Halo for the Mac has gotten another update, 1.51 to fix various bugs with ATI hardware. You can get it at MacUpdate or HBO.

UPDATE: This has shown up on VersionTracker now as well.

[img]http://rampancy.net/rampancy_files/rampancy_images/44d893ff9aa0f8a63ee06...

We can't hope to compete with the artistry of Tiny Leyk; no, instead we're consigned by a complete lack of artistic talent to collect crumbs from the holiday table of Stuntmutt by foraging through the AutoMagic strip generator for material.

Happy Holidays all the same from Rampancy!

New regular Halo Babies strip today by Gruntsbane; thanks mrsmiley.

Between Marathon's tenth anniversary and this Christmas thing coming up, there's lots to do, necessitating Yet Another News Roundup:

• 1Up has an interview with Bungie Studio Manager Pete Parsons. It was conducted in early November prior to release of the game. Thanks MLG.
• Halo 2 has now sold over five million copies, reaching a milestone it took the first game two years in only three weeks. Including the PC version, total Halo franchise sales now top 11 million. Thanks Eurogamer.
• Sector7 points out entries for a Halo 2 movie due out in 2006 listed at IMDB and Movies.com; apparently IMDB is calling this now "announced" and the projected director is Ridley Scott, who has "been approached". File as rumor for now --Ed. HBO also notes this rumor, mentioning that it's even hit the front page of Variety magazine.
• Halo 2 did, indeed, win Game of the Year for 2004 from GameSpy. I have to chuckle a bit at crediting Bungie for the "innovation" of dual wielding in Halo 2, given that I was just recently reminded of the fact that Marathon 2 had dual wielding back in 1996 --Ed.
• HBO has opened a Cutscene Library with downloadable versions of Halo 2's cutscenes for convenient viewing. So far it's up to Home Field Advantage on Cairo Station. The Dialogue Databank also sees an expansion today.

There's a truly massive art update at Halo Babies today-- far too much to mention it all and unfair to pick out anything in particular, so go and check out the list yourself. Thanks mrsmiley.

The previously promised update for Mac Halo came to fruition last week, bringing the game back to parity with its PC counterpart, adding game pad support as well as support for the GameRanger service; rumors have been circulating regarding the possible cessation or fee increases for the Mac version of GameSpy that Halo uses as its default browser.

VerdaFolio sends word that bitterbanana has produced an upgrade to his third person hack for PC Halo and Halo CE.

Tina "Jaxx" Leyk does the guest strip this week at Halo Babies. Thanks mrsmiley.

Chris Butcher talks about the difference between synchronous and asynchronous network schemes with regards to Marathon, Halo 1 and Halo 2 at How Stuff Works. Thanks HBO.

1UP has an interview with Tyson "Ferrex" Green about Halo 2, including his involvement in The Library level from the original game, and the tongue-in-cheek homage to it in Halo 2:

The Library was actually the first mission I was put on when I came here. But the thing that keeps me sane at night is that the library was mostly designed when I got here, so I don't blame myself for that.

Another weekend, another news roundup!

The Junkyard has another spotlight for the Halo community today; they got in touch with Ducain from HighImpactHalo and he was kind enough to sit down and answer their questions. Thanks Ryan "Mhaddy" Matthews.

New guest strip by Stuntmutt over at Halo Babies today; also a new One One Se7en that cuts the other way. Thanks mr smiley.

IMG notes an update on MacSoft's support page that says a new update for Mac Halo, 1.06, should be coming soon that will bring it to the same level of the PC version and restore crossplatform network functionality. Thanks Louis Wu at HBO.