About Sal

I’ve got tons of experience with Halo gaming and collecting. I feel I have something to offer to the greater Halo fan community. Posts along the way will be about tips and tricks in the games as well as collecting and many more Halo related things. I’ll also repost interesting articles from the official site, Halowaypoint.com, or from fellow Halo fan sites. As I continue this blog, I hope to help gamers who want advice on the games, as well as any collectors with regards to where to find collectibles as well as deals, coupons and so on. You can also follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/#!/HaloFanForLife or Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/halofanforlife11. Welcome to my blog and I hope you’ll come back again and again. -Sal

Civilian vehicles in Halo Reach? YES! (kind of)

Posted on 11/27/2013 by Sal

Once again Halo modders have accessed an area of Halo previously not found. This time, they’ve found a way to put civilian vehicles on Forge World in Halo Reach.

I have to say this would be A-MAZ-ING! WHy can’t this kind of stuff be made available to all? This would make for some great videos. Not to mention cool racing games. Imagine racing in Spades! Heck, even forklifts!

Now I wonder if this can be done in Halo 4???

343, PLEASE, make this stuff possible in custom games. If not in Halo 4, then the next full Halo title.

PLEASE!

Thanks to HaloBungie.org for tweeting the link to this vid.

-Sal

The right Halo at the right time.

Posted on 11/27/2013 by Sal

This is a partial repost of an article on stuff.co.nz with Phil Spencer of Microsoft:

THE RIGHT HALO AT THE RIGHT TIME

Last year, Xbox 360 owners got to play the first Halo not made by Bungie Studios, the well-received Halo 4 from Microsoft’s new 343 Studios. That wasn’t always the plan.

“A couple of years ago we had the discussion of: ‘Should we do Halo at launch and not do Halo 4 last year?’” Spencer recalled, “But I was committed to getting Halo 4 done last year, and there was no way we were going to turn around with 343 a full Halo game in a year. So that was the plan we set on. I feel good about that.”

The Xbox One will soon get a port of Halo: Spartan Assault, the top-down action game released earlier this year for Windows 8 and Surface tablets. But that’s not a big Halo game. It’s not the huge new Halo teased at E3.

“Unlike some franchises that manage through 1000 people, Halo is 343 and that team obviously has tight control,” Spencer said.

“They are our Halo team. A discussion around having a Halo game at launch – a true Halo at launch, meaning like a Halo 4 or 5-size game – would have been something we’d have had to start two or three years ago.

“We had the discussion, and we thought having Halo 4 come out when it came out from 343 and having them really land their first full version of Halo that they developed internally would be great for the 360 customers, great for 343 in shipping something.”

The Xbox One isn’t backwards compatible to the Xbox 360, but a game like Halo 4 seems like it could have life on the Xbox One. Spencer said that doing a port wasn’t something he wanted for launch.

“I want launch to be about new things that are taking full advantage of the hardware, especially as a first party. Any kind of strategy with the back catalogue was something I thought we would think about later.”

I wondered how hard it even is to do a port of an Xbox 360 game to Xbox One.

“It’s not difficult,” Spencer said, pointing out that Microsoft was developing some cross-platform expertise by making games like the new Zoo Tycoon and next year’s Max and the Cursed Brotherhood for both Xbox One and Xbox 360.

“Whether that’s a port or just dual development, you get a sense of what it means to move games between the two platforms,” Spencer said.

“It’s not just ‘recompile,’ but obviously our controller is very similar, we know our codebase, we’re on a certain number of engines that we’re porting in different directions, so it’s definitely possible to do things like that.”

For the full article (that doesn’t contain any other Halo stuff, but more on XBOX One), go HERE.

end copy/paste

HFFL: So it sounds to me that Phil Spencer did NOT have faith in 343 to turn around a Halo game quick, meaning Halo 4 last year, then Halo 5 this year. So they are using Spartan Assault as a buffer between main games. Do note, that he specifically calls it Halo 5.

Also note that it is possible even “not difficult” to bring 360 games to the XBOX One.

Hmm, I’m still of the mind that Halo 4 should have been release THIS year to coincide with the launch of XBOX One. An extra year of development would have been great. A beta might have happened then as well as a lot of the features that were left out may have been put in.

Regardless, that didn’t happen, so we Halo fans will have to make do with Halo 4, then Spartan Assault, until the next major title comes out. I for one am really looking forward to playing Spartan Assault!

-Sal

Halo “Origins” Bundle at Gamestop!

Posted on 11/25/2013 by Sal

No, it’s not a new game. It’s a bundle of Halo CE Anniversary and Halo Reach.

Here’s the listing on Gamestop (followed by the source link to it):

Source Link

Decent price of $29.99 of you don’t have both of them.

Thanks to Go Beyond Entertainment for tweeting this out there.

-Sal

Halo 4 Master Chief made of Halo 4 related words! (I made this.)

Posted on 11/25/2013 by Sal

I’ve seen similar types of artwork on the web using other characters from other franchises and I figured, why not take a stab at Master Chief.

I think it turned out pretty good. What do you think? (Leave a comment below or tweet to me @halofanforlife.

This was a labor of love so to speak as it took several hours to complete. I had to first research the words to make sure I had the correct spelling and didn’t forget certain things. I only took one liberty and that is in the area of the hand. Here I put words I thought described Master Chief himself. Otherwise, everything else is related to Halo 4.

All told this took about 5 hours to make.

Oh, here is the pic I used for reference:

-Sal

Bet you thought I went away….LOL

Posted on 11/25/2013 by Sal

I’ve been busy with several projects all at once that have kept me VERY busy. Not finishing one of these over the past few days has kept me from posting anything new on the site. However….expect to see something in just a few minutes after this post.

-Sal

The Halo Bulletin 11.20.13

Posted on 11/21/2013 by Sal

Another week, another Halo Bulletin. This one comes with loads of Grifball stuff…

Bravo starts the bulletin out talking a little about prepping for the XBOX One. One thing to note is his last sentence on this. I’m not sure if he’s joking or not, but here it is, “I don’t know how much hope we have for Matchmaking updates through the rest of the year, but at least we’ve got one coming this Monday.”

With that we have this week’s Matchmaking Playlist Update.

Grifball – Bravo hands the floor to GrifballHub where they proceed to talk about the new updates to this playlist/gametype.

Grif gets his own color of orange. So yep, if you’re carrying the ball, you might notice the color change.

Both Grifball and Grifball Pro gets some updates. The Ball carrier moves faster, everyone gets Mobility and shields have been removed.

Next are the Grifball courts. There are some nifty ones shown. Some are updates of previous versions. Some are all new. In particular of the ones shown, I like Power Grid (see below):

and Warp Field:Many other courts are shown, so check the full bulletin to see all of those.

Dominion

Dominion comes back. Starting Nov 25 through Dec 9 you’ll have the chance to play this Halo 4 original gametype again. Along with that, Legendary Dominion won the community choice poll, so you’ll have that to look forward to as well. Legendary refers to pre-set loadouts of BR/AR/Frag nades.

Community Forge Ricochet

The results are in and Hekau won. This along with Butter (2nd place) and Inheritor (3rd place) will see rotation in the Ricochet playlist. If you want to see those maps with some improvements, again check the full bulletin. Of the maps chosen, I definitely agree with Hekau for 1st and Butter for 2nd. I didn’t get to play on Inheritor too much to really form an opinion on it.

Team Slayer Top 200

Rather than summarize this, I’m going to copy/paste this whole section as it’s pretty important, IMO.

Monday’s Matchmaking Update will also include an update to Halo 4’s Team Slayer Playlist, which will officially begin the start of a new program: The Team Slayer Top 200.

The Team Slayer Top 200 will highlight the top 200 players (by CSR) in the playlist each week on Halo Waypoint. We’re looking forward to recognizing the top players each week, and as CSR is determined by who you win and lose against, it is possible for a level 50 player to be ranked higher than another level 50 player, so even players at level 50 will be able to see how they stack up against other level 50 players. The first Top 200 article will be posted the week of December 2nd, which will allow a full week to pass after Monday’s playlist update and provide ample opportunity for those interested to join the action whenever they’d like.

We’ve detailed bits and pieces of this program over the past few weeks and below are the final changes that will be made to the Team Slayer playlist:

• Team Slayer’s CSR will be reset with Monday’s Matchmaking Update, and broken up by two month seasons moving forward
• Team Slayer will move to a team-based CSR
• Team Slayer’s Max Party Size will be adjusted from eight players to four to ensure that players do not boost against opponents
• Team Slayer’s Join-In-Progress parameters will be tightened

If you’re looking to get into the Top 200, be sure to head into the playlist next week and then swing back the following week to see if you made it on the list!

Lastly, those of you who are planning on playing during the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, (11.28 – 12.1) should be on the lookout for something special in Matchmaking. As always, we want to know about your experiences in these playlists. After you’ve tried one or all of the above next week, head over to the War Games Feedback section and share your thoughts with us!

Lastly as nearly always, this week’s Screenshot Spotlight. This week focused on the Multiplayer map Harvest.

One in particular of the ones chosen I felt looked best, even if not for showing much of Harvest itself.

Simply titled “John”. It definitely looks like it came right out of the campaign. Grr…still wishing we could talk screenshots from campaign…

To see the rest of the screenshots, all of the new Grifball maps, and more from this week’s bulleting, check out the official site’s full write-up HERE.

-Sal

Headhunter Gametype in Halo 4!!!

Posted on 11/20/2013 by Sal

Halo 4 modders figured out how to unlock the Headhunter gametype. Check the vid below!

Links for the gametype and a map are at the youtube link above. Now let’s see how long it takes 343 to put this into matchmaking…

-Sal

Articles incoming tomorrow….been ill and busy at the same time.

Posted on 11/20/2013 by Sal

Hi folks, I know the past few days I’ve been sort of light on articles. I both hurt my back over the weekend and had a super migraine. Both sort of hampered my ability to write up articles.

Hard to concentrate with the headache. As well, hard to sit up in my chair to write. SO I posted what I could in the interim.

During this time however, I’ve been handwriting down ideas for articles. In the coming days, I plan on releasing articles on what Halo means to me. This article I’ve had to write and rewrite this and continue to do so. It’s an article that is hard to pin down certain points as Halo means a LOT to me in many ways.

As well, I’ve been looking at the “ABC’s of Halo.” This is an idea I posted a week or so ago. That article will go over what I (and readers contributions) feel the next Halo SHOULD have, as well as things we’d like to have in the game. This specific article may span over the course of a few articles as there are many things to consider.

I encourage you all to send in ideas to me about things you’d like for me to write about. As well, if you have any breaking news about Halo, PLEASE feel free to contact me. As I say to every new subscriber, I’m always looking for new and more things Halo to write about.

Thanks for continuing to come back these past few days, even though the news has been scarce. Illness and pain suck and I just needed to try to take a break.

Respectfully,
Sal

Halo Toy Review: Mega Bloks Blue Series Rockethog

Posted on 11/18/2013 by Sal

Mega Bloks Blue Series Rockethog: #97159

Technical Specifications:
Build Time: 30 minutes
Set Piece Count: 193
Minifigs: Spartan Mark V [B] Blue, Air Assault Spartan Blue
Weapons: Socom pistol, DMR
Accessories: N/A
Price: $20. Target Exclusive
Special Features: Rotating/pivoting Rocket turret, wheels spin, independent suspension.

And on with the pics! (Click pics to make BIGGER)

This set is part of a small “Blue” series. In particular it’s the rockethog. This version is no different than the one that came with the AA Turret VS Rockethog set, other than it’s BLUE color instead of the normal green. That said, it’s a good build!

The back of the box. This shows one of the other “Blue” sets in the form of the Banshee.

The contents of the box.

The pieces all sorted out. Good mix of black and blue pieces here. And those tan camo…we’ll get to those later.

Well, it’s later, lol. The tan camo pieces are being used to prop up the model while building it. What’s great is later on when they are taken off then can be used as ground pieces! GREAT choice there by Mega Bloks to do this. I like them better than solid red or yellow as we normally get. Anyway…the above photo shows the chassis being put together.

The sides of the hog are assembled and attached.

Part of the front end assembled and attached.

Here we see the steering column, console and back end assembled and attached as well.

The windshield and rollbars attached. Then the wheels. We have a hog, but not yet a ROCKET hog. At this point, you could stop if you wanted to keep this as a civilian warthog, which I almost did.

The orthogonal views of it, sans Rockets.

MB Blue Rockethog rockets The rocket assembly attached.

Here are the two minifigs you get with the set. If you missed the previous blue Air Assault and want one to be “Kat” from Reach, then this is a good alternative, even if the blue is darker than her actual armor color.

Orthogonal views of the figures.

As usual, Mega gives us plenty of leftover pieces.

At first I made a rock formation with the tan camo, then made a simple wall with them. Again, kudos to Mega for choosing to use that color of blok instead of a bland solid color.

Finally, I took the remaining black and blue pieces and made a slanted mechanics lift, so a UNSC engineer could work on the hog if needed. The blu cross bar on the lift holds the hog in place.

Summary: This set takes a very short time to sort and build. While it’s an older design (as in older than the Halo 4 style), it’s still a great design for the hog. We’ve only had the rocket hog of this variety once before, so I’m glad to see it back in rotation. Also, it’s the first time we have it in blue. The build is solid and the figures look great! The value is decent. If you break it down, minifigs cost about $3 each in those single packs. This leave $14 for the hog itself, which I think is definitely worth it.

Overall Rating: I give this set 10 out for 10 medals.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of the review. If you have this set yourself, please give me your thoughts on it too!

-Sal

One of a kind Halo Ford Raptor up for sale!

Posted on 11/18/2013 by Sal

Remember this awesome prize from the multiplayer contest back in January? It’s up for sale by the winner!

Strongside, winner of this one of a kind prize is selling it. Wow, I don’t know what to say. I guess he’s hard up for cash. Otherwise, no way I’d give up something like this, had I won it.

The following text is reposted from another article (source link at bottom of this article):

In the world of video games, one vehicle stands out as one of the most rugged and capable: the Warthog from the Halo series. It can traverse rocky alien planets, endure gut-wrenching drops and plow through paths of alien scum all in a day’s work. Unfortunately for us not in virtual reality, we will never know what it feels like to drive the Warthog off of a cliff in the middle of a firefight, but one of our latest listings will get you as close as humanly possible.

The Ford Raptor recently listed on duPont REGISTRY was the grand prize for the Halo 4 Infinity Challenge tournament held in 2012 and 2013. The truck is being listed by Michael Cavanaugh (AKA StrongSide) who came in first place during the global Halo 4 tournament after the grand finals in Jan. 2013. Cavanaugh has kept the truck in his garage, only adding 226 miles to the odometer. He says that he treats it as a trophy and a reminder of his success in the gaming world, making it, quite literally, a trophy truck.

The Halo Ford Raptor was crafted by none other than Galpin Auto Sports, who is known for making some of the most unique vehicles on the road. Indeed, it is a one-of-a-kind machine on this, or any other, planet. The exterior is covered with a finish designed to match the famous Warthog, with United Nations Space Command (UNSC) logos from the Halo series on the sides and bed cover. Some more exterior eye-catchers are the 17″ Ford Racing beadlock wheels wrapped with 35×12.5 R17 Nitto Mud Grapplers.

Inside this truck is where the theme of the car is really brought out. Custom “Halo” upholstery covers the seats, matching the exterior perfectly. More importantly, there are four TVs found throughout the truck. There is one TV on the dashboard, one that drops down from the ceiling and two found on the headrests of the passenger and driver seats. Connected to each of these TVs is an Xbox 360, making it perfect for road trips. Cavanaugh said he and his friends would spend some nights just sitting in the truck, playing video games. If you are looking for the perfect road trip truck, there is no better option out there.

Of course, being a Ford Raptor, it can handle just about anything you throw at it. With 11″ of wheel travel and a Whipple supercharger attached to the 550hp, up from the stock 411 hp, 6.2-liter V8 engine, this truck is an off-road monster.

So, now is your chance to own this one-of-a-kind Halo Ford Raptor. It’s perfect for someone looking for an off-road and road trip-worthy vehicle. Just imagine playing the upcoming Titanfall video game while you wait for your friends driving their Call of Duty Jeeps.

Should you want to buy this…(heh, yeah right…that $200,000 price tag isn’t going to move this fast. I wonder what the best offer will be), you can go to this link. More pics of this cool one-of-a-kind vehicle at that link!

Amazing enough, it only has 226 miles on it.

Source Link

Hmm, now where did I leave that spare $200K lying about? LOL

-Sal

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A site by a Halo fan for Halo fans

Author Archives: Sal

About Sal

Civilian vehicles in Halo Reach? YES! (kind of)

The right Halo at the right time.

Halo “Origins” Bundle at Gamestop!

Halo 4 Master Chief made of Halo 4 related words! (I made this.)

Bet you thought I went away….LOL

The Halo Bulletin 11.20.13

Headhunter Gametype in Halo 4!!!

Articles incoming tomorrow….been ill and busy at the same time.

Halo Toy Review: Mega Bloks Blue Series Rockethog

One of a kind Halo Ford Raptor up for sale!