Back in the days of old when Xbox 360's ruled the online gaming world, HaloCustoms used an RSVP based lobby system but with a twist... the ability to rate your host and for hosts themselves to rise to the ranks of "Gold Host", something unprecedented in the Halo community all the back in 2012.
Years later we tried a server browser style model for custom games with a tonne of bonus features and honestly it was a flop, with most people who put time into giving it a go wanting to return to the previous RSVP model for custom games. The advent of an official in-game server browser on Halo 5 also inspired us that our efforts were best spent elsewhere within this passionate community.
In 2018, the site went under a massive overhaul. Updating to a new platform and undergoing an expansive facelift to prepare HaloCustoms for the modern age. A greatest hits like approach was taken in regards to this bringing back things that worked and ditching things that didn't to streamline the user experience overall. If you read the post I made back then, there was plans for 2 more updates following this including exploring the possibilities of bringing host ratings back into the fold but due to the lack of real information on Halo: Infinite, the Halo community at large laid mostly dormant (like a hibernating bear).
Which brings me on to the subject of host ratings. Once again a desire for them has sparked once more and I'm proud to announce today that a new and improved host ratings system is now live on HaloCustoms for everyone with a HaloCustoms account. With this new feature being fully integrated with the official Discord.
Firstly if you're one of our fellow Discordians and don't yet have an account here on HC, signing up is free and easy. Just login in to the site but selecting the "sign in with Discord" option and you'll have your account setup and synced with Discord in just a matter of a few clicks. If you're a returning user you can go here to add a connected account.
Via the connected account page you can also add your Steam and Microsoft accounts as login methods with the sole purpose of giving you the choice to be able to log into the site whichever way your heart desires. Adding a new connected account will require you to input your HC account password purely for verification purposes. If at any point you decide to have a change of heart, all connected accounts can be disassociated at any time.
Enough of the Wall of Text Backstory... Tell us how Host Ratings work!
Ahem... sorry, I was just getting to that.
Host ratings function entirely though the user profiles of all members of HaloCustoms and rating your host couldn't be easier. Go to the profile of the host you want to rate and then select the "submit host rating" on the right of the page as shown below:
After this you'll greeted with a new page where you can submit your host rating/review:
As shown above you select whether the rating is positive, neutral or negative along with a short review of the host (much like giving a seller on eBay feedback). You can also add a more in-depth comment about your rating/review, but this is entirely optional.
Please note that to prevent abuse of the ratings system, you can only rate 10 hosts a day and any negative ratings are immediately reported to the staff team. This is purely so we can do what we can to help ensure player safety.
That's all cool 'n all, but what do I get out of participating in host ratings?
To keep things short and sweet; Role rewards both here on HC and our official Discord, along with earn-able trophies with cute little badges that you can rep on your profile.
Go to the new and improved trophies page to track your progress on the Road the Platinum Host and the Road to Customs Connoisseur (Yes, players who participate but don't want to actively host get rewards too).
We also plan on adding other ways to climb up the user list on Discord also in future. But for now that's all from me. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at HaloCustoms and keep on custom'ing.
TL;DR: Host Ratings are now live with rewards on both the site and on the official Discord. Information on how all this works can be found above.
Addy out.
PS. If you want to contribute to the future development of HaloCustoms please drop me a line in a DM, either on HC or Discord.
