I’d like to thank all of the folks who participated in this contest. Without further ado, here is the winner’s submission:
The winner is Grant Humbert. Grant, I’ll send you the code via the e-mail you used to register with the site.
Congrats!
-Sal
Author Archives: Sal
Halo 3 LAN/Tournament after report
So I got the opportunity to not only be a reporter for a Halo 3 LAN/Tournament today, but also got to commentate.
The event was held at GameOn Party Planners. The same place I held my LAN on Sept 14.
This was my first ever gig as a commentator. From the commments afterwards, it seems like I did pretty well.
You can go to the following link to watch/hear me as well as watch the gameplay. I start in the stream at 20:54 of the clip, though the real action/FFA Tourney doesn’t start until 47:37. At first it’s just a scrim going on, then we get into the real FFA action!
http://www.twitch.tv/gameonllc/b/467924270
The tournaments were ran by “EDamite_Warrior” while GameOn was the hosted site. MLG version 8 settings were used for all matches.
First came the FFA tourney. This was a one-game, winner take all match. The whole day I was commentating on Sargoth’s play. You may recall him if you read my articles about my LAN. He was the winner of that FFA tourney.
This time around he was in second place for nearly the whole match. It wasn’t until the last 10 seconds of the match while being 2 down that he pulled it out with a kill, followed up by a double kill for the win. It was an amazing finish.
Next up came the 2v2 tourney. There were three teams competing. So the tourney was run as a round-robin type of set-up with the top two teams advancing to the finals. Each round was best of three. Sargoth’s team won fairly handedly.
After this since only 2 teams were signed up for the 4v4 tournament, the cash prize tourney was replaced with a simple best of 7 scrim. Gametypes included during the scrim were CTF, Oddball, KOTH and Slayer.
Sargoth again ruled the day with his team winning 4-2 winning in 6 games.
The LAN lasted around 4 hours. Plans are for another tournament next month. The owner of GameOn also wants to get a Grifball Tourney going, while I expressed having a Ricochet Tournament some time in November, possibly online instead of as a LAN setting. I’ll keep you all posted as this develops.
I had a good time, though I do wish I had another caster with me to banter with. At times I felt I was repeating myself. Having another to interact with would have made things smoother. The owner invited me back to cast in the future, so this won’t be my only time. Hmm, who knows, maybe this will open a door for me???
I did have the pleasure of speaking with Ghostayame shortly before casting this, where he gave me some pointers.
If you watch the stream form the link above, let me know what you think of my first time casting.
-Sal
My first gig as a Halo commentator, tomorrow!
So there is a Halo 3, FFA / 2v2 / 4v4, tourney here in Pittsburgh tomorrow. It’s being held at the same place I held my LAN. That is GameOn Party Planners LLC. Here a link for all the details of the tourney.
I had already planned on attending as a reporter for the blog. Then just yesterday, the owner of GameOn tweeted out that he needed people to cast (commentate) the event. I volunteered myself and he accepted.
Whew, what have I got myself into??? LOL
This will be my first gig as a commentator. I’m trying to get some pointers from Ghostayame. I’ve only got one day to “study” for this…Though I feel I’m up to the task.
So it looks like I’ll have more to do than just reporting on the event…
Wish me luck folks and hope I don’t screw this up…lol.
-Sal
Right on the heels of that last post, is a letter to BS Angel regarding Halo 4’s playlists…
The following is BS Angel’s response to a person asking for more Regicide, then my response below that with proposed changes to the playlists to make them, in my opinion, better.
bs angel: I’m a big fan of Regicide, too – except when I play against David Ellis and he steals the win from me in the final two seconds of the game!
Try going into Rumble Pit with others who like it (perhaps even people from this thread?). That way you can sway the vote in your favor. 🙂
Why not bring THIS back too? We SORELY need a dedicated Team Objective playlist.
Gametypes in the playlist would be:
• CTF – (Yes, move this into Objective and you will get those people going into the playlist and hey, they might even choose something else…Also, put this in the THIRD slot, so as to give other gametypes a chance of being picked.)
• Team Regicide – It only comes up rarely in BTB and is a pain in the arse in Rumble Pit. For my own sake, I’m making a web series from Halo 4 and NEED that Emblem for mastering Regicide.
• Oddball – It was in Multi-team (which you took away and put into the rotational playlist instead. Bad move, IMO.) On that note, PLEASE bring back a 4 team 3-person per team, multi-team playlist. It is BADLY needed!
• King of the Hill – Yet another great gametype lost to the rotational playlist. Honestly, with these gametypes having commendations attached to them, they should NEVER go away or be put into a playlist where they can only be played for 2 weeks every several months. REALLY BAD MOVE THERE! Plus, you’re further killing the Halo 4 gaming population. Not that hard to see…
• Stockpile – Hey, if a modder cna find the code was already embedded in the game, why not bring this back? Yeah, I know it’s not YOUR creation 343, but it was a GREAT game type.
• Headhunter – Read above for Stockpile. Another GREAT gametype.
Jessica (BS Angel), you folks at 343 can’t be SO against what Bungie created before you as to totally dismiss good gametypes such as those. You need to build off of what they CREATED, instead of tearing it down to rebuild your version of what you think Halo should be.
I truly want you folks to succeed. However, if you can’t see that some of these decisions are HURTING the franchise, then there is a REAL problem.
Playlist management needs to be a PRIORITY post game launch. At times it just feels like you’re experimenting with them, instead of taking a realistic look and approach to what is NEEDED per the community.
I mean these words with kindness, but also with sternness. You HAVE to do better than this. Waiting until the next game to get it right is NOT going to help this game, nor the longevity of the franchise, nor it’s sustainability as a viable profit maker for you and Microsoft.
As caretakers/stewards of Halo, you owe it not just to yourselves and Microsoft, but to US, the fans and CONSUMERS who are the ones who have paid for and stuck with the franchise, many of us for many years.
End Copy/paste…
So yeah, I know I won’t be on their Christmas Card list for posts like these. But that isn’t my goal. I’m not a yes-man who sticks so far up 343’s butt that I know what they had for breakfast. My goal is to help keep Halo 4 alive and vibrant. To make it not just a successful game during launches of new games, but a SUSTAINABLE success. That will not happen if 343 doesn’t take ownership of their mistakes and fixes them NOW, not wait until the next game…
-Sal
Regarding the rotational playlist and possible solutions instead.
I made the following reply on Waypoint’s forums in response to another person lamenting about Dominion being gone/put into the rotational playlist. I felt it needed to be shared here on the blog as well.
Gamer Freak, I feel your pain. I had to bust my arse to finish this before it was removed.
I’m trying to do the same thing in King of the Hill before it goes away from the rotational playlist.
I honestly do not get why 343 has made some of the changes to the playlist that they have made.
No way playlists that have commendations attached to them should be removed from matchmaking.
If anything, move Dominion into BTB and make it an 8v8 gametype now. It needs to stay in permanent rotation, not temporary.
Same can be said for King of the Hill, Oddball, Regicide. Those should be incorporated into a Team Objective. AND put CTF in there as well. This will consolidate those playlist, but keep them ALL ACTIVE. Why Objective wentto 6v6 then completely away is beyond me.
343 made a good game in Halo 4, but not great. and with this total mismanagement of playlists, they are only wrecking the game’s population even further.
Take Team Slayer for instance. It used to have a population of about 50% of whatever BTB was running. It stayed like that for the LONGEST time. Then all of the sudden, when 343 made the Majestic map pack mandatory for that playlist, it dropped to 10% of BTB and has stayed there.
Why is it so HARD for 343 to see this? They need to eject Majestic from being mandatory in Team Slayer and make an ALL DLC playlist. Doing that would bring more back to regular Team Slayer as well as give a playlist to those who DID buy the DLC. Also, in doing so, those people still chasing achievements in DLC map packs WILL have that chance, instead of a RARE opportunity happening in matchmaking.
I honestly won’t blame any gamer at this point if they boost achievements. It was already a bit hard before, when the DLC playlists where temporary. Now that they are gone, it’s VERY hard.
So yeah, getting back on point, I COMPLETELY understand your frustration with Dominion being gone, or thrown into a rotational playlist.
What does that say for 343 when THEY made that gametype?
I really hope for the next game, they take a LONG hard REALISTIC look at matchmaking. It’s the bread and butter of the game. And unfortunately that bread has gone stale…
Toy Review: McFarlane Halo 4 Didact action figure
By far this is my favorite from the series. In fact favorite of all of McFarlane’s Halo 4 figures. Might even be my favorite of ALL McFarlane’s Halo figs, regardless of game association.
This figure is amazing by all accounts.
First let’s start with some in-game references. (Click pics to make BIGGER)
Here is the box art from all sides. It shows off the figure prominently. The back shows the different figures from this series. A little bit of info on the Didact is shown as well on one of the sides.
Speaking of, if you want more info on the Didact, go here.
Remove the box and this is what you see. The background image is that of Requiem opening.
Here is the code sheet that gives you BOTH the Refractive Suppressor and Refractive Venator Armor Skin.
The Didact in orthogonal views. Impressive huh?
What follows are some more detailed shots.
Starting with the head, neck armor and shoulders.
Above shows the upper torso. McFarlane Toys really took care to sculpt the hell out of this as well as give it an immaculate paint job. This is just CRAZY good with detail!!!
The mid-section and upper thighs are no slouch in detail either. Just look at the individual armor ribbing in the upper thighs on the front, as well as the orange/yellow highlights all over.
The lower legs and feet also have some AMAZING detail. From the pincer like toes to the rear leg prongs, the figure just doesn’t stop with the detail!
Next up are shots of the figure’s head and helmet:
Just look at the sculpt and paint detail here! The underside shows how the head pops on.
The helmet is just as great with detail.
Here’s a shot showing the helmeted head attached to the figure. BADASS!
The articulation of this figure FAR surpasses that of any McFarlane Halo figure to date. Each of the inner 4 fingers has it’s OWN hinge joint as shown above. You can close his fists, make one of the fingers point or go all open as shown.
Finally for scale, here are ALL of McFarlane’s Halo 4 series 2 figures.
As you can see the Didact figure just dwarfs all the rest.
If you do not collect any other figure from halo, THIS one is a must buy! The only minor issue is that the head paint is a bit too dark. Still, that isn’t enough to detract from the overall figure for me.
It retails for between $30-33 depending on where you buy it from.
To say McFarlane Toys knocked this one out of the park is an understatement. I give this an 11 out of 10…yes you read that right!
-Sal
Toy Review: McFarlane Halo 4 series 2 Storm Jackal
Other than the Didact, this figure is my favorite in this series.
I give you the Storm Jackal.
This figure comes with the ‘Engage’ Carbine skin. Once again the slender packaging is nice and really highlights the figure without any wasted space.
As you can see in the above pic, the Jackal is still just as lithe as it’s always been, even with the redesign of the head and armor. An amazing amount of detail has been poured into this figure.
The Carbine included is a vibrant metallic purple as you see above. Additional blue paint adds to the detail of the weapon.
Here you can see the amazing amount of detail put into the skin of the Jackal. Not only do the arms/shoulders show a ton of scaly bumps, but the neck is just littered with them which adds to the authenticity of the figure. Add the behind the jaw pouches and added mouth detail and it almost looks like it’s alive.
Above you can see the back fins have been well defined and even have lines sculpted in to show varying parts of armor. The two-toned look of the armor is well done. No complaints at all on the paint application here!
The leg detailing is great and just look at those toes!
This is the only one of the figures in this wave to include a figure stand. I DO wish they all came with one, regardless of character. It can’t be expensive to add in and would really help with posing the figures.
Finally, here you can see the figure’s articulation. Again amazing as all the rest are in this series. However, I think this one just LOOKS better than the rest for that articulation. I had to think why and figured it out. It’s not encumbered by as much armor as the rest in this series. So in that respect it is rewarded with greater range of motion in it’s articulation.
There are two minor things I’d have liked to see done better. Unless my eyes deceive me, the blue paint on the armor should be darker. That’s one I can easily over look though.
The other is the think spaghetti-like tooth bristles of it’s head and elbow ‘hair’. I’d have liked to have seen these done thinner and end more in a point than a rounded end. Again though, these do not detract significantly from the figure for me.
I absolutely recommend this figure. Even if you’re not a fan of the redesign by 343, which isn’t McFarlane’s fault, the figure itself is superb as a toy.
This gets a 9.75 out of 10 from me. Just the hair bristles…
Price for this ranges between $13-16 depending on where you get it from.
-Sal
Toy Review: McFarlane Halo 4 series 2 Elite Ranger
The following is one of my favorite from the McFarlane Halo 4 series 2 wave of action figures.
It’s the Elite Ranger!
As with the other figures in this series, the Elite Ranger comes in a nice compact ‘sleeve’ package. This one however is a little bigger from to back as the Elite is bulkier than the Spartans and Jackal from this series.
Note the ‘Chill’ weapon skin for your storm rifle. This series seems to have a pattern of blues and purples for it’s weapons skins. I think this skin looks great on the storm rifle.
Here’s the elite in orthogonal views. Very sturdy figure. You do have to take a minute to position it right as the center of gravity for this figure is different from the spartan figures.
The Beam rifle (and flipped) is just awesome. Detailing is great, sculpt is spot on, color choice is fantastic.
Above shows the detail of the Elite Ranger’s arm and back. A ton of detail here. The space suit it wears has these intricate patterns on it that McFarlane captured nicely.
The dorsal ‘fins’ are perfect. Note the jump jets attached to the arms, shoulders, top middle back as well as one on the butt. Additional detail as in the greens and yellow graphics really add to this figure.
Here are some shots of the head and upper back. Again the detail is amazing. Squint and you may just be able to see the Elite’s eyes in the visor (near the bottom of it).
The leg details are just as good as the rest of the figure’s details. Once again jump jets are prominent on the figure, here on it’s knees.
The articulation of this figure is on par with the spartans.
The Beam Rifle is a bit heavy and my figure’s wrist joint on it’s holding hand is loose. So I can’t pose mine with the weapon in one hand without it drooping. Good thing though that this is a two-handed weapon anyway.
The color for the Elite’s suite is excellent.
It’s a great figure and one I HIGHLY recommend if you like campaign figures. Hopefully now we can get the regular Storm Elite.
I give this a 10 out of 10!
The figure runs between $13-16 depending on where you get it from. It’s worth every penny, IMO.
-Sal
From Concept to Completion, color in Halo artwork.
Awhile back I used to post concept art of Halo. I haven’t done that for awhile. I found some of the files I had scanned in, that I hadn’t use, with the intention of continuing on with that series of articles.
Here is the first of the new batch of concept line art that I’m passing on to you, to color in.
It’s a Brute Chieftan.
Your assignment should you accept it, is to download this and color it in. Use whatever means you want to color it. Nothing vulgar though…
When done, send it back to me in digital format to my e-mail: sal@halofanforlife.com. I’ll pick a winner and send you something.
You have until Sunday Oct 6, 11:59 pm EST time to submit your colored in Brute Chieftan. Same file size please.
Here’s what I came up with:
Note the blood spattering on the light grey fur. As well, I chose purple for the feathers to denote some exotic animal the Brute had hunted and killed.
-Sal
Contest for Halo 4 “Engage” Carbine skin
Okay, instead of the normal trivia questions which are usually EASY with just a quick look-up on Google, I’m going to make this a bit more interactive.
I want to see your HAND DRAWN Carbines. NO PHOTOSHOP.
Here is the computer rendered file from 343. Use for reference if you’d like.
You have until Sunday 11:59pm (EST) to send me your drawing. You must be a registered member of the blog to enter. It’s free to register, so send me an e-mail at sal@ halofanforlife.com if you want to sign up for the blog. Just give me your desired user name and a password you want to use. You can include your drawing in that e-mail as well. Nothing over 1MB please.
If you’re already registered, send me your drawing via e-mail as well and be certain that you include your screen name here on the blog. (I”ll be checking those)
I’ll pick one for the entries and send you the code.
Drawings may be in pen, pencil, marker, crayon. Again NO computer rendered files. If I have to guess if it’s computer rendered or not, it will likely be disqualified without notice.
So let’s see those Carbines folks!!!
-Sal