1000 Strong ... And Growing
1000 Strong ... And Growing
Today marked a momentus occasion--the Seventh Column, Bungie's army of loyal fans, is now 1000 members strong! The honor goes to Blasta_Thug, founder of The S |/\| a r |\/| of Marietta, Ohio (
/perlbin/blam.pl?file=/fanclub/580).
Old Poll, New Poll
Old Poll, New Poll
That last poll was interesting. It seems the Outtakes, Multiplayer Guide, and Interviews sections are the most popular on the Tru7h and Recon site. I guessed 2 out of the 3, but I didn't realize how much people like those outtakes! I'm out of touch. Well, anyway you're in luck, because I believe Jay the Younger has some more in store! While you wait go vote in our new poll.
Off To a Slow Start
Off To a Slow Start
We have some fun stuff planned for the sites this week, but unfortunately you won't see much of it for a few days. Candyman is finishing up a feature for 7th Column chapters that you're absolutely going to love. Matt is pestering Rob for those Halo interview questions back, plus finishing up another interview. Modem is slacking off, as usual, working on a game-related project and watching kung fu movies. Mordia is starting on a "making of" feature you should enjoy. Achronos is trying to solve some technical issues with the database server, plus trying to convince me not to make him implement all the cool features I want on the site. And I'm just kickin' back....
Disappearing Database Entries
Disappearing Database Entries
Update: All of the display issues with old database entries have been resolved; the entries should all be back now.
Some of you may have noticed that a bunch of your older database entries appear to be missing. Rest assured, the actual entries are still there. The problem is just a display issue, and your old entries should reappear as soon as the display problem is fixed.
Bug Fix: Disappearing Events
Bug Fix: Disappearing Events
Finally figured out why events were sometimes disappearing from the sidebar. The problem is fixed.
Week in Review Submissions
Week in Review Submissions
If the 7th Column Week in Review is going to happen again this week you're going to have to do the work! Seriously, if you have something you'd like considered for inclusion--an event you hosted or are hosting, a chapter seeking members, etc.--please email details today to 7thcol@bungie.com (yes, this changed from @microsoft.com, though both will work). Be sure to include your login name and your chapter's name, as well as any relevant or interesting details.
Access and Database Problems
Access and Database Problems
We're aware of an intermittent problem some of you are having accessing the site, and another with disappearing database entries. We're unsure of the cause in both cases. Rest assured we're doing our best to track things down. We'll have an update as soon as we figure more out.
New Database: Halo Gametypes
New Database: Halo Gametypes
We've got a new feature lined up for every chapter to assist you with keeping track of what game variants of multiplayer Halo are good. The Halo Gametypes database type allows you to input different game variants for all to see. People who can view your database can then rate individual variants. The results will automatically be tallied and averaged so you'll know if that variant will go over well at your next LAN party. If you have any problems using this new database type, message myself or Yeroen.
New Poll: Favorite Halo Section
New Poll: Favorite Halo Section
We've posted a new poll to fill the time while we argue over the two top mottos in the last: We're everywhere! and Tru7h. Carnage. Bungie. Check out this new Bungie.net poll and let us know which section you like the most on the Halo Tru7h and Reconciliation site.
Halo Update-a-thon
Halo Update-a-thon
Just got back from vacation ... sorry, I missed a few messages. Fortunately the team has been hard at work. Candyman has posted a whole slew of updates to the Tru7h and Recon site, including Mordia's top story on Marcus Lehto, Halo's art lead. Check out the article and its model animations by clicking on the picture of Marcus above, or visit the site and view the new Gallery section or listen to the two new sound outtakes (marked New! after their names).
Scheduled Maintenance
Scheduled Maintenance
Update: The maintenance has been completed, and all servers are back up. Luckily, the Webmaster was distracted by a passing ice cream truck.
All of the Bungie web sites will be taken temporarily offline at 5:00pm Bungie Standard Time (Pacific) for some maintenance. Downtime is expected to be less than one hour, assuming The Bungie Webmaster doesn't get involved, in which case all bets are off.
One On One With Marcus Lehto
Read Full Top Story
A flood of Halo updates
A flood of Halo updates
Ok maybe a trickle. But it's all good! This week we've added a sixth, flood-filled page to our screenshots section:
/perlbin/blam.pl?file=/site/1/site/halo/features/screenshots06.html.
Secondly, by popular demand, we've added Joseph Staten's grunt outtakes to the Audio section:
/perlbin/blam.pl?file=/site/1/site/halo/features/outtakes_03.htmlLastly -and you're not gonna believe this- we updated our soapbox within 2 months of the last one. Incredible!
/perlbin/blam.pl?file=/site/0/site/bnet/soapbox/soapbox02_01.htmlA tip o' the hat to Joseph for this one. Thanks Joe!
7th Column Week in Review
7th Column Week in Review
Here's a quick rundown of happenings in the 7th Column. This and the seeking members list below took me a while to compile, so please don't spam me with messages telling me what I missed. Instead we've created an alias specifically for that purpose! If you have something you think worth mentioning when we review the week's happenings please send it via email to
7thcol@microsoft.com. No promises it will be included, etc., etc. You know the drill. Anyway, on to the week in review!
GatheringsMiscellaneous Happenings- Sardaukar Legion West (/perlbin/blam.pl?file=/fanclub/201) is trying to build a consolidated Western US chapter.
- Stosh from Mob of Angry Peasants (/perlbin/blam.pl?file=/fanclub/415) is working on a logo/t-shirt design for their chapter. That's cool.
- Achronos has a feature for chapters in the works (and almost complete) that all you Halo fans are going to love.
- Several Bay Area chapters are discussing plans for a huge Bay area LAN party.
Bug Fixes and Site Changes- News posts now default to publicly visible.
- Fixed a bug that caused problems for people editing events with markup tags in them.
- Fixed a bug that wasn't clearing the cache when news was edited or deleted.
- Fixed a bug where the overview member count wasn't getting updated when new members were accepted.
- Fixed a bug that was causing news submissions to not show up in the navbar.
Site Stats- 342 7th Column chapters
- 787 7th Column members
- 7688 Bungie.net members
Chapters Seeking Members
Chapters Seeking Members
I've compiled a list of the various chapters that are actively recruiting members:
Western USEastern USSouthern USCentral US
Flood Revealed
Flood Revealed
Halo.bungie.org has posted a great new feature: a guide to the Flood (
http://halo.bungie.org/flood)! Louis Wu made a recent visit to our offices, and apparently made off with some classified shots thanks to inside help. Candyman!
7th Column Motto Poll Round 2
7th Column Motto Poll Round 2
Two mottos were obvious winners in the last Bungie.net poll, We're everywhere! and Tru7h. Carnage. Bungie. However, we've received additional submissions since the poll went live, and since there's no consensus here we thought it'd be interesting to throw these new contenders in the ring. Let us know what you think ... is there a clear winner?
Bug Fixes: News, Overview
Bug Fixes: News, Overview
Just made the following fixes that I've been putting off for way too long:
- I've fixed a bug that was causing the news submission count to not show up in the navigation bar for group staff. Be sure to check for new submissions, I suspect many of you have stories waiting in the queue.
- I've also fixed an annoying cache bug where news on your front page wasn't getting updated when you edited or deleted stories. Whew!
- Finally, I've fixed a long-standing bug with the group overview. Your member count should now update immediately when you accept new members and when members leave your group.
Marathon:Resurrection Tournament
Marathon:Resurrection Tournament
The Liandri Depot is hosting a Marathon: Resurrection tournament. Marathon:Resurrection, for those of you that don't know, is an Unreal Tournament mod that meticulously re-creates Bungie's Marathon in a true 3-D game engine. And more importantly, playable over the internet by Macs and PCs alike.
From the site:
Team Unphorgiven is pleased to announce its first official Marathon:Resurrection tournament. It has been a long and tedious process to make this venture possible, that is..real Marathon multiplayer experience over the Internet. It's great to waste your friend to bits across the room and hear them scream in frustration while trying to re-spawn, but doing it across the world has its benefits..such as doing it 'commando' if you know what I mean...
Entries will start to be taken through the form below from Jan. 16 to Jan. 29. The tournament will start on Feb. 6th. Games will be played on weekdays after 6pm PST. Please use the form below to indicate your preferred time of play below in _PST_ time as well as indicate the time difference in the appropriate field. Weekend games may be scheduled depending on the number of entries.
Entrants may register at
http://fileball.net/ut/tourney.wow Download Marathon: Resurrection at
http://resurrection.bungie.org/index.html
Bug Fix: Messaging
Bug Fix: Messaging
That auto reply quoting I added was causing problems for some people trying to reply to messages, so I've disabled it. If you were experiencing problems with the messaging system give it another shot.
You Stole My Poll!
You Stole My Poll!
I didn't, Stosh from Mob of Angry Peasants did. He suggested moving the poll for chapters so it resides below the navigation bar, thus freeing up more room for databases in the sidebar. I liked the idea so much I made the change. What would be really cool is if you could determine the position for yourself. Perhaps we'll add this ability a little down the road.
The 7th Column For Dummies
The 7th Column For Dummies
One out of five respondents in our last poll indicated that they don't know what the 7th Column is all about. Frogblast just reminded me we have a page that explains at
/perlbin/blam.pl?file=/site/2/site/fanclub/about_fanclub.html. Who put that there? Please read up on our mission statement before you vote in the poll.
Vote For Our Motto
Vote For Our Motto
We've gone through all the 7th Column motto submissions and chosen our favorites. Now we'd like to hear what you think! Please vote for your favorite motto in the poll on the front Bungie.net page. (Remember, vote for the motto you'd feel comfortable wearing on the back of a T-shirt!)
Motto? What You Say?
Motto? What You Say?
Organdonor sent me a message asking what happened to the 7th Column motto suggestions people sent in. I thought I'd respond here, for everyone. We actually got a good number of submissions but the Online team was unable to agree on a single one. Now that we've got this poll feature let me go back over the list, pull out the favorites, and we'll put the question to you, Bungie's army. If you have suggestions you'd like considered this is your last chance, click on my name and message 'em to me!