Here is a log of the Question & Answer session we had in the IRC channel #bungie on EFnet. yeroen was Max (webmaster of Bungie), ProudFlesh was Matt Soell and ol_dirtae was Wiley (a Bungie intern). (The times next to the nicknames are CET) == 23:20: I know we are not allowed to inquire as to the specific money involved in the deal. but did it have a "7" in it?. ? 23:20: What;'s Bungie's exit strategy if things turn bad? 23:20: <_IAN_> Will Bungie keep there HQ in chicago? 23:20: What the hell is Hamish Sinclair thinking?!?! 23:20: For Matt: Do you have what it takes to be a Sponge Master? 23:20: <[Q]> what is the situation with halo developement? 23:20: what is bungies response to the very skeptical fans out there? 23:21: BillyH: You betcha it had a seven. Lots of em. 23:22: Have_Blue: I think every individual has their own exit strategy. Everyone is free to leave if they don't like how things are going. 23:23: Someone asked about Chicago: We're all moving to Redmond, including the San Jose guys after Oni is done. 23:23: Firedwarf: Our response to the very skeptical fans is pretty detailed in the forums, especially halo.bungie.org and rampancy.net. Take a look. 23:24: Ok... Bungie says they haven't yet decided on a Mac version of Halo. Why is that? Before all this happened it was being developed for a simultaneous Mac/PC release, what has changed that? And since now it's not been decided, what are the factors of this decision? What will help decide if the Mac/PC versions will ever be finished? And last but not least, what's your favorite type of donut? 23:24: Will you have your own facility, or be part of a complex of other developers? 23:24: Did you get to have dinner with Bill at his house?! 23:24: Matt: DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A SPONGE MASTER?! ;) 23:24: yeroen, did it have three 6's how ever? ;) 23:24: Damnit. I live in chicago. I wanted to visit some time. 23:24: The Register quotes Ed Fries, your new boss, as saying "Bungie is going to... create great games for the PC and X-Box", this, notably, leaves the Mac out of the picture. Is this a bias on Mr. Fries part, an ignorance of his as to how Bungie works, or perhaps an indication of things to come? 23:25: B-Sharp: We have a new set of circumstances to deal with. Before this deal, before any possibility of this deal, we had dedicated our internal dev. resources to Mac and PC versions. 23:25: There was a possibility of a PS2 version, and we had a publisher in Take2, but we hadn't yet figured out dev. resources for it. 23:26: Now, we have to consider reallocating our internal resources. There's a chance we'll grow the teams, a chance we'll work inside MS with other teams... 23:27: a chance we'll work with external teams. However, right now we have to make platform decisions based on existing resources... 23:27: That's one Halo dev. team, with no new management, no new members. All that we can commit to is to look at all our options. 23:28: Figuring out the resource issue will help clear up the platform issue. For more detailed info read the rampancy post, I explained it all. 23:28: I'm not sure what Ed meant about X-box and PC, but I hope he meant we'll continue to do what's best for the game, and what's best for our dev. teams. 23:29: Ol Dirtae doesn't like that answer :-) 23:29: yeroen: platform choice WILL remain in the hands of Bungie developers, and not MS execs, correct? 23:29: I suppose the better answer is I don't know, but I hope he meant well ;-) 23:30: As far as PC/Mac, that's correct. As far as console, Microsoft has some obvious influence there. We won't be coming out with a PS2 version, that's a given. 23:31: didnt bungie say that they wil syupport the macs untill teh end of time? the shouldnt u have annoucned a mac version as a given? 23:31: What's your favorite type of donut??? 23:31: Are you happy helping Microsoft to dominate yet more of the computer industry? 23:31: One article that I read says that you have your own little location on the Redmond campus for all your toys. Is this true? 23:31: Do bungie share our worry that console communities are unknown, in their infancy (Dreamcast online flopped), and that the mod community (if theres one at all for xbox) wont be as widespred with a primerily console game. Some feel that online console communities will be hard to build, if possible at all, and thats the area where the console is lacking. Do you agree, and how do you plan to support international online gaming through the xbo 23:31: How would you say the final version of Oni will be different from what we've seen thus far in the previews? And can you comment about what we can expect in terms of length of the game? 23:31: will inter office nerf warfare be allowed on the ms campus, did bill get any special immunity to such attacks in the deal 23:31: MacUser magazine claimed that the X-box was the single biggist threat to Apple (a few months ago in the startup column I do believe). And on some points I would have to agree. whats your opinion?. (It might help if you find a copy of macuser in the toilet first?.) (sorry if I'm ratty. we just lost the footy *crrrrrrrrrrrry*) 23:31: I would just like to let the Bungie staff know that i will no longer be purchasing any of their products. I've been an avid fan since Marathon I, but i will not support MS in any way shape or form. It's a matter of pride, morality, and standing up for something i believe in. Youre going to lose alot of long time fans. 23:31: What will happen to the myth/oni goods currently for purchase at the Bungie Store after they have run out of stock? 23:31: how will this affect Soffish development? ;) 23:31: Have you ever read the article on MS aquistions at: http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit19990826.html ? 23:31: <_IAN_> Now that you've moved to Redmond, how does one get a job in bungie? Go work for Microsoft and hope to be assigned to Bungie....or head staight to Bungie? 23:31: <[Po0p]> your response to the halo question was too ambiguous for me, can you give a percent probability for release on windows platforms (and mac)? 23:34: Po0p: I can't give a percent probability. Everyone seems to want definites, but the honest answer is that the resource issue is a big question mark for us right now. We haven't had the best luck with external contractors in the past, so we're wary of that option, and we're nervous about overloading the team or making it too large to manage. 23:34: > answer something! :) 23:34: Regarding the "Support Macs till the end of time" comment.... I'd want to see proof we actually used those words or anything similar before I commented. 23:34: Cached: That url was actually forwarded around the office right when we were first deliberating over the deal. Microsoft made it clear to us that they are buying our business model along with our employees - they don't want to mess up their investment, so they want to accomodate our business model rather than forcing us into their structure - that's why we're remaining an independant studio within Microsoft. 23:35: That just doesn't sound like something we'd say. 23:35: The article ol_dirtae is referring to helped clarify a lot of our own concerns, and helped us figure out the right questions to ask. In the end we liked the answers. 23:35: Obviously we love the Mac - I'm using one right now - but I don't think we'd make a decision to stick with any one platform regardless of the consequences. 23:36: Jenkz: There are definite problems with console communities, but that's one of the challenges we're looking forward to... 23:36: As far as having our own little space on the MS campus: yes, that's true. 23:37: We're forming an online team with the goal of making a strong community, and we have a number of ideas. Of course, many of them rely on tieing in a web site, which you need a computer for. Still, we're taking it in stride and planning on being the innovators. 23:37: Are we happy helping Microsoft dominate more of the industry? We don't look at it in those terms. We see it as them helping us dominate more of the industry. 23:38: That donut questions is a tough one. We like our Friday bagels ;-) 23:38: Favorite donut: I like crullers. And the ones with custard inside. Or whatever that stuff is. 23:39: Isolder: The current Myth/Oni goods in the store will go into our online team's closet, to support fan gatherings, tournaments, etc. 23:39: I doubt the XBox threatens Apple in any significant way. I just don't see it competing with Macs. Different market. 23:39: maybe someday they will come out of the closet along with the webmaster... 23:40: personally, do you fellows see Halo as being more appropriate on the PC/Mac market or on the console market? 23:41: ophelan: The game is early enough in development it can be tailored to fit either. I'd say it has the potential to rock on both. 23:41: alot of mac users are taking this like a stab in the back. does MS decide the Desdlines?> or basically just get there names on the box of your games? 23:41: Yeroen-> So is there a party planned for MWNY. You commented something about it last night on b.net. I'd certainly come down from MA for that..... 23:41: Now that you're owned by Satan, will he provide you with extra employees to help speed along the development of Halo? 23:41: Bagels? You've obviously been influenced by Satan. How dare you forsake the sacred donut? You are not worthy. 23:41: What is your opinion regarding some of the reactions from long time supporters of Bungie who have abandoned their faith in the company? Did you anticipate this type of backlash? Take the mill going down for example, truly a resource to be missed. Did you anticipate those sort of reactions from your fan base? And if so, how do you plan on trying to "re-convert" some of the lost souls? 23:41: How would you respond to those who accuse Bungie of losing their soul and/or old values, like totally free-wheeling independence? 23:41: You guys don't seem to realize that the majority of your fans and the community they've guilt is geared towards personal comupting. I'd think most of these fans aren't going to shell out money for a console just to play Halo, and especially not a MS console at that. So, my question.. why (or do you even) do you expect the Bungie community to continue supporting you if you can't assure them they'll even be able to play your game? 23:41: are xbox features editable? 23:41: How can you live with yourselves knowing that you are part of Microsoft? You are now part of the sleaziest company to ever disgrace the face of this earth. Do you have ANY morals at all? 23:41: Now that you are a part of Microsoft, will you be working with the other game developers under MS's wing extensively? Or will you colaborate with them on a limited basis? 23:41: how will this affect Soffish development? ;) 23:41: Microsoft is being split by the Courts. Are there plans in case X-Box and Bungie are in different halves? 23:41: The Xbox is still 14-18 months off... it seems like Bungie might miss its technology window for Halo. How can you justify this, given that it was predicted to come out next spring? (Yes, I know I asked this before, but I didn't like the answer.) 23:42: We don't plan to sell games based on technology cae (though it always helps), we always consider the defining factor the gameplay. My personal opinion is that it won't matter as much as long as the game is a blast. 23:42: But that's just me. 23:42: As far as losing people goes, we knew some of that was inevitable and irreversible. 23:44: Frigidman made his decision and it doesn't sound like he's gonna reverse it. We'll deal. If people are willing to stay, we're going to support them, but we're not going to try brainwashing anyone. We have to respect their opinions. 23:44: Have_Blue: There's some truth to having to give up some of our values, namely our independence. However, we were faced with a decision about our long term future, and we decided it best to take a good opportunity and minimize our loss, rather than face a very real chance of losing it all. 23:44: mackerm: What we understand from Microsoft about the possibility of a split is that both the games division and the XBox Development team will end up on the same side of the rift. 23:45: *** Signoff: some- (I mean, if you don't want to be asses, you'll tell people now whether they'll be) 23:45: that would be the non-OS side 23:45: I think we managed to preserve the values that really matter though. Time will tell, obviously. 23:47: tummy: About our fans being dedicated to PC gaming: I think that what we've always valued the most internally is the gameplay. We had to make a decision that would allow us to preserve complete control over this without having to worry so much about market issues. That doesn't mean... 23:47: we don't think the PC side benefits are important, and it doens't mean we're giving up on them, just that we were forced to prioritize. 23:48: This is especially true for Matt and I, who's entire jobs revolve around the community. 23:48: We don't EXPECT anything. We're going to do the best we can for our existing community, and if they choose to remain, we'll be thrilled. 23:49: GreenMtn: Yes, we have morals. Our morals, however, don't dictate who pays our bills, they dictate what we get to create. 23:50: Borzz: Editing on the XBox is going to be tricky, but we do have a few ideas we're toying with. Nothing I'd want to commit to. 23:51: the fans u lost were the best..no more open source..no more mill.fm took alot of time into maintaing that site..the best game site ive been to.no doubt.i thought bungie wanted to make games they wanted, and world domination. you were fine without the 50 million dollars, am i correct? how does this come into play with world dom. and games? 23:51: * Adezj Is this the first time u do a Console only game?! 23:51: #1) Will there be a better webcam at the Bungie Studio? #2) Can you give us some info on what changes b.net will have over time with current and future games? 23:51: With Take Two having the Myth:TFL and SB games now, will they have a say in how things are now moderated on bungie.net or will the current BNA roster continue holding rule as well as be the new people to contact in need of support for the two games? 23:51: Will JJ's focus on the X-box's hardware and design steal time from his work on the games themselves? What about the same question, company-wide? 23:51: Way can't you do Halo DirectX 8.0 only ? and you will not have the problem whit hardware? 23:51: Microsoft has demonstrated time and time again that they cannot be trusted. What makes you think they'll keep their word on this deal? 23:51: Since there's a great deal of time between now and when Halo launches, it would seem that your Online Staff has a lot of work ahead of itself reaching out to the fanbase in the meantime. Will you be ramping up that staff at all? Will we see some new innovative BML-based widgets for bungie.net (the portal)? Did you get my resume I sent to you last night? =) 23:51: When will the current Bungie store go offline? How much longer do we have to order the older goodies? 23:51: OK Matt, one last time, you must let us know: Do you have what it takes to be a Sponge Master? The people, Matt! 23:51: I would appreciate it if Matt could answer this (Max already has): The Register quotes Ed Fries, your new boss, as saying "Bungie is going to... create great games for the PC and X-Box", this, notably, leaves the Mac out of the picture. Is this a bias on Mr. Fries part, an ignorance of his as to how Bungie works, or perhaps an indication of things to come? 23:51: How do you feel to let "children" such as Myth and Oni go? Somewhere it must hurt..? 23:51: how will this affect Soff... oh nevermind 23:51: About the 20% off Bungie Store Cupon, Bungie Points and other promotional deals like that? Will they be redeemable for Bungie's future products? 23:51: Regarding morals, Green, I can only speak for myself. But I'm comfortable with my decision to join. And there are far sleazier companies than Microsoft. Dow Chemical springs to mind. 23:52: Nacho: We haven't yet discussed the store coupons. However, we intend to keep Bungie Points on our games, and to continue to support them. 23:52: That's not a promise, but it's our goal. 23:53: Dwarf: we still get to make the games we want. And MS is blissfully ignorant of how they fit into the world domination plan. :-) 23:53: Pizzpot:We'll probably have the resources to get soffish a life partner. 23:54: Isolder: We'll keep running b.net ourselves. Take 2 will end up doing the tech support for the games, but bungie.net is all us. 23:55: DeadWhore: It hurts a lot to let go of ownership of the Oni and Myth franchises. However, it was impossible to do this deal without it, Take2 held a lot of power. 23:55: We like them a lot, however, and we hope they'll do a great job supporting them. 23:56: Obviously time Jason and the other developers spend on XBox is time not spent on other things. But we think it will work out. 23:56: Nij, I was formerly ignorant of the many facets of sponge mastery. But I have been enlightened. 23:57: IronFist: Yes, we got your resume ;-) Our goal right now is to hire someone that's a master Perl coder and database man to support the portal site... 23:57: firedwarf: We all thought resources like the mill were excellent, and I'd hasten to point out that Myth related sites and Mararthon open source projects will be around as long as gamers want them to be. However, places like the mill didn't HAVE to close 23:57: We'll be posting a job opening soon. After that we have a few ideas. Possibly an interface designer. Everything else is just speculation, right now we're worrying about the transition. 23:58: - in fact, the Bungie deal has little or no bearing on either of these projects - the fact that fm closed the mill was a personal decision that he made, and the way he explained it to me was that he had been tired of running it for the last several months 23:58: Vil, Ed obviously comes from a background where attention is focused on the PC, but when dealing with Bungie I think everyone should interpret PC in its more generalized form. In other words, Windows and Mac. 23:59: I'm not sure when the Bungie Store goes offline...Buy now! 0:00: Do we need to change the copyright stuff on our Myth and Oni pages? 0:00: Not just yet, Claude. 0:00: Will you have any involvement is any possible future Myth titles? Such as advice, it occured to me the fear of Take Two messing up the genius which is Myth is very present amongst gamers (Myth 2 being a personal favorite) 0:00: <|Ender|> A TV's resolution is at best, 500x500. How can you say, "Come see and play the glory that is Halo!" when you're controlling a blur? It seems like the X-Box is a waste of your time. 0:00: If PC/Mac versions of the games aren't developed, how long do you expect the community to last? It's already been a year and 7 months since Bungie's last game (excluding Chimera), and several more months until Oni. How long can this community wait (for the answers we want/need to hear, among other things)? 0:00: Matt, Max. how much can you actually speak for Alex and Jason?. as its not you who just got 7 figure stock opitions or cash for their stocks. with microsoft :). And more importantly. are not them. (ok some would have that the wrong way around. but you guys are not desperate. you didnt marry carmacks wife after all....) 0:00: I would like to let you Bungie staff know that i will no longer be purchasing any of their products. I've been an avid fan since Marathon I, but i will not support MS in any way shape or form. It's a matter of pride, morality, and standing up for something i believe in. Youre going to lose alot of long time fans. 0:00: Now that you are a part of Microsoft, will you be working with the other game developers under MS's wing extensively? Or will you colaborate with them on a limited basis? 0:00: Will Bungie continue to work with Total Audio, and do I have to get a job with them to write music for Bungie games? 0:00: How long did the guys at Bungie (JJ, AS maybe) spend considering the move to Microsoft? Why exactly do they seem to not have any answers when they've already agreed for a *sellout*? No doubt tits a pretty *BIG* deal, selling out all those years of building a company to Microsoft, and I would figure that Bungie would have a PLAN already in mind, instead of diving in with eyes "wide open." And I would expect for bungie to share that plan to the co 0:02: I don't think we have a right to be involved with another Myth or Oni, but we get along with the Take 2 folks well so maybe they would be kind enough to ask. 0:03: Green, that's your decision, and you're entitled to it. All I can say is that we too felt we were making the best decision for the company and the people who work here. 0:04: DG: An opportunity like the XBox doesn't come along every day, we couldn't have planned entirely for it. In the past offers to buy us have been alike: lots of money, but not a company we wanted to be a part of, or a situation we wanted to be in. This deal came out of left field. 0:04: Cloud, I'm not quite sure what you mean by collaboration with other game developers...We're going to focus on our own games. 0:05: GreenMtn: And I hope your not going to buy anything from Apple either, because if you did, you would be increasing the value of Microsofts $150 Million investment in them. 0:05: We're going to collaborate with them in the cafeteria. 0:05: Yes, we keep working with Total Audio. Which I personally am very happy about. 0:06: BillyH: We can't speak for anyone but ourselves. All we can do is relay our own opinions of Alex and Jason's motives, which is what we're doing. However, these opinions are based on years of personal friendship and a lot of mutual trust. 0:06: Quiet, Wiley. 0:07: Billy: I've talked with Alex extensively about this (Jason less so - he's too busy to talk) but I think I understand their stance pretty well. I wouldn't claim to represent their innermost thoughts, but I have a good idea of where they're coming from. 0:07: Panamon: The only way to make the community last is to continue to make it better. In its current form I don't think it will last very well. 0:08: I do, however, have a ton of ideas how to make it better. You should be seeing some of these as soon as we hire that programmer! 0:09: Bungie is known for never setting deadlines and ending up with very... "mobile" release dates anyway; how will this change if Bungie's products are intertwined with the X-box and MS's priorities? 0:09: Did you all ever wonder my M$ chose you amongst the 10's of great gaming companies? You...the prime of the mac community...I know we all dislike M$ but I must not be the only one to feel this way. I mean they have a choice of FAR more popular companies... (not being demeaning to Bungie in any way) 0:09: Are we going to see commercials for Bungie games on tv? 0:09: The best current online multiplayer enviroments leverage the linux communities abundant bandwidth and geographic diveresity these servers represent, will Halo server model support this internet tradition aswell? 0:10: Isolder: I sure hope so. 0:10: The only thing I wondered, DeadWhore, is how much confidence they had that we can create a killer console game, coming from the PC side and all. But we like being given a shot at it. 0:11: Isolder: Actually, I'm almost positive you will. 0:11: DeadWhore: If you're referring to the conspiracy theory that MS bought us as some sort of attack on Apple...I think that's just a conspiracy theory. 0:12: I don't think the Halo server model is totally figured out yet, Netfuse. 0:12: NetFuse: Most of Halo multiplayer still has to be sorted out. However, we follow that tradition at Bungie with Linux for mail, web server, portal site, and b.net servers. 0:13: Did Apple ever offer to buy Bungie, or did Bungie ever offer to sell out to Apple? This sorta ties in with Halo being presented in MW Expo the first time. 0:13: yeron wrote: The only thing I wondered, DeadWhore, is how much confidence they had that we can create a killer console game, coming from the PC side and all. But we like being given a shot at it...(PC SIDE? bungie is the heart of the mac community! what are you saying?!) 0:13: Have you seen http://www.macledge.com/features/accessemployee/accessemployee.shtml; this is testimony of a (former) employee of Access Software, which was acquired by MS and promised a similar independency. He details as how Access was slowly abosorbed into MS as a whole. 0:13: Will there be a movie version of HALO? 0:13: Now that you are part of Microsoft, will the technology behind the games be shifted to DirectX, or will it remain OpenGL? Microsoft is making a hard push for DirectX (take the decision of Epic regarding supporting DirectX over other API's), will this influence the availability of games for the Mac, or will you take that into consideration when developing, to ease compatibility for mac games? 0:13: ok... so I got to thinking... what is your favorite flavor icecream (or any frozen desert type thing)? Personally, I'm partial to orange sherbet. It's just got this wonderful feeling as it melts in my mouth.... Mmmm... orange sherbet... 0:13: How can bungie EVEN THINK of not supporting the Mac, the mac community made you great, if it wasn't for us, there'd by no bungie! 0:13: when are you guys gonna update LETTERS TO THE WEBMASTER?!?!?! 8) 0:13: I read in one of the interviews that TakeTwo has been given rights to two Halo-engine games... is this true, and if so, what could we expect to come of this? (Is afraid of low-quality Halo knockoffs) *shivers* 0:13: Max, Matt. fairy nuff. couldnt ask for more. but do you have the same taste in women? 0:13: The Bungie community as it is now consists of many people...the most dedicated individuals have often become b.net admins, beta testers, or even employees of Bungie. will that pattern continue now that Bungie is part of Microsoft? 0:13: Ender: All I can say is the development teams are really excited by it. If it makes them happy, it can't be too much of a waste. 0:14: Apple never offered to buy us. I don't think that would have made much sense for them. 0:14: Adezj: Could we have survived in our current form: Maybe. Could we have had a shot at becoming a premier developer for XBox: I don't think so. 0:15: I think that pattern, Panamon, has led to involvement by some of the very best people we have, both as employees and fan contributors. I'll do everything I can to keep that tradition alive. 0:16: BillyH: Ask your mom. 0:16: :-) 0:17: Dalan: You'll have to wait and see, just like us. I have no idea what they plan to do with that license. 0:18: Dalan: I'm hoping that the Halo engine's full potential as a fully immersive tic-tac-toe game can finally be realized 0:18: ekoSonic: I believe the technology will be whatever is best for the platform in question. 0:19: Vilinx: No, I haven't seen it. I'll take a look. 0:19: Regarding the Access story...I don't think it's nearly as similar to our situation as it's made out to be. 0:20: Qfrog, I don't know if there will ever be a movie. I think it would be cool, but who knows? Hollywood is fickle. 0:21: eko, I honestly don't think any technology decisions have been made yet. 0:22: True Matt, though I'm quoting Chucky here: Whatever is best for the platform in question. 0:22: So basically it will be neither Mac or PC only if it's decided to be on a "PC"? If it's decided to be "PC" will it definitely be BOTH? 0:22: So is this whole M$ deal going to kill Marathon Racer? I thought that game really had a change of eclipsing Halo. 0:22: Has this buy-out had any effect on the super-secret third secret of Bungie which has never been "announced"? 0:22: how long had the Microsoft deal been in the works before it was announced? And why is working on the xbox so important to bungie all of the sudden? 0:22: when are you guys gonna update LETTERS TO THE WEBMASTER?!?!?! 8) 0:22: All this talk of Halo and X-Box aside -- which Operating Systems look good to you guys? Windows 2000 over Windows Millenium? OS X? Thinking as a d eployment platform, not necessarily a development one, of course. 0:22: From Ramses #CP#: Who makes the decision wiether Halo will come first to Xbox? BS or MS? 0:22: Is it true you'll be making a SimCity "Dirty Sock" mod for Unreal Tournament featuring kitchen weaponry and bad grammar?! I MUST KNOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo..... *boom* 0:22: now you have been assimilated will you be developing the 'b.org' brand name further? 0:22: All I want to know is "What do you have to say to the older guys, the ones who were with you back in 94 (and earlier), who stuck it out, when NOBODY knew who you were? What do you have to say to those who have spent thousands of dollars to promote their shrine to bungie?" 0:22: Orange Sherbert isn't ice cream... 0:22: i said it before and ill say it again.. the mac community made u who u are today. you cant possibly be serious on not sure about the mac halo. are u fucking kidding me? seriously! marathon=mac marathon2=mac.pc marathoninf=mac mintour=mac pathways=mac then the killer MYTH=mac/pc (more mac) myth2 )mac/PC) more mac... 0:22: * Adezj !!ANSWERE!!-Yeroen: Why is X-box that importent, do u think there will be more x-box players than PC and MAC players?!?!and which side do u think your fans are at?-!!ANSWERE!! 0:22: yeroen. so you like the british accents and teeth? I should have known.... 0:22: Do you think HALO will be the killer app for the X-Box? Futhermore... how many people quit? 0:22: * Infin_CP From Conner #CP#: Who makes the decision of how long Myth b.net is supported? Take 2? BS? MS? And is there a contract as to how long? 0:22: You guys are starting to sound like a MS propaganda machine already. Lame indecisive jargon, vague answers, sad attempts to defend a company that everyone KNOWS is shady to say the least. 0:22: Apple definatly should have sold their Akamai stock. brought bungie. reunited Tamte and made it an Apple exclusive. then we could have had cute iMac coloured marines. 0:22: Who cares if you have "a shot at becoming a premier developer for XBox"? 0:22: Has Microsoft given all bungie employees a raise from what ya'll used to make? 0:22: What if Xbox sucks in a PS2-dominated console market (ala WindowsCE and Palm)? I have this cool 3DO machine I'd like to talk to you about too. 0:22: Who decides for how long bungie.net(for myth) is supported, Take Two, Bungie, or MS?. Also, do you have a set contract or is it open ended? 0:22: are macs allowed in the ms compound? 0:23: Vilinx: Not at all. 0:24: Moridin: We decide how long b.net is supported, as we're supporting it. And I believe we have a contract with Take2 to allow Myth and Myth II play on b.net indefinitely. 0:25: Adezj: The market trend indicates there will far more XBox players than Mac/PC players, though I'd have to say that 100% of our fans currently fall on the Mac/PC side ;-) 0:26: Yrro: Feels good, don't it? 0:28: Nijhazer: The only "dirty sock" that I've ever seen at Bungie is the one in yeoren's desk, and if you think anyone on the dev teams touching THAT with a ten foot pole, don't hold your breath. 0:28: Pizzpot: Microsoft has been very good to us, giving each an extra spoonful of rice each day and, as someone stated in the forums, semi-regular showers. 0:28: I wish you would take them up on the offer of the showers yeoren 0:29: and wash that sock while you're in there 0:29: I've been meaning to give that sock back to your mom, Dirtae, filled with pennies. 0:29: HippieMan:This is where those efforts brought us, and we're very grateful. 0:30: jackieboy: We'd like to be a premier developer for Xbox. We care. We would enjoy recognition for all of our hard work. Everyone would. 0:32: Budwin: We think we could be the killer app for Xbox, if we work hard. As for how many people quit: just one. The token Linux evangelist. :-) 0:32: GreenMtn: This is actually tough for us, it's not Bungie policy to spill our guts. Cut us some slack. 0:33: IronFIst: I haven't played around with either enough to comment. 0:33: I'm kinda looking forward to OS X on my Pismo though, I must admit. :-) 0:33: NetFuse: I'm not sure what you mean by the "b.org brand name" 0:34: How long had the deal been in the works? Not very long at all, actually. Started shortly before E3, I think. 0:35: My only question is this. Has there been any change in status on the issue of PC/Mac development of Halo? I might have just missed the answer earlier if this is a repeat. 0:35: Does the X-Box have a mouse? And do you personally prefer hot irons, the rack, or electric clamps? 0:35: Any advice for a fan who constantly dreams of working at Bungie? ;) 0:35: Comment: "Market Trends" would dictate that Myth would be overrun with PC users, by web stats at Myth sites (TH/Mill) Mac is the dominant platform. So this means that the Mac/Bungie following is quite large, and matters (or at least did) more than the stats. 0:35: You're dodging the important Marathon Racer questions. 0:35: * Adezj !!ANSWERE!!-Yeroen: So u turn the back on 100% of your fans that's nice.. cuz i dont think anyone except you guys are happy with the M$ choice, who do u think make use of who? i think M$ X-box wouldnt make it without HALO... and X-box is for the younger gameing generation... and everyone here have been floowing your prodjects here... -!!ANSWERE!! 0:35: Will this mean that my Microsoft friends will be able to get me Bungie stuff for insanely cheap!? 0:35: How likely is it that Halo will come out for Macintosh? 0:35: 100%? what about the two pipin owners. Scully and Amileo 0:35: What is your personal opinion, or Bungie's in general, about how many webmasters of fan sites have quit (example: Frigidman), because of the buyout? 0:35: ol_dirtae: It the Courts are consistant, they will put X-Box in the OS half of Microsoft, and Bungie in the Applications half. That would give Bungie an INCENTIVE to write for Playstation, SEGA, Nintendo, (and Macintosh). Wouldn't you really perfer that?? 0:35: How long is it until you make a platform decision for Halo? I assume that an xbox version is coming out. 0:37: Storm: Not yet. When we have a final answer, we'll announce it, but I don't think that will happen for a while. 0:38: Adezj: First of all, we haven't turned our back on our fans, we've simply told you the truth: We're still figuring things out, here are the two extremes. As for the XBox being for younger gamers... Bungie games appeal to older gamers. That's something that will stay the same, regardless of platform. 0:39: blackhole: That's something we've been putting a lot of pressure on Jones for. However, we can't even begin to address it until after we get settled in in Redmond. 0:39: Bachus, Marathon Racer was scrapped in favor of Marathon Party. 0:39: iGawyn: Obviously we would rather that people kept playing our games and ran cool websites on to infinity. We understand and respect the decisions of individuals who feel like they have to move on, we will miss them as much as you do. Speaking personally as a webmaster who gave up his site (MythFiles) a long time ago, I understand where FM was coming from. It takes a lot of time and energy. 0:39: I'd say at least a month before any serious work gets done on making a decision. 0:40: I don't think you can judge the entire community by web stats. Hundreds of thousands of people bought the Myth games and never even signed up for bungie.net. 0:40: Not everyone who buys Bungie games has a net connection. 0:41: iGawyn: We wish they'd stay, obviously, but we have to respect their decisions. 0:41: Ankstarr: I don't think I can give you an estimate of how likely Halo is to come out on Mac that would have any real meaning. It's not something that's quantifiable, there are too many unknowns. 0:42: Just as a general comment on the deal for you guys, I'm not a regular Bungie Employee, I'm an intern. I saw the whole deal from the inside. I'm not under NDA and I never signed anything, when I leave in a couple days from now, I'll say the same thing then as I say now: Yeoren and Proudflesh (Max 'n' Matt) are being completely truthful with you. So many things at this point are completely undecided with regards to platforms and a myriad of other decisi 0:42: give decisive answers. 0:43: that's tomorrow 0:44: I'd say that about covers it. If it seems like there's a need for another chat we'll do it. Watch the www.bungie.net page for more info. 0:44: > Guys, I want to ask you one question: what kind of Bungie activity can we maybe expect at MacWorld New York this July? 0:44: > please please please answer my MWNY question :) 0:44: Alright Tome... 0:45: There's gonna be some kind of fan gathering, we know that much. 0:45: The most likely scenario is that we'll support this fan gathering in a big way, with Matt, Seropian and I attending. 0:45: Alex is coming? Cool. 0:45: Oni will be shown by Gathering of Developers, but as today wears on the chance of us showing on the floor diminishes. 0:46: But I'm sure we'll do something that makes the fan fest worth attending. == Thanks to Max, Matt and Wiley for being with us! -- Log by Harry Al-Shakarchi (tomeone@bungie.org)