Bungie Weekly Update : Special Q&A Edition For the latest Weekly Update we decided to mix things up a bit and try something a little different. With poor Frankie stranded in LA going on his fourth day without sleep and everyone else in the studio madly crunching away on the game, a traditional update looked very unlikely. So, instead of Frankie's usual insightful and witty commentary on the latest happenings within the studio, the forums were used to take questions from Bungie.net members. The flood gates were opened around noon and within 2 hours we had over 16 pages of questions. Then, for the next hour, Frankie and myself went into New Mombasa and did our best to answer as many questions as we could. To make things easier to digest for those who weren't here to experience it live yesterday, I'm recapping the whole thing here in this handy top story. And, as an added bonus, I'm even going back and answering a few additional questions! (though obviously there are dozens and dozens that we can't or won't be able to answer just yet...) So, without further ado, here's the special Q&A addition of the Bungie Weekly Update!   Q KPaul asks: Does Shishka still have that evil look in his eye despite the fact that he's working at his dream job? A Shishka is as evil as ever.. in fact, he's got a new nickname courtesy of Frankie : Evil Lord British (look it up). Though his eyes are now mere narrow slits due to his lack of sleep and being overworked like a kid in a Cathy Lee sweatshop. Q TRfeuer asks: uhmmm...exactly how many guns will be usable in multiplayer? A We're not able to give a specific quantity for this, but if you do some research with all the coverage from the recent Beta, you'll see quite a few covered. (the latest reveals are things like the Covenant Carbine, the Covenant "Beam Rifle" (aka Cov Sniper Rifle), the Brute Shot, Magnum (pistol), etc..) Q Sticky Fingaz asks: Can I block the plasma sword? A No, you can dodge it, but there's no block button. Quick horizontal dodging is essential. And you need to remember that they can dart at you vertically very quickly.

Halo 1 featured powerups, such as overshields and active camoflauge (invisibility).

Currently there are no powerups in the game, although they might be added later. (Editor's note: this gets a big thumbs-up from me. I've never ever bothered to cycle powerups like the active camo or the overshield, and never thought I should be punished for wanting to get right on with playing instead of going shopping.)

There are two types of voice chat in Halo 2:

Broadcast Voice
Broadcast Voice works like teamspeak. You press a button and your voice goes to your teammates.

Proximity Voice
Proximity Voice means that players nearby can hear you speak. It appears that this is always on.

Matchmade, or ranked games, do not allow you to affect game settings, and a limited number of options are available. You cannot choose weapons.

If the host drops, another Xbox will take up the hosting of the game, supposedly with only a momentary pause, if any.

It is unknown if there will be any dedicated servers. There will definitely be no dedicated servers for games that are matchmade using XBL's matchmaking facilities.

16 players per game, up to 4 players per Xbox, splitscreen.

These are the options you can customize when playing Halo 2 online through XBL.

• Two skins (Master Chief, Covenant Elite)
• Primary Color
• Secondary Color
• Trim Colors (2)
• Symbol (Insignia, Logo)
• Pattern

There is no relationship between the choice of player model (MC, Spartan) and team assignment, and no impact on gameplay.

Zanzibar
Asymmetric map feature a beach, open areas, walls, courtyards, structures, moving objects and vehicles. Great for CTF.

Ivory Tower
A private home converted into a public park, Ivory Tower is a decent-sized map with many small areas with multiple levels and an open courtyard. Good for Slayer FFA or small team games.