A former DOOM developer has shared new details about a canceled Halo MMO called “Titan” that was once being developed by Microsoft and Ensemble Studios. The game was set thousands of years before the main Halo games and focused on the Forerunners and the Covenant. Players would have chosen different factions and explored a large online world based on Halo lore. According to developer Sandy Petersen, the project was well into development. The team had created missions, environments, races, classes, and other gameplay systems before cancellation. One interesting idea was a race of humans made from hard light, similar to concepts later seen in Halo 4. The Flood was also planned to appear but not as a playable faction. The MMO was developed by Ensemble Studios, the team behind Age of Empires and Halo Wars. The studio closed in 2009, and the game was never released. Petersen called the cancellation “a great missed opportunity” and believes it could have become something special for Halo fans. Via:

The first of its kind, Requiem—designated Shield World 0001—is one of the oldest encountered Forerunner installations. This hollow sphere served as a silent tomb and prison for the Forerunner commander known as the Didact and his army of Promethean thralls. #FictionFriday#

🔸 November 1 - Saint David of Evia 🔸 St David was born in the late 15th century and was the son of a priest. At age 3, he beheld a vision of John the Forerunner who led him to a nearby church dedicated in his honor. There, the child remained barefoot for 6 days before the Saint’s icon. At 15, David left home and was ordained a monk by his spiritual father Hieromonk Akakios, later Bishop of Arta. David showed perfect obedience; once, after being reprimanded for accepting shoes from a Christian without a blessing, he walked barefoot back to Arta to return them. He became Abbot of the Monastery of the Mother of God in Varnakova where he founded a secret school to teach Orthodoxy during Ottoman rule. Due to the monks’ disobedience, he reluctantly left the monastery. The Lord led him to Mt Steiris where he continued his ascetic struggles. Accused of sheltering a runaway slave, David was arrested and tortured by the Turks. The Saint patiently endured his trials, and Christians paid a bribe for his release. When a sailor refused to take him across to the island of Evia, the Saint placed his robe on the sea, made the Sign of the Cross, and miraculously sailed across. Seeing this, the sailor begged for forgiveness, and David blessed him from afar. In Evia he built a small church to the Transfiguration of the Savior. His holiness drew many monks, so he journeyed to Russia seeking funds for a new monastery. With the help of the Greek community in Russia, he gathered a large sum of money. Sealing the tunds inside a hollowed log, he cast into the river. When he returned to Evia, he saw that the log had been found by fishermen in Rovies, but their axes broke when they stuck it. David revealed to them that it held the monastery funds, and would open only by God’s will. Builders ignored St David’s instruction to construct the monastery atop the mountain, and instead built it near the Transfiguration church because there was no water up high. The Saint went up the mountain and prayed to the Mother of God, and miraculously a spring gushed forth. Thus, the Monastery of St David was founded in 1540. He guided the monks here until his repose in 1589.

Who are Tier 1 VC funds? (updated) Sequoia Benchmark a16z Founders Fund Khosla Accel Lightspeed General Catalyst NEA Kleiner Perkins Index Thrive GV USV Bessemer Greylock First Round Insight Contenders / rising stars / sector-dependent: Menlo Craft 8VC Sutter Hill Conviction Elad Gil Neo Eclipse HF0 Ribbit Lux Redpoint Forerunner Coatue Still not ranking them, and sector/stage matters a lot. This reflects comments from my last post. Who is still obviously missing or in the wrong spot?

⚡IPO Brief⚡ Oura has launched a proposed IPO of 50 million common shares at an expected $40–$44 price range. The company would offer 13.5 million shares, while existing stockholders would offer 36.5 million, roughly 73% of the base deal. Oura has applied to list on Nasdaq under the ticker OURA. The offering also includes a potential 7.5 million-share option for underwriters, exercisable from selling stockholders. Oura would not receive proceeds from those shareholder sales. The S-1 has been filed but was not yet effective as of the announcement date, so the deal was not completed and the securities could not yet be sold. TechCrunch, citing the updated filing, reported that Forerunner Ventures planned to sell its entire reported 9.3% stake, or about 28.7 million shares. At the $42 midpoint, that would represent approximately $1.2 billion before underwriting fees and taxes. The reported structure makes this proposed IPO largely a liquidity event for existing holders, alongside a capital raise for Oura. Source: ŌURA/Business Wire / TechCrunch, 2026-09-21