Srs Bzns Site Update: 10/27/16

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Not so long ago, we proposed to you the beginning of a bright new future of HaloCustoms with exclusive Xbox sign in. You can read more about this change here.

For those of you that aren't currently signed in and are an existing member of HaloCustoms, here's a quick reminder/tutorial on how to easily migrate your legacy account:

Step 1: Select the option to sign in with Xbox Live. An example of this button as it currently stands can be found below (there will also be a replacement for the current Login/Sign Up options on the top bar if this change goes ahead).

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Step 2: Select the option to "Associate Existing Account" and simply log into HC with your existing legacy username and password as demonstrated below;

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Btw I used a fake password for this screenshot, "superlongfakepassword" in case you're curious.

If you haven't joined the HC community yet, it's now quicker an easier to create a user account. All you need to do is sign in via Xbox Live and pick an available username on the "Create New Account" tab. It's as simple as that! :)


Keeping on the subject of our initial roll-out of Xbox integration, we've updated the friends list on the Xbox tab. You can find this at the top right of the page.

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Not only can you see what friends are currently online or in a party, you can easily distinguish which of your Xbox friends also use HaloCustoms by the blue HC button to the right of their Gamertag (demonstrated above). Clicking on this also gives you easy access to that user's HC profile page. Pretty nifty, huh?

In the future we plan to expand this further with what we're calling Xbox Live Quick Messages, but more information will come on that in the coming weeks.

On the subject of messaging. The traditional PM system "Conversations" is kill. R.I.P.

Rising from the ashes like a majestic phoenix however is our new Xbox Live Conversations feature. Giving you easy access to all your Xbox Live messages.

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The new and improved conversations interface is quite intuitive and gives you easy access to all your current conversations and create new ones. It's party piece though is the ability to convert HC usernames to their respective Gamertags on the fly when sending a new message.

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Moving on once again I have one last detail to cover, the new Media tab. You may have seen it lurking about over the past week but it is now open for business so feel free to check it out!

But what is the media tab?

It's a wiki of sorts for Halo videos. Supporting content from Youtube now, with Twitch recordings support coming in the next week. Like any wiki though expect this new feature to expand over time and before you ask yes, we are looking into supporting Xbox Game DVR content in the future.

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Above is a quick screencap I took of the "Videos" page of this new portion of the site. Using a keyword driven system you can filter content to find exactly what you're looking using a combination of categories, games, usernames and other keywords. The more videos added by the community, the more powerful it will be as a resource.

So how do I add more videos?

Simply use the add content drop down to either add a single video or import an existing Youtube playlist (of 50 videos of less).

When adding a single video to our library, simply pick the most appropriate category, edit the video title and description accordingly and select save.

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Above you can find a screenshot of me editing a video I added to the system which is a near identical to posting new content. If you look carefully though you might see some additional options below the description box.

For all Halo 5 content, you can also attach bookmark/download map and custom gametype buttons to your content. Great for map features and overviews!

Is there any other way to contribute other than posting videos?


Yes. Not only will watching and liking videos improve their trending score to be highlighted to other users, but you can also make edits to the metadata of other videos by tagging additional keywords and also other HC members in-case you spot them (or yourself) in a video.

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The Media tab/portal has a lot of features overall, some of which I haven't covered here. I plan on posting a tips and tricks article in the future about submitting content in bulk and how to build custom video playlists (remixing content already found on the video library).

It's also worth mentioning that you don't have to be the original creator of the video to add it to the library. All we ask is that you respect the content creators that actively use HaloCustoms enough to allow them to post their own content.

If you have any questions about any of the new additions to the site or having any issues with our latest additions, feel free to drop a comment in the thread below. I look forward to watching the media library grow in size over the coming months. :)
 
I'm quite pleased with this new integration even though I was skeptical of it at first. Great job implementing all these new features.
 
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Guys I will never use XBL sign-in because it uses my actual real life email

Does that mean I'll never be able to use HC again?

Excuse my ignorance if you mentioned that above, couldnt read the whole thing

Edit: All is well, Addy just alleviated all of my concerns
 
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Being someone who uses HC at near random, the Microsoft account/XBox Live addition caught Me by surprise. My biggest concern was My username being dropped in "favor" of My GamerTag, but I'm glad to see even something so trivial was thought about beforehand.

Seriously, this is why I love this site. You guys think of everything.
 
Being someone who uses HC at near random, the Microsoft account/XBox Live addition caught Me by surprise. My biggest concern was My username being dropped in "favor" of My GamerTag, but I'm glad to see even something so trivial was thought about beforehand.

Seriously, this is why I love this site. You guys think of everything.
Praise the Lemon, Lord of HaloCustoms