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Bungie adds vehicular AI into Halo 3
Remember in Halo 2 when you proudly drove around in your spiffy warthog with an AI controlled gunner manning the turret only to be annoyed by him, because he was shooting at a tree and not the five ghost riding Elites in front of you? Well, according to this week's Bungie Weekly Update we'll be able to write off that problem in Halo 3. Frankie says that the AI controlled marines who fight by your side will be a lot smarter and will actually take hints to where they should be shooting simply by knowing where you are looking. Point your camera to the right and the gunner will shoot to the right, storm straight ahead and the gunner will unleash death bullets in front of you. Better AI always rocks. The other interesting news from this week's update is a promise that we'll get to see some of the behind the scenes work that went into creating the Legendary Edition of Halo 3, including how the spartan helmet case came to be. Frankie also dropped an interesting tidbit referring to why the Limited Edition includes an art book that the holy grail Legendary Edition doesn't. He says that "Legendary Edition purchasers will be pleased to know that they will not have to live without that content at all". Interesting, no? Okay, this is getting too long. Just make the jump and read all the new newness that is Halo 3.
Bungie keeping that Halo "aesthetic"
In this week's keenly named Bungie Weekly Update Frankie discusses some design decisions the team has made pertaining to Halo 3 and a few other things. In the past, a bunch of people have negatively critiqued Halo 3's prettiness factor (though, we've only seen leaked alpha screen grabs), saying that the game should look a lot better. Frankie reinforces that they have"gone to great lengths to make sure that the new game retains the 'Halo' aesthetic. It still looks like a Halo game, but just rendered with vastly more detail and content and some visual effects that simply weren't possible on Xbox"So, we aren't going to be seeing Gears of War style graphics or that same art style ... it'll still be Halo, just a more shiny, pretty, and curvaceous version. Moving on. Do you remember the talk of the A-hole button? It's Halo 3's vastly improved and easier way to mute annoying kids in multiplayer. We now know the exact button combo to execute the muting frenzy, which could take less than a few seconds for some players. So, to mute a person in multiplayer, simply press the BACK button, use the right thumbstick to highlight the player, and press X ... that's it! What a convenient process that's entirely separate from and quicker than the Xbox 360 guide. Make the jump for a few more Halo 3 information nuggets, but don't let the Bungie.net webmaster see you ... he's a drunken gorilla maniac who blames everyone else for his problems. It's sad really.
Frankie wrote a novel of a Halo 3 update
This week's Bungie Weekly Update is a long one, almost epic in scale. In it, Frankie discusses many things, from Halo 3's campaign AI to Marty's award winning music. But what we love to hear about is how the game looks, how the world will interact with every multiplayer footstep we take, and how each blade of grass will sway. Frankie's water effects are coming along nicely, as the water reacts to whatever is in it, can get muddied, and could possibly move weapons (or bodies) down the river current. How cool is that? We also get a hint to where one of the new Halo 2 maps will be located, as Frankie tells us that "one map features some awesome monkey noises". Could it be in a Brute forrest or at the San Diego Zoo? We'll leave it up to you to do the speculating. Phew ... there's just too much information in the is weekly update for us to list, so we're making you read the other nuggets of information over at Bungie.net. Go ahead, Bungie doesn't bite (too hard).
Halo 3 materials and control scheme, oh my!
We're finally getting to a point where we get actual juicy details on Halo 3 from Bungie's Weekly Updates. This week's deep fried nuggets of information include the revealing of the first promotional material for Halo 3 (see above). According to Bungie, this marketing goodness is the first in a series that will be coming out throughout the year, similar to Halo 2's campaign with the whole orange background thing. Also note that it does read "Fall 2007" ... nice. Frankie also mentions that progress is being made on the campaign front, that the Halo 3 beta will not begin next week upon Crackdown's release, and that Bungie.net is getting an overhaul. He also posted the current default controller layout for Halo 3, dissecting each and every button and what each is used for. Though, Frankie makes it very clear that things could change and that the mysterious "X" button could be moved too. We're interested in how talking in multiplayer will work and currently there is a scheme using the d-pad, but he also mentions that it is in the extremely early stages of how the function will work. Please Bungie, make it so we don't have to push a button to talk, we can deal with loud people with our A-hole button. Go ahead and make the jump to get your weekly dose of Halo 3 knowledge.
Bungie Weekly Update: How we love thy Cortana
This week the employees at Bungie have been battling the dreaded space germs virus, but fear not fanboys because nothing can stop the development of Halo 3. In this week's Bungie Weekly Update Frankie reveals that they've been recording dialog for the game including the voice of Cortana, Jen Taylor. This time around Jen is getting the chance to flex her acting muscles, because Cortana is a little darker and more dramatic in Halo 3. Everyone at Bungie nearly wept during Jen's recording session ... oh how we love you Cortana. Bungie is also polishing weapon animations and revealed that they are implementing the "A-hole button". And what is this A-hole button we speak of? Well, you know those annoying Xbox Live members who refuse to be quiet or say something constructive, right? Well, for Halo 3 Bungie is implementing an easier and quicker way to mute unruly Live members, something we're welcoming with open arms. Frankie also talks about a new Halo 2 playlist, new tshirts, and a new Halo audiobook ... just make the jump and get learned.
Halo ActionClix and a pentathlon, oh my!
It's Bungie Weekly Update time and this week we get a glimpse of the uber legendary Bungie Pentathlon. Bungie's pentathlon is a yearly event that pits Bungie's finest against eachother in an all out death match-o-fun. With events including Gears of War, Halo 3, Pictionary and Wii Bowling ... we can't help but be a little jealous. Let us in the pentathlon Bungie, we'll pwn you at Gears! Anyway, this week's update wasn't all about the pentathlon, oh no. We received confirmation that there will be over 80 HaloClix released this September! Little Halo ActionClix, we're giddy with excitement. There wasn't much more news than that, but we still recommend making the jump to read the rest of Frankie's Weekly Bungie Update ... it's so good.
