Drizzy_Dan

[center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#fff0f5]Primary Announcement: Here's some incredibly interesting statistics about the site over a month's time:[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#fff0f5]Did you know [/color][color=#66ffff]8,477 posts have been made from February 8th to March 8th[/color][color=#fff0f5]?[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#fff0f5]Did you know that in that time we had [/color][color=#66ffff]1,740 new members register[/color][color=#fff0f5]?[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#fff0f5]This site is growing exponentially and that's just a small example of it.[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/5928-official-343iorg-custom-game-night-every-friday-starting-600-az-time/#entry55222"][color=#00ffff][u][color=#99ff99][b]CUSTOM GAMES NIGHT[/b][/color][/u][/color][/url][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][img]http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/Absolute_Dog/SpadesS-1CGN_zpsba8b5ad4.png[/img] [color=#99ff99]Spades N AZ's Custom Games Night [/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center] [color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff]I couldn't attend this week but I will have a recap video up for you soon. A known member on [/color][url="http://halocustoms.com/"][color=#0066ff][u][b]HaloCustoms[/b][/u][/color][/url][color=#ffffff] and good friend of [/color][color=#99ff99]Spades N AZ[/color][color=#ffffff], [/color][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/user/65838-solidsnakeee/"][color=#008000]SOLIDSNAKEee [/color][/url][color=#ffffff]captures gameplay from each [/color][color=#99ff99]CGN[/color][color=#ffffff] and will be giving it to me each week. Thank you [/color][color=#008000]SOLIDSNAKEee[/color][color=#ffffff] for your effort. Here's his [/color][color=#99ff99]recap of CGN 3/8/13:[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ff0000][b]WARNING: [/b][/color][color=#ffffff]The recap video footage does contain small amounts of mild language, watch at your own risk.[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][media] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oJAZ9pjxVE&feature=player_embedded [/media][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ff0000][b]WARNING: [/b][/color][color=#ffffff]The recap video footage does contain small amounts of mild language, watch at your own risk.[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff]If you want information on[/color] [color=#99ff99]Custom Games Night[/color] [color=#ffffff]and to join them click the title of the topic or [/color][color=#99ff99]RSVP at HaloCustoms[/color][color=#ffffff].[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#99ff99]Spades N AZ's[/color][color=#99ff99] [/color][color=#ffffff]friends list is full so to get onto his alternate account's friends list to participate in [color=#add8e6][color=#99ff99]Custom Games Night[/color][/color] click[/color] [url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=24580"][color=#66ff99]here. [/color][/url][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center] [color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#99ff99][img]http://www.343industries.org/forum/uploads/jawards/Spades_CGN.png[/img][/color][color=#ffffff]- All participants of[/color] [color=#add8e6][color=#99ff99]Custom Games Night[/color] [/color][color=#ffffff]hosted by[/color][color=#add8e6] [color=#99ff99]Spades N AZ[/color] [/color][color=#ffffff]receive his[/color] [color=#99ff99]Golden Spade Award[/color][color=#99ff99].[b] [/b][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffd700][u][b]DESTINY[/b][/u][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff]For those of you who have not seen it already, [/color][color=#00ffff]adamj004[/color][color=#ffffff], of our site's [/color][color=#00ffff]News Group[/color][color=#ffffff], who leads in all news [/color][color=#ffd700]Destiny[/color][color=#ffffff], has been featured as a source on [/color][color=#ffd700]Oakley Hi-Def of The Halo Forge Epidemic's latest video[/color][color=#ffffff] on his thoughts and [/color][color=#ffd700]theories on Destiny[/color][color=#ffffff]. Yes that was all one sentence. [/color][color=#ffd700]Oakley[/color][color=#ffffff] makes his entire video on [/color][color=#00ffff]Adam's [/color][color=#ffd700]Seven Heavens Theory[/color][color=#ffffff] which is brilliant and he represents all of [/color][color=#00ffff]Adam's[/color][color=#ffffff] ideas very clearly and even adds in his own [/color][color=#ffd700]great connections that he found[/color][color=#ffffff]. I'm going to provide the video for you here just in case you weren't persuaded into clicking a link I would have given.[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][media] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY7WY3k8x38 [/media][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][b][color=#00ffff][u]DGL[/u][/color][/b][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][img]http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/Absolute_Dog/DGLBanner-Small_zps9aa913b7.png[/img] [color=#ffffff]The [/color][color=#00ffff]DGL[/color][color=#ffffff] will be taking a break for competitors who have midterms and other work coming up. [/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#00ffff]It will be seen through to its end.[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center] [color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ff0000][u]Crimson[/u][/color] [color=#00ffff]Drizzy_Dan[/color][color=#33ff99][color=#99ff99], [/color][/color][color=#008000]Gazzy Mill Mill, [/color][color=#d3d3d3]Neurotic Kasper[/color][color=#9900cc][color=#8e35ef], [/color][/color][color=#d3d3d3]Real Talk[/color][color=#8e35ef], [color=#d3d3d3]Sarge[/color][/color] [color=#0000ff][u]Majestic [/u][/color] [color=#008000]Hater,[/color] [color=#0000ff]GermanShepherdD,[/color] [color=#d3d3d3]SikSlik7,[/color] [color=#008000]M4L1C1OU5[/color], [color=#00ffff]Lil Dog,[/color] [color=#d3d3d3]Forum Dinosaur[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff]Info on the[/color] [color=#00ffff]DGL[/color][color=#d3d3d3] [/color][color=#ffffff]can be found at these links:[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center] [color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][u][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/24269-dgl-season-2-rules-and-information/"][color=#00ffff]Rules_and_Info[/color][/url][/u][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/24251-dgl-weekly-match-list/"][color=#00ffff]Weekly_Match_List[/color][/url] [url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/24249-dgl-match-resultsleaderboard/"][color=#00ffff]Match_Results/Leaderboard[/color][/url] [url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/24269-dgl-season-2-rules-and-information/#entry230932"][color=#00ffff]Gametype_and_Scoring_Info[/color][/url][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffa500][b][u][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/8505-interviews-with-stars-of-the-community-index/#entry90848"][color=#ffa500][b][u]FEATURED INTERVIEWS[/u][/b][/color][/url][/u][/b][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/26763-interviews-with-stars-of-the-community-volume-28-insane54/"][color=#ffa500][b][u]Insane54[/u][/b][/color][/url] [color=#ffffff]-[/color] [color=#ffff00]The Community Manager at HaloCustoms. He really gives all there is to know about the site.[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#40e0d0][b][u]FORGE[/u][/b][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][img]http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/Absolute_Dog/MeetYourMaker_zps65c5bb67.png[/img][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][url="http://www.343industries.org/"][color=#40e0d0][u][b]343 Industries Community Forum[/b][/u][/color][/url][color=#ffffff] and [/color][url="http://www.youtube.com/thehaloforgeepidemic"][color=#40e0d0][u][b]The Halo Forge Epidemic[/b][/u][/color][/url][color=#ffffff] bring you the [/color][color=#40e0d0][u][b]Meet Your Maker 4v4 Infinity Slayer Forge Contest[/b][/u][/color][color=#ffffff]. [/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff]The contest ended this morning at 12AM EST. Maps were reviewed as they came in which was great work by the judges. Here's your judging team:[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#40e0d0]Alzarahn (Blueprint Forge Group)[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#40e0d0]WARHOLIC (The Halo Council)[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#40e0d0]Ducain23[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#40e0d0]SaItyKoalaBear [/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#40e0d0]Rezix333 [/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#40e0d0]OakleyHiDef (THFE) [/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#40e0d0]Psychoduck (THFE) [/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#40e0d0]Spades N AZ [/color][color=#ffffff] [/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#40e0d0]Absolute Dog[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][b][color=#40e0d0]Featured Map[/color][/b][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff]We all know and love [/color][color=#0033ff][color=#0066ff]Community Mod[color=#ffffff] [/color]skummgummigubbe[/color][/color][color=#ffffff] to be a good competitive Halo player, racer, and Forger. I want to show to you his map that he made for the [/color][color=#40e0d0]Meet Your Maker Contest[/color][color=#ffffff] called [/color][color=#40e0d0]Loading Dock[/color][color=#ffffff].[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff]Here's what it looks like at both spawn points but with different colors:[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=4273"][img]http://www.343industries.org/forum/uploads/monthly_03_2013/post-4445-0-40513600-1362420852_thumb.png[/img][/url][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff]A great interior map made for competitive 4v4 play. Find [/color][color=#0066cc]skumm's[/color][color=#ffffff] post for his map with all screenshots [/color][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/25521-meet-your-maker-infinity-slayer-forge-contest-submission-thread/page-4#entry248024"][color=#40e0d0]here.[/color][/url][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#0066ff][b][u]NEW MODERATOR[/u][/b][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff]Well there's finally been a proper announcement thread posted for our newest [/color][color=#0066ff]Community Moderator[color=#ffffff] [/color]RedStarRocket91[/color][color=#ffffff]! Not only was there a change in the Moderating [i]Team[/i], but there has also been a change in Moderating [i]color[/i]. It went from [/color][color=#0000ff]this[/color][color=#ffffff] to [/color][color=#0066ff]this[/color][color=#ffffff]. Much easier on the eyes.[/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff]Anyway, everyone MUST go congratulate [/color][color=#0066ff]RedStarRocket[/color][color=#ffffff] in his announcement thread [/color][color=#0066ff][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=26653"] here. [/url][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffff00][b][u]NEW LEGENDARY MEMBER[/u][/b][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#0066ff][img]http://www.the-numbers.com/video/Legendary/Legendary-poster.jpg[/img][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/center] [center][font='comic sans ms'][i]"In the pattern set by Spectral Jester about retired staff members who have given greatly to our community, Quantum has been added to the ranks of 'Legendary' members.[/i][/font][/center] [center][font='comic sans ms'][i]Quantum joined us long ago simply searching for information about Halo. He had no XBL and just wanted to be part of the community of Halo and do what he could to help us be what we were, what we are. He, within days of joining, came forward and offered to create signatures for the site since EGYPTIANGHETTO had taken a leave of absence. He was working with simple art soft ware and doing a bang up job for us. He was liked by all who met him and soon became a well known and daily member of the site. He continued his membership and assistance for the community and soon rose to the Face Book page. I was a personal fan of his selfless desire to always help out, never wanting anything in return. He was a prime example of quality membership. His departure and reasons for it were an eye opener to some, a noted and growing feeling by others.[/i][/font][/center] [center][font='comic sans ms'][i]I am happy to announce his inclusion into the ranks of Legendary members." [/i][/font][/center] [center][font='comic sans ms'][i]All written in Absolute Dog's words himself. Why didn't I just provide a link? Because I couldn't say it better than Dog did and it would've dishonored this incredible member's rite of passage to the Legendary Member status. Congrats Quantum![/i][/font][/center] [center][font='comic sans ms'][i]If you want to congratulate him too then I will actually provide the link for you: [url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/26726-new-legendary-member/"]CONGRATULATE HIM NOW.[/url][/i][/font][/center] [center][font=arial]GAMING NEWS[/font][/center] [center][font=arial]General Gaming News Wrap-up III was completed as a favor for Lil Dog. Find it here:[color=#00ffff] [/color][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/26750-general-gaming-news-wrap-up-iii"][color=#00ffff]Wrapup within a Wrapup[/color][/url][/font][/center] [center][font=arial][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=23437"][color=#ffff00]PLAY DATES [/color][/url][/font][/center] [center] [font=arial]Reach Play Date[/font][/center] [center][font=arial]The Community Reach Play Date takes place every second weekend of the month. This week's had an alright turn out, we had a 7 person party max which is better than the last Reach Play Date :lol:. We had a good time though we went into Forge and spawned things and killed each other in a Forge fight, and then we went into matchmaking skumm had to resort to some sort of outlandish cheating to beat us. Overall we had a good time even if it was pretty short.[/font][/center] [center][color=#ffd700][font=arial]Participants:[/font][/color][/center] [center][font=arial]SweatyBagels, skummgummigubbe, D-38 Boss, D-38 Boss's guest, HaloGeek, and Frankenzer[/font][/center] [center][font=arial]As you know by now info on all contests and events can be found by clicking the title of the section that says PLAY DATES.[/font][/center] [center][font=arial]Everyone who participates in any Community Play Dates gets the Gamer Award: [img]http://www.343industries.org/forum/uploads/jawards/participate.png[/img][/font][/center] [center][font=arial]Attend Play Dates, rack up awards![/font][/center] [center][font=arial]Do You Think You're A Racer?[/font][/center] [center][font=arial]For anyone that thinks they're good at racing on Halo 4, give this a try and you should have fun competing against some of the best! Find the topic and details [url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=26136"] [/url][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=26136"][color=#00ffff]here. [/color][/url] Second week tryouts are on Monday.[/font][/center] [center][font=arial]We're still interested in any ideas you have for Community Play Dates. Please post your ideas in here: [url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=26080"][color=#00ffff]No More death jokes. Just kidding you'll die if you click this [/color][/url][/font][/center] [center][color=#dda0dd][font=arial]SURVIVOR: HALO STYLE[/font][/color][/center] [color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#ffffff][color=#00ff00][b][u][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/12036-survivor-halo-style-sign-up-and-overview/#entry131438"][img]http://i.imgur.com/rbp9a.png[/img][/url][/u][/b][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color] [center]Season 2 is underway! The survivors meet every Saturday at 5 pm EST.[/center] [center]Contestants must make sure they have SURVIVOR GIRL on their Xbox Live friends lists.[/center] [center]Absolute Dog will never stop answering your questions in the[url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=24716"][color=#dda0dd] Survivor Q&A [/color][/url][/center] [center][url="http://www.youtube.com/user/343iCommunityPodcast?feature=mhee"][color=#0033cc]PODCAST[/color][/url][/center] [center] The latest Podast hasn't popped up yet but I'll edit the thread and article when it does. Subscribe to the Podcast by clicking the title of the section that says PODCAST. The Podcast Crew consists of the members[color=#ff33cc] [/color][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/user/46856-liquid-bionix/"][color=#ff33cc]LiQuid BioniX[/color][/url][color=#ff33cc], [/color][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/user/28117-sykowolf/"][color=#ff33cc]SykoWolf[/color][/url][color=#ff33cc], [/color][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/user/4495-minuette/"][color=#ff33cc]Minuette[/color][/url][color=#ff33cc], and [/color][url="http://www.343industries.org/forum/user/16704-sarge/"][color=#ff33cc]Sarge[/color][/url][color=#ff33cc].[/color] Who also have not popped up in a while.[/center] [center]Well if you ever wondered then yes I do write this all days before so it's like writing in present tense for things that haven't happened yet. Thanks for reading! Now scroll back up and read it all over again.[/center] [url="http://www.343industries.org/news/_/343-industries-news/343icf-weekly-site-wrapup-3913-r652"]This post has been promoted to an article[/url]

I'm very proud of this one guys, I got Insane54 to take some time out to bang out a very wordy but very worthwhile read of an interview. I don't want to waste any time so without further ado, I give you Insane54, Community Manger at HaloCustom's interview: DD: "So Insane, how did you come to be Insane54?" I54: "I started going by "Insane" when I started my first administrative/community management position at 12 or 13 years old, and ever since then I've never changed it. Long story short, I left my co-leader position at a large clan in order to make my own -- they called me "insane" (for making that move). Because I was a snarky teenager, I called myself "Insane" because I thought it was ironic at the time. I've been managing successful communities since then, and never changed my name -- it's good luck!" DD: "I agree with you on that even though I'm not all that supersticious. It's also a cool name! So where exactly were you co-administrating at that age?" I54: "I honestly don't remember the name of it, unfortunately. I think it was AoE? Something like that. The game was Jedi Knight II and III (Outcast and Academy) -- fantastic games, especially with the Lugormod and Euka mods. They're old but it really got me into running a community and creating environments for roleplaying games. The mods allowed you to place any items from the game into the server dynamically, so we built an entire world on top of that, where you pressed a button and a door opened and closed behind you, credits money systems, "renting" a place to live, food requirements, quests, jobs, just about anything you can think of, we made. So, I had a background in both running a community and making custom things, and that made my transition to larger custom-content communities that much easier!" DD: "You have a long history in Site Administration and I think that's unkown to many people in the Halo Community. Where have you been Admin or any form of Staff on Halo websites before you became the Community Manager of HaloCustoms?" I54: "For about 3 years between Halo 3 and Reach (2008 to 2011), I had the opportunity to run ForgeHub as one of three administrators and the community manager. That was a really awesome experience, because I got to see what it was like growing from a small number to something like 70K members. I got used to working with companies (including an official affiliation with Bungie), running events, and overall nurturing the community to its maximum potential; having that experience is invaluable when I'm trying to work on my own projects. ForgeHub is where I'm "famous" from, so to speak; I got to know many of the big names in the Halo community and industry, I built some great relationships with several employees at 343i and Bungie, became one of the first Community Cartographers, got one of the first Bungie All-Stars, and I learned what works and what doesn't in large scale community management. Overall, I've found that I really enjoy connecting people who otherwise would have never met. I love offering resources that let you see the world in a way that had previously been blocked by restrictions, and opening up those resources for anyone to use. I love incorporating all of the different niches of Halo and bringing them together to an interface that they can all use -- that means that people from two different niches get to experience totally new things from each other! I had a few projects in the time between ForgeHub and HaloCustoms: I ran a short-term experimental community for artists intended to be "self run" called creativeFloh!. I took a lot of the concepts that I used on that website on HaloCustoms. I've also set up communities for a local electronic music promotion company and a college counseling company. Lastly, I'm completing my degree in Software Engineering, so that takes up a lot of my time. Personally, I almost always don't like being a staff member. I like having the power to shape the site, change things up, and actually matter; I find more often than not, communities just use their staff as moderation and bodies. That's why it was so important that I'm not only the guy running and managing the site, I'm also the co-founder and legal co-owner. As a perfectionist, I've built up a lot of frustrations about the ways different websites run themselves, and I've taken many of them into consideration when designing HaloCustoms. We really stepped back and took a long time to consider how we can best serve the Halo community, drew it all out on paper and whiteboards, and then we went and implemented it. I'm really happy with the results that we've been getting at HaloCustoms thusfar!" DD: "That's all something I hope the readers take the time to read through. You really are such a huge name in Halo and it's almost a shame that there are so many people in the Halo Community that don't know you or what you've done for it. I've told you before and I'll tell you again, I love the way HaloCustoms works. What made you decide to make a site based off of custom games instead of going back down the road of Forge? I know the two coincide but why HaloCustoms and not HaloForge, let's say." I54: "I considered a forge-based website, but there are several reasons I went for customs instead. First of all, Forge is a product of customs, not the other way around. That means that no matter how big forging is, it's only useful if there are people playing that map! In addition, there's not much to add to what's already in the Halo community. I mean, look at 343i.org's maps section, ForgeCafe, ForgeHub; everybody has maps. HaloCustoms actually has a maps forum as well, and I have some huge updates coming to it in the near future, but I see that as an aspect to customs. Forgers come to HaloCustoms to test their map, then post it, then stick around and play it. It all comes full circle, and we're really big about being a *companion* site. I absolutely don't want to steal a single member from another site, I just want to offer a resource to as many Halo fans as possible. So, test your map on our site, use our resource, and stay active on your own site -- that's exactly what I hope people do. People who just host games can also find new awesome maps to play, etc. I think you'll be seeing us growing our Forge community because forge is so vital to customs and vice versa. Most importantly, I wanted to offer something new. As far as I know, nobody has really designed a full-on open interface for creating, finding, and organizing custom games both short and long term. This resource means new people meeting new people -- it makes HaloCustoms almost a "waypoint" or "hub" where people from all over the halo community can come and play some customs with guys they've never met before. So, we're seeing AGL guys playing with Grifball guys, and they're sharing ideas and maps -- it's really heartwarming when a member says "I made a game and I had a full party for 4 hours and I learned all about X, Y, and Z", it's entirely the reason we made this website." DD: "Excellently said Insane and you certainly have the right idea when it comes to bringing the Halo Community together by making use of both our sites. So one thing that I really love about HaloCustoms is the RSVP system. How did you get it to link to Xbox.com? Did you need any permissions to do that and if so, did any of your connections help you to get that?" I54: "Everything you see on the site is normal permissions with a *LOT* of custom coding. When me and dev team were starting to build this website, we literally spent every waking moment online planning, coding, debugging, so on. I'd basically be waking up, making coffee, and getting back to coding until late at night, every night during my winter break. So we spent a lot of time making sure this website really works and feels as well as it possibly could. I firmly believe that if you're not moving forwards, you're falling behind; I'd rather fail 9 times and get it right once then not try something new at all. So we're always making big changes; always adding new features, removing things, editing things. Any given day you might see us release something big and awesome because we want to maximize how useful this site is. We place a ton of emphasis on focus and usability, but we want to have a strong, powerful engine behind all of that. I really like the RSVP system because you can go to any game and go "this game has 20 RSVPs, it's probably going to be packed" or "this game only has 5 RSVPs? I should tell my friends!" In addition to the fact that by RSVPing you're automatically linked to the host's gamertag, we've also got functionality that lets the host connect to RSVPs, so that a host can send a message to those who say they're going to come. Another feature that's been big recently is our "rate" feature -- if you RSVP to a game before it begins, when the game ends you can "rate your host" good or bad. When a host reaches 25 (total) Good Host ratings, they become a Gold Host -- they get a shiny gold gradient on their games which helps highlight them as "a go-to game". 343i.org's own Spades N AZ is one of our new Gold Hosts, with nearly 150 Good Host ratings. His lobbies often command well over 30 RSVPs, so many people trying to get in a game just to play customs. It gives you an idea of how crazy custom games can get, and it really values those high-quality hosts. You can check out the game calendar here, where you'll likely see several Gold Host's games: http://halocustoms.com/events/upcoming To be honest, most "connections" I've gotten are from people I've never met, they just see the site and they see its potential and how much it could mean for Halo's future. In this case, the best way to attract investors is to have a great product, not to know the right people. I've been in touch with lots of people, websites, and companies, and we've got a lot coming from that angle! Unfortunately nothing I can disclose at this time, but we will have some great free giveaways, contests, and tournaments coming up in the future" DD: "Wow your site has had an invaluable amount of time and effort put into it and I gotta say, Insane, it really shows. It's great to hear about the fact that big news and events are coming and I've seen how many people RSVP to Spades's Custom Game Night, it's ridiculous! How did HaloCustoms come to be involved with 343industries.org?" I54: "It was right after my site had launched -- we were like a week old and had something like 3,000 members already. I got a couple messages sort of randomly from Spades while I was playing in a custom game. So, after the game, him, Absolute Dog, and myself had some long chats on Skype discussing our sites, ideas, and possibilities, and now here we are with a great partnership. I'm really glad that we can be as close as we are with 343i.org, we share a lot of common ideas (warm, close knit communities), but have our differences (you guys focus on Halo overall, we focus on custom games and forge). We work together so nicely; gotta give Spades credit for making the first move on this one." DD: "Indeed we Absolutely Dogly do, shoutout to our very own Staff of Promotions and Events' Spades N AZ! That was a very huge huge huge move on his part, and I had a feeling we had a connection to you through him when I saw how active he was on HaloCustoms haha. Had you ever heard of the site before Spades had brought it to your attention? Maybe stumbled upon it by accident, anything at all?" I54: "As part of my job in being a community manager, I think it's vital to at least have knowledge of all the major players in the game. So, I did have a kind of vague understanding of 343i.org and had been stalking around every now and again, evaluating and considering options. However, I hadn't really thought of them as a worthwhile partnership until after Spades came to me and pitched the idea! That said, I'm always open to partnering with websites and communities! I feel like by bringing together many communities by partnership, that means that we get to throw activity to our partners, and they get to tell their members 'hey come here to set up custom games!'. By doing that, it reduces their own requirement to organize custom games (let's be honest, forum boards or threads doesn't really work) and delegates it to us -- and we're more than happy to be that resource! In addition, the more places that partner with us, the more we bring communities with different traits together on our interface!" DD: "I think with partnerships like the one we have with each other and the one each of us have with THFE, it's a HUGE stepping stone for the recollaboration of the Halo Community. Speaking of which what do you think of the Halo Community right now? Do you think people are too divided over Halo 4?" I54: "I'm a really big fan of Halo 4, I think its a wonderful title especially for 343i's first real thing. I'm really excited for what Halo 5 will be bringing us; if it lives up to my expectations it *will* be the greatest Halo game ever made, no questions asked. That said, I'm seeing a lot of the community complaining about small issues and it's like "come on guys, chill out, it's a good game!" It's not perfect by any means, but I sometimes wish we could all just get behind 343i and encourage them rather than complain about every little thing that doesn't go as well as we feel it should. I really do love the Halo community, if I didn't, I wouldn't have stayed as long as I have in it. I consider many of the friends I've made over Halo to be some of my best friends that I fully trust, which includes some members on my staff, the Halo Tricks cast, Xbox Live friends, etc etc. My only complaint of the Halo community is that we are so very fragmented right now. Everyone has a little niche that they belong to, and since their friends are from that niche, they only end up playing games of that niche's style and playing with the same group of friends. I'm really hoping with all this partnership that's been going on between communities that we'll be seeing more inter-community action going on to help combat that fragmentation in the Halo community and bring us closer together. One big thing I have set up on HaloCustoms is that the staff is entirely self-run. They're actually directed to, and I quote, "put awesome things on the front page". The staff is a really chill, relaxed group that I've handpicked, and some member will go "hey, I found this article/event/video on X site!" and write a little feature for it and put it right up on the front page and social media (Twitter and Facebook) within minutes. We have tremendous flexibility, and we love to feature other website's content! Our only criteria is: make something awesome! Make something new, unique, or just plain neat and we WILL feature it, no matter if we are your partner, no matter if its beneficial to us, no matter if you came to us or we just found it trolling around. We want to encourage and reward doing awesome, unique things! I think if more Halo sites picked up on encouraging awesome behavior rather than strict guidelines, we'd see a much less fragmented Halo community that could really push 343i forward to making the best possible products that they can. There's a lot of fantastic talent on that team, and there's infinite potential for what they can do given a supportive community." DD: "I really do enjoy seeing the way the Staff interacts with the community on HaloCustoms, you have quite a funny crowd haha. One of the articles I was extremely impressed with was the one Psychoduck put up of your Staff vs. Community Event. The idea of going through the footage and instead of just rendering it and putting it in the article he broke it down into parts using screenshots is just freaking brilliant and so creative. My hat is off to Psychoduck because that's better than any work I've ever done in News. It sure is awesome! Now, I have seen a lot of freedom on that site meaning no word censor filter and anyone can talk about anything in the shoutbox. What are a couple of the rules on HaloCustoms that members have to abide by if they can say or do whatever they want really?" I54: "The overarching rule on HaloCustoms is 'use common sense'. That's the rule that I abide by, the staff abide by, and we expect every member of the site to abide by. So, we take everything in context. Is this guy clearly trying to troll? Does he know what he's doing isn't okay on the site? Has he had a previous warning? I want to create a create a fun, warm community, and to do that we do need to do some moderation, but we try to limit that as much as possible. If somebody does something wrong, we prefer to edit or delete and then send a private message to say 'hey, don't do that man'. But if they're clearly just trying to troll or get around the rules, we'll be very strict with our moderation. For example, swearing is allowed, but if its offensive in context, we'll come to you and be like 'that's not okay man'; if you ignore us and keep doing it, we'll likely ban you. We want to make the site awesome for everyone, but at the same time, we don't go easy on people who try to break the warmness of the community. If you're not trying to troll, you'll have a good time; otherwise, you'll be seeing the back end of the banhammer very quickly. Obviously this means that a lot of 'what's okay' is determined by the staff, and I'm blessed to have such a close-knit staff team. They talk amongst themselves when there's a difficult decision and make the best overall decision together. In addition, we try to create an interaction between the staff and the person who did the action; that way they can argue or debate their case. In the end, our system is loose but it works really well as opposed to an almost lawyerly list of 'rules.'" DD: "I bet the members and Staff enjoy that very much . Insane, it's been an incredible interview. It's been awesome to hear your views on the Halo Community and our sites' partnership. Now I have to ask you, what are your words of wisdom for members in the community that want what you want?" I54: "I think a lot of members want that same feel of solidarity that we used to feel in Halo 2/3. I see many, many people coming on to HaloCustoms and introducing themselves with "I really hope this brings back that Halo 2/3 feel in the Halo community". I do think that the site helps to make that a reality, and by connecting all of our talents together, we can help increase the popularity of Halo as well as connect all of these smaller websites. So, if you run a website or group or company or clan, come to me on the website, twitter, facebook, email me ([email protected]), whatever works. I will do anything I can to help you get interconnected with the HaloCustoms family. We have different ways that we work with different entities -- we have a restricted 'sponsored groups' section that is great for showcasing the great small groups in our population, we have partnership opportunities for larger sites, and we have opportunities for websites to work with us. If you're just a single person (or a person with a few friends), join the site and get talking to us as well as playing games! We're all really friendly and every person who joins the community is helping us grow bigger and bigger. Also, word of mouth is hugely important to us. If somebody needs a map tested, or is looking for friends to play, or is otherwise just getting bored with Halo, point them towards HaloCustoms. We want to be what you think of when you think 'custom games'." Everybody give Insane54 a round of applaue he was excellent in giving us an in depth look at his site, our affiliate, HaloCustoms. I advise checking it out. Check it out but remember this is your home . Just kidding really though give it a look. Thank you 343i Community Forum it's taken me all day to get this out it's been so busy, the editing glitch screwed me so bad earlier I basically did this twice . Oh man, well once again thank you all for supporting these and I hope you read all of it. HAIL