Podtacular 220: Halo 2 Farewell: Campaign Tales

Shownotes
A few weeks later and we finally get around to recording this (oops). We are back, diving into the roots of Podtacular. That’s right: Halo 2. We definitely outdid ourselves this time when we wend 2 and a half hours and was still not done. Greg dropped in late from another universe. Still not exactly sure how that happened. In our 3-part Halo 2 series, we discussed the campaign with a novel from someone that deserves a medal. Special guest Kete from The Running Riot podcast joined us in our adventure to the past. Enjoy.

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Matchmaking details revealed for Halo:Reach!

How many superlatives can I use in one post? I’d rather not find out but it is really tempting…

Shacknews has a report on the hot new spectacular features in Halo: Reach’s multiplayer matchmaking system. It features screenshots that really give you a better idea of what is going on. Go read it right now then come back here! The nitty gritty-

  • Active Roster – see what your friends are doing within reach at the main screen
  • Queue up to join your friends when they are done with their current game
  • Know what other maps/gametypes are possible when you vote
  • Battle in month-long seasons for the top spots in your division in the Arena
  • Social settings – get matched up with others with similar attitudes and styles

Post what you think in our discussion thread in the forums!

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Marathon: Grognok powered by the Bungie Aerospace engine?

Probably not. Bu those three things have all recently been found as new (or renewed) Bungie trademarks. First off the Marathon logo has been re-trademarked (unless it never was which seems unlikely). This has prompted speculation on the Bungie forums and HBO that the new secret project is in fact not a new IP but a new Marathon game. As much as I love this thought, I swear Bungie personnel have said “new IP” multiple times. In fact, to Kotaku Brian Jarrard said

“Could it come back? Yeah sure, anything is possible, Bungie owns the IP,” Jarrard said. “Would the team want to go back to Marathon as opposed to trying something brand new, coming off of a decade of one franchise, many years with Myth before that, many years with Marathon before that? I don’t want to speak for the elders, but I have to imagine there is a strong desire to try something new.

Next up is Grognok. DeathBringer669 on the Bungie forums found that

The trademark for Grognok is filed under the classification “1B”. 1B means that the logo is a “bona fide intention to use”. What does this mean you ask? Well in this instance it means that the logo is going to have the text “Grognok”, but the bland logo you see is not necessarily the final product. The next step, 1A, means it is “based on actual use”. This means that a 1A logo is how it will actually appear as the final product. A trademark such as the Bungie logo is a 1A logo, since it’s the final product.

There’s nothing in the trademark that really suggests what Grognok might be and as he said, the logo is plain text, likely in Times New Roman. Speculation is that it might be an internal tool in use at Bungie that it is preparing to license to others, particularly 343 Industries.

PhotobucketFinally, the cool new logo – Bungie Aerospace! Besides being approximately an A with an orbiting shape, this one is notable because it actually has Bungie’s name in it. That seems to make it even more likely that this is a piece of technology. This news got even more interesting when people realized Joe Staten had worn a vest with the Bungie Aerospace logo at GDC. It is reminiscent of when he and a few other Bungie staffers began appearing in various places wearing the Superintendent logo. Remember wondering what that was?

Very little is known right now but the likelyhood of Grognok and Bungie Aerospace being technologies they are preparing to license seems likely. Or maybe Grognok is the new IP, a Marathon sequel is coming too, and Aerospace is the Halo engine. Whatever the case, Bungie is very close to step 7 in their plan, so these three new trademarks may have more to do with slingshots and the Sun than video games.

By:AngelicLionheart
In Response To: Re: say it aint so joe (Gilver)

: That’s definitely it. LOL
: The plot thickens.

So, anyone seen any giant rubber bands go missing lately?

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T-Shirt Contest Now Open!

Welcome to the Podtacular T-Shirt Design Contest
Your task is to design a t-shirt for Podtacular.

There will be two winners for this competition. After submissions close the staff will pick the shirt they like the most, and that will win the Staff Pick. Then the polls will open and you can vote on the remaining designs for Community Choice.

The winners will get their shirts as prizes. Oh, and some XBLA games codes are in there too.

Rules
1. The shirt must have the podtacular logo on it somewhere
2. The shirt must have “Podtacular” written on it somewhere
3. The shirt can have the site URL on it. (Preferred to have)
4. Don’t put anything silly on it (you know what I mean)
5. NO MATERIAL THAT CAN HAVE A COPYRIGHT CLAIM MADE ON IT

However we will allow material licensed under a proper Creative Commons license (that is the point of it after all).
You are free to use any colours or designs you feel like.

The shirts have 4 parts: Front, Back, and each sleeve. You don’t have to use all of them.

If anyone wants to have a character of the anyone in their shirt contact them first to get approval (that includes staff). Keep in mind even if you don’t win your design can still be chosen for use in the store. Use this thread for suggestions, showing your progress, etc.

When you finish send the finished product to my email address: lancelot@podtacular.com
Preferably I’d like submissions to be hosted on a free image hosting site like Photobucket.

The thread for discussions is HERE.

Lets put the deadline for designs at April 3rd. Good luck everyone!

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Pod TV: Halo Reach Multiplayer Trailer Analysis


Download (coming soon)

Pod TV takes a look at the Multiplayer Trailer released last week from Bungie on the Halo Reach Beta. We got a nice look at some of the new features we will see in the Beta, including new gametypes, loadouts, maps, melee animations, etc. Check out the new Pod TV youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/PodtacTV

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Podtacular 219: Reach Multiplayer Digest

On Tuesday, Bungie released a Multiplayer Trailer for the Halo Reach beta, and we’re all over it. Brent and Dust Storm dive into the depths of the video discussing loadouts, new gametypes, weapons, etc. We did one with GLewis, but it didn’t record. A PodTV episode will follow shortly. Enjoy.

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MLG 2010 Pro Circuit Details Announced

For those who follow MLG, or participate for it in that matter, Major League Gaming has announced the first detail about the 2010 Pro Circuit. First location is Orlando, FL in the middle of April; A little late of a start if you ask me. For more details, check out the original announcement here.

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