Halopedia:Bungie Weekly Update 03-04-05

This is the Bungie Weekly Update for March 4, 2005, written by Frank O'Connor.

Bungie Update
Every single week, come rain or...well, it is Seattle, we answer the questions we can about Halo and Halo 2 and anything else you can think of. This week, we get pretty specific about cheating on Live, as the Banhammer continues to fall.

Hella dudes ask,

When are the fixes coming for all the cheats, glitches and exploits?

Quite soon. We've been reticent to say anything until this point, because testing is an arduous and long process, but we're getting to the point where we're confident all these things are working. Best case scenario, if everything goes super smoothly, could be ready in just a whisper under a month. But it could take significantly longer. We want this to work smoothly, so we're HAMMERING the test process. So much as we hate making promises, that's the window we're looking at.

All of mankind asks,

What are you guys doing to fix cheating exploits and glitches on Xbox Live?

OK, now with the sheer number of variables on Xbox Live, it took time for us to even see all the cheats, glitches and exploits. You can only imagine how long it took to identify, analyze, fix and test all these problems. Well, the good news is that we're very close to implementing a fix for most, if not all of the major problems. What problems are we fixing? Well here's just a very small sampling:

Glitches

We're addressing the super high flag bounce off of certain objects - like the conveyor belt in Colossus. We're addressing the flag grab through solid walls problem (although you can still toss it through legitimate places, like gates and windows. Elite melee ghosting will be fixed (although it was never a massive problem). Sword flying will be gone (sorry Sword Flying Hobbyists - but we DID leave it in single player because it's fun!). We've addressed the "ghosted dropped weapon" problem (a gun you just couldn't pick up).

We've fixed the tie resolution problems (sorry Red team!). We've made some changes to how you can enter Clan matches (to make it easier). We've addressed the "bouncy" teleporting on Beaver Creek. We've fixed the useable "dead" turrets bug.

Cheats

We've addressed the modem standby cheat. Can't say how, but we've implemented several fixes to help alleviate this problem. We can't stop people from pressing suspend modem, but we can make it less worthwhile to them. We've also added a number of ways to make it more difficult for players to abuse the fact that they are the host of a game.

This is just a sampling of what we're fixing. Some things are insignificant, some you won't even have heard of, and others we don't want to discuss at this time. All in all, it should be a very pleasant and painless experience and one that improves your experience significantly.

Three Blind Mice ask,

Is that ALL you're doing to address cheating?

Far from it. One of the main reasons people cheat, apart from sheer stupidity and complete misunderstanding of their own insignificance in the universe, is so-called "rank whoring." Very soon, we will start a process to punish those folks directly, or rather, make their efforts more pointless. If it were up to me, pitbulls would fly out of their DVD drive and lock firmly onto their toilet parts for the rest of their lives. Luckily it is not up to me.

Two fellas ask,

''I don't have Live, but I play System Link. If you guys fix the glitches, like flag grabbing, won't that mean I'm left behind?''

We're looking at a number of options to hook you up. We absolutely want the multiplayer experience to be cool for everyone, so we're working hard on alternatives. We'll have news for you soon.

Captain Obvious asks,

Is this related to downloadable content?

No. These fixes are a separate issue, but we will have info on downloadable content very soon. And it will be very cool info, with a couple of neat surprises.

Eager Live gamers ask,

''What's up with the Matchmaking Playlists? Are these part of the auto update?''

No, updates to the Live Matchmaking Playlists are done outside of the game and are not part of an actual auto update. We have been listening to community feedback and are currently testing a variety of tweaks and updates to the existing lineup of playlists. We hope for the new playlist changes to go live around the same time as the auto update. In the meantime, we continue to gather feedback and suggestions to explore ways to enhance and refresh the Live play experience. It's also possible that we will reincorporate maps and game types that were removed because of negative effects from cheating and glitching.

Calvin asks,

Why HAVE you guys been so secretive?

Well a few reasons, all of them pretty sensible. One is that we're part of a big corporation and we have to do things by the book. Two is that we've been burned in the past by making promises we can't keep. Three is that we have to wait until stuff is tested and working before we can explain and reveal it. As for downloadable content, there are actually some COOL reasons we can't talk about the maps quite yet.

PordaPoddyJ asks,

What is the highest level you have in halo 2 and have you ever cheated just to see how it feels?

I think about level 17 way early on and now I hover around 12 or 13 in Rumble Pit. Other than helping with testing here, I've never cheated. What's the point? I know how it feels. It feels stupid.

Principia10 asks,

Don't you hate when you make something that is reoccurring and then you begin to loathe it because it doesn't go away and people begin to rely on it for information, yet you can't actually give out information because you are controlled by a higher being, therefore creating a vicious cycle that you can't break out of...Is this how you feel?

Haha, yes, but not as much this week.

Jamers9 asks,

''Why not just give these idiots a date that you know is well after when the DLC will be ready and then introduce it earlier. Giving the date will shut everyone up, and then you all will look like gods as you finished ahead of schedule. Just a thought, keep up the good work.''

My experience is every time I lie, another ganking cheat is born. So I've learned not to do it.

Gunner198969 asks,

I was just wondering, am I the only person who thinks that the original Halo would be the most played Xbox live game ever?

No, probably not. I'd like to play it too, although I prefer Halo 2 these days. I played Halo 1 recently and was all over the place. Some folks play it on XBconnect and other, similar tunneling services, and of course folks still enjoy LAN games, but as far as Bungie ever revisiting the old game for Live play? It seems unlikely. Lots of NEW things for us to worry about right now.

Mika asks,

''Give me one tease word to describe one of the new levels. Just one word man. Please.''

OK. "Timetable."

Shishka ,

Did you beat Cam from marketing in rockets on Lockout?

[http://www.bungie.net/Stats/GameStats.aspx?gameID=101144301&player=Frankie Yes. Why yes I did.]

And finally, Catherine asks, does Mister Chief have a pet? The answer is yes. A 45 pound cat named MonkeyChief.