I think it can work, just as long as it's not Master Chief and his three clones--let's make it more like Gears of War, where your co-op partner replaces an existing NPC.

I really don't care about four player co-op as I am about system linked co-op...

I think that will be awesome! Hubcap, Shyzza, Slayer and NutSack all in co-op... lookout, baby!

1. Awesome. Co-op is what makes Halo, imo.

2. Yes, it's unethical. The information hasn't been released for a reason. For example, what if 4-player co-op gets cut? I bet Slayer will be pissed because he can't play with Hubcap, Shyzza, and NutSack. Bungie would rather make sure it's confirmed before setting up players with false expectations.

That said, I'm glad I know of it.

My definition of ethics involves right and wrong. There are a few circumstances where I would consider sharing truthful information unethical such as disclosing classified information, breaching a NDA with your company, or spreading gossip with the intent to hurt someone.

Extracting and sharing information from computer code about a video game is not unethical. The information has no capacity to hurt anyone except the financial revenue of a company that the hackers are not affiliated with. If Bungie was so concerned about the information surfacing they could have taken greater measures to protect it, or just not release a Beta. We've all got choices to make in this world.

I'm tired of the online community catering to video game companies like Bungie and acting like every move we make must be approved by them. I don't care if Bungie likes me. I'm not looking to make video games for a living. I'm looking to play them for leisure. This is a freaking video game we're talking about--not national security.

I agree with Midnight. I'm not expecting everything that's in the Beta to be final. thats why its a BETA, for petes sake. I think in the long run though a lot of idiots are going to be pissed when stuff from the beta(included or discovered via modding) doesn't happen. Like 4 player co-op. If that doesn't happen I bet a lot will be pissed. I don't find it terrribly unethical to release such info if you discover it so long as you keep in mind its a BETA, not a DEMO of a final release.

And how many people do you think are smart enough to keep this same mindset you share?

It wouldn't take very long for you to count.

Bungie knows this. They have the best interest of the masses at heart by not sharing this information, so it's almost not fair for this information to leak out in other ways that they can't control.

Do you work for Bungie PR? Mintz if the code was obtained illegally you'd have a point. However, it is no ones fault here but Bungie's. If it wasn't in the beta. It would have never gotten out. The source of this leak is Bungie themselves. They should be more careful if it is such a big deal.

So you believe exposing the raw, unfinished, unconfirmed code was the right thing to do in the grand scheme of the game?

I'd hope not. But in the end, it would have been exposed one way or another, so it really doesn't matter.

It's a video game for crying out loud! Good grief!

Rare occasion, I actually agree with you. ;)

I can easily see your point. On the other hand, I'd prefer Bungie spend their time tweaking, adjusting, and bug-fixing the game; not sweeping executables for unused assets, which is a pain to do for final releases, let alone beta tests.

In an ideal world, no hint of features not intended for final use would ever be present in a build of a game shown to the public. And even if such hints were present, fans would not overreact and assume they will be in the final. And even if some did assume that, they would not be bitter if the feature was not present in the final.

Of course, ours is not an ideal world.

Rampant for over seven years.

Good point. Your statement about lack of an ideal world is also something I was trying to get at. It really doesn't matter whether it was "right" or "wrong" to extract the code. Bungie surely knows it was inevitable and would be done. If I write my SSN and some credit card numbers on business cards and leave them all over a city I shouldn't be surprised when I get my identity stolen.

Hey Narc!

Thanks for helping put my thoughts into words. You're good with those.

Why are you so opposed to arguing viewpoints on this forum?

Right. For those who don't know, it's called refactoring, and is a pain in the butt. In a lot of cases the benefit does not outweigh the effort involved. In this case, I think a buggy H3 would cause a lot more pissed off people than a mistaken hacker who found some comments from some unused code.

I'm pretty sure I just espoused my viewpoint and contributed to the debate.

I have never told anyone they can't debate anything. I have given my opinion, nothing more. I am not opposed to debate. I am also pretty sure that I have already explained my concerns in another thread.

You're right, you have. It's just that every time someone states a dissenting opinion to someone else's, you're immediately in the middle saying, "Guys, let's still be friends!" or "Why are we arguing?"

I don't want to rouse you enough to write a book in response, so I'll just lay that topic to rest.

Carry on.

Actually Man Candy was just stating his opinion about the fact that you were arguing about a "video game for crying out loud! Good grief!".. so take it easy, it's not like he actually said yall can't argue because your arguing about a video game, and as any and everyone should know tellin someone not to do somthing makes it alot more likely that the person will do that somthing than just not metioning it.. So I'm not sure what exactly your trying to accomplish here besides gettin on Slayer's nevers.

Actually, I was giving my opinion about the so called "leak" of information. I wasn't referring to the debate at all. Furthermore, I am not the first person to say what I said.

And where the heck do you come with this "Every time we argue" deal. What the heck?!?! In the past, I am ashamed to say, I have been one of the most argumentative people on this forum. The Politickin' thread is, to my knowledge, the FIRST time I have ever said anything about not arguing. You weren't even around on this forum yet to see a lot of the arguing I have done (most of which was juvenile at best). I'm not bragging, I'm just saying... get your facts straight.

You will die alone.

i heart u