Absolute Dog

It has been quite so time since I have logged in and even longer since I have posted anything. That said, here is the 'old Dog' because...well, I never change. So, here we go, lol. The game we all once played has not carried the interest we all once had. The game was what we all had in common when we first joined. We used to, and some still do, talk are collective asses off about what meant so much to us. Through all that talking, debating and arguing-Twinreaper-we realized it was more than the game that kept us together. We became friends with each other. It didn't matter who you were, how old you were or what you looked like, it mattered what kind of a person you were. I once said something to the order of, "this site is a tranquil place in the storm of the internet". Not a direct quote, I am sure, but close enough for my point. I am watching the 'shout box' as I type and figure things are still the same. If you know the story, this site was kind of a fluke. Created by someone who was not sure what it would turn into, if anything. He just captured a good url. He did play, he did mod....as did his friends. This site, like any place people find to share their experiences, became something very cool. It still is in it's own right. Enjoy what has been given to you. Twam. I was not happy about what happened when I stepped down, but you do have my respect for keeping this site alive and allowing the it to be a haven in the gaming community. Thank you to all who remember. Have a good night. AD

I have had to delete all but my most current messages as my current membership status was over burdened by nearly 2500 messages. Rather than spend days or weeks trudging though them one by one, I performed a mass deletion of all but a tiny few. Any legitimate message or thread you want me to take part in will need to be resent. Thank you for your understanding.

I truly appreciate all of the kind words and remembered moments. In reading the various posts made here I have reflected back on some of the highlighted moments and events that shaped this forum. My close friends here know who they are and we have talked. This is for all of you. Thank You............. Some of you already know this, but it bears another mention. This forum, what we were in the beginning and have become, is not based on any one person. Where I genuinely take to heart all of thoughts you have shared, the site is a culmination of all of us. Many posts have spoken to what I have done or made possible and I see that as a reflection of what the past and current members have given in either inspiration, support, active participation and/or friendship. We did this together. Please remember what the leaders of this forum have to do in order to manage our corner of the Halo universe. Spades summed it up the best, though it feels self serving to say so. Providing solid and consistent leadership can often be separate from your personal feelings. Only a handful know how far I went to support some members and ideals of this forum and the price paid for it. It may surprise you to know who and what they were, but it will remain private. In the end, give the leaders and moderators polite respect and work to continue to build what we have and not tear it apart. Have conversations not arguments. We can not control the direction Halo takes, but we can control how we act and interact around the game. This is a forum at it's core and by definition offers the format for pro and con discussions to take place...........that has to be understood and accepted. Thanks to each and every one of you for all of the kind words and support over the years. This site and all of you are ......................

The winning map for the Meet Your Maker - Dominion forge contest is by yet another very talented forger who has produced a number of Competitive and Flood maps for the Halo community. His offering for the Dominion contest was a showcase of his talent and ability to forge high quality playing environments across various game types. He was also recently chosen to provide video commentary for THFE, which occurred long after map submissions, due to his understanding of quality forge techniques and his ability to speak to them so others can gain insight and advance their forge capabilities. The Winner of Meet Your Maker - Dominion is....... by PA1NTS The map reflects an urban setting that allows players to traverse the areas between the bases by either sprinting down the open corridors between the buildings and around the exterior edge of the map,through the multiple levels of the structures - which allow for vehicle use in some cases - or across the 'roof tops'. The maps unique "L" shaped design offers avenues of access and varying levels that provide for a much more 'larger than it looks' feeling. Looking at the map from overhead for the first time the foot print seemed somewhat small with it's six structures and tight interior routes between Bravo, and the Green, Blue and Red structures, but once on the ground you find the true art in Monsoon's design. Alpha and Charlie are reverse mirror images of each other as are the two connecting structures that lead to Bravo, yet it is the creative use of multiple heights for the ground level that transitions into the first and second floors of buildings that give Monsoon it's unique ebb and flow. The varying tiers of the buildings and their open areas provide a series of sight lines for both attack and defense especially when holding the pivotal Green building that is located on the interior elbow of the map. The Avalanche-esque man cannons offer a quick departure form the ground level adjacent to Alpha and Charlie launching you onto the respective corridors between Blue and Red that are the roof over the tunnel that funnels around the interior corner of Green. PA1NTS has given the community such a high caliber Dominion map and it is why we are proud to note him as the winning forger for this contest. Download Monsoon here Second Runner Up Announcement First Runner Up Announcement Winners and Maps of Note from Meet Your Maker - Infinity Slayer Stay tuned to THFE and this site as we continue to showcase some 'maps of note' that were, along with the top three selections, examples of the type of quality and creativity our forge community has to offer. We would also like the forge community at large to know that all of these and many other (what I like to refer to as) premier forgers all use a series of testing lobbies and custom games with fellow forgers and players to test their creations. This process allows them to gain feedback of all types which then allows them to refine the map from it's original incarnation and shape it into the finished product represented here. Not one forger of any merit would be able to tell you they built a map without the help of testing. Whether they have an inherit forge ability or have learned it from others, all talented forgers makes use of and truly listen to the advice of others. We not only thank the forgers, but all of you who were part of the testing and critiquing process. Here is a list of former and current judges for the Meet Your Maker forge series. SaltyKoalaBear Spades N AZ AbleSirThomas The Fated Fire Warholic Psychoduck Absolute Dog I would also like to offer a special thanks to Spades N AZ who no longer is part of our Halo community. Due to his overwhelming dislike for current title he felt he could no longer do what he had done for so many years for the forge community. Spades was integral in helping to form the ties between the various judges and his testing lobbies over the years had helped to find and bring forward some of the talented forgers we have showcased with Meet Your Maker as well as in other contests in the forge community. His dedication, friendly nature, knowledge and friendship is missed by many of us in the forge community. Thank you Spades for all that you gave and continue to give with your lineage of sharing and leadership. ♠ Spades N AZ ♠

I am stepping down from the position of Site Moderator of 343industries.org. I have worked over the past many months training and watching RedStarRocket as he has taken on the reigns of the site moderator position. I know I have made a good choice for a successor and am confident he will continue on with the traditions of this forum. RSR I wish you the best! I have made an unending list of friends over the years on this site and in the Halo community and am grateful for the opportunity to have met and become friends with so many. My work with the forge community will continue by promoting and highlighting the incredible maps and game types they create. Forge has always been close to my heart and I have met and become friends and associates with some of the best forgers in our community. I will continue the Meet Your Maker series along with THFE and the incredible group that has helped judge these contests. My work with Forge Cafe and Halo Customs with the 2v2 Forge Tournament will be seen through to the end as well. I have hopes that it will be the first in a string of similar events between our communities. As for the members of 343industries.org, it has been a privilege and honor to serve all of you. Thanks to all members, past and present, who have helped to build and maintain this site with your ideas, participation and love for the game. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Here are a few facts about me as a moderator, a member and a Halo player. I have performed 2,272 administrative actions as a moderator. This tops all other admin actions, which is 13 more than Twam and nearly 2 1/2 times that of my friend and former co-site moderator Jester. I have performed 6,068 moderator actions which is 2,200+ over Jester and Twam and no other moderator even begins to comes close to us. Though these are all lofty numbers, know that all moderators, save a couple, have done some serious work for this site and should be thanked. I never had any intention of being a moderator and came close to turning down the position. I had no plans on returning after I stepped down to care for loved ones. Life is funny that way. I met, then moved across the country and now live with the woman I met on XBOX Live playing Halo 3. I am an old school Halo fan, playing Halo CE since 2001, and have logged over 30,000 match made games and an unknown number of custom and Lan line games with all of my accounts over the years. My name, GT, was given to me by friends years ago because I hated being sniped from across the map and would hunt down snipers with a passion. I would literally 'dog' or hound them to death. Ergo my friends comments were, "He will absolutely dog you if you have the sniper rifle.". Halo 3 is my favorite of the Halo series because I truly enjoy the arena style of competition it offers and play it regularly. I have a deep rooted love of forge and genuinely admire the competitive play of professional Halo players. I love the Halo community and this site and all the good memories they have given me. I want to thank a few close friends and noted members of this site. Spectral Jester - Friend for life Choot 'em - Friend for life imakequilts - Love of my life and unsung supporter of this site Twinreaper - Tech Guru, mean as a badger, miss you Vitamin PWN - Forgive and forget Total Mayhem - Fellow Christian and friend RSR - She is all yours now, take care of her Drizzy Dan - The shinning star The Director - Never a dull moment Spades N AZ - Thanks for everything, miss you Twam - Thanks for the opportunity Thanks to all of you. I will miss serving you. - Absolute Dog

The Lil Dog has returned. RSR may I suggest you create a folder for his conversation as Jester and I called him the 'Idea Dog' for a reason, lol!

It was announced today by Bungie that they had set the release date for Destiny for September 9th 2014. Below is an excerpt from the Bungie Weekly Update for 12/6/2013 and a news article from the site. Relevance of the Date The date falls almost 9 months to the day from this day.It is the 9th day of the 9th month of the year.This is a Tuesday in the second week of the month. There will be a full moon on that date. There appears to be no relevance with the date other than that unless there is some 'in house' reasoning for selecting it. It falls well before the shopping period for the Holidays and after the summer break for schools. Update excerpt This week, we set that date in stone: September 9th, 2014. In an interview with the community back in 2001, Jason Jones once lamented the inexorable tick of the clock. More recently, he reminded our studio just how valuable the coming months will be, and challenged the team to make every second of Destiny development count. It’s an exciting time to be at Bungie. The stage is set, and we’re going to make these moments matter. We believe Destiny will be worth the wait, and we’re anxious for the chance to prove it to you. News Article Since then, Destiny has continued to reveal its promise. Every new build brings us closer to our original vision. With those goals in sight, we intend to use every moment from now until the release of the game to ensure that Destiny lives up to your expectations, and our own. Today, in partnership with Activision, we are proud to announce that the worldwide launch of Destiny will happen on September 9th. Accordingly, the Destiny Beta will kick off in the summer of 2014, available first on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3. The early support and enthusiasm for Destiny has been inspiring and humbling. We believe this is the right decision for our game, our studio, and our passionate community. Thank you for coming along with us on this adventure. See you starside. This post has been promoted to an article

All of the Halo 2 DLC. Though most of my online gaming since 2004, when I purchased Halo 2 on it's release, has been on an XBOX console and in the Halo series.....I have a large collection of games that have offered DLC. Until recently I have either purchased, been given as a gift from friends or received free codes to review content for most all my games providing it. Most of the content in and of itself was enjoyed for what it was, but the problem lay with how it was implemented into the game play online. Halo 2's DLC is the best memory I have of DLC being best integrated into slayer and skirmish and therefore enjoyed properly. Sadly it is the only DLC I would list in a top 10. All Othe DLC content has been so poorly handled, in my opinion, when the solution seems so simple. Rather then a separate playlist for DLC content, as in the case of my two heaviest played series of Halo and the Tom Clancy games, the main playlist should be for those who have all the current content and a separate non DLC play list for those who don't. It seems to me to be a common sense approach to offer this type of integration to those who support the games beyond the initial purchase. Had I not been given all the codes for Halo 4 I would not have seen any of the DLC content for that game. I will be hard pressed to buy any more DLC content for a game until I know in advance it will be properly integrated into the game.

Thanks for all the examples you set with your life style and faith, the joy you shared and work you did to entertain us. ******************* Thanks for sharing this video Jester. Many of us have made connection with actors and/or the roles they play in movies. When they possess the qualities that we admire or aspire to have, we feel a bond with the character they portray and usually feel they are like that character in real life. With Paul it was true. Maybe not working for the FBI and stealing cars and loot, but the type friendships and love of cars that he was known for. It may not be widely known these days, but when he was much younger he was in the TV series Highway to Heaven with Michael Landon and another TV series called Throb. He also played roles in Pleasantville, Varsity Blues, She All That, Into the Blue and Flags of our Fathers - Directed by my role model Clint Eastwood. It would be a great be way to remember him and his work to watch some of his earlier roles along with his most iconic work in The Fast and the Furious series. When I was young, soon after my own father died, I found a similar bond with both Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds. I admired Clint for his noted determination to fight injustice, always leveling the playing field for those who could not do it for themselves and doing it in a no nonsense way. From his westerns, Dirty Harry series, the military films, the Eiger Sanction, A Perfect World and Gran Torino are but a few examples of a long history of this style. He also starred in great romance, comedy and spoof films as well. Burt Reynolds was mostly known for his 'Bandit' roles where his iconic laugh and fun nature always won the day, but he too has made such films as Gator, Deliverance, Semi-Tough, The Cannonball Run, Driven, both Longest Yard movies (1974 & 2005) and Waterproof to name a small fraction of the classic movies he has starred in. He even played a voice role in Grand Theft Auto-Vice City. Where many actors and actresses are seen publicly spinning out of control due to fame, money, drugs or socially unaccepted behavior Paul was a good example to have for a role model. Remember for him more than just the role he played on TV and in movies...........remember him for the kind of man he was in real life. Clint Eastwood Burt Reynolds

A transfer cable or USB as stated above. The transfer cable, if not already owned, is close to $20.00 or USB is basically a dollar a gig and sold in varying sizes.

I have done a fairly descent web search and the mass of issues, if you can even call them that, are with content users are posting on the streams. Bans and restrictions are being put into place to stop anyone from abusing the privilege of live stream, posting explicit material and various other types of content. There will always be idiots. I found only one technical case of a live stream issue noted, not to say there are not other, but it seems a minor number. Regarding what you referred to as overheating is addressed best in this article by Sebastian Anthony of ExtremeTech.com. Article link. http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/171143-broken-ps4-is-the-ps4-the-next-xbox-360-or-is-the-web-blowing-it-out-of-proportion This article was not posted as a comparison between the two units. It was done to highlight the XBOX One issues. Please read the linked article for addition insight into the matter. Thank you.

I suppose it is time I weigh in here....well not literally as I weigh about 260 lbs. and would most likely break something. Well what can I say about Azaxx............ First off many may not know this but Azaxx still sleeps with his teddy bear. (Sorry Azaxx, but the truth must come out). He is also shorter than you would think, standing only 3' 5 1/2" tall. He has a birthmark on his shoulder in the shape of a Dingo. He reads romance novels. His role model if Fabio. He speaks with a slight lisp and stutters around pretty girls. Now that you know the truth about him, I will have some fun. Azaxx is a DJ from the UK. If you look up images for Azaxx, you get this! He owns Azaxx, Inc in West Palm Beach! His name in Sandscrit is आशxx. Azaxx spelled backwards is Xxaza, which makes no sense. Azaxx once took an arrow to the knee! Azaxx is also our newest Community Moderator. Fear the Mudkip.

Moderator bump of a classic Op. I look through here and see the faces of so many great members, both past and present. So many good times had with them. Take the time to look through the Year Book and post your own pictures. (Some pictures do not show due to inactive photo share accounts)

In an article posted Tuesday 3rd Sep 2013 on CVG, Microsoft spokesperson Larry (Major Nelson) Hryd was responding to suggestions that "Microsoft has rushed the console to market". Major Nelson said on Reddit: 'The Xbox One program has been in development for years, so calling it 'Rushed' is incorrect.' " This statement, along with many others, made by Microsoft about features, ease of use and having learned from the promises made of the XBOX 360 prior it's to release are now being seen in the light of day. Where the XBOX One's Upload Studio, Skydrive and more initial launch titles are noticeable strengths over Sony's PS4, the numerous problems with features, non user friendly interface and lack of some functions promised during it's preview are adding up. One of the most highly anticipated and heavily promoted feature of live streaming via Twitch was not present as promised by Microsoft. The service will not be available until sometime in 2014. James Orry of videogamer.com stated that, "This means Xbox One will be missing one of the most talked about and praised feature of the PS4.". This was not reported until just before launch after tens of thousands of gamer's had already pre ordered the console. Additionally the XBOX One's functions are almost all apps, which according to Edge-Online staff, "take too long to load, don’t offer the functionality that Xbox Live was built on, and are, inexplicably, badly handled by the OS." This sentiment is felt by many as you have to go through layers of commands to access information or functions that were previously available with one touch on the 360. The use of apps will make it much easier for MS to perform updates, but Edge noted that, "Xbox One’s debut user experience is stuttering, clunky, and a serious challenge to Xbox Live’s long-held status as the premier console service." . The best way to describe the XBOX One's current issue with the using the app system was given by Tom Phillips of eurogamer.net. He noted that "The company has already stated that the Xbox One interface is just its first version and, like the Xbox 360, it will be refreshed throughout the console's lifespan. But the console's operating system seems aimed towards further homogenisation with Windows 8, and away from successful Xbox 360 features such as the Guide button. And this is where things run into problems. Rather than having the system's features laid out in the Guide's single, simple interface, core pieces are now spread across separate apps. You must now return to the Home screen to individually load these features (your Friends list, Achievements, system settings) or snap these features using Kinect voice commands (although this doesn't work with everything)." Tom went on further to say, "Even within these apps, previously easy-to-reach features are now hard to find. Want to see which of your friends are online? You now need to load the Friends app, select "Friends" and click through to the system's confusing list of your acquaintances. Small green dots indicate who's actually online and who's not. This used to be on the Guide button, but was also part of the core desktop - accessible with a simple click of the right bumper. The Guide could also be used to view recent met players - a feature which has been removed entirely. It's a shame, as it makes Microsoft's much-lauded player ratings system pretty much impossible to use without it." Hopefully MS will consider making the necessary 'updates' to improve user interface and ease of use in very near future. Looking closer at the numerous articles, and even a new website that has been created to highlight the long list of issues with the new console, a number of them to show why so many feel it was rushed to market. Among them are party chat, which is plagued by connection problems between the various games, it's default settings and being forced out of party chat when beginning multiplayer on games like"Ryse - Son of Rome. Ryan King of NowGamer.com reported that, "There are a lot of issues with the new party system, such as not being able to manually invite individual friends to games while other friends are present in a party and problems with party chat (one example: party chat is set to off by default). One specific example of how the new party system has change things: Killer Instinct only allows two-man parties to play, so if you’re in a mixed party with others playing Forza or Battlefield, you can’t then play Killer Instinct while in that party. Partying up and getting into games worked well on Xbox 360 and it’s difficult to see what Microsoft was attempting with this new system, which seems restrictive without any real benefit." Another problem being noted with communication on the new platform is that when using Skype players are reporting their conversations, some of which may be private, are being heard in match making. Additionally the use of Skype and Upload Studio are also, "temporarily banning users who swear while using Skype and Upload Studio on Xbox One. Multiple users have taken to Reddit and the Xbox One forums after finding themselves locked out of the apps, presumably after submitting content - Either uploading gameplay streams or using Skype to make a private call - which included profanity. Based on the photo above, posted by Twitter user named Connor, the Xbox One tells banned users to 'choose something else to play... Because of their past behavior.' " , as reported by Michael Epstein of EscapistMagazine.com. Connor was given access back within 24 hours after having to contact XBOX support to rectify the issue. Though this matter is not a 'bug' in the system of the XBOX One, users may want to check their content settings which may be causing this to occur. Party chat is a widely used and integral part of using the XBOX Live service and having these type of issues clearly show that MS did not spend the time needed to ensure the communication system and the Skype interface would work properly. "Running home to momma" is being seen as another big problem when, "certain games tend to crash to Xbox Home and you can’t relaunch those games without rebooting the entire console. There are a number of different theories for why this happens – Xbox One running out of RAM thanks to games and apps not sharing the RAM well is the most popular theory – but Battlefield 4 is the game where the problem seems to be most frequent. NBA 2K14, Call Of Duty: Ghosts, Dead Rising 3 and Madden NFL 25 have also been reported to cause the issue.". Epstein goes on to note that, "You can’t quickly access your Friends List while in-game as quickly as you could on Xbox 360 and you can’t see a list of people you have recently played. There’s no ‘join session in progress’ option anymore. You can’t auto sign-in to your profile. There are no notifications when friends come online. Perhaps understandable given the longterm view of there being up to 1,000 friends but there should be some way for friends to be labelled ‘favourite’ and have notifications for them. Combined with the unwieldy nature of the new party system, it all combines for an unintuitive system that users have to learn. Compared to the simplicity of the Xbox 360’s party system, it feels like a step back." The ability to see the battery life of your controller or viewing remaining hard drive storage space is not available, voice messages are gone, using an external USB for storage or reading media is gone, you can't play music in the background during games, there's no option for custom backgrounds, no avatar store, etc. etc. For a complete list of missing, problematic or desired features you can visit xboxfeedback.com for viewing the extensive list or add to it yourself. Though this site appears to have gotten Microsofts Major Nelson's attention, based on this comment: "It was even spotted by Microsoft mouthpiece Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, who commented to say that its suggestions had been passed on to the relevant people.", stated Tom Phillips of eurogamer.net .......... it is speaks volumes that players felt compelled to create a web site in order to get Microsoft to pay attention to the issues they are having and features they expected to return or want. Larry Hryb made this announcement on Reddit. "I had a meeting today about much of this and I can say that things will get better. I can't offer a timeline of a list of what will be addressed first, but we are aware of the issue and things will get better." One reporter made light of the comment saying it sounded like something a politician would say! How long it will take MS to address these issues is yet to be seen. We have heard these promise of lessons learned and quick fixes before. Placing products on the market without proper testing, applying unwanted features or allowing project staff time to polish or finish promised specific features is a becoming a hallmark of MS products and those of it's game studio. The XBOX One should be a gaming console first and foremost and respect it's consumers by offering finished products. Trying to be the "everything box" appears to have caused the core use of what an XBOX was originally created for, gaming, to suffer. It would be scary to see what problems would have occurred with the infamous "DRM" feature they were forced to abandon (at least for now) following a major out cry from the community had it been implemented. The gaming community bought into XBOX Live, the XBOX consoles and exclusive titles in the past which has allowed Microsoft to make a proverbial gold mine from all of their related gaming interests. There should have been more respect given the consumers who have helped build their gaming interests. The money would have still been there. They should not chased the release of the PS4 and kept to their own schedule. Most of us are here in this forum because of our love for the Halo series and the community that surrounds, or used to surround it. Though gamer's in general face the same issues members here are with the XBOX One, it is especially tangible to Halo players when we see another product from MS that is placed on the market, much like Halo 4 was from Microsoft Studios, without being finished or properly tested and has taken so long to get it close to what was promised. Halo 4's issues drove many long term fans away from the franchise which also may happen to XBOX Live and XBOX One console users if timely fixes are not applied now. Even though Microsoft is planning on improving and tweaking the dashboard in the coming months, with a larger update, codenamed "Threshold" , planned in the spring 2015, the time to address the problems was before launch. Fun Fact The use of the term "Threshold" is a reference to the planet the first Halo ring orbited in the original game in the series, Halo Combat Evolved. View full article

Well.......lets see, it works like this: You get banned by a Community Moderator for whatever "valid" reason. You create another account and come back and ask, "Why do people get banned for no reason.", thereby bypassing a member ban which still allowed you to view forum and message administration for ban reason. Account created to return to forum is now banned as is your access to the forum as a member again. My suggestion is to read the rules and contact information. Whoever banned you would be contacted for reason/s if they were not listed. Have a nice day!

I, for one, am at least happy to hear someone from the development team actually own up to some of what Halo 4's real faults were. Even though these comments are a year later and in a retrospective manner when speaking to the next game in the series, Brad deserves props for at least speaking to the facts and not glossing it over. Nice find Lil' Dog.....keep up the good work.

I, for one, am at least happy to hear someone from the development team actually own up to some of what Halo 4's real faults were. Even though these comments are a year later and in a retrospective manner when speaking to the next game in the series, Brad deserves props for at least speaking to the facts and not glossing it over. Nice find Lil' Dog.....keep up the good work.