When reading Bungie.net or HBO; You sometimes wish you could easily access information on those Halo 2 terms in the text? Now you can have all those terms highlighted and linked to their corresponding [url=http://halowiki.net]halowiki.net[/url] article.

By installing a tiny user script - The [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/Greasemonkey_Web_Linker]Greasmonkey halowiki.net linker[/url] - in your web browser, Bungie.net, HBO and other Halo related websites transform. Instead of: "The Carbine hide on Ivory Tower is a perfect place for lurking with the Sword for a while." you now get: "The [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/Carbine]Carbine[/url] hide on [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/Ivory_Tower]Ivory Tower[/url] is a perfect place for lurking with the [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/Sword]Sword[/url] for a while." (Though the "magic" links will have a visual clue telling you that it's a link produced by the script.) Clicking those links will let you read what other Halo 2 nutties have written on the subjects of Covenant Carbine, Ivory Tower and the Energy Sword. Not only that. It will let you add your knowledge to those artciles too! You find the script here: [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/Greasemonkey_Web_Linker]Greasmonkey halowiki.net linker[/url]

Yesterday we ran a query to detect people who were playing a significant amount of games with known modders. As a result, several thousand players received a temporary warning ban from Halo 2 Matchmaking. "Boosting" with the help of modders is a bannable offense so you're advised to not party with people using modified content.

Since the banhammer came down hard on people using modified content on Xbox Live, a new trend has emerged - "Boosting" with modders. People are using free trial accounts and using mods to boost their friends or their main accounts as much as they can until they eventually get banned. Just because our auto-ban system only goes after the actual people who have modified content doesn't mean we don't also know about the people partying with these modders. Yesterday several thousand players were banned, all people who were found to have played a significant number of games with known reported modders. These bans were temporary - this time. But let this be a warning - if you play with people who have modified content on their box - you're at risk for being banned yourself. Whether the mods are actually being "used" or not, or if you don't intend to boost, if you continue playing with anyone who has modified content you will be flagged. The best advice - don't party with anyone who has modified content. Period. Let them take the fall.

This past weekend marked the first annual [url=http://www.2old2play.com]2old2play Chicago Lan Party[/url]. Gamers over the age of 25 met up from all across the US and Canada for the ultimate in Bungie gaming.

Tucked away in a small but accommodating conference room 30 site members gathered for Halo CE, Halo 2, beer, pizza and good times. Events started early at around 10 a.m. when members went through the awkward task of meeting each other for the first time, again. You see many of the attendees had been gaming with one another for almost 5 months on Xbox live. Putting a face to the name was a little strange at first, especially when not all voices sound the same in person. Once the pleasantries were done away with, the gaming started almost instantly. Like moths to a flame, gamers were drawn to the TV and Halo 2 as if pulled by some unseen force. The first tournament was FFA in which all members participated for Game Give-aways and bragging rights. Winners were decided by a 4 man elimination each round until only 4 remained. The final four battled it out on Warlock until our very own [url=http://www.bungie.net/Stats/PlayerStats.aspx?player=StuntDan78]StuntDan78[/url] was crowed the victor. Between tournaments members made sure to play as much Halo CE as possible. It’s not that often you get the opportunity to play Halo CE with 16 people so we took advantage of every chance. After FFA, members were picked by random selection to team up in the Skirmish tournament. By this time, beer and pizza consumption and increased and members were now in the full swing of the event... Speaking of beer, it’s funny what gaming and alcohol can do to a person. One minute you’re a calm over the hill gamer and the next you turn into a 14 year old “Timmy” hopped up on Ballz and Vodka while screaming at fellow site members in the name of Master Chief. The Team Skirmish Tournament proved to be the best example of this as many [url=http://www.2old2play.com]2old2play[/url] could be seen jumping up from there seats and yelling over their TV sets when anything of the least excitement was happening on screen. Once the tournament was through and the blood pressure returned to normal, the gaming went on till no one could stand, er, sit any longer. It was the first of what will be many events held for gamers over the hill who still love to play. We would just love to thank Bungie for creating such a great game and helping 2old2play create such a large community. Will see all the old folks next year in Chicago! [url=http://www.2old2play.com]For more media head over to 2old2play for pictures and more![/url]

[url=http://www.brokenconsole.co.uk]Broken Console Productions[/url] have created a halo 2 based machinima called "The Squadron"

[url=http://www.brokenconsole.co.uk]Broken Console[/url]s "The Squadron" is a machinima combining the comedy of [url=http://www.roosterteeth.com]"Red Vs Blue"[/url] and the action of [url=http://thecodexseries.com]"The Codex"[/url]. It has become quite popular and has been shown on the front page of [url=http://halo.bungie.org]HBO[/url] several times.

[url=http://www.bungie.net/Account/Profile.aspx?uid=922850]Wasabe[/url]'s [b]Diary of a Noob[/b] stories quickly got popular. Now the stories are saved from drowning in the Zanzibar forum. They are being archived at [url=http://www.halowiki.net]halowiki.net[/url].

The noob does all sorts of crazy stuff. And the Zanzibar community is helpful as always. Actually it is much the response from the audience that makes the stories so funny. Kinda like improvisional theater. Many readers hold the bomb episodes as favourites, but the noob de-leveling is pretty funny too! Not to forget [url=http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=4348735]day 1[/url] where the noob has serious problems registering the Gamertag "Bob". (But "uradopted" works so he's fine.) Five days in the diary so far and they are all archived. Here: [*] [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/Diary_of_a_Noob]Noob Diary Acrhive[/url]

PraetoriaGuard's latest website, [url=http://www.halo2gametypes.com]Halo2GameTypes.com[/url], is a way for the community to submit, share and vote on game variants. It offers an easy way to submit game variants as well as an easy tutorial for setting up the game variants you like on your own XBox.

This website is dedicated to the growing Halo 2 Community and the gametypes that are emerging. From Zombies to Speedball - if you’ve played it online, chances are, it’s listed here. Find out what other people think of it - and how they might tweak it. Invented your own gametype? Submit your gametype using our submission system and see how other people rate it. You can vote on any game type to increase it's popularity. The top five game variants, as rated by the Halo 2 community, are listed below. Visit us at http://www.halo2gametypes.com Keep up to date on all of PraetoriaGuard's websites at http://www.halo2webring.com

SILENCE UK writes:

Rooster Teeth confirm new series dates...

Rooster teeth have now confirmed that Season 4 will Debut on the 8.29.2005. Great news after the cliff hanger ending at the end of series 3 left all fans on tenterhooks wondering what will happen to the motly crew of spartans at the hands of the great destroyer. Check out [url=http://www.redvsblue.com]www.redvsblue.com[/url] for more info. Check out www.roosterteeth.com for more info on what the creators are up to and on there latest series STRANGER HOOD.

The Final episode of the internet Machinima Drama "The Codex" is upon us. Check out all 20 episodes at www.thecodexseries.com

I'm sure that many of you made or seen Montages, or been to highimpacthalo.org. The style of using a prerendered gameing engine in order to create movies is called Machinima. Tha basically meens this: Machinima is using games to make movies. There are many popular Machinimas on the web, not the least of wich is Red vs Blue. But one that many have not heard of, or overlooked is "The Codex". "The Codex" is an internet drama made using Halo 2 that ties in to the Halo story. The Story is this: A Covenant Leader, named "The Praetor" has found an ancient Forerunner relic that acts as a sort of maproom in order to find ALL Forerunner artifacts. But, there is one slight problem, the Humans occupy the planet on which it is found. He takes an army of Elites in order to recapture and activate the Codex. The HUmans must stop him. The series in its entirety can be found at www.thecodexseries.com, along with their forums. And with the final episode (episode 20), this may be one of the last news posts about it. I personally am a big fan of the series. I would definately rocomend it.

[b]Podcast the ventcore![/b] [url=http://www.podtacular.com]Podtacular![/url] is the unofficial Halo 2 podcast radio show. It serves up a [b]free[/b] hour-long talk show every week of the best multiplayer tips, tricks and strategies to help you level up and stay there. Podtacular is turning heads in the Halo Community, being featured on Major Nelson's blog, halo.bungie.org, and Halo Planet.

Let's say you want to keep up on the best and latest multiplayer strategies for Halo 2 but you don't want to wade through tomes of text to do it. Wouldn't it be better if you could just listen to an entertaining radio show that improves your game? Enter [url=http://www.podtacular.com]Podtacular![/url] [b]the unofficial Halo 2 for Xbox Live podcast[/b]. If you don't know what a podcast is, it's a free radio show that gets automatically downloaded to your computer or mp3 player when new shows come out. Podtacular covers a variety of topics like general tactics, map of the week, big team battle strategies, objective-based game techniques, custom game library, listener submissions, vehicle training, and more. They aim to be helpful to all players from the newbie to the battle-hardened vet. The show has drawn quite a bit of notoriety from the Halo 2 community. Major Nelson, Xbox Live's chief programmer, posted a blog entry about the show. It has also been featured on halo.bungie.org and Halo Planet, among others. You can subscribe to the show at [url=http://www.podtacular.com]www.podtacular.com[/url]. Head on over and check it out! Pretty soon, you'll wish you could dual-wield an iPod.

antiherosk8er writes:

Craig Mullins is an artist that has done plenty of wonderfull artwork for bungie games. Such as Myth, Marathon and Halo. His website ([url=http://www.goodbrush.com/]GoodBrush.com[/url]) has some new artwork that works great to spice up your desktop. Even some new [url=http://goodbrush.com/cm/thumbnails.php?album=32]Halo 2 work.[/url]

You can find all of Craigs Bungie Work [url=http://goodbrush.com/cm/thumbnails.php?album=32]Here![/url] [url=http://goodbrush.com/cm/displayimage.php?album=32&pos=2]New Halo 2 Art[/url]

Over 200 UK gamers have united in an effort to bypass lag and latency problems by creating one of the most extensive lists available for UK Gamertags. The thread from bungie.net has recently gained acknowlegement from Official Xbox Magazine and the clan formed as a result (DOT Realm) will feature as OXM's Clan of the month for November.

Out of the depths of the Zanzibar forum on Bungie.net, a single post has risen to be one of the most comprehensive collections of UK Gamertags yet collected. Driven by frustration of lag in matchmaking, the thread's author, Wardieboy, removed non-Brit based players from his friends list and invited other UK gamers to some lag free fun. It didn't take long for like-minded people to add tags and to develop a core of people who simply wanted some fun, mature, low-stress and lag free gaming... Initially it was going to be matchmaking based, but this soon turned into the now regular Tuesday & Friday series of UK custom gaming, where every party member is invited to make up a game and brig it to the party! Ever increasing in popularity, the regular party organisers soon started running out of space on their friend lists and so the idea of forming a clan was born - 'DOT Realm' came into being... A clan where members can find other fun gamers for customs or matchmaking as they see fit ,in the knowledge that the proverbial 'Screaming Elmos' and Trash Talkers are filtered out. It was recently confirmed that partly in lieu of the effort and time that the clan overlord Wardieboy has put into uniting all these Brit gamers, that DOT Realm will feature as OXM's Clan of the Month for November! Who would have thought that something positive could come out of Zanzibar? Not me... If you're a UK gamer who's interested, feel free to drop us a line: http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=3701387&postRepeater1-p=1

Need help with your Chapter? Got a question? Come along and give [url=/fanclub/blam/GroupHome.aspx]Chapter Founders[/url] a look.

Need help with your Chapter? Got a question? Come along and give [url=/fanclub/blam/GroupHome.aspx]Chapter Founders[/url] a look. Currently under refurbishment, this Chapter covers every aspect of administration, moderation and more! If you have an awesome Chapter, post it for review in the Forum and it may become eligible for a spot in our prestigious Awesome Chapters resource. Proud suppliers of our weekly newsletter the Week in Review, we also provide the oppurtunity for Founders to have their say in it.

Turns out that Halo animator Nathan Walpole's brother Aaron, is in the top seven contestants on the Canadian version of American Idol (called, bizarrely enough, Canadian Idol.) [url=http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3142639]1UP.com[/url] has the full story.

So you know, [url=http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3142639]go over to 1UP.com and read all aboot it.[/url]

Several new t-shirts are available at the [url=http://www.bungiestore.com]Bungie Store[/url] including a remake of the classic Japanese Marathon shirt and our first ever "girlie" shirt (perfect for the special lady in your life). In addition, three new posters and a variety of clearance items are still in stock. Check 'em out!

Buy Halo stuff and help us further our goal of world domination! The [url=http://www.bungiestore.com]Bungie Store[/url] has a variety of apparel including a few new ones like the Japanese Marathon shirt and the bold "I Can Kick Your Ass At Halo 2" shirt. While your'e there, browse through the Accessories section for the latest action figures, some new posters and a few miscellaneous souvenirs.

LunarShadow, a fellow xbox live player has taken Halo 2 stat tracking to the next level with his superb H20 Stats Reader, a simple windows program that takes raw data from the bungie.net stats and breaks down game by game coverage to full view. Read more for more info.

LunarShadow, a fellow xbox live player has taken Halo 2 stat tracking to the next level with his superb H20 Stats Reader, a simple windows program that takes raw data from the bungie.net stats and breaks down game by game coverage to full view. You can save your stats and take them with you or even export them to HTML and share them on any website. Advanced features include the abillity to search through your games based on what medals you've won, or who you played with. It even works with clans too! H20 Main Page http://personal.stevens.edu/~bbehr/

Twinkie writes:

The complete list of IGN's top 100 games was rounded off today, with some interesting placements.

The complete list of IGN's top 100 games was rounded off today, with some interesting placements. Only one Bungie game made the top 100; Halo, at #30. The top 5 games are: 1. Super Mario Bros. 2. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3. Tetris 4. Sid Meier's Civilization II 5. Super Mario 64 There are many other surprising results, which you can view [url=http://top100.ign.com/2005/index.html]here[/url].

I just read on [url=http://www.digg.com]digg[/url] that today is [url=http://sysadminday.com/]system administrator appreciation day[/url]. So I suppose we better all give achronos and friends a big thank you for all of their troubles.

I mean just think of a world without bungie.net. We might all be outdoor loving, plant eating, sandal wearing hippies! Or even worse without bungie.net we may have been forced to become active members of the xbox.com forums and community! blechhch! =P

As promised, AU4 was released yesterday and includes a slew of anti-modding measures aimed at cleaning up the Halo 2 online landscape. In the past twenty-four hours, approximately 2,550 people have been permanently banned from matchmaking for using hacked or modified content online. Read on for more info as well as answers to a few questions...

The latest Halo 2 auto update was released over Xbox Live yesterday and will automatically download to your console the next time you try to play a game over Live. This update contains tools to detect and ban anyone who uses hacked or modified content online. Despite our ongoing warnings, there are people who insist on using hacks and to date 2,550 of them have been permanently banned. There has been some speculation that the update was a bluff or that it didn't work as a number of players were still encountering modders online after getting the update. This is to be expected. Modders will still exist for a short time but once detected, they will soon be permanently banned as the new self-aware automated Banhammer starts swinging. Banned players will also potentially persist on the leaderboards for a short time following a ban from Live but will be cleaned out shortly afterwards. Also, please note, that the Bungie Team will still be banning and dealing with people who use network manipulation to their advantage as well as people boosting. Also, if you used modded content prior to the AU and used it to climb the leaderboards you will still get stripped off the leaderboards and potentially banned from Live. Please continue to use the in-game feedback system to deal with behavior / poor sportsmanship issues. For more information about cheating in general, please refer to the Bungie.net [url=http://www.bungie.net/Stats/page.aspx?section=FAQInfo&subsection=cheat&page=cheat]Cheating FAQ[/url]. [b]Banhammer Mini FAQ[/b] ------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]I heard the Autoupate is ruining people's game discs!?[/b] False. Despite the fun rumors about discs mysteriously being scratched once the update was downloaded, there is no correllation between said disc damage and the auto update itself. [b]Once I installed the update I'm no longer able to load maps and/or it takes an incredibly long time. What gives?[/b] As with prior updates, once this is installed, it will clear the cache of your Xbox where the maps get loaded. This means that when you go to play, it will take longer than usual as it reloads the maps back into cache. The AU itself has not damaged your Xbox or your game. Some people are experiencing issues with maps failing to load altogether. The first thing you should do is double check that your disc is clean and free of scratches. If the problem persists, please contact Xbox Support at 1-800-4MY-XBOX or visit the [url=http://www.xbox.com/en-us/support/default.htm]Xbox.com Support Page[/url] for additional information. [b]I can't download the AU at all. It tells me there's an update avaialble and when I go to download it I get an error message. What's up?[/b] We have heard reports that people who have modified content on their Xbox may have intentionally or unintentionally altered or corrupted the program used to run the Xbox Live downloader. If you can't get the AU, you can't play Halo 2 on Live at all. If you're experiencing issues with the downloader itself, please follow the Xbox support recommendations listed above. Thank you to everyone who has continued to assist us in tracking down and removing various cheaters from our community and thank you as well for your patience as we continue to work towards making the Halo 2 online experience the best it can be.