The latest news about the Halo series of games from Microsoft
From halo.bungie.org:
Stephen Loftus has completed a massive update to his Halo Scale Charts – the total number of pages has increased from 12 pages in the last version to 27 pages in this one! It contains a mountain of new items from previous games, plus most major vehicles from Reach and Halo Wars. Go take a look! (The original article is unchanged; only the Cascade Scaling images are new. You can jump right to the top level of this series if you’re in a hurry.)
From NukeTacoProductions:
The beginning… the beginning of a story that tells of a man, betrayed by his fellow countrymen, on a mission to sort out his life and what has become of it. Meeting acquaintances, adversaries and allies along the way, this is going to be one hell of a ride.
Editor’s note: Language is mature. Proceed with caution.
Download | Shownotes
This week’s bulletin highlights the world of Grifball with an interview of Burnie Burns from RoosterTeeth, talking about the history of the gametype. There is the weekly playlist update as well as short behind-the-scenes look on how 343i decided to progress the Spartan Ops story after the first five episodes. The in-game File Browser is also fully functional. Again, we dip into our mailbag and read your submissions. Enjoy
Websites, like smart AIs, start to go rampant after seven years, and that’s about how old the software and hardware that underpinned Rampancy had gotten.
No more. The site is now on a new machine, and although it’s modest, it still outspecs the old one by a significant margin. The CMS that runs that site has been upgraded to a version that, while it is not the latest, is officially supported, and we have a clearer upgrade path to later versions than we had before.
Nearly all of the content has been saved; I’m not actually aware of anything that was lost, and nearly all site features– the sheet music database, the gamertag database, the forgemap database– should work as well if not better than they did before.
Some different antispam methods are in place, which means I’m going to experiment with reopening user registration without admin approval soon.
Kick the tires and let me know if anything breaks.
UPDATE: There is one thing broken; the podcast feed. It’s being worked on.
UPDATE: The podcast feed should be fixed. I apologize if this creates duplicates for anyone; I’ve seen this happen before on other podcasts I follow, and I know I hate it when it happens. The upgrade has been a long time coming, though, ad some hiccups are inevitable.
From Rooster Teeth:
Gavin and Geoff play PIG in Halo 4 to decide who will get the larger piece of steak this week.
Editor’s note: Language is mature. Proceed with caution.
Halo is a fictional universe. However, sometimes we catch sight of things in real life that remind us of our favorite science fiction video game franchise. This particular series, titled Halo in Real Life, showcases those very moments. Enjoy the subtle Halo references sometimes spotted when out and about in the real world, and if you have a picture you’d like to submit for possible future inclusion, send it to bsangel[at]halowaypoint.com!
.jpg)
As seen and captured by Coux73 |
From HT Edge:
Crespo2006 creates a unique series of videos which utilizes Halo medals in a variety of different games. This one features them in Halo Wars!
From Windows:
Ancient evil. Deadly technology. An unknown world. The stakes are high for shipwrecked duo Master Chief and Cortana as they battle against galactic apocalypse in Halo 4. Bring a bit of the excitement to your Windows desktop in this free theme.
From MythicTyrant:
After the dust settles, the Master Chief finds himself stranded on the derelict Forerunner shield world Requiem, a mysterious land occupied by technologies beyond our comprehension. But he soon finds out that he wasn’t the only one to make it to the surface in one piece. Now, a horde of Covenant stand between him and the discovery of a strange signal being picked up by Cortana’s slowly deteriorating mind.
Some people show their love for Halo by playing the games. Others get a relevant image permanently placed upon their body. Enjoy this particular example of a Halo-related body modification, and if you have a picture you’d like to submit for possible future inclusion, send it to bsangel[at]halowaypoint.com!
From ReadyUpLive:
This is Episode 1 of Halo 4 Fails and Stuff. Included are a Duck Hunt Double Kill, Scattershot suicide, Railgun fail, lucky Plasma Pistol charge, Binary Rifle Double Kill, and a Ghost Overkill. Enjoy!
From halo.bungie.org:
Nikko B201 pointed out this really awesome Master Chief stained glass lamp made by Michael McLane – it’s freaking beautiful! You can check out more pics of the Chief lamp on his deviantART page.
From ducain23:
Today, I show you how to precision Forge in Halo 4! Hope this helps. 🙂
Every Monday, we feature a community member who does one or more of the following things: routinely goes above and beyond for their fellow forum members, is a positive and active member of the community, and/or sends me mass amounts of cat pictures. This week our Community Member of the Week is Lycan XIII. Read a little more about this particular fan below, then hit their profile to see what their favorite movie has in common with one of the maps in the Forge playlist!
Gamertag: Lycan XIII.
Origin of Gamertag: It’s inspired by my love for wolves and Red XIII from FF7.
Current clan/community: Whoever’s on at the time.
Favorite map, game type and playlist: Valhalla, Infection, Squad Battle.
Least favorite map, game type and playlist: Isolation, Headhunter, Rumble Pit.
Halo weapon specialty/preference: Warthog Front Bumper: Give me a good gunner that I can work with and I can drive for days. Well, technically minutes, but you get the point…
Halo playing style (offense, defense, sniper, driver, etc.): Like I said above, I consider myself to be an objective vehicle specialist. Need someone to fetch the flag? Jump in my ‘Hog and we’ll go grab it. Need to defend the flag? Just give me the Wraith and it’ll be done.
Anything else we should know? Anything else you want to know, ask away!
From MythicTyrant:
A bit late on the holiday videos but for those of you who don’t know, over the course of my Halo 4 Legendary Walkthrough I had a personal goal to assassinate EVERY TYPE of enemy over the course of my deathless run. I’m VERY happy to say that I succeeded and compiled my success (along with a few other little fun tidbits) into one, belated, holiday video. Enjoy!
From Certain Affinity:
This video covers how to set up spawn points and respawn zones in Halo 4’s Forge Mode. Topics include: Initial Spawns, Respawn Points, Respawn Zones, Advanced Settings, CTF Setup, Dominion Setup, and basic Flood/FFA setup.
Hello, Grifball fanatics! The Halo 4 Grifball playlist will be launching soon. We’re super excited about it and wanted to share some of the details with you.
We created two different game types to tickle your fancy: Grifball and Grifball Pro. Here is a breakdown of each:
Grifball
Single 12-minute round. First to 5 scores wins. Auto pick-up enabled.
Grifball Pro
Five 3-minute rounds. Auto pick-up disabled.
Before we dig deeper into the settings, let’s look at the courts you’ll be playing on. All of the below creations come from runNOKYARDrun, and each of these maps will be featured in both Grifball and Grifball Pro voting options.
Primordial
A sign at the door reads: “When you are done playing Grifball please use the provided space mop to clean any spilled blood. The Eggheads do not want Human DNA in the Primordial Goo Mixing Tank”.
Thin Ice
Although the court may seem dark at first glance it has quickly become a favorite among Grifball League players due to the startlingly bright visibility of enemy Spartans.
Sarge’s Laboratory
This court, set in the Grifball Court area of Erosion, features Hockey style boards and something players will never see. In order to counter a glitch where the ball may become stuck in the ceiling the entire upper portion of the court is covered with invisible 4×4 Blocks and Coliseum Walls.
Grifball Fissure
Set in the picturesque Ravine, this court is one part UNSC, one part Forerunner, and features an invisible soft ceiling to keep the ball inside the court.
Termiterium
Set in a reclaimed Termite Mound Structure this court plays with Forge’s lighting system to provide a low light zone where players stand out like radioactive termites.
Hangar 101
The Admiral’s private hangar features holographic lettering and a fully functional force field. The court shares several features with Halo Reach’s Grifball court Brightside. It is positioned to incorporate a natural rock wall, and the entire court is constructed at a 35 degree angle.
Now, a look at some extra juicy details for you Grifball veterans:
| Setting | Grifball | Grifball Pro | ||
| Game Settings | ||||
| Score to Win | 5 | 1 | ||
| Time Limit | 12 Minutes | 3 Minutes | ||
| Lives per Round | Unlimited | Unlimited | ||
| Rounds | 1 | 5 | ||
| Grifball Options | ||||
| Automatic Pickup | Enabled | Disabled | ||
| Ball Arm Time | Instant | Instant | ||
| Ball Fuse Time | 5 Seconds | Instant | ||
| Ball Reset Time | 15 Seconds | 30 Seconds | ||
| General Settings | ||||
| Friendly Fire | Enabled | Enabled | ||
| Betrayal Booting | Disabled | Disabled | ||
| Team Changing | Not Allowed | Not Allowed | ||
| Loadout Usage | Game Loadouts | Game Loadouts | ||
| Respawn Settings | ||||
| Respawn Time | Instant | Instant | ||
| Suicide Penaty | None | None | ||
| Betrayal Penalty | None | None | ||
| Death Cam | Disabled | Disabled | ||
| Base Player Traits |
||||
| Shields and Health | ||||
| Damage Resist | 90% | 50% | ||
| Shield Multiplier | 100% | 0% | ||
| Shield Recharge R | 200% | Default | ||
| Shield Recharge W | Default | Default | ||
| Weapons and Damage | ||||
| Damage Modifier | 200% | 1.5 | ||
| Grenade Count | No Grenades | No Grenades | ||
| Infinite Ammo | Enabled | Enabled | ||
| Weapon Pickup | Disabled | Disabled | ||
| Equipment | ||||
| Armor Ability | None | None | ||
| Ability Usage | Unchanged | Unchanged | ||
| Tactical Package | None | None | ||
| Support Upgrade | Dexterity | Dexterity | ||
| Sensor Mode | Player Movement | Player Movement | ||
| Sensor Range | 25 Meters | 25 Meters | ||
| Movement | ||||
| Player Speed | 100 | 100 | ||
| Jump Height | 100 | 100 | ||
| Player Gravity | 75 | 75 | ||
| Fall Damage | 100% | 100% | ||
| Appearance | ||||
| Active Camo | Off | Off | ||
| Waypoint | Visible to Allies | Visible to Allies | ||
| Visual Effect | Unchanged | Unchanged | ||
| Grif Traits |
||||
| Shields and Health | ||||
| Damage Resist | 200% | 200% | ||
| Shield Multiplier | 2x | 2x | ||
| Shield Recharge R | Base | Base | ||
| Shield Recharge W | Base | Base | ||
| Weapons and Damage | ||||
| Damage Mod | 300 | 300 | ||
| Melee Modifier | Unchanged | Unchanged | ||
| Infinite Ammo | Enabled | Enabled | ||
| Equipment | ||||
| Ability Usage | Disabled | Disabled | ||
| Sensor Range | 25 Meters | 25 Meters | ||
| Movement | ||||
| Player Speed | 170 | 170 | ||
| Jump Height | 110 | 110 | ||
| Player Gravity | 75 | 75 | ||
| Fall Damage | Base | Base | ||
| Appearance | ||||
| Visual Effect | Overshield | Overshield |
We’ve spent a lot of time working with the Grifball community to build this playlist, and we can’t wait to show it to you. See you on the court!
From Official Xbox Magazine:
The brilliant concept of Spartan Ops – weekly downloadable co-op missions that continue the story of Halo 4 following the events of the campaign – has sputtered at times. If you’ve had your doubts about Spartan Ops, Episode 7, which debuts next week, may just change your mind.
It starts with the impressive cinematic, which finally pushes the story of Dr. Catherine Halsey in an interesting direction. Mother of the Spartan program, Halsey shows herself to be both too devious to be trusted and too useful to be ignored. In a game franchise where good and bad is black and white, Halsey is the rare person in the gray. And this episode continues Spartan Ops’ efforts to better define one of the most important, but perhaps lesser understood, characters in the Halo universe.
Of course, you don’t have to even play Spartan Ops to watch this cinematic short. It’s available just by hopping into the Spartan Ops menu. But this is one episode you will want to play from start to finish. That’s because the Covenant and Prometheans have invaded Infinity. And the result is the most fun we’ve had with Spartan Ops to date. Read our complete article via the link below.
From Rooster Teeth:
Jack and Geoff continue to laugh at the misfortunes of others in this week’s episode of Fails of the Weak!
Editor’s note: Language is mature. Proceed with caution.
