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The final installment in the New York Times bestselling Forerunner Saga New York, NY – July 11, 2012 - Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC—the largest publisher of science fiction in the world—is thrilled to reveal the title, cover, and release date for the third novel in the New York Times bestselling Halo Forerunner Saga, HALO: SILENTIUM, written by legendary science fiction author Greg Bear. The first two books of the Forerunner Saga, Halo: Cryptum and Halo: Primordium are currently available in trade paperback, e-book, and audiobook. This newest book in the series, HALO: SILENTIUM will release in hardcover from Tor on January 8, 2013 alongside simultaneous audio and e-book editions. The New York Times bestselling Halo series of novels, based on the hugely successful Halo videogame franchise, has sold millions of copies, and is part of a global phenomenon that has dominated the science fiction landscape over the last decade. In Halo: Cryptum, Greg Bear began a three-book arc set in the era of the Forerunners, the ancient and enigmatic creators and builders of the Halos, which continued in Halo: Primordium. Now, in the last years of the Forerunner empire, chaos rules. The Flood—a horrifying shape-changing parasite—has arrived in force, aided by unexpected allies. Internal strife within the ecumene has desperately weakened Forerunner defenses. Only the Ur-Didact and the Librarian—a husband and wife pushed into desperate conflict—hold the keys to salvation. Facing the consequences of a mythic tragedy, one of them must now commit the greatest atrocity of all time—to prevent an unmatched evil from dominating the entire universe. Tor Books has proudly partnered with Microsoft and 343 Industries to publish every book set in this iconic universe. Along with the books of the Forerunner Saga, Tor also publishes another all-new Halo trilogy penned by New York Times bestselling author Karen Traviss that explores the Halo Universe in the wake of the final events of Halo 3. Traviss’s first novel, Halo: Glasslands, came out in 2011, with Halo: The Thursday War due out in October 2012. The Halo franchise is an award-winning collection of properties that have grown into a global entertainment phenomenon. Beginning with the original Halo: Combat Evolved for Xbox in 2001, the rich fiction of the franchise has since inspired a series of blockbuster Xbox and Xbox 360 video games, New York Times best-selling novels, comic books, action figures, apparel and more. The Halo franchise has sold more than 42 million copies to date, with franchise sales eclipsing $3 billion over its lifetime. Halo 4 marks the beginning of a new saga in the iconic franchise, as Master Chief returns to confront his own destiny and an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the entire universe. Developed by 343 Industries exclusively for Xbox 360, Halo 4 will release on Nov. 6, 2012. HALO AT SAN DIEGO COMIC CON 2012 Thursday, July 12th Machinima: The Future of Entertainment 12:00-1:00 PM Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront Don't miss out on this panel with exclusive footage from Machinima's new channel, Machinima Prime, which focuses on thrilling episodic content, including the much anticipated tentpole series Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. Thursday, July 12th The Fiction of Halo 4 4:45-5:45 PM Room 6BCF Halo 4 heralds the return of one of gaming's most iconic heroes, the Master Chief, in an epic new sci-fi saga. Expanding and enriching the narrative, 343 Industries, with very special panelists, share how the development of stories across the Greg Bear Forerunner Saga, the Karen Traviss Kilo-Five trilogy, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn and Halo 4’s Campaign and Infinity Multiplayer have become connective tissue for Halo 4. Don't miss the exciting premiere of the Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn trailer as well as Q&A with special guests. Saturday, July 14th Halo 4: A New Campaign and Halo Infinity Multiplayer 3:15-4:15 PM Room 6DE Halo 4 marks the beginning of a new saga in the blockbuster franchise that has shaped entertainment history and defined a generation of gamers. Developed by 343 Industries, get a glimpse at how they have taken Halo 4 in new directions, introducing an ancient threat and the Master Chief's greatest challenge, as well as an innovative and fresh new take on multiplayer in War Games and Spartan Ops. Saturday, July 14 Giveaway and Signing: Greg Bear 2:00-3:00 PM Tor Books Booth (#2707) Come meet Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Greg Bear as he signs copies of Halo: Cryptum, the first book in the New York Times bestselling Forerunner Saga! One lucky fan will have a chance to walk away with a copy of an exclusive poster of the cover of Halo: Silentium, the final novel in the trilogy. About Tor Books Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, is a New York-based publisher of hardcover and softcover books, founded in 1980 and committed (although not limited) to SF and fantasy literature. Between an extensive hardcover and trade-softcover line, an Orb backlist program, and a stronghold in mass-market paperback, Tor annually publishes what is arguably the largest and most diverse line of science fiction and fantasy ever produced by a single English-language publisher. Books from Tor have won every major award in the SF and fantasy fields, and for the last twenty-five years in a row the company has been named Best Publisher in the Locus Poll, the largest consumer poll in SF. Now it's time for my challenge to win the you got luck award, I am sorry its been a long time since my last challenge. OK the rules are The first 3 people to PM me the corrects answers wins, only give all the answers in one PM separate answers in separate PM's will not be accepted it all has to be in one message. Ok here are a few questions you need to answer correctly to win the award. 1. Which Human colony planet is the animated feature "The Return" set in? 2. What was the name of the ship Thel Vadam was in command of during the Battle of Reach? 3. During Thel Vadam's Trial in Halo 2 what was the name of the Prophet that shouted "Nay it was heresy"? 4. Give all the names of the planets that Forerunner artifacts have been found on. 5. What is the Original Home world of the Forerunners? This challenge is for everybody, both staff and members and I will announce the winners here, Good luck. We have out first winner it's SternuS Second winner is fzdw11 Final winner is Azaxx well done guys. View full article

A lot like the Shade Turret, I think that that rear gun of the warthog variants should be forgeable as a stationary turret like the ones featured in Halo 3: ODST campaign. This would eliminate the need to forge a whole warthog and then surrounding it in other objects so only the turret can be used. I think we all can agree this was an issue in forge 2.0. They could give us the standard anti-air gun, gauss, rocket, and maybe any new type of warthog's gun in Halo 4. Any thoughts?

Ok, so this has bothered me ever since Halo Reach. The picture of the map that you see in the lobby before a game starts that shows part of the map, I think it would be cool if the map creator could change that picture with a camera mode so maps created on other maps don't all look the same. Sort of like how any map made on Forge World looked the same according to their picture. It would make maps look more unique I think. Thoughts?

I had this idea of having the skins for some vehicles be changeable. An example would be how in Halo 3 on Avalanche, the UNSC vehicles where snow/arctic themed. This,I think, would be very cool to be able to change the skins to the mongoose, warthog, scorpion, falcon, and any other new Halo 4 vehicles kind of like how you could choose the object colors in Halo Reach. Some skins could be default, forest, desert, arctic/snow, or odst themed (black). So what do you think?

What do you think would happen if Master Chief was never found after Halo 3. Let's just assume he never escaped the Ark and died. What would happen to the UNSC without him. Would Humanity be doomed? Discuss and Answer in the comments below!

i really want to see this halo mmo i think this would be awsome ive liked every halo game that has come out even ODST and halo wars. 343 should consider re doing the halo mmo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nymug9Juq2o&feature=youtu.be All 7 button layouts have POSSIBLY been confirmed, there is no official confirmation, but they do seem real. This was found on Youtube By HaloTracker's Channel. It seems that the many complaints about the layouts before have been fixed and they seem to have gone back to default. Notice how B Is to crouch and LS is to use sprint On Default. (I Personally play Default so i have no idea about the rest.) Bumper Jumper seems to be fixed as well and gone back to the normal settings. comment on what you think of the button layout now. View full article

Found this interesting thing called a vanguard. Looks like an xbox 360 case with a tv screen. Sorta like those portable screen things you can use in your car. Anyway here it is so take a look and comment about it http://www.gaemspge.com/store/personal-gaming-environments/vanguard

Good afternoon to all (typing on Eastern Standard time) I'm Lynx, and I've been a hard-line follower of the Halo universe ranging from the games to the books. I read it all. It's all been so fascinating and I'm stoked to what 343 and the authors assigned by 343 to write up novels in the future. Also a question: I saw that 343i doesn't give out contact information for private ideas or messages but I have a question for those willing to answer. So I would like to hop onto cosplay for Halo, and give it a shot. But I don't really have the time to make a full blown Spartan III SPI suit as I would like to. I, however, do have the time and resources to do something like a ORION Project/ Spartan 1.0 Loadout used during the opening days of the insurrection. I'll post in a different thread if I need to, but opinions here would be great.

When Halo 1 came out, it's graphics were just like all the other video games of its time. Same with 2, 3, ODST, and Reach. Halo Wars has amazing computer graphics for it's cut-scenes. During the making of Halo Wars, they actually spent most time on the cut-scenes, and it turned out amazing, it was near photo-realistic. Halo Wars wasn't the only ones who did this. Like the old Play Station 1 games like Dino Crisis, and Resident Evil. Their game graphics were terrible (but that was normal for PS1) but their cut-scenes were like Play Station 2 graphics. The graphics weren't photo realistic, but amazing for that console. Everyone was thrilled for that! It takes a lot of time and effort to make graphics really great. So they did it for cut-scenes because they didn't want to make the whole game hardcore with graphics, that would be tons of work. Now when you play Halo Reach, the graphics for that game was "normal" for Xbox 360, but the art was phenomenal! However, the cut-scenes were just like the gameplay graphics... normal. If you take a look at the games that are going to come out in the next few months, their graphics are nowhere near Halo 4's. Like Call of Duty Black Ops II, their graphics have not improved much since their last game. I am a COD fan (I like Halo WAY more for it's stories, COD is more like a normal, pointless shooter. Example: We need to blow up this bridge, done, now kill these troops, done, WW3 is starting, a little info, kill these guys and get to the command center, done. Halo isn't like that, it's more deep and dark, hopefully 4 will be just as deep and dark as the other series.) But I'm not here to complain about games! Back to topic, anyway, when you watch Halo 4, don't just look at the gameplay, look at the AMAZING graphics! I've not seen a game near this yet. Imagine how much effort they put in Halo 4, tons. I believe 343 Industries have started a new generation of graphics, Halo 4 is literally photo-realistic. I use Autodesk Maya, and it's HELL to make something photo-realistic. Literally 7 hours to make a 15 second video, and it's even harder for video games. Just imagine how much it took to do this for 343. These graphics are so insane, I'm shocked that the Xbox 360 could even handle running the game! I bet after Halo 4, there will be a new generation of graphics. Great job 343. Tell me what you think of the graphics

I've been a Halo fan ever since it came out, it's probably one of the most compelling and amazing stories if you really get into it. Halo 1 (or Anniversary) was an interesting story, Halo 2 was the best story of them all, Halo 3 was great, ODST was just based on the events of 3, and Reach wasn't that good. However the art concept of Reach was amazing and online game play, but the campaign was like any other shooter game... random missions and isn't very deep or compelling. Halo Wars was interesting and did grasp the meaning of Halo in a sense, while Reach didn't. Halo 4 is going to be similar to Reach, and it's not looking very good in certain spots (however game play looks amazing and the art and the graphics are phenomenal). Now many people are like, "Well it's a new story!" and the ORIGINAL fans are not happy about it though. If you actually play the whole series and study it, you won't want it to change. There's still many unanswered questions. Bungie had an idea for the story from beginning to end, then Bungie separated from Microsoft and 343 Industries took over Halo, and now the story is altered in a few major areas. A minor issue that I've heard A LOT of complaints about is how terrible the new armor looks (I can actually agree on this...). Come on 343, why did you make it look like some crazy 1970's version of Halo? That's a disappointment. However, there are parts I am excited about! Like how Cortana is now diminishing and going crazy, what's going to happen? That's something I'm eager to know! One big thing a lot of people are asking about in Halo 4: "What about the Elites?" That's a huge question for this. Is 343 being arrogant and too afraid to follow the series and decide to alter the story more to make Elites enemies again? Or is there something more deep? That's a question to be answered. People loved Elites when they separated from the Covenant in Halo 2. In Halo 3, you could actually customize your Elite in key areas and play as it on ALL game modes (except campaign of course unless you do multiplayer). Then Reach comes along, you can hardly play as an Elite on hardly any game modes, plus you couldn't customize it, only with full body armor. This made a lot of people disappointed. That was Bungies fault though. Now in 4 you cannot play as Elites at all, but now a lot people don't care because they're now used to it. I really don't mind but I really wish we could have more options. My main concern is the campaign, is it the beginning of the end for Halo? Will Halo turn into a basic, pointless shooter game? Or will it keep going and people will still love it? I'm leaving that for you to decide! ****UPDATE: Thanks for all of the replies, I'm now pretty hyped up over Halo 4, I read Halo: Glasslands, and Halo: The Thursday War. It's starting to make sense. Thanks again for the replies and have an Awesome Day! **** ***UPDATE 2: I've played the game and it was amazing, thanks for the replies, have an Awesome Day! ***

Here are more images of the limited edtion console, pictures are from Little English Halo Blog The console can be preordered at Amazon UK for £269 or Amazon US for $399. The UNSC controller can also be preordered for £40 at Amazon (it shows a picture if the forerunner conrtroller but you will actually recieve the UNSC one) There are also some sound effects that will play when pressing the power and eject buttons Power sound Eject sound View full article

So as the title suggests, in Halo: Reach Forge, I am having issues with Forge pieces shifting after a clean save. Upon save I go back into Forge mode to double-check placement of all of the pieces and they are fine. When I go to Custom game, pieces shift on their axis'. Now I have seen this in different variations such as a piece shifting up or down or even to the side. Though the shift is barely visible, I notice. *Side note - when Forging I always use the 90 degree snap lock feature to lock the pieces in place unless it's not possible to for rock or weapon placement or other aesthetic features. I guess this is more of a minor frustrating issue that I have encountered but an issue none-the-less. If anyone has any advice, I welcome it. - Choot

While discussing new Outlook email service, Microsoft general manager Brian Hall namedrops "New Xbox" but does not share more. After significant speculation spread over the span of years, Microsoft has finally spoken on-record about its next Xbox. During an interview with The Verge focused on Microsoft's new Outlook email service (embedded below), general manager Brian Hall name-dropped a "new Xbox." “We’ve had Hotmail and operated Hotmail for about 16 years, we obviously have Exchange, and Outlook, that people use at work. We just decided it was time to do something new and bring the best from each of those and put them together and release it right in time for the new wave of products that we could have coming out with Windows 8, with the new version of Office with the new Windows phone and the new Xbox,” Hall said. Hall did not share further details on the next Xbox. Windows 8 will launch on October 26 alongside Microsoft's new Surface tablet line. [uPDATE] Following the publication of this story, Microsoft issued a statement to GameSpot on the matter. “Xbox 360 has found new ways to extend the console lifecycle by introducing controller-free experiences with Kinect and re-inventing the console with a new dashboard and new entertainment content partnerships," reads a line from the statement. "We are always thinking about what is next for our platform and how to continue to defy the lifecycle convention.” The analyst consensus is that the next Xbox, as well as the PlayStation 4, will be on store shelves for holiday 2013. A recent 56-page document supposedly originating from Microsoft said the next Xbox would launch in 2013 at $299 bundled with the second iteration of Kinect, among other updates. As for the PS4, PlayStation executive Andrew House said in June that Sony's new console would not be shown until a "significant leap" over the PlayStation 3 could be demonstrated." View full article

Developers already talking about the Halo series and next gen console. In a recent article found at CVG.... 343 discusses Halo 5's next generation potential. Studio will take advantage of any technological developments in the console space. Halo 4 isn't out until November, but that hasn't stopped new series developer 343 Industries talking about the game's successors. Photo credit: 343 Industries/Microsoft "While he was careful not to walk into the trap of directly discussing the likelihood of Halo 5 and Halo 6 appearing on Xbox 720, 343's lead game designer Scott Warner told the Independent that the studio would take advantage of any potential new console hardware when it comes to making future series entries. "I mean certainly as things develop, we have the advantage of working for a publisher and first party development, and if things happen we would certainly want to take advantage of those things," he said. "There's always kind of a careful balancing act between what you decide to improve upon, what you have that you think is really good, what's the great mixture of that to put you in the best position to be successful as a team. But certainly as things go on in development we have an advantage in the sense that we can cross those streams a bit." Warner added: "Obviously we're always attuned to new developments with what's happening internally and externally. "Our current development is all centred around the Xbox 360 and trying to harness everything we can get out of that box, so everything you're seeing is sort of custom built for the 360 experience. Obviously depending on what happens and develops with our company, we'll try to develop our technology and take advantage of it." Will 343 be able to live up to the standards set by series creator Bungie? Get our latest hands-on impressions in this Halo 4 preview. Microsoft has confirmed a Halo 4 release date of November 6." View full article

If you are looking for ppl to play with I will give you a tryout to see how good you are. Hit me up on live! I'm trying to get a team together for Halo 3, Reach, and of course Halo 4. I am not looking for a clan battle at this particular time. We will be doing Gamebattles, but that is not a requirement. Hit me up!

Hello everyone, We are looking for more people to play custom games with on Halo Reach. Zombies and other fun customs like: Tremors, Lava Men, Cat N Mouse, Warthog Wars, Racetracks, Parkour maps, Tower of Power and many others! If you enjoy to play these kind of games or would like to give them a try please add me on Xbox LIVE or post here! Thanks Gamertag: ThaTT NiNjA