Rampancy

PrplPplEater has posted at MariusNet (and someone also mentioned in our forum-- hey, register and login so we can thank you!) that MariusNet has communicated with legal representation for MythDev and received a letter of authorization for their new EEL file, so that MariusNet is once again accessible.

What's more, they have received a number of assurances from MythDev that something like this will not happen again:

Additionally, I've been assured of future support from the MythDev side of things should something like this ever occur again. So, should, for whatever goofy reason, the IP Addy of Mariusnet change again, we can count on having the full cooperation of MythDev in obtaining a new EEL.

On top of this.. the original reason for not adding the encryption to Mariusnet was that the associated NDA's were deemed unacceptable as they would have, depending on the interpretation, prevented the operators/proprietors of Mariusnet from doing as they see fit with their own server, a server they build from scratch. Well, I've also been told tonite that these NDA's can/will be rewritten so that they both protect the encryption code that they are intended to, as well as preserve the the full rights of the Mariusnet staff to do as they see fit with their application. Based on this, as soon as it's technically feasible, I plan to integrate the MythDev encryption into the Mariusnet app, which will then remove the need for any EEL files.

If all this actually comes to pass as PrplPplEater has posted, it'll restore my faith and respect in what has to be one of the most unique and fascinating online gaming communities ever.

dolbex writes that CarnageReport is running a clan website contest. 1st place is $30 gift certificate to the Bungie Store! Submissions need to be in by November 10; winners will be announced on November 15.

MSNBC has a story on machinima that touches on Red vs Blue. They also mention Lenny and Larry Lumberjack, who apparently have a new film out. Always wondered what had happened to them.

The article also mentions that Half-Life 2 is supposed to have "special tools" specially designed for making machinima.

Personally, while the Halo engine is extremely pretty, and, once you've wormed your way into its guts, pretty extensible, it's not very machinima-friendly. The earliest examples I remember seeing were Quake 1 timedemos, and as a result, were extremely fast downloads compared to rendered QuickTime or Windows Media videos.

Thanks Louis Wu at HBO.

Four new Halo reviews today listed at Blue's News: Armchair Empire, PC Gameworld, Gamehelper Newswire, and VideogamesLife. Ratings ranged from 7 out of 10 from Gamehelper to 94 out of 100 from VideogamesLife. All were relatively positive aside from the usual gripes: no coop, and system requirements to play on the highest settings are... well, high.

Given that the Xbox was the state of the art in graphics just two years ago, and only played Halo at 640x480, I'm having a difficult time understanding why everybody thinks they can play Halo at 1600 x 1200 with all the bells and whistles on with anything other than a completely top-of-the-line system including a video card bought yesterday for a month's rent and using beta drivers. Come on, are you guys nuts?