Distracted. The low babble of a nearby river is heard as it cascades and weaves it's way through a rolling green landscape. Piles of leaves rustle as the chilled autumn wind skims their surface; a few rise up into a swirling vortex—visible only now through the help of debris. A splash downstream into the river, maybe a fish jumped at a bug hovering just overhead, maybe a rock tumbled down into the creek, maybe a decrepit stick fell from an overhanging branch. Birds peck at grass across the river, you pay them little attention, your objective adumbrated by the beauty of the landscape circumventing you. Enveloped in a trance like state, thoughts of a time before now—a time without war—cloak any discernible consciousness. In context of the current situation, what should be is not; attention elsewhere of where it need be.
Shields dropped, an explosion shell shocks you into a state further proclaiming your mindlessness. Global teammates attempt to recapture your state of mind. Slightly recognizable words shouted through a cloudy veil.
Flag captured.
Game over.
Timberland welcomes you back.
Homecoming
Ten years ago Bungie had just finished crossing their t's and dotting their i's, releasing the game that revolutionized first person shooters. A small team of game developers with a glint of hope in their eyes delivered Master Chief and Cortana, the Covenant and the Forerunners. Halo. After ten years and five Halo games, Bungie passes John, the Arbiter and everything in between over to 343 Industries who have just released their first nostalgia-filled take on the series, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Whether you played Halo: Combat Evolved a decade ago when it originally hit store shelves or not, the game that has literally brought this community to fruition has made a triumphant return. Bringing a graphically and musically remastered campaign and seven multiplayer map classics seamlessly up to today's standards; Halo: Combat Evolved is an experience unaffected by time. Players that have previously not battled their way through the menacing first sight of the Covenant are now able to get Halo's full story line without sacrificing today's graphical standard, all the while the integrity of the original keeps true to the fond memories returning players remember.
If you consider yourself a Halo enthusiast, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary should find it's way into your home.
Rank Swap[l-col]Once upon a time, a man dressed in gray proved himself to have the written finesse that could only be described accurately with an analogy including that of a person or thing that exceeds greatly within a particular subject. To further this point I'll illustrate said analogy: kittens are good at being cute; pilots are good at flying planes. Skisma, who fulfilled his rank of red excellently, has decided he would prefer to live in the land of purple. Be sure to thank him for his work as a journalist, and be wary if you're an avid rule breaker! He'll chew you up and spit you out![/l-col]
[r-col]And then there's this guy named Javidson 1st, who of which has recently achieved a brand new BLUE HUE! He's put the work forward in the Customs Lobby and it's finally paid off. I personally apologize to Javidson, for he was supposed to have the rank given to him during our last site update, but through some crazy magics, that did not happen. Regardless, be sure to congratulate him![/r-col]
Lap Completed
Our monthly build contest, The Fast and the Forge, is well on it's way—what is this contest, you ask? A legitimate inquiry with a simple answer! The Fast and the Forge contest simply requires participants to build the best race track map they can possibly muster. Submissions are due November 29th! It's not to late to join, maybe you'll be going home in first place! To read the entire the Fast and the Forge article for all of the guidelines, click here.
Active Participation
Are you new to ForgeHub? Do you want to make your name more well known among the Forging crowd? Or are you just looking to give a helping hand to those asking for it? Our TRC Guild is the place for you! And yes, of course, they do reward you with a pretty blue rank all your own.
What is the TRC Guild though? The TRC Guild has three subgroups: the Testers Guild, the Review Hub, and the Customs Lobby. What does the TRC Guild do? Each portion has their own specific roles in our community, as highlighted below.
Tester's Guild Member Requirements
There are five ranks in the Testers Guild. These ranks are Junior Member, Member, Senior Member, Loyal Member, and Guild Leader. All successful applicants to the guild will be placed in the rank of Junior Member after providing their first feedback in the Test Feedback forum. With each successful term, that member will gain a Gold Star
for providing feedback using the correct format. In addition to this, a member will receive a Gold Star for providing multiple feedbacks (1 feedback = 1
Read the full article on Tester's Guild requirements here.
Review Hub Member Requirements
A certain number of tasks needs to be maintained in order to be deemed active. The maintenance requirements are detailed in each rank. Accompanying the maintenance requirements are the promotion requirements. The promotion requirements outline what an individual must accomplish within their current rank to be eligible for advancement. Once the necessary requirements are met then the member is given the option to rank up. If said member chooses to stay at their current rank with the current responsibilities they are free to do so and will continue to collect pencils, but upon advancing to a new rank, pencil count returns to zero and the member must start over under the new rank's requirements. Members are not allowed to advance more than one rank per cycle.
Read the full article on Review Hub member requirements here.
Requirements to obtain a TGIF Host rank.
Host four consecutive TGIFs (that's back to back for a grand total of four TGIFs spanning eight weeks)
Continue a party spans a minimum of two hours
Submit a recap of their TGIF which consists of:
A two paragraph write up
A minimum of two pictures from their TGIF
At least three download links of the maps they've played
If you want to join one of the guilds, but the snippets above didn't help you narrow your decision, be sure to read the full articles. They go over all of the responsibilities in each respective thread.
The Custom's Lobby members, referred to as TGIF Hosts, host bi-weekly custom games. There isn't a thread dedicated to the discussion of this matter though. If you would like to work your way toward, or maintain your TGIF Host rank, please PM Pegasi with the template below filled out.
[HOST'S PARTY NAME]
Host's Gamertag: [HOST'S GAMERTAG]
Start Time: [0:00pm EST]
End Time: [0:00pm EST]
Rules: [PARTY RULES]
Schedule:
[PARTY SCHEDULE]
Double Rainbow
http://www.astrogaming.com/Congratulations to Call Me 7ravis and SHADOWSTRIKE1, they've managed to smash all that opposed them on their hopeful journey through our 2v2 Throwdown contest! Be sure to congratulate them on this feat!
Ohai-ku of the Site Update
Last week I asked for an alliteration regarding food. Some resorted to plagerism, others to repeating a single line hundreds of times, and one other a single word: "Bacon". Seriously though, I cannot decide who the victor of last week's QOTSU should be, there were many that were just excellent!
This week, Forge Hub, I request a Haiku within the realm of the Halo universe.
KGO!
KBYE!
If you have any thoughts on this article, or the front page in general, that you would like to share with us then we invite you to post your opinions in the Front Page Feedback thread.