It's almost 2 hours long and boasts Marty O'Donnell, Joseph Staten and Web Dev Lead Chris Gossett--it's Bungie Podcast Time.


While we don't acknowledge it on the show, this Podcast is actually the year anniversary of the Bungie Podcast. To unknowingly commemorate that feat, Marty O'Donnell, Joe Staten and Web Dev Lead Chris Gossett take a turn on the mic. Chris talks extensively about the new Bungie.net and its robust featureset. Marty talks about the Halo 3 Soundtrack and Joe Staten catches us up on his book "Contact Harvest" and what he was doing in New Zealand last week.

Because it's the last show before Halo 3 launches, we made it super long, nearly two hours of chatter this week -- just think, that's two hours closer to actually buying Halo 3.

The Bungie Podcast is available on iTunes: Subscribe here

Direct Download here (1:47:39) [123 MB]

It’s also available via RSS: here

In preparation for Bungie.net's relaunch tomorrow, we're pressing pause on the site's functionality.

Update: This work is complete. If you're getting a weird display, clear your browser's cache and do a force reload (ctrl-F5) to get the new stylesheets.


It will only be for a brief period, but tomorrow morning around 9 a.m. pacific, Bungie.net will be "read-only" while major upgrades to the infrastructure take place. What does this mean? Well, for you, typical Bungie.net visitor, it simply means you won't be able to post to the forums. After the site has been upgraded and relaunched, we'll check in and there will be some more Forge content for you to peruse. Thanks for your patience.

Update:  This work is complete.  The Halo 3 sections will remain disabled until this weekend, however.

Three new pieces arrived at the Bungie Store, check 'em out.


The lovely managers of the Bungie Store checked in with an update about two new pieces of Bungie gear (and one reissued classique) appearing at the store.
The Halo 3 Padded Vest: Check it out here
The "If Hungry, Eat Jackal" T-Shirt: Check it out here
The Bungie Studios baseball cap: Check it out here

Sketch writes:

With just a few days to go before the launch of Halo 3, it's time to reveal the last few multiplayer maps that we've kept hiddne from the public. First up is Isloation, which you can see and read more about over at IGN.

We've talked an awful lot about the multiplayer aspect of Halo 3 over the past few months but there are still a few secrets we've been saving for the end. Every day this week we will be giving you a glimpse of the last few previously unseen maps in Halo 3. Yesterday, IGN put up a preview of the map called Isolation.

Today Team Xbox has a preview of Bungie.net and then we have two more surprises coming on Wednesday and Thursday from some other gaming sites not to mention our last big podcast before launch.

Stay tuned - it's going to be a busy week!

Now, images from Isolation are available here on Bungie.net.

The new and improved Bungie.net that will accompany the launch of Halo 3 is just a few days away! Get a peek at some of the new hotness we've cooked up for you with this preview at Team Xbox.

When Halo 3 launches next week we will be ushering in a new and improved version of Bungie.net to blow your mind and offer an unprecedented amount of stats and features to embellish your Xbox LIVE experience. The Bungie.net team has been working overtime to cram a crazy amount of content onto the site. If you thought the Halo 2 / Bungie.net integration was cool... you aint seen nothin yet.

Chris Gossett, Bungie.net Development Lead, spoke with Team Xbox and gave them some additional details about what's in store for Bungie.net. You can check out a laundry list of features, new screenshots of the site and some insights right HERE.

This Wednesday, the first step towards Bungie.net interweb domination begins with the launch of our new framework and some infrastructure that's needed for the Halo 3 hoopla.

Then, this weekend, we will be pulling back the curtain and turning on all of the Halo 3 features. This means that starting on Saturday, if you start poking around Bungie.net, you could very well stumble across some information you may not want to see before you get the game. This would include things like the names of missions, achievements and - screenshots. Members of the press will start receiving their Halo 3 game discs later this week and there's a high likelihood that some people in the media will start to experiment with Bungie.net and upload screenshots to their gallery.

We have a lot of great content coming in the next few days to get you prepared for Halo 3 but none of the main stories will contain any spoilers. Just be warned that if you start poking around the Halo 3 stat sections this weekend, you may see something you didn't want to see.

Less than a week to go!

The Blue Filter, which is certainly not required for an enjoyable Halo 3 experience but can be used to fine tune your television's color settings isn't available at the Bungie Store, yet.



One of the many bonus features shipping in Halo 3's Limited and Legendary Editions is the Audio/Video Calibration tool. While it's not remotely necessary for an enjoyable Halo 3 experience, those who want to fine tune their visual calibration will want to pick up the Blue Filter. We're planning on making these filters available in the Bungie Store as soon as possible and at minimal cost to consumers. When they are available and/or we have more details about their availability, we'll update you here at Bungie.net.

LordGideon writes:

For over two years the PraetoriaGuard has been working on a groundbreaking machinima series, and now, two weeks before Halo 3 breaks every sales record, Trinity is being launched.


Written by LordGideon and Directed by Eisen Feuer, Trinity has been in production for well over a year. Using the latest cutting edge software and hardware, Trinity was produced with one intention in mind: Showing the HaloNation what can be done with Halo 2.

Click on over to the Trinity website for more information & to check out the Trailer:

http://www.PraetoriaGuard.com/Trinity

Trinity - Episode 1 will be released on Monday - 09.10.2007.

A redesign is taking place over at the Bungie store--check out the work in progress.


The Bungie Store is in the midst of a redesign to bring the site a more modern look, user-friendly aesthetic and comes complete with thematic similarities to Bungie.net. While not every feature of the redesigned Bungie Store is online, navigation and the simple exchange of cold hard cash for goods is even easier.

nofear05 writes:

Peter Marks has been a part of the Bungie community, both inside and out, for more than ten years. Click for full story.


Peter Marks has been a part of the Bungie community, both inside and out, for more than ten years. Myth players knew him as BNA Mordia. Halo PC players knew him as Lud. Bungie fans of Halo know Peter's work, Hang Em High and other popular levels. Unfortunately, Peter has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and needs our support. Click here for the rest of the story and to let him know that we're here for him.

Both Brian "Sketch" Jarrard and Luke Smith join the crew of EGM Live* this week to talk to them about new weapons, Forge, and give behind-the-scenes tidbits about life at Bungie. Download it now at egmlive.1up.com.


Both Brian "Sketch" Jarrard and Luke Smith join the crew of EGM Live* this week to talk to them about new weapons, Forge, and give behind-the-scenes tidbits about life at Bungie. Download it now at egmlive.1up.com.

This week's edition of the Bungie Studios Podcast is coming next week.


Due to the technical challenge of taming Mat Noguchi's rage, (read: Actually, Sketch, Frank and I are all out of town next week, scattered to three of the Earth's corners, so we're delaying the podcast until early next week to split the difference until the next show) the Bungie Podcast has been delayed until next week. While next week's show won't feature the much-maligned interview with the Furious One, it is a show focused completely on Forge with the dulcet tones of Tyson Green and the pleasant timbre of Lars Bakken purring into the mic. Patience is a virtue.