Halo3Beta
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Sighted: evidence of new aircraft in Halo 3
You may recall the fuss created by a group of modders last week, in which several things were discovered inside the Halo 3 beta code. There were mentions of new medals, weapons, and vehicles. In particular, the code snippets lead many to believe there would be new aircraft, specifically the Chopper, Pelican, and Phantom. Well, kiddies, throw another log on the rumor fire, as a new medal has been uncovered. This medal is awarded to those who "board an aircraft." We have to note, as did our tipster, that the medal says "aircraft" and not "Banshee." Is this proof that their are more controllable aircraft in Halo 3? Hell no, but it's starting to look that way.Hit the "read" link to see a game of the Halo 3 beta with the mysterious medal.[Thanks, Jeff]
Fanswag: Halo 3 beta T-shirt Giveaway Day 3
Update: This giveaway is now closed. To see the winner, click here. To enter the latest giveaway, click here.The X3F Halo 3 beta T-shirt Giveaway continues its march to world domination today, as we roll in to day 3 of our fabulous giveaway. Without further adieu, the winner of a Large, brown Halo 3 beta T-shirt is (imaginary drumroll, please) Daniel, who informs us that his gaming fuel is nothing more than pure love. Ain't that sweet? Congratulations, Daniel, we'll be contacting you soon.Now, on to today's T-shirt. Today, we're giving away another brown beta shirt, only this one is Extra Large. It's got extra room for those Halo sleepovers. Its expansive, comfy fabric also makes an excellent (and totally awesome) nightie for your sweetheart. Be sure and send us some pictures if you convince her to wear it! Anyway, all you have to do to enter is leave a comment (limit 1 per entry period. Limited to U.S. residents 18 and over). Get to it, and good luck!Click here for the Official Halo 3 beta T-shirt Giveaway rules
Fanswag: Halo 3 beta T-shirt Giveaway Day 2
Update: This giveaway is now closed. To see the winner, click here. To enter the latest giveaway, click here.The Xbox 360 Fanboy Halo 3 beta T-Shirt Giveaway now rolls into its second glorious day. Before we move on to today's giveaway, let's get yesterday's winner squared away. The winner of the Day 1 giveaway, who will receive an Extra Large green Halo 3 beta T-shirt is ... Kejoriv! Congratulations, Kejoriv, we'll be contacting you soon.Now on to today's giveaway. Today we'll be giving a away a brown beta shirt, size Large. For your chance to win, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. Just for fun, why not tell us what your favorite Halo multiplayer fuel is? Is it tacos? Red Bull? Taco shells filled with frozen Red Bull? Of course, you can leave any kind of comment you want -- the winner is completely random, after all -- but you might as well make it interesting, right? Get to commenting and good luck! (Limit one entry per person. Limited to U.S. residents 18 and older.)Click here for the Official Halo 3 beta T-shirt Giveaway rules
Banshee meets a trip mine and trip mine wins
Fresh from the Halo 3 beta's "that's freakin' awesome video clip vault" is a video we like to call Banshee Meets Trip Mine. While standing on a base in Valhalla a red team member decides to pick up a trip mine, spots an incoming Banshee, and tosses the mine into the man cannon. And as you can see in the video, the Banshee loses the fight. How amazingly great it is. Tune in next time for a brand new Halo 3 beta video straight from the "that's freakin' awesome video clip vault". Goodbye everyone and good night![Via Digg]
Bungie wants your Halo 3 beta questions
With the Halo 3 beta finally in full swing, many of our burning Halo 3 questions have been answered. Of course, there are always more questions. For instance, the Banshee flier was recently unlocked in Valhalla. Does this mean we might see other vehicles unlocked? What about weapons, or equipment? If you have questions you'd like answered, Bungie want's 'em. All you have to do is submit them to this forum thread on Bungie.net. Bungie will then select some questions to answer in the forthcoming weekly update. So, ask away fanboys. You might just get lucky. Since you're already at it, why not post your question right here as well?Check out all the X3F Halo 3 beta coverage
Fanswag: Halo 3 beta T-shirt Giveaway Day 1
Update: This giveaway is now closed. To see the winner, click here. To enter the latest giveaway, click here.In celebration of the ongoing Halo 3 beta, Xbox 360 Fanboy will be giving away limited edition Halo 3 beta T-shirts every weekday from now until the end of May. You may have seen shirts like these in the Bungie store, but let us assure you that these are way cooler. How? First of all, our shirts come with that oh-so-trendy distressed look. Second, our shirts simply say "beta" instead of "beta tester." Finally, our shirts have green Spartans, which are unavailable for sale. So, how do you get your hands on one? Easy, all you have to do is comment on this post! Simply leave a comment (limit one comment per entry period, limited to U.S. residents 18 and up) and we'll pick a random winner tomorrow. Don't worry if you don't win though, we'll be giving one away every weekday until the end of May. Keep your eyes out for a new giveaway post every day at 12 Noon EDT.Today's shirt is green and Extra Large, for the manliest of Halo fanatics. Leave a comment and good luck!Click here for the Official Halo 3 beta T-shirt Giveaway rules
Possible Halo 3 beta weirdness tomorrow
Frankie gave us a heads up that tomorrow, May 23rd between the hours of 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM PDT, the monkeys over at Bungie are going to be collecting data on any game crashes that take place in the Halo 3 beta during that time. A warning will come up and it will upload logs to the Bungie servers for their testing purposes. Those who participated in the Shadowrun beta should understand, as we would upload game logs after each match for a minute or so. Frankie reassures us that the upload should take somewhere from 10-20 seconds. Upon completion a message will pop up saying "File upload complete. Visit http://www.bungie.net/forums/halo3beta for more information (safe to reboot)." After 1:00 PM, they'll turn things back to normal, and upload time will be reduced greatly. Moral of the story? Be good fanboys and let the logs upload. Check out all the X3F Halo 3 beta coverage
Banshee now available in Halo 3 beta
In addition to updating the playlists for the Halo 3 beta, Bungie has dropped in another little surprise as well. Log on to the Halo 3 beta and start up a game of Big Team Training, and you will now find a Banshee in Valhalla. Specifically, there is one Banshee at each base. Someone is bound to pick one up at the beginning of each match, so we suggest you keep the missile pod handy. Of course, there are already players using the Banshee to find a way out of the map, which you can observe in the video above. So, has anyone tried out the Banshee? Is it new and improved or just more of the same? [Via CVG. Thanks, Pedro Monscooch] Check out all the X3F Halo 3 beta coverage
H3 beta playlists get an update
Just when you thought the Halo 3 beta was settled into a predictable state, Bungie has decided to throw everyone a slight curve ball. This week they switched up the beta's matchmaking playlists by getting rid of some old and adding some new. Team Training has been replaced with a 6v6 Big Team Training playlist and Team Skirmish has been tweaked to add more variety. It's not a huge playlist change, but it's a change nonetheless. Full Halo 3 beta playlist details available after the jump.[Thanks, II VALIANT II]Check out all the X3F Halo 3 beta coverage
Confused? Halo 3's Ranking Points explained
If you're like us, the Halo 3 beta's new Ranking Point system was (or still is) a tad confusing. With its cumulative total, military jargon, random symbols, and how it's calculated, the whole thing can be a mind bender for some. But not anymore, because Grunts "R" Us posted a detailed analysis of how Halo 3's Ranking Point system works. Included in their guide is not only a definition, how the points are calculated, and what they are used for, but it also explains the military ranks and what Ranking Points you need to achieve each level. It's really not all that confusing, trust us. That is unless you're against addition, the military, and pictures. Then we just advise you to ignore this post and go back to playing the beta. You'll be clueless, but happy.[Via Hushed Casket]Check out all the X3F Halo 3 beta coverage
Halo 3 four player co-op confirmed?
The other day we reported on a hacking group that cracked opened the Halo 3 beta code and found values referring to new weapons, new vehicles, and new gametypes. But now it looks like the beta code has revealed more info about how we'll be playing the campaign. Over at the 7th Columnist they dug up some error text in the Halo 3 beta code that could confirm four player co-op, which states "The party size is too large to start the game. Up to 4 players may play coop on Xbox Live or System Link". Does this confirm four player co-op in campaign? Well, not just yet ... but we'll be an optimistic bunch and cross our fingers and toes. Anyone thinking four player co-op over Xbox Live would be the greatest thing since, say, sliced bread?[Thanks, DjDATZ]
Change gravity and more in Halo 3's custom games [update 1]
The fellas over at Hushed Casket are reporting that while playing the Halo 3 beta some players have experienced a network error, causing a weird bug to occur, which ultimately displays a hidden custom game settings menu. The custom games menu is chalk full of options, including the ability to change players' speed, ammunition count, recharge rate, motion tracker range, and even gravity settings. Don't believe us? Take a look at all the screenshots that Hushed Casket has unearthed and a full list of custom gametype options after the break. But don't get too excited, because the Halo 3 beta custom gametypes menu is only for looks and does not allow you to make a game with the options. Which is too bad, because we so wanted to play a few rounds of Tankball. Update 1: Added video of new menus.
Bungie drops bannhammer on beta miscreants
A little something to remember if you're participating in the much-ballyhooed Halo 3 multiplayer beta: Bungie is watching. And listening. In the latest Bungie Weekly Update, Multiplayer Producer Joseph Tung lets us all know that many Bungie employees are playing the beta and keeping their eyes and ears peeled for trouble makers. He reminds us that normal trash talk and the occasional teabagging are expected, but racial epithets and offensive language could get you banned for an indeterminate amount of time. So, all the jerks out there may want to straighten up their act for the length of the beta, as its limited population and expanded Bungie presence make them that much easier to find. Us, well, we'll stick to politely shouting "Thank you!!!" when we get killed and "It was nice to make your acquaintance!!!" every time we kill someone else.Check out all the X3F Halo 3 beta coverage
Halo 3 beta codes sent out again
For those of you who got in the Halo 3 beta via the Rule of Three program and didn't get your code, then listen up. Bungie says they that they did sent out all the codes and that people who are reporting that they didn't get them probably had the email blocked, misplaced, or is laying in their junk email. So, yesterday Bungie resent the Rule of Three beta codes between 6 and 7:00PM eastern time from email addresses similar to halo3beta-X@microsoft.com. And so be sure to check your junk mail box or look for an email from Microsoft between that time interval. Also note that this second email includes the same Halo 3 beta code that was sent to your email from the other day. So, if you are already playing the beta, simply ignore this new email.
Out of map experiences in Halo 3 beta
Oh no! The Halo 3 beta has been out for a few days now (but not for all of us) and the hacker/modder/explorers among the community have been hard at work trying to break the game. Well, not really break the game, but exploiting the beta's weaknesses. As you can see in the video above, players have found ways to climb huge structures, get on top of the maps, do some crazy jumping, and overall reminds us of how exploited Halo 2 online is. Here's to hoping Bungie can find the balance between multiplayer map exploration and players using unfair map exploits.[Thanks, AfroCelt]Check out all of the X3F Halo 3 beta coverage
Halo 3 Beta: Crackdown issue resolved, beta extended [update]
Update: Rejoice, Master Chief minions! Bungie says the Crackdown patch is out and your access to the Halo 3 beta should now be unhindered. The beta has also been extended by four days to June 10th, 11:59PM PDT. Original post: For those who haven't yet experienced complete mental meltdown and are still capable of reading English sentences, Bungie's website now hosts an update regarding this morning's spectacular non-arrival of the Halo 3 Beta designated for Crackdown owners. Frankie reports that a solution has been found and is currently undergoing testing. "Assuming the test pass goes according to plan, the fix will come in the form of a Crackdown title update within the next three to six hours." At the latest, it means you can turn your Xbox 360 (and your website, if you're Major Nelson) back on at about 12:30AM EST. The Bungie man also apologizes for the inconvenience and hopes that the extreme emotional duress you've suffered will become "distant memory once you pick up the Spartan Laser, launch yourself from a Mancannon and enjoy online shenanigans with your friends." (A note of warning: If your friend, Bruce Banner, invited you to play Halo 3 at his house tonight... don't go.)
The X3F Halo 3 beta code winners are ...
We have dipped our hand into the proverbial hat and plucked out two lucky winners of our Halo 3 beta code giveaway. These two winners will receive their beta code via email, at which point they are free to do with it whatever they wish. Our suggestion: use it to download the Halo 3 beta, silly! Without further ado, our first winner is ... Laurence, with his amusing comment that makes fun of our contest post. And, the second winner is ... That Guy Greg, who wisely asks us to forsake all others and pick him. Congratulations to both our winners, and a big thank you to murph for donating our second code.We'll be seeing you online!
X3F H3 beta: Penny Arcade's two cents (Nyuk!)
Monday as well as today's Penny Arcade both feature Gabe and Tycho's thoughts on the Halo 3 Beta. The first comic dealt with their unexpected enjoyment of playing the beta and the adverse affects found therein. The second one takes a look at an X3F favorite, the Spartan Laser, and the hijinks that will inevitably occur upon acquisition. Tycho's news posts for both give insight into some of the highlights of the game to them. WAAACHOW!Read: The Third TimeRead: Jim BeamCheck out all the X3F Halo 3 beta coverage
Bungie, I am SO mad at you
Dear Bungie, Micro$oft and Major Tom,I am super mad at you for all the pain and grief you've put on me for the last seven hours and forty seven minutes. OMG, it's a simpel thing you had to do. All you had to do was flip the BEST BETA EVAR swich in your office and give me and the fans across the world sum Halo 3 action. But no, you n00bs couldnt' even manage that. Let's look at what I've done for you!First of all, I gave you 60 bucks for my beta ticket i could have just left it at that, but I played the included Crackdown (more liek Suckdown!) game for over 80 hours. I got all the acheivvement points and stuff to see if it unlocked the beta early, but nothing fine, I said, I'll get my munny's worth later. I'll wait until the "official" launch date, whateva. So I waited. Like, a lot. I bought an xtra X-box 360 (an ELITE, which is awesome BTW) just in case I got red-ringed before the beta. I took the whole week off work so I could play it without being interrupted and I told my mom to leave me alone. I did all of that, and what do you give me? nothing.You guys have lost all your credibility now. I've been staring at the crackdown menu for a whole day, when I could have been doing something useful! You wasted my time and I can never get it back!!1I could have picked up my daughter from school by now, but no, you make me sit here and wait and wait and wait until you get your freaking act together. After all that time playing Halo 2, writing fanfiction and making wallpapers of Master Chief (he pwns the stupid Arbitrary) and dedicating my days to you... this is how yuo thank me? No, let me thank you.Thank you for completely screwing up my life, Bungie. This is all your fold!
Uncle Gamer giving away Halo 3 beta codes
If you don't like the odds of winning our solitary Halo 3 beta code, you might try your luck over at Uncle Gamer. They're giving away two codes, effectively doubling your chances. Hell, if you entered our giveaway and Uncle Gamer's, you can triple the infinitesimal chance that you'll actually win! Uncle Gamer will make you work a little harder than we do though. You'll actually have to answer a question. We're just asking you to leave a comment. Still, if you think your up to the challenge of answering a simple question, head over to Uncle Gamer for your chance to win.Check out all the X3F Halo 3 beta coverage
