In Bungie’s weekly update for the 29th of January they discussed a few rumors that had spawned, mainly because of this image:

Bungie has debunked these rumors in their latest update

• The reticule off to another side is a bug – the reticule will remain in the center for the shipped product
• The pixelated writing was just random code – this screenshot was taken from the Alpha build
• The textures are being updated all the time and we can expect a higher amount of detail than the one in the image
• The HUD in the final is almost certainly NOT yellow

The human weapons in Halo Reach are also set to be hit scans except for the Rockets and Shotgun. When a weapon is Hit Scan it basically means if the reticule is red and you shoot it’s an automatic hit – meaning you do not have to lead your shots like in Halo 3. The shooting will feel more like Halo 2, which is better as far as most people are concerned.

Included in the friday update were gun sounds for everyone to listen to. I took the pleasure of re-upping them here for you guys to hear without clicking links etc.

Assault Rifle

DMR

Frag Grenade

Mystery – Gun not known. Sounds like a tracking system though

Plasma Grenade

Sniper Rifle

Stay tuned for more info as it comes!

Discuss

No write up from me here, Bungie pretty much says everything needed to be said. Source

ASSAULT RIFLE

A certified stalwart in the UNSC’s arsenal, the Assault Rifle has scrubbed more than its fair share of Covenant scum up close and personal. First introduced with Halo: Combat Evolved, it missed a beat in Halo 2, but made its triumphant return to Halo 3 and by now you should know it’s making a return with a pretty significant visual overhaul in Halo: Reach, as seen in yesterday’s 3D art asset comparisons.

It’s not the only weapon that’s being upgraded, according to Josh, one of Halo: Reach’s sandbox designers.

“Everything has been touched in one way or another. That being said, some of the weapons had already gone through some serious iterations at this point in Halo’s life and so in some cases changes have been kept to a minimum. Either way, the visual face lift was worth its weight in gold. All the weapons, including the classics, are looking AMAZING!”

Sage, the project’s lead sandbox designer, briefly expounds on some of the subtle changes being made to the series’ staples:

“Returning weapons will, for the most part, maintain their classic roles and generally feel the same. If you’re playing at the pro level, you can expect to notice minor changes to every weapon.”

Of course, there’s some new stuff in the mix as well.

Designated Marksman Rifle

“The DMR, or Designated Marksman Rifle,” Sage notes, “is a medium-to-long range support weapon. In range and play style it fits between the Assault Rifle and Sniper Rifle in the Human sandbox. Powerful in skilled hands, its rewards the ‘gunfighter’ – the calm, accurate player, who like to be in the fight. Its primary role is to suppress snipers and soften opposition before the shock troops close.”

When you do find yourself in the fight, shock troops rushing your position, Josh has some slightly less merciful tips to help keep you alive when you have the DMR in your hot little hands.

“The DMR is deadly accurate if you breathe through the shots and get into the rhythm of firing it, but it quickly falls apart if you freak out and really start slamming the trigger. A player with surgeon’s hands will be able to use it anywhere, anytime. Players that struggle with their composure in a heated fight however will find it better suited to working guys from a distance, picking off the sick and weak from the herd.”

And for those looking for that elegant weapon for a more civilized age, it looks like the DMR might be the implement of war you’re looking for.

“Personally, I’ve found that I always like to have a DMR in my back pocket in the way that I would have kept around the pistol in Halo: Combat Evolved,” Josh says. “Either way, the big news with the DMR is that it’s particularly good at shooting Covenant in the face.”

Needle Rifle

Speaking of Covenant forces, Reach may be a UNSC military stronghold, but the Covenant war machine is at the height of its military power. The Needle Rifle is one of the more fearsome and unique weapons in their invasion force’s arsenal and a fitting counter to the Designated Marksman Rifle. It’s also one of the weapons we’ve revealed that seems to be surrounded with the most ambiguity. Let’s clear some stuff up.

“The Needle Rifle is one of my personal favorites,” Josh notes. “While it is very similar to the Carbine in several ways, including its ability to headshot (Unicorn!), it’s still 100% Needler and comes stock with the ability to super-combine when it comes in contact with your enemies and spread them like jam across a warm piece of toast. Unlike the Needler, the rounds don’t track your target…because that would just be ridiculous.”

Sage offers up his own additional details.

“The Needle Rifle is the Covenant’s answer to the DMR. It’s a medium-to-long range weapon with powerful anti-shield damage. It’s faster and more accurate than the DMR, but doesn’t have the same stopping power. It’s a Blamite! super-combining weapon (three shots to an unshielded body) that can also score headshots.”

By Design

It should be noted here that all of these details are subject to change. Sage, Josh, and the rest of the team continue to put this trio of weapons, along with all of the other sandbox toys to the test time and time again, ensuring that the end product delivered in the fall will be as fair as it is fun. Seems it’s even become a mantra with Josh. How do they make sure everything is tuned just right?

“Testing! Testing! Testing!”

But it ain’t all about the aftermath. Sage and Josh are on their toes anticipating where new systems like Armor Abilities could turn delightful multiplayer fun into an exploitable and unfair set of game busting superpowers.

“We’ve built the systems with some minor drawbacks that are there to make sure you’re not a God… an invisible, sneaky, evil God to be exact.”

“Balancing a game is not an exact science,” Sage adds, “because we don’t always want total equality. Some weapons and abilities are intentionally designed to be more or less powerful. That said the best way to balance a game after looking over the raw numbers is to play test it as much as possible. Sometimes we also reduce the number of variables and run specific tests to see if the results fall within our desired outcome. Like DMR vs. Needle Rifle tests.”

Bungie has updated their galleries to include a variety of new Reach images showing the environments and enemies. There are also some showing concept art for the game. The most interesting of the screens has been shown below:

No, the Image isn’t stretched the HUD is actually like that and from the flag it looks like it is also on the Z axis as well. The thing that looks the weirdest however is the crosshair being off center – something that the more competitive gamers will probably not like as it connotes auto aim (in a weird sense). The other things to take note one are:

• Compass at the top
• Perk like thing above the radar – lightning bolt could be something like the power drainer mentioned in this forum post
• New health system
• Only two types of grenades (one type shown in the picture)

The graphics from the other screenshots sadly do not look like the engine has been updated a great deal but with what Bungie has been saying about the amount of action taking place and the scale of the mission maps that’s understandable.

Discuss here

GT Thread/Discussion

This is a must read and I think all members of this community should do their part to help.

Bungie fans, we’re asking you to step up, “Be a Hero,” and help us help Haiti.

At 4:53pm on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake swept through the Republic of Haiti and shook the nation to its knees. We’ve watched in shock, horror, and sadness as men, women, and children scramble amidst the rubble looking for friends, family, and loved-ones. We struggle to make sense of it and can’t help but feel helpless as we witness their struggle for survival from afar. Sadly, the situation is only getting worse.

For some of us, this is a grim reminder of our own tragedies. We hear echoes of the ocean spilling into the streets of New Orleans. We recall broken buildings slipping away from our skylines, falling into dust. And as shattered families in Haiti begin their own relief and rescue effort, we are reminded that the divide between our nations and our peoples is not so wide, that we are not so different, and that we are not so helpless.

We can do something. We can make a difference. But we can’t do it alone. We’re calling on the Bungie community. We’re asking for your help.

BE A HERO!

Right now, in the Bungie Store, you’ll find a special edition of our Superintendent tee. Pick one up and we’ll donate 100% of our profits directly to the relief efforts through the American Red Cross.

BUY BUNGIE SWAG, HELP OTHERS!

In addition to the special shirt, from now until the end of February, we will be donating all of Bungie’s profits from the Bungie Store directly to the American Red Cross. If you had your eye on a sweet Bungie hoodie or bag, there’s never been a better time to buy than now since that money will go right to supporting a great cause. Please note that this really only applies to Bungie apparel and accessories in our online store – if you wanted to add an HD TV or Xbox 360 game to your cart at checkout, Bungie doesn’t actually see any real proceeds from those 3rd party items.

PLAY HALO & WE’LL DONATE $77,000!

So, you want to help but don’t have a way to get one of our shirts or make a monetary donation? Not to worry, we’ve got you covered with the easiest possible way to be a hero – playing Halo!

We are rallying our fan community to show their support by playing Halo 3 or ODST online next Wednesday or Thursday while wearing a special emblem signifying your commitment to the cause. For every thousand heroes that participate, we will make a $100 donation on behalf of Bungie and our fan community to the Red Cross for Haiti relief efforts, up to a maximum of $77,000. All you have to do is don a special emblem and play a game online and know that you’ve done a small part to help those in need.

Please mark your calendars and help spread the word!

Here are the specifics:

1. Round up all of your friends and hop online with Halo 3 or ODST any time next from 00:01AM PST Wednesday, 1/20, through 23:59PM PST Thursday 1/21.

2. Edit your appearance settings so your character is wearing the RED HEART emblem.

a. Press START
b. Select “SETTINGS” / “APPEARANCE”
c. Select “EMBLEM”
d. Select “Hearts” ICON, “Circle” BACKGROUND
e. Back out to the APPEARANCES menu and select “COLORS”
f. Set “EMBLEM PRIMARY” to RED (or MAROON / BRICK / ROSE depending on which game you’re playing!)
g. Set “EMBLEM SECONDARY” to WHITE

3. Once your emblem is set, play! This can be a custom game or a matchmaking game, just make sure it’s played online, on Xbox LIVE, or we can’t track it.

If you keep playing more games through midnight on Thursday, KEEP THE HEART EMBLEM ENABLED or you may not get counted.

Link

I hope everyone on LG does this – it’s no cost to you and it helps the victims who need the money. Please try and spread the message around to your friends.

If there is enough demand maybe we could all play some H3 matchmaking that night in BTB and just have a good time.

On Friday Wired.com got a hands on with one of the worlds first transparent displays at CES 2010. What can I say apart from it looks amazing and could potentially be the tech of the future if all of those Sci-Fi films are right!
Check out the video below for a video of this amazing tech!

Discuss Here

Happy New Years from all the staff at LG. May this year be better than your last and we hope we’ll be around to say this next year as well.

Rumors are making their rounds that Microsoft is hiring people to to develop Xbox Live features for phones, specifically windows mobile ones. In a recent job listing for a

Principal Program Manager who would be responsible for bringing “Xbox Live enabled games to Windows Mobile,” Redmond is particularly interested in “avatar integration, social interaction, and multi-screen experiences.”

Engadget

So jut think…soon we could be seeing a Zune/Xbox Phone with the ability to be connected all the time to your Xbox Live buddies and to compare gamerscore, stream videos from Netflix/Zune HD and even playing arcade games and multiplayer with people on the xbox.

Source

So what features would you want on a phone like this? Comment in the thread.

According to TorrentFreak COD:MW2 was this years most pirated game through Bit Torrent. Its stats show that the game that came out in November 2009 had done:

• 4,100,000 “units” on the PC

• 970,000 “units” on the Xbox 360

Activision has potentially lost more than $245 million in sales on the PC version alone.

Making it the most torrented game of 2009 with  5.07million copies being illegally downloaded by PC and Xbox users. Most of you might remember the HUGE PC gamer outrage that Infinity ward was creating IWnet because “some people have difficulty navigating server browsers” – really though it was to try and prevent piracy and potentially force users to pay for DLC with a matchmaking like service.

So there you have it, for the full list of the top 5 downloaded titles over the period of 2009 for the Wii, PC and Xbox Click here

Source

Discuss what you guys think of Piracy in Video games

Happy New Year!

In this tutorial I(Kapow) will show you how to encode videos with x264.
Some credit from this tutorial goes to Raigen
Astiun Media
Apologies for some crackling on my mic

Discuss

At the VGAs last night Bungie revealed the first Halo Reach trailer which contains footage from the opening cinematic of Halo Reach.

• The Spartans Knife
• New looking BR
• New transport Warthog
• New Engine
• New Armour
• New Helis

Enjoy

The beta should be coming around Sping 2010 time like the Halo 3 one did – lets just hope it features everything we want it to!