HomeLAN Fed is the latest site to feature a Halo PC Q&A. Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford and Bungie's Michel Bastien are asked about Bungie's involvement with bringing the game to the PC, graphical improvements, lack of coop, new multiplayer maps and a couple of other things.

The Bungie.net Halo: Truth and Reconciliation page is now offering a new Halo PC update. Producer Michel Bastien writes about the work done in the past few weeks. Thanks Blues News.

GameZone has posted their own Q&A with Gearbox president Randy Pitchford about the Halo PC port. Questions about the differences between Xbox and PC Halo, system requirements, multiplayer modes, plans to port Halo 2 and what Randy would consider to be Halo's most memorable / most intriguing / most enjoyable aspects.

Telefragged has posted their own Halo PC Q&A. Randy Pitchford is asked how Gearbox got the opportunity to work on the game, if the long wait between Xbox and PC version will hurt the game, improvements to graphics, system requirements, multiplayer additions, netcode, and more.

Things will certainly be packed for a while trying to download this video but that's just kinda the way it goes. Microsoft was kind enough to send along the Halo 2 video that was shown at E3 this year for you guys to enjoy. It's in WMV format right now but we'll come up with a QuickTime version for the rest of you guys.

- Halo 2 E3 2003 WMV
- Halo 2 E3 2003 QuickTime

The Speakeasy guys are also being kind enough to help us throttle up the bandwidth on FileShack a bit more later today which may ease the pain a bit.

Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford updated his .plan file, mentioning that his company is looking for a new set of Halo PC testers. You'll need to be in the Dallas area, and if you have tested before you'll be put on a preferred list. Requirements can be found here.

A few weeks back I paid a visit to Gearbox Software to check out Halo for the PC. I'm honestly not a huge Halo fanboy by any means only having played through about half of the game in co-op mode with a friend being my experience. I'm no expert on the game and for looking at a port to really know the "important" questions you need an expert. Luckily the art geek who does so much stuff around here Mike is a Halo superfreak. The following interview with Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford covers a bunch of the basics and and of course more

Shack: Will the PC version include the same "make your own rules" multiplayer game type the Xbox supported?
Randy Pitchford: That's actually much nicer in the PC version. Creating the game modes is more accessible now, and there are more features and options. It's really neat because if you like a game like Counter-Strike, you can quickly modify the game using these simple menus to make it so you only have one life per round and so on. If you like Battlefield 1942, you can set up a King of the Hill game with a fixed number of respawns (like tickets). It's really cool because there are conventional options and crazy stuff too for when you're in the mood to goof around in a LAN setting with your friends. ...

I got to put in a couple of hours of multiplayer Halo on the PC and absolutely loved it. The vehicles and the maps really gave off this great vibe of a futuristic battlefield. The obvious comparison would be BF1942 set in the future and that's probably the best comparison I can think of. If the network code proves to be able to not suck on the this could get really popular really fast.

Microsoft has opened up the official Halo PC website, offering info and screenshots for those of you who haven't played the game on the Xbox yet (or did, but are interested anyway).

GameSpy has more on Halo PC, offering this article by Gearbox president Randy Pitchford. Randy talks about how Gearbox got the porting job, what's been difficult to port and what hasn't, and the extra features the PC version of the game will have.

GameSpy is offering the first Halo preview (and multiplayer preview here) and I could quote some stuff from it about the porting process and how there's improved multiplayer and all. Too bad there is this.."the only major feature from the Xbox version of Halo in danger of not making it to the PC is the cooperative mode", Gearbox says its a maybe.

Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford posted this message on the Gearbox forums, mentioning that the company is looking for 6 to 8 testers for the PC port of Halo. You must be available for 4 to 6 hours for 5 to 10 days, and live in or around Plano, TX. More info here.

GameSpot has posted a Halo PC update, based on the Gearbox workshop at the CPL event this past Saturday. They describe the work involved with porting the engine and what Gearbox is working on. The Adrenaline Vault has a brief article of their own.

Pitchford said that the project is about 40 percent done, much of which includes a successful port of the graphics engine. The port required Gearbox to move to supporting DirectX 9 and completely rewrite all the pixel shader effects. Part of what that rewrite means is that the PC game will have some enhanced effects for PCs with the latest graphics cards ...

Xbox.com is now hosting the Halo 2 trailer as was promised, though you will need to install Windows Media Player 9 to get it from that site. There is a Quicktime version on Halo.Bungie.org.

Update: Here is the FileShack mirror of the WMV file, and here is a copy of the QuickTime version. Note that we're still doing without a few servers on FileShack, so your download might take a few minutes to start.

Microsoft sent out this press release officially announcing the PC version of the Xbox hit Halo. The port is in development at Gearbox, where they are also working on James Bond: Nightfire and Counter-Strike: Condition Zero. A Mac version is being developed as well, by the guys at Westlake Interactive. When? Summer 2003.

"PC gamers worldwide will soon be able to dig into the addictive gameplay of 'Halo,'" said Stuart Moulder, general manager, Microsoft Game Studios. "By combining the success of 'Halo' on Xbox with Gearbox's proven talent in the first-person shooter genre, PC gamers are guaranteed a lively and 'up-all-hours' single and multiplayer experience on the PC."
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"We've been dying to play Halo online with a PC ever since its spectacular launch last year," said Gearbox Software President Randy Pitchford. "The team at Gearbox has the experience and the talent to not only bring Halo to the PC, but also to add enhancements that exploit the multiplayer capabilities that PCs are known for."

Bungie.net has posted a Jason Jones Q&A, where user questions about Bungie's recently released Xbox shooter Halo are answered. Thanks Voodoo Extreme.

Bungie.net has a new post about the fact that you can now send questions about Halo to haloqna@microsoft.com, which will be answered by project leader Jason Jones. They will post responses next week and might make it somewhat of a regular feature.

Bungie's Matt Soell has been interviewed on Voodoo Extreme. He gets to answer questions about the feeling of finally have the game on shelves, the inspirations behind the story of the game, getting the game to work so well with the XBox controller, the vehicles, enemy polygon count, AI, multiplayer modes and of course a question about the PC version.

HomeLAN Fed has posted an interview with Matt Soell of Bungie. I know it's hard to guess what they talk about. Yep, Halo, what a shocker. Matt answers questions about the story, AI, PC/Mac version, the enemies, weapons, the alledged Xbox multiplayer upgrade and more.

Halo.Bungie.Org has a launch party page, with all kinds of info from the Halo launch party at Bungie. One of the things overheard there is that Bungie might start working on the promised PC/Mac version of the game as soon as everyone gets back from vacation. Thanks VE.

According to this Halo forum post, no matter what people might think, Halo WILL come to the PC and Mac according to Bungie's Matt Soell. They don't know when, they don't know in what form, but there will indeed be a PC and Mac version of the game. In related news, there is a very brief Halo Q&A on CG Online.

Is there any sort of timetable for that, even a rough one? Are PC gamers looking at a year-long wait here?

We unfortunately do not have a timetable for this project yet. Truth be told, every single Bungie employee and his brother worked their butts off to get Halo Xbox completed and they are all on a much deserved vacation right now. When they all get back and their sunburns finally stop hurting they will tackle Halo for any and all other platforms.