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Here it is, part two of the second Interviews with the Stars Double Feature! Here's a member of one of the most esteemed Forging and map reviewing groups in the Halo Community, The Halo Forge Epidemic, and their Dominion specialist: AbleSir Thomas. DD: "AbleSir Thomas, how long have you been involved in Forging in Halo?" AST: "I started forging soon after the launch of halo: reach" DD: "What interested you about Forge in Halo: Reach?" AST: "I enjoyed playing playing Invasion in matchmaking. Unfortunately 2 maps just wasn't enough, so I set out to forge my own Invasion map. My first map was called Outpost FW. It was an invasion map that spanned most of Forge World. I spent about 6 months forging it. Of course being my first map, it was a colossal failure." DD: "That sounds really cool! So how did you get noticed by The Halo Forge Epidemic and become part of it?" AST: "After about a year into reach and 2 failed invasion maps, I joined a random custom game. Oakly was host, at the time he was testing his "Island Complex" map. It looked great, but played awful. After everyone in the lobby said it was awesome, Myself and Yardbird told him it had issues. We brought him into forge and explained invasion theory. He was impressed. One thing led to another and we made our first video explaining basic invasion design on spire." DD: "That's sounds pretty awesome. Were you familiar with THFE at the time?" AST: "At the time of that custom, I had no idea what THFE was." DD: "Wow and you became part of the biggest and most knowledgable group of Forgers in the Halo Community! And what gained you the title of being THFE's Dominion Host AbleSir Thomas?" AST: "When I started playing halo 4, I immediately became fond of the Dominion game-type. It has many of the cool game-play elements from Invasion (attack and defend game-play, heavy weapons, lots of map movement, etc) but with more flexibility for forgers. I focused all of my efforts into learning and building for the game-type. I collaborated with allot of talented forgers and players. We worked to identify similarities between the Matchmaking Dominion maps. We then implemented those ideas in forge, which resulted in some quality maps. This process is still ongoing. Most of the maps we've worked on have seen hundreds of revisions, to nail that Matchmaking feel. Here are just a few of those projects. Outpost 7.4 by Unwanted soul 91 Catacombs by Wraith 2098 Corrosion by AbleSir Thomas Scrapyard by Mexican torta 7" DD: "I know Wraith and Torta and I know they're very skilled Forgers and I've actually played and featured your map Corrosion and it's not only a very good looking map but it plays very well. Thomas what do you think is the most underrated aspect of Dominion? What do people overlook most that you think if they appreciated, they'd enjoy it more?" AST: "One of my favorite aspects of dominion is base busting. Breaking an enemy's teams control over base and clearing it, is one of the most exhilarating experiences in Halo multi-player. This is achievable on all of the MM dominion maps. The basic strategy is to send players to the "weaker" base, ( the base with less players usually) have those players surround the objective and attack from multiple angles. Sometimes you can have players in a position to cutoff or delay reinforcements to a location (ghost is boss at this). At times this results in epic, almost "movie swat team" style base clears. Assessing a team's control of a map and breaking that control, with smart decision making and teamwork, is really what makes Dominion awesome." DD: "That absolutely makes Dominion sound cooler to me than it did before although I was a fan of it already. Would you argue that Dominion takes the most skill and strategy to play than any other objectives? And why?" AST: "I wouldn't argue that it takes the most strategy. Each game type supports certain elements of strategy. The strategic elements in Dominion are just different than other objective game-types. Dominion is less about individual skill and more about teamwork. Examples include: Making call-outs when ordinance is available (both friendly and enemy). Calling out enemy positions and using team-shot or ordinance to deal with aggressive pushes. Quickly moving ordinance to powerful positions to counter enemy map control. Timing an attack on a base to deny a resupply or steal power weapons as they drop. Putting pressure on a base to allow for a flank at another base. Deciding when to reinforce or abandon a base. Exploiting weaknesses in base defense setups, to allow a capture( sending a rocket guy through an unprotected doorway). Most of the strategy in Dominion focuses around communication, quick decision making, and team coordination." DD: "Very interesting! So AbleSir Thomas, what do you look at when reviewing a Dominion map?" AST: "I first check the basics. Things any map should have. Does the map have playable frame-rate? Can player orient themselves and navigate easily on the map? Is the map interesting? (height variation, visuals, theme, etc.) Does the map have good movement options? (good cover, routes, and proper sight-lines) Then the dominion specific stuff. Traits that all of the MM Dominion maps share. Alpha/Charlie segmentation (Sight lines between Alpha and Charlie must be blocked) Bravo Dilemma (Bravo is the only base with influence on both opposing bases. This can be based on sight-line control, route control or both. Bravo is somewhat difficult to hold) Alpha/Charlie flank (At least 1 path between Alpha and Charlie, that Bravo has little control over) Objective based spawning (You spawn at bases you own) Well placed Objective drops (At least 2 per base, on every resupply, in easily accessible locations) Vehicles (Must be in accessible locations. Are a part of base balance) Base layout (Proper segmentation, at least 2 entrances, and some verticality) Dominion objects (Base stripes, barricades, base shields, turrets, and monitors all add to the "MM Dominion Feel") Of course on top of all this we vigorously play-test possible features. The maps usually undergo a dramatic evolution over the duration of testing. Some maps have had massive rebuilds to accommodate feedback. While others have had a large amount of minor tweaks. My Map Corrosion has been completely rebuilt from the ground up, about 4 times. My new map Impass has already had it's Bravo base rebuilt." DD: "Wow so much more goes into Forge than I thought haha. So let's get into the knitty gritty part of being apart of quite possibly the most renowned Forge map reviewing team: The Halo Forge Epidemic. Recently you were a part of a predicament with a mapmaker who submitted their map to the Competitive Map Submissions for THFE. When you give feedback to Forgers and it's something they don't want to hear and they react in a negative way? What do you do about that? What do you say to that?" AST: " But in all seriousness I do my best to work with forgers to improve their maps. I try to clearly communicate my feedback. I will often join authors in forge after a game. To provide suggestions and seek a "compromise" to address an issue. In the case of the Submission forums, I don't have time to play maps for authors. There are just too many submissions. I look over them in forge and try to make them aware of "potential issues". I also do my best to test maps. Most of my feed back in the competitive forum invites players to submit to TNT, to get a wide variety of opinions from forgers and players after a game. FlyingShoe ILR made a very interesting write up regarding feedback, I recommend forgers read it." DD: " Great answer. So AbleSir Thomas, it's been great and it's time to end this thing and post it and give the community something very fun to read so I ask you: what is some advice you give to learning Forgers or to the Halo or Forge Community in general?" AST: "To forgers starting off. I recommend doing your best to be open to input and suggestions from other forgers. Look at whats popular (in Customs and MM), try to figure out why those maps work and try to "assimilate" those ideals into your own forging. With these ideals in mind you can add your own twist based on your personal preferences and creativity. Attend as many customs as possible, try to connect and network with as many forgers as possible. As a forger your supporting the community. When you respond to input and integrate good design you will create maps that the entire community can appreciate." Everyone please give a hand to THFE's AbleSir Thomas, the operator of Tuesday Night Tests which he mentioned in his next to last reponse. Catch TNT here. Also fun fact: in the question about Forgers reacting negatively to feedback, AbleSir originally just used the picture of Ackbar for his answer which I thought was hilarious but then later edited and added text because he wanted to give a good professional response, which he did! Thank you AbleSir Thomas for taking the time out when you could to complete this interview and thank you 343i Community Forums for showing your support in these little threads. HAIL

Here is the first of the 2 interviews in our second Stars of the Community Double Feature. This was one of my favorite interviews I've ever done and I really hope you guys like it. I give you DocSpartanO07: DD: "DocSpartanO07, what's the story behind that name?" D07: "Well, back when I created my live account, I went by txdandit911,back when the original Xbox was out. When Halo 3 was released, I dropped the 'bandit' and replaced it with 'Spartan', I pretty much only played Halo, so it fit. The 'Tx' was there because, well I'm from Texas. The O07 was added because the first random service tag Halo 3 generated was O07, I thought it was funny, so on it went and its been my service tag ever since. My first username here was 'TxSpartanO07'. After I enlisted in the US Army as a combat medic, everyone called me 'Doc', so after some suggestions from AD and the other long time members of the forum, the TX was dropped and Doc was added, I also changed my GT to reflect 'doc'. So, pretty much every part of my GT/username has at least some meaning." DD: "It certainly does and that's pretty awesome. There isn't one bit of your name that doesn't have meaning to it . Ok Doc, being a long time member I know you have tons of memories and I've seen you post in SykoWolf's Forum Memories thread some of them but do you have a favorite memory on the site? If not could you just tell us one that really sticks out to you and why?" D07: "Well, my favorite memory? That's a tough one, my time here has been full of great ones. But one that really sticks in my head was while I was deployed to Iraq, I had a really terrible day, lost a soldier that day and had been working for at least 14 hours. I remember walking back to the tiny little room I lived in and just couldn't stop thinking about my day and how out right mad I was at EVERYTHING. When I got to my room, I changed out of my dirty uniform, laid down on my bed, opened up my laptop and logged on to 343i.org, and to my surprise, my username was purple, I only had like 75 posts at the time so I was kinda confused. Then AD chimed in on the shout box and said "Hey, we promoted you to trusted, to thank you for your service to our country". I was shocked, at that moment, AD nor anyone on the forum knew about my day, and at that moment, the thoughts of my horrible day went away. I remember feeling a tear roll down my face when I read what AD said in the shout box, to have someone appreciate what you do, even on a really bad day, when things don't go right means a lot in my line of work. It was that moment when I knew I belonged here in this community. The support I had from AD, SJ, and the other long time members during some really bad times made a huge difference in my life, and I can't ever do enough to repay the community for it. Since that day, I have been around. After deployment I took a break cause I spent lots of time with the family, but popped in from time to time. I will be here till the end, period." DD: "That's incredible Doc. That's nothing short of an incredible story, truly. And just so you know, we do all appreciate what you do. 3 of my best friends are going into the Marines or are Marines so I very big respect for them. And your dedication to the site is uncanny and it's to no surprise that you are a Community Moderator here. Doc what's the biggest difference in the community from now and back then when you joined the site in 2011?" D07: "What's changed? Well, the obvious stuff for sure, looks different here then when I joined, there are way more members, things are a lot different in that aspect. However, to me, it still feels the same. The community has grown, and grown better. There have been some shenanigans in months past, some members not around anymore that I thought would be here forever. But I feel like the community is stronger now than ever. Its an even bigger part of my life now. I've seen the community grow from a small group of buddies that love Halo, to what it is today, and I love every minute of it. Its like having a family that keeps getting bigger. The way some of the members pulled together to help me get this Minecraft server up really shows how close we really are. I've grown also, I love being a Community mod, I'm very honored to hold the position, I'm still surprised everytime I log on and see my name in blue, lol" DD: "What a fine answer . And we love that you're a Moderator too Doc, you do a great job. Now speaking of the Minecraft server you guys just put back together, who do you work with and why go through all the trouble that you guys did to get it back up?" D07: "Ahhh, the MC Server...well, we almost had the thing ready to be opened and the host did a server upgrade and they screwed it up and we lost a month worth of work. I then swapped to a new host and we got right back to work. We felt the project had to be finished, it was a no fail mission at that point. My son, who is a member here, ThomasScott02, wanted to build a server. I had never done one before, so we decided to build one for the community. I thought it would be a good way to show how much I appreciate what the community has done for me. Its my gift to the community. So, I paid up the host for a full year, posted up in the forums asking for some help. As of right now, the people working with me are skummgummigubbe, HaloGeek, ThomasScott02, Azaxx, DoctorB77, Zaguroth, Church, and D-38 Boss. I can't thank them enough for their help and dedication to the project. It couldn't of happened without them." DD: "That's just awesome Doc, really. And I hope you guys get a lot of members to join your server. Now jumping from Minecraft to Halo Wars, I know I know what you plan on doing with it but could you tell everyone else what your plans are for Halo Wars Play Dates and anything else involving Halo Wars on the site?" D07: "Well, I wanted to host a weekly or monthly play date for HWs. It is tough to host a play date every weekend though, with all the kids and work and stuff going on, lol. What I would like to see happen with the play date is gain some demand for it. To be honest, I would like to see more members participate. We had a decent turnout last time, but for it to really take off, there has to de a real demand for it. My plans from the start were to run a few play dates and judge interest on HWs, then at some point, host a competition, something like a simple elimination, games of 3v3, 2 competitors fighting it out and the 3rd player being the host that is just there to observe and judge the contest , and the last man standing advances to the next round of the competition the following week, this would continue till we run out of players, last man wins. Give prizes to maybe the top 3 from the competition. I think it would be fun, and something fresh for the community that hasn't been done before here. But the bottom line is, members have to come to the play dates for it to really get going. It will also take more than myself hosting, If we have a few members in the first round, it will take a few hosts to get all of the matches played in a reasonable amount of time. I believe I will post up soon about the next play date, so stay tuned for another announcement on the forum!! I also have some ideas for a Reach FireFight competition, but that's a whole other conversation, lol." DD: "Another conversation?? Nonsense you're being interviewed my friend! What are your plans for the Firefight Play Date? :D" D07: "Well, I thought about putting on a firefight tournament at some point. I think it would be simple to do. Have 3 competitors and a host that observes. The three competitors play for points. At the end, the player with the most points wins. I come up with these crazy ideas because I like every aspect of halo, and I believe the more we tap into the areas of the games that we tend to forget about, the more fun we will have over all and it will bring the community closer together and offer something for just about everyone. Keeps the excitement of just playing with our buds going strong." DD: "Absolutely, I totally agree with you. It's like we forget about the things we used to play that were fun at the time and we think they wouldn't be fun anymore but if we gave them a try again we'd remember why we loved them. What's your favorite aspect of Halo?" D07: "Well, what got me into Halo when C.E. was released was the story of the Chief. To me, he's one of, if not the best character ever created in a video game. The Master Chief is one of those rare people that when you put him in motion, he will not stop, no matter the cost to complete the mission, period. In the Army, we follow what we call the 7 Army Values, they are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. Among these, Selfless Service is what motivates me, and the Master Chief is the definition of Selfless Service, in all the Halo titles, and all the books, the Master Chief does whatever it takes, and he does it for those around him, he puts himself in harms way for those that cant. Its the same thing that motivates me when it comes time for me to do my job. So, in a nut shell, the Master Chief is what got me so into Halo. When the times comes to do a soldier's job in the worst conditions and situations, you have to fight like you are willing to lose everything to complete the mission, or you WILL fail. I learned that from the Chief, that's how he does it, and it works for me. :)" DD: "And everyone on the site can see your selfless service Doc don't think it goes unnoticed, we all appreciate it for sure. I don't think a lot of people know however that you're in the US Army doing that in real life as well. Can you give the readers a brief history of how you joined the Army and juggled that with life on the site?" D07: "Sorry in advance for the long answer, lol I appreciate everyone's support from the community, you guys are awesome. Lots of times I feel I am unworthy, I'm just a soldier doing my job....the best I can. Well, I enlisted when I was 33 years old. Before I was in the Army, I had had several different jobs, I worked in California for a while building racecars, was a truck driver for a few years, I even did a little time in Law Enforcement in my early 20's. I had lived quite a life and done lots of things, even been a real race car driver, owned my own car and everything. After driving trucks for a few years, work started to slow down and I was feeling the need to do something bigger, as in bigger than myself. Me and the wife walked by a Army Recruiter's office one day in 2009 and I said 'Babe, I should join the Army' and she said 'Go for it'...so in I went and got some info and told the recruiter right then 'Put me in the Army, Sgt. I need to do this' I refused any job but Combat Medic, its all I wanted to be. I wanted to live for others, as so many had lived for me in the past. I had always wanted to join, but real life always got in the way, but I felt it was time to just go for it. I always felt like I owed a debt, my Grandfather served in the Army and Deployed to Normandy during WWII and landed on the beaches on D-Day. He was in an Armored unit and rolled up the beach in a tank, his tank ended up being destroyed and my grandfather was badly wounded, he told me a medic saved his life that day, he told me he never had the opportunity to ask the medic's name, because he got him out of there and ran back into the storm of bullets and explosions to get more soldiers out. My Grandad said he wished his whole life he could just tell that medic 'Thank You', but he never saw him again. This happened years before he married my Grandmother and before my mother was born. So, if it wasn't for that medic, doing his job, no matter the cost. You guys wouldn't have the Doc around. I owe that Medic my life. That's why I serve, that's why I do what I do, to give someone else what that one medic gave to me. My Grandfather passed away when I was 15, he was 74. He lived a pretty good life, too. Juggling the Army life, a family, and being a part of this community is no easy task. But I love every minute of it. When I first put on the uniform I knew this is where I belong. This is what I was meant to do. I found this Community while I was Deployed to Iraq in 2010/11. And I belong here, I don't think my life while deployed would have been bearable with out this community, and I think I am a better part of this community because of the army. Soon I will be talking with all of you from beautiful, sunny Afghanistan, and I wouldn't have it any other way." DD: "That's a truly incredible story through and through and I hope that everyone who sees this reads that answer fully. You live a very fulfilling life and your wife sounds really supportive of everything you do which is just awesome. You're so ambitious Doc which is a great quality because you don't take it to the point of arrogance. You never feel like you're owed something and that's beautiful. You have my utmost respect. So is there any goal that you wish to achieve here on the site?" D07: "Goals? Um, to not get destroyed on every play date!!! LOL. Seriously though, I don't know where I'll go from here in the community. I like things to be a surprise, being a community moderator was more than I ever thought I would get to do around here. But, if I had a goal, I would like to somehow get us all together in real life for a chance to shake your hands and play some Halo together via LAN party. I think that would be awesome to do like once a year. I can't think of another way that things around here could get any better for me. Its been nothing short of amazing to be a part of this." DD: "Wow that would be ASTOUNDING. Doc, it's really been more than a pleasure to interview you honestly. Can you please give some words of wisdom to our newer members who are reading?" D07: "Well, to the newer members...Welcome to the best Halo Community on the net. Treat others how you would like to be treated. Take your time, don't get in a hurry to make a name for yourself here, respect in the community is earned and that takes time. Be yourself, I promise you we will like the real you better than anything else. Most of all, remember, every Halo title is different and each one had its strong points and weak points, look for the strong ones and you'll continue to love Halo as I have. One more thing, us mods are not here to make your life hard, we are here to make the community the best it can be, for you guys, cause we love the community and its members." That's it guys! That's part 1! I hope everyone who read enjoyed it and now understands Doc a little better. He's a truly great and dedicated member who only wants the best for this site and all members should strive to be like him. Thank you DocSpartan for doing the interview and thank you again for being patient and waiting for it to be posted. Part 2 coming soon.