Works every time and looks freakin' sweet to boot.


For the second week of our Community Cartographer series, Sikamikanico steps in to tell us all about his Forged Sandbox space, Tartarus.  If you're still looking for great community-crafted content to check out for your Custom Games night, you should definitely add this one to the roster.  But before you do, take a few minutes to dig into the building process, straight from the map's creator.

Map Variant: Tartarus

Q. What’s the core concept behind Tartarus?

A. Putting aside the obvious homage to everyone's favourite evil Brute Chieftain, I wanted to create a fast paced, action packed arena map. In my humble opinion, the one thing I find Halo 3 to lack is smaller arena maps – so this my little attempt to fill that gap. I wanted something that played well with either AR or BR start, and still celebrated the wonderful variety of weapons that Halo 3 employs. The one thing that sets this map apart from most is the options available to the player for movement. I love those Man-Cannons and little jumps to get around!

Q. What gametypes should players looking for options on your map check out?

A. I’ve managed to Forge Tartarus with all gametypes in mind, but it plays best with Team Slayer, Team KOTH and Team Oddball in my opinion. It’s pretty sweet for SWAT and Snipers too, and you can find especially created variants for those gametypes in my File Share.

Q. Is this your first crack at Tartarus or have you been working at it for quite some time?

A. Believe it or not, this was the 30th iteration of Tartarus! I had a lot of help and feedback from a variety of players of all skill levels, and it all helped. The map wouldn’t be as good as it is without their honest feedback and suggestions. I’m pretty sure they began to hate me after playing nothing but this map for days on end, but they all rock regardless.

Q. So, what worked from day one and what needed tweaking?

A. The central area and surrounding walkways haven’t really changed since the map was started. The biggest changes were made to the bases and the Overshield and Active Camo spawns – one of my pals in particular commented that getting around just didn’t feel right in that area, and that it took to long to get back up on top – so after a lot of thinking, the Man-Cannons were brought in to help the player get out of trouble. The bases also saw a roof added to prevent base to base grenade spamming, as well as a nifty little prison bar section straight out of Sidewinder to house the Regenerator, which can be grabbed from either side. (Thanks Ash!)

Q. What was the most difficult element to get right?

A. Without a doubt, the Man-Cannons. I’m sure most Forgers can tell you, the Man-Cannon doesn’t always send you where you want it to send you. It all depends on so many factors – if you walk or jump in, walk backwards, or sideways – it can all make a difference to where you end up. It took almost a day to get the design quite right for them, and I’m pleased to say after plenty of testing, they just work – every time. That and they look freakin’ sweet to boot.

Q. What drives you to spend so much time with the Forge?

A. Seeing people having fun on something you’ve made is an awesome feeling. That, and I find Forge weirdly therapeutic. As my friends can attest to, I spend literally hours in there just trying different things out. I’m currently trying out the Sky Bubble, but it’s very different to most other workable areas – it’s taking a little getting used to.

Q. Advice for anyone looking to get used to the Forge and build their own therapeutic map? Wanna make some shout-outs?

A. Hmm. On the advice front – when it comes to maps, in my opinion it’s all about flow. You need to give your players reasons to move, advantages to get to and hold, and above all, a fun environment to play in. I always work to that ethos, and it hasn’t let me down yet!

It would be totally wrong if I didn’t take advantage to shout out to some of my pals, so first of, special thanks to KingBartlett for being my Forge comrade in arms, and Vinnie13, Mini Waz and ash 55 for all map advice and suggestions! Secondly, big thanks to the cool folks in OMG (Check them out if you live in Europe people!), Halo 3 in the Work Place, and Atlas/Test Pilot. I’m sorry I made you play this map so much, but you know it was worth it! And lastly, thanks to the guys at Bungie for making Halo 3 of course.

"Final Cut" - Fly-through Video

---

Thanks to Sikamikanico for dropping the knowledge.  If you've come this far with is, reward yourself by scrolling back up to the top and downloading Tartarus - you done good.  After giving it a good spin, make sure to drop back into the discussion thread attached to this interview and let the mapmaker know how much ass it kicks.

"We will not go quietly into the night!"


Today is our Independence Day!

Okay, so we're still a few days away from the 4th of July. That's cool.  Let's start the celebration early.  Go ahead and fire up your copy of Halo 3 and jump into this week's Double EXP Weekend Playlist.  If you're underage, make sure you have some adult supervision - we wouldn't want you to lose a finger because you pointed that Laser the wrong way. 

4th of July is a 5v5 playlist featuring primarily Flag gametypes, with a splash of Rocket/Splaser Slayer and VIP. Available from 11am today until 2am Monday. Requires Heroic, Legendary and Mythic.

Preempted, but still pretty successful.


We pointed you in the direction of Hawty McBloggy's Fundfax Fairrasier for Marissa and Infantile Spasms just a short spell back.  It turns out the charity event had to close up shop earlier then anticipated.  While that's not ideal, the charity was still a pretty huge success.  Hit the link below to get up to speed.

Fundfax Fairraiser Update

Donate to Marissa

Back for one more lap.


We made the fine folks at Major League Driving wait so long for their time in the Community Spotlight that the original Map Variant their write-up covered deteriorated, decayed, and crumbled into so much dust.  My bad.  But that's okay, while we don't have any extra words to offer on their behalf for MLD's second week in the Community Spotlight, we do have twenty Bungie Favorite slots refueled and ready to rumble.

If you're the type of player that enjoys the roar of an engine and the chatter of a turret as it tears the opposition into tiny shreds, you should definitely be firing up your Xbox 360 and Halo 3 to check out MLD's offerings.  They've got them revved and ready to go.  Of course, if you just want to check out their group, they've got a nice space right here on Bungie.net up and running as well.  Gain access 'em both by clicking the links below.

Major League Driving Bungie.net Group

Major League Driving's Favorite Files - Week Deuce

It's so-and-so from Bungie.net!


Butane123 drops in this week to deliver a brief glimpse into his personal life, talk about his time here at Bungie.net, and sadly reveal that some of you jerks have been sending him death threats.  We know it's sucks to get banned sometimes (looking right at you, Shishka), but honestly, you're definitely taking it too far if you're issuing threats of physical violence.  In fact, you should be thanking this man for giving you a break. 

To help you sort through your anger, take some time to read through Butane123's interview below.  He's pretty relaxed, has some cool hobbies to highlight, and he even has some good things to say about you and the community-at-large.  Check it out.

Q. Without revealing your real identity, who are and what you do when you’re not busy banning jerks?

A. Whether any of this is true or not is up to personal interpretation, but my name is David, I am 22 years old, and a student at the University of Oklahoma going for an energy management degree.

When I’m not targeting people from the shadows of B.net, and not doing work for school or my job, I’m either hanging around with friends or enjoying one of my many, many hobbies. Most of them are rather normal. You know, I play videogames, I have since I was around three. My parents say that the worst thing they ever did raising me was allowing my grandparents to get me a Super Nintendo for Christmas in 1991.

I enjoy playing Ultimate Frisbee with friends, and lately I have been interested more and more in photography. Part of it has to do with the fact that I love to travel to scenic locations and find the best views, the other part has to do with something else I do, and I know a lot of people don’t do this, I storm chase. Oddly enough, when I was young I was petrified of storms and would go into hiding. Now whenever I get the chance I’m outside trying to stay up with them. Sadly, I never get to do it as much as I would love to because chases usually take up the whole day, and I just don’t get that amount of time anymore.

Other than those, I’m always trying new things. Last year I went white water rafting on the Snake River in Wyoming, and this summer I’ll be bottom fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Q. Sounds like quite a schedule.  How did you do spend your time here on Bungie.net before you took up the moderator mantle?

A. Not the most original answer…but I posted a lot on the forums. Eventually I found my way into the Mob of Angry Peasants chat and Halo 2 clan as well as the Bungie Jumpers chapter. From those places I met a lot of good friends that I would talk and play games with often. Later Stosh asked me to join HFCS, which was weird considering I was essentially on a month long hiatus from the forums, and several people knew before I even did about me being chosen.

Q. Now that you've been chosen and you have a pretty packed personal schedule, do you ever feel like you just need to get away from your Banhammer duties?

A. Fortunately, I’m more of a lurker anymore, so it’s relatively easy for me to just disappear. I always find it funny in pre-game lobbies to hear the other team say, “Oh, its so-and-so from Bungie.net!” and I get completely left out.

Q. Ninjas do their best work from the shadows.  When you do slip away, what other online spaces do you check into for rehab?

A. Usually I am hanging out in #moap (Mob of Angry Peasants) chat room on irc.adelais.net. Other than that, I spend my time in The Frozen Minority, which is just a group of close friends from Bungie.net, and lately I have been posting on Neogaf more.

Q. And what brings you back to Bungie.net?

A. Mainly the people and the conversations that spring up. Yeah, a lot of threads might be repeats, but there’s always new ideas going around if you look hard enough. I also come back because I like looking for maps through the files system. Especially now that Sandbox is out, I like to see what other people have done on their maps so I can improve mine and find inspiration for the next one I might make.

Q. Since you've taken up Banhammer duty, how has your view of Bungie.net changed?

A. My view of the community really hasn’t changed at all. Now my interaction with it definitely has. Instantly I went from looking for the good threads to searching for the bad. I also went from one private message in maybe a month to probably 25 a day. Most of them being foul, of course, but I always enjoy a good death threat after a hard day’s work.

Q. Be honest, how awesome is it to swing the Banhammer? (Answer or I'll kill you.)

A. Pretty awesome. No more do I have the thought, “Man, will someone ban this spammer!” Now I can just do it myself. Thing is a little too heavy though. After a few swings in one day my lower back starts to ache. All the older mods tell me I’ll eventually get used to it, and then they just kick me back into the masses.

---

Before you get too used to Butane123, we figured we better kick him back out into the masses.  Since he's been kind enough to let you get to know a little bit more about him, you should think about being a bit nicer to him.  If you see him in an Xbox LIVE lobby, you should shout, "Holy -blam!-, that's so-and-so from Bungie.net!" and if you want to send him a Private Message, make sure you haven't penned a death threat.  Remember, it's always good to give your electronic communications a second read before sending.

Concluded.


Over at HBO, Leviathan concludes his comic series with a hefty spate of simultaneous entries.  The Arbiter and the Brute Chieftain finish their fight.  The war in the skies rages on.  Hit the jump to see the end of this particular war.

A Sangheili's War Is Never Over - The Conclusion

So, we'd like to tell you about these rules.


Tyrant's back with more ways for you to win Recon.  Read the description, read the rules, and click the links.  Once you've got a good grasp of everything, read the rules again.

Summer Mythic Recon Challenge (Rules & FAQ): READ BEFORE SUBMITTING!!!

We've started you out small. If you were to look at this competition like going head to head with the baddies in ODST's "Firefight Mode", consider it like this. First, we tossed a few Grunts in your direction. No big deal, right? Then we through some Jackals in there for good measure. For this next challenge, now we're throwing Brutes into the mix. That's right. Things are starting to finally heat up in the SMRC. You're done with the Flood for now. But don't worry. In case you miss tangoing with the rhyming parasites, you'll be seeing them again in the not-so-distant future. Starting tonight at midnight, you'll now be learning a whole new set of tactics as you battle your way against Covenant forces in The Storm on Mythic Difficulty (Legendary + all 13 skulls activated + FFA scoring switch on).

Though you'll be traversing through this mission on your own again, the Arbiter will swoop in to save the day. As demonstrated in the HBO Mythic Walkthrough and also the Mythic 2.0 Guide, you can equip the Arbiter with the Rocket Launcher and basically have him sweep nearly the entire second half of the mission clean for you. It's getting to that point where the real challenge lies.

"Were it so easy."

A friendly warning. There will be times here where you'll start to think your Marines are really working for the Covenant. But fear not, for even when your allies start to lead you astray, take a look at the guides as well as The Storm videos in my file share to help guide you towards the light at the end of a seemly dismal tunnel. And of course, if you have questions that aren't covered in THE RULES, feel free to ask away in the SMRC discussion thread established by Urk, or you can ask all Mythic related questions here in the Official Mythic Difficulty Guide thread located in the Halo 3 forum. Remember to PM me (Tyrant122312) with your results between midnight tonight and next Thursday even to gain a chance to enter the latest 7-day SMRC raffle for Recon.

Thanks to all, and happy campaigning!

"...armed to to teeth with an absurd pile of snowballs."


Ever since the introduction of Sandbox into Halo 3's Multiplayer space, players have been amazing us with the incredible maps they've whipped up via The Power of the Forge.™  We figured we might as well pluck some of the interesting offerings out of the community pile and let you get a better look. 

Kicking off our Community Cartographer Map Spotlight series is a player you should already be familiar with, GhaleonEB.  After getting some hands-on with the Mythic Map Sandbox, he's been spending tons of time crafting some very unique Map Variants.  You should spend some time checking out his Map, Entrenched.

Map Variant: Entrenched

Q. What’s the core concept behind your map (what makes it unique and awesome)?

A. To start with a bit of a tangent, I got the idea for Entrenched reading a Calvin and Hobbes comic – they’d built two u-shaped snow forts right next to each other, armed to the teeth with an absurd pile of snowballs. I was in the process of tinkering around in Sandbox, and that simple image clicked with me: two facing forts with snowballs whizzing from each side. Or rather, BR fire. So rather than build a base at each end of the map, I split the entire map into two giant u-shaped “forts” staring each other down across an alley. Think of them as two bases, writ large. I’d call the alley a moat, but it’s in a desert. And you can drive in it.

The idea was to build a vehicle-friendly BTB map for objective games (though Slayer works well) that also provided clear, sheltered routes for infantry, long sight lines and a few choke points.

Q. Is this the first draft, or did you sucker your poor friends to play it and ask them to tell you what sucked so you can make a bunch of revisions based on feedback?

A. This is about the fifth version of the map, each one updated after a few games from some very tolerant friends. Playtesting brings out the good, bad and ugly on a map, and the first few versions were pretty painful experiences. But that’s the only way to find out what really works. Fortunately, I play with a crew that provides, shall we say, unvarnished feedback. If a map sucks, that message will be faithfully delivered, and how.

Q. What gametypes should folks fire up when they want to throw down on your map?

A. As the map was refined and began getting some better responses I started thinking about an Atlas submission, so I began to tune it for the three most common gametypes: Team Slayer, Multi-Flag CTF and the various versions of Assault. I’m sure it could be tuned for some other gametypes, but those are the built in variants. Blame Shishka; that seems to be popular.


Q. What worked straight away and what did you find needed tweaking?

A. What worked right away was the segmentation of the map and the sight lines it created. The spaces between the bases and the tunnels along the outer walls seem just right for mid-range BR combat. The separate routes for vehicles and infantry also seemed to gel better than I expected. Nearly everything else about the map changed quite a bit: the weapons, vehicles, spawns, routes in the base and the central structures all changed gradually after each playtest. After all the revisions, the perimeters of the forts were the only things not to change.

Q. What was the most difficult bit to get just right?

A. The vehicle/infantry weapon balance and spawn points. Initially the map had more vehicles and much more firepower to fend them all of with. That led to lots of explosions – yay! – but also turned the vehicles into deathtraps. I discovered that sometimes less is more.

Spawns proved an even tougher nut to crack. I was initially much more conservative with the respawn locations and had most of them up in the safety of the outer walls. The result was a bit of a monster closet: killed players would respawn all around the attacking team, only with superior elevation and cover. It was one of those problems that was hard to identify during the games, but jumped right out when going over the saved films. Adding a lot of spawns and making some small changes made all the difference. So with those I discovered that more is, um, more.

Q. What’s your prime motivator for mucking about in the Forge?

A. I remember when Frankie was first teasing Foundry before the formal announcement of the Heroic maps, he described the parts as “Legos”. In hindsight, that’s the perfect description, and it fits even more with Sandbox. That’s the appeal to me: Sandbox is basically a giant Lego set to play with, but instead of dropping action figures on it and using my imagination, I can drop right in and run around on the creations in the game. It’s actually quite fitting that the idea for this one came from another staple of my childhood.

Beyond that, I’ve found that if I get an idea in my head – usually a simple concept or a shape for a map – I can’t get it out of my head until I’ve tried slapping it down.

Q. Advice for anyone looking to build their own masterpiece? Warnings? Shout-outs?

A. Don’t fall in love with your first version. If something isn’t fun for others or just doesn’t work as planned, then that brilliant idea you spent hours building might have to go. And that can be a be a tough pill to swallow. Beyond that, spend some time watching saved films of the play tests and see if people are doing what you expected them to on the map. If not, adjust. And especially, play other peoples maps and see what works. I still see the community coming up with new ideas that blow my mind every week. Bruhaha is a recent example of someone doing stuff with Forge that I’d never even considered.

---

Thanks to GhaleonEB for taking timeout to bunker down and answer the volley of questions we fired his way.  If you read his report and want to take Entrenched for a spin, you've already scrolled past the link.  Head back up to the top of the page to queue it up for some Custom Games Carnage.

We are dropping into Spiral Mountain, Troopers!


The fine upstanding folks over at HBO found this pretty sweet video on the Internet.  The Spartan Cannon fashioned a ODST Drop Pod in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.  Prepared to drop?  Check it out.

"Win Cool Stuff, Support a Worthy Cause."


Though Hawty McBloggy typically reserves her webspace for the lighthearted stuff that makes us all smile, today she sends word of The Fundfax Fairrasier.  Below you'll find a brief description of the fundraising event, links to get up to speed if you're unfamiliar with Marissa or Infantile Spasms, and a direct connection to Hawty McBloggy's website where you can browse the prize pools and make a donation.  Not only will you earn yourself a shot a winning some really great prizes, more importantly you'll be contributing to a very special and very worthy cause.

"Perhaps you remember Marissa, a 19 month old baby girl who was diagnosed with Infantile Spasms when she was a mere two months old. Her stuffed bunny Fairfax travels the world, sharing not only Marissa’s story but also spreading awareness of the serious pediatric epileptic condition that she, and other young children, suffer from. Approximately eight months ago we pulled together for a community project titled Fairfax ‘n’ the Chief in honor of her father (who is a fellow Halo fanatic). Today I’m proud to announce The Fundfax Fairraiser, a very special fundraising effort that will benefit sweet baby Marissa and those that are helping her through this very difficult fight.

The Fundfax Fairraiser gives you, the passionate gamer, a chance to win some absolutely incredible video game-related prizes. For every $1 you donate, you will receive one virtual raffle ticket that gives you a shot at winning everything from a Kotobukiya Steel Spartan 12” Figure (covered in more Bungie autographs than you could ever begin to count) to an EA Sports Pack to an autographed copy of The Godfather II to one of dozens of games spanning across the various platforms. So, you are interested in trying to win some cool stuff while helping out a worthy cause? Let’s take a gander at the things you just may find yourself the proud owner of when this is all said and done, and then we’ll get down to the nitty gritty details of it all."

The Fundfax Fairraiser: Win Cool Stuff, Support a Worthy Cause

Pixies and mysticism.


Bounding back and forth between "Know Your Ninja" and "Average Joe" lands us squarely in Old Blighty for this week's interview.  As always we asked some straight forward questions and got some pretty interesting answers in return.  Quite the ROI if you ask me. Before you go off to google ROI, stick around and get to know a little bit about the poster formerly (and currently) known as xianoa.

Q. Who are you and what do you do?

A. My usual answer to such a question involves mystic undertones surrounding pixies. However, I feel this is far more appropriate: I am Airs.

What do I do? Music.

I write, perform, and record. I am currently studying music technology and intend on perusing a career in the recording of sound. I currently reside in merry ol' England with many others from the community. No, I don't like tea. Yes, crumpets own and i don't know the Queen nor have I fornicated with her as many lewd players online seem to suggest we Brits do.

My hobbies are gaming, music and socializing. But the latter part isn't why you're reading this. I play piano, guitar and I'm learning to play sitar and theremin. In fact, if you head on down to Marty's Army, you will find a thread where I've listed many of my instruments. If I ever get round to it, I intend to record my own variation of the Halo theme.

Q. How'd you get round to selecting your gamertag?

A. When I originally applied for a gamertag after deciding to purchase LIVE so I could "play System Link with the World" on Halo 2, the one I wanted was taken (as they always are). So, I just chose a random letter and built it from there. After a few mishaps I ended up with xianoa.

Q. Yeah, somebody's squatting urk.  Wankers.  Anyway, fast forward a bit.  You're gametag is good to go, you're online and taking on the world in Halo 3 now, so where do you go to brag about your conquests?

A. Pretty much just the Halo 3 forum.  I do lurk others and I frequent the groups I'm in such as Foto and Aberrant Designs, and I love reading some of the Whaaambulance material on the Waaahmbulance forums. It's a bit random but you'll always find me posting in user created content threads (wallpapers, machinima, etc.). They're my favourite topics. Always nice to see a well made wallpaper especially when it shows they've put effort and time into it.

Oh, I almost forgot about montage's (not the 15 minute "who the -blam!- would watch the whole thing" videos, just the short and sweet ones :] ) While on the subject of user-created stuff, you will find my work on my Googlepage and a whole thread full of user created backgrounds in CAUS7IC's User Created Background Thread.

Q. What compels you game, be creative, and get involved?

A. What compels me? THE POWER OF CHRI- nevermind. I'm not sure what it is that compels me. I really love being completely immersed in a good single player game. something that I'm finding harder to do (games not getting any better or my standards climbing higher?). Maybe just a feeling of content when I'm chillaxing with bro's in a party chat getting my ass whooped by Generals.

Nowadays I play and chat online with various members of the Bnet community I have added for individual reasons, be it because of support I was offering with a problem they posted about or just to aid someone on a Legendary playthrough. I think the most random reason I added someone was because they thought I could give them recon. If only. Before I leave the topic of strange PM's, anyone receive one from me? :P

Q. We have PM's here?  First time I've ever heard of that feature.  What was the first time you ever heard about one of Bungie's games?

A. My friend Callum constantly spoke of Halo: Combat Evolved when he got it, even based an English essay around it if I recall correctly. I was totally anti-Microsoft at this point, how childish of me. :P

Eventually he managed to convince me to play it round his house. A pivotal moment in my life! A game where not only could you shoot, melee and throw a grenade without switching weapons but there were so many weapons to choose from. BUT WAIT! It gets better.

Drum roll please...vehicles! I ended up getting a part time job for the summer just so I could buy an Xbox with Halo. I played it to death, finished the campaign on solo Legendary just before Halo 2 came out; commence system linkage almost daily. After getting online with Halo 2, I was hooked. Never been so addicted to anything.

Slowly I built up a collection of Halo stuff such as novels, posters and even a peaked Halo 2 cap. Most of this I had to obtain via a popular online market site *cough*eBay*cough* because the cost of shipping from Bungie's store to England was a tad crazy.

When I heard about the Legendary Edition of Halo 3 it was fairly obvious I had to have one. I still remember walking in the shop at midnight with about twelve people in the line behind me, walking out with my Legendary Edition five minutes later to see at least forty people lined up. I was paranoid some crazy Halo-goon was going to jump me for a plastic helmet fit only for your cat.*

*DISCLAIMER: I'm not condoning placing anything on your cat's head.

Q. Yeah, don't get your cat involved.  What about your own level of involvement in the community?  Are you ever surprised by it?

A. Yes I am actually.  I'm not even sure why I'm so involved considering how much people whine about the strangest things (how far bullets spread on a weapon in a video game? Come on now your getting petty :P ).

The whole resizing/small edits on people's screenshots to make backgrounds is the largest involvement thus far with the community. It only came about because i made a few after reading some PM's asking me to and I just decided "why should I limit it to those who PM me?".  I've not done much with that at the moment because of my work load (all the years work coming to an end, hectic!).

Q.  Do you get involved with any other online communities when you're not loaded up with work?

A. Now I think about it, my loyal fandom is pretty much static on this site, I get my 5-star-thread-posting-thrillz from here, so why would I need to seek it else where? UKG of course! (More about that below.)

Q. Additions?  Shout-outs?  More on UKG now that we're below?

A. Before I give shout-outs, I have two things to say:

1. From the United Kingdom? Want a community of players who also strive for good connections? You need to sign up with United Kingdom Gamers. Why? Well I will let the website tell you: UKGamers.

2. Help find Tiffbech and win a prize.

To my bro, fo sho ubaninja (it's pronounced "uber-ninja," not urban). Were it not for you, I wouldn't be writing this right now. Second to my co-wallpaper maker C A U S 7 I C whom I miss very much. Damn you and your real life taking you away, come back!

Prepare for a long list of usernames: Shiska, your posts are 5's always, urk <3, ash55, RampageRiot, Avistel, Verachi, Caladolen, Duardo, Gmack674, jdars1804, Burrito Senior, Kalteran, Ninjaghostdog, PKF 647, Raynerboy!!, Sai Sama, Bifftech (stuck my grenade), Scruff, Waxy, Juno, Mazz and everyone else from UKG, Foto, Aberrant Designs, and the Halo 3 forum mafia.

FYI - Verachi bought his fifty (jokes).

---

Seems the Transatlantic connection has been broken and xianoa's time is now up.  We want to say thanks for playing along.  We hope you've learned something here today.  Wait, no we don't.  We just hope you were entertained and got to know a little bit about one of the posters you might spot should you decide to spend some time around this joint.  As always, if you want to say hello to this week's interviewee, stop on into the discussion thread and say what's up (and play nice too).

Don't tread on me.


Hawty McBloggy dug up a pretty nice piece of chalk art from at The Pasadena Chalk Festival.  If you're weren't in Pasadena (or aren't into Chalk Festivals), you probably didn't get a chance to see it.  No worries.  All you gotta do is click.

Chalk Art: Master Chief

The Great Wide Open.


Tag and Release checks out the new offerings on display from the HSS Landscape contest we ran a couple of weekends back.  These aren't the winners, so no need to do some creepy detective work to determine the rightful owners, track them down, and send mean-spirited messages in a fit of jealous rage.  Matter of fact, scrolling through these vistas might even help calm you down a bit, should you find your heart rate elevated.  Check 'em out.

Tag: Landscape

Embracing the roots.


This week's HBO Aesthetic Artist Interview goes back to the beginning, bringing Alec 944 back into the fold.  Though it's come a long ways since the Point & Shoot days, seems Alec still has some insight to offer.  Check it out.

10th Anniversary Aesthetic Artist Interview: Alec 944

"Now that...is some love."


LeeKegan reported in from the 405th and delivered a briefing on an amazing recreation of the M6C/SOCOM he's been building from scratch.  If you would have told me that he's been whittling away at this for a year, I'd still be impressed.  Of course, the render was only just released on the 1st of June. Truly amazing work.   You should definitely check this out.

Halo 3: ODST Pistol Created by LeeKegan

And it turns out some other folks from the Soaring Hammer Team have been hard at work on a CQB helmet, some standard Marine helmets, and some Plasma Grenades as well.  They've got pictures of their brilliant work up on their website, should you want to check those out too.  And you should.  Because they are awesome.

The Soaring Hammer Team's Ordnance

Back and ready to blend.


Real 7alk returns to complete the second week of their Community Spotlight.  They don't have a ton to talk about this time out, but it looks like their  website is back up (sorry, dudes) and they have a bunch of new files ready to go.  If you're looking to take their favorite offerings for a spin, you should get your read on and learn a little bit about one of their favorite maps they put on display back in week one, Blend-O-Matic.

Q. What was the inspiration for this map?

A. I honestly can't really say what inspired Blend-O-Matic. I think I was just wanting to create a massive structure that would toss around bodies and have a good laugh. But it ended up being probably one of the most fun minigames I've ever played with the "Smoothies" gametype.

Q. How long did it take to whip up?

A. The whole thing probably took around four to five hours to complete.

Q. What aspect took the longest to blend smoothly with the overall concept?

A. Angling the Grav Lifts and Mancannons to launch the zombies, errr, food particles around and out of the blender effectively.

Q. Puréed Zombies.  Awesome.  After investing some time with Forge, what do you think could have made the experience a bit better?

A. To be able to turn physics on/off and to allow easier floating and intersecting objects. 90 degree snap is overrated by the way, haha.

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Like we said, short and sweet.  That's okay, they've got their second round of Bungie Favorites already deployed.  The less time you spend reading these words will translate directly into more time playing their Map Variants!  What are you waiting for?  Hit the links, fire up your copy of Halo 3, and give 'em a whirl.  That's another blender pun.  Yeah, we know.

Supplying semi-interesting factoids.


We dip back into the dark black waters this week for another round with a Bungie.net Ninja.  Up today, Foman.  If you spend any amount of time on our forums (or lengthy amounts of time being banned from them), you're already familiar with this man's work in our community.  How about you spend a little bit of time getting to know the man behind the Banhammer?  That may be a question, but it's not a request.  If you don't read this Foman will find you, ban you, and then humiliate you via PM.  You've been warned.

Q. Without revealing your real life, super secret hidden identity, tell us who you are and where the moniker “Foman” comes from. (You tried to steal it from Timmins and messed it up didn't you?)

A. ‘Sup? Nah, the name “Foman” has nothing to do with “Abe Froman,” sausages, or Ferris Bueller. In real life, most people call me Fo or Fo-Man as a nickname, which is of course where my Bungie.net name comes from and what makes it less weird when people from Bungie.net call me Foman when they meet me in person. I was dubbed “Fo-Man” back in my freshman year of undergrad, which means I’ve been going by Foman both online and offline for about twelve years.

Q. So what do you do when you’re not scouting our online forums with your fancy nickname looking to unfairly ban people?

A. When I’m not busy issuing unfair bans for “OMG NO RAESON,” I am an antitrust lawyer in Washington, DC. Being thirty years old makes me a “huge loser” and practically Father Time for a large portion of the online community that I help to moderate, but I feel good because I am still 216 years younger than Recon Number 54.

I’ve been practicing antitrust law for about three years now, so I am hopefully well-enough versed to adequately defend Bungie against unfair monopolization claims when it eventually takes over the world. I enjoy being a lawyer, mostly for the hot chix, but partly because it is an interesting and rewarding mental challenge. Okay fine, I don’t get any hot chix for being a lawyer, and the long hours suck (my work day is typically ten to fourteen hours long with five or six hours of work on the weekends), but I do get to read lots of documents, hang out on BNet, and occasionally send threatening letters to people, which is almost as fun.

In my spare time, I have a private pilot’s license and fly when I can. I’m also a big gamer (duh) and spend a lot of time on Halo 3. Otherwise, I typically spend my evenings watching my favorite TV shows, making dinner, or hanging out with friends or family.

Q. What do you call a large number of lawyers at the bottom of the...sorry, I can't bring myself to make the joke.  What did you do with your time on Bungie.net before you took up Banhammer duty between your fourteen hour daily legal stints?

A. I was pretty involved in the Bungie community generally, and the Bungie.net community specifically. I was a frequent poster in the public forums and in BNet private groups. Some people already knew my name solely from my involvement in the IRIS Alternate Reality Game/Viral Marketing Campaign that helped to introduce Halo 3 to millions of people. During IRIS, I helped to run a private group here on Bungie.net called CompoundIntelligence that was one of the “centers” of activity. I also received a few private messages from a character in the ARG named AdjutantReflex, which increased my notoriety for a bit.

Besides that, I helped out with a now-defunct private group named The Guide that conducted interviews and reviews of notable people and groups on Bungie.net. I was also (and still am) an administrator for Bungiepedia, a Wiki designed solely for information about Bungie employees and notables of the Bungie Community.

I became a Forum Ninja a little over a year ago, and it’s been tough to keep up on some of the other stuff I do here (not in the least because of my job, which is a huge annoyance that gets in the way of my fun), but I still like to check in on my old projects from time to time.

Q. Your Halo 3 Fileshare is littered with Banshee pictures, you keep making strategy guides and videos with the Banshee, and someone even made a Bungie.net profile named “Fomans Banshee.” Dude, what’s up with the Banshee infatuation?

A. Somehow, I’ve gotten the reputation of being amazingly good with the Banshee in Halo 3. I have to say that, while I enjoy flying it and I do it better than most, there are still many players out there who are most certainly better than I am. I have to insert a shout out here to my boys in the group “Pilots,” whose in-depth Banshee strategy discussions have upped my game big time. And almost all of them are better in the Banshee than I am.

But I’ve always been a vehicle guy in Halo, ever since the Halo: CE days. I love driving around in Warthogs, Scorpions, Wraiths, Mongooses, and other vehicles. In Halo 3, I quickly realized that the Banshee’s ability to become a force majeure had been increased, and to balance it out, many new ways of taking down the Banshee had been added (powerful turrets, Assault Rifles and SMGs, the addition of the Spartan Laser and the Missile Pod, and so on). I love the challenge this presents as well as the Banshee’s ability to be a game-changing vehicle when in the right hands. So I fly the Banshee whenever I can, and I love to talk about it, make videos about it, and take pictures of it.

Q. Speaking of pictures, what about your avatar? Is that some kind of electric space demon?

A. Hah, no, that is a picture of me drawn by Bungie artist Lorraine McLees (thanks again, Lorraine!). Without the cartoonish feel, that is more or less what I look like. The flashing symbol that appears every so often is a Forerunner glyph (brilliantly photoshopped by WhiteRaven119) that appeared throughout the IRIS ARG and one that I felt was pretty symbolic of my largest involvement in the Bungie community prior to becoming a Forum Ninja.

Here is a semi-interesting factoid: in my avatar, Lorraine’s sketch appears for 7.77 seconds, and the Forerunner glyph appears for 3.43 seconds.


Q. Looking svelte and suave, my man. Do you ever feel like you should just hop into a Banshee, fly beyond the barrier, and take a break from Bungie.net for a bit?

A. Occasionally. After a day in which I moderate the forums a lot (and therefore end up issuing a lot of bans and locking a lot of spam threads), my inbox can become filled with questions, conversations, group invites, and some pretty nasty stuff from some of our angrier forumgoers. Despite the fact that a lot of people see the Forum Ninjas as non-responsive, responding to private messages takes up a huge portion of my time on Bungie.net (by the way, if I don’t respond to your message, that does not mean that I did not read it. Except for conversations with friends, I usually only respond to direct questions that can’t be answered in the forums, ban appeals, and messages that are so interesting that they can’t be ignored). So it can get overwhelming at times, and I do sometimes end up not logging into BNet for a day or two. But I always come back :-)

Q. Where do you go when you take your day or two away (mod stalker: enabled)?

A. I’m not terribly adventurous, I’m afraid. I love watching humorous videos on YouTube, checking up on world/local news, and reading fun blogs. I have a Facebook account that I log into once in awhile, but for me, Bungie.net IS my preferred R&R website.

Q. So, what is it about the place that keeps you coming back for more after you've had your fill of Vlogs and Failblog videos?

A. I love the vast variety of things that the website offers. You can participate in the community in pretty much any way you want to. I feel like I have really made the most of the opportunities to “do it all” here: making strategy guides, participating in site games and contests, running big groups, joining clans (love you guys, H3ITWP!), making a map and corresponding post that meet Shishka's rigorous Atlas standards, choosing two rounds of Bungie Favorites, being in Bungie Favorites myself, being interviewed for podcasts and private groups, making funny Bungie-referenced photoshopped images, making a montage, recommending various people for more widespread recognition in the Community, posting long dissertations and short one-liners, meeting community members in real life, playing Halo and hanging out with Bungie employees, moderating the forums, and enjoying every dang second of it!

Q. Aside from finding plenty of new ways to enjoy yourself, are there any ways in which you view the B.net community that have changed since you took up the moderator mantle?

A. I love this community more than ever, to be quite honest. Being a moderator of the public forums, I come into a lot of contact with community members who most positive forumgoers try to avoid. At first, I was not too pleased about this prospect. But I came to realize that sometimes I can find out a lot more about a person through private messages after I have banned them rather than by what they post in the forums.

I think that most people see me as “just doing my job,” and the initial hatred (usually!!) subsides pretty quickly. It’s only then that I learn about individual people and realize that oftentimes, a person whose posts on the public forums make them seem like a total jerk is just a regular person who is just as much a Bungie fan as anybody else. Once they are calm and I have a chance to try to convince them to express their opinions in a nicer way, we sometimes end up having a lot in common. I have many people on my XBox Live Friends List who I once banned but then had great conversations with via private messages afterward.

And I don’t mean to make it seem like it’s a good thing to be a “bad” forumgoer. Actually, being so familiar with a lot of the site’s nuances has given me the chance to help a lot of great, positive community contributors. People who embark on a cool project or create something absolutely astounding but don’t quite know what to do with it. Groups of people who like playing Halo 3 together but want to also get involved in the Bungie community. And so on. Being a guy who frequently gets the first private message when somebody does something wonderful or amazing has really helped me to realize just how awesome and diverse this community is.

Q. Honesty is the best policy.  Be truthful.  How awesome is it to swing the Banhammer?

A. Some of the time, I ban somebody with a little wince. I always feel bad about banning people who are obviously well-intentioned but, over and over again, demonstrate that they really just can’t figure out how to post within the forum rules (protip: the answer is, “read them”).

But when the really detrimental people post in the forums, the ones who everybody WISHES they could ban (you know, the ones who brag about cheating or decide to spam up the forums that others are just trying to have a decent discussion in), the sound of the banhammer whistling is sweet. Ohhhh, so sweet.

Thanks, urk. See you at PAX 09!! :-)

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They're doing one of those little PAX things again this year?

Thanks to Foman for swooping in and delivering the answers to our questions.  And for running things on our forums.  And for being awesome.  Turns out the semi-interesting factoids he supplied are actually entirely interesting.  Who knew?  Well, we did.  That's why we asked him questions in the first place, dummy.  If you enjoyed this brief question and answer, don't forget to stop into the discussion thread attached to say hello.  Foman is watching.  And waiting.

Falling down.


Looks like the war continues as Leviathan moves the story right along.  The Hammer is in flight.  Hit the jump to see the damage.

A Sangheili's War Is Never Over - Part 7

Got two hours of time?


HBO sends word of the latest Podtacular, "The Unofficial Halo Universe Podcast."  This one's focused on user content submission, MLG updates, and E3 week.  If you're looking for something to listen to while you're at work or play, plug in your earbuds and hit the jump.

"Well, this week was definitely another big one. GLewis and I go it alone this week with Customs and Creations for this week, including little snippets from the new MLG update and the E3 Special that will be posted shortly. Again, because of the duration of the show, we couldn’t get to everyone’s submissions, but there’s still some good ones. Make sure you listen to the end for a special announcement by GLewis. Enjoy."

Podtacular 192: Customs and Creations

"Come out, you bastard!"


Leviathan's fiction continues with Part 6 of "A Sangheili's War Is Never Over."  The inter-species duel continues, but things are getting a bit more personal.  Weapons are drawn.  The combatants are now face-to-face.

A Sangheili's War Is Never Over - Part 6

Fairfax returns.


We somehow missed this secondary coming DeepCee published alongside his latest episode of Chronicles of ODS Steve.  Thanks to HBO for pointing it out for us.  Some of you are undoubtedly familiar with Marissa, her bunny Fairfax, and Infantile Spasms.  If not, please take a moment to check out the website, send your love, and if you have it to spare, please make monetary donation.

Chronicles of ODS Steve: For Marissa

Autographed art, up for auction.


The Seattle branch of the American Red Cross has a pair of autographed Bungie items up for auction on Ebay.  This charity provides disaster relief right in our neighborhood, so we saw fit to send them over a copy of The Art of Halo 3 and a limited release embossed Halo 3 poster, both laden with Bungie autographs.  You should bid on them.  It'll make us happy.  Step Seven and all that.

The Art of Halo 3

"This is an autographed version of the the book, "The Art of Halo 3," signed by the entire staff of Bungie, the Developer of Halo 3! This book was donated to the American Red Cross Serving King & Kitsap Counties by Bungie to help raise funds for local disaster relief! It is in perfect condition."

Halo 3 Autographed Embossed Poster - Limited Release

"This is an embossed Halo 3 poster, signed by the staff of Bungie, the developers of Halo 3. This is a limited release of a poster for Halo 3 that was donated to the American Red Cross Serving King & Kitsap Counties to raise funds for local disaster relief. 100% of the proceeds will benefit disaster relief.

Size is 22 x 34 and it is in perfect condition."

Seattle Area American Red Cross

"The American Red Cross saves lives. When disaster strikes, we respond with food, shelter and hope. When barriers of distance, language or warfare separate loved ones, we open lines of communication. When families, co-workers and communities must prepare for emergencies, we help them take action.

Each year in our community, we bring together 1,500 people to care for their neighbors, train 80,000 people in life-saving skills and respond to a disaster about once every 40 hours. In emergencies large and small - a house fire, an earthquake, a flood - right here in our community or on distant shores, people can count on the Red Cross."

Louis Wu weighs in.


Louis Wu did you a personal favor.  He took the brand new Haloscreenshots.com service for a spin, gave the delivered goods a detailed inspection, and then wrote up a review afterward to help you make up your own mind.  What did he think of the product, the service, and the overall experience?  Find out by hitting the jump below.

Haloscreenshots.com - a Review