Waking up mid-morning, the howl of the cold wind present; snowflake infested air is heard as it finds its way from one side of my window pane to the other. This chilling noise—only audible now as the wind exploits the side of my home just as a woodwind playing band member does to the tubes of his instrument—is enough to send even the most hardened soul back into their cocoon of a blanket. In relationship to my life, that is exactly what it has accomplished. My bedroom around me is nothing more than a blurred and confusing landscape. The relaxing warmth of my bed and comforter has hypnotic powers capable of returning almost anyone back into a sleep-like state in just a matter of seconds. A few moments pass, time speeds up. Dreams find their way back into my vision—a tropical paradise, hiking in the Andes Mountains, parasailing in Hawaii. The alarm clock sounds: round two. 10am. Time to get up—no more delays. The wind ever-present just on the other side of the wall, yet again encourages me to go back to sleep. And oh, how I wished to.
Finally finding my way out of the warmth, the first thought to enter my mind is: "Crap, site update".
Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy writing the Site Update for you, I really do. It's the pressure behind not preemptively planning what I am going to write about that drives me forward. The procrastination. That feeling of delay, though, is a feeling that one does not wish to give up. To give into the pressure, to actually do the work. But it must be done, and it must be done well.
Enter: Site Update.
Best of ForgeRound two of our Best of Forge competition has officially ended, and the results are in. ... Kind of. We, behind the scenes know who the victors are, at least. How's it feel to know the results you're all waiting for are just sitting there, hangin' out? Patience, grass hopper, we'll see that the results are publicly posted soon enough. No harm in a little anticipation, right?
Here are some BoF facts to hold you over for now.
Between the 13 BoF categories 761 votes were cast.
The category with the most votes was "Best Overall" with 71 votes.
Only four maps had 30+ votes.
The best of the Best of Forge Contest scored 32 votes total.
The map that made it to voting in the most categories was Armor Walkers with four chances to be voted for.
Foreign Treasures IISince we're speaking of results, the time allotted for participants to submit their best remake to our Foreign Treasures II contest has ended. Sit back and relax as we thoroughly play each and every map that was submitted. No date has been set in stone for when the results thread will be posted yet, so bear with us until then. When we know more, you'll know more.
Who do you think will make into the results thread? Here's a list of the submissions, why don't you go check 'em out? Maybe leave some of your own feedback for the authors—I'm sure they'd appreciate it!
Dome by cluckinho10
[ Disclaimer: Maps listed above are ordered by date of submission. The order does not in any way reflect the results. ]
Wonders of the World IISo you like contests, right? Right. I thought so. But maybe you're not really a competitive map kind of person. There are a lot of factors to incorporate into competitive map design, and let's face it, it can get to be a bit overwhelming. From flow, to spawns, to balance--it's a lot to tackle. However, on all of your maps you've always achieved the highest level aesthetics ever! Well then, this is the contest for you! You, wonderfully aesthetic forger, you!
Wonders of the World II, is, as the title suggests, the second contest in which you, the community, are to recreate one of our wonderful wonders of the world. Within the announcement thread are more details including what wonders are preapproved. However, anything is acceptable in this contest! WAIT!! Before you run off to forge with your unlisted wonder in mind, please send a member of staff a PM, unlisted wonders must be approved.
The reward, you ask? The fine ladies and gentlemen over at Trendy Entertainment have generously donated a few codes to their new Xbox Live Arcade game Dungeon Defenders! However, if you don't wish to participate in this contest but would still like to check out their new game, please do so!
Rank Changes[l-col]ThrowinDemBows has decided that he would prefer to live in the land of green grass and wonderful times rather than in the red fiery world of pain that is the Journalist rank. Be sure to thank him for the work he put forward during his time on staff.[/l-col][r-col]With Armor Walkers being featured just last week, MetaWaddleDee has successfully relocated himself to his new permanent rank of Artisan! Be sure to congratulate him if you haven't already![/r-col]
The Guild
Welcome to the Guild, the helpful side of Forge Hub that wishes to accomplish nothing other than helping you secure an excellent map, or have an amazing in-game experience. The guild comes in two flavours: The Tester's Guild and The Custom's Lobby.
So what do you get from helping out? I thought you'd ask. In addition to the communal feeling and sense of pride you get from helping out another member, you are rewarded a lovely blue rank for all your hard work. You must put forward a certain amount of effort before we hand this out though! The requirements to join either sides of the guild are listed above.
[l-col]But what do they do? You're so predictable, interested Forge Hub member! The Tester's Guild does just what you may think the title is suggestive of: they help test unfinished maps. They'll nit-pick about things they disliked, sure, but they also provide excellent feedback about what you should consider to modify within your current build. They also detail the things you've employed which are running well.[/l-col][r-col]The Custom's Lobby is where gamers sit down for a night of fun and entertainment. This could be a night of Halo customs (which it most commonly is), but in the past it has ranged from gaming sessions of Modern Warfare 3, to Forza 3. If you wish to obtain your rank this way, take note that you are required to give feedback about your lobby for our front paged article. In fact, this is a portion of work required to obtain your pretty blue rank.[/r-col]
TGIF hosts, please PM Pegasi with the template below filled out in order to get your lobby on the sign up page!
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
QOTSULast week I asked: "What is your current occupation? Do you wish to stay in that field? If not, where do wish to go?" I personally think Miraj had the most interesting response, but to be honest, I feel closer to everyone that replied. It's rare that nearly everybody answers seriously.
I am currently a Web Designer/Developer and UI Designer for an app development company called iSpeech. I am also the Creative Director for a strategic management and leadership consulting company. On top of that, I also freelance doing web design and graphic design on the side. I am majoring in Information Technology, specializing in Web Applications. So yeah, this is what I want to do for the majority of my life. Life has its uncertainties, so who know what I will be exploring in the future, but for now this is my element. I hope to and plan to start a media company in the future, handling a team of photographers, filmmakers, designers, developers, and marketers.
I am very passionate about what I do. Everything that I know and have learned has been all self-taught. It's because of my passion that has driven me as far as what I am today. My passion has led me to create a level of self-discipline for myself to learn and improve upon. I work not for the money, but I work because I want to be the best at what I do, and the best at what I love to do. Sometimes when I create something innovative, people tell me that I might become the next Mark Zuckerberg or the next Bill Gates and I find that inspiring. Not because I want to be the next Mark Zuckerberg or the next Bill Gates, but because I want to be the first Miraj Patel. I believe that everyone has their own definition of success; some want to be rich, some want a nice family, and some just want to be happy. For me, my definition of success is to follow my passion and to inspire others to do the same.
This week I ask: If you partake in the drug that is caffeine, what is your drink of choice?
I personally enjoy the new Monster Rehab drinks. They are delicious.
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.