Chronique:Halo Bulletin 10/07/2014

There are only three weeks between E3 and the Rooster Teeth Expo, which means we always have to do a bit of hustlin’ (no, not that type of hustlin’) to get ready to come and see everyone in Austin. This year, we grabbed designers, producers, a Hoberman and threw them onto a panel, grabbed some in-house professional Halo players and threw ‘em on a truck with original Xbox consoles and TVs, brought Halo: The Master Chief Collection (for your eyes only), and we flew down some exclusive gear. A few weeks later, we were in Austin and ready to party with all of you.

RTX is a special event for many reasons, most notably that nearly every attendee is a Halo fan. As a result, it’s easy to strike up conversation with just about anyone, and easy to make way too many new friends. We’d like to thank each and every one of you who came to our panel, stopped by our booth, checked out Halo: The Master Chief Collection, or bought some RTX 2014-exclusive gear. It was quite a celebration, and we cannot wait to see everyone again next year, hopefully sooner, as we’ve got a few stops left on this tour. If you’re reading this and you still haven’t made it out to RTX, make sure you come next year, otherwise you’ll have to pay the price of reading my synopsis and seeing all the cool pictures once again, knowing that could’ve been you.

RTX 2014 allowed for some pretty fantastic moments and memories. Here are some of our favorites:

Halo: The Master Chief Collection Panel

Moderating the RTX panel was truly a treat - as I said on stage, I was joined by an awesome group of guys who had some great stories to tell about both new and upcoming experiences, as well as classic development tales. Chatting and brainstorming with Max Hoberman before the panel began allowed me to nerd out on every word of Halo-2-dev nostalgia, and I hope that we’ll be able to share more stories from Halo 2 and Halo 2: Anniversary development later this summer. If you haven’t seen the panel and you’d like to avoid spoilers, you can watch it below! The panel includes a walkthrough of Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s unified “master menu,” an early look at control schemes, some original paper designs from Halo 2, a full walkthrough of Halo 2: Anniversary’s Ascension, and a special treat at the end. Enjoy!

After the panel, we had a meet and greet in our booth with Halo fans, and one after another, nearly each of them told us that they were most excited about two things: The Gungoose, and a re-mastered Coagulation. We announced both the new vehicle and updated map in the panel.

Additionally, we showed off a bit of Coagulation concept art, and we’ve also got a new piece of eye candy for you to gaze upon:

While we won’t be showing you a live version of Coagulation for a little while, here’s a sneak peek at a brand-new piece that will be incorporated into the map:

Here’s a quick bit about the above vehicle access bridge:

"This vehicle access bridge is a common addition to the UNSC’s Spartan training grounds, located on various worlds across the galaxy. Inspired by the rugged, utilitarian design of deploy-able, reinforced bunkers and forward bases, these bridges are constructed to withstand the harshest of UNSC training settings."

We’ll have more panels, multiplayer goodies, and walkthroughs for Halo: The Master Chief Collection in the near future. Stay tuned!

RTX Community Creations

RTX never disappoints in the area of fan-made props, cosplay, and all-around creative community awesomeness. Check out just a few of the amazing things we saw this past weekend:

Classic Play-A-Pro

We were humbled by the amazing crowds for each of the Play-A-Pro sessions. Two hour lines to play Halo: CE and Halo 2 on 15-year-old televisions? You guys and gals are awesome. If you’d like to see Neighbor’s closest Lockout 1v1 match from the weekend, head here, and to see one of GH057ayame’s Halo: CE matches, head here.

#ChiefSelfie Contest

We loved seeing all of your Chief Selfies during the Fourth of July weekend! A winner was chosen randomly, but we also wanted to call out a few of the #ChiefSelfie submissions that totally impressed us.

We had the pleasure of meeting this lovely couple at RTX:

"Tweet: Sara: My first cosplaying experience... I had to get the selfie! #Halo #ChiefSelfie #RTX2014"

This guy really let the Chief get the drop on him:

"Tweet: [1]: Why can't I hold all this @Halo? #ChiefSelfie"

And this one is just plain awesome:

We're often impressed by your creativity, and this contest was certainly no exception. Thanks for participating in the #ChiefSelfie contest, and be on the lookout for more in the future!

Halo 4 Matchmaking Update[modifier]

We’ve still got brand new game types, playlists, and updates coming every two weeks in Halo 4 Matchmaking! Here’s the latest:

Oddball is back as our featured playlist! Whether you’re still on the hunt for the Oddball Victory Commendation, or you just wanna play some good ol’ fashioned keep away with your friends, make sure you hop in the playlist before July 21.

A few weeks ago, we were brainstorming about new game types for the SWAT playlist, and we realized that “SWAT Magnums,” a popular SWAT gametype of old, was not yet playable in Halo 4. In this moment, Halo 4’s SWAGnums was born, and jotted down on a whiteboard.

If you’re quick with a pistol and have a thing for headshots, hop into the playlist to give the new game types a try.

Lastly, due to community feedback, Halo 4’s Proving Ground playlist no longer features a motion tracker, and only “no radar” game types. We thank you for your feedback, and encourage you to try out the playlist with the new settings.

Mega Bloks Collectors Spartan Strike Contest[modifier]

Our friends at Mega Bloks are running a contest this month and are showing off some of the more impressive entries. Check ‘em out below!

Be sure to enter the contest! You can win an Astro A40 Gaming Headset (with Halo speaker tags), a $700 Mega Bloks Halo prize pack, and much more!

You've only got until Sunday, July 13 to enter - hop to it!

Screenshot Spotlight: Snazzy Skins[modifier]

Last week, we turned the spotlight on the Rocket. Take a gander at the following weapon skin screenshots, and maybe even find inspiration to make your own.

For your chance at being in the next spotlight, take a screenshot that features a Spartan throwing the ball in Ricochet or Oddball and then tag it with “Quarterback” and “Halo Waypoint,” and maybe, just maybe, yours will be featured in the next Halo Bulletin!

And with that, we’re off to put the finishing touches on our San Diego Comic-Con plans – we’ll see you again soon, SoCal.

Until next week,

Bravo