News Archive for November 2000
Wednesday November 29th
New "Quick Poll" for MWSF FanFest { Lophan }
Freewill over at Bungie Sightings has alerted us to a new "quick poll" at the bungie.net portal site:
Max [a.k.a. Yeroen] has put up a new Poll at bungie.net. Can we help get the word out that it exists! Participation from the throngs of Bungie fans is important to keeping the Fest alive and flourishing.Couldn't have said it better myself! Having participated in the FanFest at MWNY this past summer, I can tell you that not only are they a lot of fun, but Bungie is notoriously generous with all types of swag. So, if you're attending MWSF or live within a couple of hundred miles of the Bay Area, I recommend attending. You'll be glad you did!
Monday November 27th
TFL back up and Win2000/Me bug solved { Lophan }
Huge, and I mean HUGE update over at bungie.net. Here are some highlights:
- Myth: TFLers rejoice! Thanks to the hard work and tireless dedication of Mordia and my modem is on fire, the TFL server is back up and running. Somebody get those guys a beer!
- A work-around for the Windows 2000 and Me bugs have been posted. Downloading of a Compatibility Update is necessary, but by following the directions, you should be back online in no time.
- A couple of new order sites and such are mentioned, but of particular note for all of you WWII newbies out there: ?tm? is hosting a tutorial for the virgins of battle. Need some help aiming that RPG?... then stop by Shiver and get your S'pht together :P
PID contest at Bungie.org { Lophan }
Pathways Into Darkness broke new ground in 1993 as the first "First Person Perspective Shooter" for the Mac and was the precursor to the acclaimed Marathon series (don't believe me?... then check out some of the early Marathon betas).
The redesigned Bungie.org portal is running a new contest, and if you know a little something about hexadecimals, you can win an original copy of PID of your very own! Supplies are limited so get over there and get to work!
Sunday November 26th
Yet ANOTHER Mythmaster Central Update { Forrest }
This one from last night actually, just forgot to make the news post. Asmo again, with a freakin' awesome no-damage vid of "A Long Awaited Drinking Party". Check it out!
Friday November 24th
Yet Another Mythmaster Central Update { Forrest }
Yes! We're getting updates again!
Daniel "Asmodeus" Gentry (of course; who else?) sends in another film to Mythmaster Central. Check it out!
Thursday November 23rd
A little C&P to start your holiday... { Lophan }
On my way out the door, I noticed Yeroen has updated the bungie.net portal page with another update. Not all of it is good, as you can see from our gratuitous cut & paste below:
The Myth: The Fallen Lords Bungie.net server is down with a nasty flu. We're doing our best to get it back up and running, but it's looking pretty grim. We'd have a legion of web-server-surgeons hovering over it's cold metal shell prescribing drugs out the wazoo, but they all went on vacation and didn't leave contact info. : sigh : Hang in there, we'll figure it out, hopefully in time for the holidays. In the meantime please refrain from sending us nasty email letters, we've got a backlog of nasty letters a month deep ;-)Let's hope the good 'ol TFL server will recover soon. I recommend sending NICE get-well cards and some chocolate if you have any to spare. Save that, or some left-over turkey and stuffing sandwiches.
Mythmaster Central Returns! { Forrest }
After almost two months with no submissions, the great Asmodeus sends us a Thanksgiving present to be thankfull for. Check out the full story at Mythmaster Central!
Wednesday November 22nd
Site Redesign at Bungie.Org { Lophan }
Now the strange forebodings have been made clear: the head honcho of our domain has redesigned and restructured the bungie.org portal site and it looks better than ever... along with some improved functionality and new features. For all things Bungie: one-stop shopping!
Hmmm... { Lophan }
Something is going on at the bungie.org page. I don't know what it is but I hope it's not contagious...
bungie.net issues addressed { Lophan }
Yeroen, self-proclaimed "webmonkey", addressed a number of pressing issues dealing with bungie.net today. Some items include a fixed "Quick Poll" and with a new question up for the masses: do you use the wireless Internet? Also, some game registration problems have apparently been cleared up and the formerly "smart" Myth II Mac updater has been usurped by the "dumb" updater. It's good to see the dumber sibling on top for a change.
Bungie once again acknowledges the Win2000 & Windows ME bugs with Myth II and promises to do what remains in their power to keep those unfortunate souls informed. Also, the bungie.net channel submission system is not working and will be looked into. Of course, you can read it right from the horse's, er... the monkey's mouth right here.
This is a good a time as any to mention that myth.bungie.org has a new bungie.net channel (thanks to the efforts of the aforementioned "webmonkey") and all of you should go and subscribe. Not only does it keep you updated on current news headlines here at myth.bungie.org, but everyone else is doing it... why don't you?
Tuesday November 21st
New TWF Forums { Lophan }
The Wight Foundation has some new forums up and running for you to peruse, contribute, lambaste, flame... (yes, there is a flame forum). TWF is one of the oldest Myth orders in existence and it's always interesting to see what our shambling, green-gutted friends are up to.
Letters to the Bungie Webmaster update { Lophan }
In case you've been under a rock for the past few years, you have undoubtedly discovered the pearls of wisdom expounded upon by none other than the Bungie Webmaster (whose true identity is still in question). In a flurry of recent activity, the coveted Letters to the Webmaster section has been updated and it should fulfill your daily dose of sarcasm for at least the rest of the week.
Monday November 20th
Check out Legends & Lore! { Lophan }
So much Oni and Halo news flying all around the web, Myth almost gets lost in the shuffle... not here!
I could mention a couple of new map releases at The Mill, but I'd rather take this opportunity to point you in the direction of our Legends & Lore section. This is quite possibly the most comprehensive resource for Myth information on the web, complete with story background, item description, an encyclopedia and (of course) random speculation based on sketchy facts. Bone up on your Myth acumen and contribute to the archives! Check out Legends & Lore today!
Friday November 17th
Creation releases another WWII map { Lophan }
With the lack of Myth news being reported over at The Mill, Clem and the rest of the Creation team have released not one, but two new maps over the past week. First there was WW2 - No Surrender, and currently on tap is WW2-Lead a Hoor to Water. Here's their colorful description:
A dark & dank map with tepid water & an even fouler attitude. Read more into it however you choose, but this is the reality of it. It's intended as a fun change of pace in a unique environment.
Thursday November 16th
Order of Feti release { Lophan }
As posted in the Townhall Community Forum: The Order of the Feti have announced the release of some of their "top secret" maps to the public. Now, I don't know what that means, but the site is pretty neat and uses a lot of clean Flash animation. Worthy of a look in its own right.
Wednesday November 15th
Take2, not Bungie, to handle Win2K bug { Lophan }
As posted at bungie.net, Bungie webmaster Yeroen announced that a patch to fix some incompatability issues with Windows 2000 will not be developed by Bungie, rather by Take2 Interactive as they are the license holders of the Myth franchise. However, do not feel abandoned as Bungie will help out with the technical issues involved so that all of you who "upgraded" to Win2K will be back on bungie.net as soon as possible.
Monday November 13th
Myth III? and a Jinn screenshot { Lophan }
Gamecenter has a feature article up talking about 8 Great Future RTS Games due to come out within the next two years or so. After poring through a lot of senseless rambling, I did happen upon the following passage:
"Take 2 Interactive has three separate RTS products under contract, including Bungie's Myth III, Rockstar's Wild Metal Country, and PopTop Software's Tropico. Myth III will again feature a fully realized, rotateable 3D environment and an intricate military component, two reasons why the series has been so successful with gamers worldwide. "Hmmm... this is a long way from an official announcement but kingdoms have fallen on lesser rumors. Got anything to add or speculate?... head to the Forums!
This news from our own Freewill at Bungie Sightings:
"In late October, Clan Plaid organized one of its famous get togethers, deemed West Coast Gathering III. One of our esteemed members is beta testing Jinn, and with the permission of the Jinn gods, we were allowed to test this awesome TC for Myth II. We had video rolling and have cut a slice out for public consumption. You can find it here. It's 7MB in file size and lasts for 01:30.I managed to capture an image of the Jinn title screen off the mpeg version and it looks damn sweet. I, for one, am dying to get this game on my hard drive and frankly, you should be too.You can see the very cool title screen for Jinn in our roll call video. There are two versions:
70mb - Full screen mpeg version (fat pipes would only dare!)
20mb - quarter screen version in Quicktime format
Download those for a few laughs and if you want to see what a bunch of us look like."
And in non-Myth news: those of you following the development of the Marathon Open Source project known as Aleph One would do well to try out the new Marathon One Demo for Infinity and Aleph One. It's really something to see the original textures from the 1994 classic rendered in OpenGL. For the uninitiated, here's some links to get you started:
- Marathon Open Source: the hompage for the Aleph One project, bringing the Marathon world to most all platforms, including Linux and Windows!
- Marathon Scenario News: a great site for all the different Marathon Scenarios, including those ported for use with Aleph One.
- M1 for Marathon Infinity and Aleph One: does what it says, and contains the Marathon One Demo files
Sunday November 12th
FutureMyth Returns! { Forrest }
C&P'ed straight from Rampancy.net's PR:
Way back in the day, when Myth map editors were just beginning to emerge from the primordial ooze, a site called FutureMyth started looking to the future, speculating about editing and new incarnations of the game that many of us still devote a great deal of time to. Eventually becoming part of the legendary VR's site, the forum this site hosted was a rich source of ideas and speculation during the development and leading up to the launch of Myth II.
You can check out the new old FutureMyth forum here.
In recent months, Take Two's announcement to continue the Myth series and bits and pieces of information regarding Bungie's Phoenix project got some of us to thinking about bringing back a bit of that atmosphere of rampant speculation and wishing. With a bit of help from a lot of people, we managed to secure a blessing to ressurrect the FutureMyth forum, in the hopes that it's not to late to develop along with these two relevant titles.
It's a happy coincidence that the FutureMyth forum should go online three years following the release of the original Myth. Given the near information vaccuum concerning Phoenix and Myth III, it may even be a bit premature... but we've seen leaner days, and the absence of fact makes speculation all the more fun. It's a fresh forum, so feel free to stop by and kick the tires before it begins to roll forward. Who knows... maybe a receptacle for the information may draw it out. If you build it, will they come?Tuesday November 7th
Happy 3rd Myth Anniversary! { Lophan }
Three years ago on this date, FTP clients all over the world were busy downloading the demo of what would become the greatest real-time strategy/tactical warfare game of all time... Myth: The Fallen Lords. It's hard to believe that in the time since its release, Myth has not only spawned a successful sequel, but an entire universe of plug-ins and modifications rivaled only by its predecessor: Marathon.
Celebrations are occurring all around the net today, including some rampant activity over at (where else?) Rampancy.net. Stay tuned for more coverage as Myth day continues. Oh yeah, and as a side note, the United States is electing a new President today...
Saturday November 4th
Wireless Bungie.net { Forrest }
No, not that crappy TV network; Max over at www.Bungie.net has mentioned possibly plans of a wireless Bungie.net, letting you check the leaderboard and such from your cell phone or wireless PDA! Check out www.Bungie.net for details.
Friday November 3rd
News round-up { Lophan }
While the news for Myth has been a little anemic lately, it's strange that the Marathon news is virtually out of control. Hamish at the Marathon Story Page made his normal daily update, and has since added not one, not two, but three "quick updates"... and it's only 6:00pm EST! They say these things come in threes (as oppossed to sevens), but the third item should get your blood pumping.
A little birdie told me about something that could possibly be in the works for a certain event occuring in the City by the Bay. I hate semi-cryptic flying foul so when I get my hands on him, I'll make him spill his guts and let you know what's up. As far as I know, it has nothing to do with Kool-Aid or beef jerky. Stay tuned...
The Jinn site has been updated as Vista added some new screenshots, and according to Fisj, they will be the last. I suggest you go get an eyeful now 'cause the next time you see Biana running around in a Body Count game, you'll probably be telling her what to do. In any event, these shots look sharp!
Wednesday November 1th
The decline of the RTS genre { Lophan }
Gamecenter over at C.net has a brief mention of Myth in an article about the five dying game genres, in this case, real-time strategy:
"With very few exceptions, RTS games are set on a distant planet or postapocalyptic Earth where humans fight for a few scant minerals or against would-be alien overlords. Talk about beating a dead horse until its rib cage collapses; where's the originality, the unique spin? It just isn't there. And though some games, such as Ground Control, follow the lead of games like Myth in terms of how resources are handled, most are simply derivatives of the collect-resources-and-build-factories gameplay model. Borrrring."
It's always nice to see Myth recognized for helping revolutionize the genre, even if it's while being compared to Ground Control. You can check out the entire feature here.