Xbox Live Friends for Mac OS X. This version fixes a problem with auto sign-in that appeared as a result of changes at Xbox.com
Halo Main Theme Music Transcription
Devin Eastman has produced a transcription of the Halo main theme by Marty O'Donnell. The file archive contains a PrintMusic document, a MIDI file.
Here is what Devin writes about the archive:
Halo Toolbar Brings Halo RSS Feeds To IE
mrsmiley over at Halo Babies notes that H2Press has released a Halo Toolbar for Internet Explorer that features Halo-related RSS feeds. A version for Firefox is forthcoming in August.
Mindquirk Releases New Halo-Related OS X Apps
Mindquirk software has released a revamped version of its Xbox Live Friends application that includes a Dashboard widget, as well as a new application, Emblem Designer, for previewing Xbox Live emblems on your Mac. Emblem Designer, as well as Mindquirk's other Halo app, xstats, all part of Mindquirk's Live Suite, require OS X 10.4. Xbox Live Friends runs on 10.3 or above.
Were Turf and Sanctuary worth $6?
Yes
49% (700 votes)
No
26% (377 votes)
Didn't buy them
25% (355 votes)
Total votes: 1432
UK Halo Map Site Reopens
Verdafolio reports over at demented puppy dot com that the UK Halo map site, conveniently enough called Halomaps.co.uk, is reopening with a new site system and a new forum.
Mac Halo Experience Calculator Released
[image:9494 align=left hspace=5 vspace=5 border=0] Infernus has released the Macintosh version of his Halo 2 Experience Calculator application. It allows you to enter your Bungie.net level as well as the levels of players you win or lose to, and it will calculate the change in your experience points. You can download Mac Halo 2 Experience Calculator here.