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Bungie Weekly What's Update!

Yet another chance to ask questions and find answers in the latest Bungie Weekly What's Update. This week, more Xbox Live, Bungie.net and of course general Halo 2 questions!

Yet again we answer the most pressing questions posed by Halo 2 players during the past week. This week, lots of Bungie.net, Xbox Live and online questions. We address 'em all with the help of Max Hoberman, David Candland and many, many more!

Almost everyone asks, I love the Party system, but there's a few things I'm not clear about, such as how to take my party into Live games, and how to exclude random people from joining.

You can find out everything you need to know about our Party System by clicking right here. Check out our Party System overview.

David C asks, I saw somebody with an emblem online that I didn't know was possible. A Ninja that wasn't on fire. Is there something I'm missing?

Did you know when you choose your player emblem foreground that pressing the (X) button will toggle the secondary part of your icon off or on? This allows you to be a Ninja instead of a flaming ninja, a spear instead of a trident, or a pair of lips instead of a heart with lips. Play around with it!

Oki Asks, when is the novel for the game coming out?

No decision has been made at this time about when the next novel is coming out. To specifically address your question – about the novelization of the Halo 2 story, that's a different conversation. Will the next novel be an original story, or will it be a retelling of the game plot? That's a question being asked internally at Bungie too.

UncleFud asks, How do I make a Clan? Is it somewhere on Bungie.net?

No, you MAKE a clan in the game itself. It's very simple. Sign into Xbox Live in Halo 2. Press Y to access the Friends Menu and scroll right or left to reach the Clans menu. If you have not already created or joined a Clan, you will see the option to create one. Go ahead and do so. If you are already IN a Clan, this option will not appear until you choose to leave your Clan.

WarierRelic asks, Hey Frankie I'm a diehard Halo fan, and after I beat Halo 2 I was left with a sense of incompletion. Now I'm not complaining, Halo 2 is excellent especially multiplayer, but I just need to know something. What was the reasoning behind the ending, did you guys intend on the cliffhanger initially or did you guys just run out of time. I'm just so frustrated, I wish you guys would just use the current engine and make the second half of this story. I just cant wait 3 years to get to the REAL battle.

Halo 2's ending is a cliffhanger. Intentionally.

KottonmouthKlown asks, Will Bungie remake old maps from the original Halo, or will they all be new maps.

All will be revealed in due time, but nothing is out of the question.

Fock asks, How does proximity voice work?

It's really very straightforward. Proximity voice works like this. If you're within "earshot" of another player or players, they can hear you speaking through your Xbox headset whether you're using team chat or not. The radius is about 30 feet in real world terms, is not affected by walls or floors, and is sort of spherical in its bounds. The only way to avoid being heard is to shut up (or simply not attach your headset). The theory behind it is simple – you're using a radio when team chatting, so it would be like using a radio or a cellphone in the real world. If they're close enough, people can hear you. The volume of voice can also give you a clue as to how close they are, as it diminishes and increases through your TV speakers as the guilty party gets closer or further away.

A good example of how this works occurred in a game of Assault. I had crept into a Coagulation basement with the bomb. Thinking it was all clear on the motion detector, I teamchatted to call for backup, and the jerks who were hiding in the base suddenly appeared as red dots on my radar. I was of course, doomed.

Lisa asks, How do you know when you have run out of time on Xbox Live for the week?

Erm, there is no time limit. You can play 24-7 as long as your ISP connection stays true. I suppose you know when you've really run out of time is when an angry spouse, relative or significant other says so…

Tom asks, Why is it that when I try to view my Friends List on Bungie.net it claims that I HAVE no friends?

The system is trying to insult you. Not really. This is caused (again) by a couple of technical issues between the way Xbox Live and Bungie interoperate rather than the simply game or the website. We're looking in to ways to fix, heal, alleviate or remove the problem.

Micky asks, What's going on with forums? Sometimes I make a post and it doesn't appear.

Any time you add an additional million people to a system, things get a little shaky. In our forums, "shaky" means posts sorting incorrectly, posts taking a long time to appear, or vanishing and reappearing without cause, etc. Many of these issues can be traced back to a problem in our forum pager (the thing that sorts the pages of threads and posts). We're testing a fix for this and several other issues right now, we hope to have it ready for the live site by next week.

Garrett asks, How do I avoid seeing the following message?

A group can be maintained very simply by ensuring that there are a minimum of three members, with periodic group activity. The system is designed so that people can really use their groups properly, and not simply make and then abandon a group.

Japyers asks, Having played several games, I check my Rumble Pit stats on Bungie.net only to find that it says I haven't played any games at all.

Sometimes it can take up to a long time for your stats to appear. There are occasionally issues in the way that Bungie.net and Xbox Live servers communicate. We're working on ways to make the process faster. Your stats and games played should show up eventually.

Mack asks, Why is my rank not showing up for Team Slayer games?

It's a bug, and we're aware of it. Your rank IS being tracked, so you will be matched appropriately, it just isn't being displayed in your info or on the website, so we're looking into it. One short term solution, more of a workaround really, is to join or create a Clan. Hey presto, your rank for Team Slayer games will appear online.

Mike asks, Is it true that it's possible for objects to pass through a wall?

Unfortunately yes. There are some glitches in certain geometry that allow objects to pass through seemingly solid surfaces. Players can and have taken advantage of this fact, but where it became rampant, we edited the playlists to avoid that kind of cheating. There are still a couple of areas where this occurs and we are looking at ways to mitigate the problem.

Sarah asks, I've seen movies of "Sword Flying," and wonder if that is something that can be taken advantage of in the multiplayer game.

Sword Flying is a real and occasionally fun phenomenon. However, in multiplayer games, its practical applications are pretty limited. We'll be keeping an eye on that situation however, to ensure it doesn't become a common in-game exploit.

Lots of players ask, I have (for various reasons) more than one Passport account. As a result, signing in with my Passport to Bungie.net does not let me retrieve my stats and other data. How can I fix this?

For most cases, you should simply re-link your Passport account using the one you'd prefer to use for Bungie.net. For most people, the problem is actually related to having or wanting a new email address. In that case, you can simply go to your Passport account and change the associated email address.

Finally, a reader asked if I could explain what I meant by Katamari Noguchi. Well, his disgusting desk is fast becoming one. As this new Mister Chief sorta illustrates.