The bulletin starts off with news of RTX, that’s “Rooster Teeth EXPO” if you didn’t already know.

First up with RTX is the first Halo 4 Global Championship Tournament Qualifier.

The first qualifier for the Halo 4 Global Championship will be a weekend-long FFA tournament in our booth. If you’d like to participate, 343 recommends registering in advance to secure your spot. To pre-register, at 9 AM CDT on Friday, July 5, go to Hall 5 (the same location as RTX attendee registration). Limited walk-up registration will be available at our booth during show floor hours as well. Oh, and if you compete in the tournament, you’ll snag yourself a limited-edition t-shirt.

They’ll be live streaming the tournament finals from the eSports main stage from 2-5 PM CDT on Sunday on our official Twitch.tv channel. Be sure to tune in!

What’s Next: Halo 4 Summer 2013 Panel
On Saturday from 1 to 2 PM CDT in the Main Ballroom, they’ll be hosting a panel called “What’s Next: Halo 4 Summer 2013.” The panel will feature Frank O’Connor, Jessica “bs angel” Shea, Steve Young from Certain Affinity, and some special guests as they discuss what they’ve been up to and what they have planned for Halo 4 this summer. If you can’t be at RTX, the panel and discussion will be streaming live on 343’s official Twitch.tv channel.

Halo Panel Signing
All panelists will be at the Halo Official Store from 2:30 to 4 PM CDT on Saturday signing cool things (like limited edition posters). Keep an eye on our official Twitter account for up-to-the-minute details on RTX happenings!

Halo Official Store
343 will also have their official Halo store merchandise on the show floor at RTX! If you’re in need of some Halo swag, be sure to check out the Official Halo Store at booth #224-A.

Next up is more info about the Halo 4 Global Championship. I covered much of this in my previous post. What I didn’t cover was the weekly game modes for the contest. So, without further ado here they are:

Week 1: July 15-21
“Infinity Rumble”
Game types included this week:
Infinity Rumble
Settings:
Custom Loadouts enabled
Modified Personal Ordnance (grenades only)
Five-second respawn (instant respawn disabled)

Week 2: July 22-28
“Rumble SWAT”
Game types included this week:
SWAT
SWAT BRs
SWAT Rifles

Week 3: July 29-August 4
“Rumble Pro”
Game types included this week:
Rumble Pro FFA
Slayer BRs

Week 4: August 5-11
“Rumble Grab Bag”
Game types included this week:
FFA KOTH
FFA Ball
Human Slayer
Covenant Slayer
Forerunner Slayer

Week 5: August 12-19
“Legendary Rumble”
Game types included this week:
Legendary Rumble (settings TBA)

Here are the following playlist settings for the Global Championship:
Max Party Size: 1 player
8 players per match
Party Recycling is disabled
Join In Progress disabled

Also, this time around 343 states the following, “We’ll be constantly sweeping the leaderboards and game history to ensure that competitors are playing legitimately, and winners will be fully investigated before advancing to the finals. As a result, weekly winners will not be announced immediately when each week concludes.” This is good news as the previous tournament in January caused a bit of a debacle.

Here are the prize money brea-downs for the top 8 place winners:
1st – $200,000
2nd – $75,000
3rd – $10,000
4th – $5,000
5th – $4,000
6th – $3,000
7th – $3,000
8th – $1,000

The total cash prizing for the finals event totals $300,000, and the weekly prize drawings will contain $200,000 in prizes. Once again, to qualify for the weekly prizes, just play a minimum of 20 games in the playlist each week, and you’ll be entered to win.

Additional details regarding the finals and each week of the online qualifiers will be posted on Halo Waypoint in the coming weeks.

Lastly the bulletin ends with the weekly screenshot spotlight gallery. This one is all about “Scenery.” There are some really good ones in this gallery so be sure to check it out.

For the full bulletin, check it out at the official site.

-Sal

343 has announced that many of the talented people behind Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn have been put into consideration for an Emmy! Check out the categories below and to celebrate, enjoy the chat with Tom Green (Thomas Lasky) and Anna Popplewell (Chyler Silva).

Anna Popplewell’s Interview

Halo Waypoint (HW): How did you prepare for your role? What kind of training did you need?
Anna: I tried to immerse myself in the Halo universe as much as I could. I read and watched everything I could get my hands on. The Halo novels The Fall of Reach and Contact Harvest were especially useful for contextualizing the period of Halo mythology when our story is set. I also played the game, of course. I’m useless at the game, sadly! When the cast arrived in Vancouver, we went through a military boot camp, learning such tactics as how to handle rifles, march, do drills, assault courses and pushups. It was tough but really taught us to act like a squad and gave a sense of what military training is like. Documentaries on West Point Academy and the war documentaries Restrepo and Armadillo were also particularly useful.

HW: What was it like getting to see and meet Halo fans at events?
Anna: It’s both terrifying and wonderful to work in a franchise like Halo. It’s amazing that it has such a huge number of enthusiastic fans behind it, who are so involved in the world and hungry for its live-action realization. However, along with that comes pressure not to disappoint the fans! So, meeting the fans is both brilliant and a little bit terrifying.

HW: What about the story of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn drew you to the project?
Anna: The scope of the world is epic and enormous, but the humans within it are so relatable, interesting and vulnerable. I like that juxtaposition. This story takes place at a particularly interesting point in Halo history—a time when soldiers are having to entirely reconsider who they’re fighting and why.

HW: How was working on Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn different from other projects that you’ve worked on?
Anna: It was much more physical than anything that I’ve worked on before.

HW: How are you similar to your character? Different?
Anna: I suppose I can be as determined as Chyler, but I’m not as disciplined or as brave.

HW: Describe your character in one word.
Anna: Resolute.

HW: How does it feel to be submitted for an Emmy nomination for “#55 Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series” for your role as Chyler Silva?
Anna: It feels unreal! I’m extremely flattered to be submitted.

Tom Green’s Interview

HW: How did you prepare for your role? What kind of training did you need to do?
Tom: In my preparation for the role of cadet Thomas Lasky, I found myself focusing on the physical aspect of the character more than anything else. To bring Lasky to life, I felt it was important to immerse myself in the series’ world of a uniformed, military environment. Once the rest of the cast and myself arrived in Canada, we were quickly thrust into a military boot camp that ran for a week and covered everything, including weapons/combat training, marching, saluting, leadership skills, improving our fitness levels and being punished by our superiors in the appropriate fashion, sometimes for even the smallest mistakes. During the boot camp, I had my head shaved and was watching military documentaries on the side to get a taste of the trials and tribulations real people faced in these kind of hostile environments.

HW: What was it like getting to see and meet Halo fans at events?
Tom: Meeting the Halo fans at Comic-Con for the first time really changed my whole perspective on the project because I discovered that I had underestimated how big the franchise was. I found it a bit overwhelming at first, but when people started to accept me and the whole cast as a part of the Halo world, it was very comforting.
It was great to meet the people responsible for the franchise’s success and see how everybody was incredibly excited for Forward Unto Dawn and everything it had to offer.

HW: What about the story of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn drew you to the project?
Tom: After reading the script, I found myself drawn to the human element of the project. When we think of Halo, we immediately think of the Master Chief, aliens, weapons and outer space worlds. I found the idea of focusing on REAL people and their relationships with one another at the Academy quite audacious, but I definitely felt that it could work. It was pretty scary too because we weren’t sure if the die-hard Halo fans would take to the idea of humanizing Halo and introducing raw, human emotion into the fast-paced, violent world. I felt that the audience, Halo fans or not, could really identify with the characters in Forward Unto Dawn.

HW: How was working on Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn different from other projects that you’ve worked on?
Tom: Forward Unto Dawn was different from anything else I’ve previously worked on for a few reasons: It was the first job I had done that was of the Science Fiction genre, it required me to use an accent and it was the first set that I’d been on that used a great deal of CGI and visual effects.

HW: How are you similar to your character? Different?
Tom: Looking back on it, I think Thomas Lasky and I aren’t too different. I identified with his ambivalence at the academy because I shared those feelings in high school, and I think we’re both very analytical people. However, I would consider myself more outspoken than him and more of an extrovert.

HW: Describe your character in one word.
Tom: Leader.

HW: How does it feel to be submitted for an Emmy nomination for “#52 Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series” for your role as Thomas Lasky?
Tom: I’m thrilled! Seeing my name and the word “Emmy” used in the same sentence is definitely a first! Very exciting.

Nomination Categories
SPECIAL CLASS – SHORT-FORMAT LIVE ACTION ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM
Lydia Antonini – EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/ Josh Feldman ¬ EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
TOM GREEN as “Thomas Lasky” – Episode 5

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
ANNA POPPLEWELL as “Chyler Silva” – Episode 3

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Masam Holden as “Michael Sullivan” – Episode 4

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Enisha Brewster as “April Orenski” – Episode 1

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Todd Helbing & Aaron Helbing – Episodes 1 & 3

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
John Sullivan

OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A SERIES
Nathan Lanier

HFFL: Congrats to all who were nominated! I’m still scratching my head though why Stewart Hendler the director wasn’t nominated???

-Sal

Bravo brings us this week’s builletin.

The first part talks about his travelling between pro-league events and E3, then on to RTX (Rooster Teeth Expo) coming next week. Of note is during RTX there will be  apanel called “What’s Next: Halo 4 SUmmer 2013.” I hope we get some exciting news. Maybe a new DLC? Or Spartan Ops Season 2? I’m crossing my fingers here but not holding my breath.

Up next is an article on Spartan Assault. To be more specific, last week Bravo asked the community to submit questions regarding the upcoming title and he took them to other 343 people in the know who answered several of them.

The one glaring omission was of course would H:SA be coming to XBOX Live Arcade…

Anyway, here are all of the questions asked (and hey what do you know, the pick one of MINE to answer-well, they sort of answered it….cryptic!):

Q: Will there be any new weapons to use in this game or only weapons from previous games? -Cizlin
A: We have a suite of the old Halo favorites whilst adding some new turbocharged versions of existing weapons.

Q: Will our profile for Halo: Spartan Assault carry over between Windows 8 PC and Windows Phone 8? -bfett9
A: Cloud saving is enabled in the game, allowing players to carry their profile over between Windows 8 (Tablet or Desktop) and Windows Phone 8.

Q: How long will it take to complete the main Campaign in Halo: Spartan Assault? -TashiGAF
A: The main campaign contains 25 missions plus mission-specific and weekly challenges, which add to the gameplay duration.

Q: Where does the story fit in the Halo timeline? -jesse7456
A: The story of Halo: Spartan Assault takes place in the hectic time between Halo 3 (where it looked like things were calming down as far as intergalactic warfare was concerned) and the start of Halo 4 (where said hopes were quite thoroughly dashed). Anybody who played Halo 4 met Commander Sarah Palmer and the idea of Spartan Ops, and Spartan Assault lets you go back and see where Palmer and this new Spartan mission structure got started.

Q: How much will the game cost? -monkeyisbest
A: $6.99 USD.

Q: Is 100% of the save data and game progress saved to the cloud? -Falcon 304
A: Games are saved locally and also saved to the cloud when the user is connected to the Internet.

Q: While the Covenant forces seem to be that of the original empire, with Sangheili and Jiralhanae together, the inclusion of the Spartan-IVs and characters such as Parg Vol indicate that this might be a post-war splinter faction. Any clarification on who we’re actually fighting? -Dark Auk
A: It’s a bit too early to head down Spoiler Lane on this one, but you’ll be fighting some familiar faces with interesting new motivations.

Q: Will there be a large difference between the prices for each platform, or will it cost the same regardless of platform choice (PC, phone and tablet)? -SpiritHawk7
A: Price is the same across all platforms.

Q: For the PC platform, will there be a physical disc for the game that one can pre-order and purchase from retailers, or is it download only like on the phone and tablet? -SpiritHawk7
A: Halo: Spartan Assault is available from the Windows 8 Store or the Windows 8 Phone Store; there is no physical disc.

Q: Can we earn awards in-game that will benefit us in Halo 4, such as weapon skins, XP, Emblems and Armor? -a live dinosaur
A: Halo: Spartan Assault players will indeed receive extra content in Halo 4, including an Emblem and some XP.

Q: Will we play Palmer as an ODST at any point in this game? -DecepticonCobra
A: No disrespect to the ODSTs, but once you make it to the Spartans, you stay a Spartan…so no; this story focuses on Commander Palmer’s early days as a Spartan-IV.

Here’s one of the questions of mine that I submitted that they (sort of) answered.
Q: Is there any significance to Palmer’s armor being silver while Spartan Davis’ is gold? -HaloFanForLife1 
A: Maaaaabye.
HFFL: Very cryptic response…I’m thinking YES.

Q: Is Halo: Spartan Assault going to become a platform to explore more corners of the vast and rich Halo universe? -erickyboo
A: We’ve definitely thought about visiting other important moments in the Halo storyline in a Spartan Assault kind of way, but all attention right now is on getting this first effort finished and as awesome as we can make it.

Q: When will Halo: Spartan Assault release? -The Little Moa
A: July 2013. We have not yet nailed down the specific date. We’ll announce the date just as soon as the details are finalized.

Q: What’s the story with the Brutes in Halo: Spartan Assault? Are they part of the Covenant Loyalists? Are they allied with Jul’s forces? If so, why? -Toa Freak
A: We’ll have lots more to say about who is or isn’t in Halo: Spartan Assault once the game is out in the wild (and what we have to say will make a lot more sense then, too). On the upside, though, there’s not long to wait!

Lots of good questions. (I like mine the best, but then I’m biased, lol)

Next up we have the weekly Matchmaking Playlist Update and it’s going to make some people very happy!

Big Team Skirmish  (YEA!!!!!)
Due to high demand, Big Team Skirmish will be making its Matchmaking premiere in Monday’s update, replacing the current Team Objective playlist. We have chosen to offer 8 vs. 8 objective as a separate offering from Big Team Infinity Slayer so as to not disrupt our most popular playlist. However, we’ll monitor population and trends so that we can react accordingly. The following 8 vs. 8 game modes will be offered when the playlists launches:

Big Team CTF – Longbow, Ragnarok, Complex
Big Team King of the Hill – Exile, Longbow
Big Team Regicide – Complex, Settler

HFFL: The only thing I’m bummed about is that Team Objective keeps getting pushed aside. We MUST have a 4v4 Team Objective playlist. The only reason why the current one doesn’t do so well is that it’s 6v6. Get back to the normal 4v4 team size and I’ll bet we see that playlist rise in population again.

Continuing on is a new gametype within an existing playlist. HIVEMIND….ooohhh SCARY!

Flood Updates 
Also coming next week is an infectiously fun Flood update. We’ve teamed up with the Community Cartographers and Flood fanatics to deliver a new game type and accompanying maps. The new game type, Hivemind, adds a brand-new experience to the playlist. To give you some insight into the development of this game type, I figured it’d be best to talk to the Cartographers themselves and allow them to explain the settings and project overall. Below is a note from Alzarahn and a few others who assisted in the development of Hivemind.

“I started by looking for a subsection of the community that focused on Flood content. This search led me to The Halo Forge Epidemic, The MK25 Clan, and various independent Flood forgers. I gathered together a group with a firm knowledge of Flood’s gameplay balances and core concepts, with the goal of creating a singular, fresh new game type for the Flood playlist.

We endeavored together to create a Flood game type in which a player did not feel disadvantaged for spawning as either Flood or human; a balance between the two was crucial. The idea of a Flood player killing in two hits was adopted early on, along with the removal of Armor Abilities and the choice of every human’s starting weapon, the beloved MA5D Assault Rifle. Concepts such as Initial and Random Ordnance as on-map weapon pick-ups, along with smaller changes to base player settings, were continually adjusted as we proceeded with community map testing.

Many great community Flood maps were polished to compliment the game type, which we eventually dubbed “Hivemind” in honor of how it was developed. I could spend hours describing the setup and core concepts of this particular game type, but I’ll allow some of these community Flood developers to share what they believe makes Hivemind great:

“Hivemind gives humans a second chance to stay alive, while the default Flood is a one-lunge kill. This change increases the amount of time players get to spend on each map. Overall, it’s a very balanced experience for the humans and Flood.” – NARB GUY

“I truly enjoy the strategic aspects that this game type adds by allowing players to gather their own weapons throughout the map, not to mention that a two-hit Flood game type makes for a survivable and enjoyable environment for players.” – Robius5991

I hope in the days to come that you can see the fruits of our labor and that the community is pleased with both what we’ve tried to create, and how we chose to create it. I’ll see you in the playlist, dead or alive.”

– Alzarahn

HFFL: Want to check out the maps for this new gametype? Click the links below to download!
Payload by Narb Guy
Drillsite by Pa1nts
Temple by Mr Pokephile
Repression by Auxi Klutch

Dominion
We’ve also been working on an update to the Dominion playlist. For starters, we have modified the resupply of the bases to provide mostly Loadout weapons and grenades rather than a large number of power weapons. Also, we’ve added a brand-new game type named Lockdown. This new mode focuses the action on one central base that both teams must fight to control. The scoring settings are as follows:

• Score to win: 100
• Capture Points: 0
• Standard Capture Time: 1
• Fortified Capture Time: 5
• Fortify Points: 0
• Fortify Time: 15
• Resupply Points: 10
• Resupply Frequency: 25
• Last Stand: False

HFFL: Okay, this sounds cool. Certainly lots of intense fighting over ONE location! I can see this coming to a standstill on more than one occasion though.

Updated weapon and power-up respawns across the following maps in Dominion:
Exile
Overshield near Blue spawn
• Repawns in 90 sec (86 in Forge)
Sticky Detonator above Red spawn
• Respawns in 120 sec (116 in Forge)

Longbow
Shotgun near each spawn
• Respawns in 120 sec (116 in Forge)
Rocket Launcher on back beach in between Alpha and Charlie
• Respawns in 120 sec (116 in Forge)

Meltdown
Needlers in each teleporter bunker
• Respawns in 60 sec (56 in Forge)
Fuel Rod Cannon on main bridge
• Respawns in 120 sec (116 in Forge)

Vortex
Concussion Rifle near Red spawn
• Respawns in 120 sec (116 in Forge)
Sniper Rifle near Blue spawn
• Respawns in 120 sec (116 in Forge)
Energy Sword underneath Bravo
• Respawns in 120 sec (116 in Forge)

Additionally, we’ve optimized spawns on Haven (removed the “ditch” spawns on bottom Open Ramp), fixed a rotating ordnance issue on Simplex, and updated voting options in Infinity Slayer, SWAT and Big Team Infinity Slayer to include an on-disk map in the first slot to allow for the best experiences for split-screen players and optimized overall map variety.

Action Sack’s Mini Slayer will also be receiving a new map on Monday. The map, appropriately named Napoleon, uses a blocked-off section of Complex’s central cliff-side base and provides compact, arena-esque chaos to tickle your Mini Slayer fancy.

HFFL: I submitted four mini-slayer maps to 343. Hopefully, they’ll add one or more of these into rotation at some point. I didn’t expect them to be put in so soon as I’m sure they want to play test them first and fix any issue that might arise. Here’s hoping though that they pick one of mine. I’d be extremely honored and excited to see one of my maps in official matchmaking rotation!

And finally, the bulletin ends with the weekly Screenshot Spotlight. This week’s subject: MANTIS!

To read the full bulletin (though this week I included much of it here) and to see the gallery of Mantis images, go to the official site.

-Sal

HFFL: The bulletin starts out with some news of a BIG tournament.

We are proud to announce that we’ll be hosting our biggest Halo 4 tournament yet this summer. The tournament will be a Free-For-All competition with chances to qualify at in-person events as well as online. We’ll kick off the tournament at the Rooster Teeth Expo (RTX) in Austin, TX from July 5-7. More details and pre-registration for the RTX qualifier, as well as registration for the online portion of the tournament, will be opened and detailed on July 1. Last (but certainly not least), the tournament will boast over $500,000 in prizes, so we suggest you start practicing…now. As mentioned above, all of the questions you have will be answered on July 1, so check back to Halo Waypoint for the full breakdown of the tournament.

HFFL: Next is a segment on E3

HFFL: Next comes a gallery of images from the E3 Spartan Assault Booth.

HFFL: Following this is the Matchmaking Playlist Update.

This coming Monday, we’ll be featuring a new selection of Spartan Ops missions in a brand-new Designer’s Choice medley from our very own Kevin Schmitt and TJ Perillo:
Chapter 6, Mission 4: Search and Destroy
Chapter 5, Mission 3: Everything Has Gone Wrong
Chapter 4, Mission 5: Hairy Call
Chapter 3, Mission 1: The VIP
Chapter 4, Mission 3: Random Transport

HFFL: Mini-Slayer is discussed, then some VERY good news for BTB players…

Next week’s Bulletin will have the full details of the next Matchmaking Update, but we are currently planning on updating the Flood playlist, changing Team Objective to Big Team Skirmish and possibly more on July 1. We look forward to bringing you all of the juicy details next week!

HFFL: Finally the bulletin wraps up with a Screenshot Spoltlight. This being of the infamous traffic CONE!

To read the entire bulletin go to HaloWaypoint.com.

-Sal

This week’s bulletin starts with Halo: Spartan Ops. BS angel intorduces the article, then hands it over to Frank O’Conner.

Here is what Frank had to say:

Many moons ago, I said online and in a couple of interviews that I would love to see an isometric Halo reboot of Moon Patrol, with current-gen graphics and full to the brim with recognized Halo items: Warthogs, Grunts, Elites, Brutes, Ghosts, boarding, Plasma combos, and anything else. As a matter of fact, Joystiq sort of reported it back in the day. The thing is, I wasn’t joking. I always thought the universe could translate well into 2D, or isometric 3D, or the combinations of both that polygons can craft. And I had always had some vision of Robotron controls. Plus, I am so old that I literally remember when Moon Patrol arrived in the arcade near my house.

After this comes the results of the 343 playdate with the Halo community to show off the new weapons tuning. There are several game stat graphics shown. (Go to the article on Waypoint for those. (See at end of this article)

And finally the weekly Screenshot Spotlight. This time focusing on all things BLUE.

To see the above gallery and read the full Bulleting, go HERE.

-Sal

Well, it’s that time of the week again when we get some news from 343 regarding our beloved franchise.

BS Angel starts out with a warm regards to Steven Spielberg and let’s we fans know that it’s going to be awhile before we hear anything else on the TV show.

Next up a Weapons Tuning discussion.

The Matchmaking Playlist update is next.

Finally, what I consider to be the best Screenshot spotlight to date: Incineration! The effects you see when someone is dematerializing after being shot with an InCin cannon are just SWEET!

Want to read the full Bulletin? Well just clicky right here!

-Sal

Well, here we are again with another Halo Bulletin. Has a week really gone by that quick? Are these bulletins ever going to be interesting again?

This week marks the third week in a row that I’ve been disappointed with the material presented.

BS Angel comes back after a two week hiatus. And she doesn’t fail to disappoint us with a few paragraphs of nothingness to start. Really, do we care why she didn’t write the bulletin the last two weeks? I look to the bulletin for PERTINENT info about HALO…

Next is a section about being voted game of the year by Geekwire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZiQQJvHxxc&feature=player_embedded

Yet more about the weapons tuning, specifically about streaming the testplay of it. No offense to those who like to, but I do NOT like to watch others play. I prefer to do the playing myself. Oh and Greenskull from RUL gets to go to Seattle and playtest with 343. Again, no offense to those who like or are a part of RUL, but damn, how about spreading the wealth around? Greenskull got to go to the actual set for Forward Unto Dawn. Sure, he’s a nice guy and all, but there are OTHER fans out there, ya know? There are plenty of other sites deserving of some recognition by 343. Am I saying my blog? That would be a bit self serving now wouldn’t it? I’m not saying any site in particular, just any DIFFERENT site, rather than those ones who have already been chosen time and again. Greenskull already has his place in Halo history with the FUD visit as well as having armor in Halo 4 “created” at a location that bears the name of his hometown. Sure, he’s got a popular website. Doesn’t mean he’s anymore a fan than anyone else….just sayin’.

Okay sorry about that last part folks, I’m just a bit depressed and seeing others who have already had more than their fair share get yet MORE makes me even more depressed.

At least one good thing about the weapon tuning article in the bulletin, we now have a concrete date as to when it’s going to roll out. June 3.

Next up in the bulletin is the matchmaking update.

Several community made maps on Forge Island are going to see rotation in playlists.

Map: Elevated by Smexi Bilzo
Infinity Slayer
Capture the Flag – 5 Flag
Extraction 1-Site

Map: Crucifix by Wraith2098
Capture the Flag – 5 Flag
King of the Hill
Infinity Slayer

Map: Onyx by Hahkarazy
Throwdown v3 Slayer
Throwdown Capture the Flag – 5 Flag
SWAT

Map: Confined by Big Papa Salot
TD Slayer Pro
Team Snipers
Capture the Flag – 5 Flag

Map: Ender by The Fated Fire
King of the Hill
Infinity Slayer
SWAT

Map: Forgotten by Flying Shoe ILR
Extraction 1-Site
Capture the Flag – 5 Flag
King of the Hill

In addition, Big Team Infinity Slayer and Infinity Slayer have some updates as well.

Big Team Infinity Slayer:
• Slayer Pro added to voting options.
• Complex added to map rotation. (Good. This map needs to be in rotation for larger team sizes)
• Voting options reorganized to provide increased variety.

Infinity Slayer:
• Slayer Pro added to voting options.
• Complex removed from map rotation. (Thank gawd. This map is WAY too huge for 4v4.)
• Voting options reorganized to provide increased variety.

HFFL: (Ugh, a no radar option. I hate not having radar. This should be in the Throwdown playlist only as that’s the MLG/Pro players settings.)

And finally, the now normal screenshot gallery is inserted. This one showcasing the EVA helmet. There are some good shots.

What bothers me most about these galleries is that I never seem to know what is upcoming so I can have a chance to submit a screenshot to possibly be picked.

Thus ends the bulletin. If you want to read the whole thing go here to the official site.

It used to be that I’d be excited to read the bulletin. This and last week’s bulletins buck that trend. I’m not sure if it’s because Bravo is writing them or if it’s just that I don’t really care about weapons tuning, which is nearly all this week’s bulletin is about. All the weapons being tuned I’ve either maxed out or am really close to doing so. So this doesn’t affect me so much.

However, for those of you that haven’t maxed out the weapons or are more competitive than me you might want to check in on this week’s bulletin.

Bravo discusses a friend who is also a competitive Halo player coming to 343 for a look, weapons tuning, matchmaking playlist update (a limited time Community Forge Island Playlist will be coming), and finally the now standard gallery, this one featuring the Battle Rifle.

Have a read!

-Sal

Kind of a disappointing bulletin this week, IMO.

Bravo is given the reigns for this one. He starts off by flaunting the fact that he works for 343 and that he got to get into a life sized Warthog. He included another MLGer “Walshy” in this photo op then moves on to an interview with him about the weapons tuning.  Rather dry stuff to me.

Next is an actual article on weapons tuning where it’s said that 343 will be inviting a small group of community members into the studio to get a sneak peak at the new weapon tuning. Hmm, I bet this will be mostly MLGers and devs. You know, NOT the regular fans. Sigh.

An article about CSR is next and WOW hey 26 people reached level 35 or higher in the Castle playlist. Hmm, is there something fundamentally wrong there? Out of the roughly 40k active Halo 4 gamers ONLY 26 got that high or better? Seems like CSR isn’t quite working correctly, at least in that playlist.

A list of next week’s matchmaking is up next. Plenty of NEW (forge) maps are coming to matchmaking and some current forge maps are being rotated into other playlists. Not really too excited about this. (I’m not a fan of some of the “Candyland” colored objects in many of the forge maps.)

Finally the gallery this week is of screenshots on Daybreak. Bummer to say, but I think this was the highlight of this week’s bulletin, well that or that it finally came to an end.

Sorry folks, I just wasn’t impressed with the bulletin this week. Apologies for what appears to be a snarky attitude towards it.

If you want to read the full bulletin check it out here.

-Sal

Ooh, there are some goodies in this week’s Bulletin.

First we find out why Jen Taylor was at 343. She did personalized voice mails for the highest bidders of the “Child’s Play Charity Dinner Auction.” While there she played a game of “Did you know?” Revolvoing around her various acting credentials. Someone brought up her wiki page and it was found to have some errors…

Next up are three sets of clues to as yet to be discovered Halo 4 Campaign Easter Eggs. Here’s a pic of the clues:
I think I have part of the Infinity one worked out, so I’m going to try and get that one today. Though the first part of it makes me think I should be listening for a loud “fart” sound, LOL.

After this the bulletin goes on to an article regarding weapon tuning. BR, DMR, LR, and AR are all discussed.

Next up something near and not so dear to me, JIP or Join-In-Progress. Something I happen to abhor that is in Halo 4. Looks like while it’s still going to be in the game, the time in which you can JIP will be reduced, in some cases drastically. GOOD!

Finally, BS Angel posts up a gallery of “Assassin” screenshots.

To read the full bulletin, check out the official site’s link.

-Sal