BS: General ArchiveFor The Discriminating Bungie FanGeocities.com is closing today. Gone. Zilch. Zip. Nada.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/10/geocities-closing.html
If you do a google search like this or this or this or this,
You'll find dozens of sites that cropped up starting way back in the 90's born out of love for Bungie's games. I hope, though I doubt, that the owners of these sites backed up their pages somewhere! Lots of effort there (no matter how amateurish) that will disappear after today. :(
Ironically, yah, I know it's been ages since anyone's posted here. And goodness there are definitely pages that could use an update. It's under the good graces of our overlord Wu that this site still exists, and we're grateful to him! Unlike the fate of geocities, it's likely this site will exist for a long time to come! Still, the day of Bungie needed fan-driven support for their marketing outreach has gone the way of the dodo. They're one of the big boys now and a surface attempt to post something here that a) isn't about Halo and b) contributes something beyond the standard rah-rah is not easy for this old brain nowadays. But who knows? :)
So, if you had the opportunity to ask Jason Jones one question, and one question only, what would it be?
Now, first, off, no one at Bungie has ever made this kind of an offer, least of all Jason, and especially not to me. To Mig perhaps, but he's so cagey that you never can tell what he's up to.
Anyway, assume you get to ask one question - no follow-ups or multiple questions in one sentence - and that it will be answered. What would it be?
People who blow their wad on stuff like, "Boxers or briefs?" will be first into the slingshot when the time comes (yes, I'm looking RIGHT AT YOU, Psyrixx).
| Acronym | Game | Solution | Confirmed by: |
| DMUKYA | Marathon | Don't Make Us Kick Your Ass | |
| MBIBTYB | Marathon 2 | My Bob Is Bigger Than Your Bob | |
| TBWSAF | Marathon ∞ and Trilogy | Trick Bitch Whore Slut Ass Fucker | Alex Rosenberg |
| WACCSMD | Myth | Warcraft And Command & Conquer, Suck My Dick | Max Hoberman |
| MRTEFCFY | Myth Soundtrack | Michael Ryan, This Eleven Foot Cock's For You | Max |
| TATRTSTS | Myth II | Total Annihilation True Real Time Strategy Totally Sucks | Tuncer Deniz (below) |
| WUBNMH | Myth II Soundtrack | What's Up, Bitch? Not Much, Holmes | Matt Soell |
| SPMLOAS | Myth Total Codex | Steve Parson's Mom Likes Our Ass Sandwich | Max |
| YYMMDBATC | Myth TC Soundtrack | Yummy, Yummy, Munchy, Munchy, Dwarven Bones Are Tasty Crunchy | Max Hoberman |
| ABTFIPASO5 | Halo (GotY) | Arrr, Bitch! The Future Is Pimps At Sea '05! | Max |
| SABABWL | Halo Soundtrack, Halo 3 Beta | Shiny And Bumpy And Bursting With Love | Marty O'Donnell |
| ILWNL | Halo PC | ||
| JNAMSFTFY | Halo 2 | ||
| EGATFIBGBCSIMAW | Halo 2 Soundtrack Vol 1 | ||
| MNNGSBTFS | Halo 2 Soundtrack Vol 1 | ||
| IOHBOY | Halo 2 In-game map (Metropolis) | ||
| SIOHBOY | Halo 2 In-game credits | ||
| TOFTMTWCLMB | Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack | ||
| HAISTCWITDO | Halo 2 Soundtrack Vol 2 | ||
| BMDWATBATWMC | Halo Graphic Novel | ||
| DTARAGS | Halo 2 Vista | ||
| SLMCWMYOW | Halo 3 | ||
| JLTLEBLC | Halo 3 Limited Edition | ||
| WWYANOFAWD | Halo 3 Legendary Edition | ||
| TGAWAFAL | Halo 3 Soundtrack | ||
| ITIFGDM360 | Halo 3: ODST | ||
| ONSSFIH | Halo 3: ODST Soundtrack | ||
| BBBSLTPHSTBGF | Halo: Reach | ||
| TIMLAFAHS | Halo: Reach Soundtrack |
Longtime Bungie fans will need no introduction or explanation as to the meaning of the letters above, but in case you've come in to this warm hovel from out in the cold, dark wasteland of the "other" game communities, I offer the following.
(NOTE: UPDATED 04-03-2006)
The comments are now locked, because 343 is a good number and this post needs to be cleaned up and started again at a later date. Check this post for a new start on the acronyms.
As far back as Marathon, Bungie has been putting an acronym on the boxes of their released products (games, soundtracks, etc.). The acronym is made up of the first letters of some phrase that was popular and/or otherwise notable within the Bungie offices during the development of whatever game/soundtrack it's on. You can read about the past acronyms here. The most up-to-date list of the acronyms and their Bungie-verified solutions is as follows.
| Acronym | Game | Solution |
| DMUKYA | Marathon | Don't Make Us Kick Your Ass |
| MBIBTYB | Marathon 2 | My Bob Is Bigger Than Your Bob |
| TBWSAF | Marathon ∞ and Trilogy | Trick Bitch Whore Slut Ass Fucker |
| WACCSMD | Myth | Warcraft And Command & Conquer, Suck My Dick |
| MRTEFCFY | Myth Soundtrack | |
| TATRTSTS | Myth II | |
| WUBNMH | Myth II Soundtrack | What's Up, Bitch? Not Much, Holmes |
| SPMLOAS | Myth Total Codex | |
| YYMMDBATC | Myth TC Soundtrack | Yummy, Yummy, Munchy, Munchy, Dwarven Bones Are Tasty Crunchy |
| ABTFIPASO5 | Halo (GotY) | |
| SABABWL | Halo Soundtrack | |
| ILWNL | Halo PC | |
| JNAMSFTFY | Halo 2 | |
| EGATFIBGBCSIMAW | Halo 2 Soundtrack Vol 1 | |
| MNNGSBTFS | Halo 2 Soundtrack Vol 1 | |
| IOHBOY | Halo 2 In-game map (Metropolis) | |
| SIOHBOY | Halo 2 In-game credits | |
| TOFTMTWCLMB | Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack |
(WACCSMD and WUBNMH have never been publicly acknowledged as correctly solved, but perhaps we can get some input here and finally nail those down ;-))
So, the one in the title of this post is from (you guessed it) the Limited Collectors Edition Halo 2 box. The ones that have been solved over the years have a certain 'Bungie' feel to them, so think a bit and take a guess. First one right gets automatic street cred and bragging rights, which ain't half bad. ;-)
Update: According to an official source, WUBNMH is correct except for one word.
Update 2: Max Hoberman, dashing Multiplayer Lead at Bungie, checks in with the following:
"I got your official confirmation right here. WACCSMD has been translated correctly. Foul mouthed Bungie!TATRTSTS. Ah, that's a good guess, very much in the spirit of things. But it's wrong :-)
And yes, Mr. Sharumpe's suggestion is correct about EGATFIBGBCSIMAW being an acronym on the soundtrack.
MRTEFCFY is damn tough to crack. But I'll give you a clue. It came up in a conversation recently due to a certain completely unexpected relationship between Myth: TFL and Halo 2."
He also goes on to mention:
"The 15 letter one is a clue to a puzzle of sorts."
As I posted at our big sister site, HBO, the rumblings did not lie. The Man is back! And apparently he's wrangled some familiar faces to join him. We'll have an exclusive interview with him later today. For now, visit his company's new website.
UPDATE The interview is up! Who among the hardcore can guess the Ex-Bungie employees by their slot position? Break out your scrapbook!
mnem goes a-pondering...
Way back last year, there was an art contest held over at HBO, for fans to submit their own, non-digital artwork. In addition to some nice monetary prizes, the grand prize winner received a signed, framed, original work by Lorraine McLees. One of the interesting things noted at the time was that, while there are characters from all of Bungie's own games in that print, drawn in a style that evokes each game's era, there is an additional character on the bottom right corner. Yes, it's a Minotaur. Yes, Bungie already had a game called, not surprisingly, Minotaur. However, there's another Minotaur character on the print, the obviously 2-D guy behind the Grunt on the left-hand side. Why is it that the Minotaur was drawn in so detailed a fashion, when the other character from the game was made more "authentic" in 2-D?
Well, this puzzle (if indeed it is a puzzle) won't die. Over on the new Bungie.Net, the saga of the "well-drawn Minotaur" continues. One of the new features added with the B.Net update is the ability to specify an avatar for forum posts, etc. Two more versions of the character (here and here) are among the more well-known choices. Additionally, the same artwork from the POA contest is used as a background on the Inside Bungie page.
Of course, it all could be a coincidence, you say. Someone just felt like drawing a more contemporary, detailed Minotaur, which also happened to make a good avatar choice, you say. Hah! I say. Bungie? Coincidence? I say this is worth looking into further. After all, they've got to work on something after Halo, right? ;-)
Today, while nursing a nasty head cold, I felt something zoom past my window. Like an old friend, trudging on by, ears pointed forward, to the horizon. All I could do was stick my head out and wave him on, though he had long since disappeared into the woods and beyond.
Could I possibly catch up with him sometime soon? I can only hope. It's been a long time since he last regaled me with his tales of battle. Don't let his tough grey hide deceive you... he's actually a warrior you see. A warrior with a big fat ass, but a warrior nonetheless.
In the meantime I have to get over this cold.
Just a quick post to let you folks know that we're suspending the summary posting of Bungie.net's top stories. We've been slacking at it anyway (well, I have, not my partners) and besides, bungie.net itself has been revamped. More commentary on that later.
As is no doubt clear, when PD takes a break from the site, this place turns into a ghost town. His energy and enthusiasm for all things Bungie is plain for all to see and I would like to trumpet my appreciation for his presence here to all corners of Bungie fandom.
That said, I'd like to let you all know that I am working on stuff that's soon to pay off. First, there's the Pillar of Art contest. Yesterday we received our first entry, and I'm sure more will be coming over the next few days. The deadline is May 16 and I'm very anxious to see the kind of work Halo fans will produce in natural media. The entry I'm looking at right now from Richard White is quite impressive.
Second there's the upcoming Bungie Fanfest to be held the night of May 15 on the floor of the E3 Expo. Of all the fanfests so far, this is destined to be the biggest and baddest one yet. The seats have been filled, but there is a standby database where you can still sign up and hopefully get a chance to attend. Some surprises are being worked on and there may be an announcement soon to update folks on what to expect.
And there you have it!
The latest Letters to the Webmaster has been posted! Go! Read it now!
Hanker over to bungie.net and check out the winners of the bungie.net theme contest. The 3 entries are really very very cool!
I've already changed two of my chapters, NYC Bungie-holics and BS, to the "Legendary" by Qbix (1st place) and "Durandal" by Djof (3rd) themes, respectively. The "We Were Soldiers" theme by Patriotic Marine, 2nd place, is also a hoot. If I had a 3rd chapter, I'd change it to that one.
Please welcome aboard poena.dare, who along with me and mnemesis will be your guide to the wacky world of Bungie. You can see that he's already got some stuff percolating. Huzzah!
We just need 2 more so we can form that pentagram in the basement...
So my little rant sparked some new material over at the mothership.
Anything I can do to help guys. :-)
Apple released a preview of IP over Firewire for OSX a few weeks back, then mysteriously closed it from public access a week or so later... currently you have to be a member of the ADC to get access to the installer. It's a straight-ahead install; the classic Apple ease-of-implementation still shows up from time to time, which is always a pleasure, let me tell you.
What does this have to do with the classic Bungie game Marathon? Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly! :)
A running thread about IP/Firewire over at my favorite Apple news source, Macintouch, has a comment from someone that must've gotten his hands on a really old version of Firewire/IP years ago and had this to say:
Back when Apple was developing Firewire and the only 1394 solution on Macs was through PCI cards, my friend and I played Bungie's Marathon over a Firewire network on a couple of "screamin'" 7600/180s in his lab at Apple. It's nice to see ages-old technology finally coming out of the woodwork.
Obviously, this means that the implementation back then during the days of Power Macintosh 7600 iron was of the Appletalk-over-Firewire kind.
Products assist developers porting Xbox and Windows games to Mac - Macminute.com.
This is very interesting news. I wonder what companies have plans or are currently working on porting some Xbox games to the Mac. The more the merrier, I always say. :)
Of course, Peter Tamte's company, Destineer Studios, is specifically about porting Microsoft Studio game titles to the Mac. They've done a bang up job so far. His group is handling the port of Halo to the Mac and earlier this year I had a chance to talk to him about landing such an 'important' port. You can read a summary of that interview here. I recently corresponded with him and he's happy to tell me that the port is still on schedule.
For those of you unfamiliar with Bungie history, Peter used to be Bungie's VP of Publishing, back when Bungie was a company unto itself.
While browsing plastic.com, I noticed a link to a, hmm, interesting review of the game Rez, made for Playstation2.
I've heard alot of good things about the game, a sort of non-violent trance-music game (if memory serves, Marty O, Bungie's Audio/Music man, has mentioned playing it) made by some of the geniuses over at Sega. If I could get my brother, the PS2 owner of the family, to rent/purchase it, I'd love to give it a go.
However, after reading the article, you may find, like I did, new reasons for getting this game. Especially with the special 'trance vibrator' made exclusively for the game. Girl gamers or boy gamers with girls that are a bit into the kink, take note: this is a game made for you.
Quite simply, the 'trance vibrator' is exactly what it says it is. A vibrating pak that buzzes and groans as you play the game. The more you play the game and 'progress' up the levels, the more intense the vibrating. Do I need to paint you a picture? How about photographs then? Well, there here ya go.
NOTE: Link above is not work-safe, nor young-kids safe. No explicit nudity is shown however.
If I may add to this particular topic, it seems the folks involved with creating the game in the first place knew exactly what they were up to, just read what some of the women in their staff have to say about the game on their own website:
Mineko Okamura / senior assistant producer
"I also have a lot of private episodes concerning the production of Rez, and it has become a very special game for me. I hope a lot of people will be able to play Rez, and I really think they should! Please don't judge it singularly by it's appearance. Play it first and you'll see what I mean!"
Yu Omura / assistant director
"It taught me many many many things."
:-)
So what does this have to do with Halo? Jane, the author of the article, a girl-gamer if there ever was one, mentioned that 'feeling good' and rumble-paks are not anything new for the curious girl gamer. To wit:
"I did discover that Halo was a pretty good game for this (although for not much else), because as the gunner in the Warthog, you have unlimited ammo and you can just park yourself somewhere and rat-tat-tat to your heart's content."
So, while I, of course, disagree with her assessment of Halo, I'm happy she was able to get something out of it. The more wicked side of me wonders if there are any girl Halo fans in our community that could spend the time and inspect different aspects of the game (weapons, in-engine cut-scene FX, explosions, etc.) and rate how they rate on the 'pleasure-meter.' It seems obvious that the LAG on the back of the Jeep is a 10, but how does the rest compare? I would imagine The Maw, with all its explosions and laser-fire, would rate quite highly. Especially as a co-op game, since such vibrations travel across both controllers, letting one of you drive and the other sit back and enjoy the show. Ahem.
So the next time you're trying to get your girlfriend or wife to play Halo, let her ride Gunner, remind her that the ammo is 'free' and to just press the trigger to her heart's content. :)
mnemesis recently discovered that his precious Halo game CD (do we call it CD or DVD? I'm not sure what the norm is for Xbox discs) developed a nasty scratch that won't let him play the AotCR level. It brought up what seems to be a very stupid policy on MS's part: they don't offer disc replacement. Maybe they offer something under the standard 30 or 90 day warranty period, but beyond that you're on your own.
Some folks might think that after a year of playing a $50 game, what's so tough about asking someone to shell out another $50 for the same disc, it's certainly worth it, right? I might agree, but I know that other CD/DVD companies out there will at least bend a little and offer a replacement disc for a small fee. Think of the revenue MS is missing out on. I plan on keeping my Halo CD for a long time. If MS charged me $12 for a disc replacement every couple of years, that's not so bad for what should be, based on volume, a $1 or so disc dupe. And I don't think I'd have a problem forking over that kind of money either.
It's this kind of short-sighted thinking on a company's part that forces you, the consumer, to look elsewhere for satisfaction. If someone were to offer me the ability to dupe my existing Halo game disc (CD or DVD? Argh!) I'd take them up on it in a heartbeat. After all, why shouldn't I protect my investment?
My own disc has been showing signs of wear... and the nifty little graphical 'progress bar' that Halo uses is now a slow crawl instead of the fast slide that it once was. Sometimes it even does a little dance and goes forward a bit and then retreats a few steps... like it's retrying a particular scuffed up part of the disc.
Tomeone reminded me that there are some pretty neat little plastic contraptions that you can buy that promise to restore damaged CD/DVDs back to normal. I actually have one of them and it did salvage a CD of mine once. I'll probably be trying it out with my Halo disc soon enough:
Digital Innovations DVD Doctor
Checking out similar products at Amazon, this one was rated quite highly and is cheaper to boot, yet it doesn't have the nifty 'transmission assembly' doohickey that you place the disc in, it's just some liquid and pads:
DiscRestore 3680 DiscRx Pro Series II
Obviously, in the 'old days' Bungie's games came out on standard computer CD and floppy, and I don't think there was ever a problem with duping either media for backup purposes.
I've been messin' around with the style sheet. Whaddya think? (We could make it a black page, and piss off Claude... ;-) j/k)
Bungie Sightings, the most malleable sub-site in the entire B.ORG universe is changing... again! :)
Let's see what mnemesis and I think of this system. If it's a beaut, it will compute!
