Site Update
Fun Pack Edition
The date for the site update was looming ahead of us, and I was thinking to myself, "Hm... I wouldn't mind spicing up this Site Update a bit. Why don't we have a fun pack edition?" So I asked Insane, and he said, "Yes, we can have that." He even gave me some of his home grown packets of fun to contribute. Unfortunately, we weren't so sure about what the Web Admins would think about a fun pack edition. There were quite a few discussions in the Staff Skype chat and Staff Forum about whether or not the servers could handle this level of fun. Eventually Bigstack looked into it, and finally gave us the green light for a Fun Pack Edition. So here it is! This Site Update is full of fun.
Gold Hosts...? More like GHosts
Because they kind of disappeared. Like a ghost. Plus they're G Hosts. So it's like they're ghosts. But not exactly. Just like how they've not exactly disappeared. That's why it's funny. Yes. Yes, I know I can do better.
In the past week, we've made a fairly big decision to rein in the privileges of being a Gold Host. Gold hosts are members who have reached a certain number of "Good Host" ratings. At first this number was 25 ratings, was bumped up to 50 a bit later, and is now currently set at 100 ratings. The problem was, this system encouraged some users to build up a "following" in order to get those ratings. While that is not inherently a bad thing, and we actually love to see it going on, it's not what we had in mind when promoting Customs lobbies on this site. So we've brought in Recommended Lobbies.
An example of a recent Recommended Lobby
Many of you may have noticed this in the past week. It's pretty straight forward - if you see a Recommended Lobby, give it a look! It's recommended, after all. This gives a highlight to lobbies that have the maps, the gametypes, and the heart, but don't have enough members to play it. Us staff don't like seeing these lobbies fly under the radar, and want to give a boost to those who undeservedly get ignored.
If you are new to the site, and need a little boost, all you need to do for a Recommended Prefix is give it your all - if you're enthusiastic about hosting, let it show! Got a good lineup of maps and gametypes? Let it show! As long as you make your lobby fun and enjoyable, somebody will notice and your lobby will become highlighted in no time! The staff will be scouring the upcoming games, giving out the 'Recommended' prefix to games that have put a clear effort into creating a high-quality customs experience
For all you Gold Hosts out there, or for any of you aiming to get Gold Host soon, rest assured - you may have had your lobby highlight taken away, but not without getting something in return. We've added a collection of new trophies to wet your lips. These new trophies can be viewedhere, along with the rest. They offer 7 points each, at 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000 ratings land marks.
Halo Customs T-Shirt
That's right! We're finally so poor that we need to make T-shirts for you just to keep us afloat. Websites cost money, and since we chose to remove all adds from the site, we need some source of income. A donation link will be set up in the next few weeks for any of you eager to throw in some bucks for the guys who keep things running behind the scenes. And since we're cool and stylish, we're offering trophies, custom titles, T-Shirts and more for our generous donors. These will be given for free to everyone who donates $25 (or international equivalent) or more.
Ever been interested in getting a shirt? Or maybe you'd just like to exercise your democratic right to vote. Either way, you can vote for your favorite design here, and we'll be pumping them out for all of you in no time.
New Smiley
There. There it is. Yeah, I'm not sure either.
Conversion
New Gametype by Psychoduck and Flying Shoe ILR
If you haven't heard of this yet, you've probably been living under a rock (sorry!). Conversion is a new gametype designed by two staff members around here, Psychoduck and Flying Shoe ILR. It draws inspiration from the Asymmetrical gametype Invasion from the Reach days, and emulates it using some clever mechanics from the Extraction gametype. Conversion has been released with two official maps, Firebase and Colony, with more to come from the community. Along with that, our website will be including new "Conversion" tags to use with Conversion content in your custom lobbies. Keep an eye on THFE for videos featuring this new gametype, along with tutorials and the theory behind designing a Conversion map.
New Staff Members
Recently, we've had a few 'original' staff members leave us. Titmar and Essias both resigned a few months ago, Nondual's been taking a break, and Lights just handed in his temporary resignation. With all these staff losses, we've been bringing in some other prominent members of the community to take their place. Over the past few months, we've had xAudienceofone and Flying Shoe ILR join the Orange ranks. A few weeks ago, Elliot stepped off the internet streets and walked into the arms of HaloCustoms. Today, we are glad to announce that Robius5991 from theOnline Knights will be joining us as well. Give him a hand everyone!
Round 2 Looms Ahead
As you must be aware, there is a 1v1 Tournament going on right now around the website. There are forums, battles, announcements everywhere! How could you miss that?! Anywayy, Round 1 ends tomorrow, so hopefully you're all finished off your opponents by now. Or your opponent has finished you! I know mine has.
Though remember, if you have lost to your opponent, you're not out of the tournament yet!This is double elimination, so you have a second chance. The map chosen for Round 2 is called Xiphos, and was designed and forged by our very own xAudienceofone. The round will continue to use the Unity 1v1 Slayer gametype from last round. More information about Round 2 will be included in the Round Update to be released Friday Morning at the beginning of the round.Top Ten - You'd be silly not to
At the time of writing, the Top Ten submissions thread for the tournament is still open, and there are fewer than 10 submissions already! That means that if you have a cool clip on hand from the tournament, any at all, and submit it, you're practically guaranteed a place in TheHaloNetwork's upcoming Top Ten video. Dax himself will be scouring for cool moments to put in his video, and we're offering two unique trophies and custom titles for anyone that can impress him. So grab your game history, record something cool, and place a link to the file in your fileshare in this submission thread.
I just earned it. Without it, it is harder to fill lobbies.
. But I do agree with you tedium gold host are disappearing like as if they died or got banned form xbox live FOR LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
