Surprise! You can win stuff for playing Halo!

HaloCharts has some sweet prizes in hand for players who can overcome obstacles. Rules and regulations after the description below.

"Surprisers Mile is an obstacle, jumping and time trial course all in one. There are 10 VIP checkpoints spread across a MASSIVE course that has been custom forged in the sky bubble of Sandbox. The goal of this contest is to be the person who can run this course hitting all 10 checkpoints in the shortest amount of time. Prizes include 12 month Xbox Live card, Halo Legends and the latest series Recon action figure!"

Surprisers Mile Contest at HaloCharts

Catch the disease!

Red vs Blue's contagious Assault-like sport.

Category: Double EXP Weekend
4 Players Per Team
Max Party Size: 8
Heroic and Mythic 1 Map Packs Required
Updated 8/06/09

Gametypes

• Grifball (55%) - Teams vie over a bomb, attempting to plant and detonate the bomb on the other team's arm point. Players spawn with Gravity Hammers and Energy Swords. Player traits: No grenades,  infinite ammo, 200% damage and no shields. Ball carrier traits: Orange forced color, 2x shields and 150% movement speed. Assault bomb arms instantly, and one successful detonation ends the round. Team with the highest score after five rounds wins. Three minutes per round.
• Mayan Grifball (20%) - Players have 110% move speed. Ball carrier has 150% move speed.
• Grifball Up There (15%) - Bomb reset time is 10 seconds.
• Aerial Grifball (10%) - Players have 75% gravity and 100% move speed. Ball carrier has 50% gravity and 100% move speed. Bomb reset time is 10 seconds.

Maps

• Grifball Court (Foundry) - Variant of Foundry made specifically for Grifball tournament play.
• The Grif Cave (Sandbox) - Grifball in Sandbox's crypt.
• Chichen Itza (Sandbox) - Grifball court styled in the fashion of an ancient arena.
• Ultim8 Grifball (Sandbox) - Get it? With the 8 there, it's like saying  "ultimate." Whoever came up with that should do stand up because they're, like, hilarious and stuff!
• Grifball High (Sandbox) - Grifball in Sandbox's skybubble.
• Grifball Naught (Sandbox) - "How did I get into the game before the map?"

Ring around the bubble.

The Mythic Photographers are back for round two of their Bungie Favorites run. In addition to tons of new content, they also took the time to talk a little bit about their map, Mongoose Season. Nice group of photogs, eh?

What inspired Mongoose Season?

I was first inspired to make this map when a friend showed me a map that had a ring around the entire sky bubble of Sandbox. He said he downloaded it for the hell of it and we spent a good ten minutes spawning different vehicles and racing around the map. With the absence of a concept to the map, and me playing several Duck Hunt related customs earlier that day, I thought to myself, “Hey! I want to make something out of this!” Thus started the creation of the map.

How long did it take to complete?

Fixing all the imperfections with the original track and always constantly finding the errors that I had to work out took quite some time. My other Halo-hobby, screenshot taking, seemed to distract me and take away a lot of useful map fixing time. However, with the help of Chrome3agle and The U2 RoKKeR this took a little over a week to fully complete the map.

What'd you need the most help with?

Making the track flow just right so there were no places where you launch in the air randomly, making sure the final jump was aligned just right, and making the map and gametype work together were the most tedious parts of the creation.

How could Forge be made just right?

Even though I’m not that much of an avid Forger, I think the Forge is already a great map editor as it is, but if I had to choose a way to improve it I would say that an “undo” button would have to be a must in order to prevent all the times I would accidentally delete something I shouldn’t have. And a “Clear Map” button so people can start Forging more quickly rather than having to delete the whole map or find a canvassed map.

---

Cool. Unfortunately for now, we've come to the end of Mythic Photographers' two week stint and we can't undo the clock. It's over. No regrets though, there's a ton of great content in Bungie Favorites right now. You should check it out.

Actually, this is unusual.

HBO and Joystiq turned up this older video from Adam Grumbo featuring an epic love story for the ages. Even when universes collide, love still conquers all.

Halo Spartan Master Chief goes on a Date with Stormtrooper from Adam Grumbo on Vimeo.

Couples only!

I accidentally ran this news late last night, because Kete figured I'd miss it if he waited until this morning (like I usually do). So, if you tuned in and didn't see a new show, I'm sorry. But hey, there's still time to make it right! Check it out!

Tonight, The Running Riot will have an Interview with SickNdehed and Psychovandal from A Match Made In Halo at 9:30pm ET. Of course, before the show, you're welcome to drop into the precast chat and see if you can win a backstage pass. If you get there too early, you can catch up on last week's show.

Selling gigathings by the clock cycle.

Yeah, I don't know what that gobbledy-blam!- in the subject line means either. Maybe PKF_647 can help us make sense of it so we can engage in some sound technological decisions. Let's coax him out of his igloo, shall we?

Q. Who are you and what do you do?

A. Hi, I am PKF_647 gamer tag PKF 647 and I guess I’m an Average Joe. I was born and raised in the heart of Alberta, the big city Edmonton. Yes I come from the great white north and no I do not live in an igloo. I just finished celebrating thanksgiving this past October 12th a full seven weeks ahead of you guys in the U.S. (Hmm…Seven go figure).

So, everyday I get up and bust my ass to sell computers to people who think a gigabyte is a gigathing and ask me why HP doesn’t make mac books. As a part time deal I get to do some tech work fixing up peoples computers and saving them from all the viruses they downloaded off of that knitting website….yeah knitting I’m so sure. Who ever said working for an office supply store was boring?
In my spare time (when I have any) I love to Photoshop and make little programs and scripts. I’m the guy who brought you “Bungie Anywhere” and the “Happy Halodays Mosaic.”

Q. Cool. What brought about your username?

A. Oh long story, too boring to be told. The short version is this, the “PKF” stands for Player Killer Faction, I got it from playing old RPG’s and killing other players instead of the NPC’s (I was kind of an ass). I got called a Player Killer and it stuck.

Please note the spelling, it’s not PFK its PKF. PFK is “Poulet Frit Kentucky” the French-Canadian spelling of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The fact that I hang around with COL0NEL SANDERS here on Bungie is just a coincidence.

Q. When you're not prepping your secret recipe, what forums do you visit to spice up your day?

A. The Septagton or “The Bungie Community” as it is known now. I also love the webcams page, some days it’s like watching paint dry on a wall but the wall has a clock on it. If you think that watching the webcams is lame, well its not, it can be pretty exciting sometimes. You can even get banned for it, yeah that’s right that was me, IP banned for watching the cams to much, you can confirm it with Achronos. It’s stuff like that that got me the Stalker label and a Wanted poster put up on the webcams.

And no that’s not really me, I am not Richard Ramírez the night stalker.

Off of that creepy aspect of my Bungie life, I love to hang out in the gallery and like checking out the latest works by everyone here on Bungie. Posting my art there got me involved with Aberrant Designs, It’s a great group here on Bungie.net and anyone who loves screenshot photography or just making fan art should really check it out.

I admit my stuff isn’t as good as say CAUS7IC or Halcylon but I always learn something new every time I boot up photoshop and I usually end up making something that doesn’t make one's eyes bleed.

Q. So, other than the creepy stalking angle, why are you so interested in gaming?

A. Ah the games, where would I be today with out video games? Successful and rich probably. But seriously, without my dad and Intellivision II, video games would have never made it into my life until I was mature enough to play them. I will always remember playing video games with him and the excitement when I got my Nintendo.

Now it’s me, my wonderful girlfriend and my brothers who play.

PKF 646 has been my amazing girlfriend for 8 years this past September and my long time partner in gaming for just as long. We are a brutal combo in multi team and other team games but lately with her sore wrist we just haven’t been able to play, that and she discovered Wii Tennis. (She is over level 2200, I can never win anymore.) My brothers and I still play Halo every so often and it can get quite competitive so we try to change it up by playing stupid game types like 4x over shields, damage resistance at full and only pistols 3 hours later its all tied up at 1-1-1. I also play a little COD4 with my brother in law because he refuses to buy Halo 3. (Go buy it, you know you want to.)

Q. So, was Halo the first Bungie game you got hold of?

A. My first Bungie “published” title would have to be Abuse. It was a great game, so many hours spent playing it, but then Halo came out for the Xbox and I was hooked. Halo 2 and Halo 3 take a back seat to Halo CE, it will always be the my favorite and if they remake it for the Xbox 360 with better graphics and without changing the gameplay or story, I would definitely buy it again.

Hoping to play ODST sometime soon, pretty sure I will like the campaign and Firefight, that and I will finally get the Legendary and Mythic map packs. Yeah that’s right, no map pack love for me.

Q. Well, that's a surprise. A lame surprise. Ever surprised yourself about how much time you spend around here?

A. Im surprised that my account hasn’t be deleted yet, I mean how does a guy go from being IP banned to being a Legendary/Mythic member? As for involvement, well I like to do things for the community, whether it is making scripts for greasemonkey, making site themes or even user profile skins (the piano skin was one of mine) Paulmarv and all the other scripters keep making new stuff for the site and I want to do more to keep up, the same goes for everyone making all that great fan art, I would love to make more but there is just no time right now. I already have a few full galleries on google sites and deviant art, hopefully I can add some more stuff to them soon.

Q. Engage Stalker Mode at any other sites?

A. Only the Bungie stalkers…but you already know that, so just go back to sipping your coffee and reading Kirkland Views, don’t worry about it. Worrying will make your hair fall out and you don’t want to be bald before you turn 30 do you….oh wait.

Q. Okay, I think we're done here. Gotta go close the blinds. Need us to go over your Miranda Rights again? (Make some shout outs.)

A. I was always told that if I ever made it on TV or anything like that, to shout out “FROG BLAST THE VENT CORE!” but doing that here is kind of like saying “bless you” to the Pope when he sneezes, kinda pointless. As for shout outs, well I would like to say hi to my family, my brothers FESTEZI0 and Guest (get a 360 Jeff and you can stop playing the Guest account). All the people at Aberrant Designs, CAUS7IC, where ever you are, all the scripters coders and greasemonkeys here on Bungie.net, All the members turned mods who forgot my name and to everyone in Edmonton, Store #60. Try not to bother me while I’m working and no, I won’t answer to my Gamertag. As for PKF 646, well maybe someday she will be Mrs. PKF 647. (Love You D!!)

---

Wonder if this counts as the first marriage proposal evar in a Bungie.net interview? I'm gonna go with no. Wouldn't be classy. And we all know PKF is all class, baby. He'd get down on one knee, peer into his lovely lady's bedroom window, and pop the question by writing it out in his breath frost on the glass.

Got any of your own questions for the man himself? Get all your computer troubles solved in the discussion thread attached!

All units, mobilized and ready.

Looks like NeoGAF regular, Dani, is weighing in with a new website designed to explore the Halo Universe in rich detail. First up for your reading pleasure, "Winter Contingency," an article taking a look at some of the early Halo: Reach information that's been circulating. Check it out and get your speculation on.

Forward Unto Dawn: Winter Contingency

A charitable collection.

Over the weekend Seraph XXVII put his impressive collection of Halo memorabilia on display again. This time, he notes, he's gonna sell every last Halo 1 and Halo 2 item. All proceeds will benefit either Child's Play or longtime fans, Dan and Aimee, both well deserving causes. If you're feeling charitable, or just want to get your hands on some rare collectibles, you should drop by HBO and check out what's going up for sale.

HBO - I Don't Have Words.

Competitive-minded custom map madness.

Whoa. MLG popped in to let us know that their kick ass community lovingly crafted twelve brand spankin' new community maps. Ready to get your competitive game on? Get 'em while they're hot.

"Over the past five months, the guys from MLG's Halo 3 Forge Forum have put together a map pack you're sure to enjoy. Over 20 forgers came together to provide their talent and input, and the result is some truly amazing maps. The pack features 18 quality maps created on Foundry and Sandbox with competitive play in mind. There has been an immense amount of work put into this map pack by the MLG community, and it shows. In the thread linked below, you'll find descriptions of each map, a listing of the supported gametypes, as well as screenshots galore. For your convenience, there's also a direct link to download the maps below."

For more information on the Maps and Screenshots, click here: http://www.mlgpro.com/forum/showthread.php?t=298031
 
The Halo 3 Forge Forum Map Pack File Share

They love Halo and that's that.

Looking to improve your screenshot snapping skills? Look no further than Mythic Photographers. And not only are they into photography, they're also into having tons of fun right here at Bungie.net. You like fun, dontcha? Here's what they had to say for themselves:

"Mythic Photographers takes the notion of 'Mythic' to the core. We are a group of friendly photographers who look to take on what can be called as the Mythic difficulty of screenshots. In doing so, we look to accomplish feats that no other groups have ever attempted. But in order to conquer Mythic, the conqueror must be more than up to par.

The community itself is one of the best environments for learning how to take screenshots or just simply practicing the trade. We always have a steady flow of new threads that never go ignored, where members will offer advice and other tips to help each other. We hold many contests that always give members a chance to spread their work around. These contests come in the form of a weekly Screenshot of the Week contest, higher-level contests in contest series that carry a common theme, and other little challenges that keep members on edge.

In addition to heated contests we create many montages featuring our members’ work or just some good times we have together. As if adding some spice to the recipe, our pinned topics have many threads that allow members to indulge their attention to. At any time, members can dive deep into Mythic Photographer history, check out previous contest winners in our Winner's Gallery, check out our dictionary of screenshot effects in our Official Effects Thread, or simply give some suggestions to the staff. Not only do we offer many routes to explore in our group, but also the activity and benevolence of our members help to create such a fun and useful environment.

The staff of the Mythic Photographers consists of some of the most capable leaders and screenshot takers. We originally founded the group with four founders- MarineManiac, The U2 Rokker, Spade193, and camo m0nkey. With these four, we had the perfect blend of screenshot talent and the ability to lead a group. Without these guys, Mythic Photographers would not be where it is today. Below the founders, there are our head forum ninjas Blackdog and Demonic Gama. Watch out for these guys because they know the art of assassination very well. Below them we have the rest of our staff who work hard everyday to keep Mythic Photographers running. Included in the staff are Gemnice and Colonel Sanders, who offer screenshot aid to anyone who asks. In all, the staff of Mythic Photographers steers the group towards our Mythic goal.

The last part of Mythic Photographers that we value the most is our accomplishments and our goals for the future. We have accomplished things that no other group has, and we’ve done so in record time. In under our 6 months of existence we’ve gained 700 members, but even this is nothing too great. What is, at the moment, our crowning achievement is the fact that we have worked our way to take a hold of the #1 tag position out of all tags. We accomplished this through pure enthusiasm and determination and we are very proud of the achievement.

Still, that doesn’t mean that our Mythic challenge is complete. Future goals include becoming well known in the genre of montages and photoshop, an art that branches off from regular screenshot taking. Even more, we seek to gain the community spotlight again; our enthusiasm and quality as a group are capable of reaching this goal. There are no definite terms for accomplishing our Mythic goal, but there are definitely feats that we can prove are worthy of the title. Mythical is defined as 'existing only in the imagination.' The members of Mythic Photographers believe that the imagination is simply another territory to be explored."

What are some of Mythic Photographers' favorite maps?

Well, at Mythic Photographers, we all love screenshots. So our favorite maps come down to the ones where you can throw down a few filters and find some great lighting areas to make a sweet screenshot. Probably the best map for screenshot taking is Avalanche for its variety in terrain and many different areas which allow great lighting and effects. A few more of our favorites would probably be Blackout, Orbital, and Longshore, each providing unique lighting and different areas to snap a great shot.

And your favorite gametypes?

I guess we like everything really. Slayer and CTF are amongst our favorites, providing good solid gameplay packed with loads of fun. We also love awesome Infection games that call for awesome game nights. We also like to work in some Duck Hunt, Hellraiser style (Open Season Map/Gametype) into our crazy library of Infection games. We love Halo, and that’s that.

What would you like to see in Matchmaking that's not already implemented?

Well, a common type of game play that we feel is missing from Matchmaking is racing, be it on a Mongoose, Warthog, Ghost, anything. We love Rocket Race, and would definitely wish for a dedicated playlist to it. Race tracks and Monster tracks are also tons of fun to play as well. It would be difficult to make a “Race Track” playlist, but one can always dream! Among other things, some things like Social SWAT and Social Infection would make great additions to the already great Matchmaking system.

---

It's always good  to dream! Mythic Photographers have injected their own dreamy content into our Bungie Favorites collection. Head on over and check out their picks. When you're finished up, make sure you jump into the discussion thread attached.

Buncha belated celebration.

Two holiday-themed articles up at Hawty McBloggy this morning. One focuses on a soldier's devotion, the other on someone's inability to take down their decorations in a timely fashion. Check them both out by clicking on the links below. As always, if you head over to Hawty McBloggy's webzone, you're gonna see some twig and berries. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

Master Chief’s Romantic Side

O Halo Tree, O Halo Tree

I know you are, but what am I?

Reading through Alex's interview below, you might be left with the impression that he's super cantankerous, seldom serious, and so totally into Pee Wee Herman. That's okay, we take all stripes in the Bungie Community. Read on to learn more about some guy you've never heard of!

Q. Who are you and what do you do?

A. Hi there, I’m Alex and I’m a student at the local junior college here in lovely Sonoma County, California. Aside from being a good student and doing all my homework (Ha! Yeah, right…), I also fly small airplanes, compose music, play video games, eat cake and sandwiches, drink Pepsi, wear pants (sometimes), and just sit around on my ass surfing the internet and doing nothing instead of doing more important things. I’m a world-class procrastinator.

Q. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. I just made that up. Clever, eh? Tell us how you made your user name up.

A. My name does, indeed, have a long history with it, but the full story is really just a bunch of tl;dr, so I’ll give you the short version; My uncle was the first (among other things, he had a Porsche 944 Turbo with “AN ELF” plates), and then my dad, being the unoriginal jerk that he is, used the name but added a 2. Then I, being the unoriginal bastard jerk that I am, added the 3 and capitalized the A, making it into a single gibberish word with no meaning. Thus, Anelf3 was born and the universe cringed a little bit.

Point is, I’m some jerk who’s neither average, nor named Joe. Good job in picking me.

Q. Actually, we just draw names randomly. Why are you here?

A. I’m a group guy. The main forums scare me too much to bother posting in most of the time, so I prefer the sexy, intimacy of groups. Of those, I’m a longtime member of The Marty Army, which was the sole reason I joined this site originally, so I could pester Marty with questions in his Q&A. Eventually I spread my wings a bit and joined some other groups, and I currently have a cozy nook in a few of my favorites. I even made my own crappy group (with the help of my good friend Index) designed for artists of all types to show off their work with the rest of the community! Hell, we even got Marty to join! Unfortunately, it’s pretty quiet in there… So quiet you can even hear the echo of my coughing.

*cough* http://www.bungie.net/fanclub/taob/Group/GroupHome.aspx *cough*

Hmm, did you hear something?

Q. Nope, pretty sure you're just typing the word "cough." After you're done pretending to clear your throat, tell me why you game.

A. First of all, I hate the word “game” as a verb. So shut up.

Second of all, I play for fun. I’m very uncompetitive when playing (meaning, I am teh suck). I’m maybe just a tiiiny bit better than Marty.
Typically I buy games for the single player. The multiplayer to me is just a nifty extension that can be a fun change of pace for a bit, but I get sick of it quickly. I like being immersed in the game worlds which, to me, can only come when playing alone with little distraction. As fun and awesome as co-op with friends is, I need to play games alone first to get the full experience.

I’m a loner, Dottie. A rebel.

Q. What was the first Bungie title you played?

A. Well to tell this story, we’ll have to go back a few years to when I was in 2nd grade…

*cue dreamy transition and whole-tone glissando*

The year was 1995, and I had just switched to a new school and had a new best friend. Back then, the only computer I had was a low budget, crappy (though still awesome) Mac LC, while my friend had an IBM compatible PC with DOS and Windows 3.1! So one day when I was at his house, he introduced me to a little game called Doom, which I immediately fell in love with. Later, I told my dad about this game and asked him if he could get it for our Mac and eventually he came home from work with some disks of a game that his friend at work said was “like Doom.” Although I was disappointed, it was still better than nothing. So that game turned out to be Pathways Into Darkness (well, the demo anyway…), and it ran like ass on that computer, but I still played it a lot even though I never got very far because those damn skeleton things were too hard! Also, that game scared the -blam!- out of me a few times, like when you’re walking in a dark area and there’s no noise and all of a sudden you get hurt and turn around and BAM there’s a big weird scary fish thing looking at you and then kills you!

So it wasn’t much, but that was technically my first Bungie game. And later, we bought a Zip drive which came with the demo of Marathon which my dad said he heard of from someone at work who said it was really cool, but it required a 13” monitor with 256 colors which we just didn’t have... So I never actually played that, although I HAD it.

Granted, at the time I didn’t know Bungie made those games or even knew what Bungie was, but much later when my friend introduced me to Halo, I looked Bungie up and discovered that, indeed, they made those games I had and bricks were shat.

And that’s the story of April Fool’s Day!

Q. I don't think that's correct. Let's switch the subject. Are you surprised by your involvement with the Bungie community?

A. Well, I wouldn’t say I have that high of a level of involvement, since I’m just a group dweller… But yes, I think if you had told me when I first joined for The Marty Army that I’d still be around 5 years later, doing more things and making lots of friends, I’d be a little surprised.

Q. Do you dwell in any other communities?

A. Hmm, not really. I occasionally post in some game mod (the good PC kind) development related forums, but that probably doesn’t really count… Boring question, next please!

Q. Yeah, I almost fell asleep twice during this interview. We should pack it up. Anything you would wanna add before I get some shut eye?

A. I wanna give a big thanks to Bungie and the webteam for creating and maintaining this lovely site and making it a fun place to live. 5 years is a long time to stay someplace in internet time.

And, since you asked… Sure! I’d like to give a big shoutout to all the many friends I’ve made here over the last 5-1/2 years, starting with the old Marty Army gang: Marty (of course), M41 LAAG (Niatona), EvilEye, Halo Punk, WhiteRaven119, dont4get2flush, TheHappyPants, SteelAssassn, BlueElite171, Crazy Dino, Banshee 21, crescendo, mothergoat, Sasquach, Marit Lage, Carbon, my IRL friends Gorden and Teh Hippo (formerly CrankyHippo), my newer friends from other places here (in no particular order); dmg04, hawkeye543, MoonDawg, penguin, Brand220, Index, Qbix, Skibur, DieByMyHand, , Dark Assassn, Nos, CortanaV, SonicJohn, CAVX, Crow, HaloChick, and then all my friends in The 1337ists, Mythic Members, and You Are Not Welcome (<3). Phew. And if I forgot anybody (I’m sure I did), you can have my head. Er, how about my pants? Yeah, you can have my pants. These things are driving me nuts!

And remember kids, if you believe in yourself, drink your school, stay in drugs, and don't do milk - you can get work!

---

I don't think that's correct either, Alex. Anywho, thanks for lurking, thanks for playing, and thanks for assembling some letters into coherent sentences so we could publish this interview to our webspace! We'll erect a discussion thread in your honor!

Tied the Leader looks to the horizon.

Gunslinger Xerxdeej takes a break from the action to ponder the practicality of his loadout, the effectiveness of his clan members, and the future of digital warfare on Xbox LIVE. If you're into good games and you're looking for seasoned veterans to fight alongside, you should suit up and ride on over to Tied the Leader.

Calling All Lone Wolves

Call the cops!

It's our duty to note that this replica rifle should never be carried on one's person in public. Especially on the sidewalk alongside Kirkland Way. Warning delivered, go ahead and check out this replica Battle Rifle HBO's been showing off.

HBO - Finnish Spartan Replica BR-55

Good as gravy.

Beast Mode On is back for more. In Round Two, they're ready to talk about their experience with the Forge. Check out what it took to get Good Time, created by Recon0, to live up to its namesake.

What inspired Good Time?

Well I was goofing around forge, like I always do, and I started make this base at one end. When I finished I thought to myself, "Maybe I could make this into something good." So I started building the middle and another base and then I thought it would be cool to have an upper area. When that was done I thought, "Not good enough, needs something more." That's when I came up with the man cannons, at first it was just a base out far away, I was going to make a walk way to it but it took too long so I added man cannons. And that is pretty much how it came to be.

How long did the process take, start to finish?

Well I was goofing around for a good hour, the base and bottom middle took around an hour to an hour and a half. The top middle didn't take that long, maybe a half hour. The side walkways didn't take so long, a little merge here and there, that probably took me about 10 to 20 minutes at the most. But the side bases took a long time to get it to where you don't launch over or not all the way, and to get it to angle so it is pointing at the other bases took me well over an hour and a half.

We'll let someone else tackle the addition. Which aspect took the longest for you to tackle?

Like I said above the side bases, angling it and positioning took FOREVER but once that was done, it was smooth GRAVY!

How could Good Time be improved?

The top middle, when you run up the ramp, the walls are a little high. I was thinking when I edit to make it better, to use the tube trick. That way it is easier. But if you are having troubles you could always jump over it.

---

And with that, Beast Mode On jumps out of our group spotlight. If you want to see more, I suggest you check out their group landing or hit up their second week of Bungie Favorite selections.

Doesn't have yellow teeth.

If there's one thing you absolutely, positively have to know about Tom T 117 it's that he has good hygiene. And he's not going to be doing any keg stands in the near future. And...you know what, how's about you just read the stinkin' interview yourself?

Q. Who are you and what do you do?

A. Hello, my name is Tom, I’m a full time student, which I guess brings a connotation of drinking? Well, I’m not too much of a party guy; embarrassing scenarios involving terrible dancing (recorded for recurring annoyance) have prevented adoption of the stereotype. I’m also a proud British citizen (our politics have drama) and no, I’m not a fan of tea and I don’t have yellow teeth.

As a student I am surrounded by people with terrible misconceptions about what makes a great game. Of course, plain out-nerding doesn’t fair well if you want to have friends and, sadly, girls don’t care how big your K/D is (but we all know size matters). However, even without a Bungie t-shirt (meaning little to no chance of subliminal messaging), a few coverts here and there from the blue ray fridge and I speak from experience when I say you haven’t really experienced Halo until you’ve played system link.

In my studies I’m currently pursuing an interest in history; I won’t bore you with the specifics or spout off random dates to sound intelligent but at the end of it I have a vague plan of going into teaching, writing or law. So I’ll open books, write for books or throw books! My main "non-nerdy" interest is karate. If you don’t like me very much you’ll be pleased to know that I get my rear-end kicked periodically. But I guess if I try and take on an army of ninjas to steal the job of a content monkey (not Bungie, one word: Jerome) I’ll be well trained.

Q. "Lashing Roundhouse" kick is on my resume. No lie. But let's not fight. Instead, regale us all with a rousing tale of your username's genesis.

A. I wish I could come up with an interesting story but… first name + first letter of surname + Master Chief’s service number = My name is lame. To be fair to myself, I wanted to play Halo 2 on XBL as soon as possible and I guess limited thought went into the process. Since then I have tried many times to think up a better username but I am attached to it, so I guess I can’t complain.

Q. What forums have you become attached to?

A. I surf most of the public forums to ensure I keep in touch with the community but my most visited is The Community Forum (The Septagon). It is a great place to meet like-minded community members and I know all the inside jokes; I feel it provides a nice cross between private groups and the more manic forums and it often has something interesting to captivate my interest. In my frequent visits I do have a few observations that I hope you don’t mind me sharing, urk. ;-) There are a fair few that visit, usually new guys, and spout off memes at every opportunity or make threads that have been created before in the hope of getting noticed. I started out fairly similar, a mother joke here and a blame stosh there. Just a few words of wisdom, be your own personality, nobody likes a copy cat, and you’ll be integrated in no time.

Now I’ve got that off my chest, what keeps me coming back to the community isn’t the inside jokes, it is the variety and the people. Many older users always talk about the good ol’ days when everyone was friends, the moderators removed spammers instantly and the Bungie employees posted honey coated goodness in every single thread, answering every question, always. I don’t buy it. In the time I have been here I’ve only seen this community get bigger and better. People create things I have neither the patience nor the skill to create. Honestly all of you guys are awesome and keep me coming back for more!

Q. What keeps you coming back for more gaming goodness?

A. I guess the greatest pull factor for me in the ability to escape from daily hassles and stresses and immerse myself in a different world. There is nothing more satisfying that getting home after something has pressed my rage button and sitting down on a comfy sofa to kill random stuff (particularly if it screams over the microphone). It really is quite therapeutic.

In the short term I would say the story is most important, you need to connect with the characters and the moment. Then it’s the gameplay and the variety. I am also secretly very competitive, not so much on XBL but with my real life friends (shock-horror). It is important to not give them the satisfaction of beating me. Amazingly we all remain sportsmanlike and play together when we can; it’s just another great dimension of gaming. Even more amazingly I’m not in a betrayal contest, I feel pretty left out and should probably get with the times.

Q. Nah, stick with good times. What was the first Bungie title you got some satisfaction from?

A. Like so many people my love for Bungie began with Halo: Combat Evolved. The level 343 Guilty Spark is perhaps my most memorable gaming experience. It was the first level I ever played solo, I can remember being strangely scared and excited, I was only 9 years old. The eerie quality, the flash backs, the music, the alien popcorn… Just epic.

The way I discovered it was… a little odd. At the time I had only recently gotten an Xbox for perhaps the stupidest reason of all time, so I could play the game Star Wars: Obi-Wan; you can look it up, it was undoubtedly dreadful. At the time I thought it was one of the best games ever conceived topped only by Tomb Raider. So, there I was with my big black box and sumo controller and I got into a discussion with a friend at school who also had an Xbox. He described this game called Halo in such a way that I thought, embarrassingly, it was going to be a platformer.

Upon purchase I read the instruction booklet and the very first thing that struck me was Cooperative gameplay. I was ignorant of such a game mode. Upon putting the game in my Xbox I fell in love. It was the first FPS I had ever played and it was better than I could ever have dreamed; I recall my dad saying it would probably be terrible “because they sell it in a package with the Xbox”, how wrong he was. First match I ever played was with my younger brother and my dad, Blood Gulch slayer. I sucked, we sucked, and somebody got a killing spree in an immobile warthog. But it didn’t take long for me to move ahead of the pack, we played co-op alternating lives, I got hooked on the story, the gameplay and winning. We used to play Sidewinder CTF with 3 people, 2 v 1 (I got to play Rambo). I was one mean 9 year old. Honestly 9 year old me would take current me to town. 8 years later and here I am, still completely infatuated with Halo.

Q. Are you surprised that you've stayed involved for so long?

A. I guess, when I think back to how I used to be on this site, I am very surprised. The endless time I have spent browsing the site would probably be a scary statistic. But I think that, when I consider how I feel about the site and the community now, it is not really that surprising that I continue to visit so regularly. I actually still feel there is more to do and more of a community to get involved with and explore.

Q. Explore any other online haunts?

A. Bungie.net was the first forum I ever joined. As a result of the unique layout the more retro, plain styles of other boards lacks the same appeal and seems strange and different. I’m more of an onsite group and sub community kind of guy. I post regularly in the bungie.net groups ‘Mythic Members’, ‘You are Not Welcome’ and ‘Gamers Anon’ and I also make a habit of trying to keep an eye on community projects; I’m currently following Grind Rider, a machinima produced by ‘First Class Pictures’ which looks to be released soon, I suggest people keep their eyes peeled. I’m also a regular of the #bungienet IRC Chat, it is almost always open on a tab while I’m on bungie.net, and it is a great way of getting to know community members as people rather than usernames. You might be able to get to know me ;-)

Q. Wanna make a shout-out to some of those people?

A. I would like to thank…

All the guys from #bungienet for giving me something to laugh at, I’d like to give a special mention to Primo84 who keeps it running (congrats and good luck on little Primo85!), Sy r b, who laughs at my bad jokes, Scapegoat413, who actually reads my long walls of text, CornettoGospel, fellow Britishman and all the OPs I’ve got to know, Halo_tru7h, True_Underdog, Primum Agmen and even elmicker. If I’ve forgotten anyone, I’m sorry, you have my thanks.

The guys at "You are not Welcome" who give me a healthy dose of drama.

The people that kept me coming here back in the day from my old group ‘Spartans Alliance’. I haven’t forgotten any of you even if time has moved on. Special mention to Bornswavia who I became good friends with and who needs to get off his PS3 and play some more Halo!
Finally, I’d like to thank all my real life friends if you’re reading this, you know who you are and I know if I don’t mention you I’ll have to answer to it later ;-)

And of course urk for the chance to give this interview and for all his efforts in keeping the frontpage fresh!

---

Pro Tip: Replace the Baking Soda once every three months to eliminate nasty odors. Mix with Hydrogen Peroxide for a handy and effective homemade toothpaste. Big thanks to Tom for sticking around for so long and making our forums a more personable (and now hygienic) place. Make sure you jump into the discussion thread and sound off with your own home remedies for removing odors. Oh, and say what's up to Tom while you're there.

Her blood type is O-reo.

Today's Grin + Bear It isn't as adult oriented as it usually is. Don't worry, looks like it comes with a promise of more phallic-centric humor to come. For now, go get your homage on.

Grin + Bear It: Her Blood Type Is O-reo

Get 'em while they're hot!

If you like the Halo: Reach poster Halcylon cooked up for you a little while back, you may want to check out his complete collection. Since you might not want to go digging around on the Internet, he's now got them all in one place. Couldn't be easier.  Check 'em out.  Thanks to HBO for the link.

Halo Poster Pack

Subtle subterfuge with explosive results.

Part three of Pete the Duck's webcomic reveals that things weren't what they seemed.  Turn your speakers up and head over to HBO to check out the aftermath.

BOBBBBBB

Flipping the switch.

These guys might have an animalistic name, but they're bark is definitely worse then their bite. At least on Bungie.net. So, you shouldn't be afraid to check out their group. But before you do, they prepped a good bit of information to tell you what they're all about. Scroll down to get your fill.

"I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce you, the community, to a group that I run called Beast Mode On. I created the group back in November 2008 and finally decided to recruit active members in May 2009. Since that time, the group has grown tremendously. We have members with several different skills and talents. Both intelligence and silliness is common in our private forum. All are welcome to join in on the fun!

I have a great staff that helps me run the group, including some people you might already know. Beast Mode On's staff includes myself, Pro Devmoney, The CH1MP, KillLotz, LikeYouCare, SEM1HERO and Kman bravo117. Together we host weekly screenshot contests, news updates, group tournaments, Forge competitions, custom game nights and many other things to keep our group interesting and active.

One thing that sets us apart from many other groups is our 'Titan' role. This role was given to the first seven members of the group that helped recruit on a large scale. “Titans” are a select few of our members that have the ability to edit other peoples’ posts. This helps the staff organize threads during sign-ups for events in our group. These members are active and respected for all their contributions to Beast Mode On. Without them, the group would be nothing.

I make sure to keep the group organized and friendly so that all our member’s needs and wants are fulfilled. A threads of interest thread in pinned so that great threads in our group do not die out. This also allows members to see all the possible ways to rank up through our security roles on our private forum. We offer screenshot help and have a group gamertag that serves as a tool for our group to allow members to ask for help in a more convenient way while on Xbox LIVE. We allow members to post whenever they want help with rank, achievements, making maps or completing any and all personal goals. Rules are established and followed by our loyal members.

We recently started a team for Beast Mode On to represent us in matchmaking which we like to call, 'Animal Planet.' The leader of 'Animal Planet,' Pro Devmoney, has big plans for the team in the future. We also feature a 'Beast of the Month,' which serves as our member spotlight and is chosen by the group members themselves. Best of all we hold contests every so often that gives group members a chance to win some great prizes. One of our biggest contests was for best film clip. The winning clip won 1600 Microsoft points! All the best entries were submitted into Beast Mode On’s first official montage.

Although we are somewhat smaller than past groups that have made the community spotlight, Beast Mode On has managed to make the private groups spotlight several times. Our activity proves our dedication to both the group and the entire Bungie community alike. I am honored and grateful that I am able to give back to Beast Mode On with this spotlight. This opportunity was not taken for granted. Thank you to Urk and Bungie for everything.

The staff would like also like to thank and shout out to our allies UNSC Leviathan and Owners of the Katana, DomDaBomb1997 and fo shiz 64 for their great contributions to both Best of Bungie Favorites and Beast Mode On, SEM1HERO for being a great member and Beast of the Year, and kamikazegandhi, king nikki and charliebravo99 for being awesome retired staff members. We would also like to thank Black Karanak, Shattered Nova, Hung Chronology, and Mclovein for your activity as Titans, The Only Outcast, HumbleAssassin3 and im a fishy for your activity as Juggernauts, and finally Phynixblack, PhillyEagles, DominatedRibbit, MacAttack1011 and a rascal cat for your continued activity to help make our group great. Thanks to all our friends and supporters and thank you to every member of Beast Mode On who stuck with out group through the good and the bad.

Tru7h. C4RN4GE. Bungie."

What are some of Beast Mode On's favorite online arenas?

Our favorite maps include Guardian, Orbital, Standoff and The Pit. Avalanche, Construct, Narrows, Sandbox, and Valhalla also make for great gameplay.

How about game variants?

Our favorite gametypes include Slayer BRs, Multi Flag, MLG gametypes, Braaains, Speed Demons, Grifball and BUNGLE.

What new stuff would you like to see in Matchmaking?

Remove Squad Battle to make room for Ranked Big Team. BUNGLE variants added to Action Sack. Have a ranked version of Juggernaut and VIP so it is possible to achieve a full ranked medals chest. Perhaps this can be done by having a ranked Double Exp Weekend similar to Infection on Halloween.

---

Thanks to the members of Beast Mode On for not biting. When we saw the foam frothing from their mouths, we got a little bit worried. Turns out they only gnawed a little. They also prepped a whole pile of their favorite assets for you to peruse. We just injected them all into Bungie Favorites. Make sure you check it out and drop into the discussion thread attached to say hello.

Channel your disgusting creative juices.

If you were trying to slip your perverted little emblem past our UI goaltender and had your hopes dashed by last week's update, you shouldn't stifle your creative energy.  Hawty McBloggy was inspired by your ingenuity and wants to see you do some dirty work.  Hit the jump below to express yourself explicitly.

The Unofficial Inappropriate Halo: Reach Emblem Contest

Convinced he's not already dealing with crazy people.

True Underdog steps up this week to deliver you some Average Joe lovin'.  If you're feeling lucky, scroll down and get access to his most intimate personal details. He answered every single question we asked without even a hint of hesitation.

Q. Who are you and what do you do?

A. My name is Victor and I’m a Psychology Major at Texas A&M University, but more importantly I’m the proudest member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of 2010! A-Whoop! (That’s how we do our introductions down here).

I’m a full time student working a nearly full time job. When I’m not in class, I work as an office technician at a media center helping professors resolve any issues with the computers and projectors in lecture halls. It’s not a hard job and it works great with my school schedule. I’ve also been helping a graduate student with her research for the last year or so. I hope to get into grad school sometime in the next couple years and get at least a Master’s Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. No, I won’t be dealing with crazy people; it’s basically psychology applied to the workplace, make the place more efficient. If I’m feeling lucky, I may go for a PhD.

When I get time to relax, I spend time online with my Bungie.net buddies or go out for some drinks with my friends.

Q. Doesn't explain the user name.  Where'd you did that up?

A. On the face of it, my gamertag is a reference to the movie “Dodgeball: a TRUE underdog story,” but it’s gained its own meaning over time. At LANs, I’d switch from True Underdog, The End, and Minerva (don’t ask). True Underdog seemed to be a favorite among my friends considering my team would come back and win in the final minutes of a game. The name has stuck with me since then.

Q. What forums do you stick with and why?

A. The three forums I frequent most would be the Septagon, The Halo 3 forum, and the Flood. I couldn’t really tell you which aspect of the forums I like the most because it’s a mixture of it all that makes the Bungie community the best community, hands down. It may sound like a wishy-washy answer, but it is what it is.

Q. So why gaming?

A. Gaming is something I do to relax in my spare time. I’m not very competitive and I’m up for playing whatever as long as I’m playing with my friends. Most all of my friends online are people I’ve met on Bungie.net. I play with one of my room-mates whenever we both have time, but that doesn’t happen too often.

Q. What was the first Bungie title you spent some spare time with?

A. The first Bungie game I played was Halo: Combat Evolved. I first heard about it after my dad told me about it. He told me I should check it out because it looks like it’d be a pretty big hit. I didn’t pay a whole lot of mind to the game until I played it with some of my friends at a LAN party; my first kill was with the almighty Needler. After that, I scrounged up what money I had to get an Xbox and a copy of Halo: Combat Evolved. The story is what got me into the Halo trilogy at first. It’s nothing short of epic. I still get chills at certain parts of pretty much any Halo game.

The multiplayer, however, is what’s made me stick around. Halo’s multiplayer offers up a cornucopia of different ways to play. I remember staying up into the wee hours of the morning with friends trying to run each other over with Warthogs in Blood Gulch, of course, the variety in the multiplayer experience has increased plenty since then.

Q. Are you surprised by your own increased involvement here at Bungie.net?

A. Oh definitely. I first joined with the intention of participating in discussion in Zanzibar and checking my game stats. I had no idea I’d be this active, years later. I’ve met some pretty cool guys and gals through the Bungie Community and have developed an attachment to the community overall. Even now, a notable potion of my time is invested in reading and posting in the forums.

Q. Invest in any other online resources?

A. I’ve tried to be as active on other forums as I am on Bungie.net, but it’s not going to happen. I’d say Bungie’s community is one of a kind and I’d be hard pressed to find another community that could measure up to it. I post in a few private groups like Mythic Members and You Are Not Welcome, but almost all of my time on Bungie.net is devoted to the public forums.

When I’m not on the forums, I’m an Operator in the #BungieNet IRC channel. It’s a community based chat room that originally started as a place for real time discussion about everything and anything Bungie, but we’ve become a place for anyone in the Bungie community looking to talk to like-minded individuals about pretty much anything.

Well, I suppose I do that even when I’m on the forums, too.

Q. Shout at said like-minded individuals.

A. First, I’d like to shout out to my fellow #BungieNet Ops: Primo84, Halo_Tru7h, Elmicker, Primum Agmen, and Nerd Boi. You guys make running a channel pretty damn enjoyable.

Next, I’d like to shout out to the folks I play with regularly online: Evilcam, Achilles1108, Qbix89, Ada Astra, Daft Whiteboy, Nedus, BreadOfWonder, gnome13, scapegoat413, eliper, ECOH Cam, Duardo, MAZ, Gerstung, Gzalzi, TGP, Halo3Recon, COB Ismo and everyone else on my friends list. Thanks for tolerating me.

Lastly, I’d like to thank my old man for pointing me in the right direction to the Tru7h and Bungie for providing a helluva lot more than 30 seconds of fun.

---

Us too.  Thanks, Dad!  And thanks to True Underdog for spending some time with us. We really feel like we've gotten to know him. Wonder if he'll borrow us some money now?

If you still have pressing questions for True Underdog, hit him up in the discussion thread attached. Just make sure you don't get all crazy.

Two community crafted constructs enter...

...one meme lives.  Pete the Duck just launched the second half of his delicious, self styled webcomic sammich. Part three is right around the corner. (Part One can also be found at the jump.)

HBO - Bob Vs. Oonsk

...With Master Chief!

Pretty nice piece of wall art on display over at Hawty McBloggy this morning.  HBO showed it off last week, but it's been updated with a little bit pf process. Peel back the layers and see how it was whipped up - if you're of college age. Hawty got a bit adults only in the comments section.

Your Mom Goes to College With Master Chief!

More than the sum of its parts.

Halcylon brought together the distinct pieces of artwork, screenshots, and 3D renders from last week's Halo: Reach onslaught and forged them into a cohesive unit. Once again taking inspiration from another science fiction franchise, you can find his finished product on his Deviant Art page. We'll link it below so you can ogle.

Halcylon's Halo: Reach Poster