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I should know this, and I could prob look it up, but I am lazy...so tell me, if I don't have an image uploaded on the web elsewhere, can I upload it here on AP?  THanks!
-Dan

ps- here i am:


Me and the Mrs:


- Edit - Dan I couldn't see your pictures so have saved them elsewhere and edited them in - hope you dont mind!  [] - Rob

Halo 2 will be out later this year (september or November)


This is an IN GAME screen!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for posting the link...absolutely stunning!  I would like to find a larger version of this shot.

-The only way you are going to be hurt by this individual is if you worry yourself and think about it.  Nothing from the non-physical can hurt you unless you 1) want it to or 2) fear it.  You can always fight back and the best way is usually to ingnore it.

Welcome to the forums!

I believe you have and continue to experience journeys out of your body, for lack of a better term.  We all look forward to hearing more from you.

Wow, I haven't checked into this monstrosity of a post in quite a while...too bad my little dial-up connection takes FOREVER to load these pages.

Personally I don't understand why one would leave a forum.  I agree that the forums have channged and not all of the change has been for the better, and although I don't spend as much time here, I still stop in to say hello, clean up posts with problems, answer questions and chime in on interesting threads.  I mean, since it's free and you like a lot of people why would you leave permanately (why can't I spell that correctly?  Oh, cuz it's 2 AM!)

Findtruth-
Yes, life sometimes seems like a dream, I know what you are saying.  The thing to remember, or to discover I might say, is that we have always existed and always will exist...there is another life after this one.  Death is simply like another birth, and in some future state you will remember everything you did here and you will still be able to spend time with those whom you love and those whom you have forgotten.  This I know is true...and, like your name says, you will find the truth yourself.

Notebooks are just one of those things that everyone has a different opinion about.  The only notebook I ever owned was a refurbed p3 compaq which died on me.  I am leaning toward Dell.  Most of my friends have liked their Dell laptops and they have been sturdy.  I think IBM ThinkPads are great, but a bit too expensive for me right now.  Anyway, thanks for the tips.  I'll let you know what I go with.

Yeah...I am seriously considering renting Sonic Heroes.  I have read some good critical reviews of the game.  I wish I had 1) more time 2) a gamecube.  I would definetly purchase a gamecube before I would purchase a PS2.  It's too bad the Gamecube doesn't get more respect because it really is a great machine and there are quite a few good titles.  I think the PS2 is amazing too, but it's overrated.  The Xbox and Gamecube are simply bettermachines because they are newer.  

I am interested to see what Nintendo's next HandHeld is going to be like, did you hear that it has 2 screens?  Check it out on the web.  Just go to google.com/news and search "Nintendo handheld news"

I know it's a bit sophmoric, but I love games and I wanted to revive this post by stating my deep dissapointment that Halo 2's release date has been delayed yet again and will not be released until fall of this year...Fans of the FSP genre still have Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 coming up, both of which will redefine the genre in their own way.

BA in English and by next Spring I'll have an MA in Education.  I am planning on getting my MA in English too and eventually my PhD in English, but that's going to take some time.[xx(]

I have posted numerous works by Grey.  Please go to the built in search engine here at the astralpulse and tpye in "Astral Images."

Oh, and not all of his work is inspired by psychadelic trips...he is simply a visionary man.

Either Frank has chosen not to participate or he has be incapacitated (injured or killed) and cannot.  I know Frank and there is no other possibility.  If he has been hurt or killed his family probably doesn't know his password or care to contact us.

You know, I almost can't log on without wondering where he has gone to.  He was such a sincere and knowledgeable guy that the forum seriously isn't the same without him.  

Hey Frank, if you're out there at least tell us you're ok!

I have a sincere question/concern about the vibes...

Sometimes, actually most of the time, when I get them they make me feel incredibly uncomfortable; they almost hurt me!  Even when I try to relax, which is everytime, they still feel incredibly uncomfortable.  It's like this feeling that I am about to break though but I don't.  Does anyone have any ideas or similar feelings?

Thanks,
Daniel

Frank will be back sometime in the future, for whatever reason he has not been participating in the forums for a while.  Please feel free to go to the "members" section and you can click on his name and see all of the posts he has made.  Actually, I think you can do this with the built in search engine.  Frank has been very helpful to many members in here with his practical sensibility and because of the fact that he regularly projects.

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

(the resolution of these images isn't great, but you can see from these gameplay screens that this is going to be an amazing action game)








Diary of the Designer:

Designer Diary #4--Gameplay


By Bret Robbins
Lead Designer

As lead designer I supervise the design, preproduction, and production of every level in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The process of producing each level is lengthy and involved. It starts when I meet with the other producers to figure out the overall ideas and themes for the level. Once we agree on these, we create a script for the level. Maps are drawn up, along with concept art, storyboards, and then animatics, which are like moving storyboards. This allows us to fully conceive a level before we start building.



Each level in the game falls into one of three categories and features distinctly different gameplay.
The levels in The Return of the King fall into three different categories: linear levels, where the player journeys from point A to point B, with occasionally divergent paths along the way; system levels, where the player has a specific mission to accomplish independent of the level's geometry; and arena levels, where players experience the game's major combat.

Designing levels in The Return of the King has been very challenging. For one, we wanted the levels to be much bigger and more complex than they were in The Two Towers. We've added elements like environmental interaction to the mix. Rather than just being pretty background, the environments are now an integral part of the gameplay, which demanded new ways of thinking in our level design. Designing cooperative gameplay has also been a new challenge. Cooperative play was probably the number one fan-requested addition, so being able to include it in The Return of the King is very satisfying for us.



Designing the levels to support co-op play provided a challenge for the team.
One of the biggest challenges we've faced has been accurately representing the scope of the movies in an entirely different medium. We feature all of the major locations from the upcoming movie in this game, including Minas Tirith, the Paths of the Dead, and the Black Gates of Mordor, to name just a few. What makes this even more amazing is that with all of the playable characters we''re introducing, you can play different characters as they follow their own respective paths. So now you can play not only Aragorn, Legolas, or Gimli, but also the hobbits on their journey to Mordor and even Gandalf as he defends Minas Tirith from Sauron's army.

Despite these challenges, The Return of the King has been a very rewarding project for me. Watching the levels go from ideas on paper to amazing game levels has been thrilling. Our art and engineering teams are brilliant and have fully realized our design goals. It has been really exciting.

Thanks for taking an interest in what I do, and enjoy The Return of the King. Stay tuned for next month's design diary!

MK911- great images!  Those are beautifully rendered.

Fortunately for me, I have never put my trust in a "church" as I believe that is silly.  I put my trust in God and I know He will never fail me.  Whent he truth rests upon your soul and you realize your true identity as a son or daughter of God, a part of the source, nothing will ever fail you again because you will realize that the only person or thing that can fail you is yourself.

Welcome!  Please don't forget to use the handy "search" engine here in the AstralPulse forums.  You can use it to search out particular topics and terms and read about things that interest you.
-Dan

I have one thing to say about psylocibin mushrooms and other psychadelics: don't ever understimate them.  They truly incorporate the duality of this world and can be both terrible and wonderful, (sometimes at the same time).  To say or even insinuate someone would have "a good time" or discover inner peace for sure under the influence of these substances is not wise because many/most are not prepared for the "trip".  Furthermore the "trip" is really much more than a word like that can convey.  The trip is different for everyone and might drive some mad.  The main thing to know is that what they do to you is influenced only by the totally subjective experience of the individual.  Therefore, for example, when the mind's eye overlays 3D hallucinations onto your reality and they just happen to be sadistic and violent (or confusing and depressing), what's going to keep you from acting out irrationally and hurting yourself or someone else?  Or what if someone couldn't stand a backwards fall into the vortex of introspection while thinking about 12 things at once?  If you know what I mean by that then, nevermind...

The last time I "tripped" on "shrooms" was the time I realized that I didn't need drugs to enjoy this life to the maximum and in fact realized that recreational drug abuse or use of any kind made me a less productive and happy being.  But some of us need to learn that the hardway...and it can take time.

I enjoy poetry and film...

Actually Varner, I see your point...unfortunately I don't have a lot of time and therefore I like a great game that I can jump right into and enjoy myself.

Halo 2:
Halo 2 (Microsoft Game Studios)
Exclusive preview by Gavin Wright, contributing editor

 
 

We all knew it was inevitable, but now that the most hotly anticipated game in the world is official: Halo 2 is coming. The released trailer provided little more than a setting for the game and a glimpse into the revamped graphics engine, but now we've got a bit more information to keep Xbox owners going a bit longer as the wait until 2004 treads dreadfully closer. Bungie has always felt that Halo could have been better, so they'll be going all-out with Halo 2. While still keeping close to the basic ideas set forth in Halo, the sequel will address the game's major criticisms and expand on the team's original vision. Although the sequel to the Xbox's best-selling game will indeed bring us new weapons, vehicles, and enemies, Halo 2 is also going to be a whole lot more.
The story for Halo 2 picks up right where the ending of Halo left off. Somehow, the Covenant have located and destroyed all of the human colony worlds, and have now focused in on our last hope for survival – Earth. The Master Chief, now donning an all-new impressively detailed battlesuit, returns to earth in the Covenant ship he used to escape from Halo, only to find a planet scarred by Covenant attack. Unable to land, he instead braces himself up against a wall and opens the ship's cargo bay, jumping out into space and directly onto a Covenant dropship orbiting the planet. With Cortana's help, the Master Chief must defend the earth, then take the fight back to the Covenant's home world in hopes of ending the war once and for all.


Halo 2 reveals a lot of the story behind the Covenant, as well as their motivations for attempting to eliminate the human race. The Covenant is comprised of two alien races - the Elites and the Prophets, the latter of which had not been introduced to us in Halo. The Prophets are a species that look similar in size and posture to the Grunts, but are actually the religious and spiritual leaders of the Covenant troops. The Prophets control the other alien forces in combat, but are probably very weak on their own. Halo 2 will also introduce yet another alien race into the mix, currently known as Brutes. The Brutes, much like the Flood in Halo, are hostile to both humans and Covenant. Though their true identity is still unknown, it is possible that they are actually the Forerunners, the race responsible for building Halo and containing the Flood.

Bungie is completely re-writing the enemy A.I. routines for Halo 2. Instead of focusing squarely on attacking and hiding, enemies will be able to adapt and interact to their environment in ways never possible before. They will also formulate group-oriented attacks, something that Halo touched on but didn't have fully in place. Storming a base will alert every single enemy to your location, so they will already have a plan of attack in place once the Master Chief arrives. Bungie has always placed a higher emphasis on artificial intelligence, and Halo 2 is looking to be no different.

The A.I. of your marine allies has been beefed up as well. Whereas in Halo 1, in which each marine functioned primarily as a separate entity, in Halo 2 they are programmed to rely on one another and coordinate advanced attack strategies in combat. Soldiers toting assault rifles and shotguns will advance to the front lines, covering each other's backs and warning one another of any potential hazards. Snipers will typically seek out a good vantage point up on a hill somewhere, then proceed to let loose on their unassuming targets from a safe distance. Marines may request backup fire in tight situations (not only from their buddies, but from yourself as well) or call upon one of their comrades to lob a grenade into a pack of enemies. Marines even have the ability to flip over objects and use them for cover as they see fit. As was the case in the original, the marines often have some important (and at times amusing) things to say, but you'll have to be in the right place at the right time if you want to hear them. In fact, it has been said that at least 70% of the story will be communicated through in-game interactions such as these. And with all of the improvements geared towards smartening up the marine's A.I., it's safe to say that we'll be seeing a lot more of them in Halo 2.

A large part of what made Halo's combat such an intense, strategic experience was the weapon selection. Since the Master Chief could carry only two weapons at a time, the player was forced to decide which weapons to hold on to based on the enemies and the battlefield that lies ahead. If there's a room full of jackals with plasma shields, you won't want to run in blasting them with a needler, since the projectiles will simply bounce right back. That's why the introduction of new weapons must be done carefully, with regards to retaining the delicate balance found in the original. We now know of two new weapons so far that have made the cut for Halo 2, one of which was showcased in the aforementioned trailer. The weapon from the trailer is a combination of the sniper rifle and assault rifle, which has come to be known as the battle rifle. The other is an automatic machine gun that fires caseless ammunition, and closely resembles a tentative model of the assault rifle that was seen in some of the pre-release screenshots for Halo. Of course, there are many more that have yet to be revealed, but the old standards are sure to be there as well.

To go along with his new look, the Chief will also have a handful of new tools at his disposal. First off, he now has the ability to peer around corners and check out a scene before entering it. Although he can't shoot or toss grenades from this position, it allows him to keep tabs on nearby Covenant soldiers without getting tangled up into battle, and it may even provide him with an opportunity to eavesdrop on the enemy. And if that were not enough for you, then perhaps you'd prefer the idea of combo melee attacks. If you time your button presses properly, you'll be able to string together up to three melee attacks into one skull-crunching combo. Lastly, the Master Chief will have the ability to pull down his weapon and break into a full sprint. While sprinting, any action or digressive movement will automatically throw you back into combat mode, so you needn't worry about dashing headstrong into an alien nest unarmed, as you're weapon is always just a touch away.

According to Bungie, Halo 2 will more than double the amount of vehicles from the original. New to the game is the Shadow, a Covenant equivalent of the Warthog that can carry up to four and comes equipped with a plasma cannon on the back. There's also an ATV, which basically looks like a slimmed-down Warthog. The vehicle has no weapons, but can carry a single passenger faster than any other vehicle. Halo 2 also has three different models of the Warthog, each suited for different environments. The Jungle Hog has modified wheels, a chaingun, and camouflage cover; the Snow Hog comes with snow treads and an enclosed interior, yet appears to be unarmed; and the Transporter Hog has seating for up to 6 Marines, but also comes with no attached weaponry. Again, this is only a small taste of what's to come.

The level design in Halo has long been a topic of debate. Many areas were startlingly similar in design, and some even relied on arrows painted onto the ground to keep players from getting lost. A lot of this was forced upon them – Bungie had to work under a very tight development schedule to get the game out in time for the Xbox's launch. But with Halo 2, which they've already been working on for nearly a year, the team has a lot more time to work on the level design. Of course, since a good deal of the game will take place on Earth, many of the environments are going to be quite different from those in Halo. Man-made buildings will replace the alien architecture, and interior levels may even take us to well-known landmarks such as the White House or the Pentagon. It will be an entirely different experience, and the new setting will likely hit some of us a lot closer to home.

We all know the levels in Halo 2 are going to look a whole lot better, but Bungie isn't content to stop there with the improvements. For starters, certain fragile objects in the game - things like columns, doorframes, and thin wooden structures, can be crushed, shattered, and otherwise blown to bits through repeated gunfire or explosions. And this isn't strictly a cosmetic detail either, since the enemies are well aware of which surfaces can or cannot be destroyed. Certain sequences will also allow you to shoot out lights and hide in the shadows to take out the Covenant. Enemies may even come equipped with flashlights for low-light situations such as these. But keep in mind that the designers have no intention of turning the game into a stealth-based affair. This is still the same old Halo, only in a delightful, smartly refined form.

The multiplayer aspect of Halo 2 will be expanded to support multiplayer games over Xbox Live. There will be plenty of original maps, with a stronger focus on outdoor, vehicle-based levels like the ever-popular Blood Gulch map from Halo. Allegedly, the game will not include multiplayer bots, as Bungie would rather have people playing online or via split-screen. The developers envision large-scale, squad-based online games, something that will be made possible only through XBL.

As I've already hinted at, Halo 2 is not simply an add-on to Halo, nor is it Halo 1.5. It's a full-on sequel in every way we could have ever dreamt it to be, and with it will come drastic improvements to what still remains one of the greatest games ever made. The expectations for Halo 2 are undoubtedly high, but from what we've seen so far the game could very well surpass the original, which in itself is a lofty proposition. We all have to wait until 2004 though to see hiw it turns out.

See screenshots | See artwork and models |