narcogen's picture

Archived community forum thread. Because all of the old forum posts are listed on a single page, you may see memory errors; if so, try reloading the page. To make new posts, go up one level to the new community forum and click "create new topic".

Comments

vector40's picture

In reply to: consolewire.com previews halo... and no one cares.

no7orious wrote on Monday, 11/05/2001 - 8:53 am:

: They loved it. (no surprise there) They got the
: multiplayer options wrong. (They are a site dedicated to
: consoles that have internet capablilities, kinda surprised
: there) They didn't think that the story was the best:
:
:
: It might not be the most original, but it’s certainly well
: executed and presented through the environments and in-game
: cinematic cut-scenes. Although we don’t want to spoil the
: details of the story for you , you can expect a few really
: exciting twists.
:
:
: So, is the story of Halo/Marathon not all that original?
: Is it familiar plotlines *very* well done? or is it new and
: unique.

C'mon, it's so simplistic. Doom beats it all around the town.

Good Ol' Ho-Hum
Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Re: consolewire.com previews halo... and no one cares.

Ah HA!! SARCASM!!

vector40 wrote on Monday, 11/05/2001 - 8:59 pm:

: no7orious wrote on Monday, 11/05/2001 - 8:53 am:
:
: : They loved it. (no surprise there) They got the
: : multiplayer options wrong. (They are a site dedicated
: to
: : consoles that have internet capablilities, kinda
: surprised
: : there) They didn't think that the story was the best:
: :
: :
: : It might not be the most original, but it’s certainly
: well
: : executed and presented through the environments and
: in-game
: : cinematic cut-scenes. Although we don’t want to spoil
: the
: : details of the story for you , you can expect a few
: really
: : exciting twists.
: :
: :
: : So, is the story of Halo/Marathon not all that
: original?
: : Is it familiar plotlines *very* well done? or is it new
: and
: : unique.
:
: C'mon, it's so simplistic. Doom beats it all around the
: town.
:
:
:

Good Ol'
: Ho-Hum
Replicant's picture

I just found this elsewhere on the Internet.

Certain people are trying to push through a bill that will place government policeware on certain computer parts. The parts would make sure you can't do certain things on your computer - such as burning mix CDs with tracks off of copyrighted CDs. If your computer does not have the policeware, or if you tamper with the policeware, you would face a fine of half a million dollar and be thrown in federal prison for five years.

This legislation is outlawed by the Constitution. It is also patently idiotic, impossible to enforce, and unimaginably expensive.

Sign a petition against it here:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/SSSCA/petition.html

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: ATTN: American Citizens

Yeah but, the SSSCA died in the senate several weeks ago.

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Re: ATTN: American Citizens

and I have this bad problem with procrastination, laziness, and just in general disfunctionality. Rough life, I know.

Good thing I don't have to get involved in government! ;-)

kalis's picture

In reply to: ATTN: American Citizens

If you're interested in this sort of thing, then you're the kind of person who should be reading /., as they are (usually) up to the minute on all sorts of techno-related news.

Dispatcher's picture

Seems that after reading Nylund's "Fall of Reach" that Matt's comments at the forums about the possibility of a Halo movie might indicate that it is this book upon which the movie might be based. The book reads in lineal fashion (for the most part) and it just seems a natural upon which to base a screenplay.

Regardless, I can only hope that the likes of Voorhoven will never become part of the mix. Whatever you do, Bungie (and M$), get a GOOD director and a GOOD producer.

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Matt's potential "movie" and Fall of Reach.

Dispatcher wrote on Tuesday, 11/06/2001 - 1:05 am:

: Regardless, I can only hope that the likes of Voorhoven
: will never become part of the mix. Whatever you do, Bungie
: (and M$), get a GOOD director and a GOOD producer.

[cough]

and a good writer :)

y'know, those people who are actually pretty much responsible for characterisation, character devleopment, imagery, structure... etc. etc. you'd be surprised at how much of the director's 'work' is done by the writer. although, a lot of directors do work directly with the writer.

Personally, I like Verehoven. He has hits and misses but he's pretty much always -interesting-. What a lot of people on these boards don't like is his intepretation of Starship Troopers. Personally, I ask what's the point of making a movie from a book if the boo has already done its job? The whole reason people like Kubrick and Luhman are interesting is how they re-interpret existing art for a new medium.

Anyway, I'd put my hand up to director the Halo movie... but hey... I'd like to see Ridley return to big sci-fi again :)

Claude Errera's picture

In reply to: Re: Matt's potential "movie" and Fall of Reach.

Anonymous wrote on Tuesday, 11/06/2001 - 10:30 am:

: Dispatcher wrote on Tuesday, 11/06/2001 - 1:05 am:
:
: : Whatever you do, Bungie
: : (and M$), get a GOOD director and a GOOD producer.
:
: [cough]
:
: and a good writer :)

[snip]

: Anyway, I'd put my hand up to director the Halo movie...
: but hey... I'd like to see Ridley return to big sci-fi again
: :)

Nice - you remain anonymous to slam someone else's work (I haven't read it yet, but most folks in the community have said that Nylund did a pretty good job), then suggest you're good enough to actually direct the film?

I hope (for your sake) that your directing skills are better than your grammar skills (or your manners).

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Gotta love that veil...

Claude Errera wrote on Tuesday, 11/06/2001 - 10:23 am:

:
: Nice - you remain anonymous to slam someone else's work (I
: haven't read it yet, but most folks in the community have
: said that Nylund did a pretty good job), then suggest you're
: good enough to actually direct the film?
:
: I hope (for your sake) that your directing skills are
: better than your grammar skills (or your manners).

Actually, I took his comments to be an indictment of Hollywood-types, not of Eric. In the context of the original statement, "get a good director/producer" etc., he added "writers" to the mix and explained that, in film, the writer is the source of good characterization, etc.

Thanks for the defense, Claude, but I don't think he was slamming Eric N...

Just my take, anyway...

Eric T.

Dispatcher's picture

In reply to: Re: Gotta love that veil...

Eric Trautmann wrote on Tuesday, 11/06/2001 - 5:11 pm:

: Claude Errera wrote on Tuesday, 11/06/2001 - 10:23 am:
:
:
: :
: : Nice - you remain anonymous to slam someone else's work
: (I
: : haven't read it yet, but most folks in the community
: have
: : said that Nylund did a pretty good job), then suggest
: you're
: : good enough to actually direct the film?
: :
: : I hope (for your sake) that your directing skills are
: : better than your grammar skills (or your manners).
:
: Actually, I took his comments to be an indictment of
: Hollywood-types, not of Eric. In the context of the original
: statement, "get a good director/producer" etc., he added
: "writers" to the mix and explained that, in film, the writer
: is the source of good characterization, etc.
:
: Thanks for the defense, Claude, but I don't think he was
: slamming Eric N...
:
: Just my take, anyway...
:
: Eric T.

Dispatcher's picture

In reply to: Re: Gotta love that veil...

^

Dispatcher's picture

In reply to: Re: Gotta love that veil...

Eric Trautmann wrote on Tuesday, 11/06/2001 - 7:11 pm:

: Thanks for the defense, Claude, but I don't think he was
: slamming Eric N...
:
: Just my take, anyway...
:
: Eric T.

I got mixed signals, myself. I admit that while I don't always agree with posts or replies to posts; in general the brew is productive.

Eric, I must say that your efforts (Bungie's, Eric Nylund's, yours) have yielded a book which exceeded my expectations. Instead of a hack book published simply to milk a franchise or a household word, we have a VERY well done piece, complete with fairly fine print stuffing the pages. If you approach a movie with this kind of focus, I tend to think you will have not just a "blockbuster", but a classic which is popular years after the pricey tickets have been sold in theaters.

Just tell Eric Nylund to quit calling that one star by the name of its constellation "Eridanus" and armchair astronomers like myself can revel in the realism of it. :-)

And back to the original question Eric T.: might we be warm or cold as to whether or not a movie might occur in the "Fall of Reach" timeframe as opposed to the Halo game timeframe?

Thanks!

Dispatcher

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: C'mon back, ten-four.

:
: Eric, I must say that your efforts (Bungie's, Eric
: Nylund's, yours) have yielded a book which exceeded my
: expectations.

Heh. It was totally a labor of love; I've recovered completely from the four weeks straight of 20 hour days. Twitch. Twitch. ;D

Instead of a hack book published simply to
: milk a franchise or a household word, we have a VERY well
: done piece, complete with fairly fine print stuffing the
: pages.

That's actually kinda my fault. See, Eric N. was supposed to turn in an 85,000 word novel. By the time I got done adding stuff, and editing chapters, and adding more stuff, we'd bloated it out to 94-95,000 words.

Unfortunately, Ballantine had already printed the cover, which meant we had a finite number of PAGES. Hence the tiny type and the unusual chapter break placement.

That was my fault. :D

If you approach a movie with this kind of focus, I
: tend to think you will have not just a "blockbuster", but a
: classic which is popular years after the pricey tickets have
: been sold in theaters.

First: there is currently NO movie discussion; we've been approached, but we've declined until Jason and Bungie team can devote some attention to it. Right now, before pulling them into a project of that kind of scope, I'd rather sit back and let them bask in the praise and glory they richly deserve.

John Howard--lead designer on the Xbox title--worked very closely with me on the novel approvals and provided invaluable feedback under impossible deadlines...while helping to make the single most kick-ass game I've ever played. Ever.

I say, let 'em rest a bit first. :D

:
: Just tell Eric Nylund to quit calling that one star by the
: name of its constellation "Eridanus" and armchair
: astronomers like myself can revel in the realism of it.
: :-)
:
Who's to say it's the star you think it is? Space opera is funny that way. :D

: And back to the original question Eric T.: might we be
: warm or cold as to whether or not a movie might occur in the
: "Fall of Reach" timeframe as opposed to the Halo game
: timeframe?

Yes. You might be warm or cold as to whether or not a movie might occur in the "Fall of Reach" timeframe as opposed to the Halo game timeframe.

(Sorry. Couldn't resist.)

:
: Thanks!

De nada.

Best,

Eric T.

Dispatcher's picture

In reply to: Re: C'mon back, ten-four.

: : Instead of a hack book published simply to
: : milk a franchise or a household word, we have a VERY
: : well
: : done piece, complete with fairly fine print stuffing
: : the
: : pages.
:
: That's actually kinda my fault. See, Eric N. was supposed
: to turn in an 85,000 word novel. By the time I got done
: adding stuff, and editing chapters, and adding more stuff,
: we'd bloated it out to 94-95,000 words.
:
: Unfortunately, Ballantine had already printed the cover,
: which meant we had a finite number of PAGES. Hence the tiny
: type and the unusual chapter break placement.
:
: That was my fault. :D
:
Fault? Sheesh. Everyone should be guilty of putting more into a good product rather than less. When I bought the book, the salesperson was kind enough to go into the stockroom, open up the proper parcel, and bring out the THREE copies which I requested and then bought. I sent one to my cousin, an avid science fiction reader. I think the fanbase will help move your products. :-)

: : If you approach a movie with this kind of focus, I
: : tend to think you will have not just a "blockbuster",
: : but a
: : classic which is popular years after the pricey tickets
: : have
: : been sold in theaters.
:
: First: there is currently NO movie discussion; we've been
: approached, but we've declined until Jason and Bungie team
: can devote some attention to it. Right now, before pulling
: them into a project of that kind of scope, I'd rather sit
: back and let them bask in the praise and glory they richly
: deserve.
:
snip
:
: I say, let 'em rest a bit first. :D
:
Well deserved!
: :
: : Just tell Eric Nylund to quit calling that one star by
: the
: : name of its constellation "Eridanus" and armchair
: : astronomers like myself can revel in the realism of
: it.
: : :-)
: :
: Who's to say it's the star you think it is? Space opera is
: funny that way. :D
:
:
: : And back to the original question Eric T.: might we
: : be
: : warm or cold as to whether or not a movie might occur in
: : the
: : "Fall of Reach" timeframe as opposed to the Halo game
: : timeframe?
:
: Yes. You might be warm or cold as to whether or not a
: movie might occur in the "Fall of Reach" timeframe as
: opposed to the Halo game timeframe.
:
: (Sorry. Couldn't resist.)
:
: :
: : Thanks!
:
: De nada.
:
: Best,
:
: Eric T.

Glad to see you in the trenches with the fanbase. It keeps us in the loop and you on your toes. :-)

Dispatcher

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Re: C'mon back, ten-four.

: Yes. You might be warm or cold as to whether or not a
: movie might occur in the "Fall of Reach" timeframe as
: opposed to the Halo game timeframe.

Could i put my .00001% vote just towards the 'Fall of Reach' timeframe?

With that time period you have all of the creative manueverability that you could ever need, and you can have the main characters (spartans supposedly) and more than one of them. There were all those unseen missions, and I NEED to see the CG interpetation of Superheated plasma flying at Human corvettes while large amounts of mass fly at .9995% speed of light towards the covies. THAT WOULD ROCK! Plus, you could have a tv show of the spartans minor missions leading up to the 'fall of reach'. (I don't really want a TV show though, it likely wouldn't be up to par, just a movie)

Pretty Please?

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Matt's potential "movie" and Fall of Reach.

Hiay. Sorry, I needed a way to transfer a small block of text to myself at school, and my server has having problems, so I'm just gunna go look at this from school. Like the title says, ignore this post unless you're me. (And no, there's no reason I put it here... Just chose a random spot.)

Men's Honor Members Who Helped Resurface the Pit™:

Joseph Peha
Chadd Nervig
Jason Cressey
Sean Troop
Ariel Wetzel
Ryan Lupoli
Brian Glover
Craig Smith
Thomas Finlayson
Ryan Douglas
Dennis Lam
Davis Lam
Todd Krinkey
David Carson
Lucas Augustine
Joe Usrey
Sean Biznar
Ryan Dell
Jesse Young
Yi-juan Chen
James Busslon
Tyler Lee
Scott Clifford
Jay Gregs
Andy Chikos
Michael Lin
Brock Taylor
Max Weiss
Kevin Wheary
Christian Albut
Henry Liu
Jeff Cornaejo

narcogen's picture

In reply to: Ignore this Post

That'll be $20 for data storage, please :)

j/k

Åstro wrote on Friday, 11/09/2001 - 8:46 am:

: Hiay. Sorry, I needed a way to transfer a small block of
: text to myself at school, and my server has having problems,
: so I'm just gunna go look at this from school. Like the
: title says, ignore this post unless you're me. (And no,
: there's no reason I put it here... Just chose a random
: spot.)
:
:
: Men's Honor Members Who Helped Resurface the Pit™:
:
: Joseph Peha
: Chadd Nervig
: Jason Cressey
: Sean Troop
: Ariel Wetzel
: Ryan Lupoli
: Brian Glover
: Craig Smith
: Thomas Finlayson
: Ryan Douglas
: Dennis Lam
: Davis Lam
: Todd Krinkey
: David Carson
: Lucas Augustine
: Joe Usrey
: Sean Biznar
: Ryan Dell
: Jesse Young
: Yi-juan Chen
: James Busslon
: Tyler Lee
: Scott Clifford
: Jay Gregs
: Andy Chikos
: Michael Lin
: Brock Taylor
: Max Weiss
: Kevin Wheary
: Christian Albut
: Henry Liu
: Jeff Cornaejo



Narcogen


Rampant for over se7en years.



Anonymous's picture

Oooooo!
Password now required at Bungie.com..
Go to: www.bungie.com
I know not exciting..
I'm just bored..

Rab

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Useless Bungie.com news

: Oooooo!
: Password now required at Bungie.com..
: Go to: www.bungie.com
: I know not exciting..
: I'm just bored..

And it runs on IIS! Looks like bungie has finally sold out.
(Bungie.com/net used to run on Linux, even after the acquisiton)

I wonder what this means for the Linux-powered b.net2....

-ax

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Re: Useless Bungie.com news

It's back up at 9:48 pm pst.. not that it matters:P

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Back up...

Smasher wrote on Wednesday, 11/07/2001 - 12:48 am:

: It's back up at 9:48 pm pst.. not that it matters:P
:

bungie.com works... bungie.net doesnt tho.

-ax

Anonymous's picture

Or... that's what Bob Garfield is telling everyone.

Here's a quickie e-mail which I fired off to Mr. Garfield when Narc passed this on to me:


Mr. Garfield,

Regarding this article:
http://www.adreview.com/article.cms?articleId=864

You obviously didn't delve very deeply into the gaming subculture
yet... I'll admit that there /are/ a great number of immature and/or
moronic individuals. This is especially the case with console-usin'
kiddies. But you have been doddering with the Eloi on the thin surface
of this world. ;-) They're little more than fodder to the thinking
gamers deep below.

Best of luck to you, if you desire to search for more intelligent life
in the depths below. And please make sure that you adhere more closely
to the principles of "journalistic integrity" (i.e., REALLY getting
the story) next time you desire to write on a topic. Especially when
it'll be published to those very people you are writing about.

________________________________________________
Rob Swenson // Noctavis

Bunbu Itchi - "The pen and sword in accord"
(I took the red pill)

Note that I got this e-mail back today from one of Mr. Gordon's underlings:


Bob -- If this doesn't apply to one of your Monday AD Age reviews, I can't use it in the letters column. Does it come from Monday AA and if so what review (issue date)?

Rob Swenson 11/06/01 03:26AM
[My above e-mail followed]


Heh... I'm wondering just how tech-savvy these guys are, and if they are really connected with the Internet (and not just Internet gamers) enough to be qualified to write for a Net publication!

Sheesh... wonder how much money Bob makes, and if Ad Review is hiring.

- Noctavis

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Gaming Board Posters are 'Absolute Morons'

Here's my reply to Mr. Gordon (Bob Garfield's coworker):


Hello, Mr. Gordon,

First, you sent this e-mail to the wrong person: The author, and not Mr. Garfield. =)

Second, if you would have followed the handy-dandy URL in the e-mail, it would have told you that the E-mail does indeed pertain to the editorial by Mr. Garfield on Monday, November 5th.

Happy Holidays, and best wishes in these difficult times.

________________________________________________
Rob Swenson // Noctavis

Bunbu Itchi - "The pen and sword in accord"
(I took the red pill)

- Noctavis

BTW Narc - why aren't our cookies remembering our names?

narcogen's picture

In reply to: p.s.... my reply

Noctavis wrote on Tuesday, 11/06/2001 - 10:06 pm:

: BTW Narc - why aren't our cookies remembering our names?

I don't know-- max also mentioned it, and I've seen a couple accidental anonymous posts, but I myself haven't had any.

The login cookie is now set to last for a year; so it shouldn't be expiring.

A good tip, though, is that if you see a "login" box instead of the account box with your name, then you're not logged in and it can't remember your name. (You also can't be logged in from two machines at once-- if you've logged in from one laptop, then you login from the other, you'll have to login again when you go back to the first machine).

I may put a more prominent warning in the Post form if a user is not logged in.



Narcogen


Rampant for over se7en years.



Anonymous's picture

In reply to: login cookies

: (You also can't
: (be logged in from two machines at once-- if you've logged in
: from one laptop, then you login from the other, you'll have
: to login again when you go back to the first machine).

That is quite clearly where I have been having the problem then. I have my Mac at home which I use to log in here, and the University network, and I login (or try to) from each daily. The University network will use the same cookie (unless I switch from Linux to Windows), but obviously whenever I come home it scratches the cookie from the University network.

Why, oh why is this? It's highly annoying having to log in every time I turn on a computer, and leaving a cookie on two machines is no less secure than leaving it on one...

mad.max =PN=

narcogen's picture

In reply to: Well, that sucks rather a lot

mad.max =PN= wrote on Saturday, 11/10/2001 - 6:34 pm:

: : (You also can't
: : (be logged in from two machines at once-- if you've
: logged in
: : from one laptop, then you login from the other, you'll
: have
: : to login again when you go back to the first machine).
:
: That is quite clearly where I have been having the problem
: then. I have my Mac at home which I use to log in here, and
: the University network, and I login (or try to) from each
: daily. The University network will use the same cookie
: (unless I switch from Linux to Windows), but obviously
: whenever I come home it scratches the cookie from the
: University network.
:
: Why, oh why is this? It's highly annoying having to log in
: every time I turn on a computer, and leaving a cookie on two
: machines is no less secure than leaving it on one...
:
: mad.max =PN=

Oh, just deal, for crying out loud. I'll reimburse you personally for the .3 seconds out of your life, I promise :)

The system automatically destroys a session when the IP changes; and that's proper behavior.

The system has no way of knowing whether or not the "other" machines you are logging in from are physically secure, or whether they belong to you or not.

So if you login at a lab computer, then go home to your own comp, logging in there automatically logs the other terminal out.

Otherwise, the next person to potentially browse R.net from that comp would be logged in as you, would be able to post forum posts as you, and *if you had admin privileges* would be able to do everything you could do. So rather than try to insist that everybody click "logout" when accessing from a public terminal, which I *know* they wouldn't do, the system only allows one active login session per IP address.



Narcogen


Rampant for over se7en years.



Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Well, there are good reasons for it

: Oh, just deal, for crying out loud. I'll reimburse you
: personally for the .3 seconds out of your life, I promise
: :)

.3 seconds to fill in the login form, 15 seconds to reload the page on my dialup. Daily.

: The system automatically destroys a session when the IP
: changes; and that's proper behavior.

Hold on, I thought it just destroyed them if the computer changed - you are telling me that you actually destroy cookies if someone's IP changes? Have you never heard of "dial-up" connections?

I hope for your sake that that was a misunderstanding on my part.

: Otherwise, the next person to potentially browse R.net
: from that comp would be logged in as you, would be able to
: post forum posts as you, and *if you had admin privileges*
: would be able to do everything you could do. So rather than
: try to insist that everybody click "logout" when accessing
: from a public terminal, which I *know* they wouldn't do, the
: system only allows one active login session per IP
: address.

What are the chances of someone else visiting rampancy.net within the alloted time span of the cookie or even, more importantly, caring?

The least you could do is provide a low-bandwidth "login" page which people can set as their homepage, and even make the cookies remember people's login names, so they only have to fill in the password (if your session has been corrupted by login from another computer, then rather than being deleted it will require your password to activate it again)

Also, for guest accounts, why does it not remember the display name? Even the old r.net managed to do that...

mad.max =PN=

vector40's picture

In reply to: That's even worse!!!!

: .3 seconds to fill in the login form

Damn. Where'd you learn to type like THAT? :)

: Hold on, I thought it just destroyed them if the computer
: changed - you are telling me that you actually destroy
: cookies if someone's IP changes? Have you never heard of
: "dial-up" connections?
:
: I hope for your sake that that was a misunderstanding on
: my part.

Heh—"for your sake"? Watch your back, Narc...

Good Ol' Ho-Hum
noctavis's picture

In reply to: Re: p.s.... my reply


Noctavis
Anonymous's picture

TychoMax and I made this because um, well we felt like it.

On Max's hotline server @ hotline://65.15.6.141 . It's in the root folder.

Filename: Myth 3 Spoof.mov (70 megs) It's about 1 minute 59 seconds long. Should be smaller size ..pretty soon.

-Iso

Tychomax's picture

In reply to: Myth 3 Spoof

Yah, it's up on my iDisk now too.

homepage.mac.com/mgibbons

It's late, no html stuff.

Isolder wrote on Tuesday, 11/06/2001 - 10:23 pm:

: TychoMax and I made this because um, well we felt like
: it.
:
: On Max's hotline server @ hotline://65.15.6.141 . It's
: in the root folder.
:
: Filename: Myth 3 Spoof.mov (70 megs) It's about 1
: minute 59 seconds long. Should be smaller size ..pretty
: soon.
:
: -Iso

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Myth 3 Spoof

nt

Banzif's picture

I don't see the logic in handing out copies of a game for a console that isn't out yet.... but, I went and picked up my copy of Halo today anyway. Woot! Now I have 2 Xbox games. Just no Xbox.

--Banzif

burp

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Got Halo?

Banzif wrote on Wednesday, 11/07/2001 - 2:02 pm:

: I don't see the logic in handing out copies of a game for
: a console that isn't out yet.... but, I went and picked up
: my copy of Halo today anyway. Woot! Now I have 2 Xbox games.
: Just no Xbox.
:
: --Banzif

Bah, getting an XBox is easy, all it takes is a bit of ingenuity
and some speed. I mean, really, look how close those kiosks
are to the doors at your local software supplier...

CH (smashngrab)

Earendil's picture

I lost many hours of useful sleeping time over the damn thing. and I've gotten nothing done!

I hate good books :-)

many many good tid bits of info, but before I share, I'd like to know if people think it'd be a spoiler. I assume as it's a prequel, that any info is SUPPOSED to be known while you play the game. but I don't wanna piss people off :-)

it'd be great if someone with time could write up all the known facts that are given in the book. cyborg strength, speed ect. along with covie stats and all the ship info we have.

I think I'll re-read the book, and look for all the info that wasn't real clear, and see what I can piece together. but I don't really have the time to do anything major :(

interesting thing is, while covies seem to own us on the grounds(even an elite is a match in strength against a cyborg) their ships aren't *THAT* great. I mean they're good, according to the book, the only battles the humans won against the covie involved there being 3X as many human ships as covies. but there were some times when a single human ships took our one, or 2 covies ships, without completely getting destroyed themselves(not going to give anything from the book away). so it’s not like their ships are majorly elite. just semi elite.

we do have weapons, that in numbers, are very effective at destroying covies ships. problem is it only takes one shot from a covie ships to destroy most human ships :(

also of note, the pillar of autumn kicks ass, even for a 50 year old ship :-)

I'll go into more detail and discussion once I know people don't mind talking about it.

Earendil

(also if there is another discussion already going on at some far off forum, please point me to it)

Oh! They have the internet on computers now! - Homer J Simpson

no7orious's picture

In reply to: The Halo Book Sucks....

Earendil wrote on Wednesday, 11/07/2001 - 6:10 pm:

: I lost many hours of useful sleeping time over the damn
: thing. and I've gotten nothing done!

Took me seven hours to rip through it, but seven hours well spent. I definetly think I will read through it several more times. Like when I can't play halo. ;)

: many many good tid bits of info, but before I share, I'd
: like to know if people think it'd be a spoiler. I assume as
: it's a prequel, that any info is SUPPOSED to be known while
: you play the game. but I don't wanna piss people off :-)

No way, it definitly increases appreciation for the game. The intro sequences takes on several new, humorous interesting layers of meaning. I don't really think it spoils anything.

: it'd be great if someone with time could write up all the
: known facts that are given in the book. cyborg strength,
: speed ect. along with covie stats and all the ship info we
: have.

You are fast, bursts of 50 kilometers and so on and so forth.

: I think I'll re-read the book, and look for all the info
: that wasn't real clear, and see what I can piece together.
: but I don't really have the time to do anything major :(

sounds like fun, how about after the Halo party?

: interesting thing is, while covies seem to own us on the
: grounds(even an elite is a match in strength against a
: cyborg) their ships aren't *THAT* great. I mean they're
: good, according to the book, the only battles the humans won
: against the covie involved there being 3X as many human
: ships as covies. but there were some times when a single
: human ships took our one, or 2 covies ships, without
: completely getting destroyed themselves(not going to give
: anything from the book away). so it’s not like their ships
: are majorly elite. just semi elite.

Well, the only time one ship took out several was with very adept manuevering in a near suicidal attack run. I don't think that would happen all that often.

: we do have weapons, that in numbers, are very effective at
: destroying covies ships. problem is it only takes one shot
: from a covie ships to destroy most human ships :(

yeah, burning plasma death never seemed like a good way to go.

: also of note, the pillar of autumn kicks ass, even for a
: 50 year old ship :-)

Yeah, it's mass driver is sweet, just to bad the reactor died before they jumped to Halo. It could have put up quite the fight. Pnuematics in the girders of the ship? talk about being able to suck it up.

: I'll go into more detail and discussion once I know people
: don't mind talking about it.
:
: Earendil
:
:
: (also if there is another discussion already going on at
: some far off forum, please point me to it)

*NM* *NM*

*NM* *NM*

no7orious's picture

In reply to: The Halo Book Sucks....

How did venting all the air out of the areas infected by plasma 'put out' the fire? I would of thought that it could feast on heavy metal just as easily as air.

I think we need to bring back that pic of the Pillar of Autumn. ;)
We need to see if we can find the missile pods, mass driver, and everything else mentioned.

It sure sucks that most of the Spartans died at the battle of Reach. All but two-for coop.

BTW, how about when commander keyes nailed that Covie Carrier by driving the nuke inside it's shields. Just Awesome.

Also, you never really understand the horror of the covenant fully until you read that prologue. Where the Master Chief stands and watches Reach (his surrogate home) boil into a wasteland. Then you realize that this has happened to hundreds of human colonies. Time for some payback Spartan!

That is all for now. I have an opinion on almost everything in the book, so post on any topic in the book.

*NM* *NM*

Earendil's picture

In reply to: Some points that I thought interesting... (book spoilers)

no7orious wrote on Wednesday, 11/07/2001 - 11:13 pm:

: How did venting all the air out of the areas infected by
: plasma 'put out' the fire? I would of thought that it could
: feast on heavy metal just as easily as air.

as far as I understood it, the plasma eather went complete through a ship, or ate as mush as it could of anything it touched before being....what's the sientific word I'm looking for?....bah I'll look it up late :)

anyway, the "fires" where caused by other flamable things catching fire. the lack of oxygen puts them out.

:
: I think we need to bring back that pic of the Pillar of
: Autumn. ;)
: We need to see if we can find the missile pods, mass
: driver, and everything else mentioned.
:

the thing that bugs me is the covie cruiser but a big hole in the PoA. in fact I think the book reads something like "right down the middle of the ship", though thanks to the honeycomb design it wasn't destroyed.

: It sure sucks that most of the Spartans died at the battle
: of Reach. All but two-for coop.

all but one died. as far as I read it. except for Kelly(that her name?) who is "dead", butwas frozen n hopes of being resusitated. that is, if brought to a good hosital (unlikely chance of that.
:
: BTW, how about when commander keyes nailed that Covie
: Carrier by driving the nuke inside it's shields. Just
: Awesome.

that happened a couple times, where the shirlds held the exploision long enough for it to expotentialy increase the damg to the ship.
:
: Also, you never really understand the horror of the
: covenant fully until you read that prologue. Where the
: Master Chief stands and watches Reach (his surrogate home)
: boil into a wasteland. Then you realize that this has
: happened to hundreds of human colonies. Time for some
: payback Spartan!

I don't have the book with me atm, but I don't think they ever see Reach boil.
:
: That is all for now. I have an opinion on almost
: everything in the book, so post on any topic in the book.

same...can't think of anything off hand.

what do you think about the "smart" AI's having a 7 year life span before they "think too much" and brake down, destoying themselves? do you think Durandal and Tycho where smart AIs that were "braking down" ?

I don't know *that* much about the Marathon story, but afaik we don't know what happened to the AIs, except that they were mean ;-)

Earendil

Oh! They have the internet on computers now! - Homer J Simpson

Super Spartan Donalbane's picture

In reply to: Book Spoiling Continued

Earendil wrote on Thursday, 11/08/2001 - 12:35 pm:

: no7orious wrote on Wednesday, 11/07/2001 - 11:13 pm:
:
: : How did venting all the air out of the areas infected
: by
: : plasma 'put out' the fire? I would of thought that it
: could
: : feast on heavy metal just as easily as air.
:
: as far as I understood it, the plasma eather went complete
: through a ship, or ate as mush as it could of anything it
: touched before being....what's the sientific word I'm
: looking for?....bah I'll look it up late :)
:
: anyway, the "fires" where caused by other flamable things
: catching fire. the lack of oxygen puts them out.
:
: :
: : I think we need to bring back that pic of the Pillar
: of
: : Autumn. ;)
: : We need to see if we can find the missile pods, mass
: : driver, and everything else mentioned.
: :
:
: the thing that bugs me is the covie cruiser but a big hole
: in the PoA. in fact I think the book reads something like
: "right down the middle of the ship", though thanks to the
: honeycomb design it wasn't destroyed.
: The ship had a spiral slice around the hull ( as the ship was rotating at the time it was hit) that gets repaired while the PoA is in slipspace.
: : It sure sucks that most of the Spartans died at the
: battle
: : of Reach. All but two-for coop.
:
: all but one died. as far as I read it. except for
: Kelly(that her name?) who is "dead", butwas frozen n hopes
: of being resusitated. that is, if brought to a good hosital
: (unlikely chance of that.
: :
: : BTW, how about when commander keyes nailed that Covie
: : Carrier by driving the nuke inside it's shields. Just
: : Awesome.
:
: that happened a couple times, where the shirlds held the
: exploision long enough for it to expotentialy increase the
: damg to the ship.
: :
: : Also, you never really understand the horror of the
: : covenant fully until you read that prologue. Where the
: : Master Chief stands and watches Reach (his surrogate
: home)
: : boil into a wasteland. Then you realize that this has
: : happened to hundreds of human colonies. Time for some
: : payback Spartan!
:
: I don't have the book with me atm, but I don't think they
: ever see Reach boil.
: :
: : That is all for now. I have an opinion on almost
: : everything in the book, so post on any topic in the
: book.
:
: same...can't think of anything off hand.
:
: what do you think about the "smart" AI's having a 7 year
: life span before they "think too much" and brake down,
: destoying themselves? do you think Durandal and Tycho where
: smart AIs that were "braking down" ?
:
: I don't know *that* much about the Marathon story, but
: afaik we don't know what happened to the AIs, except that
: they were mean ;-)
:
: Earendil

Super Spartan Donalbane's picture

In reply to: Re: Book Spoiling Continued

Super Spartan Donalbane wrote on Thursday, 11/08/2001 - 2:43 pm:

: Earendil wrote on Thursday, 11/08/2001 - 12:35 pm:
:
: : no7orious wrote on Wednesday, 11/07/2001 - 11:13 pm:
: :
: : : How did venting all the air out of the areas
: infected
: : by
: : : plasma 'put out' the fire? I would of thought that
: it
: : could
: : : feast on heavy metal just as easily as air.
: :
: : as far as I understood it, the plasma eather went
: complete
: : through a ship, or ate as mush as it could of anything
: it
: : touched before being....what's the sientific word I'm
: : looking for?....bah I'll look it up late :)
: :
: : anyway, the "fires" where caused by other flamable
: things
: : catching fire. the lack of oxygen puts them out.
: :
: : :
: : : I think we need to bring back that pic of the Pillar
: : of
: : : Autumn. ;)
: : : We need to see if we can find the missile pods, mass
: : : driver, and everything else mentioned.
: : :
: :
: : the thing that bugs me is the covie cruiser but a big
: hole
: : in the PoA. in fact I think the book reads something
: like
: : "right down the middle of the ship", though thanks to
: the
: : honeycomb design it wasn't destroyed.
: : The ship had a spiral slice around the hull ( as the
: ship was rotating at the time it was hit) that gets repaired
: while the PoA is in slipspace.
: : : It sure sucks that most of the Spartans died at the
: : battle
: : : of Reach. All but two-for coop.
: :
: : all but one died. as far as I read it. except for
: : Kelly(that her name?) who is "dead", butwas frozen n
: hopes
: : of being resusitated. that is, if brought to a good
: hosital
: : (unlikely chance of that.
: : :
: : : BTW, how about when commander keyes nailed that
: Covie
: : : Carrier by driving the nuke inside it's shields.
: Just
: : : Awesome.
: :
: : that happened a couple times, where the shirlds held
: the
: : exploision long enough for it to expotentialy increase
: the
: : damg to the ship.
: : :
: : : Also, you never really understand the horror of the
: : : covenant fully until you read that prologue. Where
: the
: : : Master Chief stands and watches Reach (his surrogate
: : home)
: : : boil into a wasteland. Then you realize that this
: has
: : : happened to hundreds of human colonies. Time for
: some
: : : payback Spartan!
: :
: : I don't have the book with me atm, but I don't think
: they
: : ever see Reach boil.
: : :
: : : That is all for now. I have an opinion on almost
: : : everything in the book, so post on any topic in the
: : book.
: :
: : same...can't think of anything off hand.
: :
: : what do you think about the "smart" AI's having a 7
: year
: : life span before they "think too much" and brake down,
: : destoying themselves? do you think Durandal and Tycho
: where
: : smart AIs that were "braking down" ?
: :
: : I don't know *that* much about the Marathon story, but
: : afaik we don't know what happened to the AIs, except
: that
: : they were mean ;-)
: :
: : Earendil
:
My favorite parts of the book involved how the Spartans were trained and augmented with numerous painful implants, the birth of the the MJOLINAR Armor, (I liked how they explained the HUD in the helment, as well as provided development of the stolen shield technology,)
and the background story about Dr Helsley (creator of the spartans), whose pesonality will manifest itself in the form of cortana. I also thought the explanation for how AI was created by sending signals through a cloned brain was kickass. The text also explains the romantic tensions between the quirky AI and her Cybernetic companion, which was also alluded to in the first OXBM. The writing, although standard sci-fi fare, was adequate. I just hope that people who read the book will be rewarded in game with allot of "that makes sense" moments. What do the "prophets", or whatever the ruling class look like. Are pics available on the net? Ditto for the pink slug like science guys. DAMN, I can't wait till the 15th.

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Re: Book Spoiling Continued

: I just hope
: that people who read the book will be rewarded in game with
: allot of "that makes sense" moments.

Well, if you watch the opening sequence again, you get that 'makes sense' feeling. The interactions between Cortana (now you know that the different things scrolling on here body bely her current emotional state, and that she is based directly on the 'matter' so to speak of a brave female scientist) and Master Chief are funny if you think of how they view eachother, and how they respond to those feelings. I'm sure there is a lot more. I've only played a little bit of Halo.

no7orious's picture

In reply to: Re: Book Spoiling Continued

: My favorite parts of the book involved how the Spartans
: were trained and augmented with numerous painful implants,
: the birth of the the MJOLINAR Armor, (I liked how they
: explained the HUD in the helment, as well as provided
: development of the stolen shield technology,)
: and the background story about Dr Helsley (creator of the
: spartans), whose pesonality will manifest itself in the form
: of cortana. I also thought the explanation for how AI was
: created by sending signals through a cloned brain was
: kickass. The text also explains the romantic tensions
: between the quirky AI and her Cybernetic companion, which
: was also alluded to in the first OXBM. The writing,
: although standard sci-fi fare, was adequate. I just hope
: that people who read the book will be rewarded in game with
: allot of "that makes sense" moments. What do the
: "prophets", or whatever the ruling class look like. Are pics
: available on the net? Ditto for the pink slug like science
: guys. DAMN, I can't wait till the 15th.

How about how it is controlled by thoughts, is uncontrollable from outside forces, and how it killed the initial tester, because he couldn't restrain his thoughts reactions to the rather painful stimulus the suit was giving him. I thought that was cool.

I thought that the author did an excellent job with the subject material. Does anyone have any problems with the book?

*NM* *NM*

Anonymous's picture

Hmmm..
Bungie.net now on password authorization...
Bungie.com was like that that yesterday.. and the site came back up within 7 or 8 hours..
B.net's return be immenient??
Oooo...

Rab

Anonymous's picture

In reply to: Seventh Column

mad.max =PN= wrote on Thursday, 11/08/2001 - 5:27 am:

: FYI - www.seventhcolumn.org now displays a number 6. Count
: down to xBox release (I have no idea when it's out...)
:
: Also, notice how it is actually all a perl script, called
: "blam.pl" :)
:
: (The URL redirected to is
: http://www.seventhcolumn.org/blam.pl?file=/soon.htm)
:
: Heh!
:
: mad.max

The crack speaketh...

Could it be, perhaps, just perhaps...the announcement of Mac/PC
Halo entering primary stages of post XBox development? Neatly
timed to coincide with the release of the XBox?

Nah...nevermind.

CH

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