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Subject: Halo 2 Matchmaking Playlist Update!
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  • Exalted Mythic Member

As promised, the latest Xbox Live Matchmaking Playlist update has been released. The main purpose of this update is to integrate the five recently released maps into matchmaking via the Rumble Preview and Team Preview playlists. If you have purchased the new maps, you can enter these playlists and play matchmade games against other players. These two playlists are only accessible to people who have the five new maps installed.

Shortly after the new maps become free (after August 30th) both "Preview" playlists will be removed and all new maps will be added back into the core playlists. This means the leaderboards for both of these playlists will cease to exist in around two months so please keep that in mind as you devote your life to trying to achieve the top rank. Once the two Preview playlists are removed we will begin exploring additional options like the long-awaited "Multi Team" playlist (and the highly anticipated "Phantom Lovin" playlist which is all Phantonms, All the Time.)*

In addition to adding the five new maps, we've also added the last two maps back into the "free" rotation. Sanctuary and Turf are both included in appropriate playlists like Double Team, Rumble Pit, Team Slayer, etc.. You will need to have all four free maps installed on your Xbox in order to play matchmaking.

Lastly, we've taken the opportunity to react to some of the main feedback we've received such as lowering the weighting of Foundation games (apparently it's not a popular map anymore) and fixing bugs like the Banshee on Ascension Rifles.

To see the latest gametypes in each playlist, please visit the Playlist Page of the Stats section.

If you have questions or problems regarding downloading content over Xbox Live, please read THIS.

Cheater Update

We're still painfully aware of the amount of cheating/hacking taking place on Xbox Live. While we do our best to ban people as fast as we can the sheer number of people doing this is making it a slow process. People ARE being banned, it's just takes time to investigate. Until the next AutoUpdate is released we realize that instances of modding and hacking are likely to increase due to the larger number of downloadable maps available. We will continue to ban people but please understand that things are potentially going to get worse before they get better. If our current test pass goes successfully we expect to have the AU ready to release in 1.5 to 2 weeks. We'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, please continue to report people you find using hacked or modified content. We take this very seriously and anyone caught using hacked content will be PERMANENTLY banned from matchmaking. (nearly 1,000 people were just banned last week for hacking alone)

For the latest word on cheating, what's being done and what you can do to help, please read this UPDATE.










* Phantom Lovin is a joke and will never happen.

  • 07.11.2005 5:39 PM PDT
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w00t h00t first post!

  • 07.11.2005 5:48 PM PDT
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May I ask why Phantom Lover will not be a playlist?
I loved to play it before the update and now i can't.
I loved Phantoms because no one ever played it so they were horrible at it.
Please think about this for a Playlist.
Oh and I will be waiting for the AU2
In the meantime I will be playing Battle Field 2: Modern Combat Demo
Hope the new AU will help you relax and have some fun playing on your new maps =)

  • 07.11.2005 6:03 PM PDT

Archive your Stats with HSA
http://programs.edchipman.ca/halo-stats-archiver-desktop-edit ion/

So what happened to Big Team Training :@

  • 07.11.2005 6:13 PM PDT
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HAHA phantom lovin.. nice multi team playlist.

  • 07.11.2005 6:17 PM PDT
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hahaa fith! no phantoms :( that could be.... well, maybe fun isn't quite the word....

  • 07.11.2005 6:26 PM PDT
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SWEET! 7th Post! This is tight! Rumble Preview is so much fun!

[Edited on 7/11/2005]

  • 07.11.2005 6:28 PM PDT
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reset the team preview stats like you said please...

  • 07.11.2005 6:40 PM PDT

* Pr: ĭnʹtərnĕts: "I hear there's rumors on the uh (pause), Internets...

1.5 to 2 WEEKS!


WTF?

  • 07.11.2005 7:04 PM PDT

i keep my posts clean, please do the same =].

|member since 6/19/2005|

When is the next update coming out? Can't wait..hopefully it's like tomorrow or something :-D

[FRONT PAGE....Team Preview is awesome!]

  • 07.11.2005 7:09 PM PDT
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I fully agree with chaossoldier about phantom lover being a playlist. It was so much fun. If you dont want to play it then don't. I think it would be a lot of fun. Please make it a real playlist.

  • 07.11.2005 7:28 PM PDT
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Have we all seen the video of the hackers getting past the banning. Yes, the hackers don't care if they are banned from matchmaking, they can just enter it anyway by signing off and signing on again. Bogus huh?

  • 07.11.2005 7:55 PM PDT
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when u say " PERMANENTLY banned from matchmaking." does that mean that they will still beable to play costumes??? becuase if thats true its realy stupid :(
but keep up the good work bungie loveing eveything so far.

(ps will there be any more maps, or will it be on ur "next project" (halo3))

  • 07.11.2005 8:25 PM PDT
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* Phantom Lovin is a joke and will never happen.

that was funny to read

  • 07.11.2005 8:29 PM PDT
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hopefully this auto update will make sure that no -blam!-s (who try to talk all this crap about getting out of the level then do it) that use the glitches to their advantage cant get out of the level.

  • 07.11.2005 8:55 PM PDT
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weren/t goin to make it human slayer SMG on beaver creak instead on Br or was that just a rumor

  • 07.11.2005 8:59 PM PDT
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Alright, fine...We are all WELL aware you are doing everything you can to ban cheaters. But I seem to remember you saying you would be banning quitters. You said you had some algorithm to detect who was quitting.

Well, I can't remember the last time I have played a game without someone quitting.
Now, yes, I understand if they have some emergency or whatnot...but frankly, I don't care. Because let's face it, 99% of people quit because they are getting their butt kicked and don't want to waste their time.

Heck, I would rather play with cheaters than quitters. There is nothing worse then being down by three kills with a minute left and one of your 4 team members quits, what the piss is that all about.

I propose that you initiate an automatic 1 week ban for anyone that quits a game. No questions or whining, just ban them. I know I am not alone in this, so many people get mad in the games when someone leaves. And even if you are on the non-quitting team, you are still upset, because it is not a good win. Maybe you think a week is harsh, but so is ruining the experience for the other 7 people playing in the game. Majority of sessions I play, I call it a day when I just get frustrated with quitters.

Could someone respond to this and let us know what is happening. I know all my friends and myself are eagerly awaiting a response.

Thank you for your time,
Sig 4 Life

  • 07.11.2005 10:19 PM PDT
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File Share - Check out my latest map Paradigm.

I haven't played Rumble Preview yet but Team Preview sure is fun. I haven't encountered any Hackers yet and was a little shocked to find that my TP stats weren't reset.

  • 07.11.2005 11:25 PM PDT
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I've just started to play Live after a seven month absence, and have noticed a marked difference in how things were when Halo 2 was first released, and how it is now. Cheating is rampant--e.g. floating people, and the standby hack. I think the quitting thing was present even many months before, and is a separate issue.

A temporary workaround for both problems, is to go through matchmaking in a party--with people whom you know don't cheat, or quit. With each additional person in your party, the probability of getting a cheater or a quitter is reduced.

Have I quitted before? of course. 1 flag CTF 4 players per team. We failed to score. Then they scored. Then they owned us big time. In the 3rd round, 3 out of my 4 people quit. What was I supposed to do? Stay solo and walk around the map for 5 minutes+another round? I didn't buy Halo to be sanctimonious--I wanted to join other games and have fun.

Personally I don't see a long term Bungie solution to the Halo 2 cheating problems. Microsoft already has your $ from Halo 2 sales. The XBox 360 is around the corner, as is a new version of Live, as is Halo 3. Is there much financial incentive to identify cheaters, ban cheaters, and fix the underlying cheating problems? Unlikely.

I think a better solution is:
1. for players to be able to highlight recent players they do not want to be matchmade with (for whatever reason), and MatchMaking no longer puts those players together in a game.

2. for non-cheaters themselves to form clans or friends or parties, so that non-cheaters can stick together.

A third "solution" would be getting rid of the annual subscription thing, and instead making all our subscriptions monthly or weekly only. In which case players who have misgivings about Bungie/Microsoft's (in)actions can vote with their dollars, and stop playing on Live for a while. <-- this is not going to happen of course.

Just my personal opinion.

[Edited on 7/11/2005]

  • 07.11.2005 11:38 PM PDT
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owler, i like your thinking. very true indeed. microsoft already has everyone's money, plus the money for the expansion, plus their xxbox live fees. 360 is coming out soon. it is not in their best financial interests to do a damn thing about cheating.
and what do i have to say about this? f_ck it! it's a game, nothing more. quit -blam!-ing and have some fun kids.

  • 07.12.2005 1:41 AM PDT
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as peter griffon would say "freakin sweet"

  • 07.12.2005 6:39 AM PDT

i know you (bungie) joke about phantoms and how bad it is, but i think it would be cool as a change of pace, for the more talented players.

  • 07.12.2005 8:44 AM PDT
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Yes, finally the new playlist. Joy, now if we could only play the new maps without cheaters.

  • 07.12.2005 9:30 AM PDT

Good people drink beer

Why is there no team swat in the regular slayer playlist? I suck at it sure, but it's always a fun change of pace when i do play it....

  • 07.12.2005 10:13 AM PDT
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NOOO! But I love Foundation!

Just cause some people hate it....

  • 07.12.2005 10:20 AM PDT

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